By KEVIN NEVERS

The State of Indiana will not be re-considering the closure of the Chesterton license branch any time soon. And that’s straight from the horse’s mouth

Gov. Mitch Daniels was in Chesterton early this morning, pressing the flesh at the Northside Diner at 100 N. Calumet Road and taking regulars somewhat by surprise.

“He’s in our booth,” joked Ray Wesley, assistant chief of the Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department.

In fact Daniels was on his way to the City of Portage, where later this morning he was scheduled to name the last of two Porter County representatives to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA). The Porter County Council and Commissioners have already appointed Gus Olympidis to the first seat.

The RDA appeared to be the furthest thing from diners’ minds today, however. A hot topic of conversation, as Daniels circulated through the restaurant was gas prices. “Not much you can do about it,” Daniels bluntly told one man at the counter, especially in the wake of Katrina and the catastrophic hit taken by pipelines, refineries, and drilling rigs in the Gulf.

Daniels recalled one man at a previous stop who had expressed his dismay at Katrina’s virtually instantaneous effect on prices at the pump. “I tried gently to say that our first concern is the people who got hit by the storm,” he said.

Daniels did say that Indiana Guard units will be dispatched to the area to assist with search and rescue, and evacuation, relief and cleanup, and the preservation of civil order. “We’re going to end up sending a lot of people down there.”

Ironically, Daniels added, the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor may be a temporary beneficiary of the disaster, as shipping is diverted from the Port of New Orleans.

Daniels also spent a few minutes with Jerome Davison, president of the Northwest Indiana Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, and Dennis McCafferty, sergeant at arms. They had a letter to present to the Governor—copies of which were going to the Illinois and Pennsylvania governors as well—protesting Comcast’s collective bargaining practices.

“I’ll take a look at it,” Daniels promised. “My position is that I’m comfortable with the labor laws we have.”

Meanwhile, closer to home, Daniels told the Chesterton Tribune that the decision by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to close the Chesterton license branch is a final one, “although there’s always the possibility of new facilities as old leases expire.”

“People have understood the situation,” Daniels maintained. “The system was never going to be any good without some change.”

One way to relieve the pressure on the remaining license branches, the Governor observed, is to keep motorists out of the branches as much as possible in the first place: thus the change from four-year license renewals to six-year.

On hand for Daniels’ visit and sharing a table for breakfast were State Rep. Ralph Ayres, R-Chesterton, and Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas, both of whom planned to attend the RDA appointment later in the morning.”

“I think it’s great that the Governor came to our community, came to the very people he represents,” Ayres said. “I can’t remember the last time a governor stopped by to get the pulse of the people. He does it throughout the state, tries to reach out to communities. He’s consistently done that.”

Posted 9/1/2005