Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 January 2004 — Page 4

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, JANUARY 2. 2004

City provides opportunity for property owners to avoid sewer liens

Special to Th* Recorder

The Department of Public Works (DPW) is notifying private property owners by mail of delinquent sewer bills in an effort to avoid the placement of a lien on

their property.

DPW will send 16.487 requests for payment totaling $864,248.46 in unpaid sewer charges. This will be the last opportunity for property owners to keep a lien from being placed on their property, to prevent their sewer charges from being added to spring tax bills, and to avoid additional adminis-

trative fees. The average balance for these potential liens is 8;)2.42. Customers who owe less than

$11 or whose payment is delinquent for less than 60 days will not be sent letters. These charges will automatically be added to property tax bills in the spring if not paid by the end of January 2004. The Environmental Protection Agency mandated sewer bills in 1977 to cover the cost of operating and maintaining advanced wastewater treatment plants and sewage facilities. Sewer fees are used to pay for both of the city's sewage treatment plants as well as raw sewage overflow capital improvement projects. Placing a lien on properties is the city’s last resort in an effort to receive payment. The courts have

determined that placing a lien on a property is an appropriate collection action for Indianapolis to pursue. Other collection methods for non-payment of sewer fees that are exercised by the city on a regular basis include water service disconnection and legal action. All payments should be sent to Indianapolis Water, the city’s billing and collection agent, at P.O. Box 1220, Indianapolis, IN 46206. Customers who would like to pay in person may go to 1220 Waterway Blvd., Monday through Friday, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and Saturday, from 8 a.m. to noon.

Ray Crowe eulogized as great person and basketball coach

(AP) — Oscar Robertson returned to his hometown last week for the funeral of the high school coach who led him to two state basketball championships. Robertson and others recalled Ray Crowe as a sage figure who guided the team from all-Black Crispus Attucks High School through the racial tensions in 1950s Indianapolis.

Hundreds of people filled the gymnasium at the now-Attucks Middle School to honor Crowe, a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame who died Dec. 20 at 88. "He meant so much,” said Robertson, who starred on the 1955 and 1956 state championship teams. “When we won games, people were able to go back to their offices and factories and brag about it at a time when Blacks were not reallythought well of.” Robertson and others characterized Crowe as a disciplinarian who radiated tough love. "He commanded respect, and he gave respect," said Hallie Bryant, who played at Attucks in the early 1950s. “He wanted you to be somebody." Robertson, 65, who now lives in Cincinnati, remembers being the recipient of a Crowe tonguelashing for dribbling the basketball between his legs and behind his back during practice. “He would tell me, ‘You’re not a Harlem Globetrotter,”’ said Robertson, who later played at the University of Cincinnati and with the Cincinnati Royals of the NBA. “He preached total discipline.” Crowe’s funeral procession included a drive around Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, the route traditionally taken by state championship basketball teams after their victories. Attucks' championship teams never took that victory lap because of racial tensions at the time. After retiring from teaching in 1967, Crowe was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives and later the City-County'Council in Indianapolis.

2003 list of prominent people visit to Indy

(Clockwise)

I.Tavis Smiley • 2.Dick Gregory • 3.President George W. Bush • 4.Muhammad All • S.Cornel West

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