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(06/27/06 5:47pm)
IU and Bloomington are often seen as a "safe place" for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers but Western culture does not allow any room for the human imagination in terms of gender identity, said former IU gender studies graduate student, anthropology professor and Navajo "Two-Spirit" Wesley Thomas.\n"If a child is in its mother's womb we don't say is that child a male or female. We give it a gender identity by saying is that a boy or a girl because the two define one another in Western culture," he said. \nThomas taught a sixteen-week gender identity class for six years before deciding to move back to the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico at the end of the spring semester because he "could never get comfortable at IU." \n"Colonialism has forced a lot of American Indians away from their traditions," Thomas said. "In Native communities 100 years ago it was a multi-gendered society," Thomas said while parked at a gas station somewhere on the road between Bloomington and the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico. "In Western culture you are either stuck with one or the other -- you're either a man or a woman, nothing else. In Native American society there were even five genders that you could find. Wherever your comfort zone is, that is the gender identity that you have. It is a foreign concept for Western people who are from the Western culture -- it has nothing to do with homosexuality, which makes it worse form to even think outside that box."\nAccording to a booklet titled "Made in God's Image" by Ann Thompson Cook, former CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and distributed by Dumbarton United Methodist Church in Washington, variations in sexual identity and gender can cause human beings in Western culture a lifetime of "invisibility, stigma and shame."\n"Variations are completely normal but our continual search for order -- and our discomfort with ambiguity and paradox -- makes us want to label everything," Cook wrote. "We think that if we don't understand something, it must be antithetical to God. We develop and enforce rules and traditions and laws, and then we justify them as the 'natural order,' forgetting that we humans made up the rules.\n"With gender, the rules are handed to us the moment we're born, the moment our sex is declared, the moment our family begins to raise us as a boy or girl -- long before we ever learn to talk."\nThomas said the Navajo people acknowledge at least four gender identities based on the prescriptions of their matriarchal society: the first is that of a heterosexual woman; next is that of a heterosexual man; next is a biological male that functions in the role of either girl or woman; and last is that of a female-bodied man. He said he is a "third gender" because gender identity has nothing to with sexual identity, although many community members in Bloomington \nconsidered him "gay."\n"Because of acculturation and assimilation, a lot of Native people have lost their culture," Thomas said. They have lost quite a few of their multi-gender status. Native people evaluate you on the basis of what you can give to the community. That is important, your role as part of your gender identity in actively participating in reciprocity. They don't give a damn who you sleep with."\nAccording to Cook's booklet, a human being's "physical sex" is often identified in terms of genitals but a person's unique blend of chromosomes, hormones and physical characteristics is as plentiful as the many shapes, sizes and colors of humanity.\n"Gender identity is a person's internal understanding of their own true gender. Most people never question or contradict their assigned sex," Cook wrote. "Some children, however, know from a very young age that their assigned gender and apparent physical sex are wrong for them, that they are really the other gender. Gender role is what society says is appropriate for males and females, including dress, behavior, and other activities such as using a particular \nrestroom."\nAssigned gender roles are specific to any given culture, as exemplified in women being allowed to drive in the United States but not in other countries, and men in other cultures being allowed to show affection toward one another but not in America, according to Cook's booklet. Gender presentation is the way people express their gender roles outwardly through style and mannerisms, and a person's perceived gender is how someone appears to others.\n"Transgender is an umbrella term that refers to a wide range of people whose gender identity, role and expression vary from what our culture considers 'normal' or appropriate for someone with a particular sex assignment," Cook wrote. "Transgender people have the same range of sexual orientations as the population as a whole. Remember, gender identity is who we know ourselves to be on the continuum that includes male and female and much in between. Sexual orientation, however, is about our pattern of romantic and sexual attraction to other people."\nStrict norms of gender identity and sexual orientation within Western culture have caused many problems for Native people and international others, especially for those community members whose own culture does not place human beings into the gender box of "man or woman" and the sexual orientation box of "straight or gay." \nThomas said many third and fourth gender Native Americans left their reservations between the 1950s and 1980s in search of a comfortable, safe place for themselves but returned later to find even more confusion regarding gender roles and sexual orientation because their many tribes had adopted Western standards for identification. He said the combination of Native community beliefs and Western gay and lesbian identities resulted in the term Two-Spirit as an umbrella label for community members not comfortable with either seeing themselves as a man or a woman.\n"Just a handful of tribes still have access to their language and these ideas are understood in those tribal languages," Thomas said. "It's been really hard trying to convey this message in English because when you talk about a man there is an automatic assumption that man is a male. But in using a tribal language, for example in Navajo, they are very androgynous. When you say a man, you sort of wait for the other shoe to fall -- is that man a female in a \nmale body?"\nFor more information on Two-Spirits, Thomas started a Web site that is found at www.indiana.edu/~glbt under the subhead \n"Diversity"
(06/26/06 5:06pm)
American history books tell a tale of slavery that begins with manifest destiny and ends with President Lincoln's Jan. 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation that "freed" the slaves.\nWhat Americans have learned outside the classroom is that slavery continued until June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode in Galveston, Texas, to inform the slaves the Civil War had ended, and they were free. Americans and people from around the world are celebrating Juneteenth this week, a celebration of freedom and the beginning of accessible democracy in America.\n"Initially, a lot of folks recognized the history of Juneteenth as a Texas holiday that symbolized the ending of slavery," said Clifford Robinson, founder of Juneteenth.com, a site dedicated to worldwide June 19 freedom celebrations. "Today the holiday is a lot broader than that. It's a celebration of freedom, honoring and recognizing the achievements of African Americans."\nHuman beings enslaved in the American South were not necessarily freed upon President Lincoln's executive order considering most Southern states seceded from the Union. American folklore suggests messengers carrying the news of the president's Emancipation Proclamation were captured or killed en route to the deep South in part to keep the institution of slavery alive and well in states like Texas.\nTexan slaves continued their whip and chain servitude for more then two years after many of their Southern brethren were either freed or attempted to flee into the abolitionist arms of the North. Television, newspapers, satellite phones and the internet enable Americans today to communicate almost instantly, but slaves who were not taught or allowed to read had to wait weeks to months to years for word of mouth communication.\nCommunity members wishing to learn more about Juneteenth or to partake in local June 19 freedom celebrations are invited to attend the Juneteenth Freedom Celebration parade and festival Saturday from the IU Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center to Bryan Park.\n"Juneteenth marked the day slavery ended in the U.S. and the beginning of democracy in the United States of America," said Oyibo Afoaku, director of the Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center. "Juneteenth is for everybody because we are all Americans and we are all proud of our democracy. We can't have a democracy if some of our people are enslaved and Juneteenth is the historical experience of every group in the U.S."\nA Juneteenth parade is scheduled to form at 9 a.m. in front of the Neal-Marshall Center, and the celebration of all freedom loving people departs for Bryan Park at 10 a.m. The Juneteenth festivities kick-off at 11 a.m. at the park with opening remarks by Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan among others. Community members are invited to meander among cultural and other information booths while the Indianapolis-based Blackberry Jam Band begins an afternoon of drum circle and orchestra Africa tunes.\nRobinson said Juneteenth does not just mark the end of slavery but the beginning of American segregation and many black Americans were disliked and resented from that moment forward. He also said freed slaves faced a difficult upward battle along the American social ladder because many black Americans did not have the inheritance of their grandfathers to fall back on or their father's knowledge of how to compete and achieve within corporate structures.\n"From the very beginning, the idea of education itself for blacks was something that was illegal. We demanded and were determined to receive an equal education," Robinson said. "It took a fight from both blacks and whites to overcome a culture of segregation and a climate of separating people based on race. The idea of black people excelling in the professional world was laughable even 50 years ago."\nThe parade route will head south along Jordan Avenue after embarking from the Neal-Marshall Center. Festival goers will then proceed east along First Street to Henderson Street before stopping at Bryan Park.\nAfoaku said all community members are encouraged to attend Bloomington's Juneteenth celebration because the history of black Americans is a significant part of American history even though history books exclude many black American achievements. She said the real tragedy of Juneteenth is that many enslaved black Americans taken from their native lands continued to wake up in the morning to work late into the night without realizing they were no longer bound by the shackles on their ankles because of the color of their skin.\n"If we look at the history of this country, America was built on diversity. People came here from all over the world. We should take advantage of what we have because today the world is becoming a global village," Afoaku said. "Many of us have neighbors and friends that are not entirely like you in many ways but we should learn more about each other because any problem is everybody's problem. We are all in this together as Americans and everybody fits in to Juneteenth freedom celebrations"
(06/26/06 3:09am)
Fourth of July festivities in Bloomington often include a fireworks show at the IU Memorial Stadium, but thanks to a new Indiana law community members can launch their very own fireworks show from the comfort of their backyard.\n"It's an American thing to blow stuff up on the Fourth of July," said Bloomington resident Lisa Bennett, a cashier for Patriotic Fireworks located at 2510 E. Third St. "Come in now to get cheaper fireworks than closer to the Fourth. This place will be packed so it's always better to come in early so you're not fighting the crowds." \nBennett said the average person spends about $50 on fireworks per visit, but patrons willing to spend $100, $250 or $500 are given loads of free items to accompany their show depending on how the total goes. Similar to rent checks and grocery bills, she recommended students pool their money together as opposed to going it alone so the firework display can contain the most bangs, booms and explosions larger packages afford.\n"A lot of people like artillery shells, which before you had to take out-of-state because the fireworks were illegal," Bennett said, standing in front of a red, white and blue-starred table cloth beneath packages of three-foot long silver-tipped Chinese bottle rockets. "This year you can set them off on your property or property where you have permission ... We get a lot of our stuff directly from China and people can do a small show for only $200."\nCommunity members wishing to launch their own patriotic display of colorful lights, loud explosions and screaming bottle rockets have many choices at Patriotic Fireworks like a "Bunker Buster" roll of 16,000 firecrackers, a "Bad Ass Ballistics" package containing 60 shots and 104 explosions, "Hell Fire Shells" with five breaks and 30 explosions, a "Parachute Battalion" that "shoots flaming balls," a 144-pack of "Whistling Moon Travels with Report" and the "Goliath" firework spectacle containing 36 assorted shells, 54 assorted effects and a second launcher.\nBennett said any community member willing to offer their safe space for a Fourth of July backyard show but who are strapped for ignitable-worthy cash can either: a) buy enough fireworks for a magnificent show and charge people for a seat similar to a college keg party; or b) have a "BYOF," or bring your own fireworks, that are piled together similar to a potluck dinner before an order of display is determined.\n"Sometimes it's like buying cut flowers. I have a hard time spending money on that but I have friend that is known for putting on an awesome show so I have the best of both worlds," she said. "I think guys like to blow stuff up but there is plenty for everyone. We've got sparklers, snappy things, tanks -- all the classics."\nCommunity members can obtain a pack of "Jumping Jacks" for 50 cents, "Glow Worms" for 99 cents, "Snap Dragons" for $1.99, "Sparklers" for $1.99 and "Smoke Balls" for $1.99. \nThe Patriotic Fireworks staff is required by law to check community member identification to ensure no one under 18 is purchasing fireworks, and a new 11 percent increase in sales tax awaits customers at the checkout counter this year to offset firefighter training. Community members are no longer required to sign a form that states they will travel out-of-state to blow up their Fourth of July wares because Indiana law now states the Hoosier sky is ripe for colorful bursts of patriotic light.\nOther firework possibilities for the ultimate in Fourth of July shows include "Tiger Demolition Shells," "Mad Bombers," "Festival Balls," "Magical Barrage," "Twitter Glitter," "Funky Fantasy," "Perfect Storm," "Thunder Bombs," "Dixie Dynamite," "Cosmic Collision," "Loyal to None" and "Big Bad and Loud."\nBennett said a successful Fourth of July backyard firework show involves a regard for safety because concern for health and wellness is the key to a fun and spectacular holiday celebration. She said community members can ask Patriotic staff questions about what there fireworks do but often is hard to tell what the resulting explosion will look like without first lighting the fuse.\n"Follow the warnings on the box always, and don't try to relight the fuses. If it says don't hold it in your hand -- don't hold it in your hand," Bennett said. "I would also say alcohol and fireworks don't mix because people get a little bit braver when they're drinking. The Fourth of July is an important holiday -- blowing stuff up is fun and it's a patriotic thing to do."\nPatriotic Fireworks is open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 24 through June 29; from 9 a.m. to midnight Monday to Saturday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 30 through July 3; and from 8 a.m. to midnight July 4.
(06/22/06 6:48pm)
Not every man is "spongeworthy" but women can now add the sponge to their sexual tool box of contraceptive choices.\nUnlike the 1995 "Seinfeld" episode in which Elaine hordes a box of sponges and limits their use to "spongeworthy" partners because the product was being pulled from consumer shelves, community members can now obtain a three-pack of sponges from Planned Parenthood in Bloomington to further prevent unintended or unwanted pregnancies with "spongeworthy" partners. More than 250 million sponges were sold between the 1970s and 1995, at which time the product was discontinued due to manufacturer or factory costs and not effectiveness or safety reasons. \n"When the sponge was on the market we always considered it a middle-method contraceptive method," said Kathryn Brown, a health educator for the IU Health Center. "It is certainly effective but not as effective as other hormonal methods. When women use the sponge and their partner uses a condom it is protection from both people." \nKnown as the Today Sponge and manufactured by Allendale Pharmaceuticals since 2003, the polyurethane foam sponge contains 1,000 mg of the spermicide nonoxynol-9 that dribble into the vagina throughout a 24 hour period. Today Sponge method reports indicate an effectiveness rate between 84 and 91 percent against unintended or unwanted pregnancies if the product is used as directed. \n"People often say 'I was in getting in the mood, and I forgot to put on the condom,'" said Larisa Niles-Carnes, a clinical assistant at Planned Parenthood of Indiana in Bloomington. "If you think you could possibly have intercourse you could put the sponge in and then go out and do your thing."\nNiles-Carnes said the common perception of men is that most women are taking birth control pills so they need not carry condoms, and women often expect men to carry condoms so they might not take other pregnancy precautions. Besides both partners having immediate access to condoms, she said the Today Sponge enables women to further protect themselves against pregnancy but not sexually transmitted infections.\nAlthough abstinence from sexual intercourse is the only 100 percent effective barrier to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, the Today Sponge offers women an inexpensive over-the-counter alternative to hormonal and nonhormonal pills, Lea's Shield, cervical caps, diaphragms, vaginal contraceptive rings, Ortho Evra patches, Depo-Provera injections, Norplant implants, intrauterine devices and the female condom. \nThe Today Sponge polyurethane foam acts a physical barrier by trapping sperm before it enters the cervix, and the spermicidal agent nonoxynol-9 deactivates any sperm remaining in the vagina according to Allendale Pharmaceuticals. Side effects include the inflamation of pre-existing yeast infections, a slight risk for toxic shock syndrome and allergic reactions to nonoxynol-9 that can include vaginal burning, itching, redness, rash and irritation. \nSimilar to a woman brushing her teeth to prevent cavities or wearing softball gear to prevent injury, Brown said women should consider the Today Sponge a preventative contraceptive measure and not an excuse for increased risky sexual activity. She said the over-the-counter availability, convenience of use and price of the sponge means a woman might want to incorporate it into her contraceptive choices if and when she chooses to partake in sexual relations with her partner. \n"The sponge is a pretty effective barrier method but women need to know it is pregnancy prevention and it is certainly not the best," Brown said. "You can not rely on it to prevent sexually transmitted infections -- not at all. If the man uses a condom and the woman uses a sponge if not other preventative measures, they can protect themselves against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections."\nAny woman comfortable using tampons or other vaginal contraceptives should be able to use the Today Sponge, according to Allendale Pharmaceuticals, including nursing women, smokers, women over 35 years old and women wanting a backup to other contraceptive methods. Women who should not use the sponge include those who are menstruating, have a vaginal abnormality or infection, have ever had toxic shock syndrome, are within eight weeks of vaginal delivery/miscarriage or abortion and woman who cannot risk chance of pregnancy whatsoever.\nAccording to the Food and Drug Administration, sponges with spermicide are effective for up to 24 hours, but women are encouraged to leave the sponge in place for at least six hours after sexual intercourse and they should remove the sponge within 30 hours of insertion. The Today Sponge is not recommended for women if either they or their partner is allergic to nonoxynol-9.\nWomen who have given birth might have trouble keeping the Today Sponge in place due to an enlarged or irregular shaped vaginal canal, according to Allendale Pharmaceuticals, and a well-endowed man should be careful not to knock the sponge out of the way of the cervix. \nNiles-Carnes said Planned Parenthood recommends women interested in using the Today Sponge schedule a pap smear so all aspects of a woman's health and wellness can be discussed, although community members can still obtain a three-pack of sponges over-the-counter for $7 and without a prescription, she said \n"With anything that is all fun and games, as long you are aware of the consequences you need to protect yourself," she said.
(06/21/06 11:03pm)
What does humanity stand for in modern times?\nIs she willing to die for her country, or a cause like liberty or a word like freedom?\nIs he willing to die for his religion, or any one ideology -- like democracy -- or any number of 'ism's?\nDoes she murder self-created terrorists in the name of salvation, or under the banner of patriotism or to stake one nation's claim for fossil fuels?\nDoes he murder already dehumanized others in the name of liberation, or under the banner of preventative occupation or to stake one nation's claim to human rights?\nIt makes no difference if she or he is right in the game of life when they are both wrong in the context of human survival.\nForeign Policy Update: "Israelis and Palestinians continue to slaughter one another over land and the right for each to survive as a recognized nation."\nNo matter the righteousness of their mission, or the relative evilness of their inheritance, death and destruction is all humanity has ever known -- because human beings justify violence and war as the only hope for peace and justice.\nCue Sound Bite: "Cutting and running is not defeat and retreat, unless you want to prolong the violence in the war you created."\nNo matter the democratic intentions or the free-market aspirations, humiliation and revenge is all humanity will forever know -- so long as human beings justify aggression and hatred as the only will of the prophets Jesus and Mohammed.\nThat is until human life wipes its mean-spirited shadow from the earth, and Mother Nature dies a premature death from the Homo sapien footprint engulfing the planet.\nCue Sound Bite: "We must murder all human beings before they kill humanity."\nBoth he and she want to wash away the human blood smothering their voting hands, so liberty can stand for compassion and freedom can stand for tolerance -- but a national militarized culture is all they have ever known, and a totalitarian international empire is all they will forever know.\nWill humanity ever again awake to the dawn of a day that does not begin with the headline: "Two U.S. soldiers died in Iraq and a crowd of Iraqis were blown to pieces yesterday"?
(06/19/06 4:26am)
Rain washed some of the fun away in Bloomington Saturday evening, but the community member frolic continues throughout the week.\nBloomington's annual Fun Frolic, a Midwest carnival stationed in the parking lot of IU Memorial Stadium until this weekend, offers community members about a dozen rides, several amusement park-like games and carnival food like corn dogs and cotton candy. Twenty-five percent of Fun Frolic proceeds are divided between IU's Campus Child Care Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters. \n"The Fun Frolic is good for the community, and hopefully everyone has a good time. We are a business but this is for a good cause," said Jeremy Floyd, president of Cumberland Valley Shows, which has managed the Fun Frolic since 1975.\nFloyd said the Fun Frolic lost between $5,000 to $7,000 in gate receipts to the rain shower this past weekend because the show closed about two to three hours early Saturday night, which equates to at least $1,250 of social service money lost to local at-risk children and families in need. Community members attending the Fun Frolic can purchase individual tickets to ride the carnival rides and "bracelets o' fun" can be obtained during certain times on special nights.\n"This is a very expensive operation to bring in and with us donating a quarter of our proceeds we are lucky to break even," Floyd said.\nThe Fun Frolic carnival travels more than 6,000 miles between 30 cities across six Midwest states throughout the summer, and Floyd said ever increasing operation costs, including fuel and electricity, have caused Cumberland Valley Shows to scale back their amusement show. The Fun Frolic caravan used to travel to more than 40 fairs from Florida to Michigan, but a streamlining of the business has reduced their commitment to about 22 fairs per year.\nCommunity members who have attended the Fun Frolic in previous years will notice the reduction of several rides, a few other games and a couple sideshow eateries. Attendees can still find plenty of machines that make people scream before or after community member attempts to win stuffed animal prizes or other carnival trinkets.\n"I was raised out here, and I'm the fourth generation of my family to own this company," Floyd said. "There is a lot of pride in what we do because we have been going to fairs for more than 50 years. We are no different than anybody else. The Fun Frolic is just a job and a different way to make a living."\nFloyd, who attended an IU summer football camp with his brother a while back, said he enjoys traveling to the same towns every year and by now Hoosiers across the state have known his face since he was a child. He said his family built bumper car buildings before they acquired the Fun Frolic, and said he looks forward to visiting Bloomington in particular as his carnival winds and weaves through the Midwest.\n"I like the town," Floyd said. "For me personally, I love the restaurants, I like to shop at the stores and I like the square downtown. It's just a nice area to be and southern Indiana is very similar to home for me in a lot of ways."\nFloyd, who is from Lebanon, Tenn., said his impression of Bloomington is that of a "laid back, very friendly" community of "country people" who "help you if they can." Besides the 25 percent donation to Campus Child Care Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters, he said the Fun Frolic gives lots of money back to the community while it's here.\nFloyd said he has formed personal relationships at local hardware stores among others because his carnival show requires constant upkeep involving various supplies from oil and parts to food and recreation. He said the "economy of traveling around" often requires unknown energy and lifestyle costs dependent upon where the next Fun Frolic stop is scheduled.\nDespite the ever increasing costs of running a movable amusement park for community member joy, Floyd said the benefit to the Bloomington youth is worth every ounce of Fun Frolic effort. He recommends community members visit the Fun Frolic sometime this week for no other reason than to help at-risk children and families in need.\n"We offer a lot of rides and games that are lots of fun," Floyd said. "Part of the fun is just getting out and getting together with family and friends. We are here to help the kids."\nFun Frolic visitors can expect the flashing carnival lights to glow and the cotton candy to whirl from 6 p.m. to between 10 p.m. and midnight, depending on community member foot traffic, every day this week. Community members can attend the Bloomington tomfoolery until June 24, at which time the Fun Frolic will pack up and ship out to North Vernon, Ind.
(06/19/06 4:09am)
Community members demonstrated their penchant for local Bloomington cuisine Saturday during the 24th Annual Taste of Bloomington.\nAlso known around town as the Taste, thousands of Hoosiers, students and guests gathered at the Showers Commons in front of City Hall to dine on belly-filling finger foods and a wide array of palate-refreshing beverages. Forty-two local and national-chained restaurants offered everything from Louisiana cajun to gelato desserts to bottled Bloomington water before a late-evening rain shower sent community members scattering into the night.\nBloomington resident and Taste vendor Bob Crowley, owner of DATS On Grant, 211 S. Grant St., said he attended the event to introduce the flavor of Southern creole spices to community members otherwise not familiar with the taste of folk foods south of the Mason-Dixon line.\n"People are getting more into flavors than they used to be, and spice doesn't scare as many people," he said while standing above four steaming-hot pots of Louisiana-style stew filled with cajun-spice dishes like chili-cheese etouffee with crawfish and creole Indian dishes like black beans with caramelized corn. \nDATS On Grant replaced YATS On Grant in February 2006 when Crowley bought his business partner Joe's half of the restaurant, and Crowley said DATS offers community members other changes as well, like the shift to 12 daily menu offerings instead of the staple three or four as before YATS management changed hands.\n"Besides going out more and talking to people, any chance we have for a large number of people to try our product is no loss to us," he said. "I find letting people taste things is much better than running an ad in the newspaper."\nIn between local bands pumping rock music jams and other sweet serenading sounds to thousands of community members, the Waiter/Waitress Race attracted enthusiastic cheers and chants of "faster, faster" as B-97 disc jockey Pam Thrash commented on the action from the stage.\nContestants from nine local restaurants raced along a coned course while carrying a wine glass filled with water. After team members exchanged their serving trays similar to a relay-race baton, the wine glasses were emptied into a carafe until a judge declared the winning team's glass full to the top.\nThree heats were conducted and the winning from team each heat competed in the final race, in which the overall winner was declared by the popping of a champagne bottle cork.\nA team of four servers dressed in black from the Scotty's Brewhouse Bloomington, 302 N. Walnut St., took home the top prize of a trophy, hats, T-shirts and folding chairs after dancing in a rainfall of champagne. Siam House, 430 E. Fourth St., earned the runner-up trophy and a team from Malibu Grill, 106 N. Walnut St., earned third place.\nBloomington resident and IU alumni Adam Wason, a public affairs specialist for the Bloomington Utilities Department, said he was on-hand at the Taste to offer community members about 1,000 free bottles of city water to quench their thirst and hydrate their senses.\n"Hydration is key to keeping your head about yourself throughout the day," Wason said. "We just always meet and exceed all federal water quality standards. We have a high quality product and we like to acknowledge all the people who work, in part, to get good water out to the consumers. Warm days like today require lots of cold water."\nSome community members baked under the sun as the Taste day temperatures registered around 90 degrees before a brief rain shower closed the event about two hours early. A portion of the proceeds benefited the Hoosier Hills Food Bank and the Bloomington-based Community Kitchen, although the amount of community member donations lost to Mother Nature were unknown by press time.\nBloomington resident Tony Grubesic, who "relocated" to town from Cincinnati with his expectant wife Kelly two days before, said he attended the Taste Saturday to sample local cuisine and to get a feel for the local people. He said he attended the Farmers Market Saturday morning and his family was "impressed" with Bloomington thus far.\n"I would like a pulled-pork sandwich from that one barbeque place if I can find it," he said before he dipped a colorful tortilla chip into a plate of spinach artichoke dip his wife acquired from the Malibu Grill Taste tent. "After that we plan on going home to the air conditioning and to relax with a beer."\n"Well he is," Kelly Grubesic said while rubbing her pregnant belly. "I'm about to have a Hoosier baby"
(06/15/06 4:00am)
Bloomington is known around the state of Indiana as a cornucopia of progressive public policy, sustainability-minded citizenry, nature-loving recreation, the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival and the home of Indiana University among others. \nBut Bloomington might never taste so good to so many people as the city will this weekend. \nHoosiers of all mishmashes are invited to attend the 24th Annual Taste of Bloomington from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Showers Commons, 7th and Morton St., next to City Hall. About 40 local restaurants, cafes and watering holes will offer community members a hodgepodge of local cuisine and brew to tickle the mind, titillate the belly and tantalize the soul.\n"The Taste of Bloomington promotes a festival atmosphere in the downtown area and it highlights the types of restaurants the city offers," said Bloomington resident Talisha Coppock, executive director of Downtown Bloomington Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the revitalization of the city center. "It's kind of a once in a lifetime experience while people are here in Bloomington. You really get to know the Bloomington community through this event."\nCommunity Heart\nAbout half of the 40 food vendors represented at the Taste of Bloomington this year are first timers, and the local and national-chain restaurants present at the event will offer a wide variety of local, national and international edible treats from finger foods to sandwiches to slices of pizza pie. Community members can also sample an array of sugary beverages, coffee drinks, beer and wine.\nBloomington resident Ron Stanhouse, president of the Bloomington Area Restaurant Association and a member of "The Taste" organizing committee, said one of the most enjoyable aspects of the Taste of Bloomington is the laid-back environment and peaceful Southern-Indiana pace of both visitors and businesses. \n"In the local restaurant business it's all about getting through the spring school semester with a crescendo during graduation weekend. After that we get a break," he said. "Business isn't slow but it's a different kind of activity level -- steady and predictable. The Taste of Bloomington is a great time to catch our breath and have a lot of fun."\nStanhouse said an added bonus to interactive customer service during the Taste of Bloomington is the opportunity for local business owners to mingle amongst themselves, an activity they often do not have a chance to do because of the hectic nature of the food service business. He said the lack of menu items at the event, when compared to the daily menu offerings back at their respective restaurants, enables the restaurant staff to better focus on the customers and to really stress the fun aspects of their jobs.\n"Many times the atmosphere of a high volume restaurant, especially behind closed doors, is high stress and high pace. You don't see the competition for the customer dollar like you might expect in the newspaper ads shouting for attention," Stanhouse said. "You don't get that at the Taste of Bloomington. It's fun, casual and everyone is having a good time sampling the foods. Maybe the customers will think that is the way all the restaurants in town are."\nTickets to the Taste of Bloomington cost $5 per person, all food items are priced at $3 or less and a portion of the proceeds benefits the Hoosier Hills Food Bank and the Community Kitchen of Monroe County. Children under 12 can attend for free.\nCommunity Spirit\nAlso known around Southern Indiana as "The Taste," Coppock said community members often consider the event a chance to reunite with old friends and an excuse to meet new friends in the heart of downtown Bloomington. She said an array of wonderful eateries and taverns call Bloomington home, and "The Taste" is a great opportunity for new businesses to sample their foods and established restaurants to market new menu items.\nCommunity members attending the international feast and local merrymaking can also expect to hear the melodic and soothing sounds of five local bands from beginning to end. Other entertainment and often the highlight of community spirit during the event is the Waiter/Waitress Race scheduled from 4 to 4:30 p.m. \nAbout a dozen teams consisting of four waiters and waitresses from the same local restaurants are expected to participate in the Waiter/Waitress Race, in which individual team members must balance a tray containing goblets of water as they weave through an obstacle course of cones without spilling the glassware off the tray. \nStanhouse, who is owner of the local Crazy Horse restaurant, said his team of community member servers trains for the Waiter/Waitress Race every night during work after they clock-in for their shift. \n"At the Crazy Horse there are some long distances for servers to travel. From one end of the restaurant to the patio is quite a long way to go and occasionally we have a casualty -- a drink that didn't stay on the tray," he said. "It takes a little bit of luck mixed with steady hands, gape of walk and turning angle. It's all about how they balance their tray. It comes down to the wrist."\nStanhouse said the decimal level of "The Taste" crowd rackets up from a murmur to a roar during the Waiter/Waitress Race due to screaming spectators, hollering team members and the yelling of a play-by-play commentator. He said a fast lap through the obstacle course is similar to walking a balance beam: too much concentration can be bad.\n"It's fun to watch the eyes of the participants and to wonder 'what the heck are they focusing on," Stanhouse said. "Certainly they are focusing on the tray, but there are plenty of distractions there … Whether (the Crazy Horse) team wins or loses, we just want to have fun doing it."\nCommunity Soul\nMore than 6,500 community members are expected to attend "The Taste" this weekend, helping to make Saturday the biggest shopping day in downtown Bloomington all year. Hoosiers are also invited to attend the local Farmers Market from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Showers Plaza, before perusing the 26th Annual Art Fair on the Square from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the lawn of the downtown courthouse. \nCommunity members can mingle with about 40 Farmers Market vendors and browse about 30 art and craft booths before, during or after visiting "The Taste." More than 500 volunteers \nand other city staff are charged with running Saturday's events in the hope of putting Bloomington's best foot forward.\nJeff Baird, volunteer chairman for the Taste of Bloomington, said volunteers consist of community members from all walks of life: from young and old to students and professional people.\n"These people are all taking their free time to donate to do this work, which is a wonderful thing," he said. "It gives you a good feeling to help other people. You get to work and have fun. You meet a lot of people that way."\nBaird said community members, especially students, who have never attended "The Taste" should not feel intimidated about attending any of the Bloomington events in downtown this weekend. He said most any one, including students, are welcome to volunteer their time and services to help make "The Taste" a statewide snacking destination similar to the taste of Chicago event.\n"We welcome students and I think they will have a great time," Baird said. "It's like any other 'taste' in any other city. It's essentially an outdoor festival. A lot of people go and meet people and see people they don't usually see everyday"
(06/15/06 12:34am)
U.S. military recruiters visit local high schools 10 times per year, but the Monroe County Community School Corporation has refused to allow counter viewpoints about the effects of military service on young people even once this past school year.\nNot content with presuming young Hoosiers will seek out opposing information on their own or with the help of their parents, IU graduate student Colin Schoder-Ehri hosted a Bloomington Friends Meeting about "Truth in Recruiting: People of Conscious and Morality of War" Monday at the Monroe County Library. The meeting was called to share with community members the theory behind conscientious objection and the steps necessary for young Americans and their families to pursue conscientious objector claims despite the lack of an imminent military draft. \n"Even if there was a war that had a good justification it would have to outweigh the cost of war, which includes for starters, what's called collateral damage, which is a general deciding how many innocent people can be killed to obtain a certain objective -- the killing of innocents," Schoder-Ehri said to a crowd of 50 Hoosiers. "Even if an attacking power has the highest morals, simply being in a region where you are the law by the force of your arms can lead to chaos, lead to atrocities on either side." \nSchoder-Ehri said he was contacted by a Bloomington North High School teacher and parent of a BNHS student about discussing conscientious objection as an alternative to military service, but his proposed discussion was diverted away from school grounds after lengthy discussions with the principal and the MCCSC school board. \nCommunity members from the IU student group Against the Occupation of Iraq, Green Dove Network, Spirit of St. Paul Catholic Center and the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition co-sponsored the event. Speakers included Rev. Bill Breedon, Brown County author Hank Swain and Bloomington poet and Reiki Master Patricia Coleman.\nA conscientious objector is a person who believes that it is wrong to kill another being in war, according to the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors. The military defines it as a "firm, fixed and sincere objection to war in any form or the bearing of arms" because of deeply held moral, ethical or religious beliefs.\nThe main questions leading the discussion included: One, are any wars good? Two, are you willing to be ordered to kill? And three, what happens when you decide to follow your conscience?\nCommunity member answers to question one included the necessity to prevent genocide and other humanitarian aims, trillion dollar business interests, romantic overtures and even global ignorance.\nPanelist answers to question one included the reality that war to stop genocide often results in increased genocide and further conflict, thus perpetuating the cycle of violence that allows death and destruction to flourish at the cost of human life, environment stewardship and future diplomacy based on peaceful negotiation instead of the bullets and bombs. \nSwain, who is also a Quaker elder, said the abbreviation of "C.O." is important to both the pacifist and the warrior because war is the "never-ending habit of humanity." \n"The soldier and the (conscientious objector) have more in common than you may think. Both of our decisions derive partly from fear -- fear of being ostracized and shunned from the society that nurtured you," Swain said. "The soldier is afraid of that shunning more than the chance he might be harmed or killed if he goes to war. The C.O. has the same fear, not of being rejected, because he already knows when he makes the decision that he is going to be rejected and shunned. His fear is, 'Will he be able to stand up against the shunning?'"\nOne community member lamented that the panel was speaking to the choir because the audience consisted of older Americans and not the younger people from local high schools the discussion organizers had hoped to address. Considering the crowd demographic, she asked the panelists how MCCSC teachers and other community members might introduce the topic of C.O. to their classrooms and neighbors.\nSchoder-Ehri said military recruiters used advertising language to entice young people to the prospect of military service like the buzz phrases "job training and skill" and "money for college," even though the training involves skills necessary to participate in the killing of human beings. He said the long-term damage to the environment, economy and humanity in war-torn countries is reason enough to offer alternative information to young Americans to counter the recruiting promises many soldiers find unfulfilled long after basic training is completed.\n"It's very hard to justify impoverishing a nation and destroying a land for 10 and 20 years. Perhaps it's true that a war could be good, perhaps it's true that a war could be fought in self-defense, but I don't believe that the United States is ever going to fight a war in self-defense," Schoder-Ehri said. "And for me that's reason enough to say that I will never participate in the U.S. Armed Forces because I don't believe that it will ever lead to something that is good"
(06/15/06 12:34am)
Artwork is found throughout town within galleries, on alley walls and plastered to "Your Art Here" billboards, but what about Bloomington Transit buses?\nYour Art Here, an Indiana-based nonprofit public art organization created to provide Bloomington and Indianapolis communities with an opportunity to engage in visual and public dialogue via the appropriation of billboards and other public spaces, has teamed up with Bloomington Transit for a contest titled "Stories in Motion: Art in Transit" to decorate the sides and insides of city buses from August to October.\nBloomington resident Julie Hardistein, a co-director for Your Art Here, said the "Stories in Motion" campaign is the first art project to decorate public space other than community billboards lining the roadways.\n"The bus project is starting off as a test to see how this kind of community collaboration can work," she said. "Everyone is really excited to get art out to the public and to see if it is well received by the community."\nYour Art Here has issued a "Call for Art" for the bus project, in which community members of all ages are encouraged to submit artwork proposals during the month of June that reflect some theme related to living life in Bloomington. Organizers are asking for two-dimensional media including paintings, printmaking, drawings, photography, digital art and other mixed media.\nThe art display needs to conform to a 3-to-5 ratio, and the contest deadline is set for June 30. Mailing instructions and other guidelines are located at www.yourarthere.org.\nCommunity members feeling the artistic vibe from the "Stories in Motion" art project are also encouraged to participate in the Second Annual Bloomington Tree City USA Art Competition sponsored by city government.\n"Just as trees are key to our community character, we also appreciate the importance of highlighting the artistic and creative talents of our community members," Mayor Mark Kruzan said in a statement. "Once again we look forward to seeing the unique tree pieces that will adorn City Hall."\nSubmissions are limited to one original piece per artist, and artwork tree-related paintings, drawings, photography, computer-generated art, mixed media, prints and sculpture. Accoridng to city officials, artwork is limited to 48-by-48 inches and two-dimensional pieces must be ready to hang.\nThe first-place winners of the adult and youth divisions will each receive a Memorial Tree designated with a limestone plaque to be planted somewhere among Bloomington's other 18,000 trees based on the winner's choosing among available locations. Second and third place winners in each division will also receive a Memorial Tree.\nCommunity members submitted 41 pieces of tree-themed artwork last year. Resident Susan Brodie's "Leaf Light" won first place in the adult division and Bethany Latham's "Our Trees Are Filled With Fairies" took top prize in the youth division.\nCommunity members must submit their tree-related art piece by hand by 5 p.m. between August 10 and 11 to the City Hall atrium. For more information visit www.bloomington.in.gov/treecity.\nBloomington Urban Forester Lee Huss, who works for the Parks and Recreation Department, said the community urban forest is more than just bark and leaves. He said Bloomington's 18,000 citywide trees reduce the "heat island effect," decrease pollution and increase local commerce.\n"I think Bloomington has always been a town that has loved trees," Huss said. "The city is very committed to its urban forest and not every city in Indiana is. We are continually striving to keep the urban forest as healthy and diverse as possible for the community"
(06/15/06 12:14am)
Conscientious objection to war dates back to the American Revolution but some do not discover that their conscience objects to war until they are an active spoke in the war machine.\nBloomington resident Joe Bourne, who attended the "Truth in Recruiting" forum Monday at the Monroe County Public Library, said he did not act on his conscientious objector upbringing until he was entrenched in Vietnam War work at an Air Force base in Mississippi between 1969 and 1971.\n"As the 1960s wore on and the war wore on it got worse, and they needed more people because more people were being killed. I remember writing a poem during college about the men who killed in Vietnam. It began with a number -- 20,000 have died," Bourne said. "By the time I graduated I had to change it to 40,000. And there were a lot more after that. We all had to face the fact that if we were of reasonably good health, and I was, that we would have to face going to fight in that war."\nBourne said he enlisted in the Air Force while he was a junior at a Catholic college to avoid the draft, but his internal moral, ethical and religious C.O. beliefs did not surface until he finished basic training in San Antonio during the aftermath of a hurricane. His unit was left stranded on an old military base for three or four weeks before they were shipped to Mississippi. \n"That is the period I was given, really by God, to reflect upon who I was, where I was, what I was, what I believed in," Bourne said. "And that's really when I came to the realization that wherever I am sent, whatever I was trained to do, I had voluntarily become a part of this machine, if you want to call it that -- the great force that was at war because of the decisions of politicians and because of people whose beliefs weren't in line with mine.\nAnd so I had to decide: 'what was it I could do to express my own ethical beliefs at this point after I had already gotten myself this far?'"\nBourne said he met with several military chaplains before he found one who really listened to what he had to say and helped him begin the process of navigating the military bureaucracy under a C.O. claim. He said he soon could not bring himself to attend M-16 training and he was later honorably discharged due to his C.O. convictions. \nCurrent Iraq War veterans who believe they might qualify as conscientious objectors face ever increasing hurdles in attempting to plead their case.\nJ.E. McNeil, executive director of the Center on Conscience & War, said the G.I. Rights Hotline receives about 300 to 400 calls per month from U.S. soldiers inquiring about C.O. statuses, of which, only a small number qualify because not everyone believes "all wars are wrong."\n"Different people have their (C.O.) beliefs triggered in different ways. One guy was in Abu Grahib (prison) as an interrogator and he found that unacceptable," McNeil said. "Another guy had it triggered when he was in Afghanistan and he had a child in the sight of his weapon. Another guy had it triggered when his ship landed in Japan and he went to Hiroshima. Each person has a different experience."\nFor some people it's during boot camp and they're asked to chant: 'What makes the grass grow green -- blood, blood, blood makes the grass grow green. What makes the weeds grow -- brains and guts, blood makes the grass grow green.'" \nMcNeil said the controversy at Bloomington High School North and the Monroe County Community School Corporation decision to postpone indefinitely alternative viewpoints of the military to high school students violates the "limited forum" subheading of the No Child Left Behind Act. She said federal law prohibits military recruiters from targeting American youth under 17, and community members interested in hearing about C.O. should contact the American Civil Liberties Union to learn how to negotiate with MCCSC high school principals. \n"I talk to Iraq veterans all the time who say I have to live with what I've done," McNeil said. "I've talked to Iraq veterans who got into trouble for refusing to shoot civilians upon orders. I've talked to Iraq veterans who had their commanding officer brag about raping Iraqi girls. War is not fun and games."\nBrown County resident Hank Swain, who also attended the "Truth in Recruiting Forum," said he does not believe there is anything wrong per se with being "clouded in the camouflage of patriotism" so long as Americans understand war brings out the best and worst of human beings. He said his experiences in World War II have resulted in his having to live the rest of his life knowing he has contributed to the loss of life and destruction of property.\n"Many people try to justify war as simply an extension of personal conflict. It is not. War is organized hatred," Swain said. "Now take away all the patriotism, all of the war hoopla that gets you fired up to go kill people you don't know and destroy their property. Every time somebody says 'aren't you willing to defend your country?' I wish they would say 'are you willing to go kill somebody you don't know for your country and against whom you have no offense?"
(06/14/06 7:21pm)
Bloomington is known around the state of Indiana as a cornucopia of progressive public policy, sustainability-minded citizenry, nature-loving recreation, the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival and the home of Indiana University among others. \nBut Bloomington might never taste so good to so many people as the city will this weekend. \nHoosiers of all mishmashes are invited to attend the 24th Annual Taste of Bloomington from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Showers Commons, 7th and Morton St., next to City Hall. About 40 local restaurants, cafes and watering holes will offer community members a hodgepodge of local cuisine and brew to tickle the mind, titillate the belly and tantalize the soul.\n"The Taste of Bloomington promotes a festival atmosphere in the downtown area and it highlights the types of restaurants the city offers," said Bloomington resident Talisha Coppock, executive director of Downtown Bloomington Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the revitalization of the city center. "It's kind of a once in a lifetime experience while people are here in Bloomington. You really get to know the Bloomington community through this event."\nCommunity Heart\nAbout half of the 40 food vendors represented at the Taste of Bloomington this year are first timers, and the local and national-chain restaurants present at the event will offer a wide variety of local, national and international edible treats from finger foods to sandwiches to slices of pizza pie. Community members can also sample an array of sugary beverages, coffee drinks, beer and wine.\nBloomington resident Ron Stanhouse, president of the Bloomington Area Restaurant Association and a member of "The Taste" organizing committee, said one of the most enjoyable aspects of the Taste of Bloomington is the laid-back environment and peaceful Southern-Indiana pace of both visitors and businesses. \n"In the local restaurant business it's all about getting through the spring school semester with a crescendo during graduation weekend. After that we get a break," he said. "Business isn't slow but it's a different kind of activity level -- steady and predictable. The Taste of Bloomington is a great time to catch our breath and have a lot of fun."\nStanhouse said an added bonus to interactive customer service during the Taste of Bloomington is the opportunity for local business owners to mingle amongst themselves, an activity they often do not have a chance to do because of the hectic nature of the food service business. He said the lack of menu items at the event, when compared to the daily menu offerings back at their respective restaurants, enables the restaurant staff to better focus on the customers and to really stress the fun aspects of their jobs.\n"Many times the atmosphere of a high volume restaurant, especially behind closed doors, is high stress and high pace. You don't see the competition for the customer dollar like you might expect in the newspaper ads shouting for attention," Stanhouse said. "You don't get that at the Taste of Bloomington. It's fun, casual and everyone is having a good time sampling the foods. Maybe the customers will think that is the way all the restaurants in town are."\nTickets to the Taste of Bloomington cost $5 per person, all food items are priced at $3 or less and a portion of the proceeds benefits the Hoosier Hills Food Bank and the Community Kitchen of Monroe County. Children under 12 can attend for free.\nCommunity Spirit\nAlso known around Southern Indiana as "The Taste," Coppock said community members often consider the event a chance to reunite with old friends and an excuse to meet new friends in the heart of downtown Bloomington. She said an array of wonderful eateries and taverns call Bloomington home, and "The Taste" is a great opportunity for new businesses to sample their foods and established restaurants to market new menu items.\nCommunity members attending the international feast and local merrymaking can also expect to hear the melodic and soothing sounds of five local bands from beginning to end. Other entertainment and often the highlight of community spirit during the event is the Waiter/Waitress Race scheduled from 4 to 4:30 p.m. \nAbout a dozen teams consisting of four waiters and waitresses from the same local restaurants are expected to participate in the Waiter/Waitress Race, in which individual team members must balance a tray containing goblets of water as they weave through an obstacle course of cones without spilling the glassware off the tray. \nStanhouse, who is owner of the local Crazy Horse restaurant, said his team of community member servers trains for the Waiter/Waitress Race every night during work after they clock-in for their shift. \n"At the Crazy Horse there are some long distances for servers to travel. From one end of the restaurant to the patio is quite a long way to go and occasionally we have a casualty -- a drink that didn't stay on the tray," he said. "It takes a little bit of luck mixed with steady hands, gape of walk and turning angle. It's all about how they balance their tray. It comes down to the wrist."\nStanhouse said the decimal level of "The Taste" crowd rackets up from a murmur to a roar during the Waiter/Waitress Race due to screaming spectators, hollering team members and the yelling of a play-by-play commentator. He said a fast lap through the obstacle course is similar to walking a balance beam: too much concentration can be bad.\n"It's fun to watch the eyes of the participants and to wonder 'what the heck are they focusing on," Stanhouse said. "Certainly they are focusing on the tray, but there are plenty of distractions there … Whether (the Crazy Horse) team wins or loses, we just want to have fun doing it."\nCommunity Soul\nMore than 6,500 community members are expected to attend "The Taste" this weekend, helping to make Saturday the biggest shopping day in downtown Bloomington all year. Hoosiers are also invited to attend the local Farmers Market from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Showers Plaza, before perusing the 26th Annual Art Fair on the Square from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the lawn of the downtown courthouse. \nCommunity members can mingle with about 40 Farmers Market vendors and browse about 30 art and craft booths before, during or after visiting "The Taste." More than 500 volunteers \nand other city staff are charged with running Saturday's events in the hope of putting Bloomington's best foot forward.\nJeff Baird, volunteer chairman for the Taste of Bloomington, said volunteers consist of community members from all walks of life: from young and old to students and professional people.\n"These people are all taking their free time to donate to do this work, which is a wonderful thing," he said. "It gives you a good feeling to help other people. You get to work and have fun. You meet a lot of people that way."\nBaird said community members, especially students, who have never attended "The Taste" should not feel intimidated about attending any of the Bloomington events in downtown this weekend. He said most any one, including students, are welcome to volunteer their time and services to help make "The Taste" a statewide snacking destination similar to the taste of Chicago event.\n"We welcome students and I think they will have a great time," Baird said. "It's like any other 'taste' in any other city. It's essentially an outdoor festival. A lot of people go and meet people and see people they don't usually see everyday"
(06/12/06 2:59am)
Former 9th District U.S. Congressman and 2006 Democratic challenger Baron Hill met with community members Saturday during a town hall meeting to discuss the Medicare Part D program and prescription drug coverage, saying the only hope for genuine American health care reform centered around the welfare of the human being and not the profit margin of the pharmaceutical and insurance industry.\n"Things can be better in Washington D.C.," Hill said. "There are a lot of things we don't like about this new prescription drug program. One of the things I want to do here at this forum is not only complain, but also offer some suggestions of how we can fix the program."\nAbout 35 community members attended the town hall meeting, although the audience contained several local democratic politicians and other Hill campaign members. Hill brought with him Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., a rice farmer and licensed pharmacist, to help community members better understand the complex realities of coping with a Republican-dominated U.S. House and Senate.\n"It is a particular disappointment the results of the last election turned out like they did because the nation is not being well served by those results," Berry said.\nHill, a U.S. Representative from 1998-2004 who replaced Lee Hamilton, a Democrat, lost to 9th District incumbent and Republican Mike Sodrel by about 500 votes in 2004, the closest race in the United States. The Hill versus Sodrel 2006 rematch -- their third meeting in three election cycles -- is expected to again be one of the closest races in the country.\nSimilar to the 9th district constituency that is sitting on the fence between Hill and Sodrel, the discussion and options of Medicare Part D and the new prescription drug coverage is divided across party lines.\nSupporters of the new health care plans have said older Americans now have more choices of heath care options at varying price options, but opponents have said many of the new health care plans actually cost more for prescription medicine co-payments than the drugs cost themselves. \nBerry said the bad news for Americans regarding Medicare Part D is that most prescription drugs can be obtained from foreign countries for a fraction of the cost without even needing a prescription. He said the good news is that many Americans are finally beginning to understand how the Republican-led Congress determined their 21st Century prescription drug coverage.\n"Now the choice was: do something that really helps the American people in a way that the government can afford it or to take care of the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry," he said. "We all know what is wrong with this plan -- it was designed so the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry could, one more time, take advantage of the American people. And they are doing a great job of it."\nBloomington resident Martene Smith said she and her husband have encountered many difficulties related to cost as they navigated through the Medicare Part D program so she attended the town hall meeting to hear what Hill had to say.\n"I don't like being told what I can and can't do when I got into the program," she said. "I didn't have a lot of trouble picking plans, but I don't consider it a real help. I don't know exactly what the best solution would be, but it didn't use to be this way. Drugs have become so expensive and older people like me need lots and lots of drugs."\nSmith said she and her husband fit neatly and are drowning in the so-called "Donut Hole" gap in Medicare benefits: a $250 co-pay results in Medicare paying up to 75 percent of the initial drug costs up to $2,250, but the program does not offer further financial assistance to older Americans until the government covers up to 95 percent of drug expenses exceeding $5,100 or more. \nMany older Americans on a fixed income often have trouble affording the $250 deductible, and about half of the Medicare Part D program participants report spending the same amount of money on prescription drugs or more than before they signed onto a specific plan that can not be modified without a financial penalty. May 15 was the last day for Americans to register for the program. There is a 1 percent penalty for late registration.\nMillions of older persons have no health coverage at all and an estimated 40 million Americans have no health coverage through their employer, private insurer or the government.\nBerry and Hill addressed the audience for about 90 minutes, although about half the time was dedicated to community member discussion of Hill's support and vote of "Yes" to grant President Bush the authority to wage war on Iraq. \nBerry, who also worked on then-first lady Hillary Clinton's domestic policy council to propose a universal heath care plan, told the crowd the free market is not in effect when it comes to prescription drugs in the United States because cheaper drug imports are against the law. He said he has helped older persons from Arkansas obtain cheaper drugs from Canada before, and now he is hoping a soon-to-be democratic led Congress can obtain cheaper drugs for all Americans. \n"We know how to provide prescription medicine, not only for our senior citizens, but for all Americans and save the federal government and the tax payers of this country $100 billion a year. You don't even have to have a card," Berry said. "All you have to do is go to the drugstore and buy it. And the way to do that is to allow Medicare of the federal government to negotiate with the drug companies and get the same price for Americans that everybody else in the world gets"
(06/12/06 2:07am)
Democratic challenger to incumbent Mike Sodrel and 9th District Congressional hopeful Baron Hill hosted a town hall meeting Saturday to discuss the Medicare Part D program and prescription drug coverage, but some community members had other topics in mind.\nOrganizers from the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition sent a media release Friday encouraging community members to ask former-Congressman Hill if elected again he would: one, commit to work to end the "illegal, immoral" war and occupation in Iraq by supporting "Out of Iraq" Congressional initiatives like House Concurrent Resolution 35; and two, commit to reject any and all U.S. military threats against Iran.\nOnly seconds after Hill opened the floor to questions, the conversation was redirected from Medicare Part D to the war in Iraq. Hill voted "yes" in October 2002 to give President Bush the authority to wage war on Iraq even though no Congressional declaration of war was ever signed.\n"I get testy when I talk about this," Hill said. "I now know I was lied to."\nHill admitted he considered not coming to Bloomington because of the BPAC plan to discuss the loss of about 2,500 U.S. soldiers and up to 100,000 Iraqi civilians.\nHill told the crowd he was summoned to the Pentagon with other Congressional leaders to hear classified information regarding Saddam Hussein's suspected terrorism efforts. He said he felt Saddam was a bad guy but that he was not a direct threat to the United States.\nHill said he was then shown a slide show presentation, led by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, that included photos of drone airplanes and pictures of nuclear centrifuges. He said Rumsfeld told the Congressional leaders Iraq intended to use the drone aircraft to deliver chemical and nuclear weapons.\nBased on that presentation Hill said he voted to authorize President Bush to do what was necessary to reduce the threat Iraq posed to America.\n"I found out four months later that was all a lie. It was made up," Hill said. "It was a deliberate, intentional lie to Congress." \nHill then called on further American patience in regards to bringing the troops home because Iraq is still unstable and the country is teetering on the brink of a full-blown civil war.\n"Now what to do we do?" Hill asked. "I'm not there yet on an immediate withdrawal. I have two images of Iraq in my brain: women with purple fingers and the mosque blown up by al-Zarqawi. The Iraqi people want democracy."\nBPAC organizer Timothy Baer raised his hand, and after Hill called on him Baer showed the former-Congressman pictures of dead Iraqi children.\n"Your images are all nice and well but these are the ones who are affected by the war," he said before the crowd erupted into applause. "It is the children who have committed no crime but to be born in Iraq."\nAbout eight of the 30 or so town hall attendees were interested in discussing the Iraq war more than the Medicare Part D Program and prescription drug coverage. About 45 of the 90 town hall minutes were dedicated to hashing -- and rehashing -- whether or not Hill understood and appreciated the concerns brought to his attention by some members of his local constituency.\n"There is a world outside of Bloomington," Hill said. "Most people in my district want to see if we can make (Iraq) happen."\nNot all the Hoosiers in attendance appreciated the repeated redirection of town hall discussion and some community members voiced their disapproval with grunts, sighs and vocal berating when the opportunity to speak arose.\nRedirecting the town hall discussion from both the prescription drug plan and the War in Iraq, some community members strayed into other areas of health consciousness. One person asked about the plight of American topsoil and another person addressed a national lack of healthy food.\nOne community member, who described himself as a local physician, asked why Congress was debating national health care without addressing a national lack of exercise and the poor quality of cheap food consumed in the United States in relation to eventual negative health outcomes that need an abundance of prescription medicine to counteract.\nRep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., who attended the event with Hill, summed up both the opposition to the Medicare Plan D program and the War in Iraq by asking community members to support Hill this November in helping vote Republicans out of office and out of power in Washington. He called the current Congressional climate an environment to preserve and protect the rich by making them richer.\n"If you always do what you've always done," Berry said, "you will always get what you've always got ... If we are going to become and continue to be a great nation, we have to have a change of leadership in Congress"
(06/08/06 12:52am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- First lady Laura Bush swung through the Hoosier heartland Tuesday to share her love and dedication to American young people, saying adults are the most instrumental agent of positive direction and change for millions of at-risk children across the country.\n"When adults offer young people a chance, their love and support can show struggling youth the hope that lies beyond their future, sometimes that hope makes all the difference," Bush told a gathering of about 150 Midwest community members during the Helping America's Youth first regional conference at the IUPUI campus near downtown Indianapolis. \nThe regional conference follows an Oct. 2005 White House Conference on Helping America's Youth held at Howard University in Washington D.C., at which more than 500 parents, civic leaders, faith-based and community service providers, foundations, educators, researchers and experts in child development convened to discuss modern challenges young people confront on a daily basis and to develop community strategies to better improve their safety, health and chances of a successful future. Bush said she has also traveled across the nation to visit schools, attend after-school programs and greet the mentors of young people at social service agencies like Big Brothers Big Sisters.\n"The work that each of you do in your communities helping young people build the knowledge and self-respect they need to live successful lives is at the very heart of the Helping America's Youth," Bush said. "While the discussions in our state and national capitals are important, the real work of helping America's youth is done in our communities through personal relationships formed in our streets, churches, schools and homes."\n73 million children under the age of 18 lived in America as of 2003 and that number is expected to increase to 80 million by 2020, according to the HAY initiative. About 32 out of 100 children younger than 18 do not live in a two-parent home, and about 12 million children live in poverty. \nPresident Bush proposed Helping America's Youth, a three-year initiative led by the First Lady, during his 2005 State of the Union Address. The president said HAY was aimed at showing American young men an ideal of manhood that respects women and rejects violence.\nBush said young Americans face unique modern challenges like drugs, gangs, internet predators, media violence and real-life violence, but that boys seem to suffer more than girls from negative influences because they are more likely to drop out of school, not attend college, abuse drugs, join gangs and engage in risky or violent behaviors, and they have higher levels of illiteracy. \n"As children face these greater dangers, they often have fewer people to turn to for help. More children are raised in single-parent families, most often without a father," Bush said. "Millions of children have one or both parents in prison. Many boys and girls spend more time alone or with their peers than they do with their families." \nMore than 500,000 American children live in foster care and about half of foster care children graduate from high school, according to the HAY initiative. About 42 out 100 children from single-mother homes live in poverty, and child abuse and neglect is reported for 11 out of every 1,000 American children between the ages of 12 and 15.\n"(Bush) brings with her a heart as big as Texas, a love of children that all Americans can see and sense and appreciate," said Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, who helped introduce Mrs. Bush. "In Indiana, you are in a state that loves children, that knows the values of family and knows that, really, there is no calling more important than to help a child take those first essential steps in life. For all the love we feel for our kids we have a long way to go in this state and perhaps you feel the same way about yours."\nDaniels said the most basic task for humanity is to enhance the protection of individual personal safety. He said a few of the challenges facing Hoosiers are an unacceptable record in collecting child support and the need to radically expand childcare options for families, including increased support for single-parents.\n"It is organizations of volunteers, organizations of faith and organizations of people animated not by profession, not by gain, but simply by their love and commitment to our youngest and most vulnerable who make the critical difference upon whom our success depends," Daniels said. \nEven though most Americans and media reports have not held the First Lady responsible for the mounting death toll of U.S. soldiers sent to invade and occupy Iraq, Mrs. Bush's visit to Indianapolis was not without community member protest. About 10 Hoosiers stormed the conference hall in the hope of asking the First Lady a few questions about helping America's youth beginning today, but they retreated to a park across the street after they were turned away at the gates by security.\n"People are sitting in there talking about the youth of America but the fact is Mrs. Bush's husband is cutting money from groups that help children so he can send mostly poor and impoverished youth off to fight in Iraq because the military has unrestricted access to our schools," said Hoosier protester Kelly McGuire, who was holding a sign that read "The World Can't Wait: Stop Bush" in one hand and a bullhorn in the other hand. "If we want to go to college and we can't afford it, there is no choice but to join the military. The only way to get to college is to get a gun." \nBush told the conference crowd that the current and future success of young Americans is dependent upon adults, who must surround them with positive influences and dedicate themselves to the needs and care of young people in their communities. She said all adults, especially parents, must teach young people healthy behaviors through their own good examples.\n"The challenges facing America's young people are great. But like your governor said, greater still, is our love for our young people, our hope for our young people, and our dedication of millions of Americans to helping young people succeed," she said. "When adults believe in children, children learn to believe in themselves"
(06/08/06 12:08am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- President Bush's three-year initiative, Helping America's Youth, is underway and the first lady's visit Tuesday to Indianapolis has sparked increased dedication and hope for community members serving at-risk youth across the nation.\nBilled as the first HAY regional conference, an offshoot of President Bush's 2005 State of the Union Address and the 2005 White House Helping America's Youth Conference, hundreds of social service representatives and other caring adults convened at the IUPUI campus to address such topics as the impact of caring adults in families, schools and communities, with a particular focus on increased risk factors for boys.\n"Young people want us in their lives, and they need us in their lives," first lady Laura Bush told the crowd. "And as I've learned from the remarkable men and women I've met across our country, each of us has the power to help America's youth."\nGood news from the American youth front includes today's teens are thriving: they are less likely to drink, smoke and do drugs, get pregnant, commit a violent crime or drop out of school, compared to their parents' generation, according to a "Parents -- The Anti-Drug" pamphlet distributed at the conference. Young Americans are also more likely to volunteer, explore their spirituality and demonstrate tolerant viewpoints for diverse ethnicities, religions and socio-economic backgrounds.\nBad news and real risks for American youth include suburban alcohol and drug use rates overtaking urban youth rates and an estimated 30 out of 100 young people who have admitted to riding with a drunk driver at least once in the last month.\nParents are often considered the first line of defense in leaving no American child behind in the global marketplace, but an American divorce rate of about 50 percent coupled with the reality of "unwanted" children born everyday and other socio-economic constraints affecting child care often results in a recipe for future delinquency and violence for many young Americans. \nIndianapolis resident Wanda Riesz, director of grant writing and resource development for Indianapolis Public Schools, said her school district has diversified its traditional teaching to include 60 alternative schools and programs to combat increasing young disenchantment and disillusionment with school days once filled with overpopulated classrooms, lack of individualized instruction and too few adult mentors and role models for students to choose from.\n"Indianapolis Public Schools has a very high percentage of poverty coupled with at-risk youth," Riesz said in between bites of a catered conference lunch. "We want to focus on the community input to make a difference in these children's lives in all aspects of their life: in their health, well-being, fitness, in nonviolent ways to resolve problems and in staying out of gangs. All of those things coupled together will help them have more academic success, too."\nAbout 12 million out of the 73 million America children under the age of 18 live in an environment of poverty, according to the HAY initative, including 7 out of 100 that live in severe poverty. About 2.5 million children living in rural areas are considered "poor."\nPublic schools are often considered the community forum to address youth issues and clean up the community mess, frequently created by youth delinquency and violence regardless of the young person's positive or negative environment at home.\nOhio resident Connie Cameron, a program director and nurse therapist from the Family Care Center in Toledo, said she attended the HAY conference because she is the director for several federal grants and programs that deal with teen pregnancy prevention, mental health issues and other school success ideas. She said she was "impressed" by the first lady's speech and she was "excited" Bush chose to host the first regional HAY conference in Indianapolis.\n"I think this is a wonderful initiative, and the fact that the first lady came helps support the fact I believe there is going to be some (financial) support to it also. Hopefully it will make a difference," Cameron said. "One of the biggest challenges in Toledo, and I'm sure it is in a lot of the urban areas, is poverty and children that are growing up in poverty and single-parent families with few resources. What we are committed to do is help those youth find the resources they need to be successful in life."\nOther early risk factors that might lead to child delinquency and later violent juvenile offending include, but are not limited to, early anti-social behavior, poor cognitive development, low intelligence, misguided parenting skills, family violence, divorce, parental psychopathology, teenage parenthood, family structure, association with deviant peers, peer rejection, failure to bond to school, poor academic performance and low academic aspirations, disorganized and disadvantaged neighborhoods, concentration of delinquent peer groups and access to weapons, according to a "Child Delinquency" bulletin distributed at the conference.\nCameron said her experience working with troubled and at-risk youth has demonstrated to her that all children will contribute to society in beneficial ways, if only community members continue their willingness to reach out and help young people succeed instead of continuing the cycle of blame for their failures.\n"There are no bad children," she said. "They may have some difficult behaviors, but there are no bad children. There is hope for everybody"
(06/07/06 11:59pm)
Make no mistake: if the United States wants to preemptively attack Iran for whatever reason by whatever means using whatever weapons, we will do so with or without United Nations support and approval, as we did in Iraq.\nTime is not on the Iranian side. Recent concessions from the U.S. diplomacy camp about Tehran's suspected nuclear weapon program does not mean the United States is not refining and planning to test bunker-busting nuclear weapons that could wipe Iran's nuclear program off the face of the planet (if Israel does not do so first).\nIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not helping Tehran's cause of building a "peaceful" nuclear program in the eyes of the West, considering his continuing rhetoric about eliminating the "Great Satan" and Israel. Yet, U.S. President George Bush is not helping Washington's cause of a peaceful solution either, because the underlying issues of international tension toward the United States are not receiving due consideration.\nAnd no, jealousy of U.S. freedom is not the answer.\nTehran has stated from the outset that they intend to only develop "peaceful" nuclear power, despite its fear of nuclear-weapon possessing Israeli aggression. Meanwhile, Washington has stated from the beginning that any Iranian nuclear program is not a welcome addition to international security and that it intends to develop an arsenal of nuclear weapons much like our own.\nPresident Bush seems willing to join the global negotiating table, offering Tehran international support and supplies to construct a minimal "peaceful" nuclear program, while assuring the Iranian people that the international community will help protect them from their neighbors.\nWhat would you think if you were the average Iranian?\nThe United States once shuffled Iranian leaders like dice at a casino craps table; we sponsored a neighbor-to-neighbor war pitting Iraq against Iran during the 1980s; we named Iran as a part of our "Axis of Evil;" we have proven our willingness to contribute to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of global citizens through international sanctions; and, we have a nasty tendency to threaten our global neighbors with violence and war as a means of diplomacy.\nU.S. efforts at international nuclear proliferation are meaningless in a world where we possess the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, continue to want to develop and test more advanced models, declare nuclear power the savior of energy independence and have proven our willingness to wipe entire cities off the face of the map regardless of civilian casualties, as we did in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.\nNuclear weapons are not practical peacetime deterrents or wartime special effects. And, if Iran used such a weapon, even the Iranian clerics must know that the international community would demand their heads on a platter, served with a heap of international justice.\nIf we want to resolve this issue, the United States must address why Iran even would want a nuclear weapon at all, how we might better contribute to Iranian feelings of international security and what concessions we are willing to make to better ensure that human falibility does not instigate the nuclear weapon downfall of \nhumanity.
(06/05/06 3:07am)
Very few professions ask community members to risk their life for the greater community good.\nFor local police officers and firefighters, risking life and limb is part of their job description and their daily sacrifice is often unnoticed until the community is asked to mourn the loss of a peace officer's life. \n"All police officers and firefighters are trained to have in mind: 'At any time you could lose your life trying to save someone else or their property,'" said Indiana University Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger. "Even when that does happen there is a large portion of the population that assumes an officer or firefighter knew their job was tough. No one deserves to lose their life or become injured in the line of duty."\nMinger said peace officer personalities run the gamut and not every officer is the model officer at all times, but all police officers and firefighters depend on community member understanding and trust to better serve and protect the \ncommunity.
(06/01/06 2:10am)
Three years ago one gallon of unleaded gasoline in Indiana cost about $1.50; today the price of that same gallon of gas is hovering just below $3.00, and automotive-fuel prices are expected to sputter even higher throughout the summer driving season.\nWith the cost of one barrel of crude oil flirting above $70 and the cost of one gallon of gasoline possibly never again dipping below $2, community members continue to shoulder the United States' energy burden that is the nation's addiction and dependence on domestic and foreign fossil fuels. The United States' oil habit swallows about one-quarter of the world's resources even though the United States produces only 3 percent of the petroleum it needs, according to the U.S. government's Energy Information Adminstration.\nAmericans consume an estimated 20 million barrels of oil a day. Some economists project the United States will need more than 28 million barrels by the end of the next decade. Increased national demand and a temperamental international oil market are often cited as reasons why gas prices continue to climb, while some community members have little choice but to reach even deeper into their pocketbooks to pay the price for a full-tank of gasoline.\nMike Clark, director of the IU Campus Bus Service, said the university allocates a certain amount of money each year for a combination of soy-based ethanol and diesel gas to fuel the campus bus system as part of their annual budget. The problem with rising gas costs, he said, is that the bus system will run a deficit any given year if the price for each gallon of gas quoted in the budget does not reflect the average market price by the end of the year.\nIU Campus Bus Service was allotted $217,000 in gas costs at $1.75 per gallon for the 2005-2006 school year to fuel their 27 campus bus fleet, Clark said, but so far the campus buses have motored through $263,261 worth of fuel as of the end of April.\n"It's an educated guess as to what the price of gas will be next year, but the board of trustees just passed a budget that pays for gas at $3 per gallon for 2006-2007," he said. "Fuel costs have fluctuated throughout the years but they started increasing substantially last year. Whatever the cost is we will just have to pay it, or we cannot run our buses as scheduled."\nClark said there is little the bus service can do to reduce other gas costs because the nature of busing implies stop-and-go traffic with constant braking to pick-up passengers throughout the day.\n"Gas prices are ridiculous and incredibly high," said graduate student Megan McPhail beneath the shade of a local gas station overhang while she pumped more than eight gallons of gas at $2.85 per gallon into her 2000 Honda Civic. "I fill my tank up every time because right now my parents pay for my gas. I'm not looking forward to some day paying for gas myself and I have a feeling I will find other ways to get around like riding the city bus."\nMcPhail ended up with a tab for $26 worth of gasoline, a product she said she knows very little about. She said fossil fuel is more or less a mystery to her and she does not know where the money goes when she forks over her cash to the gas station attendant.\nMore than 400 million gallons of the 840 million gallons of petroleum products the United States consumes each day are devoted to fueling more than 200 million motor vehicles that travel more than seven billion miles of U.S. roadway each day, according to the Energy Information Agency. Gasoline is made from crude oil, which was formed from the remains of tiny aquatic plants and animals that lived hundreds of millions of years ago.\nBoth domestic and foreign supplies of oil are pumped from underground drilling stations and the collected "black gold" is transported to oil refineries that create several oil products like gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, jet fuel and liquefied petroleum gas among others, according to the EIA. The refined oil is then shipped to various pipeline structures and storage facilities that use tankers or barges to transport the refined products to national bulk storage terminals. \nTanker trucks often distribute the refined oil products to individual customers and gas stations that sell the oil products to consumers. According to the EIA, common blends of gasoline found within the international marketplace include Algeria Saharan Blend, Indonesia Minas, Nigeria Bonny Light, Saudi Arabia Arab Light, Dubai Fateh, Venezuela Tia Juana, Mexico Isthmus and the American preference for the low-sulfur West Texas Intermediate that is very light and sweet. \nFor every dollar each community member spends on one gallon of gasoline, an estimated 55 cents of that total is spent on the cost of crude oil, 22 cents is spent on refining, 19 cents is spent on government taxes and 5 percent is spent on distribution and marketing, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. This price breakdown does not include the cost of gas station overhead, nor speak to the effects of increasing gasoline costs on mass transportation systems like taxi cab companies, police and fire agencies, city and university busing or rental trucking companies like U-Haul.\nBesides the millions of lower-middle class to working class Americans who often depend on older and less fuel efficient autos for daily driving, some community members are not fretting about the cost of gas because most economic indicators predict a reasonably confident average consumer continuing to spend disposable income on extra goods like candy bars and soda pop, even on the same gas pumping trip.\nBloomington resident Kevin Jones, a one-year gas station attendant at the BP located on the corner of Indiana Avenue and Third Street near the IU Sample Gates, said he has noticed a lot of gas-consuming customers who spend increments of $5, $10 and $20 to fuel their auto instead of filling-up their tank. He said some of the larger sport utility vehicle owners are continuing to drop $60 at the cash register for a full-tank of gas regardless of ever increasing gas costs. \n"Customers are still spending the same amount of money each visit as they were before gas prices increased earlier this year," he said. "They are spending less money on gas but people are still buying Polar Pops, and they end up spending more on sugary liquids per ounce than they are on their gas. Snack foods are ridiculously more expensive than gas"
(05/25/06 1:33am)
Short-term solutions to weaning America off its "addiction" to fossil fuels lies in the minds of some local Hoosiers choosing to play a small role toward the national goal of energy independence.\nAbout 30 community members congregated May 16 in the Bloomington City Council Chambers of City Hall to discuss van pooling options to help reduce the cost of daily commuting to Indianapolis from Monroe County. Central Indiana Commuter Services, an offshoot of Indianapolis public transit system IndyGo, presented prospective car pooling Hoosiers a slideshow of bullet points offering, among other cost-cutting benefits, the opportunity to match neighbors with other folks headed in the same direction to work each day and one company mini-van or larger passenger vans per "van pooling" team for a minimal fee as part of a six-month plan.\nEllettsville resident Mark Pogue, one of the 1,300 Hoosiers who spend more than two hours of time commuting to and from work each day, said he attended the meeting to form a team of six van pooling like-minded Monroe County Hoosiers.\n"I estimate that I spend about $27 in fuel for my gas guzzler each day driving myself to work. I used to have a job in town but now I work in Indy," Pogue said. "I have been car pooling with an IUPUI student and another person who also works in Indy since January, and we were sharing the cost of gas. But you get more people in a van pool. I'm not the biggest ecologist, but I am for saving money and the ozone."\nThe southern edge of the Interstate 465 loop outside Indianapolis is approximately 47 miles from the city of Bloomington, so a commuter travels 94 miles per work day, 476 miles per work week and 1,904 miles per four-week work month. If a commuter's auto averages 20 miles per gallon, $3 per gallon of unleaded gasoline for 95 gallons of gas to drive back and forth to work in Indianapolis from Bloomington will cost the commuter about $285 each month in gas for the trips to work alone.\nForty-mile round-trip commuters spend an estimated $5,600 per year to get to and from work, not including parking, according to data by the American Automobile Association provided on a CICS pamphlet. \nCICS Project Manager Ruth Reiman, who guided the audience through the PowerPoint presentation and hosted the van pooling group formation after a brief question and answer session, said commuting Hoosiers who travel the B-town to Indy loop spend more that $1,000 each month when all 2,100 commuter miles per month and costs -- including oil changes, engine wear and tear and parking -- are considered. One particular CICS slide indicated van poolers could sell any empty seats to highest-bidding "day riders" and another slide claimed the monthly fare covers free parking to participating van poolers in a secured lot north of town.\nVan pooling options include estimated costs of $179 for a seat and $36 for gas each month as part of a six-month contracted seven-passenger mini-van fare. Larger community van pools are offered 12 to 15 passenger vans for which per person costs for each seat and gas each month are further reduced.\nReiman said more than 4,000 commuters are registered in the company database and any community member willing to save a few dollars each month in commuter costs are welcome to join the site at www.327ride.net. Hoosiers searching for possible car pooling or van pooling candidates can locate other interested persons who live in the vicinity or who work within a shorter drive.\nPogue, with his two car poolers already accounted for, joined three other community members at the meeting interested in a seven person van pool, and each person penned their name on a list of other willing Monroe County to Indy van poolers. He agreed to serve as his van pool's primary driver and Pogue suggested any of the other 1,300 daily commuters driving his familiar route consider car pooling with work peers traveling the same route or with other community members participating in the same daily grind to and from Indianapolis and Bloomington.\n"Car pooling is really kind of a social thing and being on your best behavior with other car poolers kind of makes you a more considerate person," Pogue said. "It gets kind of boring when you drive alone and having someone to talk to helps keep you awake on the road. I just always try to stay away from politics. There is a lot of common ground like family, questions like 'how was work?' and 'what did you do today?', informal and impersonal chit-chat." \nThree potential van poolers were formed after the information meeting out of the possible 30 community members who were in attendance. Whether van pooling with six others or car pooling with friends, less individual commuters equals less cars on the road driven by community members paying less money for decreased daily fuel consumption. \nPogue said he does not see any reason why community members should not feel hopeful about the current national progress toward future fossil fuel independence.\n"I like the fact car pooling saves me a lot of money, and I've noticed an immediate difference -- there are two less cars on the road and that helps reduce the gluttony," he said before leaving the scene in his gas-loving sport utility vehicle. "Gas prices depend on the price of oil, which is about $70 right now, so why not car pool because everybody wins that way. We can control how much gas we choose to use, and we can choose to reduce that amount. We can control now how often we drive."\nFor more information on CICS van pooling options contact 317-327-RIDE.
