Evansville Press from Evansville, Indiana • 15

Wadnasda March 19 1997 15 me EvansviilePres? In this section 16 Lifestyles 18 Films 19 Money ui Head of P-47 group hoping for another plane By Tonya Root Staff i of displays will be easy to replace cal Rehabilitation Center The Franklin warehouse donated the 4000- to 5000-square-foot space it needed The charity hopes to find another business willing to provide a similar amount of free storage for the 11 months the lights used Another possibility she said would be to find a property near Garvin Park whose owner would allow the charity to build a storage bam sured Pam Kirk a spokeswoman for the load charity said it simply needs to re-order them from the company that designed them She added expect to have any problems in opening in time for Thanksgiving Kirk said the annual fundraiser has raised more than $330000 so far The money helps pay for therapy for children and adults with disabilities who get treated at the lo The local Easter Seal Society thinks it will be easy to replace a costly set of Christmas lights that were destroyed in four-alarm fire at the Franklin Industrial Center Warehouse The familiar holiday displays valued at $336356 had been seen by thousands of people at the annual GD of Lights" in Garvin Park The 42 displays were in put up $37000 to pay off the orignial bank loan He worked at the Republic plant from April 1942 to August 1945 know hard to get excited about a big chunk of aluminum but the airplanes were wonderful contributors to the Allies in fighting the Easley said Russell Lee curator for the Aeronautics Museum of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC said be was sad to hear another salvageable plane was lost a great he said are among the rarest as far as the American frontline fighters are Lee said according to his records there are 69 P47s left surviving in the world and less than 10 are flying Fully restored to flying condition the planes are valued at about more than half million dollars Easley said Foundation members will now concentrate their efforts on rcp'ving the Whetsel family from whom they purchased the plane last year he said About $40000 is still owed to the Whetsel family he said A fundraising campaign will begin to cover the costs of repaying the family as well as starting the search to find another salvageable plane he said Andy Easley is optimistic that Evansville will still have a World War II fighter plane display to honor the area's contribution to the war effort A P-47 Thunderbolt was destroyed yesterday in the fire that gutted parts of the Franklin Industrial Center still think that some place in some back-woods in some foreign countary there's a plane maybe not in flying condition but suitable for said Easley president of the P-47 Foundation discouraged me It'll just be a matter of getting the right people in the right place to rekindle the effort Owners of the center allowed the foundation to store the was being i seen the plane to be salvaged I can do is assume the he said all quite disappointed We hope we can pick up the pieces and move The tail assemblies for the plane were fully restored and many pieces of the hardware had been obtained Easley said The body and wings needed some more fine tuning but the restora- it was ditched during a World War II training flight Frank Whetsel who died in October 1992 formed the P-47 Heritage Commission in 1984 and borrowed $50000 to help Jim Whetsel his son obtain and restore the plane In 1992 after bingo games being used to raise money for the restoration were declared illegal Frank Whetsel tion was going well he said The renovated P47 was to be put on display in Evansville where more than 6200 planes were made by Republic Aviation at a plant on US 41 where the Whirlpool plant is now The plane was salvaged from a Florida lake and brought to Evansville around 1986 by Jim Whetsel The plane reportedly spent 43 years under water after Bonds for work on utility Water rate hike to fund renovation By Beckle Kelly Staff reporter Inmate is accused of trying to escape A girl who was about to be transferred to a Juvenile corrections facility last night reportedly tried to escape through ceiling tiles in a restroom at the Evansville Police Department According to a police report one of the officers stood outside a restroom door while the 13-year-old girl went inside at about 11:49 pm A moment later the officer and several records room personnel said they heard a crash They went inside and found the girl lying on the floor The officer said the girl allegedly moved two ceiling tiles in an apparent attempt to escape An officer at the juvenile division of the Evansville Police Department said the girl was being transported to a corrections facility in Vincennes Ind He could not specify what charges she faced but said she probably will face additional charges related to the alleged escape attempt Woman accused in burglary An Evansville woman was arrested yesterday in connection with a burglary of several firearms from a local residence Christine Sherrill 20 of 105 Wills Ave was accused of entering a residence at 2830 St with another person between Aug 4 and Aug 18 They were accused of stealing three rifles three handguns and a shotgun valued at about $2675 totaL Homeowner Charles Pepper said someone apparently had entered his home by cutting a screen on a kitchen window Sherrill faces preliminary felony charges of burglary and theft She posted bond yesterday at the Vanderburgh County Jail The other suspect Ryan Bauer 21 of 2324 Dieffenbach Road previously was arrested on similar charges Press photo by Steven Adams This home at 124 Washington Ave was damaged by fire Monday night Fire-damaged house was historic Home designed by nationally renowned firm The Evansville Utility Board approved a $134 million bond resolution yesterday for the renovation of the city's water system The bonds will be funded by an 116 percent overall water rate increase currently pending before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission The board originally asked for a 175 percent overall rate increase but because of potential savings from the recent privatization of the water utility it approved the new increases of 95 percent for residential 920 percent for small commercial and 265 percent for large industrial at meeting The original bond approved by the board last June was not to exceed $15 million Utility Manager Jack Danks said the board had to wait until bids came in for the project before it could finally approve the bond resolution The board decision along with the approval of the final rate increase will be submitted to the IURC making its decision easier it is hoped Danks said anticipate a quick order" he said their decision comes within 30 days the rate increase will go into effect by A hearing on the bond sale is scheduled for 1:30 pm April 8 at the utility board meeting Danks said the hearing is a formality to the sale He isn't expecting any remonstrators If the IURC approves the increase within 30 days the bonds are to be sold within 60 days Danks said he hopes the bonds can be sold by June so that construction can begin this summer By Beckle Kelly Staff reporter of brothers Merritt and James Reid was a prominent construction company in the late 1800s Among the Reid designs were the Willard Library the SL Episcopal Church the old Grand Theater and several other homes across Evansville The company received national attention after the brothers left Evansville in 1890 to construct several buildings in San Diego San Francisco and Portland They are most famous for reconstructing many buildings after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake The fire at 124 Washington Ave destroyed much of the inside of the building Fire Investigator Roger Griffin said that tenant Larry Gates was in his upstairs apartment when a candle on top of his television tipped over Griffin said the candle ignited a chair and Gates tried to extinguish it with a blanket Gates suffered see- Forum set on state issues A forum scheduled for this evening will emphasize the economic development and community service efforts state government provides The forum held from 7 to 9 pm in the City Council chambers by Rep Brian Hasler D-Evansville will allow citizens to question state officials on a variety of local concerns Joining Hasler will be representatives of the state Department of Commerce the Indi- A home damaged in a blaze Monday night is one of the few remaining buildings from a nationally renowned 19th century architectural firm The home at 124 Washington Ave was built in 1887 by Reid Brothers Construction and is one of the homes featured in the Town Hall display at the Evansville Museum While the building now contains three apartments and a beauty salon the 10-room home was originally constructed for $3000 for George Daussman of the FW Cook Brewery said Tom Lonnberg curator of history for the museum Daussman was the secretary treasurer of the brewery which was the largest brewery in the US when it existed in Evansville in the area now occupied by the Civic Center Reid Brothers which consisted The historic home at 124 Washington Ave in its prime as shown in this photo published in a book from the late 1800s ond-degree burns on his arms and hands Griffin said Lonnberg said he hopes the building can be restored Housing Finance Authority the Family and Social Services Administration and the Small Business Development Corp Subjects will likely range from day care and housing to neighborhood concerns Hasler said Students soar with speeches A recent article in The Evansville Press left out one category of winners in last regional high school speech meet Among the top qualifiers in the US extemporaneous category were Stephen Schaefer second Mater Dei High School and Bao Huynh fourth and Mai Ann Huynh fifth both of Reitz High School Lawyer told to get more data in VCCC suit By Susan Taylor Staff reporter are going to have to start weighing this case file by the Judge Hugo Songer AskTnielRress CP are going to have to start weighing this case file by the said Songer a former Dubois Circuit Court judge David Guerrettaz yesterday notified the court that he now represents the Jobs Program and the VCCC advisory board Guerrettaz is an attorney in the law firm of Ziemer Stayman Weitzel Shoulders Mike Schiff also of the firm also represents the advisory board and the Jobs Program Guerrettaz told Songer that he would turn over requested information 30 days after he receives the official paperwork But Miller also asked to judge to determine which government entity that the Jobs Program Inc falls under Court records show the Jobs Program has claimed as part of its defense to the lawsuit The county has said that the Jobs Program Inc is not part of the county government Songer said it was not his job to determine that question don't think you have done your homework in this Songer told Miller Has a woman ever won the US Medal of Honor? BD ML Vernon Ind A There has been only one female winner Mary Walker who served as a surgeon in the 52nd Ohio Regiment during the Civil War according to The Book of Answers Walker was awarded the medal in 1865 by President Andrew Johnson Do you haw a psnsraHnWBH question lor which you find an answer? Just sand your questions to Ask The Press POBox 454 Evaisvilla Ind 477034)454 Readers with touch-lone phones can cafi 422-1234 and leave their questions on extension 1506 Questions wil only be answered in this column A judge told an attorney representing current and former employees of the Vanderburgh County Correction Complex to get busy because was on the 3-year-old case Special Judge Hugo Songer told attorney Verdelski Miller yesterday that he had not followed all needed legal procedures to set a trial date for a pending $10 million lawsuit against the county its commissioners the VCCC advisory board and now the Vanderburgh County Work Release Jobs Program Inc Songer yesterday officially made the Jobs Program a nonprofit organization set up to aid the community correction program a fourth defendant in the suit Miller represents about 100 current or former VCCC employees who allege that they worked fulltime hours but were classified as part-time employees and thus were denied pay and benefits given to other county workers with full-time Following the 1994 filing of the suit Songer certified it to become a class-action But the judge told Miller yesterday that he could withdraw that ruling if the attorney did not soon determine who may have a claim against the defendants going to have to define this class as a Songer told Miller A class-action is defined as a group of plaintiffs who have a common claim Miller told Songer that he was in the process but did not have all the information needed to certify the class members The attorney said he has determined which employees worked solely for the county but he still lacks the records from the Jobs Program Inc could go to trial with the county Miller said But the attorney said he was given the payroll and time sheets from the county only in June of last year a year and a half after he sought them Miller said he began filing claims for the county employees last November within five months after getting the information Miller claims that several VCCC employees were paid both by the county and the Jobs Program He says some of the Jobs Program Inc employees may also qualify to be part of the class-action Since the Jobs Program Inc was officially made a party to the suit only yesterday Songer told Miller to get busy filing the necessary requests for information from the nonprofit organization 5 rrcnwtfiR If you have a news tip a question or a comment on local news coverage please call 812464-7602 and leave a message.