Published: December 31, 2008 01:12 pm      

Taking a look back

Chatter: 2008: A year of major development, great tragedy and high hopes for the future

While construction on Ivy Tech’s new Logansport campus began and the final segment of the Hoosier Heartland Corridor got under way, some area residents remain displaced at the close of 2008 from the flooding in January.

The year also saw its share of tragedy with the loss of an Indiana state trooper in January and a bus crash that claimed the lives of five students in September.

Dan Hockney, vice chancellor/dean of Ivy Tech Community College in Logansport, said he foresaw the new post-secondary institution helping to draw new industry while boosting established businesses.

“It will become a great engine for economic development within Logansport and Cass County,” Hockney said.

Construction started in April on the 81,000-square-foot building located on 60 acres of donated land at 18th Street and U.S. 24/35. The project, with a $16.6 million price tag, is expected to draw some 2,000 students to classes when it opens in the spring of 2010.

After 26 years of waiting, area residents saw ground broken on the final segment of the Hoosier Heartland Corridor in October. The completion date for the $450 million project is now set for 2013, two years ahead of the original schedule.

With the four-lane highway, officials expect economic benefits as well as improved safety.

The Logansport and Cass County dispatch centers will soon become one after officials worked throughout the year to make the long-time notion a reality. The combined dispatch center is expected to improve emergency response in Cass County.

A donation of 80 acres of land on Logansport’s north side sparked a discussion on development of Huston Park. Plans for the park include a complex of athletic fields, concessions, restrooms, additional trails and possibly an amphitheater and water park.

Also in 2008, Cass County was a pilot program for vote centers, a concept that allowed voters to cast ballots at any polling location regardless of precinct. Local election officials labeled the concept a success, saying it made voting more convenient while saving county taxpayers an estimated $476,000.

Early in the year, the long-debated issue of an appropriate animal shelter for Cass County hit a snag when the county council rejected a proposal to build a new facility. Recent developments indicate that county officials will give $70,000 in operating costs in exchange for the humane society covering costs of construction. If the fundraising efforts go well, the shelter will move from a highway garage to a building specifically designed for use as an animal shelter.

Motorists spent much of 2008 dodging construction work along an 18-block stretch of Broadway, one of Logansport’s main thoroughfares. Although a few minor details remain on the multi-million dollar project, normal traffic flow resumed late in the year. The project included upgrading and replacement of underground utilities and sewer systems as well as new curbs, gutters, sidewalks and lighting.

On development of trails in the area, county commissioners agreed to relinquish control of a truss bridge over the Deer Creek on 100E. The bridge will be used in spanning the Eel River from the River Bluff Trail to Riverside Park as part of a plan to build a 2.4-mile section of the Historic Mill Race Trail from the west end of Little Turtle Waterway east to the park. Cole Hardwood owner Milt Cole agreed to help in funding the bridge project.

Flooding in January and February displaced hundreds of area residents, destroyed millions of dollars in personal property and killed three people, including two children. President Bush declared a disaster in Carroll, Cass, Elkhart, Fulton, Jasper, Marshall, Pulaski, Tippecanoe and White counties.

White County EMA director Rose Brady said that although most of the community has rebuilt, some families have yet to return to their homes.

If there are any lessons to learn from the flooding, Brady said it would be that a community steps up in a time of disaster. People pulled together to help evacuate flood victims and provide them with food and clothing.

“It showed that there are people out there who do care,” Brady said. “Whether they knew you or not, they were there to help.”

On Jan. 27, Trooper Daniel Barrett died in a single-vehicle crash while trying to catch a speeder on U.S. 31 south of Ind. 110 in Fulton County. He was 25. His passing brought the law enforcement community together to mourn on a cold, snowy day in February.

On Sept. 26, a bus crash on U.S. 24 in Cass County claimed the lives of four special-needs students on the way home to Monticello from classes in Logansport. Five-year-old Lauren Melin, 9-year-old Kale Seabolt, 10-year-old Trevor Ingram and 10-year-old Tyler Geiger all died.

The accident occurred when a dump truck from D&B Trucking Co. Inc. tried to slow for a mo-ped ridden by 59-year-old Raymond Gust, who was waiting to make a left-hand turn into a residence on U.S. 24.

The truck, driven by 53-year-old Terry Dixson of Logansport, clipped the Twin Lakes school bus, which flipped onto its side and slid into the eastbound lane where a second D&B dump truck struck the roof.

The mother of one of the victims has since made preparations for a wrongful death suit. Cass County Prosecutor Kevin Enyeart says he is awaiting a completed investigation from the Indiana State Police before deciding whether to pursue any charges in the wreck.

In 2008, Indiana legislators reformed property taxes to the benefit of homeowners and to the dismay of some city officials. The reform provided a significant discount but left municipalities scrambling to make up the loss of revenue. There is a threat of lost services and increased fees for the services that survive.

“Change has to happen, but for every cause there’s an affect,” Mayor Mike Fincher said.

Cities must maintain streets, parks and cemeteries and provide police and fire protection. To offset the loss of revenue, Fincher said there were three options available: “Reduce services, reduce staff and/or increase user fees.”

Some fees were increased in 2008, and Fincher predicted more difficult decisions ahead.

“We have to be prepared as a community to accept the changes that are coming down the road,” he said.

As for crime, vandalism ran rampant in Logansport in 2008. Police made arrests and cleared numerous cases.

A gang fight resulted in the stabbing of one boy and the expulsion from school of all 12 teenagers involved.

Weeks later, a woman walking to her vehicle in a store parking lot reported being beaten by two juveniles. Police have since arrested three suspects.

Investigators also kept busy with multiple arsons.

In November, two Logansport residents found themselves in federal custody on charges they abducted a 16-year-old girl from New York. FBI agents claim 22-year-old Yan Niang Soe and 23-year-old Johnathan A. Sullivan held the girl for six months while they beat her and forced her into sex and labor. The girl has since been reunited with her family in Buffalo, N.Y., and the case is pending in a New York federal court.

Here are some other headline-making stories from 2008:

• Camden native Amanda Overmyer finished 11th in the American Idol competition in March. She’s scheduled for a concert at McHale Performing Arts Center on Jan. 24.

• Gas prices soared above $4 a gallon before dropping below $2 a gallon by the end of the year.

• In a victory for some and defeat for others, park officials secured a permit to serve alcohol at Dykeman Park Municipal Golf Course.

• Local dignitaries flew to Japan in search of economic development opportunities.

• Lewisburg residents saw their historic bridge completed after months of delays.

• Area motorists waited through a prolonged construction project before being rewarded with a widened 600E.

• The Logansport High School drumline won the state championship.

• A tremor rattled shelves and windows throughout the area, as did a sonic boom from military jets.

• In the business world, Modine announced its closing while Wal-Mart announced plans to build a new supercenter.

• The Logansport-Cass County Airport’s 5,000-foot runway extension cleared an FAA hurdle and is now in the design phase.

• Because of dwindling interest and continued loss of revenue, commissioners closed the county home after 160 years of operation.

• After several changes to billboard policy, the city council put the issue to rest.

Overall, the year proved productive, Fincher said, but there is still much to do.

“Things are moving in the right direction,” Fincher said.

Kevin Lilly can be reached at (574) 732-5117, or via e-mail at kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com



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