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The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 25
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The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 25

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LotteriesB2 Marion CountyB3 ObituariesB6 For the RecordB7 WeatherB8 tptate The Indianapolis Star www.lndyStar.com Wednesday, May 22, 2002 Section InfoUne: 624-INFO (4636) IU administrator's e-mail campaign is questionedB4 ISU says error put personal info onlineB5 irt dona ft ntag gun Will Higgins ments in a different way." The way to hold gun makers accountable for such suffering, said Brian Siebel, senior attorney for the Washington-based Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, is to sue them. "If any one of these suits were successful, then it would require the industry to take stock and reform the way it does business," said Siebel, a co-counsel in the Gary case. The problem with the lawsuits, said IU's Langvardt, is proving that gun makers are directly responsible for crimes committed with guns. "There is the potential argument on the part of the gun makers that See Gary, Page B4 Lake County judge dismissed the suit as unconstitutional last year, leading the city to seek a hearing before the Court of Appeals. Gary isn't alone in its frustration.

Ten such suits have been dismissed, although four of those, including Gary's, are on appeal Boston decided in March to drop its lawsuit. "The success has been fairly limited so far," said Aden Langvardt, a professor of business law at Indiana University in Bloomington. The lawsuits have been bitterly opposed by the gun industry, which has spent millions of dollars fighting them. The lawsuits don't sit well with many gun owners, either. "I find it a form of legalized extor- Supporters insist the lawsuits could play a critical role in reducing gun violence.

"The evidence from a public health standpoint is clear," said Dr. Marilyn Bull, medical director of the Indiana Partnership to Prevent Firearm Violence. "The proliferation of guns enhances the proliferation of crime." Many people who have lost loved ones to violence also believe the lawsuits could help prevent criminals and young people from getting guns. "It's causing a lot of homicides, especially in the young men," said Mildred Jefferson, whose grandson, Karl Jefferson, was shot to death March 6. "If they didn't have a gun, they would be able to settle argu- City seeks resuscitation of its '99 lawsuit despite other communities' lack of success in court.

By Mike Ellis mike.ellisindystar.com The city of Gary today will ask the Indiana Court of Appeals to revive its lawsuit against gun makers. Gary one of 32 cities, counties and states nationally to sue gun makers is accusing the industry of lax distribution methods that make it easy for criminals to obtain guns. But Gary's lawsuit has made little progress since it was filed in 1999. A Lawsuit scorecard: A look at how legal actions against gun makers elsewhere have faredB4 tion," said Mike Hilton, owner of Pop's Guns on the Eastside of Indianapolis. "If I lived in that town, I'd be upset as a taxpayer that they're wasting my money on this." But proponents say the suits are necessary because the gun industry has failed to take steps to prevent guns from falling into the hands of criminals.

Gary claims that 2,136 guns recovered from criminals in a four-year period that ended in December 2000 came from the manufacturers named in its lawsuit. History sells at Speedway's photo shop At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the fans vary in degree of intensity. So do the gift shops. The main gift shop, at the entrance of the Speedway's Hall of Fame Museum, is spacious, convenient and, this time of year, full of shoppers. There you can buy, say, bobblehead figurines of A.J.

Foyt Rick Mears and Al Unser Sr. the four-time winners. The bobbleheads are hot this year. But some people want more. Above the main gift shop, on the second floor of the Hall of Fame, is a lesser-known shop.

You take an elevator, I walk down a hallway and enter a small, windowless room: the photo shop. It's the gift shop for the hardcore fans. The Speedway has negatives dating back to 1909 more Dave Hilberry URBAN REDEVELOPMENT Inner city is home-buyer's High hooes: Ellen and John Stancil dren, Tarasae and John, in their new )) Fall Creek Place's popularity inspires return to Near Northside Charters will share costs of special ed 4 new charter schools will pool their resources to provide classes for disabled students. By Kim Hooper kim.hooperindystar.com The city's four charter schools will pool resources to ensure that the needs of special education students won't be ignored when the schools open this fall. The charters have formed an umbrella group to offer special education programs and services for children with emotional and physical disabilities and behavioral problems that can impede learning.

Called the Special Education Cooperative co-op, for short the partnership will allow the charters to evenly split the cost to hire and pay a full-time special education director. It's the third such special edu- cation co-op in the nation for CP8at6 charter schools, economies Of "The law clearly provides SCJU6 SUTlOllg that special edu- schools, cation students must be edu- We JITO be open to aii our dollars by children regard- harind" less of abilities," 5ndnnB-Indianapolis Mayor Bart Beth Giovannetti, Peterson said Washington, D.C., Tuesday. Putslic Charter Peterson's of- School Cooperative fice helped guide the city's charter co-op along with the Indiana Department of Education. In other cities, charters are frequently criticized for having too few special education students or for not effectively meeting their needs. Parents seeking to enroll special-needs children often were turned away, told their child wasn't a good fit or that the school lacked the resources and staff to help boost learning.

That's a problem city and state officials in Indiana wanted to avoid, although no one knows how many special education students will enroll in charter schools. "There are subtle ways to say you are open and accessible and even more subtle ways of knocking (students) out that you don't want," said Peterson, who approved three of the city's charters. A fourth city charter is sponsored by Ball State University. State and federal laws require publicly funded schools to offer an array of special education services, ranging from therapy to more traditional vocational training. The federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act enacted in 1975, is the blueprint for schools providing services to special-needs children, including individual lesson plans and transportatioa Revised five years ago, the law insists that children be treated equally and that disabled children get the opportunity to learn in a regular classroom like students who aren't disabled.

Last year, Indiana spent more than $525 million in federal and state funds on 155,206 special education students in 294 Hoosier school districts. Special education co-ops are common among smaller public school districts where multiple schools share a director who coordinates programs and services. Sue Special ed, Page B5 dream I "1 .,1 1 is Sonyi lo-tfeav staff photos the Fall Creek Place neighborhood out for one another. Urban success story City officials say interest in the Fall Creek Place redevelopment on the Near Northside is exceeding expectations. In fact, the project, funded by a $4 million federal grant and local bonds, is 18 months ahead of schedule.

1 PV 1 Marion county ft 11 Staff graphic injures 5 Chevrolet Impala west of Knightstown. The driver of the Chevrolet Daryl D. Smith, 27, of Indianapolis, was released after treatment as were the three passengers in the Nissan. Cronk identified them as Everett Bryant, 22, of Traverse City, Rebecca Lee, 20, of Florida, and Deanna Tarvin, 21, of Baton Rouge. The sheriff wasn't certain how Deanna Tarvin was related to the driver.

When police interviewed the driver, he gave them several names, said George, and claimed he had been wanted on a "warrant for speeding." Investigators said they found marijuana and cash in the Nissan. George said they found that the Michigan license plate on the Nissan had been stolen, and in the trunk were stolen license plates from Michigan, Ohio and Texas. Call Kevin O'Neal 327-7928. J'1 "I 25th St if -f i I i 1 sr i to JJi fe J22ncst JtJL 21st st --JfSMie -HI I I ill' HIV Miiii.V prepare to eat a meal with their chil- Victorian-style home on North spending $10 million for infrastructure improvements streets, sewers, sidewalks and such and should be finished in 2004. But today's Fall Creek Place is not yesterday's gentrificationt.

Displaced renters have been assisted with relocation or counseled on buying a home. Under federal guidelines, 51 percent of the 219 new homes and 46 refurbished properties are required to be affordable for lower-income families. Those families are being offered grants of up to $24,000 for down payments and below-market-rate mortgages. In the first phase, however, 60 percent of the roughly 117 home buyers have paid market rates for mortgages on homes that averaged $140,000. And only one-fifth are minorities and little more than one-tenth are black.

Officials note, however, that of 172 people who have expressed interest in settling in Phases 2 and 3, 60 percent are low-to moderate-income buyers. See Dream, Page B5 vin, 30, of Baton Rouge, La. He still was being treated late Tuesday at Methodist Hospital. "When we asked him what was happening, he gave us a story, then he gave us another story," said James George, chief of the Warren Township Schools police. The 25-mile chase was started by school police and involved several police and sheriffs departments before it concluded with the crash on U.S.

40 at Henry County Road 925 West, one mile west of Knightstown. According to George, the chase started around 1 p.m. Tuesday at Lakeside Elementary School, 9601 E. 21st St, when school police tried to stop a suspicious man. The man, later identified as Tar-vin, first told the school's principal that he was doing landscaping work, then said he was visiting an aunt at the schooj.

As far as police could tell, than 4 million negatives, mostly the work of the official track photographers. You can leaf through the books of prints. If you see something you want, the staff will have it printed up for you. It's $10 for a color 8 10 (the price of a bobblehead), and $8 for black-and-white. The photo shop is the haunt of people like Mike Weinbrecht, who has autographs not only of Foyt, Mears and Unser but of nearly every living 500 driver.

He has Danny Kladis! Kladis qualified for but one 500, in 1946. Weinbrecht was in the other day, buying the latest Arie Luyen-dyk, for autograph purposes (even though he already has 15 Luyendyk signatures). "I've been coming here for years," Weinbrecht said. "To me, it's heaven." "It's incredible that all this has been maintained since the very beginnii!" said Dave Hilberry, who works behind the counter and who has a Weinbrechtian reverence for the Speedway. For Hilberry, it's a dream job, even if it's just temporary.

He was hired for May only. (During May, the busy season, the Speedway operates a second photo shop near the pits, but its inventory goes back only to last year.) Hilberry, 55, grew up in the town of Speedway and has been a race fan all his life. But this is the first time he has worked here, the first time he has been an insider. It has its perks. The other day, for example, Rodger Ward's daughter was in the shop, buying old photos of her dad, to give to him on his upcoming 82nd birthday.

Ward won the 500 in 1962. "And one day last week," Hilberry practically sighed, "Donald Davidson was on his way out when George Bignotti was coming in. The two of them stood right over there and talked about the '50s, '60s and early 70s for better than half an hour. I just stood there and drank it in." Davidson, who has an office down the hall, is the Speedway's fabled, all-knowing historian; Bignotti, now retired, is a famous race car builder. Hilberry pointed out that the track's photo archives could be of interest to more than just auto racing enthusiasts.

You could use them to study fashion, he said, noting that in the 1920s, men wore suits and ties to the track. Just then, John Rabold, who has been going through the books since April to find photos of ambulances (he collects vintage ambulances), came across a photo of Jim Nabors, from 1972. Nabors, who played Gomer Pyle on TV and who still sings "Back Home Again in Indiana" at the track each race day, had on one of those silk neckerchief things a reminder of a time when the Italian count look was in. If you want, they'd print you up a photo of a 1972 Nabors. Or a '46 Kladis.

Or an 11 Ray Harroun. Or anyone or anything else. Except for one thing: fatal accidents. "We don't sell the fatals," said Hilberry. Do people ask for the fatals? "Some do." Well, that, too, is part of the Speedway.

Will Higgins' column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can contact him at 1-317-444-6043 or via e-mail at will.higginsindystar.com. 'f By Celeste Williams celeste.williamsindystar.com Fall Creek Place, the Near-North-side neighborhood that local and federal officials have targeted for massive urban redevelopment, is coming together so well that the mayor thinks it can be done again. Redevelopment of the 160-acre, 26 city-block area is 18 months ahead of schedule, and prospective buyers are lining up to buy houses that aren't even buUt. Though only in the first of three phases, Mayor Bart Peterson wants the project to be expanded.

"Clearly, this is an experiment that is working beyond even our wildest dreams," said Peterson. "What about expanding it?" The project borders Fall Creek Parkway on the north, 22nd Street on the south, Pennsylvania Street to the west, Park Avenue on the east The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1997 provided $4 million to declare it a Home Ownership Zone, one of a dozen in the country. The city is Park Avenue. The family hopes that will be one where the residents look nn J', Curb appeal: The Stands' new home (above) was one of the first to be built in Fall Creek Place.

They built their home there partly to be closer to their son's school. crash that he had no relatives at the school. When police demanded identification from the man, he walked outside the school to a parked four-door Nissan sedan in which three other people were sitting, cursed at officers, jumped behind the wheel and drove away, nearly running over school police. The chase stormed east from the school and through a nearby residential neighborhood, where at least one mailbox was knocked down, headed south on Mitthoefer Road into a vacant field at Prospect Street, and then headed to U.S. 40.

Police, who pursued the Nissan east through Greenfield, said the people inside the car kept throwing objects outside. As the chase moved from Hancock County into Henry County, Knightstown police used a tire deflation device to cut the Nissan's tires, arnj the car rear-ended a Police chase ends with Driver bolted from a Warren Township school; license plates, drugs are found in car. By Kevin O'Neal kevin.o'nealindystar.com A Tuesday afternoon police pursuit that started on the Far Eastside of Indianapolis ended with a crash in Henry County that slightly injured five people. Four of the injured were in the Nissan sedan that was being chased. Hours after the wreck, police were still trying to figure out the reason the driver was wandering inside a Warren Township elementary school and why he ran when confronted by police.

Henry County Sheriff Kim Cronk identified the driver as Michael Tar-.

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