Execution won't affect scheduled events in city
By Matt Miller
Tribune-Star
Several community events coinciding with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's new execution date of June 11 in Terre Haute will not be rescheduled, event officials say.
The Miss Indiana pageant (June 10-16); Hoosier Boys State (June 9-16); and Sycamore Advantage, Indiana State University's advising and registration session for new students (June 11-29), will run as planned.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft delayed the execution from today after more than 3,000 newly discovered FBI documents were turned over to McVeigh's attorneys last week.
Rod Henry, Miss Indiana executive director, said schedules within the beauty pageant festivities for June 10 and 11 may be altered after discussion with local police.
"If they suggest we make adjustments they feel would be appropriate, we'll do that," he said.
The new execution date is inconvenient for the pageant, Henry said.
The bulk of the pageant contestants' activities, including a news conference and reception, are scheduled for June 10. The women are scheduled to take tours in the Terre Haute community and rehearse at ISU's Hulman Center on June 11.
Holiday Inn, U.S. 41, will serve as both the pageant's headquarters and headquarters for media covering McVeigh.
Meeting space and rooms won't be affected by the overlap, though, Holiday Inn manager Bill Burdine said.
The pageant won't need Holiday Inn meeting space until June 14, more than two days after media covering McVeigh leaves, he said.
Media representatives will have checked out by the 11th and most pageant interest isn't until the contest on June 14 through 16. Therefore, Burdine said room reservations won't be affected by the new execution date.
"The situations will back up against each other," he said.
Hoosier Boys State, a weeklong session on government organization and operation, will run on its regular schedule at ISU, said Denise Domogalik, Indiana American Legion Americanism programs coordinator.
"Timothy McVeigh isn't shooing us away," she said Monday.
Planning for the program began in August and postponement would be difficult, considering the many schedules of counselors and delegates, she said.
"These young men are busier than ever," she said.
Only traffic congestion in southern Terre Haute will affect ISU's Sycamore Advantage program on June 11, said Jan Arnett, co-coordinator of ISU's summer transition programs.
Arnett said she's discussed the situation with ISU Public Safety officials and decided to leave the schedule untouched.
"[The execution will] be over and completed by the time our students and parents start checking in at 7:30 [a.m.]," she said.
About 120 students are expected to attend the series of one-day programs, Arnett said.
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