The Times from Munster, Indiana • 23

rll Mi! I1U EJyiUl ,1 ii THE REGION Dancing day Lake Central dancers steal the show Saturday with five regional titles at Portage High School. B3 A quick look at the news MERRILLVILLE Inter-Club Council sets luncheon date 1 The Merrillville Inter- SUNDAY February 10, 2002 SECTION Story tip or comment? Call Times Hobart Editor Tony Parker, (219) 662-5337; or email, parkerhowpubs.com Club Council has scheduled the 20th annual Northwest Indiana School Luncheon for May 1 at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza in )Y 1 lies This year's keynote speak Reassessment may stall if county doesn't start paying $25 million Andersen bill i burden shifts to homeowners. The reassessment, however, may stall if the county fails to meet its installment payments on Andersen's $25 million tab. In recent weeks as Andersen's bills have become due, Lake County Auditor Peter Benjamin has declined to sign off on the claims. Two of the three Lake County commissioners are expected to toss the bills back at the state, arguing they would not BY SUSAN BROWN Times Staff Writer CROWN POINT With Lake County leaders foiling payment to the Arthur Andersen accounting firm, state Rep.

John Aguilera is hoping to get the company back to the negotiating table even as state tax czar Jon Laramore explores remaining options. "Industry needs to have this done sooner rather than later," TECHNOLOGY ON A said Aguilera, D-East Chicago. "The biggest industry in Lake County is treading water." "We've been willing to work through the appropriation process as long as that operates smoothly," Laramore said. "It appears to have stopped operating smoothly now. We have to evaluate other options." The property tax reassessment Andersen is overseeing is expected to offer industry some relief as some of its tax 1 i i 1 sign off on bills for a contract in which they had no role in negotiating.

Attempting to appease county leaders, state tax officials asked Lake County Assessor Paul Karras to begin the normal appropriation process by making a request to the Lake County Council even though the state believes the contract falls under separate legislation. See DEAL, B5 ROLL Peter Benjamin Auditor has declined to OK Andersen claims in recent weeks. Paul Karras Assessor pulled request for approval of reassessment appropriation Letter adds to park woes Attorney for city's bond issuer says policy won't cover parks chief. BY ADELE L. MACKANOS and TONY PARKER Times Staff Writers LAKE STATION In a lot of ways, RoseAnne Johnson is like other department heads in the city.

She develops programs, supervises employees and smiles at those using city services. But unlike other city officials, Johnson tries to accomplish those tasks while fighting efforts to remove her from her job as parks head, facing criminal charges alleging she made $6,500 in personal purchases on a city-issued credit card and coping with a recent personal bankruptcy. The latest development involving Johnson stems from a Jan. 28 letter from an attorney for the city's bond issuer that said Johnson, who also is a Democratic councilwoman, is not covered by the policy. That means there is no insurance to: protect taxpayers if she engages in financial improprieties.

Her supporters have said Johnson is the victim of a political vendetta, who will be vindicated of wTongdoing in the criminal case and who actually is covered by the Western Surety Co. bond. The two councilmen who filed for an injunction to prohibit her from serving as parks head without proper bonding -Clarence Durall, D-4th, and Keith Soderquist, D-at large -denied the existence of a vendetta. They simply said that they want to ensure the city follows the law and that taxpayers are protected from potential liability. And, Durall said Johnson's recent bankruptcy would ostensibly reduce her ability to repay the city for any type of future financial mismanagement.

Johnson has reimbursed the city for past personal purchases identified in the latest audit, according to the Octo- ber 2000 audit report by the Indiana State Board of Accounts. See LETTER, ES er will be Walter ally Moore, who was offensive line coach at Notre Dame from 1969 to 1974. He also served as offensive line coach at Indiana University in 1975 and 1976 and worked two years as the associate athletic director there. Twenty-five local high schools are invited to partici pate the event, which was initiated in 1982. This year the Inter-Club Council also is inviting outstanding scholas tic achievers from Lake and totter county schools.

For more information, call the Merrillville Chamber of Commerce at (219) 769-8180. The Inter-Club Council is a division of the chamber. LAKE STATION Little League sign-ups scheduled for Friday The Lake Station Little League holds sign-ups for the upcoming seasons from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Friday at Polk Elementary School 2460 Vermillion St. A birth certificate and verification of address are needed.

For more information, contact Brent Watts at (219) 962-1139. HOBART Library to hold book sale The Hobart branch of the Lake County Public Library will hold its winter book sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 22 and from 9 a.m.

to 5 p.m. Feb. 23 at the library, 100 N. Main St. The sale includes adult and children's books, paperbacks, magazines and records.

For information, call the I library at (219) 942-2243. LOWELL Soccer sign-ups begin Feb. 25 at library The Parks and Recreation Department holds spring soccer sign-ups beginning Feb. 25 at the Lowell Public Library. Children ages 4 and 5 can register for the PeeWee program; 6- and 7-year-olds can sign up for the intermediate program; the junior division is for children ages 8 to 10.

Register from 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 25 and 27 and March 1, 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 26 and 28, and 9 a.m.

to 1 p.m. March 2. MERRILLVILLE Applications available for $500 scholarship Applications for the 2002 Curt Hoffman $500 scholarship are now available at Wood School and at the Merrillville High School guidance office. To qualify, Merrillville High School seniors must have attended John Wood Elementary for at least five years. An application and two letters of recommendation should be returned to the Wood School office or high school guidance department no later than April 10.

The winner of the scholarship should plan to give a short address to the graduating fifth-grade class at Wood on the June 5 Awards Day. Hoffman was principal of Wood for nine years. He died of cancer in 1998. LOWELL All-you-can-eat fish dinner set for Friday The St. Edward School and the St.

Edward Knights of Columbus are sponsoring an all-you-can-eat Lenten Fish Fry from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Friday. A fish dinner and variety of desserts will be offered. Cost is $7 for adults, $4 for children 5 older, and children younger than 5 eat free. Tickets are available at the door, and carryouts can be ordered, as well.

PHOTOS BY JOHN J. WATKINS THE TIMES Brianna Jenkins assists Wyatt Perkins with his Web page Tuesday while the two work at a mobile computer lab at Merrillville Intermediate School. MOBILE LAPTOP LAB LETS MERRILLVILLE STUDENTS MAKE INTERNET CONNECTION WITHOUT LEAVING THEIR DESKS BY KATHERINE BIEKER Times Correspondent rad Brown's honors English students are doing more than opening a good book in class this week. 1 i 1 They are opening Dell laptop computers and developing their own Web sites in the comfort of their own classroom. The Merrillville Intermediate School sixth graders are not going to one of two computer labs for the project; the computers are being brought directly to their classroom on a mobile laptop lab.

Laptops automatically connect to receiving antennae located in the ceiling throughout the intermediate school. They have full network access, including Internet, network printing and their saved documents on the school corporation's servers. Brown has been the guinea pig at the intermediate school using the mobile laptop labs. They've only been available a few weeks there. See ROLL, B6 Roiling computer labs WHERE Merrillville Intermediate School and Pierce Middle School WHAT IT IS: Rolling carts with 30 laptop computers each are taken to classrooms.

The laptops automatically connect to receiving antennas located in the ceiling, giving students full network access. COST: $70,000 for four 30-unit labs USES: Writing applications, Internet research, Power Point presentations BENEFITS: Anything students can do in a lab can be done in the classroom Brad Brown hands out laptop computers Tuesday to his students at Merrillville Intermediate School. M'ville reworking adult entertainment ordinance clude obtaining a zone change and a special exception. The lawsuit also said Merrill-ville's definition of adult businesses is too broad and too vague, that most of Priscilla's merchandise is not pornographic, anyway, and that the ordinance therefore shouldn't apply to Priscilla's. Merrillville's attorneys had already decided to rework the ordinance, but the changes weren't made when Priscilla's expressed interest in Merrillville.

Town Attorney Geoff Giorgi Priscilla's IN MERRILLVILLE: 91 W. U.S. 30 IN INDIANA: Fort Wayne, Kokomo, Muncie, Indianapolis, Terre Haute and Evansville said Merrillville, as advised by Indianapolis law firm Baker Daniels, decided to let Priscilla's ignore the ordinance and open under a list of conditions. Priscilla's agreed, and the town issued the store its final occupancy permit Dec. 21.

The store is located at 91 W. U.S. 30. "The original adult enter Revisions follow legal battle over opening of Priscilla's adult store. BY CAROLINA PROCTER Times Staff Writer MERRnXVTLLE Town of ficials are revising their adult entertainment ordinance with hopes of preventing legal bat tles like the one they recently settled with Priscilla's adult gift store.

Priscilla which sells lin gerie, sex-related games and novelties, sex toys and some pornographic material, opened in late December after town officials allowed store owners to ignore the same town ordinance that inspired the store to file a lawsuit. Attorneys for Priscilla's filed the suit against Merrillville in October, saying the town's adult entertainment ordinance violates First Amendment free speech rights because it requires adult businesses to complete more legal processes than regular businesses. The extra processes in tainment ordinance was old, outdated and incapable of meeting constitutional Giorgi said. "Rather than spend, money on a case that would not be successful the decision was made to allow them to come. "But Priscilla's didn't just come in.

We reached a compromise with them. It really was a win for the town, if you balance it against going through the litigation and losing. Had we lost the lawsuit, they would've come in with no restrictions." See ORDINANCE, ES.