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(07/25/02 8:23pm)
MARTINSVILLE -- Two weeks of arguments in the multiple murder trial of Indianapolis resident Judy Kirby concluded Wednesday in Morgan County Superior Court.\nKirby was on trial for an incident occurring March 25 last year when she drove her white Firebird north on the southbound lane of Ind. 67 in Morgan County. She ran head-on into a van driven by Martinsville resident Tom Reel, who was travelling with two of his children and family friend Richard Miller.\nKirby had four of her children in the car. All but Kirby and Miller were killed in the collision, which completely shattered both vehicles. The State of Indiana charged Kirby with 7 counts of murder, 4 counts of neglect and 1 count of aggravated battery.\nKirby's defense has not denied that she drove the wrong way on the highway, but her motivations for the fatal 1.7 mile journey were hotly contested. The defense, consisting of Johnson county attorney Tom Jones and his daughter Jennifer Auger, built their case around the contention that Kirby was psychotic and had no control over her own actions.\nWednesday's final arguments began at 9:15 a.m., with Deputy Prosecutor Terry Iacoli making a presentation to the jury. Iacoli used an overhead projector and slide show to summarize his case as he reiterated the significance of hundreds of pieces of evidence and witness testimonies.\n"Back on March 25," Iacoli said, "Judy Kirby was in control and held nine lives in her hands."\nIacoli then restated his case, using testimonies from Kirby's friends and family to portray her as being suicidal after catching her husband Tinnie Kirby cheating on her. Iacoli then painted her as a woman at the end of her rope making a conscious decision to drive her car into oncoming traffic with both hands on the wheel and screaming children all around her. \n"She had nerves of steel," Iacoli said. "Imagine that for 87 seconds... cars coming at you, swerving, trying to get you to stop. Nine vehicles. (Kirby) knows they can't all avoid her, so she goes faster and faster. She nails it."\nIacoli pointed to expert testimony which said Kirby continually accelerated to a speed of over 99 miles per hour on her way to hitting Reel's van. Iacoli repeatedly called Kirby's drive a suicide mission and disputed the defense's claims that Kirby was psychotically imbalanced from a thyroid disorder.\n"We are confident that when you look at the evidence... you will find that on March 25, 2000 Judy Kirby did exactly what all her friends and family were afraid she would set out to do: commit suicide," Iacoli said.\nThe defense then recapped its case, describing Kirby as a loving mother who lost control in the throws of psychosis. Jones described Kirby as being paranoid to the point that she was convinced the Secret Service was tunneling under her house to spy on her and presented photos of holes she'd ripped into the walls of her house searching for surveillance devices. He said the matter was a traffic accident, but not murder, because Kirby wasn't in control of her faculties.\nJones also presented part of Kirby's emotional, tape-recorded police statement, given to State Trooper Rick Lane while she was hospitalized at Methodist Hospital after the crash.\n"I want to know why," Kirby told police. "I want to know why. I love my babies. I wouldn't do nothing to hurt my babies. I swear to God in Heaven I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I swear to God that is all I love. I wouldn't do nothing to hurt my babies. None of my babies."\nAfter a short recess, Auger completed the defense's final argument by presenting the jury with charts describing Kirby's behavior as being typical of someone with Hyperthyroid disorder and asked the jury if there was any doubt Kirby was psychotic. Throughout its case, the defense stressed the prosecution's burden of proof and asked the jurors to keep an open mind about Kirby's condition.\n"If you think at the end of the day (Kirby) was unable to process information," Auger told the jury. "Justice demands that she is not guilty of murder, neglect and battery."\nThe defense ultimately asked the jury to acquit Kirby on all charges.\nAfter both sides finished their arguments, Morgan County Superior Court Judge Jane Spencer Craney instructed the jury on how it should deliberate the case. \nCraney reiterated Indiana laws which say Kirby must have voluntarily killed to be guilty of murder and described voluntarily as "behavior that is an act of choice." She also ordered the jury not to be swayed by the graphic nature of photos of the young victims taken after the crash or the fact that Kirby did not testify in her own defense. Craney also emphasized the defense must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt to convict Kirby on any of the charges.\n"Prepare yourself for a long, serious deliberation," Craney told the throng of family members, police and media in the courtroom pews. "I am prepared to allow several days for deliberation before I take steps to declare a mistrial."\nBefore the jury entered deliberations, Tom Reel's widow Louise told a small pack of reporters outside the courthouse that she and her remaining daughter share the same sentiments.\n"She took my family from me," Reel said. "I hope they're not going to let her go because she did something horrible"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
A sleepy darkness coats my bedroom,
Seeping into the corners and wrapping me in a blanket of night.
Like snowflakes aimlessly swirling through the air, memories flood through my mind of times and years past.
I remember, like remembering
a dream...
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
President George W. Bush has nominated Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts Bruce Cole to chair the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).\nIn a press release, IU President Myles Brand called the nomination an affirmation of IU's leadership role in national academic affairs.\nCole, a member of the faculty since 1973, was previously a member of the National Council on the Humanities and is the chair of the Art History department. He has published 12 books, including a collection of articles called "Studies in Italian Art 1250-1550." \nAs a presidential nominee, Cole said protocol dictates he not comment to the press. But Cole's colleagues had plenty to say about his appointment and his achievements. Among them was researcher Lynne Munson, author of the book "Exhibitionism: Art in an Era of Intolerance." Munson said the NEH has gone rather far afield from "supporting important research," and Cole will likely change the organization's direction toward scholarship of a more traditional, objective and excellent sort. Munson said she and many other scholars believe "Professor Cole is at the absolute top of his discipline in terms of his own scholarship. He was also the first art historian to serve on the national council," Munson said. "Professor Cole was a particularly dedicated council member. Professor Cole came to every single meeting he was required to attend. He just really used that experience to its utmost. I have to assume it made him an ideal candidate."\nFormer Dean of Arts & Sciences Mort Lowengrub, now Dean of Academic Affairs at Yeshiva University, appointed Cole to chair the Art History Department six years ago. Lowengrub described Cole as a role model who was admired by his colleagues and students alike. \n"The man published 12 books, he was promoted to the distinguished rank of professor, he had Guggenheim awards, he produced many graduate students who went on to extensive careers in the history of art," Lowengrub said. "Undergraduates flocked to his classes. He had all the credentials of an outstanding teacher and scholar."\nCole's nomination is pending approval by the Senate.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Nary sword nor dagger can be found in the mall, nor can a vixen be found downtown.\nUpset landlords evicted them all. Arms merchants and escorts were left with a frown.\nShawn and Cindy Haverfield, owners of The Dragon's Claw, formerly in College Mall, and Vixen's, formerly at 412 E. Fourth St., were given the boot from both locations simultaneously in April.\nThe Dragon's Claw, which sells replicas of antique arms and armor, was evicted from College Mall one week before Vixens, a lingerie shop and escort service, was simultaneously kicked out of their 4th street store front.\nMatthew Blair, a manager at The Dragon's Claw and friend of the Halversons', said the sword shop was given the axe by mall owner Simon Properties after it failed to make enough profit. The lingerie store was stripped of its spot after the Fourth Street Community Board decided they only wanted restaurants on Fourth street.\nBlair said about 20 employees were let go because of the two closings.\n"We had to be out of The Dragon's Claw by the 8th of that month," Blair said. "And we had to be out of Vixen's by the 16th of that month. If it wasn't so depressing it would have been funny."\nA Simon Properties spokeswoman said The Dragon's Claw was under a temporary license agreement in their new location, which allowed College Mall to cancel their lease at any time.\n"In this particular case however they were not living up to the terms of the license agreement," the spokeswoman said. \nBut Blair said the store was treated unfairly by the mall. He said the storefront the business originally wanted was "bought out from under them" by another business, and the store was placed in a less prosperous location near L.S. Ayres. He also said the mall agreed to place signs informing customers of the move but did not, and as a result several regular customers couldn't find the new location.\nWhereas the Simon spokeswoman said businesses evicted from a temporary license agreement are typically given 30 days to move out and allowed the opportunity to sell off inventory. Blair said The Dragon's Claw was given 8 days notice and was told to lock their doors immediately without the opportunity to liquidate their stock.\nConflicting accounts also arise in the tale of Vixens move from Fourth street. Sara Harvey, who owns Vintage Warehouse -- a clothing store across the street from the former Vixens location, said no decision was ever made by a community board to kick Vixens out.\n"First of all there is no Fourth Street Community Board," Harvey said. "I've been here for 15 years. As far as I know there's no board."\nAs for The Dragon's Claw, the Haverfields are still plying their wares at conventions and Blair said they hope to reopen the store in a new strip mall under construction on highway 37. Until then The Dragon's Claw's merchandise is available, and on sale, online at www.the-dragons-claw.com.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
The original manuscript to beat writer Jack Kerouac's "On the Road," a 119-foot scroll detailing Kerouac's travels across America and life on the beat scene, is being evaluated for preservation at IU's Lilly Library.\nIndianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay paid $2.43 million for the scroll in an auction at Christie's, who catalogued it at christies.com as being worth between $1 and $1.5 million. Last week, Irsay sent the scroll to IU Lilly Library preservationist Jim Canary to be evaluated for preservation.\nKerouac once described the manuscript in a letter to friend and beat poet Allen Ginsberg, quoted at christies.com.\n "…wrote whole thing on strip of paper 120 foot long -- just rolled it through typewriter and in fact no paragraphs -- rolled it out on floor and it looks like a road…," Kerouac wrote in his distinctive stream-of-consciousness style\nOriginally written in 1951, "The Scroll," as Kerouac and friends called it, is still legible but a bit tattered. Its first page is torn down the middle and Canary said at some point a dog even ate a bit of it. It is now 119' 4" long. Canary said he has so far evaluated about 40 feet of the scroll.\n"I'm doing a condition survey at the moment," Canary said. "I'm looking at it from beginning to end and noting any defects that I see. Any tears, smudges, tape."\nIrsay said the scroll is connected to many facets of his life. As the owner of a sports team, Irsay said he actively collects memorabilia. A rock and roll fan and poet, Irsay also appreciates the effects Kerouac and other beat writers have had on modern music and literature. Irsay hasn't yet read the entirety of his fragile, $2 million scroll. But he remembers reading the store-bought version of "On the Road" when he was 17.\n"The beats had a huge influence on Dylan and McCartney and Lennon," Irsay said. "I just have a real love for writing and writers and that kind of thing. Everything just comes together with the Kerouac script. First of all, the uniqueness of the scroll and the spontaneity with which he wrote it is a form of writing that I'm a big fan of. To me that sort of style is something that is really (full of impact) and I have an interest in."\nThe "spontaneity" to which Irsay refers is part of the legend of "On the Road." Kerouac supposedly wrote the entire piece in 20 days, cutting long sheets of paper to fit his typewriter and taping them end to end as he typed to form the scroll. The original manuscript lists the real names of the other beat writers on whom Kerouac based characters and includes crossed-out errors and original writing not found in the published version.\n"There's a strong interest about people wanting to read it as is with the cross outs and the real names in there," Irsay said. "I'm looking into the aspects of if there's a way to get something like that published. Like when Dylan did Blood on the Tracks, the first version was the best. Kerouac wanted to publish ("On the Road") as it was but the publishers wouldn't let him."\nIrsay spokeswoman Myra Borshoff said the scroll will be unveiled in Bloomington at a public reception in August, but no date has yet been set. Borshoff said Irsay plans to investigate options for making the document available for the public.\n"The farther I got pulled into it the more I really felt it was something I wanted to do," Irsay said. "I also had heard some concerns from people who really love the work itself and some concerns it might be taken out of the country or socked away or those sort of things. So from a stewardship standpoint I really felt good about saying 'hey I can help' or I can be a curator for this kind of thing. It's such a part of Americana in the aspect of the way it's written and how he travelled and everything"
(06/25/01 3:14am)
Twenty years ago a small but deadly pneumonia epidemic began in Los Angeles. By June 5, 1981, five had been infected and two were dead. Doctors submitted a report to the Center for Disease Control.\nThe CDC published the report with an editorial note describing the condition as associated with immune dysfunction and sexual contact. After the publication, doctors across the country began submitting similar reports.\nEighteen months later, a team of CDC scientists discovered the root of the epidemic and dubbed it Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome: AIDS.\nThose isolated reports 20 years ago marked the beginning of a plague which, according to the CDC, has now consumed the lives of more than 400,000 Americans. \nWednesday is the Center for Disease Control's National HIV testing day. But HIV is not the only sexually transmitted infection on the rise. Planned Parenthood community specialist Kelly McBride said of 12 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections reported annually, 3 million are in teenagers, and two-thirds of new infections occur in people younger than 25. McBride said chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI), with 4 million new cases reported annually. McBride also said 1 in 5 people have herpes. But the Kaiser Family Foundation reports the majority of young people are more concerned about AIDS than a few years ago. According to the CDC there are about 40,000 new cases of HIV yearly. \nIU alumnus Mark Price found out he had HIV more than three years ago. By the time the tests came back, Price wasn't surprised at the outcome. Several of his former lovers had already been infected or died, and he said there was no other explanation for the combination of symptoms he was having.\nPrice then became an HIV educator. He met with students in the dorms, attended activist events and wrote about his experiences as a columnist in several local publications, including the IDS.\n"I make a bad activist because I don't always think the enemy is identifiable," Price wrote. "I hear wild implausible theories for the origin of AIDS, the transmission patterns data-mined out of clinical and hospital reports, the accusations of biological warfare and selective infection and, what do I know? I'm just a guy with AIDS."\nOrdinarily, Price takes four medications three times daily and sees his doctor four times each year, unless he has complications like shingles or skin problems that need tending. His appetite comes and goes, but aside from being slightly gaunt, Price doesn't appear much different from anyone else. After being diagnosed with HIV, he came back. \n"I try to think about it as little as I can in a personal way," Price said."To me it's not a very interesting topic in and of itself. I tend to think of it more in how it's changed the world I live in more than how it's changed me."\nRecently, Price gave up his column and his community educational activities to spend more with his garden and his dogs. Price said he gave up trying to educate the community after being embittered by his message falling on the deaf ears of unresponsive audiences.\n"It involves things people don't want to talk about," Price said. "It involves things people don't want to know. It tends to strike at the most personal part of someone's life."\nAccording to the Kaiser report, Americans are becoming more educated about HIV and AIDS, but more than half of Americans do not know that having another STI increases a person's risk of infection and one in five Americans think HIV can be transmitted by sharing a drinking glass.\nPositive Link, 333 E. Miller Drive, offers free, anonymous HIV testing and the IU Health Center offers confidential testing for $15. Planned Parenthood, 421 S. College Avenue and the Monroe County Health Department, 333 E. Miller Drive, offer testing for chlamydia, gonnorhea and syphilis and pregnancy.
(06/21/01 2:34am)
There's a wheel in the sky overlooking Fess Street in a gravel lot next to the stadium. \nAt night, it glows and turns and carries families, children and lovers high into the air and down again. A sign on its side tells those waiting to ride it the history of the Ferris wheel, and that this one was built specially for Cumberland Valley Shows. In the gravel lot below, children hold their parents' hands and eat cotton candy and elephant ears under glowing signs. People play skee ball and throw darts and kids whiz around on spinning machines.\nHere and there white generator trailers belch smoke and pump life into the rides and lights and the giant wheel through a thick web of cables that cross the midway under the feet of the crowds. But some of them go past the throngs and the machines and the barking vendors into the little village by the road.\nIt's not a village in a conventional sense. It's a village on wheels. This is where the operators live. Some people call them carnies -- they're the folks who keep the whole thing going. And when the spectacle's over, they'll pack in their trailers, roll up their cables, pull down the wheel and travel to the next town, where they'll set it all up all over again. And so forth, for many of them, for all of their lives.\nThis time, it's the IU Fun Frolic, taking place at the Memorial Stadium White lot for the rest of the week. Next time, it could be anywhere from Monroe, Michigan to Miami, Florida. To the carnival operators, home is always another town away.\nJohn Marconi has been on the road with the show for 49 years -- all his life. He describes himself as being born and raised on the road. His face is brown and furrowed from a lifetime of travelling and working in the sun.\n"Growing up out here is just like growing up at home," Marconi said. "When school time came, mom took us home. I played football, normal sports."\nManagers, equipment owners and those who have made smart business moves wake up in a luxury trailer equipped with multiple beds, kitchens, bathrooms and, often, satellite television. \nMany of the employees tumble out of sleeping compartments in the sides of specially outfitted trailers. The compartments feature enough room to stand, a little bed and some closet space. The workers decorate their compartments with everything from photos to Budweiser labels to CD covers. The starting salary for a Cumberland Valley operator is $250 per week.\nAfter roll is called, workers set about repairing equipment, cleaning trucks, stocking vending stands and seeing about general maintenance. Wednesday is a free day, when employees can do their laundry and sit on the steps of their trailers cooling themselves with soft drinks. Marconi and a group of friends from the carnival try to golf a couple days each week. \nThen, every night at 6 p.m., the gates open and crowds roll in. \nMarconi said the average worker puts in about 8 hours a day, but it can vary depending on the crowds and the weather and the work that needs to be done. Marconi said he likes the business because punching a clock isn't his bag, but the carnival isn't always fun.\n"Sometimes it's raining all night on a Saturday night, and I'm working all night in the rain," Marconi said. "Watching it get muddy and knowing you have to push and pull everything to get it off the lot."\nWhen he was 17, a heart attack took Marconi's father, and he took over the family business. After growing up on the road, he knew the business but was intimidated by the prospect of managing his family's equipment. He married a cheerleader from his high school and raised two sons. One became a Florida realtor, the other joined the Marines.\nThree or four families, like the Marconis, run most of the rides, concessions and games and stay on the road about 10 months out of the year and operate primarily east of the Mississippi. Cumberland Valley Shows manager Jason Floyd tries to limit distances between shows to cut costs. In the winter, much of the equipment is parked in Florida, where the long road begins again every January. \nFloyd said some of the contractors have been with his company for 10 to 15 years. Marconi's been with the show since before Floyd's family owned it.\nAfter his dad's death, Marconi managed his family's equipment until the day came -- what he describes as his happiest day in the business -- when he could buy his first trailer. It consisted of a dart game where contestants throw darts at balloons for mirrors. \nNow he manages the concession trailers and owns a dozen booths, games and rides of his own. His 71-year-old mother runs the dart game now, and his son has come home from the Marines to travel with them. Although he's been immersed in the carnival life for almost half a century, Marconi still enjoys it. He said people either love it or leave.\n"I get to meet different people," he said. "You get to see people at their best and worst at the carnival. You get to see kids be kids and sometimes you get to see their parents be kids again too"
(05/31/01 2:22am)
What started started ten years ago as a bait shop by Lake Monroe has become an interstate enterprise and is now officially owned by its employees.\nWorm's Way Garden Center, which sells hydroponic growing equipment and home brewing supplies, is now 30 percent owned by its employees after a stock transfer from majority owner and founder Martin Heydt. It is billing itself as the first company in its industry to be employee-owned.\nBloomington Worm's Way general manager Claude Eastridge said the employees don't actually have to pay for the stock -- rather the stock will become part of their benefits package through the employee's work equity. The stock is divided among Worm's Way's 50 full-time employees according to their percentage of the payroll. The more they're paid, the more stock they get. \n"Our employees are the real reason we continue to be so successful," Heydt said in a press release. "Their dedication to our fast-growing company is outstanding and they deserve a piece of the pie."\nEastridge said his personal portfolio, which he plans to use for his retirement, could increase in value by as much as 30 percent.\n"It's an honor for one thing that (the employees) were trusted to make some of these decisions," Eastridge said.\nSpokeswoman Michelle Sinning said the employees who stay on for five more years could expect as much as $30,000 in addition to their salaries from the stock ownership plan, provided the company continues to do well. She said Worm's Way is on solid financial ground and plans are in the works to add a 30,000 square foot office and warehouse facility in Bloomington. \nSinning used Wal-Mart as a successful example of an employee-owned business where secretaries eventually became millionaires because of their stock options.\nAmong the more well-known American companies which are employee-owned are United Airlines and Avis. According to the National Center for Employee Ownership, about ten thousand public and private American companies have Employee Stock Ownership Programs and American workers own about $213 billion dollars worth of corporate equity.\n"Our new ESOP program will supplement the existing retirement plan and renew our commitment to the future of our team," Heydt said. "We believe it's important for all our employees to know how important they are to our company's success and let them share in the profits created from their work"
(05/31/01 1:25am)
The Indianapolis 500 was like "Hee Haw" on crank. It was a frenzied drunken sprint from beer to beer, port-a-potty to port-a-potty, boob show to boob show.\nThe scene was set the Thursday before Memorial Day, when sweaty, red plow pushers began entrenching themselves, their trucks and their light beer in the otherwise modest and pleasant brick and mortar suburb of Speedway, Ind. Then, as the sun set, the flag went up on the drunkest driving spectacle in racing.\nThe drinking started much like the race would. There were a couple of warm-up laps and rain delays until Saturday night, when the scarred-liver veterans, college kids and race hooligans opened up full bore into the final turns of guzzling, urinating and barfing. This is when corn dogs, turkey legs and pork-on-a-stick were selling faster than hotcakes.\nBy Saturday night, the leaders of the foaming beverage freak- show formed and marched the length of the Speedway down 25th Street belching "Show your tits" in the faces of whatever embossomed lifeforms crossed their paths. By midnight, it didn't matter if the women were 15 or 50 -- all were asked for a peek at their wares. This is when the tapered-legged "No Fear" and Oakley guys tucked their home town honies under their arms to keep their boobs out of the public eye.\nThe drunken marathon was refereed by shave-headed, straight-backed phalanxes of state police that waded through the diffuse crowd telling wobblers to shape up and comparing drunken girls in daisy dukes to their high school sweethearts. When they weren't staring down high schoolers' blouses, they were busily shining club-sized Maglites on the slow moving drunks taking high-speed leaks in bushes, yards and parking lots.\nThe slowest people in the midnight marathon were the religious fanatics who took turns hefting a wooden cross down the street. They ran out of wind carrying it down a flat, paved avenue. Try as they might, none of them had the stamina Jesus did.\nBut the beer guzzlers had more than enough constitution to stay drunk until the green flag flew. By 10:30 a.m. Sunday, the entire horde was loping through the Speedway gates like cattle into the corral. The religious fanatics must've gotten less rest on the Sabbath day than the drunkards. One was screaming, "This is not what God has planned for you" which was a clear contradiction of Joe Bob 35:15 which reads "So sayeth the Lord, go yonder and eat funnel cake and drink Coors Light."\nAnother zealot put a bull horn to his lips and screamed, "You're selling your soul to the devil. Do you think it's a coincidence this race is held on a Sunday?" He had obviously figured out that the whole spectacle was just a conspiracy to keep folks from watching the race on TV. They were probably most upset by the financial impact the race was having on Baptist tent revivals, bingo games and church sponsored hodowns across the midwest. But most of the maurading race crowd wouldn't have been caught dead in church anyway.\nOf course, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, unlike almost any other sports venue, bringing one's own booze is fair play. This is a big deal because not many families have room left in the budget after the twenty five dollar parking and a thirty dollar supply of pork-on-a-stick.\nAbove the poor people, sat the rich people, the press and anybody else who was either making a buck off the whole deal or just didn't want to sit with the other half. VIPs were sitting in the top floors of the glass pagoda, shelling out $30 a plate for dinner and keeping an eye on the race while keeping away from the other half. A crowd still watched from the infield, but there were none of the epic Snake Pit orgies of old, thanks mainly to cops and STDs.\nThe race itself was the ending footnote to the whole drunken debacle. The cars made a lot of noise. People cheered for the wrecks. People cheered for the injured. People cheered for the uninjured. This one fat guy was bouncing around the stands by Gasoline Alley and was cheering for everyone until he bumped into some lanky bumpkin's pie-faced wife and was told to cut it out.\nEven Sarah Fisher acted like she was drunk, wiping out in the eighth lap and injuring the spine of Scott Goodyear. It was announced that she was OK and folks clapped. It was announced that Goodyear was injured and folks clapped.\nAfter unknown thousands of beer runs and 13 lead changes, Helio Castroneves took home first place for Team Penske. But in my book, Purdue University carried the day when an encampment of Boilermakers successfully downed more than 30 cases and two kegs.
(05/24/01 2:22am)
For the next week, unbelted and unsafe drivers are in danger of being "blitzed" by the police.\nThe Monroe County Sheriff's Department, the IU Police Department and the Bloomington Police Department, along with 180 police agencies across the state, are participating in Indiana's Operation Pullover Blitz from May 20 to June 2. Thursday's activities will include a seat belt enforcement zone at an undisclosed location on Atwater Avenue.\n"The object of this operation is to raise the awareness of seat belt usage in our community," BPD Cpt. Joe Qualters said. "We will accomplish that by doing roving patrols, intersection patrols and seat belt enforcement zones."\nQualters said intersection patrols consist of officers stationed near an intersection who walk into traffic when drivers are stopped by a red light. The officers then check to make sure passengers in the stopped vehicles are wearing their seat belts.\nIUPD Sgt. Tim Lewis said Operation Pullover reminds young drivers there is more at risk than death when they drive unsafely or under the influence.\n"They can lose their vehicle, incur fines or incarceration," Lewis said. "We know from national statistics that seat belts do save lives."\nTuesday, the IUPD and BPD set up a seat belt enforcement zone near Atwater Avenue and Woodlawn Ave. The two agencies wrote a total of 23 tickets in four hours. During the last Blitz, Feb. 5 to March 20, BPD alone wrote a total of 508 tickets.\n"We've participated in Operation Pullover for six or seven years," Qualters said. "Last year we started participating more in seat belt enforcement. There were 130 fewer fatalities last year than the previous year. The state is attributing that to seat belt enforcement."\nThe extra officers and hours used for the beefed up patrols and enforcement zones are being funded by state grants to local police agencies. Four hundred thousand is spent annually on the statewide blitzes, which are usually scheduled around holidays like Memorial Day.\n"We've got two shifts of DUI patrols during this two-week period, and we've got nine four-hour shifts of seat belt, speeding and safety patrols," Lewis said.\nAccording to a report by the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, the percentage of Indiana drivers who buckle up rose from 21.6 percent in 1987 to 62.1 percent in 2000, when the State Supreme Court upheld a law allowing police to ticket motorists for not wearing their seat belts.\nBut in a May 21 report from the National Safety Council (NSC), an independent not-for-profit organization which researches safety issues, Indiana scored a D+ for seatbelt usage. Eighteen other states received Ds and Fs in the NSC's report. NSC president Allan McMillan said the United States lags behind every other developed country in the numbers of citizens using seatbelts.
(05/17/01 3:11am)
Personal injury attorney Ken Nunn, who smiles up at Bloomington residents from the back of every local Ameritech phone book, has enlisted the help of hundreds of Indiana police agencies to target accident victims as prospective clients.\nNunn has requested 500 Indiana law enforcement agencies to fax copies of accident reports directly to his office on a monthly or weekly basis. Nunn will use the reports, which are public record, to mail advertisements to accident victims. At $3 to $5 each, Nunn could spend around $500,000 annually on the endeavor.\nNunn said the practice is nothing new and that Indiana lawyers have used accident reports to contact injury victims since 1988, when the Indiana State Supreme Court deemed it legal for lawyers to solicit clients as long as they don't breach rules of professional conduct.\nEven with target mailings, Nunn said insurance companies -- who are usually financially responsible in personal injury suits -- still have an unfair advantage.\n"The insurance company can come right in immediately," Nunn said. "Insurance companies can go to the emergency room and lawyers can't. It seems to me that they should have ethical standards too, but they don't."\nNunn said his targeted mailing campaign is ethical because of the Supreme Court's ruling. \nAccording to the Court's Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer can advertise services through public media. Nunn contends his mailings come to prospective clients' homes in the same manner television does. \nGreenwood Police Chief Albert Hessman said Nunn is more than welcome to come to Greenwood to review or purchase the reports but has refused to comply with Nunn's request to fax the reports directly to his office.\n"I'll not participate in mass faxing accident reports to attorneys' offices that are on a fishing expedition," Hessman said. "Everybody's looking to sue somebody for something. There are those cases that have strong merit, but in the position I'm in, I see cases all the time, and I think these attorneys ought to have their hands chopped off."\nMonroe County Sheriff Stephen Sharp doesn't mind supplying the reports at all and said he has been doing so for a number of years, for a number of attorneys. Sharp said Indianapolis-based personal injury attorney Stanley Kahn -- who for years aired a TV commercial claiming "The name says it all" -- receives monthly reports from the Monroe County Sheriff's department, as do a number of local attorneys and insurance companies, including All State and Farm Bureau.\nSharp uses the extra income generated by selling the reports to purchase training equipment for his department.\n"It's not a problem to us," Sharp said. "It's public record. If agencies don't want to comply, you can force them to go to court and that creates havoc for everybody."\nHowever legal it might be, Nunn's approach has still not been widely adopted by local attorneys. Bloomington injury Lawyer Bill Lloyd sticks to yellow page advertising, billboards and name recognition.\n"I would presume the routine is still the client comes to you versus contacting a prospective client," Lloyd said. "What usually happens is your prospective client calls you and you send your five dollars down to the sheriff for the accident report. You've got to try to gauge what's tasteful. Word of mouth is the very best of advertising. One hopes to have earned a good reputation that will grow a practice."\nRobert Miller, a former Monroe County prosecutor who specializes in criminal defense, periodically runs an ad in local papers instructing people in how to deal with police, should they be stopped. Miller said he doesn't directly target prospective clients, but sees his ad as a public service. He said he relies primarily on his experience and word of mouth to gain clients.\n"The personal injury field is much more competitive," Miller said. "People generally just don't automatically think of who to call. I think (Nunn's) advertising budget for a month is more than I spend for a year."\nIU Law School professor Aviva Orenstein, who teaches professional ethics, said the Supreme Court used to not permit any advertising, or even an enlarged business card. She said the idea of being able to advertise legal services is a good thing but worries about lawyers at a patient's bed side saying "sue, sue, sue."\n"There's something distasteful about getting people to find problems where none exist," Orenstein said. "But there's also something distasteful about insurance companies low-balling people.\n"It looks like hocking justice. But I wouldn't fall into the trap of thinking 'oh my god, this is so sleazy.' The insurance companies are very sophisticated actors. What happens is people are severely injured and they have a lot of medical bills and they're under a lot of pressure to take the first offer."\nNunn compared his targeting of injured victims to doctors targeting seriously injured people to advertise treatment. Nunn said people would perceive a doctor as trying to save lives, whereas the lawyer's actions would be construed as unethical because unethical lawyers have created a public bias.\n"There's a rotten apple in every profession," Nunn said.
(05/17/01 1:36am)
As a 15-year veteran of the fire service, assistant fire chief Jeff Barlow's duties have ranged from enjoyable, to mundane, to grisly.\nBut hard work will soon pay off for Barlow, who Mayor John Fernandez has named successor to fire chief Dick Sexton after his announced retirement May 22. Barlow has been a Bloomington firefighter for three years. In a press release, Fernandez said he is excited about Barlow stepping up to the chief position.\n"He's been a firefighter in this department, and in his short time as deputy chief has demonstrated excellent leadership, management and administrative skills," he said. "The department and the community will be well-served."\nSexton, Barlow's predecessor, joined the department in 1969 and will retire after spending less than one year of his 32-year career as chief. \n"The fire department has been my life, and I was able to get some important things done as chief," Sexton said in a press release. "Now I'd like to relax a little."\nOrdinarily, a candidate for chief must have five years of department service under his belt. But the Bloomington City Council made a special exception for Barlow, who attributes his quick rise in the ranks to hard work, early planning and familial influences.\nInspired by his father, grandfather and uncle -- all firefighters -- Barlow maintained a regular fitness program and became a volunteer firefighter in high school and then obtained a B.S. from Eastern Kentucky University in fire and safety engineering technology with a concentration in administration.\nAt 30 years old, success has been quick to knock on Barlow's door. But his relative youth does not come without experience. On April 22, 1999, Barlow was one of two firefighters sent to find the body of local radio personality Randy Lloyd after a fire at Knightridge Manor apartments, which destroyed the homes of 31 people. But Barlow likes to focus on more positive aspects of his job.\n"I consider it a really good day when you have the children come into the station," Barlow said. "When you have the chance to interact with the community and you see a little kid look at the fire truck and look at you in amazement. That's a good day."\nCommunity outreach is high on Barlow's agenda as chief. He said he wants to help the community understand the department's job and what it takes to maintain a successful department. But what's even higher on Barlow's agenda is preventing another situation like the one he encountered at Knightridge Manor.\n"If I could do anything I would probably want to prevent any loss of life due to fire," Barlow said. "To prevent loss of life is the first and foremost priority"
(05/14/01 2:51am)
An IU-South Bend professor and former chancellor has been fired for harassing a female student.\nPhysics professor Daniel Cohen was suspended from his position and banned from the campus in March after a student who had filed a previous complaint against him accused Cohen of intimidation. May 3, Kenneth Perrin, IUSB Chancellor, issued a letter to Cohen informing him of his dismissal.\nIUSB senior Julie Gilmour had filed a complaint against Cohen with the IUSB affirmative action office. Gilmour accused Cohen of harassing and intimidating her, which led to further disciplinary action.\nGilmour, who said she is suing IUSB for negligence in the matter, will not comment until after her case is settled.\nCohen was IUSB chancellor but was removed in 1995 by IU President Myles Brand for allegations of sexual misconduct. Cohen lost $50,000 in a lawsuit filed by former university employee Lynn Fall for sexual harassment.\nAfter his removal as chancellor, Cohen signed a 1995 agreement with Brand that any further proof of sexual harassment from the date of the agreement would lead to Cohen's dismissal.\nCohen declined to comment to the IDS on the circumstances of his termination but responded to his suspension in a letter published March 8 in the South Bend Tribune.\n"By the way, have you ever noticed that almost all the women who claim to have been sexually harassed are physically ugly?" Cohen wrote. "I guess they just need to deny their lack of attractiveness to the opposite sex, and to use this method to get the attention and money they cannot otherwise command."\nCohen's case will be taken up in an automatic review before the IU South Bend Faculty Board of Review later this summer.\nIU spokeswoman Susan Dillman called Cohen's pending dismissal a "South Bend campus matter." But in an e-mail dated March 9, Brand called Cohen's letter to the Tribune "an insult to the Indiana University community as a whole." Brand went on to say that the University was investigating several past and present incidents involving Cohen.\nCohen said he will not comment until after his hearing, but said he'd like to keep teaching "if they let me."\nMug courtesy of the South Bend Tribune.
(05/07/01 2:35am)
Families salvaged personal effects from the burnt wreckage of four condominiums in the Oaklawn Park Town Homes at the 3300 block of Oaklawn Circle Sunday. Amongst the items recovered were family photos, stuffed animals and an embroidered wall hanging that read "Bless this house, oh lord we pray."\nThe condominiums -- four town houses sharing the same building -- caught fire Saturday afternoon. No one was injured in the blaze.\nKen Blackwell, proprietor of the multiple unit Oaklawn Park complex, was in a nearby building when he saw smoke emerging from the back of the adjacent building.\n"One guy had come out of the burning unit," Blackwell said. "There wasn't anyone in the other units. We (Blackwell and his brother) kicked the doors down. There had been a resident in one of the other units that had been evacuated."\nPerry-Clear Creek Fire Department Lt. Bob McWhorter said his men arrived shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday, and the fire had already spread to the building's attic area. McWhorter, who headed the fire's investigation, said the fire's origin was not yet official as of press time, but hypothesized on the cause.\n"The fire started on an enclosure on the back side of the home, or actually the complex," McWhorter said. "It was a small deck area. I believe there was a candle left on top of a small plastic table in that closed-in porch or deck area, and it was left unattended. It pretty much destroyed the center part of the complex. The two units in the center of that were basically destroyed." \nThe fire was hot enough to peel the paint and warp the headlight lenses of a car parked in front of the complex, but firemen chose to enter with hoses and fight the flames from the building's interior.\n"Inside the building the downstairs area was completely engulfed in flames along with the upstairs area and the roof," McWhorter said. "The flames had vented all the way through the front of the structure, out the windows, out the front door, through the roof."\nMcWhorter said the fire was fueled and spread by the wind and that it took help from three other fire departments, Bloomington City, Bloomington Township and Van Buren, to put the fire out. He said it took about an hour for the four departments to extinguish the flames.\nRed Cross Disaster Services representative Scott Hedrick was on sight Sunday seeing to the victims' needs. While no one was hurt in the fire, units 3356 and 3354 were completely gutted, 3352 was badly burned and 3350 was made unlivable by smoke and water damage. Hedrick said all residents were insured but the Red Cross was attending to the immediate needs of temporary shelter, food and personal effects. He was also helping residents to find permanent housing.\nBrady and DeeAnn Hanlon lived in apartment 3350 for exactly a year when their apartment burned. By Sunday, Brady said all his belongings were still "soaked." \nAll of his and his wife\'s clothing, much like the building's surrounding area, reeked of smoke. The couple was staying at a hotel until they could find a permanent residence.\nAshleigh Richmond was in Boston working as a surgical technician when her condo burned. Her mother, Venora Bishop, and step-father were amongst the families cleaning out the apartments Sunday. Bishop was at her 8-year-old's birthday party when she heard what was happening to her daughter's apartment.\n"You\'re just shocked," Bishop said. "You\'re just hoping it doesn't all burn down"
(11/27/00 7:05am)
Sophomore Jason Schwab died Tuesday in what IU police and Monroe County Coroner George Huntington deemed a suicide.\nSchwab's body was found at 9:53 p.m. Tuesday on the south side of Ballantine Hall, IU Police Department spokesman Lt. Jerry Minger said. He said Schwab used a chair to break through the secured window in the south stairwell of Ballantine Hall's eighth floor. Schwab then climbed through the window, falling 80-90 feet, and died of blunt force trauma to the left side of the body and multiple head injuries shortly before his body was found, Huntington said.\nMinger said investigators later entered Schwab's dorm room Tuesday at Teter and found a suicide note on his computer screen. Jason's parents, James and Diane Schwab, residents of Canandaigua, N.Y., were then notified by police.\n"We called him the gentle giant," his father said. "He was a big guy and he sought out friends no one would look for. He had a way of finding people and making them feel better about themselves."\nA wake was held for Schwab Friday evening in Canandaigua, with a mass and funeral Saturday morning at St. Mary's church. Violins played at Schwab's funeral to honor what his father described as Jason's love of classical music.\nSchwab, a double major in computer science and cognitive science, was a member of the IU Kendo Club and frequented the IU opera. He was president of the IU Anime Club -- a student group interested in Japanese animation. Schwab studied the Japanese language and culture and liked to cook Japanese food, his father said. Schwab's father said he remembers Jason as adoring his older brother, Scott, who graduated last year from the Milwaukee School of Engineering.\n"(Jason and Scott) would talk for hours and argue in their academic way about many things," James said. "Jason was so smart. He didn't want people to know. He didn't want to let on, but he was so smart."\nDiane Schwab said when she asked her son what he wanted for his 20th birthday, he took his time in replying. She said she was surprised when he asked for two season passes to the IU opera. His father, happy at the news Jason had a new girlfriend, joked with Jason that he wanted to know "who she was" before buying the passes.\nHis parents said the last time they saw him was in August. His father said he was waiting for him at the airport Tuesday night, when Schwab was supposed to come home for Thanksgiving break.\n"Jason was so good," his father said. "Whatever it was came over him very suddenly. We didn't know what it was, but it just swept him away."\nResidential Programs and Services representatives met with members of Jason's floor Sunday night to talk about Schwab's death. Schwab's next door neighbor at Teter-Thompson, senior Mark Conner, said he was shocked by the news. He said he remembered Schwab as happy and friendly. He said Schwab usually hung out with friends from the Anime and Kendo clubs, but would sometimes come over when Conner's door was open and he had good news to share.\n"Once you made an effort to get to know him, he was funny, he was a real good guy," Conner said.\n"I wouldn't have seen it coming. He always had a smile on his face."\nJames and Diane Schwab would like to contact Jason's friends and are inviting anyone who knew him to contact them at 716-394-3418 or by e-mail at dschwab1@rochester.rr.com. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to a suicide prevention and mental health mentoring program: \nCompeer Inc.\nMonroe Square Suite B\n259 Monroe Ave. Rochester NY 14607-3632
(11/16/00 6:26pm)
AUSTIN, Texas -- A 43 thousand mile journey came to an end Tuesday for Sarasota, Fla., resident Curtis Jacobson.\nIn 97 days he visited 41 states, "most of them twice," selling campaign buttons. All day Tuesday, he and a handful of employees braved wind, rain and cold at stands on the streets of Austin, Texas, to sell Bush/Cheney pins during Bush's rally at the capital.\nJacobson started following the Bush campaign on a whistle stop train tour from Arizona to Seattle after the Republican national convention. A self-proclaimed Republican with a Democrat attitude, he and his employees followed both campaigns.\nHe didn't pick a favorite candidate by watching a debate or examining a platform.\n"I gotta have Bush win," Jacobson said. "Because I'm here, and I've got 8,000 buttons."\nJacobson got into the button business during the '96 presidential race. Friends introduced him to button wholesalers and he realized presidential campaigns would provide a healthy market. Many of the buttons are designed at a plant in Versailles, Ohio. But Jacobson personally designed the ones sold in Austin on Tuesday night, which sported glossy photos of Bush and his running mate Dick Cheney, or phrases like "Annoy a liberal. Work hard -- be happy," "Make Barbara the first mama," and "George W.: Scrubbing out the Oval Office."\nAfter three months of chasing politicians all across America, Jacobson spent $7,000 in fuel, put 30,000 miles on a rental van, accumulated five speeding tickets, six parking tickets, and a healthy income: having sold 25-30 thousand buttons at $3 and $4 each. While Jacobson enjoyed Democrat rallies more for featuring musical acts like Bon Jovi and Melissa Etheridge, he said he typically sold more at Republican rallies than at Democrat rallies because Democrats are spent out from the last two presidential campaigns.\n"Republicans won't buy any buttons going into a rally because they're all dressed up," he said. "But when they leave, they're all pumped, and that's when they start buying."\nAlong the campaign trail, Jacobson made his way through 16 employees, who he said quit on a regular basis because they wanted a life. Amongst those 16 employees were his 17-year-old niece who followed the campaign for two weeks in August. With him Tuesday were a Penn State\nstudent, his sister, Deb Watts, and her husband. Watts came to Austin to show her support for Bush and the Republican party. The 42-year-old Watts has voted Republican since she was 18.\n"I thought it would be exciting to be right in the middle of things when George W. Bush becomes president," Watts said.\nAt press time, it was unknown whether Watts' words would be prophetic. If Bush did go on to make a victory speech Tuesday night, Jacobson came prepared with "Re-elect Bush in 2004" pins. Regardless of the election's outcome, Austin was the last stop for Jacobson who, after 62 campaign rallies, will soon vacation for a week in Belize.\n"I want to sleep in a bed that's not moving," he said.
(11/10/00 5:21am)
Two days after the presidential election, it is still unknown who will be the next president.\nThe race still hinges on Florida's 25 undecided electoral votes. \nAt 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris announced post-election waiting will continue. Wednesday, Florida officials had announced a decisive recount would be finished by 5 p.m. Thursday. That didn't happen.\nHarris said the 14 counties being recounted have until Tuesday to make the ballots official. Until then, Harris said Bush is still ahead in Florida by 1,784 votes.\nBut by 11:45 p.m. The Associated Press, who produced regular updates from every Florida county, said the recount was as close as 229 votes in Bush's favor, with 66 of 67 counties reporting.\nHarris called the news reports of a shrinking Bush lead "preliminary" and said the count won't be over until overseas ballots are tallied. The deadline for overseas ballot totals is Nov. 17: 10 days after the election.\n"We will all remember these times as some of the most critical and defining in our nation's history," Harris said.\nFlorida agriculture commissioner Bob Crawford took the podium after Harris and responded to the "frustration" surrounding the election.\n"This is democracy in action," Crawford said. "If you want simplicity go about 90 miles south of the border and you have Cuba, where they have a lot of simplicity -- there is no election."\nAs Florida officials labor for an accurate count, the Bush camp is optimistic. Bush press representative Bob Hopkins said Bush will win and the recount will re-affirm that.\n"We want to get this process finalized and we want to make sure the results are accurate and accurately reflect the will of the people," Hopkins said.\nMeanwhile, Gore Campaign chairman Bill Daley took to the airwaves and pledged to support legal action in Florida, where protesters spent Thursday picketing a West Palm Beach courthouse demanding another vote.\nThe protests arose as a result of what many Florida residents are calling misleading ballots and the disqualification of 19,000 ballots which indicated votes for two candidates. Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Gore supporter, made an appearance in Florida Thursday afternoon, when he held up one of the protested Florida ballots and called it "fuzzy" -- a reference to the presidential debates, where Bush accused Gore of "fuzzy math." Gore campaign officials are asking for a hand count of voters in three counties that used "fuzzy" ballots.\n"If the will of the people is to prevail, Al Gore should be awarded a victory in Florida and should be the next president of the United States," Daley said.\nBush campaign strategist Carl Rove responded to the controversy by going on network TV and saying the cancellation of the ballots is not abnormal and its precedent is found in the cancellation of a similar amount of votes in the 1996 election.\nAs the opposing camps continued to refute each other, James A. Baker III, a former Secretary of State, was sent to Florida to represent Bush's interests there.\n"That ballot was posted, as required by Florida law, in newspapers and public places all over the state of Florida," Baker said. "And we haven't heard one gripe about that ballot until after the voting took place."\nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.
(11/09/00 5:59am)
AUSTIN, Texas -- After a crowd of thousands left the street in front of the Texas capitol Tuesday night, a smaller crowd was left behind.\nWhile those who came to hear Gov. George W. Bush speak Tuesday had the luxury of being able to return home, those who worked the event had to stick around until Wednesday, cleaning up trash, providing security and waiting for news of who would be the next president.\nWhen election mania overtook Austin this week, a gaggle of journalists loomed close behind. Among them was Dallas Morning News photographer Erich Schlegel, who had not showered since Tuesday morning. He'd been in Austin since early Monday, sleeping little. After falling asleep in the\nMorning News' Austin office at 4 a.m. Tuesday, he was soon awakened by his cell phones and pagers.\n"It's such a historical and weird election," Schlegel said. "It was changing by the minute. There were a lot of emotions going on. Right away we thought Bush lost because he lost Florida. Later, he was announced the winner. It was up and down, up and down. It's the most exciting and interesting political story I've ever covered."\nBefore the media and spectators began descending on the would-be victory celebration early Wednesday morning, thousands of police, security and Secret Service agents cordoned off the celebration area, manning barricades and setting up metal detectors. Among them was Austin police department detective Mark Breckinridge, who, by 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, had been working in 40 degree weather for 17 hours. He said he looked forward to getting back to his office and settling down with a cup of coffee Thursday.\n"I don't know what to think about what happened last night," Breckinridge said. "This is probably one of the strangest ones I've worked. I certainly didn't think I'd be here this long. Everybody's in a rush. They're all tired."\nBreckinridge managed to get in two hours of sleep the night before, which he said were tiding him over. He worked the long hours in the rain and 40 degree temperatures to come up with extra Christmas cash for his two sons, Justin, 13, and Christopher, 10, who wants to be president someday.\nBreckinridge's job wasn't made any tougher by the crowd, which he said was pretty easy to control.\n"The rain and the cold kept the turnout down," he said.\nLong before Breckinridge's son is old enough to run for president, the remnants of Bush's Wednesday morning bash will be swept away by the dozens of workers who spent Wednesday disassembling the stage, sweeping up trash and taking down electronics. One of them, machinery operator Todd Corbitt, was busy taking down the large amplifiers which would have broadcast Bush's acceptance speech to the world last night, save that it hadn't been made.\nHe was at the rally for six hours but was finally sent home when storms came into the area.\n"I thought (Bush) won six months ago," he said. "I didn't vote for him, but yeah."\nCorbitt's support for Green party candidate Ralph Nader was bolstered by Bush's failure to appear at the event.\n"I thought he should have at least showed up," Corbitt said. "A lot of people showed up. A lot of people did a lot of work"
(11/07/00 4:31am)
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas sun shone bright on Austin Monday as a political frenzy formed in front of the capitol, where Gov. George W. Bush would announce his return and address the anxious throng of Republicans and reporters awaiting Tuesday's election results.\nBut on the sidewalks of the cordoned-off streets of the city of politics and oil, where Bush seemed to reign supreme, the detractors lurked: those who would vote against the native son.\nLike Bush, Chris Telles is a Texan. An El Paso native, he strolled Congress Avenue on his way to one of the high-rise buildings to make a bank deposit, not from an oil company, but from the studio where he films commercials and independent movies.\n"There's plenty of people who live in Texas that I don't like," Telles said. "I'm not a gun supporter. I'm anti-big business. I'm very much for separation of church and state. I'm pro-choice."\nTelles was wearing boots, but unlike Bush's, Telles' boots were made by Kenneth Cole and stopped just above his ankles. Like Bush, Telles took seven years to get his degree, except his is a bachelor of arts in broadcast journalism and Bush's is a master's in business administration from Harvard. \nUnlike most of Texas, Telles still didn't know who to vote for -- Vice President Al Gore or Green Party nominee Ralph Nader.\nHe owes his liberal viewpoint, he said, to growing up on the border.\n"Growing up in a border town had something to do with keeping me aware of what life was like for the disadvantaged," he said. "For the most part, the Republican Party pays little more than lip service to the disadvantaged. The Democrats are a little better, because their conscience is in line, but they've had to play the game buying votes."\nTelles called the Green Party refreshing and said he's considering voting for Nader because Texas is a Bush state and his vote won't swing "Because it's a Bush state," he said, "to widen the choices for the future seems like a good thing. But it's scary, because you don't want to give Bush an excuse to win."\nAcross the street from the bank building where Telles was delivering his deposit, the avenue clogged with press and political official foot traffic, a stout man in three-foot long dreadlocks stood waiting for a panel truck to drop off a delivery of modern art. \nThat man was Stuart Sussman, who installs art exhibitions at galleries in downtown Austin. He moved to Austin 18 months earlier to be with his wife, a student at the University of Texas. He came from San Francisco and described the Democratic Party as being "too far to the right" for his tastes. He's voting for Nader, so the Green Party can receive federal funding.\n"The two-party system we have is not working," Sussman said. "Huge segments of the population are under-represented, there's rampant pollution, our criminal and drug policies are terrible."\nSussman said America suffers from a "moral deficit" because there is too much greed and not enough charity.\n "There's people that sleep on the streets and go hungry, and there's people who drive $200,000 cars and live in several multi-million (dollar homes)." \nSussman pointed to the other side of the street, as if pointing through the huge Bush media tent, and said there was a little cafe across the street where many others shared his views. It was called Little City, and modern art, oil paintings and eclectic music reigned supreme in its dark interior. Skinny people in glasses sat at tables and sipped coffee with other skinny people in glasses.\nAlison Sagebiel and her boyfriend Josh were just ducking out with some iced coffee. Sagebiel also said she will vote for Nader and is a humanitarian and a Socialist. And she's quick to point out what she doesn't like about Bush.\n"He's killed a lot of people," she said. "He's lost a lot of money for health care. They used environmental fund money to pay businesses for emissions testing. They separated religious schools from state supervision."\nObviously, not everyone was against Bush. Late in the evening, as the skyscrapers were locked for the night and those in shirts, ties and suits took to the streets on the way home, Eric Sandberg, president of the Texas Savings and Commercial Bankers trade organization, emerged from the bottom of his office complex and was dismayed that the media frenzy still ruled the streets. But he quickly voiced his support for Bush.\nJust then, Sagebiel and Josh, still sipping their coffee drinks, stopped to make one last comment. "As far as it goes," Josh said. "Texans would vote for anyone in a presidential race. They'd vote for a trained monkey, if they could get him nominated."\n"Where are you from?" Sandberg asked.\nJosh said, "Massachusetts," and walked off.\n"Yeah, he doesn't like Texans," Sandberg said. "He probably goes to school here. But do you know why he goes to school here? Because it's cheaper for an out-of-state student to go to school here than it is for a resident to go to school in Massachusetts"
(11/06/00 5:49pm)
\nHe's a Texan. He's tanned, he talks with his dad's hand gestures, and he wears Ostrich skin cowboy boots with "GW" imprinted into the leather.\nHe is the man who would be president.\nHe's been the son of a President, an oil man, the owner of a professional baseball team, the governor of Texas and now a would-be president himself. He's the bright, shining hope of some and the bane of others. \nGeorge W. Bush, GW, George the Younger, George Junior: Dubya.\nWhen Dubya was born, July 6, 1945, his parents, George Herbert Walker and Barbara Bush were students at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. George Senior was a war hero, having won the Distinguished Service Cross after being shot down while flying a bombing mission in WWII.\nHe and Barbara had been married for a year when Dubya was born. After graduating in 1948, they took Dubya to Odessa, Texas where George, Sr. got a job in the oil industry. In 1954, the 9-year-old was a catcher for a local Little League team. He attended his first baseball game when his dad played for Yale.\n"I never dreamed about being president," Dubya said on his Web site. "When I was growing up, I wanted to be Willie Mays."\nBy 1964, Dubya had five siblings and was attending Yale. He followed further in his father's footsteps by pitching for the baseball team. By 1966, he was playing rugby for Yale, and George Sr., was beginning his first of two terms as a Republican representative from Texas. In 1975, Dubya received a master's of business administration degree from Harvard University.\nHe spent the next three years investing in Texas land, researching mineral rights and, eventually, starting his own oil company. In 1989, while George Sr. was president, Dubya became the managing partner of a group of investors that purchased the Texas Rangers. As owner of the Rangers, Dubya won public funding for a new $200 million dollar stadium, but traded a young slugger who went on the hold the record for most home runs in a three-year span: Sammy Sosa.\nMany considered the Sosa trade a dumb move. In the August 2000 edition of National Journal, reporter Kirk Victor posed the question: "Does Bush's poor judgment in that instance say anything about his ability to manage the country?" \nVictor reported an answer from National League president Leonard Coleman Jr . who said, "Unfortunately, in baseball, you can always look back at that one bad deal" and pointed out Hall of Famer Frank Robinson being traded by the Reds for "a bunch of forgettables."\nIn 1994, Dubya left the team after being elected governor of Texas. At the same time, his brother Jeb became governor of Florida. \nDubya decorated the governor's office with more than 200 autographed baseballs and touted himself as reducing crime and air pollution and improving the Texas educational system. \nAfter six years as governor, Dubya entered the Republican primary to contend for the presidency. He won and is now in the final weeks of the closest bid for the presidency since Republican Ronald Reagan beat Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1980.\n"My agenda opens wide the doors of opportunity," Dubya said on his Web site. "For every man and woman a chance to succeed... for every child a chance to learn. To every family a chance to live with dignity and hope. I hope you will join me in this great cause."\nInformation for this article came from slate.com, georgewbush.com, whitehouse.gov, encyclopedia.com, The National Journal and Businessweek.