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Central or Eastern time? Consensus clear as dusk By Curt Slyder, Journal and Courier The first feature movie at MELS at the Starlite Drive-In, eight miles south of Frankfort on Indiana 39, begins around 8:15 p.m. in mid-July. But dusk could start an hour later next summer, and that clearly has outdoor theater managers like MELS' Elaine Dearduff worried. With Indiana due to begin observing daylight-saving time in April 2006, clocks will be set one hour ahead, and that will make summer sunsets an hour later. Families with children may not want to stay up an extra hour to watch a second feature, she said. And that means fewer tickets and less concession sales. "We're a seasonal business. For us, we've tried to build up the drive-in as a family-oriented event. Eastern (daylight) time could drive the families away," Dearduff said. Sharp differences of opinion separate Hoosiers on the issue of which time zone Indiana should be in. Golfers look forward to an extra hour of play under Eastern Daylight Time. Others prefer the extra hour of daylight on winter mornings under Central time. Public opinion will be sounded out during coming months as Indiana county officials ponder what to tell the U.S. Department of Transportation, which has final say over time zone determinations. The Department of Transportation has yet to issue its formal request to counties for input on the subject but will do so "soon," according to Bill Mosley, public information specialist. Indiana hasn't observed daylight-saving time since the early 1970s. This year's bill mandating DST came at the urging of Gov. Mitch Daniels, who argued it would benefit Indiana's economy to be in sync with most of the rest of the country that observes it. The bill left open the sticky time zone issue. Daniels asked the transportation department to set up hearings around the state. But U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta declined the request, leaving it up to counties to present cases for changing or remain silent. Whether any of Indiana's 92 counties will seek a change in time zone remains to be seen, although some observers believe Mineta's decision makes change less likely. Carroll County commissioner Bill Brown said he wishes the Department of Transportation would have provided more guidance. Leaving the decision up to 92 counties invites confusion. "I think most of the time the federal government encroaches on our local rights too much," he said. "But this time zone decision may very well be a federal function." -- Contributing: David Smith and Dan Shaw/Journal and Courier

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