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(10/17/06 3:00pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A pack of IU students with fluorescent reflector belts jostling at their hips were trudging steadily along 10th, then 17th Street. It was almost six o’clock on a weekday morning, and the intersections, which still flashed off-peak reds and yellows on the traffic lights, were quiet and empty.The stammering heavy breaths of the runners puffed into visible clouds and hovered in the foggy air.Perhaps one cadet was thinking about his friends, still asleep, and how he’s already burned more calories than they will all day. Perhaps another was recalling her mantra as to why she’s giving herself shin splints. And maybe another has momentary doubts floating through his brain – questions all too commonly pointed toward any member of the IU Reserve Officers’ Training Corp. “Why join in the time ofwar?” “Why go to Iraq at all?” “Why, if you’ve been there, would you ever want to go back?”The pack kept silent as it traversed its usual Wednesday route to the football stadium. It was not until the group reached the dewy field that 21-year-old senior Leo Jansen, a compact, muscly sort, uttered a word.“OK, A-group,” Jansen’s voice echoed. “We’regonna do four laps up.”The word “up” was a literal order: “Up” was the direction from the bottom of the cement bleachers to the nose-bleed section. With a few huffs, the fittest of the fit paired off in twos – some spitting preparatory loogies over the bottom step railings – then began scaling the sharp incline.“Be tough, be tough,” Jansen threw his voice. “Quick steps on the way down – explosions all the way up.”Explosions reverberated as each foot hit the concrete. “Th at’s right, guys. Right when it hurts real bad – only makes you stronger.”One straggler keeled over from the waist, panting. With one hand on the soldier’s back, Jansen nudged him encouragingly. “Come on, buddy, we’ll do this one together, you and me. Let’s go.”When the A-group finished its physical training for the day, the sun had barely pealed over the horizon.“I mean as far as ROTC is concerned, everything is focused on leadership,” he says. “My major is political science. I want to serve my country and do great things for America, but really, what I want to get out of it is the leadership training – and it’s knowing that as a leader of men, you’re only as affective as your people are.”Teamwork, responsibility, valor, honor: These are the core values Jansen and the other cadets live and breathe, from the moment they rise for training or drills to their afternoons spent in lecture.But this leadership development program doesn’t come without future obligation. After junior classmen become contracted with the Army, they are required to four years service after they receive their IU diplomas, either in active or reserve duties.Despite the lengthy commitment required of them, college ROTC enrollment is on the rise. Since Sept. 11, heightened patriotism is among a handful of reasons cited for a steady growth in officer training programs nationwide, and IU is no exception to that trend.In a time of war, there’s no doubt that many of the ROTC students will launch their careers straight into the heart of Iraq. But, will they be ready?“That’s one of those things that I can’t speak to – it’s really tough to say,” Jansen demurs. “But when I do go, I know that I’ll live out my life trying to do all of my duties to the best of my ability.”And when asked if the thought of going into Iraq is frightening... “I’d prefer not to answer that.”Cadet Brett Kirby is tall, sturdy as a Redwood– a storyteller and a cynic. At times, he can be quiet and reserved; others, he is sarcastic and jovial. When it comes to his officer training, though, he’s all business. For the IU ROTC program, he is only one of 10 to have already been deployed to Iraq. And Kirby has been twice.On a Thursday morning in the tailgating fields, he stood attentively, respectfully as another cadet a couple years younger than him instructed his platoon on the protocol for a basic military tactic. Th is time, it was how to lead troops across a Linear Danger Area, or as normal civilians refer to it, a road. Kirby, however, has already crossed many roads.Sometimes when he goes through the repetition of drills, it will trigger a memory or two from Iraq, but Kirby downplays these occurences.“That’s also kind of like how in math class when one problem reminds you of a time you did a similar problem or something. It’s like that only a little more magnifi ed. I don’t have flashbacks in the sense. But the adrenalin high in combat is ... well, any time that you’re scared, your body pumps out a whole lot of endorphins. If there was a way you could bottle that feeling, I mean, it would be worse than crack.“The main thing that I kind of feel when I go through training is ... I won’t say contempt, but a mild sense that I’ve already done harder than this. I’ve already done harder than some will ever do in their lives. It’s almost a pride thing, and I’m just trying to stay humble.”Unlike most of his fellow cadets, Kirby joined the Army straight out of high school. Four years later, he was sent to Iraq. It was in the midst of war that he had what he deems “a great epiphany.” He wanted to become a leader himself, but his lack of higher education was holding him back. He came to IU just for the ROTC.“Just didn’t want to be the low guy on the totem pole again,” he says. While in Iraq, Kirby was outraged by the kind of leadership he observed. He thought he could do better than the offi cers who led him. “One of them died from a booby trap on the side of the road; the other one almost got me killed a few times. And then he said to me if I thought I could do so much better, why don’t I try to outrank him next time? So I thought, yeah, I’ll take the Pepsi challenge.”Kirby is older than his peers because his education has been interrupted by his multiple deployments. But when asked about the possibility of returning to Iraq – “Oh, I’m planning on it.” He’s chosen a general studies major because, he says, it’s the quickest way of getting through IU so that he can get back to his Army duties.Kirby doesn’t withhold anything when asked if he has fears about war. “The only thing that frightens you is knowing that your life is in the hands of someone else. I’ve already seen the elephant, and I believe I could make a difference by making the right choices under pressure. So I’ve got to go back – I’ve got to try.“When I was 16, I was a proclaimed atheist. But I realized at that age that it was kind of my life’s mission to save a life. And that’s why I joined the Army to begin with. So I try to look at my time in ROTC the same way. I’ve been there, and these kids haven’t. I look at this as just another opportunity to save a life. I try to mentor these kids, tell them what I know. Because they know the textbook version of the real world. I only know what happened to me.“I might be able to delude myself by thinking that if I tell these kids some stories or whatever that I’m saving them. But who knows. It might actually come down to that. Is that likely to happen? No ... but I’ll still try.”To Carry Tradition...Cadet Jamie Lemon, a 22-year-old senior, looks quite small when she stands by her fellow ROTC members. Nevertheless, her physical stature and gender have not hindered her dream to become an Army leader like her father and family generations before him. Her goal is to make it in the medical services branch, which she will find out about in December, but admits she would be happy to serve in any of the branches.On a Thursday morning at the tailgate field, Lemon knelt down beside a large tactic board, moving the pieces around to demonstrate a maneuver to her platoon. Only then was her flaxen blonde ponytail visible from underneath her camo cap.Some might wonder what inspires a woman to join the military. In Lemon’s case, it was her father. Ever since she can remember, it’s been her dream to follow in his footsteps. “My dad raised us in the military mindset. We had to stand at attention when we were introuble,” Lemon laughs. Lemon is the middle child of three sisters, and the only one of her siblings to join the National Guard and ROTC. Carrying on the family tradition was very important to her, she says.She might not be the typical girly-girl, but even in her combat boots and fatigues before the light of dawn, Lemon had a swoop of mascara across her lash lines. The fact that she is a woman merely makes her more determined to prove herself among her cadet peers.“I’m not a very strong runner. And we’re not all going to be the fastest runners ever, but it’s something that I work at and try to max out the female record because we have to constantly prove ourselves. And it does get tough. If you’re on your period, you’re like, ‘I don’t feel like running. I don’t feel like doing sit-ups.’ But you do it anyway.”Lemon says she’s heard the worst of the worst horror stories about the war from her dad, who re-enlisted at the age of 49.“Going to Iraq is something that’s just expected. I joined the National Guard after Sept. 11, so I knew what I was getting into. And I know what it’s like to have someone close to you deployed. Of course, I have concerns. It’s a very, very scary place.“One of the things that my dad really taught me is to take every opportunity to be trained. Train as if you’re going to fi ght, have a plan and have a backup plan. Because this affects your life.”The members of the ROTC are often asked to explain themselves – why join up in a time of war, why go at all, why go back? Cadet Kirby has much experience in the way of answering those questions.“If people ask me if I want to go back, they’re either the intrepid journalist, or they want to see if I’m one of those bloodthirsty, baby-killing guys who gets their jollies on with this. Really, people who ask those kinds of questions aren’t really interested in knowing why I want to go back; they’re more interested in wanting to know the motivations behind why I want to go back. I guess they’re just trying to find out whether I’m the ally or the enemy.”
(10/12/06 4:00am)
If not for Pythagoras -- that old, gray-bearded Greek philosopher and mathematician from 2,500 years ago -- students today would still be hunched over their geometry homework, wondering how to draft a proof for the area of a right triangle. \nGood ole Pythagoras. Now he was a man of rational-thinking and logic, one might say. \nHe also, around 540 B.C.E., led a cult of other mathematicians known as the Pythagoreans in séance rituals which involved our earliest documented accounts of Ouija-like boards:\nA mystic table, moving on wheels, moved towards signs, which the philosopher and his pupil, Philolaus, interpreted to the audience as being revelations supposedly from an unseen world.\nLogic obviously did not govern all of his actions. \nBut it isn't fair to be too hard on Pythagoras. After all, even now, thousands of years later, some of the brightest and most intellectual individuals of modern society fall victim to the enthralling rapture of pseudoscience. Some police departments in desperation turn to psychics for help on difficult criminal cases. Homeopathic remedies abound in "alternative" drug stores in shopping malls across the country. And Parker Brothers makes a killing on the revenue it rakes in on its mass-produced Ouija board and stylus game set. \nFor some it is just that: a game. For others, it's a channel into another realm -- either one of an omniscient source or of the proverbial Devil's playground. But for the true logician, it's nothing more than a few unconscious twitches at the wrist.
(10/12/06 3:09am)
If not for Pythagoras -- that old, gray-bearded Greek philosopher and mathematician from 2,500 years ago -- students today would still be hunched over their geometry homework, wondering how to draft a proof for the area of a right triangle. \nGood ole Pythagoras. Now he was a man of rational-thinking and logic, one might say. \nHe also, around 540 B.C.E., led a cult of other mathematicians known as the Pythagoreans in séance rituals which involved our earliest documented accounts of Ouija-like boards:\nA mystic table, moving on wheels, moved towards signs, which the philosopher and his pupil, Philolaus, interpreted to the audience as being revelations supposedly from an unseen world.\nLogic obviously did not govern all of his actions. \nBut it isn't fair to be too hard on Pythagoras. After all, even now, thousands of years later, some of the brightest and most intellectual individuals of modern society fall victim to the enthralling rapture of pseudoscience. Some police departments in desperation turn to psychics for help on difficult criminal cases. Homeopathic remedies abound in "alternative" drug stores in shopping malls across the country. And Parker Brothers makes a killing on the revenue it rakes in on its mass-produced Ouija board and stylus game set. \nFor some it is just that: a game. For others, it's a channel into another realm -- either one of an omniscient source or of the proverbial Devil's playground. But for the true logician, it's nothing more than a few unconscious twitches at the wrist.
(08/29/06 2:42am)
A former Monroe County jailer who shocked a Bedford man in custody with a Taser gun two years ago will still face trial for his alleged contribution to the man's subsequent death. \nDavid Shaw received charges in 2004 for two counts of battery resulting in serious bodily injury, which is a class C misdemeanor. \nOwen Circuit Judge Frank Nardi, who is presiding as the special judge on the case, denied a request from Shaw's attorney last month to drop the case on grounds that her client has had to wait too long for the trial to get underway. \nIn a written statement, Nardi explained that he would not dismiss the case because "the acts of the defendant ... have been the cause that the case has not proceeded to an early trial." \nThe judge scheduled Shaw's trial for Oct. 16. \nJames L. Borden died in police custody Nov. 6, 2003, after he was booked for violating his probation issued in Lawrence County. Emergency Medical Services reports stated that Borden was incoherent and disoriented at the time of his arrest, yet he did not receive medical attention against the advice of paramedics on the scene. \nShaw shocked Borden three times with his stun gun for "uncooperative" behavior, according to police reports. \nDr. Roland M. Kohr, the coroner who performed the autopsy on Borden, concluded in his cause of death report that the man suffered from cardiac arrest, caused by "pharmacologic intoxication and electrical shock." \nKohr reported that traces of two drugs -- pseudoephedrine, a mild stimulant, and an antihistamine, a depressant -- were in Borden's body when he was shocked by the Taser. Kohr told the IDS in October 2005 that he believed the electrical shock was the catalyst for the man's death. \nIn October 2005, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of Taser guns. Borden's family received $500,000 from Monroe and Lawrence Counties in a civil suit in January 2005 but never recovered a settlement from Taser International, Inc.
(04/25/06 3:45am)
The White House goons would like to have us believe the first "democratic" election in Afghanistan proves the people rule; except, here, "the people" means "druglords and warlords," and "rule" means that drug and warlord-ish sort of control. \nWhile Bush leapt from stump to stump on the campaign trail Saturday, he credited his administration with the "success" of Afghanistan as a reborn, democratic nation. \n"A marvelous thing is happening in Afghanistan," said President Bush. "Freedom is powerful. Think about a society in which young girls couldn't go to school, and their mothers were whipped in the public square, and today, they're holding a presidential election." \nAs Bush would have us imagine free Afghan women, frolicking through the utopian fields of their country, the reality is that those women still can't read, and those fields harvest opium poppies. \nAbove all, Bush would never admit that the very legitimacy of the Afghan election is under scrutiny. \nAccording to several Associated Press reports, 15 of the 18 running candidates boycotted the election because of voting fraud cases that would skew the outcome of the polls. They demanded an investigation. The remaining three people include the U.S.-appointed interim President Hamid Karzai and two candidates who threw their support to him.\nEach voter should have only received one registration card, but accounts show that many people had obtained more than one and were able to cast several votes. \nA semi-permanent ink was intended to prevent multiple-voting occurrences by marking the fingers of the individuals who had already voted. But just like underaged drinkers at a nightclub, the voters rushed to the bathroom sinks, scrubbing the stamps off of their hands. \nThe leading candidate, Bush's buddy Karzai, reacted in the most democratic way fit. \n"It's too late ... for a boycott," he told a news conference. "Millions have voted in the rain, the snow and the dust storm, and we should respect their decision. Just because 15 (of the candidates) have said 'No,' we can't deny the votes of millions." \nActually, that's the whole point of a democratic election. What good are those millions of votes if they are illegal? If there is no competition -- if Karzai has no opponents to run against -- the U.S. has just appointed the president of Afghanistan. In fact, that sounds less like a democratic regime change, and more like a coup.\nOf course Bush would find no fault in the election practices of Afghanistan. He taught his little protégé Karzai that regardless of ballot inconsistencies, recounts and election commission investigations are for the meek and fuzzy mathematicians.\nWhy is the U.S. government pulling the burqa over our eyes about the results of Afghanistan's election?\nThough opposition to the election has phased out since Saturday, the reaction of the White House is unwarranted and misleading. The timing of the Afghan election was a strong campaign move from the Bush strategists, but their superficial interpretation of the election as an immediate transformation to democracy is negligible and manipulative. By blowing an Afghanistan-scaled dust storm in our eyes, maybe we won't feel so responsible for invading their country. It's all working out as we planned, right? \nThe U.S. can only celebrate Afghanistan as a success story once the state is stable and free of terrorists. \nStatus of its economic culture: Opium production has increased 60 percent from 2003, according to CIA figures. Status of Osama bin Laden: still at large. \nAnd Afghanistan can only celebrate its own freedom when public participation is maximized and basic human rights are inherent. Even if some women are voting, they must acknowledge that they still have a long way to go on gender equality. \nTake your party hats off, George, Condi and Colin. This flawed election is far from an exit strategy.
(04/24/06 7:10am)
At most 8:30 a.m. services, Mary Beth Morgan, the congregation's director of adult and family ministries, would take time to have a "children's moment," in which she would lead the young members in a life lesson. As a tradition, this would entail Morgan inviting to the front all of the children -- and Zack Novak. \n"I have two head costumes: the donkey and Joseph. And the children would frequently ask him to wear the donkey's head," Morgan said. "But the last two times we did children's moments, the tables were turned. This past Palm Sunday, Zack had convinced the children, and when somebody could be Jesus and somebody else could be the donkey, they asked him to be Jesus." \nNovak, Morgan said, reached out to both adults and children through music in a "very kind and loving way," and was looked upon by the church community as a surrogate family member -- as a son to his elders and a role model to the little ones -- to the point that no service was complete without him being a part of it. \nFor a year and a half, Novak worked as the worship coordinator and director of the Wesley choir and children's choirs at First United Methodist Church, 219 E. Fourth St., while simultaneously earning his master's degree in music at IU. \nBut on April 20, Novak, just two weeks shy of his graduation, died in a plane crash along with four other IU graduate students in music. He was 25. \nNovak is survived by his mother, Misty Novak, his father, Dan Novak, and his younger brother Joel and sister Brytni.\nOn the night of the accident, Novak and students Chris Carducci, Garth Eppley, Georgina Joshi and Robert Samels were returning to Bloomington from a choral rehearsal in Lafayette. Each was an accomplished vocalist, and beyond singing, Novak also proved himself a talented choral conductor. \nNovak graduated from Anderson University in 2004. Among other venues, he performed with the Anderson Symphony Orchestra, Lafayette Bach Chorale and at the Carmel, Calif., Bach Festival.\nAnd while Novak focused intensely on his many performances and festivals, he also knew how to kick back, said Rev. Jimmy Moore, associate pastor of First United Methodist. \n"He enjoyed a fine wine," Moore laughed. "He went to this Bach Chorale festival in California, and while he was there, he visited the wine country. He came back with some, well, some excellent representations." \nClean-cut, neatly dressed and a smile that revealed all of his teeth, everyone who came into contact with Novak was "immediately enamored" with him, Morgan said. \nAbigail Mitchell, who knew Novak through the University Singers chamber choir, shares the same memory. \n"Zack often sat directly behind me, and when I grew tired during long rehearsals, he would sometimes spontaneously give me a back rub," Mitchell said, "which more often than not resulted in my proposing marriage. Other times, we would pass notes back and forth during rehearsals, which usually caused me to snort unattractively." \nNovak's sense of humor will particularly be missed by the youth he conducted at First United Methodist. Many of the children have said some of their fondest memories are of the surprise water balloon fight and the boomwacker band -- a series of tubes that have different pitches when hit -- he helped organize. \nMorgan's son, David, who is only 5 years old, is also grieving the loss of a friend. \nMorgan said: "When I had to tell my youngest son that (Novak) had died in an airplane, he said, 'My Zack, the one with the boomwacking sticks? My Zack, the one who would ride me on his shoulders?' He said, 'I love my Zack. God needs to build me a new Zack.'"\nBeth Wininger, a fellow vocalist in the Wesley choir, said no one will ever replace what Novak brought to her family. \nHe frequently visited her home to join her family for dinners and songs around the piano. She recalls a special tradition they shared of singing "The Lord's Prayer" in French together. \n""Zack was brought up Catholic, and, of course, I'm Protestant, and we actually sing a line that Catholics don't.," she said. "But when we would sing together, Zack would always pause for me to finish my part, and then we would join together again."\nDan Novak said his son's "passion for music" began at the age of 5. It was then that he started taking piano lessons.\nIn their time a grief, a memory of Novak's meticulous organization of his music -- a color coding system of sheets categorized by genre, composer, title and style -- filled their living room with laughter. Even as a child, Novak would sneak off to the corners of antique shops and dig through the stacks of old sheet music. \n"It was his passion," he re-emphasized. \nHis mother reflects on what a smart child he was. As early as 5, he would use multi-syllabic words like "repertoire" in his vocabulary. \n"At the pool once, this friend of mine and I were laying out, and Zack walked by. She said, 'You know, I really don't like him,' and I said, 'What do you mean? That's my kid.' 'Well, I know,' she said, 'but he's only 5, and he keeps talking over my head.'"\nAnd when the jokes were put aside, his mother said: "I just feel privileged to have known him for 25 years. He was one of the best people I have ever known." \nThe Novaks will host a visitation 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Brown, Brutz and Diedring Funeral Home in Anderson, Ind.
(04/18/06 5:19am)
Just a week after the one-year anniversary of student Ashley Crouse's death, a court judgment reduced the sentence by half for the man who fled the scene of the car accident that killed her. \nMonroe County Circuit Judge Marc Kellams made the decision Monday based on a defense motion disputing the way the original sentencing was handled, which took place in January. During that hearing, Kellams issued Meliton Praxedis, 22, an eight-year sentence -- the maximum prison time for a charge of fleeing the scene of a car accident.\nThe judge's decision to revise the sentence was hard news for Crouse's father to bear. \n"I'm disappointed that really nothing -- nothing changes," Kim Crouse said. "It really just doesn't change our situation at all."\nBefore Praxedis' original sentencing in January, Crouse's parents both expressed wishes for the maximum sentence in sworn testimonies.\nKellams assigned the maximum penalty, he said in January, because of police reports of witness testimony that alleged Praxedis had consumed alcohol before getting behind the wheel the night of the accident. He used drinking as an aggravating factor when he levied the sentence. \nBut Public Defender David Collins protested against the judge's use of those documents -- documents even the prosecution did not bring forward. \n"I would object to that as hearsay," Collins said in January with regard to the judge's use of testimony. "We don't know whether one beer or two beers is (drinking) heavily for him. That (decision) would demand a jury trial."\nProsecutor Jeff Kehr told the Indiana Daily \nStudent in a January interview that the reason the state did not enter any motions of aggravators was because of the provisions of the plea \nagreement.\nAfter an order signed Monday, Kellams subtracted four years from the sentence. With good-time credit, Praxedis will be deported to Mexico, his country of citizenship, in just a year. \nCrouse's death is still all too fresh in the memories of her friends at IU. Last week, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Crouse's sorority, held a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the sister it lost one year ago. Senior Josh Wendahl, who worked closely with Crouse on the IU Dance Marathon fundraiser and IU Student Association campaigns, attended the memorial. \n"It was a celebration of her life," he said of the vigil. "Everybody was smiling, laughing (and) remembering her life. What she would want us to do now is laugh and remember all the good things."\nWendahl said as tragic as Crouse's death was to her family and the community, he felt she would not want her loved ones to dwell on her death but rather celebrate in her life. \n"It's a frustrating thing," Wendahl said, "but at the same time, Ashley's gone. She's been gone for a year, and there's nothing anybody can do to bring her back. So we just have to have faith in our court system and have faith that (it's) making the right decision." \nU.S. Marshals arrested Praxedis in Delaware on April 15, 2005. \nOfficials had struggled to locate the suspect because he did not possess a valid driver's license or form of identification, police said. \nAfter the IU Police Department obtained an eyewitness sketch of the suspect, New Castle, Del., police were able to match a photograph with the IUPD composite image. \nAccording to police reports, Crouse, boyfriend Christopher Carlson and IU student Julie Greenbaum entered the intersection of Hawthorne Drive and Third Street the night of April 11, 2005, when a gray Honda station wagon driven by Praxedis struck their red Jeep. The vehicles both skidded into the lawn by the Kappa Kappa Gamma house, the sorority where Crouse had lived. \nAt the intersection, the students' Jeep approached a flashing red traffic light while the station wagon had a flashing yellow light, according to the reports. \nPraxedis fled on foot before police arrived at the scene. \nPolice reports state that Crouse, who was in the back seat of the Jeep, landed five feet from the vehicle after the impact. She was the only passenger not wearing a seat belt, according to the report. \nBloomington Hospital medics pronounced Crouse dead at 12:09 a.m. on April 12, 2005.
(04/11/06 5:30am)
A 23-year-old man who admitted to stabbing a Ramada Limited Motel clerk during a robbery could serve as many as 100 years in prison or as few as 20, if convicted. \nDefendant Chad A. Luck faces one count of attempted murder and one count of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. Both charges are class A felonies with maximum fines of $10,000 each. \nMonroe County Circuit Judge Douglas R. Bridges set Luck's surety at $100,000 Wednesday. His next court appearance will be a pre-trial conference May 25. \nBloomington police arrested Luck March 26 after receiving a tip from one of his family members who indicated Luck wanted to turn himself over to authorities, said BPD Captain Joe Qualters. Luck met with the police and confessed, Qualters said. \nLuck told police that he "was familiar with" the motel clerk and had visited him earlier that morning to ask if he could give him money from the cash drawer, but the clerk refused. \nQualters said Luck told BPD he needed the money to pay off drug purchasing debts. \nAt about 5:30 a.m., Luck returned a second time and attacked the clerk, 32, with a knife and a gun while his back was turned, according to the report given to the police by the victim. The clerk said the suspect slashed him in the neck until he collapsed, according to the report. \nAt that point, the clerk said, Luck broke into the cash drawer. Qualters said the suspect returned to the clerk, explaining that he could not trust him not to reveal his identity to the authorities, then bludgeoned him with an unknown object until the clerk became unconscious. \nQualters said the victim was transferred from Bloomington Hospital to Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis for the treatment of several knife wounds and one gunshot wound. Qualters said the victim has since been released.
(04/11/06 5:29am)
A man driving about 70 miles per hour hit a moving car and three parked cars Monday morning, then crashed into a house. Aside from a few minor injuries to the passengers in the two moving vehicles, no one involved was seriously hurt. \nBloomington Police Department officers cited Bryan T. Roof, 19, on a preliminary charge of reckless driving.\nAt about 9:30 a.m., Roof and a friend were traveling north on Lincoln Avenue in a maroon Pontiac Grand Am, said Detective Sgt. David Drake, reading from the police report. Because of Roof's excessive speed, he was unable to stop at a stop sign, according to the report. \nRoof's friend was reported to have told Roof several times that he was accelerating too fast, Drake said. \nRoof's Pontiac smashed into a black Ford Taurus, driven by Martin J. Wagner, 28, which was traveling eastbound on 10th Street. Roof's car then proceeded to ricochet into three cars parked along the street. \nAccording to the report, the collision finally halted after Roof's car crashed into the west side of a house on 10th Street, north of the 10th Street and Lincoln Avenue intersection. Drake said the Grand Am's point of entry into the residence was a storage space. \nThe crash demolished an entire chunk of the house, so that afterward, it almost resembled a drive-in car port. \nRoof complained of pain to his leg, while his passenger reported some pain to his arm, Drake said. The driver of the Taurus suffered pain to his neck, he said. \nPolice estimated a total of $25,000 in damage.
(04/10/06 5:00am)
In a case challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that public schools may not impose academic fees on K-12 students anymore. \nDuring the 2002-2003 school year, the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation mandated a $20 fee for each of its students in an attempt to balance its budget -- a budget which had incurred a $2.3 million deficit in 2002. \nLitigants Frank Nagy and Sonja Brackett, parents of two EVSC students, did not pay the fees for their children, claiming they were financially unable to cover those extra expenses. According to case documents, their children were eligible for the reduced or free school lunch and textbook programs. \nWhen Nagy and Brackett failed to send the $20 fees with their children to school, EVSC mailed them notices, declaring if they did not deliver the fees to the school within a time specified, the matter would be referred to a law firm for collection. The attorney's fees of up to $100, Nagy and Brackett said, would be charged to them regardless of whether the school pursued legal action. \nBrackett said she never feared legal action because she knew the fee was unconstitutional. \n"I really felt strongly about what I was fighting for," Brackett said. "I spent a couple of months at least on the phone every day talking to people throughout the state about our rights. I was just going to take it as far as I could." \nAfter researching the issue, Brackett contacted the Indiana ACLU for legal support. \nShe suspected the school was trying to con the parents out of more money to pay off its debt, she said. \n"We were told (the $20) was for an activities fee," she said. "It was really a service fee to cover other expenses like ... counselors and librarians. That's where it really aggravated me. They were misleading us." \nThe court claimed that Article 8, Section 1 of the Indiana Constitution intended that "tuition shall be free without charge," making the EVSC fees unconstitutional. \n"I'm thrilled -- I'm ecstatic," Brackett said. "To win something that is on such a large scale as this -- had (the school corporation) been able to get away with charging this service fee, how much would they charge next year?" \nThe EVSC attorney, IU Trustee Patrick A. Shoulders, was not available for comment. However, Indiana Justice Frank Sullivan, Jr. wrote a dissenting opinion in favor of the fee. In his statement, Sullivan wrote: "Because the trial court found that the things for which the fee was imposed were things that ... were 'outside of ... the legislature' as part of the constitutionally commanded uniform system of public education, I believe that even under the Court's construction of Article 8, Section 1, the fee was permissible." \nBrackett said she believes this case is a victory for all parents whose children are educated in the public school system. If they had more money, they would be sending their children to private school, she said. \nThe ACLU chapter in Indiana also believes the outcome of the case is a victory for all. \n"We are pleased the court decided the Indiana Constitution prohibits ... a fee for services that are essential to young Hoosiers' education," said ACLU attorney Jacquelyn Bowie Suess in a press release.
(03/31/06 4:40am)
WASHINGTON -- After a 30-year struggle to live in the United States, Humberto Fernandez-Vargas said he thought he had finally earned his keep. \nNow he awaits the Supreme Court decision that will determine whether the government has the authority to send him back where he came from. \nImmigration and Customs Enforcement deported Fernandez-Vargas back to Mexico several times between 1970 and 1981, but in 2001 he married his longtime girlfriend, Rita, who is a U.S. citizen. He then filed to change his status from undocumented noncitizen to legal permanent resident, hoping that he could continue to run his trucking business and live his life in the United States legally. \nBut the day Fernandez-Vargas went to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services office for his visa petition, an ICE officer greeted him, arrested him and put him in detention. \nBecause his 1981 order of deportation was subject to a clause under the Immigration and Nationality Act, ICE asserted that Fernandez-Vargas was not entitled to apply for any relief from deportation. \nAfter the Supreme Court heard oral arguments March 22 regarding the case, it will soon decide whether Fernandez-Vargas, and others in his same predicament, are subject to the removal order, even if he was removed and returned before the 1997 effective date of that provision. \nJustice Antonin Scalia was the first to respond during the arguments. \n"Do you really think Congress wanted to keep faith with these people who keep breaking the law?" he asked the petitioner's counsel. "That's touching."\nBut Fernandez-Vargas's position is that the new provision does not contain any indication that it is a retroactive statute. \nJustice Stephen Breyer had his own reservations about what the government's \nlanguage intends. \n"Wouldn't Congress have said, 'Leave, and when you can prove you married a U.S. citizen, you can come back?'" he asked. \nFernandez-Vargas' counselors said the provisions all pertain to "aliens" on the time in which they're supposed to be removed and that the statute simply does not provide language specifying the condition of the timing of removal. \n"Of course he is subject to being deported," Scalia said. "He must understand, (he's) here at the sufferance of this country." \nAlthough Breyer seemed sympathetic to Fernandez-Vargas's situation, he still seemed hesitant to overturn a 12-year-old policy.\n"So then you go back -- go back on the next train, and if you get across that border, you're safe," he said. "Or you can leave and apply for the admission of entry." \nWhile Scalia and Breyer were forthcoming with their opinions, the other seven judges remained silent -- some focusing intently on the petitioner's counsel, others rocking in their chairs, eyes darting around the room and up to the ceiling. \nIf the court opinion does not find in favor of Fernandez-Vargas, an even larger pool of people will be subject to the breadth of the statute.
(03/10/06 2:19am)
A 7-year-old boy died Saturday from injuries caused by a log rolling off a brush pile, just a few miles outside Bloomington. \nAfter the Owen County Sheriff's Department received the emergency call, dispatchers ushered an ambulance to the scene -- a wooded area between Bloomington and Spencer, Ind. \n"The kid was playing on an old log pile," said Owen County Sheriff Harley Melton. "From what I understand, the log rolled over the child." \nSpencer Emergency Medical Services Director Chris Lunsford said when his crew arrived, the child was no longer breathing and did not have a pulse. \nBoth the boy's mother and father were with him at the time of the incident, rescuers said. \n"His mother was doing CPR already, and we life-lined him to Riley Hospital (for Children in Indianapolis)," Lunsford said. \nEMS Assistant Director Mike Mallow would not comment on the specific injuries the boy suffered or whether the crew was ever able to resuscitate him. \nA helicopter transported the boy from the Spencer area to the hospital where he later died.
(03/02/06 5:05am)
Toby Strout, executive director of Bloomington Middle Way House, said the history of the organization goes even further back than when it officially became a part of the United Way nonprofit corporation. \nIn the 1970s, a group of IU students who were experimenting with drugs needed help with rehabilitation but were unable to find the support within the structure of the University. \n"They were having some bad trips," Strout said. "The whole thing started around that." \nDr. Michael Aronoff, a former student of the IU School of Medicine, joined the effort by offering a venereal disease program, Strout said. He continues his practice in the Bloomington area. \nThe staff was entirely volunteer-operated, she said. \nThough the organization began to streamline its mission as a women's collective, the leadership began to dwindle around 1981 as the students who first began the center graduated from IU.\n"They didn't think about how to maintain the program," she said. \nAccording to the Bloomington Middle Way House Web site, the new year also marked the arrival of Bloomington Planned Parenthood and the South Central Community Mental Health Center, now known as the Center for Behavioral Health. Middle Way identified itself as a domestic violence shelter with a 24-hour crisis hotline, responding to the needs of the community as they presented themselves. \nThough Strout did not become involved with Middle Way at its inception, many say they think of her as the founder.\n"She was the true cause carrying the flag," said Lisa Morrison, spokeswoman and events coordinator for the Bloomington Middle Way House. "She's something else"
(03/02/06 5:04am)
Cynthia Brubaker, Bloomington Middle Way House project development coordinator, pointed with the tip of her shoe to a few rough patches on the floor. In these places, the terrazzo, a cement mixture made from bits of chopped up marble, showed evidence of corrosion. \nIn the old Coca-Cola factory located on South Washington Street, the only visible reminders of the soda are the brand name scrolled over the door and the spots where the Coke syrup spilled through the slats of the conveyer belts, leaving its acidic signature on the floor. \nNow, the historic landmark is a vacant time capsule from the early 1920s. In another year, it will have a purpose. \nMiddle Way House received possession of the bottling plant last year when the Bloomington Plan Commission passed an amendment to change a zoning commitment on the property. The nonprofit organization purchased the plant for about $500,000 in order to provide crisis housing for battered women and children. It will cost another $3.5 million to renovate, furbish and jumpstart the new facility. \nThe current Middle Way House, located on the corner of Kirkwood and Madison avenues, cannot accommodate the increasing number of occupants needing emergency shelter. The bottling plant, to be named New Wings, will be divided into 25 apartment units. \n"We're definitely busting at the seams right now," said Lisa \nMorrison, spokeswoman and events coordinator for Middle Way House. "Because we're also serving Greene, Owen, Lawrence and Morgan counties, we have a growing need." \nThe emergency shelter provides a 24-hour crisis line, rape crisis programs and legal and counseling services. It also offers victims clothing, furniture, diapers, formula and other practical needs so they do not have to return to their homes to retrieve personal items after they have fled. \n"These are volatile situations, and it's usually a spur-of-the-moment decision, so many of them don't have any belongings when they come to us," Morrison said. "We even arrange for transportation to pick (them) up. No individual in crisis is turned away." \nIn order to have these services available to victims and to complete the renovations of the new building, Middle Way House will rely on independent donors and fund-raising events. \n"Unfortunately, the government has cut back on a lot of grant money," said Toby Strout, the current Bloomington Middle Way House executive director. "A lot of non profits are struggling right now."\nBloomington Middle Way directors are overcoming financial restraints in several creative ways. \nFood Works, a catering business managed by the nonprofit, was devised in response to the organization's need for inexpensive food services for its many fund-raising events. Not only does Food Works help to provide some of the revenue for the crisis services, but it also\nemploys former recipients of Middle Way House services. \n"As far as I know, this concept is pretty innovative," Morrison said. "I don't know of any other Middle Way Houses trying to manage a business like Food Works."\nWhen New Wings is completed, Food Works will operate on the main level of the former bottling plant. \n"These tile surfaces will work well for Food Works," Brubaker said, pointing out the original wall and column treatments of the factory. \nMorrison said she believes some of the recipes Food Works has created, like its cheddar crackers, are very marketable. She said she hopes other companies, businesses and individuals will hire Food Works to cater their parties and events in the future. \nAnother fund-raising event will take place Saturday at Showers Building. Middle Way will hold its third annual art fair in celebration of Women's History Month. All the items, ranging from silver pieces to glazed pottery, from the 40 participating vendors were crafted by local female artists. \nAlong with large-scale events, Middle Way welcomes even modest donations. As part of the New Wings project, some area businesses will collect money through depositories in the form of decorative birdhouses. \n"We're incredibly excited right now that we were able to step up to the plate and secure this property," Morrison said. "It's the next phase that's going to be the most challenging"
(02/28/06 5:26am)
More than a dozen Indiana teens will have the chance of reaching Kelly Clarkson, Andrew Firestone or Omarosa status -- not by their talents or looks, but by breaking the law. \nIn the truest sense of the expression "reality television," MTV will air an eight-week documentary series this summer called "MTV Juvies," based on 16 juvenile offender cases in Lake County, Ind., from the moment police take the teens into custody until they have attended their final hearings. \nThough many lower courts in Indiana do not permit cameras to record proceedings, the production company and MTV petitioned the Indiana Supreme Court for a waiver. After nine years of outlining the documentary, establishing the mission of the project and submitting a petition, Chief Justice Randall Shepard granted them access in writing. \nLake County Juvenile Court Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura, who benched the 16 hearings, said she decided to participate in the documentary because Calamari Productions had received the access permission from Chief Justice Shepherd. Because Bonaventura had participated in one other Calamari documentary about child abuse and neglect, she trusted the producers and accepted the request. \nGetting used to the cameras was an adjustment, she said. At one point, she even considered pulling the project, concerned it might trivialize the "good work" she believes the juvenile court continually does. \n"In the beginning of each of the hearing days, for about the first three minutes, I was very aware of the lights and the crew," she said. "But they didn't get in the way of my vision as far as seeing the kids fairly. Once the hearing got going, I was focusing on what my job is."\nBonaventura said she hopes the exposure of the juvenile court goings-on will forewarn young MTV viewers of making missteps like the documentary participants. She said she never would have allowed the documentary if she had felt the project would exploit the juveniles. Instead, she said she believes audiences will know the difference between the content of shows like "The Real World" and "MTV Juvies." \nKaren Grau, a former Indianapolis journalist and the creator of the documentary, agreed with Bonaventura's sentiment. \n"The difference is this really is real," she said. "A lot of reality programming is scripted and staged, knowing exactly how each episode is going to be produced. That's impossible for this project." \nGrau said because this is a documentary, she was unaware of who the series participants would be until the filming actually began. \nThe documentary does not obscure the teens' faces or change their names, she said. Participants granted the production company permission to follow them through the judicial process, she said. \n"And even then, we were not allowed to (film them) unless we got a written release from their parents," she added. \nCalamari Productions won't release the names of the teens before MTV airs the series. \nDave Sirulnick, executive vice president of MTV Multiplatform Production, News and Music, said he believes the series has entertainment value. \n"Our audience has responded strongly to programs that cover social issues ... that affect young people's lives," he said. \nA press release from MTV described the series as a "gritty and tense documentary that illustrates what happens when kids, who have never had a brush with the law, find out their choices have real consequences ... Their lives and their future are at the hands of a sole judge."\nBut Grau said she believes "MTV Juvies" serves a greater purpose. \n"This is a form of public service," she said. "These are everyone's kids. It doesn't matter what your race, religion, ethnicity is, this can happen to anyone. And it's pretty common, too. I mean, high school parties get busted up for minor consumption all the time."\nBonaventura has not yet viewed the documentary. In fact, she won't see it until MTV televises it. \n"We're all our own worst critics," she said. "I hope I represent the court well and don't come off sounding stupid. I guess I'll just have to watch with one eye closed"
(02/21/06 6:11am)
The second floor of Victoria Towers on Kirkwood Avenue is caught in a glass prism -- leaking glints of light through its bay windows and crushing the incoming rays into a million shards as they are bounced around the mirrored wainscoting, flung from the chandelier dangles, then repurposed in jars of blue Barbacide, cleansing the toothy combs at every beautician's work area. \nElizabeth Tieman & Hair Designers is an elegant salon, meant to polish and cut only the most beautiful, refined Midwestern ladies. Even Elizabeth Tieman is a glass bobble, sparkling from the rhinestone embellishments on her eyeglasses to the little crystal dots lining the pockets of her black slacks. She enjoys the glints of things -- the glint of instant gratification, the glint of adventure, the glint of stardom. \nOn a snowy Saturday morning, Tieman stood in the center of her salon. The only sounds were the rustling of a dulled broom against the tiled floor and the murmurs of country music on a distant storage room radio. Tieman swept through the tufted waiting room, announcing to any clients or coworkers that she was "just ducking out for a quick cigarette." \nShe returned shortly, caped in an invisible trail of smoke and winter draft, revived. \n"Sometimes, I just need a couple puffs of nicotine to get me going," she giggled as she pantomimed a few brisk sucking motions, her voice thrown an octave lower than expected, probably from years of "a couple puffs" here and there. "My daughter gets on me about it. She hates it." \nTieman plopped down in an Art Deco-inspired chair, reminiscent of an oyster shell. Her pupils widened as they filled with the room's excess of light, taking a moment to marvel her life's work. After almost 30 years in Victoria Towers, Tieman will close the appointment book. \nIt isn't her choice to leave the historic Kirkwood building. Still, she is ready to go out on her own.
(02/21/06 5:28am)
Though U.S. Senate Committee on Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts said he negotiated "a fix" to the White House wiretapping law Thursday that would avoid an investigation, some Bloomington opponents are obstinate to make officials produce an independent inquiry of the administration. \nMoveOn, a family of nonprofit civil action organizations, plans to hold a candlelight vigil on the south side of the square at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday as a nonpartisan effort to pressure U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-New Albany, to request an investigation. \nThe vigil is part of a national MoveOn response against President George W. Bush's warrantless domestic surveillance program -- an initiative the administration took assuming it was protected under the Patriot Act. Around the country, MoveOn has organized 225 other vigils for Wednesday. \nIn 2001, the Patriot Act enhanced a law from the 1970s called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, expanding its definition to include the monitoring of terrorists who are not affiliated with a foreign government. The discrepancy lies between whether that encompasses U.S. citizens and whether that conflicts with the Constitution. \nThe House already renewed the Patriot Act, but the post-Sept. 11, 2001 law has met some opposition from both Democratic and Republican senators. \nParticipants in the demonstration say domestic spying is an affront to American civil rights. \n"Our rights are getting squished right and left," said Mary Gajewski of MoveOn. "I think we're trying to change things." \nBut not everyone in Bloomington believes the wiretapping infringes upon their rights.\n"We are at war," said Jon Frain, an IU junior majoring in political science. "National security is always the No. 1 goal to be obtained, and I think President Bush sees this to be his mandate." \nFrain, like many others, said he does not feel uncomfortable with the president's domestic surveillance. \n"It's very unlikely that my calls would ever be tapped, but I personally have nothing to hide and I know that the president's looking out for our best interests," he said. "And that's perfectly fine with me." \nFrain said that during World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt held some Asian Americans in internment camps, yet Americans still supported him. \n"History might prove President Bush wrong, but we should support him," he said. "If we can stop terrorists from acting against us, I don't think Americans should be so upset." \nVigil coordinator Erica Seiffert said the group plans to read the Bill of Rights and Amendments 13, 14, 15 and 19 at the rally, stressing the importance of preserving civil liberties. \n"I also hope to educate people a little about their rights," she said. \nSeiffert stressed that spying on Americans is an issue troubling many officials, despite their side of the party line. \n"I certainly think this is an issue that some Republicans can (be) and are also upset about," she said. "No one is above the law -- not even the president"
(02/03/06 5:00am)
Sometimes, digestion might feel like a dozen children tunneling through your intestine like a McDonald's Playland. But at College Mall Thursday, children really were mucking around the bowels. \nAs part of an initiative to educate the public about colon cancer and prevention, Bloomington Hospital's Regional Cancer Institute teamed up with an organization called Colon Club to bring the Colossal Colon exhibit to town. Spanning 40-feet long and 4-feet tall, the coil of colon reveals the progressive stages of cancer, beginning with healthy looking tissue and tailing off with polyps -- cancerous growths -- and internal hemorrhoids. \nThe display, resembling an enormous strand of al dente spaghetti, lies across the center of the mall in front of the Target mainframe, and will remain there through Sunday. \nAs shopper traffic shuffled past the organ, a woman dressed in a berry, droplet-shaped costume accosted customers. \n"Hey, check out the colon! C'mon, don't be shy!" hollered Stephanie Toby, a nursing student volunteer from Ivy Tech Community College. \nToby explained that she was a human model of a polyp, just trying to provide the public with what she feels is crucial health information. \nAccording to Bloomington Hospital findings, colorectal cancer is one of the foremost causes of cancer deaths in the country. Doctors will diagnose about 150,000 people this year with the disease, and more than one-third of those victims will not survive its impact, according to the hospital's research. \nSonya Zeller, executive director of the Regional Cancer Institute, said the project's goal was to urge people to take better care of their colons today to prevent illnesses tomorrow. \nShe pointed out information tables with free at-home screening kits, dieticians on standby and a nurse demonstrating a colonoscopy with pictures and a miniature model. \n"There are four stages of cancer," she said. "We want people to be aware, so that we can catch it at stages one and two. It's much more curable and treatable." \nTammy Fiscus, a registered nurse, handled a long, thin tube with a built-in camera, showing how the tool snakes through the colon. \n"The average colon is about six feet long," she said. "But you don't really have sensory nerves in your colon. Most people say the worst part is the preparation for it." \nFiscus explained that prep for a colonoscopy requires flushing out the system with a saline solution. \nZeller stressed the importance of colonoscopy check-ups for everyone. \n"With colon cancer, the most common symptom is no symptom," she said. \nThe brain who thought up the enormous colon belonged to Molly McMaster, a 23-year-old cancer survivor. When a close friend of McMaster's, Amanda Sherwood Roberts, died of colon cancer at the premature age of 27, she dedicated herself to the cause. Scribbled in a pucker by the entrance of the colon, the words "For Amanda" remind the volunteers why they're there. \nZeller said despite the humor of the exhibit, colon cancer is something they all take very seriously. \n"This is just a unique twist, instead of just saying, 'Hey, how's your colon?'" she said. "We just want to get people talking about it." \nA tiny head popped through one of the viewing openings, then plopped back into the colon. Emma Underwood, 6, accompanied by her mother, Kim Underwood, was having an abnormal anatomy lesson. \n"Mama, is this what's inside of us?" her voice echoed against the fiberglass polyps. \n"Yes," her mother confirmed. Emma vowed to eat more fruit at dinnertime in the future. \n-- For free at-home screening kits, visit the exhibit, call 353-HOPE or visit the Web site at bhcancer.org.
(02/01/06 4:44am)
The Monroe County Sheriff's Department cannot locate a Bloomington-based travel agency owner accused of bilking several clients out of thousands of dollars. \nIndiana Attorney General Steve Carter filed a class-action suit Jan. 12 against Jack Lagoni, owner of University Travel, after receiving several complaints from some of the agency's clients in September 2005. \nThe source of the complaints were all related to the agency's closing without following through on the delivery of several African safari packages to customers. The reported losses range from $1,200 to $13,000 per plaintiff, according to the Indiana Attorney General's Office. The claim against Lagoni represents the interests of 16 former clients. \nSheriff officials attempted to serve the summons to Lagoni at two separate addresses but reported that the former owner either moved or was unavailable, according to the case summary. \nCarter has until a Feb. 27 deadline to file a second summons for Lagoni before Monroe County Circuit Judge Stephen Galvin dismisses the case. \nDespite the name of the former agency, University Travel was in no way affiliated with IU.
(01/29/06 9:33pm)
The driver who pleaded guilty to fleeing the accident that killed IU student Ashley Crouse last year received a penalty of eight years in prison Thursday, the maximum sentence for his charges. \nWith good behavior, Meliton Praxedis, 21, will spend a little more than three years in Monroe County's detention center. His detainment since April 15, 2005, four days after the accident, will also be credited toward his overall sentence duration. \nSince he is not an American citizen, the state will deport him to Mexico after he serves his time. \nBecause Praxedis and the state entered into a plea agreement that would prevent the prosecution from submitting any recommendations to heighten the sentence, Monroe County Circuit Judge Marc Kellams reviewed other filed documents to search for mitigating or aggravating factors himself. \nAfter Kellams discovered a police interview with the owner of the car Praxedis allegedly drove, he found statements claiming the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the accident. Kellams made a point to go on the record as to what aggravating circumstances led him to his final decision -- Praxedis' possible intoxication. \nBut Public Defender David Collins protested the unorthodox use of circumstances not originally brought forward by the prosecution. \n"I would object to that as hearsay," Collins said. "We don't know whether one beer or two beers is (drinking) heavily for him. That would demand a jury trial." \nCollins disputed the legality of the judge's actions. He said the prosecution should have brought in the reporting police officer to testify if the state wanted the judge to consider certain aggravators. \nHe also referred to a recently decided case, Smylie v. State of Indiana. In Smylie, a judge sentenced a defendant who molested his stepdaughter with a penalty heightened from the initial charge. A court later ruled that an enhancement based on information discovered by that judge -- not the prosecution -- violated Smylie's Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. \nKellams asserted he was in the right, specifically citing that he wanted the record to reveal how he had come to his conclusion on the defendant's punishment. \n"I could issue a sentence without any record," Kellams said. \nMonroe County Prosecutor Jeffrey Kehr would not give his opinion on whether a jury should hear the circumstances the judge found aggravating. \n"That's for the court of appeals to determine," he said. \nWhen Kellams asked whether Praxedis would like to appeal the sentence, his interpreter said he wished to pursue it. \nCollins abstained from speaking to the press about the possible appeal. He has 30 days to file the case for his client. \nAlthough the members of Crouse's sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, her boyfriend Chris Carlson and parents Kim and Mary Beth Crouse declined to comment, both her father and mother were present for the sentencing Thursday. In a previous hearing, they expressed wishes for the maximum sentence in sworn testimonies. \n"Being the fact that the defendant watched (Ashley) lay on the street dying and was only concerned with himself, I have no compassion for this person," Crouse's father told the Indiana Daily Student Dec. 14, 2005. \nAt that same hearing, Praxedis offered Crouse's parents an apology and asked for their forgiveness through the assistance of an interpreter. \nU.S. Marshals arrested Praxedis in Delaware on April 15, 2005. \nOfficials had struggled to locate the suspect because he did not possess a valid driver's license or form of identification, police said. \nAfter the IU Police Department obtained an eyewitness sketch of the suspect, New Castle, Del., police were able to match a photograph with the IUPD composite image. \nAccording to police reports, Crouse, Carlson and IU student Julie Greenbaum entered the intersection of Hawthorne Drive and Third Street the night of April 11, 2005, when a gray Honda station wagon, allegedly driven by Praxedis, struck their red Jeep. The vehicles both skidded into the lawn by the Kappa Kappa Gamma house, the sorority where Crouse had lived. \nAt the intersection, the students' Jeep approached a flashing red traffic light while the station wagon had a flashing yellow light, according to the reports. \nPraxedis allegedly fled on foot before police arrived at the scene. \nPolice reports state that Crouse, who was in the back seat of the Jeep, landed five feet from the vehicle after the impact. She was the only passenger not wearing a seat belt, according to the report. \nBloomington Hospital medics pronounced Crouse dead at 12:09 a.m. April 12, 2005.