The article in the Indy Star on the South Bend hearings entitled Decision time: To split the state, or not? focused on the desire by many to put the State on one time zone or at least to keep St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties on the same time. The article had one factual error, however:
The U.S. government has said it will not move a county that hasn’t petitioned to do so.
That means the only way to keep the area on the same time zone is to deny the requests by St. Joseph and some of its neighbors to switch to Central.
This isn’t quite true. That’s one way. However, it’s not the only way. Elkhart County, or any county, can petition the U.S. Dept. of Transportation at any time for a time zone shift. This is significant and has been left out of almost all public discussion of the issue. The fact that it is possible for Elkhart County to file a petition means that the public debate should contain a discussion of why it is not incumbent upon Elkhart County to file such a petition if it’s so important to keep the counties on one time zone.
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