TERRE HAUTE —
Finding a place to light up a smoke in Vigo County is about to become much tougher.
The Vigo County Commissioners, by a 3-0 vote, on Tuesday morning amended the county’s clean indoor-air ordinance to prohibit smoking in virtually all indoor public places.
The only exceptions spelled out in the amendment are tobacco shops and private residences not being used as daycare or health care facilities.
The new rules will take effect Sunday.
“I think it was the right thing,” said Commissioner Mike Ciolli a few minutes after the vote.
Some of the most vocal opponents of changing the county’s ordinance were members of private clubs, such as American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts.
“There go my tips,” said Jeanna, a bartender at a local American Legion Post who did not want to give her last name. “We’ve already had people say Saturday will be their last day here.”
Several other members of American Legion posts interviewed Tuesday also disagreed with what the commissioners did, but said they will continue to visit their clubs.
“It’s just going to be an inconvenience,” said Marlin Jorgensen, who was sitting in the Riley American Legion Tuesday afternoon. “But it ought to be up to the club members,” he added.
Vigo County will join about half of the U.S. states that have passed comprehensive smoking bans in the past 10 years. Indiana’s new smoke-free law is less strict than the county’s. It continues to allow smoking in bars, casinos and private clubs. It is legal for local governments to adopt regulations more strict than the state’s, but not less strict.
“This is a huge day,” said Alia Hazel, tobacco prevention and cessation program director for Vigo County, speaking shortly after the commissioner’s meeting. “Vigo County should be very excited and very proud that they have leadership in this community that really believes in the public health.”
The county’s new ordinance is even tougher than the one passed last year by the Terre Haute City Council, which banned smoking in virtually all indoor public places starting July 1. The city’s ordinance allowed smoking to continue in a small number of hotel or motel rooms in the city. The county ordinance, which supersedes the city’s, makes no allowance for hotels or motels.
Veterans groups were covered by the city’s new ordinance. However, any clubs located outside the city limits, such as the Riley Legion, were exempted.
“This is a veterans’ organization,” said Gloria Phillips, who was enjoying a cigarette inside the Riley Legion post Tuesday afternoon. “They fought for our country, for our freedom. … People that don’t like smoking shouldn’t come in here.”
“Free choice,” echoed Jim Sullivan, a Korean War veteran and nonsmoker at the Krietenstein American Legion post Tuesday. “We figured it was our organization. We ought to be able to vote for it. That’s the American way.”
But that argument, made several times at a public meeting on June 19, didn’t fly with the county commissioners. Commissioner Judy Anderson said some veterans cannot go inside their clubs because of the smoke.
“We have a lot of veterans who haven’t been able to go in those. They are as deserving as anyone else,” Anderson said.
Commissioner Paul Mason, a veteran, said he sympathized with the veterans arguments, but still feels the commissioners did the right thing in passing the amendment 3-0.
“It’s a little hard as far as being a veteran and some of the veterans out there talking about what their concerns were,” he said. “But, I think that when we raised our hands to be selected to go in the service, we raised our hands for all of the people and not just a select group of people. So I think we did the right choice.”
Reporter Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
3-0 vote: No to smokes
Vigo County’s strict ban begins Sunday
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 21, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Monday and Tuesday, based on jail records.
-
UPDATE: Damage surveys show 2 weak tornadoes hit near Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — The National Weather Service says storm surveys show two weak tornadoes struck central Indiana.
-
Storm causes scattered Indiana power outages
INDIANAPOLIS — A line of thunderstorms that moved across Indiana caused scattered building damage and power outages for several thousand homes and businesses.
-
Kindergartner diagnosed with MD treated to a day with the fire department
“He’ll just never forget this day,” Stacey Manley said, a little bit tearfully, as she watched her smiling 6-year-old son Carter sitting happily in the captain’s seat of Fire Engine 2.
-
Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
-
Rose-Hulman projects will promote growth, learning for people with physical challenges
Life changed dramatically for college engineering student Drew Christy on Feb. 22, 2008 when he was involved in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
-
‘500’ gas stations being sold to Speedway LLC
After several decades in business, the area’s familiar “500” gasoline stations and convenience stores will soon be missing from the roadsides of Vigo and Sullivan counties.
-
Terre Haute woman faces 14 charges
A Terre Haute woman faces 14 criminal counts after her arrest Friday on drug-related charges.
-
Two adults injured in ATV accident
Two adults were injured Sunday evening while riding an all-terrain vehicle near Lexington Farms Subdivision off Moyer Drive in southern Vigo County.
-
Vigo schools’ medical claims down 4 percent
The Vigo County School Corp.’s medical claims were about $13 million over the last 12 months, down 4 percent from the prior year, said Diane Titchenell, an Anthem account manager that works with the school district.
-
2013 Government Directory now available
The 2013 Government Directory is now available.
-
UPDATE: 5 killed, 6 injured in I-70 van crash in Illinois
ST. LOUIS — A van carrying church members returning from a California gathering careened off of a southern Illinois freeway and overturned several times today, killing five people and sending six others to hospitals, authorities said.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Tighter Indiana drunken driving law seems unlikely
INDIANAPOLIS — Some key Indiana legislators say it’s unlikely that the state will any time soon go along with a federal safety board’s recommendation that the threshold for drunken driving be cut nearly in half.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 20, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, based on jail records.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” -
Boat trip aims to raise awareness about Lewy Body Dementia
In 2013, the Year of the River, it makes sense to link a grand adventure on the Wabash River with a good cause.
-
Legislature had little taste for alcohol bills
When it comes to alcohol, the 2013 legislative session may be marked more by what it didn’t do to boost booze sales than what it did.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Is it regulation that doesn’t make sense or evening the playing field?
I’m not much of a drinker, so I haven’t spent much time thinking about how Indiana’s alcohol laws personally impact me, but that changed last fall when my daughter got married.
-
RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: April 29-May 3
The Vigo County Health Department inspected the following food establishments April 29-May 3:
-
For Piper: Annual ‘Rush the Punter’ event dedicated to Dixie Bee student who died Wednesday after a short illness
Steve Weatherford’s “Rush the Punter” fundraiser at Fairbanks Park on Saturday was dedicated to a little girl who lost her life unexpectedly to pneumonia.
-
Vigo schools prepare to tighten belts
State funding for the Vigo County School Corp. will remain “pretty flat” for the next two years, said Donna Wilson, chief financial officer.
-
Veterans take to the trees
Cristal Bednar took photos of her husband, Justin, as he laboriously climbed his way up a “Dangle-Duo” to get to a zipline at Indiana State University’s Sycamore Outdoor Center.
-
Property owner seeks halt to Hulman Lake dam project
A Terre Haute property owner is seeking an injunction that would at least temporarily halt the city’s work on the Hulman Lake dam project.
-
Tornado veterans balance preparedness, practicality
Few things in nature are less predictable than a tornado. They can form quickly. They strike weirdly, leveling one building while leaving its neighbor untouched. They can fling a car a half-mile and turn a piece of lumber into a wall-piercing missile.
-
ISU unveils interactive Bayh Family Legacy Wall at school
A who’s who of Indiana Democrats paid tribute to Evan Bayh and several generations of the Bayh family Friday during a dedication of a new interactive display at Indiana State University.
-
Can you smell me now?
A contraband cell phone has been discovered by the Vigo County Jail’s youngest and most unique officer.
-
GIVING BACK: Steve Weatherford buys shoes for kids day before charity run
Terre Haute’s Steve Weatherford, punter for the 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants, showed once again his generosity Friday by donating new athletic shoes to more than two dozen Vigo County kids.
-
N.Y. Giants honor Weatherford as ‘Man of the Year’
Dan Tanoos, superintendent of Vigo County schools, remembers the first time he saw Steve Weatherford as a freshman at Terre Haute North Vigo High School.
-
Sunday recital at The Woods
A recital featuring songs from well-known composers is at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 21, 2013




