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154TH YEAR ISSUE NO. 21 $1
TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014
L’burg OKs some grants, changes others By Erika Schmidt Russell Editor erussell@registerpublications.com
Three young gray wolf puppies check out the chow at the Red Wolf Sanctuary near Rising Sun. The sanctuary is asking the public to help choose names for the youngsters.
Howl about that? Red Wolf goes gray with three new pups
demonstrate the youngsters' Native American heritage. Visits to the pups are limited cmattingly@registerpublications.com until they've been immunized If domestic canine puppies against parvo, distemper and are cute, how other canine adorable could diseases, but wolf puppies soon folks will be? have a chance The answer? to have their The Red Wolf SanctuAbsolutely photo taken ary, Rising Sun, wants adorable, these with the wolf folks to help name its tumbling fuzzy puppies for a three new puppies. critters with fee. To arrange Write-ins are OK, but blue, blue eyes. a photo session here are some sugAt least that's and/or a sancgested names: the case with tuary tour, call ■■Black female: Kiowa, the three pure 812-438-2306. Odawah, Oneida or gray wolf pupOther resiChumsah. pies who ardents at Red ■■Brown female: Anarived at the Red Wolf include sazi, Illini, Sioux or Wolf Sanctuary black bears, Ojibwe. Sunday, May 4. foxes, a puma, ■■Brown male: Cusabo, Two are feraptors and Menominee, Croix or Pomales, one older gray tawatomi. is male. Two wolves. A 100Send your preferences are brown acre prairie (and donations if deand were born attracts wild sired) to The Red Wolf April 9; they raptors, which Sanctuary, P.O. Box 202, should mature has included a Rising Sun, IN 47040. Or with a dark golden eagle email info@redwolf.org. brown body as well as bald and lightereagles. But the colored front, wolves always said sanctuary co-owner Paul have been the main attraction. Strasser. The third, who is about “They're 16, 15, 14 – that's two weeks older, will stay black why we went with a new lituntil she's 5 or 6 years old, then ter,” said Strasser. He hopes to turn blue, he said. get additional wolf puppies, or None are named. Sanctu- cubs as they're also called, next ary visitors and fans are being year, including some which are asked to help choose the trio's white. names from a list of possibiliIn the wild, the re-introduced ties or via a write-in suggestion. gray wolves at Yellowstone avAs in the past, the names will erage a life span of only four By Chandra L. Mattingly Staff Reporter
Name a wolf!
PHOTOS BY BOB MATTINGLY
Megan Erb, Somerville, Ohio, cuddles one of three newlyacquired gray wolf puppies at the Red Wolf Sanctuary, Rising Sun. A junior at Miami University, the biology major has been employed at the nonprofit for 1 ½ years after starting there as a volunteer. years, said Strasser. He attrib- brother of the current pack died uted that to hunting – say, grab- at age 6, said Strasser. bing a buffalo with their teeth – The puppy trio came from and to wolf-on-wolf mortality. Minnesota. Strasser said it's But on average, the wolves not easy to find pure wolves residing at Red Wolf have with the current fad of breeding lived about 15 years, though wolves to dogs. Those mixes the mother, grandfather and a
See WOLF, Page 8
L’burg levee still in limbo between fed agencies By Chris McHenry Contributor Fed up with months long delays in receiving a report, the board of directors of the Lawrenceburg Conservancy District has voted to replace consultants who have been reviewing an analysis of the district’s relief well system. Mundell Associates reportedly told LCD officials nine months ago that it could accomplish the task in a single month, but as of May 15 they had not done so. LCD board member Dave Lorey proposed that if the report was not received by the next day the District should begin the process of replacing them. His motion passed unani-
© REGISTER PUBLICATIONS, 2014
mously. The analysis of relief wells, which are located around the base of the levee system, was being done at the order of Federal officials, both the Federal Emergency Managment Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who have mandated several upgrades and changes to the levee project under threat of decertifying the levee altogether. That would cause every property owner currently protected by the levee to purchase flood insurance or risk destruction without Federal aid should there be a flood. The issue of relief wells, pump stations and the overall “health” of the levee has been around for many years. It first began percolating in
2008 with the Lawrenceburg and Greendale levees, and since then FEMA and the Corps of Engineers along with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources have been corresponding regularly with the LCD regarding the levee’s status. See the story from April 2011 on Page 4. Last Feburary LCD Chariman EB Seitz discussed the latest correspondence with Lawrenceburg City Council, and at that time told council the LCD was expecting the aforementioned report. In other May 15 LCD meeting business, LCD attorney Richard Butler reported that negotiations are ongoing with Lawrenceburg city officials over LCD’s share of gaming
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income. He said at this point LCD has requested $2 million a year, and that Mayor Dennis Carr has suggested $1 million. LCD currently receives $500,000 a year, which does not cover their operating costs. Butler added that the operation of the levee system benefits the Lawrenceburg community. The board unanimously rejected a request to run fiber optic lines under the levee and passed a new regulation forbidding such projects in the future. They also took under consideration a request that they contribute between $600 and $800 toward a plaque honoring the city officials who were in office when the gaming operation was brought to Lawrenceburg.
WEATHERforecast
Today: High: 82 Low 66
Lawrenceburg City Council gave approval for the Dearborn Community Foundation to proceed with awarding several Phase I and Phase II Lawrenceburg Community Grants. Council in its meeting Monday, May 19, followed the grant review committee amount recommendations on most grants, while changing the amounts on others and tabling one grant to get more information. The lone Phase I grant, for amounts up to $5,000, was $2,511 for new softball uniforms for the Special Olympics Indiana-Ripley, Ohio, Dearborn Delegation. The uniforms being replaced are seven years old, and Special Olympics has held fundraisers for this and other needs, according to the application. Council unanimously approved the recommendation, and now the DCF board will give final approval before the grant is awarded, as it does with all grants. There were 13 phase II grant applications, which are for $5,001 to $100,000, and of these 12 were approved, and one tabled. The tabled grant was for Crosswinds, Inc., based in Fort Wayne. Crosswinds, part of Lifeline Youth & Family Services, applied for $5,400 to provide in-home family counseling services to families in crisis, according to the recommendation sheet from DCF. However, “the requested amount is a portion of the salary cost or the staff that provided the in-home counseling services already..,” and the review committee did not recommend any grant money being awarded. Councilwoman Jane Pope noted from what council was provided Crosswinds serves Dearborn County families but it cannot show it supplies support services outside the court system and whether it serves different families. City attorney Leslie Votaw suggested talking to DCF director Fred McCarter about the grant, and noted with Children in Need of Services and other cases the court is involved, but Crosswinds may supply services outside of those cases. Councilman Mike Lawrence made a motion to table the request. Three other grant requests were subject to discussion and either deadline changes, amount changes or divided council votes. The Dearborn County Clearing House for Emergency Aid requested $100,000 toward the purchase of a building. Lawrence noted this had been discussed at previous council meetings, and as long as the Clearing House stuck to the agreement and came up with the remainder of the money to buy the building by July 31, 2014, council should OK the grant. “I want to make sure the money is not hanging out there,” said Lawrence, making a motion to approve the grant pending the organization meets the grant deadline. His motion passed unanimously. Council voted 3-2 to change the grant recommendation for the Dearborn Adult Center from $4,800 to $20,000. In discussion, councilman Bill-Bill Bruner said while the DAC is a good organization, he wanted to see more paperwork before voting on the grant. When a motion to change the amount to $20,000 was made, Bruner voted against it. Also voting against it was councilman JR Holdcraft. The DAC had applied for $83,800 for salaries for current/ongoing programs for seniors as well as building insurance, audits of DAC accounts, and utilities, and the grant review committee noted in its recommendation “... (it) considers the Dearborn Adult Center a fine organization that provides a great service to seniors in the community. The committee, however, urges all organization to not rely on grants to sustain ongoing operations.” The other grant drawing discussion was a $17,000 request by the Hoosier Hills Literacy League for the Imagination Library program and an early literacy program. The review committee recommended $9,000 toward the book cost only of the Imagination Library program. “... Grant programs are not meant to sustain ongoing operations. DCF provided funds to start up this program back in 2008,” notes the recommendation. School is almost out for the year, is the grant for 2014 or 2015, asked Pope. Having talked to one of the people involved with HHLL, Bruner said it would carry the program through to the end of 2014. Councilman Aaron Cook said he believed the
See GRANTS, Page 8
Wed: High: 87 Low: 67
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