Press Release Regarding: I-69 Sunday Drive Tour of the New Terrain Routes, Oct 27.

Sponsor: COUNT US! , a citizens group formed in August by homeowners who find their homes on the routes of the proposed I-69 highway from Evansville to Indianapolis. The name refers to the statements of the INDOT commissioner who said they were not counting the number of persons opposed to the I-69 project, as well as the Acronym County Under New Terrain US I 69.

Contact: John Smiths COUNT US! Director. John is a Bloomington Merchant of 28 years. Owner of Bikesmiths Bicycle Shop. He ran for US District 8 Congress Democrat nomination in 1992. His home is facing eminent domain or a 50% reduction in value from the I 69 highway route three A or B.
PHONE: 812-327-6142. E-MAIL: countus@i69tour.org Web: www.i69tour.org

Request: We hope you will cover our event.

Particulars of the event:

The I-69 Tour of the New Terrain routes will travel up several routes proposed from Evansville simultaneously. The Drive will pick up local residents as it moves north toward Indianapolis. Please request specific information about your area. Our schedule will be sent in the next day or two.

Participants are encouraged to begin the tour with two pictures of what they will miss most if the highway is built near their community as well as a full tank of gas and a recent restroom stop. All persons participating are asked to be respectful of those who will lose their homes by participating in a peaceful fashion.

Purpose of the event: To survey the area of proposed damage and to respect those who are being asked to give of their homes and communities for I-69. To make residents of the state aware of the economic and environmental effects locally and state wide. To show the human and natural costs that are usually ignored when bulldozers and politicians inflict the damage rather than nature. To do this while the decision is still pending and before the official end of comment period November 7th.

Structure: The event will build throughout the day as it travels up the various routes and passes through many media gathering points in the many counties that it passes through. The caravans will not stop after the official 12:30 start. Residents will gather in anticipation of the Tours arrival and join in as it passes. Media representatives are invited to precede the tour to these gathering places. Maps for media representatives will be provided on request, but please ask asap. Participants are asked to obey all traffic laws and at all times be respectful of others.

The I 69 Sunday Drive of the New Terrain Routes, Oct 27 has been developed with door to door distribution of maps to approximately 5000 persons who’s homes are within 1000 feet of the proposed I 69 routes. Ads will be place in the region this week. A direct mail campaign developed with GIS technology has sent notice to 1345 property owners in Monroe County. COUNT US! director John Smith estimates that 10,000 Hoosiers can look at one of the COUNT US! photo copied maps of the proposed routes and see their home under the threat of eminent domain. It was a COUNT US! goal to deliver maps to every home on each of the four new terrain proposed I69 routes. To date they have reached about 50 % of those homes, but about 75% of all the homes on the most preferred routes of #3 and #4. This notification process is still on going.

COUNT US! POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE will publish an I-69 Voters Guide which will be released at the I69 Sunday Tour of the New Terrain Routes, Oct 27. This guide will be available in quantity for distribution until the election.

The COUNT US! PAC may make voter recommendations statements as well as educate.