Crane and the Crane area does not need I-69
and the facts of this are now coming to light, but regional media is
not reporting the facts. In fact the nearest major paper, the Bloomington Herald Times
has editorialize in opposition to the Bloomington Common council who
included these concerns in a recent resolution while not providing
printed access to the text of the resolution. We need to turn up
the heat on this
issue.
On this page:
- We
question a reporter on Coverage of The State of Indiana's meeting
regarding what Crane needs to avoid closure.
- The
Reporter responds to our question.
- Air
quality issues in the region are also reported now... I-69 is heading
down the wrong path.
We wrote this letter to a Bloomington Herald
Times (H-T) Reporter
regarding our concern about her coverage of Crane, as regards I-69:
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 10:09 AM
To: Bethany Nolan/ Bloomington Herald Times Reporter
Cc: countus@i69tour.org
Subject: Coverage of Crane meeting questions
Bethany,
Two distinct sources who attended the Crane Meeting that you have
reported on today, have stated to us that Bill Cassidythe state's lobbyist for military facilities
in Washington, D.C.
said the "#1 thing" that they have been told that Crane should do is "prevent
encroachment". It was also reported that they are making recommendation
that the state of Indiana create a region of limited development around
the base to this end.
The Bloomington Common Council Resolution included this language:
> WHEREAS, Crane is served on the west by US Highway 231, which is
> currently undergoing major upgrades, including recent completion of a
> new bridge over the Ohio River and a new roadway from Rockport,
> Indiana, to I-64, and a planned bypass around Jasper, and it is served
> by 4- lane SR 37 approximately 13 miles east of Crane's north gate,
> both part of Indiana's National Highway System as submitted to the
> FHWA; and
>
>
>
> WHEREAS, a major international trucking highway passing by Crane
> would promote traveler service and other development encroachments
> associated with interstates that could reduce the facility's military
> value and security, making the base more susceptible to closure, and
> these development pressures and patterns would be particularly
> difficult to control in counties with no planning and zoning like
> those where Crane is located; and
>
>
>
> WHEREAS, it is questionable that the proposed I-69, lacking
> identified funding and at least 15 years from completion, is a
> significant factor in current BRAC deliberations; and
Why was their no reporting of the issues that would have pertained to
this in your article?,
Officials lobbying to save Crane
Lieutenant governor announces state grants to help support naval base
By Bethany Nolan, Herald-Times Staff Writer
October 14, 2004
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2004/10/14/news.1014-HT-A1_PJR40856.sto?lin
Crane update
SWITZ CITY -- A plan to help the Crane Division of the Naval Surface
Warfare Center survive next year's round of Base Realignment and Closure
is on track and doing well.
That was the theme of an update offered Wednesday at the Greene County
4-H Fairgrounds by Lt. Gov. Kathy Davis; Bill Cassidy, the state's
lobbyist for military facilities in Washington, D.C.; and former U.S.
Sen. Birch Bayh.
Cassidy said he, Davis and Bayh met late last month with senior
officials at the Pentagon, representing the Navy, Army and Marine
branches of the military.
The good news? All knew of Crane and were familiar with its products, he
said.
In addition, Cassidy said, the group pushed a few of Crane's strong
points, including its large, unencumbered expanse of property;
knowledgeable, efficient and highly trained work force, including
pyrotechnic and munitions specialists; and its workers' quick work and
expertise in times of need.
The goal is to impress on high-level leaders the importance of the base
in order to help it survive the 2005 BRAC round, in which the government
is seeking to cut back as much as 26 percent of its military facilities.
"The Navy needs Crane," Bayh said. "There's no place else like it."
At the event, Davis also announced two grants from the Indiana
Department of Commerce have been awarded to help support Crane.
The first, a $700,000 grant from the Community Economic Development Fund
to Martin County, will support redevelopment of a portion of the base,
including demolition of some buildings, debris removal and cleanup to
make the site more marketable.
The second, a $300,000 Certified Technology Park Grant, was awarded to
the Daviess County Certified Technology Park. It will assist with land
acquisition and development at the 65-acre site.
In addition, Davis, Cassidy and Bayh also encouraged local officials to
sign a resolution in support of Crane, and asked locals to sign a
petition that will eventually be passed on to military officials.
Plenty of local officials filled the community building at the 4-H
fairgrounds, including Linton Mayor Tom Jones.
He said nearly 20 percent of his city's income is from the base, the
loss of which would be devastating for residents.
"We don't want that," he said. "We've been diligent in trying to do
things to maybe effect this."
Charley Dibble, Greene County's economic development director, said the
base is necessary for the area's economic viability.
"As far as Crane is concerned, there is no alternative," he said. "We
have to make it work."
Bloomington City Council member David Sabbagh, who also attended the
meeting, echoed that sentiment.
"The importance of Crane is well-known to the whole region," he said.
"Many of us in Bloomington support Crane and are working hard to keep it
going."
Reporter Bethany Nolan can be reached at 331-4373 or by e-mail at
bnolan@heraldt.com.
Thank you for your hoped for response,
John Smith
COUNT US!
Bethany Nolan's response to our question,
Why the H-T chooses to ignore, "Is I-69 a negative for Crane?"
John:
"In addition, Cassidy said, the group pushed a few of Crane's strong
points, including its large, unencumbered expanse of property;
knowledgeable, efficient and highly trained work force, including
pyrotechnic and munitions specialists; and its workers' quick work and
expertise in times of need."
I felt this sentence addressed the question you have. In addition, Tom
Tokarski has already e-mailed and pointed out your exact same concerns. I'll
tell you what I told him. Thanks for your comments on my story, and I'm
sorry you didn't feel it adequately expressed your concerns about
development, Crane and I-69. I'll see what I can do to focus on the issue
more strongly in the future.
Bethany
Air
quality issues in the region are also reported now... I-69 is heading
down the wrong path.
We notice that Bethany Nolan has also made this recent
report that would document that air quality proves that I-69 is
just what this area does not need too. We would wish for her to
connect the dots:
State
wants Greene County off ozone list
By Bethany
Nolan, Herald-Times Staff
Writer
October
8, 2004
BLOOMFIELD — The Indiana Department of Environmental
Management said
Wednesday it will petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to
remove Greene County from a list of counties that failed to meet new
ozone health standards.
In April, Greene County, a sparsely populated county with
little heavy industry, was named one of 24 Indiana counties that failed
to meet ozone standards.
Greene County had measured ozone readings of .089 parts per
million, while the EPA's ozone standard is .08 parts per million.
Now, following a summer of what IDEM has termed "healthy air
quality," Greene County meets the federal standard, and IDEM will
petition the EPA to remove it from the list, said IDEM spokeswoman
Laura Pippenger.
Since state officials believe the county appeared on the list
mostly because of transported air pollution the change appears to mean
recently implemented state controls for power plants that emit
ozone-forming pollutants are working, Pippenger said.
Several plants are nearby, including Merom and Martinsville's
Eagle Valley plant.
"This is great news for Greene County," Pippenger said.
"Nonattainment status can create a stigma and can force certain
restrictions on economic development."
That's exactly what Greene County doesn't need, said county
economic development director Charley Dibble.
So far, only one new business — a new corn flour mill plant
locating in Jasonville — has had to jump through extra permitting hoops
because the county was on the nonattainment list, and that's something
he doesn't want to see happen again, he said.
"Whether or not we're on the list makes a big difference,"
Dibble said. "This is great news."
In order to make its case to the EPA, IDEM is gathering
information showing Greene County has reached attainment status,
Pippenger said.
That report also must include a plan for continual monitoring
of the air and what would happen should the county see increased ozone
measurements, she said.
Announcement of that plan will be followed by a public comment
period and hearing, after which IDEM hopes EPA will remove Greene
County from the list.
Reporter Bethany Nolan can be reached at 331-4373 or by
e-mail at bnolan@heraldt.com.
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