A bowling event will be held today from 1-5 pm at Strike Force Lanes to benefit the Friends 4 Jessica Foundation, which was named for Jessica Barnhart who died in 2012 from a rare genetic disorder. The foundation helps families in the local community and funds 4-H scholarships. The event will include a silent auction and face painting. Additionally, a reading event with therapy dogs will be held on Sunday at the Hancock County Public Library from 1:30-3 pm where children can read to the dogs. Finally, road work on I-70 near Greenfield is nearly complete, and crews will be placing lane markings today between 9 am and 7 pm, which may cause some short traffic delays.

1. GREENFIELD — A special
bowling event from 1 to 5 p.m.
today at Strike Force Lanes
will benefit the Friends 4 Jes-
sica Foundation.
The foundation is named for
Jessica Barnhart, who died
March 5, 2012. She suf-
fered from Melnick-Needles
Syndrome, a rare inherited
disorder affecting the skeletal
development of a growing
child.
The foundation is designed
to give back to families in the
Hancock County community
and to fund scholarships for
4-H members.
The event will also include si-
lent auction and face-painting.
GREENFIELD — Bentley’s
Buddies and Friends will be
at the Hancock County Public
Library from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Sunday.
Canine reading buddies
Tallulah and Bentley will be all
ears and ready to listen to chil-
dren read their favorite stories
and help them practice their
reading skills. Call the library
at (317) 462-5141 to reserve
a spot.
GREENFIELD — The pave-
ment replacement and inter-
change improvement project
on Interstate 70 between Mt.
Comfort Road and Ind. 9 is
nearly complete as contractors
plan to place permanent lane
markings today.
Motorists on I-70 should
be prepared for short delays
between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. as
mobile crews place heated
epoxy lane markings on
eastbound and westbound I-70
between Exit 104 to Greenfield
and Mt. Comfort Road Exit 96.
Motorists should continue
practicing safe driving habits
in the area as work on the
contract finishes over the next
few weeks.
The Daily Reporter today
salutes subscribers Thomas
Lopez of Greenfield and Rita
Reich of Greenfield. Have a
great day!
Have a milestone or an
achievement that deserves
mention on Page One? Email
dr-editorial@greenfieldreporter.
com or call (317) 467-6022.
Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . A3
Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5
Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B3
Amusements . . . . . . . . . B4
Religion . . . . . . . . . . C1-C3
Classified . . . . . . . . . C5-C8
7 a.m. Cloudy 52
Noon Partly cloudy 62
3 p.m. Sunny 69
6 p.m. Sunny 67
EXTENDED OUTLOOK A2
Grain is transported
by truck to elevators
and other storage
facilities. Loads range
from 900 and 1,000
bushels, depending
on the size of the
truck.
Grain is stored at
prices ranging from
15 to 28 cents per
bushel plus drying
costs, if necessary,
before transport
by rail and truck to
processing facilities.
Milling/
processing:
Processed
corn is used
in a variety of
products, from
cereal grits to
drywall.
Feed: Corn
and corn
byproducts
are used by
beef, chicken
and pork
producers for
feed.
Export: The
U.S. produced
32.1 percent
of the world’s
corn crop in
2013.
Ethanol:
One bushel
of corn can
produce about
2.8 gallons of
fuel ethanol.
Hoosier farmers
produced record
corn and soybean
crops during the 2014
growing season.
Those fields continue
to be harvested by
combine, with the
harvest loaded into
large grain trucks.
From there, the
process is illustrated
here, according to the
National Corn Growers
Association.
COUPON SAVINGS
<<< INSIDE >>>
MORE THAN
VARIES BY ZONE
DRAGONS COUGARS MARAUDERS ROYALSBEARCATS ARABIANS HORNETS EAGLES
By NOELLE M. STEELE
nsteele@greenfieldreporter.com
GREENFIELD — The Hancock
County prosecutor has
threatened to sue a local
homeowners association in
response to a dispute over a
flagpole the association told a
resident violates its covenants.
Michael Griffin issued a letter
this week threatening to civilly
sue the Fieldstone Homeowners
Association, stating Indiana
Code prohibits the
neighborhood’s governing body
from asking Bob and Judy
Willits of Greenfield to remove a
flagpole from their property.
The issue has recently grown
contentious. Bob Willits, a
Korean War veteran, is flying
American and POW/MIA flags
– the latter honoring his brother,
also a Korean War combat
veteran, who never returned
home. Willits has refused to pay
a fine that would resolve the
matter and has also refused
contributions toward the fine.
The HOA, citing a violation of
a covenant that prohibits free-
standing flagpoles, has revoked
the Willitses’ neighborhood
voting privileges.
The covenant does not
mention flagpoles by name but
refers to structures erected on
residential properties. The HOA
has made it clear that includes
free-standing flagpoles,
association president Kaye
State agency planning to cut back on audits
Prosecutor joins flagpole debate
Homeowners association
threatened with civil lawsuit
High yields
could create
storage woes
By NOELLE M. STEELE
nsteele@greenfieldreporter.com
GREENFIELD — A murder
trial expected to last up to two
weeks is scheduled to begin
Monday.
A jury will be selected to
weigh the evidence against Joe
Meyers, one of three
Indianapolis residents charged
in the shooting death of Katrina
Miller, 23, whose body was
found in a
cornfield in
July in
western
Hancock
County.
Meyers is
accused of
being the
triggerman in
the slaying,
which
investigators
say was drug-
related.
Court
officials
expect jury
selection to
take most if not all of the day
Monday in Hancock Circuit
Court, with testimony in the
case beginning Tuesday in
Hancock County Superior Court
1. All proceedings are open to
the public.
Meyers is representing
himself, which has the potential
to complicate the proceedings.
Because Meyers, who worked in
construction prior to his arrest,
is not an attorney, he will not be
familiar with what evidence can
and can’t be presented during
the trial.
“I think it’s fair to say that
defendants who represent
themselves are usually given a
small amount of leeway because
they’re not trained lawyers, but
that is just a small amount of
leeway,” Prosecutor Michael
Griffin said.
Accused
shooter
to go
on trial
SEE TRIAL, PAGE A7
SEE WHERE, PAGE A7
SEE DEBATE, PAGE A7
Jury selection
expected to take
most of day Monday
By MARIBETH VAUGHN
mvaughn@greenfieldreporter.com
GREENFIELD — Local officials
worry about public transparency
if a state agency no longer audits
their financial records annually.
The top official with the Indiana
State Board of Accounts
announced earlier this month that
the agency no longer has the staff
or resources to audit the financial
records of Indiana libraries and
smaller towns and townships.
With millions of public tax
dollars streaming through local
units of government, Hancock
County officials say it’s important
to have an extra set of eyes look
over their numbers and publicly
report the strengths and flaws of
their records. While they’ll have to
wait and see whether the state
Legislature earmarks more money
for the state agency, local officials
say they’d even be willing to
SEE AUDITS, PAGE A7
Local officials say they’re willing to pay to have records reviewed
Joe Meyers,
of Indianapolis,
is accused of
shooting Ka-
trina Miller to
death in a Han-
cock County
cornfield.
“Whatever findings there are – and
there’s always some findings – it
gives assurance to the citizens of the
community that it’s been performed,
and this is what they found.”
on the
importance of audits by the State Board of Accounts
The State Board of Ac-
counts audits local towns,
townships, schools and
libraries every one to two
years. But shortfalls in
funding could lead to a cut
in which communities are
audited.
To review state audits of lo-
cal communities, visit www.
in.gov/sboa. Click on “Audit
Reports” and “Search the
Audit Report Database.”
The Han-
cock County
prosecutor
says Indiana
Code prohibits
Fieldstone’s
HOA from ask-
ing the Willits
to remove their
flagpole.Griffin
Kyle Lewis / Daily Reporter
Bill Lowder of McCordsville unloads the rest of his 1,000 bushels of soybeans from a recent delivery into the grain elevator
at Farmers Grain of Maxwell.
Tom Russo / Daily Reporter
HANCOCK
HALLOWEEN
By JIM MAYFIELD
jmayfield@greenfieldreporter.com
H
ANCOCK COUNTY — At
every turn, it seems, farmers
have something to worry
about: Will spring be dry
enough to get the seed in at
the best time? Will enough rain fall at the
right times?
Now, they’re asking: Where are we going
to put all this stuff?
The 2014 growing season has been a
record-breaking year for farmers. The
yield for soybeans and corn are expected to
be all-time highs nationally. In Indiana,
the corn harvest is projected to exceed a
billion bushes for only the second time,
and the record soybean yield is expected to
eclipse 296 million bushels, according to
the National Agricultural Statistics
Service.
Now, October’s bounty has to be stored
somewhere, and a logjam could be coming.
In a report released last week, Purdue
University agricultural economist Chris
Hurt said the state’s grain industry and
See what area church
events are on tap next week
SEE PAGE C1
PUT IT ALL?
WHERE TO

2. Eckert told the Daily Reporter.
Griffin has given the
association until Nov. 1 to drop
the fine and restore the couple’s
voting rights in the community.
Past that deadline, he said, he
will file a civil suit.
Attorney Greg Chandler
works for Eads, Murray and
Pugh, an Indianapolis law firm
that specializes in homeowners
association law.
Chandler said it is not
unusual for disagreements to
arise between homeowners and
their associations.
“It’s not a unique situation
for a homeowner to contest
enforcement of the rules and
regulations,” he said. “This is
something we see quite a bit.
Any time you’re talking about
restrictions, there is this
tension that can develop.”
Chandler added that it is not
unusual for associations to
prohibit flagpoles like the one
the Willitses own.
What is unusual, though, is
for a county prosecutor to
assert authority over the
matter, he said.
“I’ve been doing this for about
seven years, and I’ve never had
a case in which a county
prosecutor involved himself,”
Chandler said.
Griffin said he felt moved to
take action after being
contacted by the Willitses’
attorney, Tom Cone, and
reviewing the statutes.
In a six-page letter to the HOA
dated Thursday, Griffin cites
an Indiana code he says allows
him to act when an association
“exceeds or abuses the
authority” it may exercise by
state law.
“The prosecutor’s civil
authority is limited, but it does
exist,” said Griffin, who is also
a veteran.
Griffin argues the association
has interpreted its authority
too broadly in asking the
Willitses to remove the pole – a
move Eckert said was to keep
properties looking uniform and
make landscaping easier for a
contracted lawn crew.
Eckert said last week that the
homeowners association is well
aware of the 2005 Flag Act,
which put into federal law the
right to display an American
flag on residential property.
She cited a part of the act that
allows neighborhood
associations to place
restrictions on the “time, place
or manner” of that display,
however, adding that
Fieldstone’s HOA allows for
flags to be flown from brackets
attached to homes in the
subdivision.
Griffin points to the same
paragraph but focuses on the
requirement for an HOA to
have a “substantial interest.”
Griffin contends that
arguments about maintenance
do not constitute substantial
interest.
“Aesthetic-based interests of
a homeowners association are
simply not enough when it
comes to display of the
American flag,” the letter
states.
Griffin visited the
subdivision, located off Blue
Road north of U.S. 40, and said
he was surprised to see a
standard-sized flagpole in front
of the neighborhood clubhouse
at the entrance to the addition.
The Willitses’ flagpole,
located in their front yard, is
substantially smaller.
“I thought, ‘Come on, if we
can have one as tall as the one
posted up front, then why on
earth can’t Mr. Willits have a
flag in his front lawn of the size
that he has?” Griffin said. “It
was a basic fairness thought
process right up front.”
While the Flag Act does not
pertain to the POW/MIA flag,
Griffin asked the association to
allow that flag to remain as
well as a gesture of goodwill to
the family.
Eckert could not be reached
for comment.
The Willitses have declined
to remove the pole. Chandler
said the association might be
within its rights to demand
removal.
“Assuming that it’s a valid
rule, and assuming also that
what we’re talking about is a
violation … then the
association would probably
have power to ask for removal
of whatever structure’s in
violation,” he said.
farmers have added about 75
million bushels’ worth of new
storage capacity over the past
four years, but this year’s crop
will still exceed capacity by
some 100 million bushels
across the state.
On Monday, the Indiana
Grain Buyers and Warehouse
Licensing Agency sent out a
memo reminding the state’s
licensed grain facilities they
could apply for emergency or
temporary storage.
In Hancock County, the glut
hasn’t hit quite yet, but
farmers and storage operators
alike see it coming.
“We’re not going to have a
problem here, but I think
there’s going to be a storage
issue,” said Leanne Dix, office
manager and administrator at
Steyer Seeds in McCordsville.
Steyer contracts with farmers
to grow seed corn, so it has a
solid estimate of how much
corn it will need to store even
before the combines hit the
fields earlier this month.
“But we’ve had several
farmers calling to see if we
have any bins open,” Dix said.
As usual, the weather has
been a factor. If anything, it
has mitigated the storage issue
so far because the soybean
crop came through the cool
summer without fully drying
out. That has delayed the bean
harvest somewhat, and thus,
the need for storage.
“So far, space hasn’t been an
issue because of the weather,”
said Kyle Underwood, manager
of Farmers Grain of Maxwell.
“Normally, we’re finishing
beans at this time, but this is
the latest bean harvest we’ve
had in several years.”
Hancock County corn and
soybean grower Greg Kleiman
explained that a cool July shut
the bean plants down and kept
them from drying. The recent
rains haven’t helped the
situation, he added.
“They were still wet today,
but we decided to start getting
them in,” Kleiman said
Thursday.
“When you have a good crop,
storage always seems to fill up,
and they can only get rid of it
so fast,” he said. “We had the
same problem last year.”
While corn can be stored on
the ground if done properly –
and Kleiman said a lot of that
will happen this year – beans
won’t make it long if left in the
field. The beans pop out of
their pods, and they’re lost.
That late influx of the
soybean crop will stress
capacity in the next few weeks,
Underwood predicted.
Ray Kerkhof, ag center
manager at Harvest Land
Co-op in eastern Hancock
County, has already seen the
stress building.
“Storage is going to be an
issue,” he said. “It started this
week.”
But as the big grain trucks
start to back up outside area
elevators, another issue is
compounding
the problem at
the other end
of the
distribution
chain.
Once the
elevators get
full, a
shortage of
rail cars and
train engines
already tied
up and
committed to
moving crude
oil out of the Dakotas and
upper Midwest will clog the
pipeline from the storage
elevators to the processors
and other end users, Kerkhof
said.
“If we get full, that’s going to
be another mess,” he said.
“It’s going to get all bottled
up.”
Once the bins are full, there’s
little alternative for farmers
but to leave their crop in the
field and “take their chances,”
Kerkhof said.
However, that’s a chance
Kleiman said he’s not willing
to take.
“Best thing to do is haul it in
now,” Kleiman said, especially
the beans.
Though there is general
agreement that finding a place
to put the crop of 2014 will be
problematic, Tom Haase,
who’s been operating
Knightstown Elevator Inc.,
since 1961, doesn’t see disaster
looming.
“It looks like a good crop,
and it will probably stress
storage space, but I don’t
think it’s a major concern,”
Haase said. “We’ll be packed
full, but there’s been a lot of
storage added.”
Haase said improvements in
equipment, farm management
and seed corn genetics have
made farming
more efficient
and allowed
growers to
continually
increase their
yields when
Mother
Nature
cooperates.
“I’m dating
myself, but
when I started
we were
happy if our
whole crop
produced 75 bushels (per
acre). Now corn’s making near
200 bushels (per acre).”
For this season, the National
Agriculture Statistics Service
predicts an acre of Indiana
corn land will bring 186
bushels.
“You put two and two
together, and you can see
where we are,” Haase said.
Those who have been at this
awhile, however, exude a
calm, good-humored patience.
“It always works out, but it’ll
be a big mess,” Kerkhof said.
Haase, whose son now runs
the Knightstown operation,
agreed.
“When it’s all said and done,
we’ll get it done,” Haase said.
“We’ll have our challenges,
but we’ll get it done.”
L O C A L N E W S A7
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6513 W. 300 S. New Palestine
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Both 2014 Hoosier corn and
soybeans bushels are estimated
to eclipse 2013 – which was
record-setting. According to
the Department of Agriculture,
Indiana corn will yield 186
bushels per acre this year.
Bushels
per acre
Corn
Bean
BY THE NUMBERS
99
177
186
44
52
54
599MILLION
1.03BILLION
1.07BILLION
223M
267M
296M
2012 20142013
Continued from Page A1
Debate The 2005 Flag Act ensures the right of a resident to display the
American flag on residential property, while providing for “any
reasonable restriction pertaining to the time, place or manner of
displaying the flag … necessary to protect a substantial interest
of the condominium association.”
WHAT THE LAW SAYS
Meyers was originally
appointed a local attorney, Jeff
McClarnon of Greenfield, to
represent him. But within a
month of his arrest, Meyers
madeitclearhewasn’tinterested
in retaining McClarnon’s
services.
He asked the court in August
to relieve McClarnon of his
duties so Meyers could represent
himself throughout the
proceedings.
Days later, the court changed
McClarnon’s status to standby
counsel. McClarnon will have
reviewed evidence and be on
hand to aid Meyers if his help is
requested, but he will not
oversee the direction of the
defense’s case or cross-examine
the state’s witnesses.
Meyers did request a legal
assistant named Marry Buttler,
but the court denied that request.
Buttler is Meyers’ girlfriend,
and she is on the state’s witness
list.
McClarnon could not be
reached for comment. Meyers,
who is being held in the Hancock
County Jail, denied a request for
an interview.
The state could call up to 40
witnesses, Griffin said.
There are two complications in
the court calendar that will
require breaks during the trial:
The court has other business to
handle on Friday; and the
courthouse will be closed the
following Tuesday, Nov. 4, for
Election Day.
Griffin said he expects three
days of testimony, with closing
statements to be delivered on
Monday, Nov. 3.
Griffin said it’s unclear
whether Meyers will testify in
his own defense.
“Everything we’re doing is
geared toward a scenario where
he doesn’t testify,” Griffin said.
“We’re really ready for every
possibility.”
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tami
Napier, assisted by Deputy
Prosecutor Scott Spears, will
present the state’s case.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s
Department is expected to
provide increased security in
the courthouse throughout the
trial.
Continued from Page A1
Trial The Daily Reporter will
tweet periodic updates on
the murder trial beginning
Monday in Hancock County
Superior Court 1. Follow
along @GreenfieldDR and
join in the conversation with
#MeyersTrial.
FOLLOW THE CASE
hire a private firm to audit their
accounts just to make sure
everything is up to par.
“I just feel like there should be
someone to look over the books,”
said Marla Kemerly, Shirley
clerk-treasurer. “I would feel
more comfortable so someone
can’t say years down the line,
‘Well, she took,’ or, ‘She did.’ I’m
so concerned with the expenses
and the money coming in, that
things are spent properly.”
Kemerly speaks from
experience: A 2012 report from
the State Board of Accounts was
critical of Shirley’s accounting,
noting lapses and errors in
bookkeeping in an audit. While
nothing criminal was found,
Kemerly acknowledges she was
going through a hard time
personally, which led to
problems in the office.
But she doesn’t blame the
board of accounts. In fact,
Kemerly has been grateful for its
guidance over the years: Having
someone from a state agency
come to Shirley, go over the
paperwork and walk her through
problems is insightful.
“Going into the office 19 years
ago, they were very, very helpful
to me,” Kemerly said. “People
say, ‘Well, I’ve always done this
or that.’ That doesn’t work with
the state.”
The State Board of Accounts
audits communities every one to
two years, sending accountants
to local offices and going over
budget lines, invoices and more.
The completed reports are open
to the public and can be found at
www.in.gov/sboa.
For Hancock County’s
communities, most reports yield
only a few minor errors. Still,
occasionally audits of books
show larger problems. The town
of Fortville’s report, released a
year ago, noted several
significant accounting issues,
and town officials have been at
odds over the community’s
bookkeeping practices ever
since.
The board of accounts is
already cutting back on audits
for communities. State examiner
Paul Joyce said earlier this
month that the agency will
concentrate on local units of
government with bonding
authority or federal grants
worth at least $500,000. For local
units of government, that
generally means Hancock
County, the city of Greenfield
and schools. Most others will be
left out of audits, unless they
land a hefty federal grant for
roadwork or a utility project.
“I only have so many people to
do a job. It’s not that I don’t want
to do them,” Joyce said. “I have
places that have not been
reviewed in five years.”
Joyce, working with
lawmakers and organizations
representing local units of
government, will ask the General
Assembly to increase the cost of
state audits from $45 per day to
$45 per hour. Private certified
public accounting firms typically
charge $100 to $125 per hour for
similar work, he said.
For the city of Greenfield, the
cost of the audit will be
significantly higher under the
proposal. Clerk-Treasurer Larry
Breese said state auditors spend
40 hours over four days going
over the city’s books. The cost
for the audit would increase
tenfold, from $180 to $1,800.
Still, Breese said he wouldn’t
mind the change. He said it’s
important to have audits
continue, and he’d worry about
the cost of a private firm, how
reliable it would be or whether a
private audit would be easily
accessible to the public.
“I think there’s some assurance
with the citizens of Greenfield
that the office is performing
correctly and to the best of its
ability and there’s no funds
missing and everything else,”
Breese said. “I think that’s a vote
of confidence on the clerk-
treasurer’s office to the citizens
that it had been audited.
Whatever findings there are –
and there’s always some findings
– it gives assurance to the
citizens of the community that
it’s been performed, and this is
what they found.”
State associations that
represent cities, towns and
townships say they support
some sort of change to ensure
state audits continue. Deborah
Driskell, director of the Indiana
Township Association, said
higher auditing costs might be a
problem for small townships,
but audits are important to
maintaining public trust.
“This is a matter that needs to
be on the governor’s desk,” she
said.
The Hancock County Public
Library Board briefly discussed
the issue at its meeting last
week. All the members generally
agreed for the sake of public
trust that they would be willing
to pay for a private audit should
the state discontinue.
“I think we have to wait and
see first of all what the
Legislature does about this and
if they provide more funding so
they can continue,” said Beverly
Gard, president of the board and
former state senator. “There are
a lot of questions we don’t have
a lot of answers to.”
Local legislators have already
been approached by the State
Board of Accounts on the issue.
Rep. Bob Cherry, R-Greenfield,
said it will undoubtedly come
up in the 2015 session, during
which legislators will crunch
numbers for the state’s two-year
budget.
Cherry wonders whether the
process under which
communities are audited should
be changed. A community that
passes its audit every year with
flying colors, Cherry suggested,
might not need an annual
review. But one where red flags
are constantly raised should be
audited.
“The $45 a day is pretty cheap,
and the state loses money on
that situation,” Cherry added.
“Now, I don’t know if $45 an
hour is proper, either.”
Sen. Mike Crider,
R-Greenfield, said he’s willing
to help the state board get the
staffing and resources it needs
to continue to audit all
communities and townships.
“The public really needs to be
convinced their tax monies that
have been collected have been
used to the best effect,” Crider
said. “Oftentimes, a little
mistake can become a big
problem downstream. So it’s
certainly an area we need to
look at to make sure we’re doing
the best we can.”
The Associated Press contrib-
uted to this report.
Continued from Page A1
Audits
Continued from Page A1
Where
greenfieldreporter.comom
“When you have a good
crop, storage always
seems to fill up, and they
can only get rid of it so
fast. We had the same
problem last year.”
Greg Kleiman,
Hancock County corn
and soybean grower