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(11/14/00 5:34am)
Most of the audience didn't want to be there.\nBut last night, the Binford Elementary School auditorium was filled to capacity with drunken driving offenders who had been court-ordered to attend a panel discussion as part of their probation agreement.\nThe panel was sponsored by the local Mothers Against Drunk Driving Community Action Team, in conjunction with the Monroe County Probation Department and the Monroe County Prevention Coalition. Panel members shared personal experiences and perspectives on the effects of drinking and driving.\n"You've been told what alcohol does to your body," said panel coordinator Leasa Farkas, also a music school employee. "If you've gone through the court system, then you've had to pay fees and fines, and you've had to live your life carefully. What we want you to do tonight is one more thing -- just open your minds and open your hearts. Put yourself in the shoes of the victims and others who are going to be sharing their stories this evening."\nFarkas began the panel program in 1990, after reading about several incidents that alerted her to the seriousness of drunken driving. \nThree of the evening's five panelists recounted stories about family members who had been killed by drunken drivers.\nOn the morning of Sept. 14, 1989, Carl Hancock's granddaughter Nicole was playing outside with her step-brother when a car veered off the street and through their front yard. In a matter of seconds, Nicole was rammed by the front bumper of the car and dragged more than 40 feet down the road, where her body finally fell to the pavement. \nWhen she lost control of her automobile, the woman behind the wheel had been reaching into the backseat to grab another beer -- her eighth of the day.\n"She thought she hit a dog, so she just kept going," Hancock said. As he spoke, albums filled with graphic photos of Nicole's mangled body circulated through the auditorium.\nFor Hancock, the tragic loss of his first grandchild quickly became a legal battle as well as an emotional struggle. Despite the fact the woman served five years in jail, Hancock went after a greater goal.\n"There was no law against (the driver) reaching back in her seat for that eighth beer," Hancock said. "So guess what I did for the next nine years?"\nAlong with other victims, Hancock lobbied to change the open-container law in Indiana. The law was eventually rewritten, but Hancock said he wants people to understand there is more to drunken driving than crime and punishment.\n"Whether you're the person who commits the crime or you're the victim, everyone around you becomes the victims," Hancock said. "Your parents are victims. Your children are victims. Your whole damned community becomes victims." \nHancock's statement seemed to ring true for the audience, where friends and family members sat beside those who were court-ordered to attend the panel.\nOne woman said with a hint of pride that her roommate has not had a drink since his arrest. Another man who had come out to show support for his friend said the panel "both helps and hurts" him.\nAnd some of the panelists themselves had stories to tell about their personal struggles with drinking and driving.\n"I am a drunk driver," Gus Matthias stated at the outset of his speech. "I have offended hundreds upon hundreds of times. I've driven drunk in 42 states and 13 foreign countries. The fact that I'm here at all today is a miracle."\nAfter sharing dozens of harrowing statistics about drunken driving, Matthias took a moment to tell a side of the story he said he knew well from experience.\n"Those of you who are here because you committed an offense for drinking and driving," he said, "chances are you were not committing the first offense when you were arrested."\nHe vehemently condemned the three offenders who came to the panel and were arrested for being under the influence, calling them "a pitiful commentary on American standards."\nAnd he issued an appeal for the future.\n"Pay attention to what you're doing to yourselves," Matthias said. "If you want your children to follow in your footsteps, be careful where you place your feet."\nStill, Monroe County probation officer Brier Frasier said drunken driving continues to be "a huge problem."\nFrasier said the more than 400 people court-ordered to attend this panel were arrested only in the last few months.\nMatthias agreed in his speech, reiterating the evening's theme: "Don't drink and drive. Don't drink and drive. Don't drink and drive. How many times do we have to tell you"
(11/06/00 6:14pm)
Months of campaigning have all boiled down to this.
Tomorrow, one of the three candidates for U.S. Senate will win the honor of representing Indiana in Washington, D.C., for the next six years.
But today the race is still on.
(10/31/00 5:45am)
David Johnson is playing the odds.\nDespite an almost overwhelming public perception that no one can defeat incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Johnson, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, is standing resolutely on his platform for Congressional change.\n"I believe very strongly that it's important for hardworking citizens to offer themselves for public service," said Johnson, an Indianapolis lawyer. "I don't think that politics ought to be simply carried out by politicians."\nThis belief is why one of Johnson's major policy points in this election is campaign finance reform. He said that as the challenger in an expensive race, he has become keenly aware of the millions of dollars candidates around the country are spending to win their political offices.\n"The role of money in getting candidates elected has really gotten out of control," Johnson said. "I want to try to take big money out of politics."\nSenior Marc Kelly, former vice president of the IU College Democrats, said he supports Johnson's attack on campaign financing.\n"He really is trying to get the elections into the hands of the little guy again," Kelly said. "Although this doesn't seem like an important issue to students, campaign finance reform would really help us inherit a political system that is more democratic and fair for all people."\nWhile the funding dilemma is important to him, Johnson has also set his sights on reforming the American education system.\n"We all need to be focusing first on education," Johnson said. "Washington, D.C., can be doing better to help educate our kids, but this is not a question that Washington has all the answers for."\nSome suggestions Johnson has made regarding education include making sure that there are enough teachers in classrooms, and that school buildings are outfitted with the most modern equipment. To improve higher education, Johnson has suggested a targeted tax cut in conjunction with tax credits for families. These changes, he said, would insure that parents are financially able to send their kids to college.\n"Whether (parents) are college-educated or not," Johnson said, "they want their kids to have that opportunity."\nDuring the past few months, Johnson has traveled around the state, talking with voters and listening to their concerns. Among their top responses have been doubts about national programs that affect Hoosier senior citizens.\n"The issues that we've talked about tend to be ones that involve older Americans, Johnson said, "primarily because that's where the federal programs have been that aren't working very well right now."\nJohnson said he believes Social Security and Medicare are two programs that need improvement.\n"We can do that," he said, "by being sure that we're not taking money out and using it for other purposes."\nLaura Walda, a freshman member of College Democrats, said education and attention to federal programming are areas in which the Democratic candidate can shine. Walda compared Johnson's goals to Lugar's voting record, which has recently come under fire for what Democrats are calling inconsistencies.\n"Sen. Lugar has been highly regarded by many Indiana residents over the years, and he has enormous popularity," Walda said. "One thing that continues to puzzle me is the fact that his appeal to families doesn't entirely match his voting record. He has voted for tax cuts that would cut Medicare, child nutrition programs, and more importantly for IU students, student loans."\nWalda said Johnson's plan would offer more financial help to those in need of prescription drugs, as well as increased health care aid for low-income families.\nWhile Johnson has many Democratic supporters throughout Indiana, he is still trailing Lugar in the tracking polls. Members of his staff agree that it all comes down to this last week on the campaign trail.\n"Things are very busy," said campaign press secretary Doshia Stewart. "This is the time when every vote counts. And even though it's hard work, meeting the voters helps to re-energize all of us."\nFor more information about U.S. Senate candidate David Johnson, visit him on the Web at www.davidjohnson2000.com.
(10/31/00 5:43am)
No government is good government -- at least, if you ask Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Paul Hager.\nA lone wolf struggling to escape the partisan politics surrounding this year's election, Hager has focused his campaign on traditional Libertarian values.\n"I see the major threat to liberty coming from the federal government, which is out of control and operating outside the Constitution," Hager said. "Federal bureaucrats operate as agents of special interests and promote junk science into policy which infringes on individual and property rights and cripples science and technology in the bargain."\nHager's solution is to attack the problem from the top.\n"In running for Senate," he said, "I'm just going after the largest evil around."\nHager, an IU alumnus and Bloomington-based computer software engineer, labels himself socially liberal and fiscally conservative. His main goals include phasing out entitlements, including Social Security and Medicare and the protection of Constitutional rights. More specifically, Hager said he believes strongly in the right of self-defense and a blanket protection of Second Amendment rights.\n"I'm a rational pragmatist who has found that the Constitution as written would work very well if we followed it," Hager said.\nOne facet of particular interest to younger voters has been Hager's stance on drug prohibition. In 1990, he co-founded the Hoosier Cannabis Re-legalization Coalition, an organization devoted to ending cannabis prohibition. Hager said he views the entire war on drugs as "racist."\n"Even if the drug war is winnable, which I doubt, victory can only come at the expense of freedom," Hager said. "The most likely outcome is that we won't win and will live in a police state."\nSenior Brian Biancardi said he agrees with many of Hager's positions on major issues.\n"He has good ideals and knows what the Libertarian party is all about," said Biancardi, former president of the IU College Libertarians.\nBut Biancardi finds fault with Hagers stance on the environment.\n"He has no environmental policy," Biancardi said. "He believes (change) can be done through legal precedents and general laws established by the courts, but every environmentalist knows that it won't work that way."\nBiancardi said he believes Hager's environmental focus should be shifted toward setting regulations on private industry and organizations.\nIn what many have called his most controversial action in this election, Hager recently penned a position piece arguing why his opponent, incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), did not deserve a Nobel Prize for his peace-keeping efforts. Lugar, a Republican, was nominated for the prize along with former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) for their bipartisan efforts to disarm nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union. The pair lost last month to Kim Dae-jung, the president of South Korea, but the nomination alone created additional support for Lugar's already powerful campaign.\nIn the attack, which is published on his Web site, Hager accused Lugar of "engaging in geopolitical games that increase the risk of nuclear war or nuclear terror." \nMany Libertarians said they agree.\n"I think that unfortunately Lugar has been supportive of a foreign policy of foreign intervention, and of being the world's policeman," said graduate student Erin Hollinden, chair of the Monroe County Libertarian party and president of the IU College Libertarians.\nHollinden said Lugar's decision to involve U.S. troops in Kosovo and Iraq was not in the best interest of the country.\n"He's not someone who's promoting world peace in any way," she said.\nHollinden said she supports Hager's suggestion that America, among other things, should stop trying to manage the world by force. And even though he's not the most popular candidate, she said she believes Hager's presence in this election bodes well for the future of the third-party Libertarian candidate.\n"It's really important to frame the debate and use the context of constitutionality that Libertarians always lend to it," Hollinden said. "I think the Libertarian party is well positioned to grow into being a major party."\nLikewise, Hager said he knows he cannot win the election, but he will be weighing his political accomplishments this year on a more long-term scale.\n"Success depends on how you measure it," Hager said. "Since no one is going to beat Lugar, I measure it by the extent to which Libertarian ideas I've expressed enter the political debate, the number of people I bring into the Libertarian party, and whether or not I crack the two percent threshold on election day."\nFor more information about U.S. Senate candidate Paul Hager, visit www.paulhager.org.
(10/31/00 5:42am)
With all the tracking polls, talk shows and media-driven political analysis, it seems the nation is abuzz with election zeal right now.\nBut the politicians know better.\nThey understand America is caught in a downward spiral of declining voter turnout. They know young voters are among the worst offenders when it comes to political nonchalance. And they're left with the question many pundits have recently considered: "How do we make them care?"\nA recent MTV poll of 600 young people found that only 75 percent of 18-24 year-olds could name both presidential candidates without prompting, and only 30 percent could name both vice-presidential candidates. Thirty percent of those surveyed claimed any sort of interest in politics and government, and only 33 percent said they were certain to vote in this election.\nMany politicians are struggling to find the source of this disinterest.\n"It's a huge problem everywhere," said U.S. Senate candidate David Johnson, a Democrat. "I'm terribly concerned about turnout, both as a candidate and an American citizen."\nJohnson said he believes many student voters simply have nothing drawing their generation into politics.\n"I voted when I was 18," said Johnson, who was among the first group able to vote after Congress lowered the age requirement from 21 to 18, allowing youth to vote on issues such as conscription and U.S. military involvement overseas.\n"We don't -- and I'm glad we don't -- have any issues that are compelling people like that today," Johnson said.\nLibertarian Senate candidate Paul Hager said he agrees voter apathy is an enormous problem but cites different potential causes. Hager said he thinks students are up against the wall in a political system dominated by two main parties. \nBut, he warned, this is not an excuse for apathy.\n"I agree with the students," Hager said. "We're entering the 21st century and have a chance to put that all behind us. Let's acknowledge the failures and move on. If you want politics to be relevant to you, get involved."\nBoth Hager and Johnson have tried to reel in the student vote by bringing up youth angles on time-tested issues such as Social Security and the national debt.\nHager, for example, advocates dissolving the existing Social Security to benefit young workers and students about to enter the work force.\n"That means phasing out the pay-as-you-go Social Security system," he said, "which is broken and can't be fixed unless you are willing to pay significantly higher taxes and be older before you can collect."\nJohnson, on the other hand, has tried to equate the national debt to credit card bills, a tangible comparison for most college students today.\n"Its like paying off your credit card," Johnson said of the debt, "and once you do it, your bills go down, and you're only paying for what you need to buy."\nRepublican incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar has taken another approach. Using the Senate position he has held for four terms, Lugar has worked to develop several initiatives that bring younger voters closer to the political system -- an annual symposium for tomorrow's leaders, strong internship programs in Washington and Indianapolis and increased effort to communicate with students around the state.\n"He's tried to visit with university students and with high school students who are first-time voters," said Andy Fisher, Lugar's press secretary. "We want more and more younger people to vote."\nAnne Scuffham, president of the IU College Republicans, said she believes this is a crucial year for young people to get out and vote.\n"Essentially this election is going to affect politics for the next 10 years," Scuffham said. "We have what could be the continuing of an administration or a whole new administration. This is the beginning of a new millennium, and changes are taking place."\nDespite efforts to get students involved in this election, most remain distant, if not completely uninformed. And for those students who do end up at the polls Nov. 7, many of them vote along party lines, not for a specific candidate.\nSenior Chip Coldiron said his main impetus in voting in this year's Senate race will be to even out the Congressional playing field.\n"I will be voting for the Democrat," Coldiron said. "The only reason behind this is to keep as many Republicans out of Congress"
(10/31/00 3:14am)
It's an issue that has raised the eyebrows and blood pressures of countless candidates since the Supreme Court handed down Roe v. Wade in 1973. Since then, it has also become a hot topic on college campuses nationwide.\nThis year, the three Indiana candidates for U.S. Senate have strong opinions on the legality, morality and constitutionality of abortion.\nIncumbent Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., has maintained his pro-life stance for 24 years in the Senate and has no plans to change in the future.\n"Lugar opposes abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or where the life of the mother is in danger," said Gail Lowry, Lugar's campaign press secretary in Indianapolis.\nLugar's opponents -- Democrat David Johnson and Libertarian Paul Hager -- said they believe having an abortion is a woman's right.\n"I regard this issue as a privacy issue under the Constitution," Johnson said. "Roe v. Wade is the correct interpretation."\nBut Johnson said he believes the government should play only a small role in a woman's decision to have an abortion. \n"It involves some of the most important and profound moral questions that we have," he said. "I don't think the federal government belongs at the table in helping make that decision."\nJohnson said he does not support late-term or partial birth abortions.\nLibertarian Hager said he also believes abortion is a woman's constitutional right. Hager has worked in the past as a clinic escort for Planned Parenthood, and said he supports the recently introduced abortion drug, RU-486.\n"We need to keep it available," Hager said. "This is a perfect example of the use of federal bureaucracy to override science with politics."\nThis year, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Greater Indiana sent out a questionnaire to all three Senate candidates. The 14-question survey dealt with issues such as family planning and abortion, access to services, parental consent, sex education, contraceptive coverage and international family planning. Based on his responses, the group decided to endorse Democrat David Johnson.\n"Mr. Johnson answered the questions with a 100 percent rating," said Dinah Farrington, the vice president for public policy of Planned Parenthood Advocates.\nNeither Hager nor Lugar returned the questionnaire, but Farrington said Lugar's pro-life history didn't mesh with the group's fundamental principles.\n"He opposes abortion, and his voting record has certainly been in opposition to Planned Parenthood," Farrington said. \nOn a national Congressional scorecard, Lugar voted with Planned Parenthood zero percent of the time.\nFarrington said she believes Lugar is "really a fine person on a lot of global issues, but on issues that matter to women and families, he isn't there, and Mr. Johnson is."\nShannon Goings, president of IU Students for Life, said her organization has been trying to educate voters about the candidates' positions on the issue of abortion.\n"Our organization works to educate women on why abortion is wrong, that its taking the life of an unborn baby," Goings said. "Were focusing on the election and which candidates have pro-life stances."\nBut because the group is bipartisan, it cannot endorse a particular candidate.\n"We can't specifically say, 'We like this guy, go vote for him," Goings explained. "But we can educate on what views candidates have."\nFor Goings, the decision is easy. She will vote for the candidate who represents her commitment to the pro-life standpoint Nov. 7.\n"For Senate," she said, "Lugar"
(10/18/00 3:52pm)
Four sets of county government candidates met last night at the Monroe County Public Library for an open debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. \nAuditor\nThe auditor's debate between Republican incumbent Barbara Clark and Democratic challenger Lee Jones began with suggestions for improved technology.\nBoth candidates stressed the importance of improving public access to county records and improving the flow of information between the auditor's office and the city-county council members.\nClark cited the changes she has made as auditor during the past four years.\n"I have had other counties that have come in to see what information I give our council members," Clark said of her efforts. "Any information that I have, I make into packets and put in their boxes."\nHer opponent Lee Jones said she believes she can not only improve inter-governmental communication but also the availability of information to the general public.\n"I would make sure that (records) are posted throughout the county," Jones said. "I would also get this sort of information up on the county's Web page."\nTreasurer\nDuring the treasurer debate, Republican incumbent Pat Jeffries emphasized the modifications she has made as treasurer -- hiring more people to validate tax forms, providing two additional ways for residents to pay taxes and updating the existing tax forms -- and said she thought there was no reason for voters to change horses in midstream.\nHer opponent, Democrat Donna Richardson, accentuated her history and the commitment she would bring to the office.\n"I have a proven record of working with the people and for the people," said Richardson, who has been involved with county government since the late 1970s. "I bring to this a lot of county experience."\nJeffries and Richardson agree that the treasurer's office does an admirable job of handling the extra workload during peak tax times, but the two differed on putting tax information on the Web.\n"I've heard comments from people that they still think that's a little private," Richardson said.\nJeffries, despite her personal reservations about the issue, disagreed.\n"This is all public information; it might as well be accessed in the most modern way possible," she said. "People are wanting more and more technology in our county offices."\nCoroner\nIt's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.\nThe three candidates for coroner agreed that the office is far from the most glamorous political position, but each has his or her personal reasons for wanting to fill it.\nRepublican Gary Darland, a former Indianapolis police officer, said his desire to become coroner comes from a deep commitment to compassion.\n"I've seen a lot of death. I've seen a lot of misery," Darland said. "A coroner and a deputy coroner should maintain the dignity of a person who has passed away."\nTamara Harty, the independent candidate, agreed in part with Darland. But Harty, a certified crime technician for the Bloomington Police Department, has a greater goal in mind.\n"My vision for the coroner's office is both compassionate and proactive," Harty said. "I see the coroner's office as more than just helping with grief and loss; it can be an advocate for the living."\nThe third candidate, Democrat David Toumey, said he wants the job because of his strong belief in public service. Toumey, who has served as deputy coroner for the last 10 years, recounted several facets of vision for the future, including the development of a joint death investigation team, the training of public safety responders to work with the coroner's office and the installation of a child fatality review team.\nWhile Harty and Toumey agreed the coroner could use his or her position to help educate the community about the risks of abuse, Darland vehemently disagreed.\n"This is a busy job, and to do it right, you have to have an awful lot of things in place," Darland said. "This (advocacy) is wonderful and flowery, and it's nice politics, but this is a part-time job."\nCircuit Judge\nThe final discussion of the evening sparked a friendly feud concerning the state of the county's judicial system. \nThe candidates fielded questions about increased mediation programs, revamping the jury selection process and the effectiveness of the court's rotation system.\nThe candidates agreed that more time should be devoted to improving the jury selection process.\n"I'd like to expand the way we get jurors from the current method to property lists, phone books, etc., so we can more people here," Dillon said. "A lot of people aren't registered to vote, so a lot of people are being excluded from the system."\nBut the candidates differed in opinion over the current court system that allows circuit judges to rotate their cases. Under this system, judges handle only one type of case each week, making it impossible for offenders to seek out sympathetic judges.\n"As a personal preference, I like the idea that I have a generalist approach to the justice system in the sense that I do all kinds of cases," said Bridges, who was instrumental in developing the system.\nDillon said he believes this kind of system adds more bureaucracy and confusion to the judicial process.\n"At this point, if you're doing one week in small claims cases, you're following a different set of laws and procedures," Dillon argued. "I think it makes sense to divide up responsibilities"
(10/03/00 6:43am)
Mike Craw joined the Cub Scouts at age 8. Over the next 10 years, he earned merit badges, adhered to Boy Scout traditions and eventually received the highly sought-after Eagle Scout award. Craw then spent four years in college working as an assistant Scoutmaster.\n"For me, it was not just a program for making friends or learning about how to pitch a tent or administer first aid," Craw said. "Scouting helped to mold my values, showed me both how to work in teams and how to be self-reliant, and encouraged me to be an active citizen."\nRecently, the national Boy Scouts organization, Boy Scouts of America, has come under scrutiny for its sexual orientation and religious discrimination policy. In June, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to make it official: Boy Scouts nationwide have every right to choose who can join and who can't.\nCraw and several other local Scouts decided they'd had enough.\nAt a Bloomington rally Aug. 21, six Eagle Scouts -- some straight and some homosexual-- turned over their Eagle Scout awards as a protest of the discrimination policy. Craw, who said he regretted being out of town the day of the rally, handed over his award as soon as he returned.\n"Scouting plays an important role in passing on values to the next generation," Craw said. "In discriminating against gay and atheist people, BSA is sending a very destructive message to our youth."\nAfter the rally, Craw took his concerns and joined forces with two other former Scouts -- IU alumni John Clower and David Horne -- to form Hoosiers for Inclusive Scouting. The group aims to combat religious and sexual orientation discrimination within the Hoosier Trails Council, the 18-county council that oversees Boy Scout troops in Bloomington and the surrounding areas. \n"Our ultimate goal is to influence the Hoosier Trails Council to enact a nondiscrimination statement, as other Boy Scouts of America councils around the country have done, that specifically forbids discrimination by sexual orientation and religious belief," said Hoosiers for Inclusive Scouting co-coordinator David Horne. "If they refuse, which we plan on, then we will most likely be taking actions against them."\nSuch actions could include additional protests and rallies at the local Boy Scouts office, public forums to promote awareness and requests for regional donors to halt Boy Scout funding until an anti-discrimination agreement is reached.\n"The point is to persuade local Boy Scouts and the local groups and individuals who support Boy Scouts to make it known to BSA's leadership that they want the organization to cease practicing religious and sexual orientation discrimination," said Clower, the third coordinator of Hoosiers for Inclusive Scouting.\nThe local movement\nIn the month following the August rally, Bloomington saw both sides of the controversy sparring for control of the situation. It appeared to most spectators that the Boy Scouts would be able to stand their ground.\nTwo weeks ago, those in support of Scouting equality celebrated a minor victory when the United Way of Monroe County voted to pass an anti-discrimination policy. Because the Hoosier Trails Council refused to sign the policy, it will no longer receive a percentage of the general United Way fund each year. Instead, the only way local Boy Scouts can benefit from contributions is through the designated donation program, where benefactors must specify to which charity they want their money to go. The Boy Scouts could lose up to $22,000 of United Way support this year.\nEllen Brantlinger, IU professor of education, became accidentally involved with the United Way debate after she read about the Boy Scout ban on homosexual and atheist leaders three years ago. When she gave her donation that year, she asked that none of it be given to the organization. \nBrantlinger was then called in for a meeting with several other donors to discuss their decision not to support the Boy Scouts.\n"(They) made the case that the Boy Scouts did good work," Brantlinger said. "I and the others protested, saying their work was undermined by their discriminatory policy."\nHoosier Trails Scout Executive Randy Brown has a different point of view on the issue. Brown said he believes the entire situation has been blown out of proportion over the past few years. \n"Boy Scouts of America has not changed its policy," Brown said. "The change was that people who had an agenda to meet started suing us because of our position."\nBrown said he believes the Boy Scouts are being targeted to make a political statement.\n"The BSA was not the one who initiated any of this action from beginning to end," Brown said. "We were being used to make a point to the public by a small group of folks. We just didn't roll over, because this is what we believe."\nBrown, who has been involved in scouting for more than 30 years, worked in two metropolitan areas and four smaller communities before coming to Bloomington. He says he has never encountered a case of sexual orientation discrimination in that time.\n"I've never removed a child or an adult for homosexual behavior," Brown said. "We have had in excess of 4,000 volunteers, and that's not been an issue."\nMoreover, he added, "what kid who's age 8 knows that he is a homosexual?"\nTo help counter Hoosier Trails loss of United Way funding, Indianapolis conservative activist Eric Miller launched a pro-Boy Scouts campaign last week. Miller, executive director of Advance America, is encouraging people to give money to Hoosier Trails in an effort he is calling "Operation Be Prepared." \nFormer IU basketball star Kent Benson is lending his clout to Miller's cause.\n"I'm supporting the Boy Scouts of America," said Benson, a Boy Scout himself. "I believe in Advance America and the causes for which Eric Miller stands, particular this Boy Scout situation."\nBenson hopes the contributions received through Operation Be Prepared will be enough to balance out the $22,000 United Way loss.\n"It's amazing how many different standards they have (at the United Way) and how they come to the conclusions they come to," Benson said. "Our goal is to make sure the Boy Scouts still have the support they need."\nThe national front\nThe entire country has begun to feel the heat from both sides of this controversy, as well.\nAfter three years of pursuing legislation against the Boy Scouts' discrimination policy, U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) introduced her Scouting for All Act to Congress in July.\n"The Boy Scouts' mission according to its charter is to teach boys," Woolsey said in a statement to the press. "That's not discrimination, that's defining a mission. What is discrimination is deciding that some boys are OK and some are not."\nThe bill, which was voted down Sept. 13, would have revoked the Boy Scouts' congressional charter, an honorary title given to organizations that serve charitable, patriotic or educational purposes. More than 90 organizations, including the Girl Scouts of America and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, hold congressional charters.\nEven though Woolsey was not successful in her campaign, other major groups around the country are taking notice of this situation.\nAfter one Manhattan school withdrew its support for the Boy Scouts, officials in New York began to question the propriety of having a discriminatory organization within the school, according to a Sept. 28 The New York Times article. New York schools are trying to work out an anti-discrimination agreement between the city and its local Boy Scout council.\nWhile some are trying to compromise, others are sticking to their guns.\nLast week, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) introduced a bill called the Scouts Honor Act, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to discriminate against, investigate or deny public property access to the Boy Scouts of America. The bill also states that no entity that accepts federal funding can force the Boy Scouts to accept members who do not share their values and beliefs. Local Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.) has signed on as a co-sponsor of this bill.\nWith the all the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue, many people believe there is no room for change within the Boy Scouts.\nBut Steve Sanders, Indiana state coordinator for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian political organization, believes the organization will alter its message.\n"I think eventually they will change, though it may take 10 or 20 years," Sanders said. "Society is coming very rapidly to understand that homosexuality is, for most people, simply the way they are born, and that there is nothing inherently wrong about it. There will always be a minority who will insist on believing what they want to believe and who simply aren't interested in facts or science, and the longer the Boy Scouts maintain this policy, the more marginalized they will become in many people's eyes."\n"It's unfortunate for them," Sanders continued, "that right now, through their own doing, being an anti-gay organization is probably the thing they are best known for nationally"
(09/07/00 5:33am)
Tension and emotion filled the air at the Unitarian Universalist Church, as Bloomington residents meted out the consequences of a plan to expand State Road 46.\nThe Indiana Department of Transportation held a public hearing last night to discuss a $16.9 million plan that would expand and modify a section of State Road 46 between Kinser Pike and 3rd Street. The purpose of the hearing was to further explain the project and gather constructive criticism from the community. This feedback will be used to determine the final design plans for the expansion.\n"These are not the final plans," said INDOT Hearings Examiner Chris Jolivette. "Your comments may alter the final designs."\nThe plan to expand the bypass, a reaction to the steadily increasing traffic flow along the roughly three-mile corridor, has been in the works since the initial site assessment in 1995. It includes the addition of travel lanes on State Road 46, channelization improvements at various intersections, a pedestrian overpass and underpass, multi-use sidewalks, the creation and closure of several streets and improved landscaping. If all goes as planned, the project should begin in spring 2003.\n"The project will take two years to complete," said Tim Muench, of the INDOT Design Division. "Knock on wood, it'll be done by the end of the 2004 construction season."\nBut not if some Bloomington residents can help it. \nFred Brinegar has spent his whole life ' save for 21 months in the Army ' in Bloomington. Since 1985, he and his wife Dee have owned a house at the corner of Dunn Street and State Road 46. Now, he said, INDOT is threatening to cut his property in half with additional bypass lanes.\n"They're going to take part of the front yard and a turn lane on the east side of our house," Brinegar said during the public statement portion. "They'll give us permission to use our basement driveway for at least three years, and then they can continue or reject that."\nBrinegar stood in the crowded hallway outside the hearing room and pointed at the various colored lines surrounding his property on the enormous plans that lined the walls. Not only will the highway force him to give up his land and the outside access to his basement, he said, but it will also provide a round-the-clock noise disturbance.\n"You can hear the cars go by from our bedroom now," Brinegar said. "I do not intend to stay there and be next to a highway with 21,000 cars going by."\nBrinegar's solution to this dilemma is to have the state pay to move the house back on his property. That way, he argued, they could have their land, and he could have his house.\n"I'm an old man," he sighed. "Now I come here, and I don't like what I see or what I hear. I think we should be given the offer to let them have the front land and the east side, but I think our house ' where we will live for the rest of our lives ' should be protected and moved back from the highway."\nWhile Brinegar is one of the very few people whose property will be dramatically affected by the expansion, many residents and officials expressed their disgust with the project for other reasons.\nMari Bertuccio, an IU graduate and former Bloomington resident, compared what's happening here to events that have recently taken place in Portland, Ore., where she now lives.\n"It gets to a point where things are almost perfect," she said of Bloomington's current state. "That lasts about a year, and then something like this happens."\nBertuccio's grievance against the expansion is more environmental than possessive. She finds fault with INDOT's plan to uproot existing trees during construction.\n"You cannot ever cut down a large tree and plant a spindly tree," she said. "This is gonna' change your climate, the smell, the look of this entire little city."\nAlthough the majority of those present had complaints about some aspect of the expansion project, there were a few ' including representatives from IU ' who lauded the city's efforts to lighten the load on the overcrowded stretch of highway.\n"I'd like to make it clear that IU supports the addition of two travel lanes," said IU Director of Real Estate Lynn Coyne. "We feel this is critical to the movement of traffic around the area."\nCoyne suggested a few minor changes to the project ' such as a more agreeable landscape plan and putting additional thought into the overpass at 10th Street ' but overall, he backed the improvements it would bring to student transportation and safety.\nOther concerns raised at the hearing included: the prospect of a separate bicycle path to avoid pedestrian-cyclist accidents; the noise disturbances the two-year construction plan would create; and the possibility that this project might not solve the traffic problem in Bloomington.\nINDOT and Bloomington officials will continue to hear concerns and questions about the project through Sept. 20.\n"You still have two weeks to give us your concerns regarding this project," said Jolivette. "The next step in this process will be to develop a final design report, and when this report is approved, a legal notice of intent will be published in local news media."\nThose wishing to learn more about the specifics of this project can contact the Indiana Department of Transportation at (317) 234-0796 or the Bloomington City Engineer at 349-3417. Residents who want to participate in the evaluation of this project can mail their comments to INDOT's Hearing Office, e-mail them to cjolivette@indot.in.us or fax them to (317) 232-1499.
(09/01/00 6:16am)
Technological development took center stage Thursday as three Indiana entities united to work toward a common future.\nThe Indiana Technology Partnership, a statewide organization working to boost high-tech growth, and leaders from IU and Bloomington came together for a day-long conference about improving Indiana's technological culture.\n"Today we are here to listen to what is happening in this community, to understand the start-up companies that are beginning to exist, and to find ways to enable further companies to exist," said Scott Jones, chairman of the Indiana Technology Partnership.\nThe conference included several meetings with Bloomington and IU officials, tours of businesses located in the IU Research Park, and a visit to the Indiana Enterprise Center.\nAs the keynote speaker for the opening briefing, Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez stressed that the future of areas such as Bloomington depends on an increase in technological development.\n"Economic activity has a high propensity to cluster together in regions, and these high technology clusters are going to determine which cities and metropolitan areas are going to succeed or fail," Fernandez said. "It's imperative that we promote high-tech expansion and cluster formation in our region."\nIU, ranked by Yahoo! as last year's fourth most-wired campus in the country, is one of the key ingredients in this recipe for growth.\n"Clearly the presence of IU, a world-class research institute, provides one of the essential foundations upon which we can build our economic development strategy," Fernandez said.\nIU Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Information Technology Michael McRobbie cited the newly christened School of Informatics, Internet 2 and CAVE, an automatic virtual environment, as a few of IU's major contributions to the future of technology. McRobbie, who represented IU in lieu of IU President Myles Brand, lauded the University's five-year plan for improved technology across all campuses, calling it "an excellent start."\nOne of the major obstacles to the city's technological development has been devising a way to grow without disrupting everyday life for Bloomington residents. Several cities around the country have experienced transportation problems and damage to their infrastructures while Internet companies ripped up streets to install fiber-optic cables and other necessary equipment.\n"Our problem was, 'How can we lower the barriers to a competitive market for additional telecom carriers here while at the same time protecting our infrastructure in terms of the traditional economy and transportation?'" said Bloomington Chief Information Officer Michael Chui.\nTo respond to this potential disruption, Bloomington officials came up with two solutions: Bloomington Digital Underground and a concept dubbed "the telecom hotel." The Digital Underground will provide a conduit underneath major streets where Internet providers can install their cables without continually disturbing traffic flow. The telecom hotels ' now under construction in the Indiana Enterprise Center and at Seventh and Walnut ' allow companies to co-locate switches, which saves time and energy consumption. Both of these solutions further Internet provider competition while promoting community continuity.\nAnd, as Fernandez emphasized, the community is the central point of this entire endeavor.\n"Our community provides a safe and affordable location," he said, "blessed with natural beauty and culturally rich environments, for businesses and their employees"