T HE PAPER
May 30, 2012
Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
North Manchester Veteran reunites with Navy friend after more than 50 years
by Danielle Swan When Charles Craig of North Manchester was sifting through a drawer of old papers, he had no idea that it would lead to a remarkable reunion with one of his Navy buddies. In that drawer, he found a letter from Carmino De Biasio of Providence, R.I., marked with six cents of postage. This story begins when Craig enlisted at age 17. “I went in in 1945, we were just kids, but that was the spirit during that time. Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the lines were long for enlisting,” Craig said. “Of
course, I was too young then, but that was the thing to do: volunteer for the service.” Craig’s father had to sign permission for Craig to join the Navy at 17, and he turned 18 in boot camp. He began as a mess cook and was stationed in Oklahoma and California before being sent to the island of Guam. “It was a Navy ammunition depot and that’s where I met the young man that came and visited me. We got to be close friends,” he said. While in Guam, Craig’s responsibility was to supply ammunition to the ships
and guard the bunkers that held the ammunition. “All you could see was the steel doors on the front of the bunkers and occasionally you could shine a spotlight down the road and you might see a Japanese. For years after World War II, they lived in the jungles and didn’t believe the war was over but they didn’t bother us,” he said. Craig was discharged from the Navy on July 20, 1946, and he returned home to Illinois. He married his wife, Millie, one year after returning home from the service and they will
celebrate their 65th anniversary in July. Over the years, Craig worked for what was then called GTE, and is now known as Frontier Communications. He and his wife had three daughters and they eventually ended up in North Manchester where they still reside. He and De Biasio had not had much contact except for a few sporadic phone calls when Craig found the letter. “At the end of the letter, he had indicated that he hadn’t made up his mind about what he wanted to do. He said he might just move out (continued on page 5)
CHARLES CRAIG (left) of North Manchester recently had the opportunity to meet up with a Navy buddy, Carmino De Biasio, who he had not seen since they left Guam in 1946. Craig was also recently honored with a trip on the Honor Flight to Washington D.C. to visit the World War II Monument. (photo provided)
New smoking ban set to take effect July 1 by Brent Swan On July 1, House Enrolled Act 1149, better known as the firstever Indiana statewide smoke free law, is set to take effect. The law essentially bans any form of smoking in public areas.
The Wabash County Chamber of Commerce and Dan Gray, director of the Wabash County Tobacco Free Coalition, held a joint informational meeting May 24 at City Hall to discuss various issues of the law and how it will impact local businesses. “I’m not here to debate the law itself or to offer my opinion about smoking,” Gray said in his opening remarks at t h e
meeting. “My hope is to be able to provide you, the businesses and public, more information as to what this law entails and what you have to do to follow the law as it starts on July 1.” On July 1, nearly all public places in the state, including restaurants and other workplaces, will be smoke free. According to a press release issued by the Wabash County Tobacco Free Coalition, the law is aimed at helping Hoosiers enjoy the benefits of smoke free air and reducing their risk of developing chronic diseases and other health problems associated with breathing secondhand smoke. As part of the law, on July 1 it will be against the law to smoke in the following places: Most places of employment
Most public places Most restaurants (restaurants that allow only individuals over the age of 21 may choose to allow smoking) Areas within eight feet of a public entrance to a public place or a place of employment Any vehicle owned, leased, or operated by the state if the vehicle is being used for a governmental function. Although it will, at that point, be breaking the law to smoke in any of those areas, Gray said he does not foresee this issue being one that will result in active policing. “I don’t expect people, whether it be local law enforcement or the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, to be out looking to make sure you are obeying the law at all times,” Gray said. “However, with that
DAN GRAY, director of Wabash County Tobacco Free Coalition, talks to individuals that attended the meeting May 24 at the Wabash County Chamber of Commerce about the upcoming changes in public smoking laws. Beginning July 1, smoking will be banned from many public areas throughout the state of Indiana. (photo by Brent Swan)
Index Classifieds ......................27-31
Weekly Reports................12-14
D&E ....................................24
Sports ............................22-23
being said, there are resources available for individuals that feel you are not obeying the law – they can report you. The commission will then investigate, and ultimately issue the fines based upon the result of those claims.” Some of the larger changes businesses will be forced to implement as a result of the law include no restaurant will be able to offer smoking if they allow individuals under the age of 21 inside their business. “Those businesses that choose to allow smoking will also be unable to employ anyone under the age of 18,” Gray explained. In addition to restaurants, membership clubs will also be forced to make a decision to allow smoking or to go smoke-free. “If the club decides they want to allow smoking, they are allowed to,” Gray said. “However, if they do, they have to designate one area of the building to be the smoking area and it must be a separate room and ventilated room. Only individu-
als that are members and their guests that are over the age of 18 may enter that room.” If the club decides to go smoke-free, they retain the ability to have ‘open nights’ which could include allowing those under the age of 18 to enter the premises. “Membership clubs that opt to allow smoking will also lose the ability to have their traditional open nights,” Gray said in response to a question asked at the meeting. “If they choose to allow smoking, only members and their guests will be allowed to be served.” The club also has to vote
Smoking will continue to be allowed in the following places: Bars and taverns Tobacco retail shops Cigar bars Hookah bars State licensed gaming facilities Licensed horse track facilities Membership clubs *
In Memoriam Kim Custer, 62 John Harris, 91 Brenda Hartleroad, 56
Lonzo Howard, 74 Forrest Miller, 80 Robert Pond, 76
every two years to maintain the right to allow smoking within the club. As the law allows exemptions, answers to many questions are still being researched, Gray urged those with any questions to contact his office directly at 260-274-2920 or visit the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission’s website at www.in.gov/atc for more information. “All of this has been done so that businesses and their employees and customers can conduct business in a setting that is free of secondhand smoke,” Gray said.
Vol. 35, No. 11 Judy Resler, 73 Morgan Vanlandingham, 93 Catherine Wendel, 91
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326