By Tom Spalding
One of the more confusing exits leading to Downtown Indianapolis is getting a makeover starting tonight, and you can thank 2012 Super Bowl for helping straighten things out.
Weather permitting, the Indiana Department of Transportation and Indianapolis Department of Public Works crews will begin installing new signs along Interstate 70 so that Exit 79B points towards Meridian Street, instead of McCarty Street.
McCarty is an east-west street, while Meridian runs north-south and would take visitors to nightclubs, places to eat and, of course, Lucas Oil Stadium and related attractions.
Locals may have grown accustomed to bunched-up cluster of ramps and spin-off roads, but for an outsider, it can be maddening.
More coverage: Click here for a roundup of Indianapolis-area business news and state updates.
"The road names (in that section) are not continuous," said INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield, whose agency is replacing eight signs altogether that involve McCarty. "It's to reduce confusion and put the best face on Indianapolis as possible for people visiting out city."
Access to the roads won't change -- just the directional signs.
“These new interstate signs will make traveling to Downtown easier,” added Tamara Zahn, Indianapolis Downtown Inc. president. “Drivers exiting onto Meridian Street will have convenient access to Downtown's businesses and attractions.”
From our archives: It's ours! Indianapolis scores 2012 Super Bowl
Officials planning for the 2012 Super Bowl identified the Meridian Street thoroughfare -- the city's north-south street that is lined with shops, restaurants and hotels -- as the preferred gateway to downtown Indianapolis.
In the future, additional signage is planned along I-65, I-70 and I-465 to help direct motorists to Indianapolis International Airport.
“With INDOT review and planning for the Super Bowl in 2012, signage became a concern as we will have a larger number of out-of-town visitors,” said INDOT Chief of Staff Robert L. Zier in a statement today. “Although we hope that the Colts are in the game that day, we anticipate travelers coming to Indianapolis who may not be familiar with the city and its layout.”
Nearby businesses are asked to join this effort by updating directions that may be included on their Web sites or printed materials. The sign changes have also been reported to global positioning systems and Web-mapping providers NAVTEQ, TeleAtlas and Google Maps.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Oct. 16, 2006 Myers trial
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. -- For the first time since his arrest, prosecutors
today laid out what appears to be the prime reason why John R. Myers
II is linked to the 2000 slaying of IU student Jill Behrman: Myers'
guilty conscience.
Records unsealed by the Morgan County Superior Court during the first
day of Myers' murder trial show he implicated himself to his
grandmother and a former jail cellmate.
Myers, according to the records, told his grandmother Betty Swafford
in late 2004: "If the authorities knew what I have done, I would go to
prison for the rest of my life."
And in May 2005 after an unrelated arrest, the records show, Myers
told an inmate at Monroe County Jail: "I wouldn't have done it if the
(expletive deleted) would have done what I told her."
Behrman, 19, vanished May 31, 2000 after a morning bicycle ride in the
Bloomington area. Her remains were found in March 2003 in a remote,
rural area of Morgan County. Despite national attention and several
people identified as "persons of interest" the case grew cold.
Myers was arrested in April after a grand jury was convened in Morgan
County to examine the evidence.
No evidence linking Myers to the murder had been publicly released.
Myers, who turns 31 Tuesday, has plead not guilty.
Attorneys on both sides today are arguing a variety of motions and it
remains undetermined whether the court records that describe Myers'
comments to others will be admitted by Judge Christopher Burnham.
The records go on to say that Myers had the time and the ability to
have been involved in Behrman's disappearance.
The records show that investigators in June 2000 had privately
identified Myers as a suspect because of strange behavior on and after
Behrman's disappearance, but that investigators turned their focus to
other potential suspects.
But Myers eventually turned into the state police investigators' No. 1 target.
"His state of mind at the time (is) relevant to establish the
defendant's identity and motive to commit the crime of murder as well
as to negate the defendant's explanation for his actions and behavior
the day Jill Behrman came up missing," the records show.
Myers' attorney, Patrick V. Baker, is seeking to block the records
from being admitted. He told Burnham there is no proof that Myers
killed Behrman and the statements are "speculation and innuendo."
But Robert Cline, chief deputy prosecutor for Morgan County, told the
judge today: "The statements from the defendant clearly imply guilt."
The opening statements from attorneys are scheduled to begin later
today. The 12-person jury is expected to listen to weeks of
testimony.
today laid out what appears to be the prime reason why John R. Myers
II is linked to the 2000 slaying of IU student Jill Behrman: Myers'
guilty conscience.
Records unsealed by the Morgan County Superior Court during the first
day of Myers' murder trial show he implicated himself to his
grandmother and a former jail cellmate.
Myers, according to the records, told his grandmother Betty Swafford
in late 2004: "If the authorities knew what I have done, I would go to
prison for the rest of my life."
And in May 2005 after an unrelated arrest, the records show, Myers
told an inmate at Monroe County Jail: "I wouldn't have done it if the
(expletive deleted) would have done what I told her."
Behrman, 19, vanished May 31, 2000 after a morning bicycle ride in the
Bloomington area. Her remains were found in March 2003 in a remote,
rural area of Morgan County. Despite national attention and several
people identified as "persons of interest" the case grew cold.
Myers was arrested in April after a grand jury was convened in Morgan
County to examine the evidence.
No evidence linking Myers to the murder had been publicly released.
Myers, who turns 31 Tuesday, has plead not guilty.
Attorneys on both sides today are arguing a variety of motions and it
remains undetermined whether the court records that describe Myers'
comments to others will be admitted by Judge Christopher Burnham.
The records go on to say that Myers had the time and the ability to
have been involved in Behrman's disappearance.
The records show that investigators in June 2000 had privately
identified Myers as a suspect because of strange behavior on and after
Behrman's disappearance, but that investigators turned their focus to
other potential suspects.
But Myers eventually turned into the state police investigators' No. 1 target.
"His state of mind at the time (is) relevant to establish the
defendant's identity and motive to commit the crime of murder as well
as to negate the defendant's explanation for his actions and behavior
the day Jill Behrman came up missing," the records show.
Myers' attorney, Patrick V. Baker, is seeking to block the records
from being admitted. He told Burnham there is no proof that Myers
killed Behrman and the statements are "speculation and innuendo."
But Robert Cline, chief deputy prosecutor for Morgan County, told the
judge today: "The statements from the defendant clearly imply guilt."
The opening statements from attorneys are scheduled to begin later
today. The 12-person jury is expected to listen to weeks of
testimony.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Hoosiers go look for Gold archive
http://iphone.indystar.com/posts/32740
Hoosiers go looking for gold
By Tom Spalding on July 29, 2010
Gold in Indiana? Yes, but don't bank on it
With gold prices peaking this summer at more than $1,200 an ounce, some people are seeking their fortunes in Indiana's streams.
They're panning for gold. Hoosier gold.
Tiny nuggets of the precious metal can be sifted from the bottoms of Indiana creeks and rivers, especially south of Indianapolis in Brown, Monroe and Morgan counties, where the streams contain leftover Ice Age glacial gravel. And people are going after it.
"They call it gold fever," said Alan Oden, 62, a woodworker who, along with his wife, Lois, recently hosted about 30 prospectors in an ankle-deep stretch of Pike Creek on their 32-acre woods near Morgantown.
Although it would be overstating the case to call it an Indiana gold rush, the Odens are far from alone.
At least two Indiana businesses provide gold panning for family fun -- it's free, but you'll need to buy or rent a pan and a trowel.
And the ranks of the Central Indiana Gold Prospectors Association of America -- whose members sometimes use elaborate and more expensive equipment -- have grown from 25 in 2008 to 280 in June, said its president, Wayne Mercer, 37, Nineveh.
Self-proclaimed prospectors wryly remark that the miniscule amounts of gold to be found in a day of panning or dredging might net an average of $25 -- enough to pay for the basic equipment. But as you look into those prospectors' pans, they'll admit the occasional nugget can bring in a tidy $70.
"You'd be amazed at the amount of people who had no idea they could even go gold prospecting in Indiana," said Mercer, who coordinates monthly outings.
He said he's seen some newcomer treasure-hunters quit after just a few hours because the dream of instant wealth didn't quite pan out.
Nelson R. Shaffer, a leader in the Indiana Geological Society, said gold prospecting never has proved lucrative enough to support commercial businesses. Anyone who tries prospecting needs to remember that, yes, patience is golden.
"You'll get very tired, and part of your backside and legs will hurt. And you'll very likely get some gold, (but) there's so much involved in the economics that I can't say whether anybody will make money at it," Shaffer said.
Yet business is booming for Robin Stevens, who runs the Gatesville Country Store in rural Nashville, about an hour's drive south of Downtown Indianapolis. She owns land adjacent to the store on the north fork of Salt Creek, a known source of gold flakes.
She welcomes rookies, as well as veteran, wetsuit-clad gold hunters with sophisticated dredgers. She makes her money by selling equipment and feeding hungry gold diggers.
"Interest has built immensely in the past year and a half," Stevens said. "I've gone from selling one or two pans a year . . . to now I have to call and get supplies (delivered by mail) twice a month."
Another gold-prospecting venture, this one about an hour east of Indianapolis, re-creates a 19th century gold-panning camp. Jellystone Park, a campground in Knightstown, gives free panning lessons and rents equipment for paying campers to use on a creek.
Proficient gold collecting requires expertise, good contacts who know where gold can be found and knowledge of Indiana prospecting regulations. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources adopted new rules in December after "confusion over what was legal and what was not legal," said Linnea Petercheff, with the DNR's Division of Fish and Wildlife.
The new rules aim to protect the environment and prevent trespassing. They stem from an incident in 2007, when seven prospectors were cited by a DNR official for extracting minerals without a permit in the Wabash River in Cass County.
Prospectors favor the rules, which set guidelines on where and how gold can be extracted.
Gold finds have been reported in 20 counties, including Marion.
How much money you can actually make remains a bit of a mystery.
Mark Bender, 57, Oaklandon, says he has prospected for 20 years. He says he's not in it for the money. More lucrative, Bender said, might be to market Indiana's gold hot spots for tourism.
"There are some opportunities there," he said, "that an entrepreneur might take advantage of to make a little bit of money."
Yes. But how much does he make?
Bender estimates it costs about $10 to retrieve a dollar's worth of gold.
Maybe so. But there's always hope.
Alan Oden, who hosted the prospectors on his land, said he has known since 1984 that the creek holds bits of gold and occasionally has waded into the water to see what he can find.
"My wife thinks I'm a nut," he said, "but as the pieces I bring back grow bigger, her eyes get bigger."
Hoosiers go looking for gold
By Tom Spalding on July 29, 2010
Gold in Indiana? Yes, but don't bank on it
With gold prices peaking this summer at more than $1,200 an ounce, some people are seeking their fortunes in Indiana's streams.
They're panning for gold. Hoosier gold.
Tiny nuggets of the precious metal can be sifted from the bottoms of Indiana creeks and rivers, especially south of Indianapolis in Brown, Monroe and Morgan counties, where the streams contain leftover Ice Age glacial gravel. And people are going after it.
"They call it gold fever," said Alan Oden, 62, a woodworker who, along with his wife, Lois, recently hosted about 30 prospectors in an ankle-deep stretch of Pike Creek on their 32-acre woods near Morgantown.
Although it would be overstating the case to call it an Indiana gold rush, the Odens are far from alone.
At least two Indiana businesses provide gold panning for family fun -- it's free, but you'll need to buy or rent a pan and a trowel.
And the ranks of the Central Indiana Gold Prospectors Association of America -- whose members sometimes use elaborate and more expensive equipment -- have grown from 25 in 2008 to 280 in June, said its president, Wayne Mercer, 37, Nineveh.
Self-proclaimed prospectors wryly remark that the miniscule amounts of gold to be found in a day of panning or dredging might net an average of $25 -- enough to pay for the basic equipment. But as you look into those prospectors' pans, they'll admit the occasional nugget can bring in a tidy $70.
"You'd be amazed at the amount of people who had no idea they could even go gold prospecting in Indiana," said Mercer, who coordinates monthly outings.
He said he's seen some newcomer treasure-hunters quit after just a few hours because the dream of instant wealth didn't quite pan out.
Nelson R. Shaffer, a leader in the Indiana Geological Society, said gold prospecting never has proved lucrative enough to support commercial businesses. Anyone who tries prospecting needs to remember that, yes, patience is golden.
"You'll get very tired, and part of your backside and legs will hurt. And you'll very likely get some gold, (but) there's so much involved in the economics that I can't say whether anybody will make money at it," Shaffer said.
Yet business is booming for Robin Stevens, who runs the Gatesville Country Store in rural Nashville, about an hour's drive south of Downtown Indianapolis. She owns land adjacent to the store on the north fork of Salt Creek, a known source of gold flakes.
She welcomes rookies, as well as veteran, wetsuit-clad gold hunters with sophisticated dredgers. She makes her money by selling equipment and feeding hungry gold diggers.
"Interest has built immensely in the past year and a half," Stevens said. "I've gone from selling one or two pans a year . . . to now I have to call and get supplies (delivered by mail) twice a month."
Another gold-prospecting venture, this one about an hour east of Indianapolis, re-creates a 19th century gold-panning camp. Jellystone Park, a campground in Knightstown, gives free panning lessons and rents equipment for paying campers to use on a creek.
Proficient gold collecting requires expertise, good contacts who know where gold can be found and knowledge of Indiana prospecting regulations. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources adopted new rules in December after "confusion over what was legal and what was not legal," said Linnea Petercheff, with the DNR's Division of Fish and Wildlife.
The new rules aim to protect the environment and prevent trespassing. They stem from an incident in 2007, when seven prospectors were cited by a DNR official for extracting minerals without a permit in the Wabash River in Cass County.
Prospectors favor the rules, which set guidelines on where and how gold can be extracted.
Gold finds have been reported in 20 counties, including Marion.
How much money you can actually make remains a bit of a mystery.
Mark Bender, 57, Oaklandon, says he has prospected for 20 years. He says he's not in it for the money. More lucrative, Bender said, might be to market Indiana's gold hot spots for tourism.
"There are some opportunities there," he said, "that an entrepreneur might take advantage of to make a little bit of money."
Yes. But how much does he make?
Bender estimates it costs about $10 to retrieve a dollar's worth of gold.
Maybe so. But there's always hope.
Alan Oden, who hosted the prospectors on his land, said he has known since 1984 that the creek holds bits of gold and occasionally has waded into the water to see what he can find.
"My wife thinks I'm a nut," he said, "but as the pieces I bring back grow bigger, her eyes get bigger."
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Gen Con vignettes
Gen Con: Java joint won't be caught napping
Gen Con provided the first of jolt of the day not inside the Indiana Convention Center, but at a coffeehouse on Monument Circle.
Au Bon Pain actually ran out of coffee early this morning, and gamers also formed long lines at nearby Dunkin' Donuts and at the java station inside Borders in Downtown.
"They kind of caught us off guard," joked Howard Readus, manager of the Au Bon Pain store, by phone. Some 300 customers -- sleep-starved gamers in town for the convention, mainly -- scarfed up two things: coffee and bagels.
Readus said the store will be ready on Friday for sleepy-eyed patrons.
"Definitely, we've got extra cases coming in as we speak," he said. "We definitely will have pots laying across the cafe."
"We're always happy to see them come," he said.
Celebrity sightings: In the age of Twitter and cell phones, there's no hiding from your fans.
Author, actor and gamer Wil Wheaton (aka Twitter user @wilw) -- better known as Star Trek's Wesley Crusher -- is one of the featured guests of Gen Con. Attendee and Twitter user @AmandaCook627 sent out this evening missive after spotting Wheaton: "Best con moment ever just happened. @wilw was standing right next to us, and I was able to give him a die. Got a pic, too. Awesome #GenCon!"
And celebs aren't just being passive. Tweeted television satirist Mo Rocca, aka @MoRocca, this afternoon: "At #GenCon in Indianapolis. Far more authentically nerdy than ComicCon. That's a compliment."
Turnout 'fantastic': You'd be hard-pressed to find any evidence of an economic recession inside the Convention Center, where customers like Terry Patnode, 63, Kansas City, Kan., lined up to pay for merchandise. Patnode was buying a $35 card railroad card game, and others around him were loading up on $12 action figures and figurines.
Jerry Sunkin, CEO of Orlando-based CoolStuffInc.com, a games and collectibles supply company, brought an estimated $50,000 worth of gear to sell. "Day One is one of our biggest days for buying and selling ... they come to purchase (and) they get to really geek out."
Turnout of 30,000 is "fantastic" given the economy, although he believes if times were better, some 40,000 attendees would be on hand, Sunkin said.
Caped crusaders: If you cruise Downtown, you'll see all types of costumes being worn by attendees. Star Trek uniforms. Long robes. Elegant masks. Gencon attendee William Caldwell, 20, got plenty of attention dressed up as Nova, a character from the series Bleach. Only his eyes were visible in an all-cotton garb he described as "very hot." Here's a picture of Caldwell with his cousin Gillian Bundles, 13. Some people stopped to pose with him, but Caldwell joked that his costume only cost him $109. "I'm at the bottom of the barrel compared to everyone else," he said.
No sweat:Just because there's sit-down board-gaming going on doesn't mean there isn't action. Ever heard of Amtgard? It's a live-action fantasy roleplaying and combat game. The weapons are made of those kiddie pool noodles with a thin lightweight rod made of graphite.
Pay $2 and you'll get to battle people like Patrick Brinegar, 27, Indianapolis, or Sarah Winkle, 26, or John McMahan, 26, both of Springfield, Ohio.
Here's a picture of Sarah Winkle in action.
"People tell us they wouldn't come to Gen Con" without the Amtgard activity, because not many cities allow the games, Brinegar said. "They want to swing foam."
Reach Star reporter Tom Spalding at www.twitter.com/SpaldoBusiness or contact him at (317) 444-6202.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Cards, castles, costumes: 28K in for Indy Gen Con
August 04, 2010 by Tom Spalding | Star staff
Want to know what’s on the minds of an estimated 28,000-plus gaming enthusiasts who are descending upon Indianapolis this week for another week of cards, costumes and castles?
Just look at Twitter.
Both guests and exhibitors are using the keyword #GenCon as a unified way to communicate via the social media website.
Here’s a Tweet you’ll find today from @gazerrant : “Today’s itinerary: pack for #GenCon, make characters, chem class, fly to Indianapolis, drink at Scotty’s, and game game game game game!”
And Shoshanna Bauer of Champaign, Ill., aka @GamerChick2010 : “Now to pack and get ready for #Gencon. I’m so excited!!!”
Gen Con Indy, officially running Thursday through Sunday at the Indiana Convention Center, is billed as the original, longest-running gaming convention in the world.
Even the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is getting involved: The ISO will present “Video Games Live” at Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday. Music from video games, including “Mario,” “Zelda,” “Halo,” “Final Fantasy,” “Tomb Raider” and others, will be featured.
Gen Con, based in Seattle, drew a headcount of 27,900 from Aug. 13-16 2009, despite the recession, affirming its status as one of Indianapolis’ largest conventions.
Gen Con, in its 42nd year, has been held in the city since 2003 and will continue to be here through 2015.
Attendees include hobby gamers and science fiction fans from across the Midwest.
Many of them are known for donning wild, elaborate costumes and staying up all night to play card and table games with friends and strangers.
But there’s no fantasy about its economic impact: about $26.9 million in direct visitor spending.
Representatives from Florida-based On The Lamb Games are Tweeting about the arrival to Indianapolis: “In the exhibitor hall, setting up. This is our first time to gencon, and I’m already amazed at all the awesome stuff.”
On the Lamb promises that for people who stop by the booth, “You’ll not only get to try out Brushfire, but you’ll also be able to see previews of September’s Devon Brigadiers, Gopher Engineers, Otter Ashigaru, and October’s Hamster Berserkers.”
Freelance digital animator Mary Varn of Brooklyn, N.Y. (she is the brains behind NPC , the comic about gamer cats and geeky girls) is coming, but as a guest, not a guest of honor.
“I’m just attending, not exhibiting, so no merch/strips on hand, sorry!” she Tweeted on her handle, @maryvarn.
On the website io9 , Terry Hope Romero writes that Gen Con is the springboard for the RPG industry to debut hot new games for the year and increasingly it’s become a magnet for sci-fi and anime fandom and aspiring fantasy/horror/sci-fi authors. “Gen Con gets its share of celebrity faces , but what I like best is that it’s still a fan-driven con with the main event (the gaming) provided by the gamers themselves. If you’re off to Indy this week you may already have a schedule bursting with pickings from 6,000 events (sleep will happen next week).”
Minneapolis game-design gurus Steve Charbonneau and Steven Ellis posed for pictures near the #gencon Beholder icon monster, located in the Indiana Convention Center.
“I wish I had a toothbrush,” Charbonneau said as he felt the white dagger-like teeth of the Beholder, a fictional character central to the role-playing game Dungeons&Dragons.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Frozen hydrants hamper fight against restaurant fire
Arson not cause of restaurant fire
By Tom Spalding
tom.spalding@indystar.com
The Indianapolis Fire Department investigators today have ruled out arson as a cause of a a blaze that consumed Texas Roadhouse on Monday.
While investigators returned to Eastside restaurant today to try and determine the origin and cause, Unit Commander Cliff Johnson said that they do not believe it was arson.
Compiled by Star reporter Tom Spalding
When Indianapolis firefighters responded to an Eastside restaurant blaze, they were confronted with not one, not two, but three frozen fire hydrants.
As firefighters searched for a working hydrant -- and precious time ticked away -- the Texas Roadhouse building burned to the ground early Monday.
All of which raises troubling questions: With temperatures hovering in the teens through the end of the week, just how many of the city's hydrants are filled with frozen water?
And what is being done -- or even can be done -- to keep what one water official called a serious threat to the public from happening again?
The answers Monday seemed equally troubling. The city doesn't know for sure how many of its hydrants are operable at any given time, and when frozen water is the issue, most often firefighters have no clue until they arrive on the scene.
Veolia Water spokesman Paul Whitmore said it takes the company's 20 inspectors eight to nine months to check all hydrants -- 36,000 in Indianapolis and some surrounding communities -- and it's not practical to rush out and inspect each one.
Veolia manages and is responsible for maintaining and inspecting the hydrants on the Indianapolis Water system.
Veolia will inspect the three hydrants near the steakhouse, in the area around 14th Street and Shadeland Avenue on the Eastside. Whitmore said there was evidence that one of the hydrants had been opened and then not shut properly.
The city tries to keep track of inoperable hydrants. Currently, 100 are out of service for various reasons: broken seals or couplings and damage from vehicles.
But none of the three frozen hydrants was on the list. Officials acknowledge they don't know how many hydrants are frozen and likely wouldn't find out until firefighters try to turn them on.
"The first arriving companies on the scene were just heartbroken," said Indianapolis Fire Department spokeswoman Capt. Rita Reith. "They were truly sorry it (the blaze) got going ahead of them. To have three frozen hydrants in a row, it was like, 'You've got to be kidding me.' "
With temperatures hovering around 15 degrees, the firefighters searched futilely for a working hydrant while draining six 500-gallon tanks in their rescue vehicles.
Typically, such tanks would be enough to deal with a house fire, Reith said, but not a large commercial structure fire.
She said firefighters think the restaurant building might have been saved if a working hydrant was closer.
Fire officials, who less than an hour before had no problems using two other hydrants at a nearby small motel fire, weren't certain of the cause of the Texas Roadhouse blaze.
Travis Doster, spokesman for the Louisville, Ky.-based restaurant chain, said he didn't have enough specifics to comment on the hydrant issue but said he wishes that fire officials "have the tools they need to fight something like this."
The company plans to rebuild, and Doster said the 135 full- and part-time employees who worked at the steakhouse, 1405 N. Shadeland Ave., will be temporarily reassigned and continue to receive paychecks.
The building was declared a total loss with $1.5 million in damage, restaurant executive Steve Sargent told firefighters. Texas Roadhouse has been on the site since replacing another restaurant there in 1998 and is important to the commercial corridor, said City-County Councilman Ben Hunter.
"It's vitally important that business recover and build," he said. "The Eastside can't continue to lose business."
The restaurant had closed at 10 p.m. Sunday, with the last employee leaving at 11 p.m. Authorities first got wind of trouble when a burglar alarm sounded at 12:37 a.m. Upon investigation, police reported smoke coming from the roof; firefighters were dispatched at 12:42 a.m. and arrived four minutes later. By that time, heavy smoke and fire were billowing out of the rear of the building.
Matt Jewell of KMP Hydrants, which has a contract to inspect and maintain city of Lawrence-owned fire hydrants, said even in cold weather, hydrants should work.
"If they have their hydrants taken care of, they shouldn't worry about it," Jewell said. "Hydrants are man-made . . . If you don't get them grease and exercise the parts, they'll let you down."
Reith said it appeared that one of the three frozen hydrants had not been shut off all the way by the last person who used it.
"This could have been someone," Reith said, "such as a contractor, a pool business, landscaper" who can legally obtain water from it.
"When the hydrant was inspected this morning after the fire, there was ice protruding from the openings."
Although some people are authorized to use water in hydrants, Whitmore urged residents to call the water company if they see one in use by anyone other than the Fire Department.
"We need people to help us be eyes and ears if they see something going on with hydrants," Whitmore said.
The fire sparked reminders of a similar incident in Shelbyville in February 2007, when a frozen hydrant delayed efforts to put out the Knauf Insulation blaze.
Indiana has no state law to mandate testing of hydrants. The American Water Works Association, a trade group, suggests tests at least once a year. Most hydrants in Indiana are tested once a year either by fire department personnel, water companies or private contractors.
Additional Facts Hydrant facts» How many? Indianapolis Water Co. keeps a database of 36,000 aqua-colored hydrants in the city and in some communities in adjacent counties. The utility is responsible for their condition and repair.
» Have a problem? Contact Indianapolis Water at www. indianapoliswater.com or at (317) 631-1431. The Veolia Water 24-hour hotline is (317) 263-6332.
» What happens after one is used? Every time a hydrant is used, it is reported to the water company so that it can be checked, drained and then fully turned off.
» Where are they? Typically hydrants are spaced 500 feet apart (residential or commercial); however, in the Downtown Indianapolis area, they are closer and there are more of them.
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