Indiana Gazette
The
www.indianagazette.com Vol. 112 — No. 197
24 pages — 2 sections
March 2016
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Who’s in the news There is good news today in The Indiana Gazette about these area people: Linda Askins, Emily Bugay, Jade Fulmer, Stacie Palmer, Robert Weiss.
75 cents
By ELLEN MATIS
ematis@indianagazette.net
Residents of Indiana County — many of whom were affected by the county tax reassessment last year — learned about the Property Tax Independence Act, and what it means to property
owners, during an event Tuesday at the Rustic Lodge in White Township. The Property Tax Independence Act, better known as HB 76 or SB 76, was explained in detail for a standing-room-only crowd by speaker Ron Boltz, representing the Pennsylvania
Coalition of Taxpayer Association, during an event sponsored by the Indiana-Armstrong Patriots. The act, which Boltz considers “the most important piece of legislation before the Pennsylvania Legislature” currently, calls for the elimination of “antiquated”
Weather Tonight
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Tomorrow
70°
Partly cloudy tonight. Brief showers tomorrow. See Page 2.
Deaths Obituaries on Page 4 STEFFEY, Mary “Louise,” 87, Robinson TRENNEY, Gwendolyn M., 84, Indiana Late death MAYHLE, the Rev. Jamie R., 27, Indiana
Index Classifieds ...............22-24 Comics/TV....................19 Dear Abby .....................11 Entertainment ..............20 Family .............................8 Food ..............................21 Lottery.............................2 NASCAR ........................14 Sports.......................13-18 Today in History...........11 Viewpoint .......................6
economy,” Boltz said. Each year, 10,000 Pennsylvania residents lose their homes because they can’t pay the taxes, according to Boltz. “We don’t think it’s right for people to lose their homes as a result of not being able to Continued on Page 12
Delayed revenue puts strain on finances
CULLING: Yellowstone National Park plans to start shipping many of its famous wild bison to slaughter today to drive down the size of the park’s herds./Page 5
DINNER PLANS: Find some interesting variations on a familiar theme — mac and cheese./Page 21
SEE PPAGE AGE 17 FOR INFO!
INDIANA BOROUGH
1926-2016: George Martin, The Beatles’ urbane producer who quietly guided the band’s swift, historic transformation into cultural revolutionaries, has died at 90./Page 4
BACK FOR MORE? Ardent fans of “Downton Abbey” who may be mourning the recent end of the PBS series can take heart in that the show’s creators are mulling a movie./Page 20
TH
school property tax. As it stands, the bill would eliminate school property taxes across the state and replace those taxes with funding from a single state source. “The bottom line is this: Runaway property taxes are destroying Pennsylvania’s
MORE RENTERS: A growing percentage of suburbanites of large cities are renting, according to a new study./Page 3
SEEKING AN END: A Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice facing possible removal from the bench over his role in trading objectionable emails asked a state judicial ethics court Tuesday to consider a deal that could resolve his case./Page 10
HOME SHOW COMING MARCH 18
Advocate: Ending property tax best for all
Inside
IN LIMBO: Some 100,000 people who were displaced by the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, are still scattered around the nation, five years later./Page 7
DON’T MISS THE 37TH ANNUAL
By RANDY WELLS
rwells@indianagazette.net
LYNNE SLADKY/Associated Press
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL candidate Donald Trump spoke Tuesday at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla.
Trump still surging; Sanders pulls upset
By JULIE PACE and DAVID EGGERT Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. — Donald Trump’s easy victories in Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii left his rivals with shrinking opportunities to slow his momentum in the Republican primaries and little indication that a flurry of intense efforts to undermine his credibility are pushing voters away from the brash billionaire. Democrat Bernie Sanders surprised front-runner Hillary Clinton in Michigan, a victory that breathed new life into his White Continued on Page 12
BERNIE SANDERS
HILLARY CLINTON
Directors support lawsuit seeking to fix ed funding By HEATHER BLAKE
hblake@indianagazette.net
EAST WHEATFIELD TOWNSHIP — Directors on Tuesday adopted a resolution supporting school districts and other parties throughout the state serving as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against legislative leaders, state education officials and the governor over the state funding system and availability of resources to all public students in Pennsylvania. The vote to adopt the resolution was unanimous. Board member Ron Moyer was absent. The lawsuit was filed Nov. 10, 2014, in Commonwealth Court by The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania and a private firm on behalf of six school districts — William Penn, Lancaster, Panther Valley, Greater Johnstown, Shenandoah Valley and Wilkes-Barre — as well as the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, a group of approximately 150 small and rural school districts and 13 Intermediate Units across the state; seven parents whose children attend underfunded and under-resourced schools in Philadelphia, William Penn, Lancaster, Greater Johnstown and Shenandoah Valley districts; and the
The delay in sending out Indiana County real estate tax notices because of the property reassessment is about to have a serious impact on Indiana Borough’s financial operations and threatens to leave borough employees without a paycheck at the end of this month. Indiana manager William Sutton told borough council Tuesday that by the first week of April last year the borough had received about $500,000 in real estate tax revenue. So far in 2016, “We have received zero,” Sutton said, because tax notices have not gone out from the county’s assessment office to county property owners. “The problem now is … we’re going to have a tough time meeting payroll” on March 28, Sutton said. Sutton told council the borough’s tax collector anticipates the county’s tax notices will be sent in June, but it may be July. “If we don’t start receiving real estate tax revenue before June or July, we won’t be able to function as we do today,” Sutton said. The borough’s options, Sutton explained to council, are to furlough employees — “and it would have to be an awful lot of employees,” he added — or borrow money that could be paid back when real estate tax revenue does begin flowing into the borough. However, borrowing money to keep the borough solvent will result in interest payments the borough did not budget for and could lead to Indiana starting 2017 with a deficit. On the recommendation of borough solicitor Neva Stotler, council authorized Stotler and Sutton to prepare a debt ordinance and a related debt act filing for borContinued on Page 12
26 AND 1
UNITED SCHOOL DISTRICT NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference. According to information provided by both law center organizations and posted on the website for Education Voters of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, the first claim is that the state has a legal obligation under Pennsylvania’s constitution to “provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education for all students” — one that is adequately supported, effective and efficient so that all of Pennsylvania’s children have the opportunity to meet state academic standards. The state has set academic standards, they claim, but has failed to maintain and support the system with enough funding to ensure that every district has essential resources for students to meet said standards. The second claim in the lawsuit, according to the website, is that the current method of funding has resulted in “significant resource disparities that discriminate against students living in districts with low property values and incomes,” and Continued on Page 4
JAMES J. NESTOR/Gazette
THE HOMER-CENTER boys’ basketball team lost to Sewickley Academy, 48-38, on Tuesday in the second round of the PIAA Class A playoffs. From left are John Ireland, Colin Moore and Tanner Yancy. See video coverage online at indianagazette.com. Coverage begins on Page 13.
Three days of mourning begin for former first lady Reagan Greens Are Cut And Carts Are Out At Meadow Lane Golf Course. Seeds, Onion Sets And Garden Supplies. Indiana Agway
By JOHN ROGERS Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Three days of formal mourning and solemn ceremonies for former first lady Nancy Reagan are set to begin today.
A small ceremony in the morning for family and friends in Santa Monica, Calif., will be followed by a motorcade leading to a public viewing in the afternoon at Simi Valley’s Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that
will continue on Thursday. Eight Secret Service agents who served the Reagans will act as pallbearers when the body is taken from the Santa Monica funeral home. Friday will be the funeral, which was planned down to
the smallest details by the former first lady herself. Just as she was always by his side in life, Nancy Reagan will be laid to rest just inches from President Ronald Reagan in a hillside tomb facing west toward the Pacific Ocean.
Before her death she planned the funeral’s flower arrangements, the music to be played by a U.S. Marine Corps band and the people who received invitations to the private memorial. Continued on Page 12