Contact: Bill Powell, Herald Staff Writer

HUNTINGBURG - More than 60 peole attended a ;panel discussion Thursday warning of harmful effects a relocated U.S. 231 could have on Dubois County rural character.

Local pediatrician Michael Ruff moderated the forum sponsored by citizen activists and farmers whose land would be threatened by a bypass alternative west of Huntingburg. A great deal of the discussion centered on exploring alternatives to bypass proposals that could fragment productive farms and affect the county's quality of life.

Five panelists contributed to the discussion before turning the rostrum over to five citizens who took turns making statements and asking questions.

Attendees were encouraged to pick up handout materials and consider joining the efforts of People for U.S. 231 No-Build Bypass Alternative in Huntingburg, Ind. (now DCCAR).

Ferdinand environmentalist Jim Kennington, who had spoken with affected farmers during an Indiana Department of Transportation public hearing on proposed upgrades at Jasper in June, helped organize the discussion meeting at the Southridge High School auditorium.

"There seemed to be a need to get more information about what a bypass would possibly do," Kennington said.

Panelists included Helen Fox, a Cincinnati-area housewife who founded a grassroots organization to balance growth with a rural way of life; David Coyte, a Louisville-area citizen activist and former member of New Albany's plan commision; dairy farmer Greg Engerlt, who is a Southwest School Board member; Tom Tocarski, founder of Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads; and dairy farmer/ag teacher Dave Ring, who is a member of the lieutenant governor's Indiana Commission of Agriculture/Rural Development.

Tocarski said he has 11 years of experience in dealing with INDOT through CARR's involvement with I-69. "They want you to believe that, if you build bigger highways and more highways, you will live happily ever after," he said.

"They used to be called the Department of Highways. They should still be called the Department of Highways because that's mainly what they are interested in: building more and more highways to perpetuate themselves."

He said Indiana is annually losing 80,000 acfreas of farmland to development. He called that "a huge concern".

Huntingburg farmer Terry Bockting carved up a big apple on stage until only a speck the size of a large lima bean was left speared on the tip of his knife. He said it represented the portion of the earth where productive farm land existed.

Bockting, whose family has farmed 160 acres west of Huntingburg for more than 160 years, asked the audience how many peole they want to draw into the county. "We have to remember, this county is our home," he said. "It's not INDOT's home. We live here. We should have something to say about this."

Coyte told audience members they must understand a range of issues when addressing the impact of a bypass. After saying three-quarters of INDOT's budget goes toward road upkeep, he predicted a wake-up call is on the way for the agency that gets its money from fuel taxes. He asked what will happen when oil supplies thin, people drive less and INDOT's material costs rise.

"You are looking at a real crunch," Coyte said. "It is not going to be a question of 'Do we have a bypass here or do we have a bypass there?' It's going to be 'Well, do we let that road go down or will we close that one?"

Cox, who lives in fast-growing Mason, Ohio lauded the citizen effort to organize and gain a voice in the U.S. 231 debate. After quoting the saying "We shape our buildings and then our buildings shape us", Cox added the same could be said of communities and roads. "Perhaps we're misshaping our communities, " she said, "and, in turn, they are misshaping us."

Growth is a double-edge sword, Cox said.

Her Ohio home was very much like Dubois County 25 years ago. Now 800 new students enter the schools each year and her home-town's current population of 22,000 is projected to top 50,000 in nine years.

Coyte also talked about the development that follows new roads.

"Building new roads to solve congestion," he said, "is like going out and getting another dog because yours has fleas."

Local environmentalist Jeanne Melchior, who is a Protect Our Woods and Hoosier Environmentalist Council board member, toald the audience that a Jasper-Huntingburg bypass is not inevitable; "I think we have to be positive and recognize that, together we can stop this highway."

Melchior criticized rural development. "Living in a rural area isn't for everyone," she said. "Rather than bring all these amenities to rural areas, we need to start focusing on...making cities be really good places where people who want those kind of amenities can live and be comfortable living there. And we need to focus on keeping our rural areas, like this one, places where farmers grow food to feed the rest of us."

Ring, who was critical of a bypass alternative west of Huntingburg, urged everyone in attendance to write INDOT and "make them aware that you have feelings concerning your property."