Daylight dilemma

You might want to read this next paragraph a few times before moving on.\nIn April 2006, Indiana officially became the 48th state to adopt daylight saving time, meaning the state’s clocks would now “spring ahead” and “fall back” with the rest of the Eastern Standard Time states. However, several counties (many of which have previously observed daylight saving time) petitioned to set their clocks to Central Standard Time and observe daylight saving time with the rest of the Midwest. \nGot all that? If you’re having a hard time making sense of Indiana’s backwater approach to time zones and daylight saving time, you aren’t the only one.\nRecently, several of those CST counties have petitioned to switch back to EST. \nAnd I was just getting the hang of this.\nIs someone missing the point here? Switching to daylight saving time was supposed to make Indiana life simpler and more conducive to commerce. But now that our clocks switch with not only the seasons, but also the political whims of Indiana’s 92 different counties, I’m seriously considering going out and purchasing a sun dial.\nHere’s an idea: Indiana picks one time zone to be in, and everyone has to follow it. No exceptions. No neighboring counties in different time zones. The current system does more to divide the state than encourage commerce. Besides, it’s downright confusing.\nSome might argue Indiana is too different a state to enforce a uniform time zone. \nFor example, Dearborn County residents want to be on the same time as Cincinnati, but northern Indiana train schedules jive better with Chicago’s CST zone. Meanwhile, southern counties want to line up with Louisville. If that be the case, perhaps we should dissolve Indiana entirely and annex the western, southern and eastern portions into Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio, respectively.\nOr what if these counties were on the same time as the state they actually live in? Wouldn’t that be economically beneficial?\nI’m not suggesting enforcing a uniform time zone will single-handedly pull Indiana out of its economic doldrums. But eliminating a system of counties reliant not on each other, but on neighboring states, is a good start.\nNew concept: Instead of aligning our clocks to suit the economies of other cities in other states, Indiana counties could develop their own economies. \nA uniform time zone would surely foster this intrastate economic development. \nAs it stands, residents of Perry County set their watches to Central time. But if they drive 25 minutes north into Dubois County, they’re on Eastern time. Do the math, and it can take a Perry County resident an hour and 25 minutes to drive 10 miles. That’s a rough commute.\nAnd some schools in northwest Indiana currently teach students from two different time zones. Can we please get this straightened out?\nSo congratulations to Indiana for embracing daylight saving time and stepping into the 21st century. Now it’s time to make a choice and stick to it. Eastern or Central time? You can’t have it both ways.