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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
188TH YEAR
S tarting D isc C ourse
ISSUE NO. 39 $1
L’burg, LCD compromise on levee costs
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By Erika Schmidt Russell Editor erussell@registerpublications.com
Lawrenceburg City Council and Lawrenceburg Conservancy District Board compromised on an increase to help maintain Lawrenceburg’s levee. A meeting Wesdnesday, Sept. 17, between the boards came on the heels of a lawsuit and disagreement over how much money the LCD was receiving as part of its lease of land to Lawrenceburg for Hollywood Casino’s location. The lease goes back to the beginning of riverboat gambling in the city, and previously it called for the LCD to receive $500,000. The LCD wanted $2 million total for the land. The compromise, reached after more than two hours of debate, increases the amount the LCD receives to a total of $1.6 million, pending appropriation by the city council. Exactly what the increase will be called, either a lease amendment or interlocal revenue sharing agreement or something else, will be hammered out by Lawrenceburg attorney Leslie Votaw and LCD attorney Richard Butler, with a final agreement being prepared and put to the two entities in mid-October. The $1.6 million will help cover routine maintenance costs, so LCD can use its savings toward bringing the levee up to Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ requirements. Meeting those requirements goes back to about 2008, following the Hurricane Katrina debacle in New Orleans. LCD Board Chairman EB Seitz said the district’s cash balance has gone from about $50 million to $37 million in the past couple years, and will continue to go down because it is not making any money from interest in its savings. The balance will
Before the new Cedar Sentinels disc golf course was ready to open in County Farm Park in Manchester, homemade signs started popping up as volunteers built tee frames, installed baskets and cleared trees and brush.
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See LEVEE, Page 4A
Councilmen OK own hourly raises
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By Chandra L. Mattingly Staff Reporter cmattingly@registerpublications.com
Two Moores Hill councilmen will get pay raises as town employees as a result of a 2015 salary ordinance passed Monday, Sept. 22. The special meeting included a public hearing for the town's 2015 budget and salary ordinance, but no one attended other than council, the clerktreasurer Guinevere Emery and a lone reporter. Emery summarized the proposed budget, which will be up for adoption Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the council's regular meeting. That meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. in the Moores Hill Senior Center, N. Broadway St. The budget includes $77,020 in the general fund and $15,000 in the Rainy Day fund, she said. The latter can be used for capital improvements, such as the planned street paving, or toward the proposed sewer extension, said Emery. In either case, the council will need to pass an additional appropriation to use the Rainy Day funds. The town's proposed riverboat gambling sharing revenue budget is $358,358 for 2015, said Emery. It includes $40,000 for matching funds should the town get an Office of Community and Rural Affairs grant for a sewer extension, and $4,000 as a match if needed toward the town's comprehensive plan, she said. Overall, the budget has been reduced 20 percent over the past two years, she said. Turning to the 2015 salary ordinance, Emery said it includes both a 40-cent per-hour pay raise for the town's hourly employees and removal of the designation for park facility cleaning as approved by council earlier this month. Council president Lanny Dell made the motion with a second by councilman Paul Grimsley. The hourly employees include Dell, who is town street superintendent, Grimsley, who is wastewater treatment plant superintendent, the deputy clerk treasurer, the treatment plant assistant, and the assistant street technician, said Emery when asked after the meeting. In other business, the council approved paying $349 to Synthol Fire Protection for the annual sprinkler inspection; $1,855 from the town to Keystone and $1,005 from the sewer fund to Keystone for annual contracts; and $5,500 to Grimsley as
6 Greg McAtee, Milan, throws off the tee in a wooded part of the course while Kevin Vincent, Aurora, watches. Homemade signs currently inform visitors of the course pars and path. A kiosk will be added for players to post messages, including about lost discs. By Denise Freitag Burdette Assistant Editor newsroom@registerpublications.com
For months it was the best kept “secret” in Dearborn County, quietly drawing a following of people from throughout the Tri-State. But get ready- that is about to change. Welcome to Cedar Sentinels. The new 18-hole disc golf course, tucked amid the trees within County Farm Park in Manchester, is now ready to make itself known with a tournament set for Oct. 12. But that has not stopped people
who have heard about the course from sneaking in some early playing time. As the course was being built, people just started showing up to play. Homemade signs started appearing, letting others know how to find the course. He took the signs down several times, but they would soon re-appear, said Steve Walker, Dearborn County Parks and Recreation board member. Walker helped build and design the course with Milan resident Greg McAtee, who first suggested the idea. McAtee said he is not surprised the course already has a loyal following. “I knew it would be a big deal,” said
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McAtee. Southeastern Indiana really doesn’t have any courses where people can go play. Before teaming up with Walker, he called several places from Versailles State Park to the City of Lawrenceburg. The only other place that showed interest was Batesville, but its parks could not accommodate a disc golf course, he said. “My hope is we get this course in and the other parks see and want one,” said McAtee. The idea to build the course was exploratory at first. They came out to
See DISC, Page 5A
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2014 Silverado 1500 4 dr-dbl Cab lT all STar ediTion
See RAISE, Page 5A
WEATHERforecast
Today: High: 72 Low 56
Friday: High: 80 Low: 57
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