3 counties seek switch to Central time

Commissioners in Dubois, White and Knox counties voted Monday to seek a switch to the Central time zone, meaning at least 12 counties will ask for federal permission to move out of Eastern time.\nWhite County commissioners voted 2-1 to petition the U.S. Department of Transportation, which regulates U.S. time zones, to make the switch. Part of White County borders a section of five counties in northwest Indiana that are already on Central time, and two of White's neighboring counties -- Carroll and Cass -- also voted to seek a switch to that zone.\n"We are surrounded by several counties who are either on Central now or have petitioned for Central time," said White County Commissioner John Heimlich, one of the two commissioners who supported a change.\nBut commissioners in Tippecanoe County, which borders White County to the south and includes the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette, have decided against seeking a switch to Central time.\n"We do have a number of people who work in Tippecanoe County," Heimlich said, citing that as a reason for staying in the Eastern zone.\nWhite County includes parts of two large lakes and the Indiana Beach amusement park, and several tourism businesses want to switch because much of their clientele comes from the Central zone, Heimlich said.\nCommissioners in Dubois County, which borders a section of five counties in southwestern Indiana on Central time, also voted 2-1 to seek a switch to that zone.\nThe board's president, Lawrence Vollmer, voted against petitioning for a change. He noted that the General Assembly passed a law this year that will mandate statewide observance of daylight-saving time starting next spring, and said he wanted to wait a year to see if people liked Eastern Daylight Time before considering a change.\nBut he acknowledged the other two commissioners said most of the people who had contacted them wanted to go to Central time.\nKnox County commissioners voted unanimously Monday to ask for the switch to Central time, saying most residents in the southwestern Indiana community prefer it. Knox borders Gibson County, which is on Central time.\nFreshman Republican Rep. Troy Woodruff of Vincennesin Knox County, cast the deciding vote in April for the entire state to switch to daylight-saving time. He said Monday the county is economically connected to southwestern Indiana counties that are on Central time.\nMeanwhile, the commissioners of central Indiana's Johnson County voted unanimously in favor of staying on Eastern time.\nUnder the current schedule, Indiana counties have until Friday to petition federal officials for a change. Commissioners in St. Joseph County are expected to vote Tuesday on whether to request a change to Central time. There is no timetable for the agency to decide on approving or disapproving the requests.\nEighty-two of the state's 92 counties are currently in the Eastern zone.