Time zone complaints forged in Jasper County

JASPER, Ind. – Comments submitted to the federal agency considering whether to move six southwestern Indiana counties back to the Eastern Time Zone include two letters against the move listing hundreds of apparently forged names.\nThe letters to the U.S. Department of Transportation, purporting to be from residents of the town of Ireland and parishioners of St. Raphael Catholic Church in Dubois, have typewritten names but no signatures.\nBoth Alan Matheis, a member of St. Raphael, and Terry Kissel, who lives in Ireland, said they found from others that their names were on the respective letters and decided to submit comments stating their Eastern time preference.\n“I was very aggravated,” Kissel told The Herald of Jasper. “That somebody used my name and didn’t even ask me, that’s what aggravated me.”\nThe Rev. Thomas Kessler, St. Raphael’s pastor, said that the letter on parish letterhead was not authorized and looked like a listing of names pulled from the church’s directory.\n“It did not come from the church,” said Kessler, whose name was included on the letter. “This did not come from our community.”\nThe Transportation Department is accepting public comments through Friday on a request to reverse last year’s change to Central time for Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, Perry and Pike counties. The agency in July proposed approval for the move by five of the counties, and Perry County officials joined that request this month.\nThe disputed letters won’t be pulled from the docket as all comments the agency receives are included without any screening, agency spokesman Bill Mosley said. He suggested that those improperly named in the letters submit their own responses that will be reviewed before a final decision is made.\nIf the change wins final approval, it would take effect when daylight-saving time ends for the year on Nov. 4.\nMatheis, whose named was among the 320 listed the letter supposedly from St. Raphael Church, said the time zone issue had been divisive enough already for the area about 50 miles northeast of Evansville.\n“We were on the best time we could be where we didn’t have to change the clocks,” Matheis said. “It’s a disappointment that we have to go through this anyway. For someone to go and forge people’s names on this is even more disappointing.”