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(03/04/11 6:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At a top-secret, undisclosed location Saturday night, Indiana Ghost Trackers’ Southeast Central chapter members followed their monthly meeting by ghost hunting at a reportedly haunted location.A tour guide showed the members around the building and described one closet as “the evil heart of the building.” The last reported paranormal activity at this location occurred Feb. 3, when night employees heard banging doors in the women’s restroom. The ghost trackers pulled out their tools and attempted to conduct a paranormal conversation.“Is there anyone here who would like to speak with us?” Chapter Treasurer Lisa Bradley asked.“What is your name?” Chapter Trainer Rick Schmelz asked.“Why are you here?” Chapter Director Angela Sanders asked.No response.The members waited, their ghost hunting tools sitting in front of them. Several electromagnetic field detectors waited to measure any disturbances. Voice recorders were on to capture any audible or inaudible paranormal sounds. After several more members asked questions, the reported ghost still hadn’t responded. “Sometimes this can be some of the most boring things we do until you listen to your recorders later and you’re like, ‘I want to do this again,’” Sanders said.IGT is a statewide ghost tracking organization that provides recreational ghost hunts and professional paranormal investigation services for businesses and private residences. The Bloomington chapter has been in existence for eight years and recently expanded to the Southeast Central chapter in order to have a wider ghost hunting base. The group discussed two upcoming investigations at its Saturday meeting.“It’s far and between that we have any investigations that members can do,” Sanders said, mentioning that many investigations fell through in the past. “This is definitely going to happen.”IGT operates like any other hierarchical organization. All official actions in meetings must be seconded, a secretary keeps monthly meeting minutes, the group votes on how to spend funds, and members share duties for setting up hunt locations.After “watching paint dry,” which is how Bradley refers to hunts with no paranormal activity, the group switched tactics and launched into casual chitchat. “The best responses we’ve gotten are from informal conversation,” Bradley said.Because the recorders were on, group members could not whisper to one another so as to not mistake their own voices for paranormal activity while listening to the recordings later. Any noises, such as stomach gurgles, creaking joints or moving in a chair had to be reported.“If you burp, fart, whatever, be honest,” Bradley reminded the trackers earlier in the evening.Sanders added humor to relax some of the newer members about ghost tracking.“There’s no such thing as a paranormal fart,” Sanders said.In order to protect themselves from possible evil forces, members develop ritualized protections in order to remain calm while tracking. “If you’ve got something mean-spirited, they say it (a ghost) may feed off fear or anxiety,” Schmelz said.One thing trackers don’t want is a hitchhiker — a paranormal spirit that follows them home from a hunt. Sanders shared her protection ritual with the group as an example.“I’m a happy Baptist, and I wear my cross and you better believe I say my prayers,” Sanders said.
(03/04/11 2:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The City of Bloomington and Indiana Legal Services will begin offering a six-week Citizen Preparation Course for those interested in preparing for the U.S. citizenship exam. Christie Popp, directing attorney of Indiana Legal Services’ Immigrants’ and Language Rights Center, said the class has been in the works for a few years.“Just thinking about my own clients, it would be good for some way to have people applying for citizenship to study English and civics as part of that clinic,” Popp said.According to the U.S. Census’ American Fact Finder, 5,117 foreign-born Bloomington residents have not become naturalized citizens. Of these foreign-born residents, 4,404 have moved to Bloomington since 2000.Popp said she heard that when the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services changed the test a few years ago, citizenship applicants had slightly more difficulty passing. “If there’s an issue with the exam, I think it comes from the English part,” Popp said.While the USCIS provides printed study materials for those who want to take the test, Popp said preparing in a group setting has advantages.“Going through the process of studying with teachers, you also get the experience of speaking English and listening to English, both of which are required for the test,” Popp said.In addition, class participants have the opportunity to ask questions on any material they don’t understand.Popp said the class is open to anyone interested in preparing for the U.S. citizenship test, regardless of whether they have completed other citizenship requirements.“You have to hold your green card for five years unless you’re married to and living with a citizen, and then it’s three years,” Popp said. “Half of that time you have to be physically present in the United States. There are other miscellaneous requirements, such as good moral character, and you have to have paid your taxes.”The class’s announcement came weeks after the Indiana Senate Pensions and Labor Committee voted to approve Indiana Senate Bill 590, a bill similar to Arizona’s SB 1070, that would give police more power to enforce immigration laws and require all government documents to be printed in English. Popp said SB 590 did not inspire the class’s inception.“This is a project we’ve been talking about for a couple years,” Popp said. “Besides, the individuals who have their green card are really not at much peril from this new law.”
(03/01/11 5:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Duke Energy customers provided sworn public comment to add to Duke’s Edwardsport Integrated Coal Gasification plant case, which might increase customers’ energy bills.Duke Energy is currently under fire after e-mails revealed Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Administrative Law Judge Scott Storms was negotiating employment with Duke while overseeing the Edwardsport plant’s budget. Since 2007, the plant’s cost estimate rose by more than $1 billion. The plant’s construction is now 80 percent complete. Duke is petitioning the IURC to pass the extra cost on to rate payers.“Tonight is not the final step,” OUCC Spokesperson Anthony Swinger said. “There will be several steps to go as the case moves forward.”The OUCC will file testimony on Duke’s proposed rate increases by May 13. It will also file testimony on alleged fraud and misrepresentation by April 15. Duke’s hearing date with the IURC is scheduled for Aug. 22. Representatives from three county economic development corporations and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce supported Duke’s construction.“In Indiana we like to talk about buying local,” said Ron Walker, president of Bloomington Economic Development Corporation. “This allows us a chance to source a local resource that has been very important to us.”Attorney Jerry Polk, representing the CAC, the Sierra Club, Save the Valley and Valley Watch, asked the corporation presidents if they received funding from Duke Energy.When Walker said the BEDC received funding from Duke, audience members laughed. The other two county development corporations and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce said they also receive Duke funding. Bloomington resident David Keppel said he opposed continuing construction at Edwardsport. “Duke’s shareholders, not its ratepayers, should bear the burden for a plant sold on false pretenses,” Keppel said. “The best solution is cancellation.”Duke originally proposed coal gasification technology for Edwardsport but discovered it was unfeasible, Keppel said. Duke touted coal gasification as a cleaner way to process coal. Richard Hill, president of Save the Valley, also opposed continuing the plant’s construction. He said Duke doesn’t need the Edwardsport plant to meet its customers’ energy demands. “We can expect a dramatic increase in our monthly electric bills, possibly by as much as 20 percent,” Hill said. “This is the most expensive fossil fuel plant in the country to my knowledge,” Hill said.
(02/21/11 5:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As 9-year-old Naman Kotian waited for his mom and his sister to finish their own glass beads, he clutched his safety goggles in his hands. He had to wear them “so the fire won’t spark in your eyes or anything.”Naman, along with several other kids, made his own glass bead with the help of local glass artist Abby Gitlitz and the WonderLab staff. WonderLab sponsored a workshop called Changing Glass in its February “Forged by Fire” series. Three local glass artists demonstrated decorative fire-blown glass-making techniques. WonderLab sponsored the Forged by Fire series to show how creativity in arts and sciences is connected.Before the kids set to work on their glass beads, Gitlitz used cookie baking metaphors and honey to explain what happened to the glass when the kids fired it. “When I work with this glass it gets four times hotter than the cookies in your oven,” Gitlitz said. She then pulled out a jar of honey to demonstrate what happens to glass when it gets hot.“Glass moves as much as honey when it’s hot,” Gitlitz said, swirling a jar of honey.The honey was the same consistency as hot glass. A straw in the honey jar mimicked the steel rod the kids used to wrap their hot glass around and make their bead. She pulled the straw out and twirled it to form a bead of honey on the straw.Gitlitz told the group how to make glass rods colorful by using different chemical additives. Two fat selenium and copper sticks, which looked like giant crayons, are used to turn glass yellow and green. “It’s like food coloring,” Gitlitz said.Gitlitz asked her audience to act out what happens to the glass when the kids dropped their beads in water to cool. As kids and their parents stood up to take part, Gitlitz said hot glass expands.“Get hot, get hot, get hot!” Gitlitz yelled as she and her audience expanded their arms, mimicking hot glass.“Now, get cool,” Gitlitz said as they pulled their arms into their chests, like shrinking glass in cool water.Naman explained his bead-making process in detail and took his creation process very seriously.“Basically, you get one of the sticks, and you have to wave it above the fire,” Naman said. “Then it turns into a ball.”Naman chose a blue glass stick for his bead. As he waited for his glass bead to cool, he expressed doubts about his creation.“I think I didn’t really do a good job because she said it might fall off,” Naman said.Naman said he would probably keep his creation in his room on a special stand and write a caption about how and where he made it.Downstairs, artists Ross Thackery and Dave Martin demonstrated how to make glass pendants. Martin explained that they use centrifugal force and gravity to create different patterns with the glass.“It’s basically a bunch of different techniques to get the glass to move,” Martin said.Martin and Thackery displayed pendants they made during the day. One pendant consisted of clear glass in a teardrop shape with tiny, multicolored swirls.Martin explained that they shoved colored glass sticks into a clear glass tube and twisted the colored sticks to achieve the swirl effect.Martin said glass pendants are relatively easy to make.“It’s something anybody can do,” Martin said. “People off the street just pick it up.”
(02/21/11 2:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Beth and Chris Florini and their two kids tried as many kinds of soup as they could put into their bowls at Hoosier Hills Food Bank’s 17th Annual Soup Bowl Benefit on Sunday.“We’ve come every year for several years,” Beth said. “It’s a great way to support the food bank.”Attendees paid $25 to gain admission, take a free bowl crafted and donated by local potters and sample soups, bread, desserts, beer and wine provided by local restaurants. Restaurants provided meat, vegetarian and vegan soups. Soups ranged from tomato basil from Malibu Grill to gumbo from Dats to roasted turnip with coriander from The Limestone Grill.Hoosier Hills Food Bank sold 650 tickets for the event and ran out of tickets before the doors opened Sunday.“It is the biggest fundraiser that we have all year,” Hoosier Hills Food Bank Executive Director Julio Alonso said. “We expect to raise over $82,000.”Alonso said this was the third or fourth year the event has sold out before its opening.Members of the Sisters of the Flying Fountain Pen, a Bloomington girls’ writing group, showed their support for Hoosier Hills by running an arts and crafts table and asking for donations.The Sisters of the Flying Foutain Pen group members started volunteering at the event three years ago by reading their own poems about poetry while attendees sampled a variety of foods.They liked the event so much that they decided to make it an annual volunteering tradition.“They were really into it,” said Michelle Henderson, executive director of Writing Unlimited, the group that sponsors the Sisters of the Flying Fountain Pen. “This is one of their favorite things to do all year.”The girls encouraged people to take a “What soup are you?” quiz, tell attendees’ soup fortunes and watch their soup puppet show. Beth sampled her third bowl of soup as her friend teased her about how many bowls of soup she had eaten.“This is the tomato basil and I tried some carrot soup and some roasted vegetable,” Beth said.A blue, green and brown handmade bowl with a fish scale design sat at Beth’s place. She chose to eat from compostable bamboo bowls to avoid dirtying her new, artful possession. “Can I try your gumbo again?” Beth said to her husband, Chris, as they passed their bowls of soup to each other for taste testing.Beth’s four-year-old daughter Ava had a bowl of tomato basil soup in front of her.“They love soup,” Beth said of her kids. “This is her third bowl.”
(02/16/11 2:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At first, everything appeared normal at Bloomington High School South on Tuesday morning. That is, until a girl walked down the hall wearing a long, flowing mint-green dress. With braided hair and puffy sleeves, she looked like she had stepped out of another century.The girl in the green, along with many other students, participated in Talk Like Shakespeare Day. The high school’s English department had been inspired by the city of Chicago’s idea to have a citywide Talk Like Shakespeare Day.“We know (Shakespeare’s plays) have relevance, and we know they have these universal themes,” English teacher Kristin Winton said. “But the language gets in the way, so this was something to help with that.”The English department, a theater production class and other students worked to bring Shakespeare to life every class period Tuesday. Students acted out key scenes from “Romeo and Juliet,” answered trivia questions, dressed in costumes and swapped insults in Shakespearean English. “There’s a wooing corner where kids have written Shakespearean compliments,” Winton said. “There’s also a sparring corner where kids have written Shakespearean insults. Shakespeare was famous for his insults.”Junior Dakota Brown was master of ceremonies for the day’s performances, claiming the duty was “bestowed upon me.”Brown said he wasn’t nervous about performing in front of his peers.“At this point I’m so used to making a fool out of myself it just comes,” Brown said.As English classes flooded the auditorium, Brown took center stage to kick off the Shakespeare-themed variety show.“Now yonder people, we shall start this off very well,” Brown said in a fake British accent.All BHSS freshmen read “Romeo and Juliet” in English class, so Brown opened with a few trivia questions from the play.“How does Romeo persuade the apothecary to provide the poison?” Brown once again yelled in his fake British accent.When audience members answered correctly, Brown threw them a souvenir T-shirt. The “Will Power” white T-shirts bore pictures of Shakespeare. Brown is in Catharine Rademacher’s theater production class. Rademacher’s entire class donned full Shakespeare costumes, including puffy sleeves, britches and tights, to run the show.“They’re doing a lot of the talent and performing three key scenes from ‘Romeo and Juliet,’” Rademacher said.The theater class had less than two weeks of rehearsal.When asked what the most difficult part of preparation was, the theater students resoundingly screamed, “Lines!”Even though Rademacher signed up for the event to help the English department, she said performing a Shakespeare variety show was good training for her students.“It’s a good acting experience for them to think on the fly,” Rademacher said.Brown confirmed this.“There’s only so much preparation you can do,” Brown said. “I just literally do it as it comes. It’s 100 percent improvisation.”Shakespeare Quick FactsWhere was he born?It is assumed it was in Stratford-upon-Avon since he was baptized April 26, 1564, at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.How many plays did he write?37, along with 154 sonnets.What is his most famous play?To most academics, “Hamlet.” In popular culture, “Romeo and Juliet.”Did he know more than English?Yes, he was such a successful businessman that in 1597, he bought one of the most prestigious properties in all of Stratford, the New Place. He later bought more land which doubled his investment.Did he fall in love?Yes. At age 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years his senior. They stayed married until Shakespeare died in 1616 at age 52.Did he really act in any of his plays?Yes, he did. Besides performing in many of his own plays with his theater company, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men (changed to The King’s Men to honor James I in 1603), Shakespeare acted in Ben Jonson’s play “Sejanus” in 1603.Is it true that only men performed in his plays?Yes, it was illegal for women to act. Female characters were played by young boys.Does he really look like his famous portrait?Yes, scholars believe this portrait was painted when Shakespeare was 46 years old.How did he die?Local tradition has it that Shakespeare became ill and died April 23, 1616.Source: www.absoluteshakespeare.com
(02/14/11 3:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“Find love and save the planet!” the banner on www.greensingles.com states.Green Singles is one of many online dating websites, but there’s a catch — it only allows eco-friendly environment lovers to join.Green Singles was mentioned on a Today Show segment on niche dating sites. Kelly Wallace, a chief correspondent for women’s interest website www.ivillage.com, explained the appeal of niche dating sites.“They appear to be growing more and more popular,” Wallace said on the Today Show. “If you think about it, people are looking for people who meet their passions, have the same interests. They can go to these niche sites as opposed to the more mainstream sites that have been around for years.”Green Singles is a start-up business run by Alan and Mary Isaccs. They said they decided to start a dating newsletter when a singles magazine in the Columbus, Ohio, area went out of business. “We thought maybe we could fill the gap,” Alan Isaccs said.At first, it was a generic dating newsletter open to people of all interests. In 1996, the Isaccses decided to narrow their clients to people interested in the environment.“We’re vegetarians who are into animal rights and the environment, so that’s how we came to use that as the focus,” Alan Isaccs said.Green Single’s homepage said its members are interested in the earth, ecology, sustainable living and the environment. Other interests include yoga, holistic and new age philosophies, green politics, nature and outdoor activities.Alan Isaccs said they screen all potential members to make sure they are real people, checking public records to make sure applicants actually exist. In addition to checking names, addresses and other personal information applicants provide, Green Singles reads the information people write in their “about me,” “about who I seek” and “personal interest” application sections.Green Singles screens these sections to make sure applicants share the spirit of the green movement, Alan Isaccs said. He added that because of his involvement in the green movement, it’s easy to spot a fake.“We’ve had enough experience to know when someone doesn’t share our values,” Alan Isaccs said.Green Singles now has 14,000 members and has seen steady growth since 1996. Growth has spiked for the past few years around Feb. 14, he said.“Around Valentine’s day, it does pick up a little bit,” Alan Isaccs said.Alan Isaccs said convenience is a main attraction of his niche dating website.“The biggest advantage is we’ve done all of the screening for someone,” Alan Isaccs said. “You’re not gonna have to look through a million profiles to look for someone who’s a vegetarian or an animal lover.”Like dating site giants eHarmony and match.com, Green Singles has had quite a few success stories.Alan Isaccs recently received his most unusual success story in the form of a YouTube clip about one couple’s online dating experience. Alan Isaccs said the couple wrote a song about their online dating experience and were married several months ago.“Lots of the stories are about people who never thought they’d find someone, and it turns out they live a block away,” Alan Isaccs said. “They’d never have met if it wasn’t for Green Singles.”
(02/14/11 2:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington Winter Farmers’ Market customers lined up to sign up for Community Supported Agriculture subscriptions Saturday at Harmony School.Local farmers deliver weekly or biweekly boxes of their harvests to subscribers through the CSA initiative.Eight of the 15 farms within a 100-mile radius of Bloomington offering CSA subscriptions were on hand to recruit subscribers. Different farms deliver products ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables to eggs and meat.“You get a weekly allotment of fresh produce,” said Jessie Skaggs, assistant director of the Local Growers Guild. “You also know you’re supporting local farmers.”The Local Growers Guild sponsors CSA subscriptions. The guild started five years ago as a way to help grow and sustain a local food economy. Local Growers Guild members also commit to using environmentally sound farming practices.“All the farms who are members are either natural or organic,” Skaggs said. “They’re pesticide-free. They’re good stewards of the earth.”CSA memberships are on the rise, Skaggs said.“Even from last year we have three more farms,” Skaggs said. “We see an increase every year in farms offering CSAs.”CSAs benefit local farmers because they provide a steady customer base and a steady source of income, Skaggs said.Martin Hollow Farm has been a member of the Local Growers Guild CSA program for the past five years. Martin Hollow offers different heirloom produce during spring, late spring, summer and early fall. “I began my farming working for a farm that did CSA,” Martin Hollow farmer Jon Navota said. “It’s a direct connection with consumers.”Martin Hollow delivers weekly to Bloomingfoods, where its CSA customers pick up their orders.IU student Kelly Thomas subscribed to LIFE Certified Organic Farms’ CSA last year.“I was eating the same veggies all the time,” Thomas said. “If I already made the investment then I would learn how to cook those new vegetables.”Thomas said LIFE Certified Organic Farms delivers a variety of vegetables in each customer’s box. Each week she had to learn to use unfamiliar vegetables but said it was a fun experience.Her biggest challenge came when beets showed up in her box from LIFE.She boiled the beets for a roasted root vegetable mix and put the greens in a mixed greens dish, “Both of which were very good.”Thomas said one of the reasons she joined LIFE was because the subscription seemed cost-effective. She was happy enough with her subscription to look around for more programs.“I just want to see what’s out there,” Thomas said. “I was really happy with LIFE. I’ll definitely get another CSA, though.”
(02/11/11 2:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Jennifer Higgins, a Verizon Wireless retail sales representative, was on a caffeine high at 6:15 a.m., as the open can of Dr Pepper in front of her indicated.“I’ve had coffee and Dr Pepper and some Monster and several donuts now,” Higgins said. “I’m expecting a full-blown crash at about 10 a.m.”Higgins worked Thursday morning as customers braved frigid temperatures to wait in line for the much-anticipated iPhone 4 at the Bloomington College Mall store.Higgins, along with other Bloomington employees, went through crowd training, store meetings and further company training from Verizon in the weeks leading up to the release of the new iPhone. The Bloomington store had the additional task of preparing for bitter cold temperatures forecasted for Thursday morning.“We’ve prepped for the cold,” said Jeremy Stierwalt, Bloomington Verizon store manager. “We’ve got little hats and gloves for people who will be working outside.”Outside in single-digit temperatures at 6:30 a.m., 15 people waited in a roped-off line.Junior Jake Woodring was seventh in line. He said he went to bed “pretty early” around midnight and woke up at 4 a.m. to wait in line outside the store. “I’ve been a Verizon customer, and I wanted to get a smart phone for a while,” Woodring said.Woodring tried to preorder his iPhone 4 online, but Verizon gave him an estimated shipping date of Feb. 18.“I canceled last night and basically all yesterday I was planning it out,” Woodring said of his cold morning stakeout.Stierwalt said he couldn’t specify how many iPhone 4s the store had.But it’s clear he and his employees were expecting a big sales day. Stierwalt said they have been setting up iPhone 4 displays and stocking accessories like covers, chargers and docks for more than a week.“Last Friday we had a trial run to make sure we’re ready for traffic flows,” Stierwalt said.In the days leading up to the release, Stierwalt said Verizon customers have been expressing more and more interest in the iPhone 4. Verizon customers who preordered iPhone 4s have been coming in since Feb. 3 to activate their phones and buy accessories.“We’ve had a lot of interest,” Stierwalt said. He said he received phone calls along the lines of “When do you open?”, “How many do you have?” and “If I come tomorrow at noon, can I get one?”Higgins predicted the iPhone 4 launch to be her biggest day in her eight-and-a-half year career at Verizon.“It will probably be the craziest day I’ve been here,” Higgins said. “I think we will all work all day long with little break in the action.”Higgins said she understood the iPhone 4 hype.“This is clearly a game-changing phone for the industry,” Higgins said. “We’ve had people lined up outside before, but the anticipation on this one seems to be huge.”
(02/10/11 5:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Monday and Tuesday, members of Dream IU gathered at La Casa Latino Cultural Center to phone state officials asking them not to support Senate Bill 590 and House Bill 1402. Both bills are similar to Arizona’s immigration-centered Senate Bill 1070 that ignited a national fire storm this past spring.The Indiana Senate and House of Representatives had hearings on the bills this week. The House heard HB 1402 on Monday, and the Senate heard SB 590 on Wednesday.“Arizona is coming,” sophomore and Dream IU Coordinator Alicia Nieves said. “If you look at the provisions...it’s an SB 1070 copycat. There are a lot of racial undertones.”Dream IU’s biggest concerns with the bills are the English-only section and fears of racial profiling, Nieves said. SB 590 “makes various changes to law concerning enforcement of federal immigration laws, checking the citizenship or immigration status of individuals and related criminal matters,” according to www.in.gov. The website also says the bill requires “only English be used, with certain exceptions, in public meetings, public documents, by officers and employees of the state in performing their duties.”Among other changes listed are training state officers to enforce federal immigration laws, punishing businesses that employ illegal immigrants and forcing the Indiana Office of Management of the Budget to calculate how much money illegal immigrants cost Indiana and have the federal government reimburse that amount to the state.Nieves said she and other Dream IU members were frustrated by the lack of media attention. Nieves said she worried that the bill would slip through the Indiana Senate because not enough people were aware of it.“I feel like it’s a secret,” Nieves said. “The more people know, the more they disapprove. Mike Delph would definitely prefer that less people hear about it.”Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, is sponsoring SB 590. On Wednesday, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined religious, business and education leaders and signed the Indiana Compact. The Indiana Compact calls for federal government, not state governments, to make immigration legislation reforms.Nieves said SB 590 and HB 1402 aren’t just Latino issues, listing Asian-Americans as another community that could be adversely affected if the bill passed.Junior and IU Dream member Minelle Amezquit showed up to help with phone calls Monday and Tuesday.“I don’t feel like it’s really fair,” Amezquit said. She left voicemails for IU President Michael McRobbie and Gov. Mitch Daniels. However, she said she felt disappointed by her inability to speak with the officials.“It’s frustrating because a lot don’t answer,” Amezquit said. “Those that do answer just say they’re going to pass the message along but you never know. It’s frustrating because we’re not getting feedback from the people we’re calling.”Amezquit said most of her family lives in Mexico, and she knows a lot of people whom SB 590 and HB 1402 would affect. One factor that drove her to make phone calls was the failed Dream Act.“It complicates it a little bit more for them,” Amezquit said. “I don’t see the reason for it.”
(02/08/11 3:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Plug-in cars may not be able to spark electric appeal with the public, a recent report shows.President Obama’s State of the Union Address discussed big possibilities for plug-in electric vehicles. The president’s goal is to have one million alternative-fuel vehicles on American roads by 2015. But according to IU’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs’ co-sponsored blue-ribbon study, Obama’s vision is unrealistic without “bold action.”The report, “Plug-In Electric Vehicles: A Practical Plan for Progress,” addresses challenges to widespread commercialization of plug-in electric cars.The report was released one week after two Michigan senators introduced legislation that would double the current $7,500 tax credit consumers receive if they purchase electric cars.SPEA Dean John Graham organized the panel. Government experts, the auto industry and environmental groups took one year to complete the report.“Our expert panel believes it is possible but unlikely that the one million vehicle goal will be met by 2015,” Graham said.The panel proposed a test program that would launch electric vehicles in five to 20 communities throughout the country to determine whether electric vehicles could be commercialized on a widespread basis, Graham said.The report included several reasons for deeming Obama’s goal “unlikely.” According to the report, automakers’ production targets and consumers’ demand for electric cars aren’t high enough to hit the 1 million cars goal. “While it may be easy to persuade a small number of early adopters to buy an electric car, the mainstream car buyer will be cautious before making this purchase,” Graham said.The report also stated that both the auto industry and the government need to work to bring down plug-in battery costs. It mentioned consumers are unsure about plug-in cars’ resale value.IU physics professor Paul Sokol agreed with the committee’s analysis.“It’s looking at practical aspects of whether people will actually buy them,” Sokol said. “People don’t really know what’s going to happen when a $10,000 battery pack runs out after eight years.”The report also concluded that there isn’t currently enough investment in technology and technological infrastructure to make a large number of plug-in cars a reality.“The report SPEA generated basically pointed out that both the costs to operate electric cars and how good they are for the environment depends on the energy mix you use for electricity,” Sokol said.Sokol said he looked at how much carbon dioxide is generated by electric cars versus gasoline engines. In a state like Indiana, which gets 90 percent of its energy from coal, plug-in cars may not help the environment.“In places like Indiana, it actually generates more CO2 than a gasoline car,” Sokol said.Sokol said in states like California that rely primarily on nuclear power, plug-in cars are better for the environment than gasoline cars.But, Sokol said, it’s not just Indiana that might not benefit from plug-in cars.“In the Midwest, where we predominately depend on coal, they’re a little bit worse than gasoline cars,” Sokol said.
(02/07/11 3:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sophomore Kristin Lenz said she heard a rumor at about 12:15 p.m. last Tuesday that classes were canceled.“I waited and waited, obsessively checking my e-mail and IU’s Emergency Preparedness website to notify me of any cancellations since I had a psychology exam at 2:30,” Lenz said.Lenz checked one more time at 2 p.m. before making her way to the bus stop. She said she fell on the ice just before she reached an A bus at the stadium.When she arrived at her psychology class, she saw a sign saying classes beginning at 2:30 p.m. were canceled. “Obviously that rumor turned out to be accurate, so why did it take until after 3 p.m. for the students to be notified that our 2:30 p.m. classes were canceled?” Lenz said.IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said he couldn’t pinpoint the exact time IU-Notify messages went out.At 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, IU Student Association Chief of Staff Neil Kelty tweeted to ask IU students to submit their weather-related issues to the IUB Safety Concerns e-mail account.At noon Tuesday, IUSA President Michael Coleman tweeted, “Monroe County is shut down — all classes should be canceled from here on out.”Coleman said the delay in notifying students was “unfortunate, but probably necessary.”IU student Ben Thon said one of his main concerns about IU’s response to the ice storm was safety. “I saw a huge ice-covered tree limb fall on the way to my 9:30 class,” Thon said. “If that would have landed on somebody it would have killed them.”MacIntyre said he stood by IU-Notify’s response time.“IU-Notify is still pretty quick,” MacIntyre said. “I think the decision was made some time after noon, and it takes maybe 30 minutes for IU-Notify messages to totally spool out.”MacIntyre admitted some IU-Notify responses take longer than others.IU-Notify did not reach some students’ phones until about 3 p.m. Tuesday, several students said.Students received an e-mail from Dean of Students Pete Goldsmith at 4:28 p.m. Tuesday notifying them that 2:30 p.m. classes were canceled. “The text messages go very quickly,” MacIntyre said. “The e-mail messages take longer. The phone calls take even longer. That’s just the nature of the system.” Lenz said she thought IU’s response time was ridiculous. “After hearing that IUPUI, Butler, ISU, Purdue and U of I were given notice they were canceled for Tuesday on Monday night or very early Tuesday morning, I just can’t understand why IU went about canceling the way they did,” Lenz said.RESPONSE TIMES BY UNIVERSITY
Purdue University
DECISION MADE 5:30 a.m. Tuesday
CLASSES CANCELED Tuesday and Wednesday
STUDENTS NOTIFIED Between 5:30 and 6 a.m. Tuesday
NOTIFICATION METHOD Text message, e-mail.
DECIDING FACTORS Wind chill, students’ walking distance, road conditions, parking availability after snowfall.
Indiana State University
DECISION MADE 10 p.m. Monday
CLASSES CANCELED Tuesday and Wednesday
STUDENTS NOTIFIED Soon after 10 p.m. Monday
NOTIFICATION METHOD Text message via Rave alerts, e-mail, local media outlets
DECIDING FACTORS Two-thirds of student body living off campus, road conditions
IU-Purdue University Indianapolis
DECISION MADE 6 p.m. Monday
CLASSES CANCELED All day Tuesday and Wednesday; Thursday until 5 p.m.
STUDENTS NOTIFIED 6 p.m. Monday
NOTIFICATION METHOD Phone call, e-mail and website notifications via IU-Notify
DECIDING FACTORS Weather conditions, road conditions
IU-Bloomington
DECISION MADE noon Tuesday
CLASSES CANCELED Tuesday after 2:30 p.m. until Wednesday before 10 a.m.
STUDENTS NOTIFIED Text messages after 3 p.m. Tuesday; via e-mail at 4:28 p.m. Tuesday
NOTIFICATION METHOD Text message, phone call, e-mail and IU website notifications via IU-Notify
DECIDING FACTORS Weather conditions, sidewalk conditions, road conditions
MONROE COUNTY AND CITY OF BLOOMINGTON
DECISION MADE 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, 6:45 a.m. Wednesday
CITY AND COUNTY CLOSINGS All offices and non-emergency services closed after 12 p.m. Tuesday and all day Wednesday
STAFF NOTIFIED Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and 6:45 a.m. Wednesday
NOTIFICATION METHOD Phone call, e-mail and local media notification
DECIDING FACTORS Road conditions, duration of ice storm, National Weather Service reports, public and staff safety.
Purdue University
had two full days off Tuesday and Wednesday.
Officials made the decision to cancel classes at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, said
Jeanne Norberg, director of University News Service for Purdue.
Text messages reached students’ phones between 5:30 and 6 a.m.
Norberg said Purdue sent an e-mail to all students and staff Monday
night reminding them to check Purdue’s website for cancellations.
When Purdue made the decision to cancel, “almost simultaneously, police
send out a text message to 42,000 people who have signed up for the
service,” Norberg said.
Norberg said Purdue looked at the weather forecast to see how severe the weather would be during class times.
“There are a lot of factors, and safety is the biggest,” Norberg said.
The decision-making team looked at wind chill, how far most students had
to walk, road conditions and how many parking spaces would be available
after snowfall.
Indiana State University
also had Tuesday and Wednesday classes canceled.
Diann McKee, vice president for business affairs, finance and university
treasurer, said the University notified students of the Tuesday
cancellation at about 10 p.m. Monday.
Text messages reached students very quickly after the decision was made.
“I know I had it on my cell phone just minutes after the decision,” McKee said.
ISU used its Rave alerts, a system similar to IU-Notify, to send out
text messages. The University also sent out e-mail messages and notified
local media.
Officials decided to cancel classes in part because two-thirds of ISU’s students live off-campus, McKee said.
“We look at road conditions for those who commute as well as staff,”
McKee said. ISU also monitored local emergency notifications.
IU-Purdue University Indianapolis
canceled classes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until 5 p.m.
University officials first notified students and staff at 6 p.m. Monday, said Rich Schneider, IUPUI Director of Media Relations.
IUPUI officials used IU-Notify to send e-mails and phone calls. They also notified local media and posted website notifications.
Monroe County and the City of Bloomington
were both closed Tuesday after 12 p.m. and all day Wednesday.
County and city officials notified staff shortly after 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and at 6:45 a.m. Wednesday.
“I initially phoned commissioners and the presiding judge. They in turn
relayed the decision widely to their staffs,” Monroe County Commissioner
Patrick Stoffers said.
County and city officials also sent e-mails to employees and notified the media.
Stoffers said the county looked at “safety of the public and county
staff, travel conditions and magnitude and duration of the weather
event.”
The county and city also looked at reports by the National Weather Service and consulted county emergency officials.
(02/04/11 4:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s 8:15 p.m. and 7-year-old Tyler Grieb is nowhere near ready for bed. In his child-sized Abbey Road shirt, he runs in circles from the living room to the kitchen. His feet pound the floor in perfect timing to the classical music playing from the stereo. Tyler’s parents, Emily and Scott Grieb, are both professional musicians. They passed their love of music to their son, who throws tantrums whenever they try to turn it off.“His musical memory is crazy,” Emily said. “He has perfect pitch — it’s better than mine. He’s really a sound-oriented kid. That’s how we structure things and how we reward him.”The people Tyler interacts most with are musicians: classical composers, The Beatles, James Taylor and Taylor Swift. Because Tyler has autism and agenesis of the corpus callosum, meaning the two hemispheres of his brain aren’t connected, communicating with the outside world is difficult.Tyler was diagnosed with ACC at 14 months and with autism one year later. When Emily and Scott noticed Tyler wasn’t learning to talk and would throw substantial tantrums about small things, they talked to Tyler’s ACC therapists. The therapists delivered bad news: Tyler’s symptoms indicated he had autism.Emily and Scott said they were devastated by Tyler’s diagnosis.“It pretty much looks like the end of the world,” Emily said.The State of Indiana, IU resources and the community offered hope and help to Emily, Scott and Tyler.“When you get that label, you get informed help quickly,” Emily said. “We have a fair amount of gratitude because we got an early start.”In order to improve his autism, Tyler had to continue his extensive therapy for his ACC before they could move on to more autism therapies.“To stand, we had to physically move him where most kids would just experiment,” Emily said.But Tyler’s interactive abilities could change if his family is able to raise enough money to afford a multipurpose dog. 4 Paws for Ability is an Ohio nonprofit organization that trains dogs to match the needs of each disabled child. Emily and Scott discovered the organization while doing online autism research and decided to give the organization a try. The dogs are provided for free, but the agency asks each family to raise $13,000. Emily and Scott have managed to raise $9,500 so far.They said they’re hoping one more fundraiser on Feb. 20 at Harmony School can put them over the edge and allow them to start paying to train a multipurpose puppy to assist Tyler.The puppy will be able to keep track of Tyler and help Tyler stop inappropriate social behaviors, such as frantic hand waving, screaming or singing Beatles songs in public.“You can be out in public, and he decides to sing ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ really loudly,” Emily said. “We can’t have ‘Helter Skelter’ coming out in public.”The dog’s companionship is the most appealing aspect for Scott and Emily.“It’s non-judgmental companionship 24 hours a day,” Scott said. “They don’t mind repeating things. A dog will play catch for hours.”To outward observers, Tyler’s a lonely kid. He had his birthday Sunday but didn’t do much celebrating due to his autism.“There’s absolutely no point in having a birthday party,” Emily said. “There are no friends to invite even though many kids like Tyler and are interested in him.”She said Tyler is more comfortable in group settings, but social interactions can still be difficult.Scott and Emily said they hope the dog will be able to change some of Tyler’s social isolation.“Kids who have a dog will become more verbal,” Scott said. “It can help him socially connect.”Because Emily and Scott know that Tyler’s ACC causes his autism, Tyler doesn’t take any medicines or follow special diets. Instead he sees a speech therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, does adaptive swim and dance classes at the Bloomington YMCA and participates in therapeutic horseback riding.“Tyler’s been in daily therapy every day since he was 16 months old,” Emily said. “This is just his routine.”Scott and Emily said Tyler enjoys his myriad of therapy activities, especially horseback riding. They’re optimistic about Tyler interacting well with the dog because of his experience with horses.As Emily looks at her son, who just finished jumping to the music, she remarks just how far Tyler’s come with his therapy.“There was a long time where we didn’t know if he would be able to jump,” she said.It’s now 9 p.m., and Tyler is sitting on the couch, worn out from his 45 minutes of jumping and running. He doesn’t have any more energy to run, but his feet won’t stop tapping to the beat. At the finale, he gets his hands into the act, adding a perfectly on-beat drum roll. “He loves anything that’s catchy and straightforward,” Scott said.The Beatles are one of Tyler’s favorites, but Emily and Scott said they hope the dog will be able to help curtail some of the band’s inappropriate lyrics. They said they are optimistic about what this dog can do for Tyler.“We do know people who’ve done this and seen an end result,” Scott said.
(02/04/11 2:42am)
A chocolate candy sits on display for attendees to sample during Art of Chocolate on Sunday at the IU Art Museum. The Art of Chocolate was one of the few Week of Chocolate events that took place as scheduled.
(01/31/11 1:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>FROM IDS REPORTSBloomington’s General Electric plant appeared to be doomed when the company announced Jan. 17, 2008, that it would be closing down the plant. But this gloom-and-doom forecast changed in 2009 when GE changed its decision. After GE decided to shut the Bloomington plant down, the plant discovered multiple ways to become more productive, said Mitch Roob, chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.“The work force at the Bloomington plant has become far more productive in the last several years,” Roob said in a press release earlier this year. “The workers understood they were living in a world marketplace and needed to make sure they were competitive, and they responded effectively.”Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan created a GE Taskforce in 2008 which implemented education and employment programs for employees.“They understand their charge is to mobilize that network toward a widely integrated approach in assisting GE employees and the community,” Kruzan said in a 2008 press release.Kruzan also formulated a GE Response Team — composed of local Bloomington business leaders — to provide retraining programs and employment services to GE employees.Along with these rejuvenation efforts, the Bloomington plant is staying open as part of GE’s $161 million investment to make four of its facilities “centers of excellence,” according to a Jan. 24 press release from www.insideindianabusiness.com.The Bloomington plant’s investment is part of GE’s $432 million plan to “revitalize” its appliance business and make GE’s U.S. factories more competitive globally. GE will also enhance the environmental friendliness its refrigerator production at each plant.The Bloomington facility will retain all of its 550 workers, and is predicted to create 200 new jobs by 2013.— Colleen Sikorski
(01/27/11 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Campus View Child Care Center has said goodbye to furry and fuzzy pets and disposable dishes to help the environment.Ten years ago, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management started the 5-Star Environmental Recognition Program for Child Care Facilities.Campus View has been part of the one-star program for several years. They recently applied for and received five-star membership.The program now encompasses 24 day cares and will soon be adding more in Monroe and Lawrence counties.Karen Teliha, IDEM community environmental health and education coordinator, said protecting children from environmental hazards is a crucial mission.“We reach out to the most vulnerable population exactly where they play and learn and grow,” Teliha said. “Kids under the age of six are one of the most vulnerable populations out there.”Potential members can apply for the one-star program and work their way up or start at the five-star program, she said.The one-star program requires child care centers to never store pesticides on site and ensures the building is clean and well-maintained. The three-star program requires facilities to be 100 percent tobacco-free, perform a radon test and check lead levels. The five-star program requires centers to meet all one-and-three star requirements as well as recycle, remove pets with feathers and fur and use reusable dishes.“One of the focuses is to reduce asthma triggers,” Teliha said. “Pets with feathers or fur have allergens that can induce asthma attacks.”The program provides free decals, no-idling signs for driveways where parents pick up their children and free lead and radon testing for potential members.“The program doesn’t cost to participate and we try to provide as much assistance as we can,” IDEM spokesperson Amy Hartsock said.Program members apply throughout the year and are inducted in April, August and December.“Right now we just finished a round,” Teliha said. “We have several in Monroe County and Lawrence County.”IU’s Campus View Child Care Center is one of the day care centers moving up the ladder after recently obtaining its five-star status. “It’s the right thing to do to not only have an environmentally safe facility and be recognized as such but to be safe for children and families,” said Linda Fields, Campus View Child Care Center director.While Fields said the center’s program membership hasn’t presented a new marketing opportunity, the center’s most important goal — being environmentally friendly — is being fulfilled.“It’s more of how we manage our recycling and keeping from having to throw away trash,” Fields said. “We use washable dishes. It’s not something we advertise as much as we practice.”
(01/25/11 3:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU College Republicans brought in some big-name speakers for their spring callout meeting.Indiana Superintendent of Public Education Dr. Tony Bennett, State Treasurer Richard Mourdock and former U.S. Senate candidate Don Bates Jr. spoke to the crowd about current issues and the importance of political involvement.“We need you to be out there on the street corner talking about why Reagan Republicanism can save the world,” Bates said.Bates used his own tale of running for U.S. Senate against the seemingly undefeatable former Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., as an inspirational tale to encourage people to be politically involved.“How many of us would be able to proudly declare we’re Republicans?” Bates said. “Don’t be ashamed to tell people across the campus at IU that you are part of the College Republicans.”Bennett praised Gov. Mitch Daniels for his education reforms. He said Indiana is a national role model for education reform.“We must make sure the children of our state have the opportunity to compete for spots in this university or any university in the nation on an equal playing field,” Bennett said. “We have to make sure students in Indiana high schools walk out of high school ready to go anywhere.”Mourdock spoke about the importance of IU College Republicans to stay energized after the 2010 elections, especially in traditionally liberal Bloomington.“It’s another election year,” Mourdock said. “I hope you all get just as energized here in Bloomington. I know it’s always an incredibly uphill fight, but get involved. It doesn’t mean it’s not worth fighting.”President of IU College Republicans Connor Caudill said the main point of having the speakers was name recognition.“We’re just really trying to get people plugged in and involved with Indiana politics,” Caudill said. “To have two state officials and a former U.S. Senate candidate in the room is pretty cool.”
(01/21/11 1:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This year’s snowy weather has caused Monroe County Community School Corporation to cancel school three times in the past three weeks.Thursday was the most recent snow day since classes resumed from winter break Jan. 3 and the fourth snow day of the 2010-11 school year.Although four snow days isn’t an unusually high number, Director of School and Community Services Beverly Smith admitted three snow days in three weeks is unusual.“I don’t know that there is a typical number (of snow days) in Bloomington because our snow and weather patterns can be atypical,” Smith said. “This is quite a lot in a short amount of time.”While IU students may complain about trudging to classes in the snow, weather conditions are often much worse in rural parts of Monroe County.“I think you have to understand that we really do have a wide county with a lot of terrain and land conditions,” Smith said. “You have to make a decision for those that are lying out in the county.”MCCSC parent Renea Hicks lives 12 miles south of Bloomington High School South where her son Ian Hicks is a junior. Hicks said she’s understanding of all of the snow days because of how far from Bloomington her family lives.“Snow removal this far out...we haven’t even seen a snow plow yet,” Hicks said at 3:50 p.m. Thursday. “It’s probably justified.”Another concern for MCCSC is not canceling school when bad weather comes and having students get stuck in schools, unable to leave.The last day of school, which was May 27 before the snow days, is now June 3. MCCSC has not had to change the date of graduation yet.MCCSC Superintendent John Coopman makes the decision to call a snow day after a team of employees from extended services, transportation and planning from MCCSC advises him on road conditions.“We make our calls for snow days before 6 a.m. every morning,” Smith said. “Our drivers are out driving the roads as early as 2:30 or 3 o’clock in the morning.”Leann Lipe, a kindergarten teacher at Fairview Elementary, said adjusting her lesson plans due to snow days can be a bit difficult.“It’s unfortunate it happened at this time because we’re trying to finish up things with the semester,” Lipe said. “It’s been hard.”However, Lipe said her kindergartners seem happy to be back after a snow day.“I think they adjust back to the routine pretty well,” Lipe said.
(01/21/11 1:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On the 112th Congress’ second day in session, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced a bill that would amend the Clean Air Act in a way that has environmental groups seething.H.R. 97, the Free Industry Trade Act, amends the Clean Air Act so that nothing in the act regulates global warming or climate change. H.R. 97 also excludes greenhouse gases from being defined as “air pollutants.” Indiana Representative Todd Young, R-9th District, has signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 97.Trevor Foughty, communications director for Young, said Young co-sponsored the bill in order to stop future Congresses from enacting cap-and-trade “schemes.”“That legislation would have been crippling on the economy, especially in southern Indiana which is heavily reliant on the coal industry for jobs and electricity,” Foughty said in an e-mail. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, cap and trade sets a mandatory limit on emissions and allows sources to buy and sell amounts of pollutants they can emit. Foughty said there are other technologies that could reduce emissions without hurting the job market, specifically mentioning carbon sequestration clean coal technology.According to reports by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, carbon sequestration clean coal technology is the process of removing carbon from the atmosphere to be released in a reservoir. Carbon is released when coal is burned for fuel.Two other Indiana congressmen, Dan Burton, R-5th District, and Mike Pence, R-6th District, have also signed on as co-sponsors. As of Thursday, H.R. 97 had 100 co-sponsors.Two days after H.R. 97 was introduced, Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who is also a co-sponsor, became the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, the Environment and Related Agencies. The subcommittee oversees funding for the EPA. In a statement, Simpson declared the EPA was “the scariest agency in the federal government” and had “run amok.” H.R. 97 is currently being reviewed by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Sierra Club is one of the environmental groups opposed to H.R. 97. Officials sent out a press release that said “it took Republicans one day ... to declare an all-out war on the Clean Air Act and the EPA.”One of the Sierra Club’s main concerns is that H.R. 97 would decrease the EPA’s ability to protect the environment and health of Americans, said David Graham-Caso, an associate press secretary for Sierra Club.“This is a division of our government that is supposed to protect people from pollution,” Graham-Caso said. “Pollution that harms and pollution that kills. Trying to prevent protecting people from pollution is obviously a bad thing for every single American.”Sierra Club is also concerned about the technological and economic implications of H.R. 97.“Any legislation that blocks the EPA’s ability to regulate CO2 keeps our country reliant on old energy technologies and delays technology investments that can create new jobs,” said Lyndsay Moseley, a federal policy representative for Sierra Club. IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor James Barnes said H.R. 97 would hurt the EPA’s ability to enforce fuel economy standards for automobiles that it developed last year with the Department of Transportation.“They’re designed as fuel economy standards, but the effect of the fuel economy standard was also to lower the greenhouse gas emissions,” Barnes said. “That move was going to give us more fuel efficient cars and was going to be a help to our automobile industry in terms of developing technologies.”
(01/20/11 3:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In 2010, three Indiana families adopted newborns thanks to Planned Parenthood and its in-agency adoption referral program started four years ago.Last year was the largest number of direct adoption referrals Planned Parenthood has seen, although data on adoptions stemming from Planned Parenthood can be difficult to gather.“We believe there may be others we refer, but the patient may not say to the adoption agency, ‘Hey, I found out from Planned Parenthood,’” said Kate Shepherd, director of communications and marketing for Planned Parenthood.Shepherd said other Planned Parenthood referrals are in the works but they have yet to be finalized.Planned Parenthood of Indiana has outside adoption counselors on-site in three locations across the state. The Indianapolis and Bloomington locations partner with the Independent Adoption Agency while Merrillville partners with the Adoption Center for Family Building.“We have staff in Planned Parenthood some days to be there if someone wants to talk about adoption right then and there,” said Kim Stewart, intake counselor for Independent Adoption Agency.Stewart said they have also done adoption training in Planned Parenthood centers without an in-house counselor, most recently at the Lafayette Planned Parenthood location.The Bloomington Planned Parenthood location has not yet had any reported finalized adoption referrals. A receptionist said the Bloomington adoption counselor is in the office on Mondays to answer questions.Independent Adoption Agency sponsors open adoptions. The birth mother chooses the family, meets them and can request ongoing contact. Stewart said this is one way to erase anxiety for birth mothers.“There’s no more fear of the unknown,” Stewart said. “They get to see the child and even answer the child’s questions later on.”The goal of the program is to give women information on all of their options before making a decision.“We want to make sure women have all the information they need to make the choice that’s right for them and their families,” Shepherd said.Stewart reiterated the importance of giving women enough information to make the right choice for themselves.“She really takes a lot of different things into consideration,” Stewart said. “With each individual birth mom, there are a lot of reasons added together.”
