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(03/21/06 4:55am)
Bloomington Police Department officers are looking for a man who robbed a Village Pantry on Winslow Road Saturday night.\nThe convenience store clerk reported that at about 11:30 p.m., a white male came to the counter with a package of doughnuts, said BPD Detective Sgt. David Drake, reading from the police report. When the clerk opened the drawer to complete his transaction, she said the man handed her a note that said, "This is a robbery. Empty the drawer."\nPolice say the man reached over and grabbed handfuls of cash from the open drawer before the clerk could even respond to the note, then ran away.\nThe clerk described the man as a white male, about 25 or 30 years old. She said he was about 5-foot-8 tall and of medium build, with dark hair and a mustache.\nDrake said the man left the note and the package of doughnuts behind.
(03/20/06 4:32am)
Anna Peay and her three sisters protested the Vietnam War decades ago, and they said they were "called back to duty" three years ago.\n"We, of course, are for peace," Peay said, holding a sign that said "ALL WE R SAYING IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE." The four Indianapolis women participated in a peace rally on the Monument Circle in Indianapolis Saturday, which was part of a global commemoration of the three-year anniversary of America's initial invasion of Iraq. Activists opposing the war organized protests from all corners of the country, including some demonstrations internationally.\n"I came with my sisters today because we are very concerned about what is going on with the war," said Mary Jane Mesner, whose sign read 'I am free to disagree.' "It has become very unpopular to speak out at times."\nThe Indianapolis rally, sponsored by 11 Indianapolis organizations, was themed "Honor the dead, heal the wounded, end the war." The protesters released 24 white doves as a symbol for peace as well as hundreds of red balloons to honor the dead.\nProtesters' signs urged passing cars to honk if they supported their cause. While many cars did, others drove by in silent disagreement or apathy.\n"Our goal is to let people who do not agree with the current situation of the war to come forward and speak out," said Margo Kelly, vice president of Progessive Indiana, one of the event's sponsors. "We want to give a voice to the people that are in disagreement with the war."\nSponsors of the event set up tables and handed out anti-war buttons, bumper stickers and literature and set out petitions for attendees to sign. \nIn preparation for the day's protest, press releases were sent to many Bloomington-based groups to encourage attendance of IU students and faculty. An IUPUI group, Student Advocates for Global Equality, was one of the event's sponsors. Two of the speakers were IUPUI professors as well. \n"(The purpose of the peace rally is) to commemorate the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and to remind citizens that taxpayers fund this war and, therefore, are responsible for bringing it to an end," said Dee Anne Moore, secretary of the Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center, one of the event's sponsors.\nParticipants rallied around dozens of speakers, including politicians, religious leaders and musicians. The speakers denounced the Bush administration's war policies, referring to them as "criminal."\nThe protesters chanted "one, two, three, four, we don't want your stinking war" together, as led by Harold Donle, one of the emcees of the event, an IUPUI professor and a twice-wounded Vietnam veteran.\n"You know these people are so immoral that they probably have not lost a wink of sleep over it," Donle said of the Bush administration.\nThe speakers often alluded to the money being spent in Iraq, calling it wasteful. Former Indiana Congressman Andy Jacobs spoke to the protesters, rallying them in opposition to funding the war.\n"I am a conservative," the former Democratic representative joked. "I do not believe in squandering hundreds of billions of dollars on a bloody boondoggle."\nAcross the street, a counter-protest formed. Although the hundreds of peace rally participants outnumbered their opposition, Indianapolis resident Natisha Cooper said she believes there are more people on her side.\n"I think the peace activists and their demonizing and bashing of America gives comfort to our enemy, and I think it encourages them to keep fighting," she said, holding a sign that read 'Al Qaeda supports you. We don't.'\nSaturday marked Cooper's third counter-protest, and she said she plans to keep fighting back.\n"I made a promise to myself a long time ago that what the peace activists did during the Vietnam War, I was not going to let go," she said. "As long as there's a war going on and I have breath in my body and I am able, I will be back."\nDespite the counter-protest, the peace rally continued on the other side of the street as planned.\n"I'm here because I am a crier," said Sara Federle, one of the four protesting sisters, whose nephew is in the Navy. "This war makes me cry"
(03/08/06 5:06am)
An IU transportation employee found drug paraphernalia with remnants of marijuana Monday in an IU rental car that had last been issued to the Indiana Daily Student, said IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from a police report.\nMinger said IUPD informed a representative from the IDS on Monday about the incident and the individual who said he had rented the car came to the station and spoke with detectives on his own accord Tuesday afternoon.\nBecause no individual citation had been issued, the individual's name was not released by press time. Minger said the case is still active because the detective who had been assigned the case was not available at the time the individual came to speak with police.\nIDS Editor in Chief Rick Newkirk said the IDS does not have a policy that specifically addresses this issue and he will wait to see if a citation or charge is issued before taking action.\n"We are waiting at this point to see a police report," Newkirk said. "When that is made public, we will take any appropriate action."\nMan arrested after kicking side of car at stoplight\nIUPD arrested a man early Tuesday morning who had kicked the side of a car while it was waiting for a stoplight and resisted officers' attempts to detain him, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report.\nMinger said officers received a call from a man complaining that he had been waiting at the stoplight of 10th and Union streets when a man he did not know kicked the side of his vehicle. According to the report, the man had caused an estimated $200 worth of damage.\nMinger said officers tracked down the subject and identified him by his Korean passport as Seung Y. Baek. According to the report, officers arrested him and found he had about $1,600 in his pocket.\nBaek smelled strongly of alcohol and had difficulty standing and answering questions, according to the report.\nMinger said Baek became upset and told officers his brother had died.\nAfter they reached the jail and exited the police car, Baek ran away and tried to escape through a motorized door that had not closed completely, according to the report. Minger said that while Baek was running away, he was yelling and still had his handcuffs on.\nAccording to the report, when officers caught up with him, he continued to struggle, causing IUPD Officer Tom Kuhlenschmidt to receive three cuts on his right palm. Minger said a deputy from the jail ran out and assisted Kuhlenschmidt in subduing Baek.\nAccording to the report, officers checked Baek into the Monroe County Correctional Center under preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement, escape from lawful detention, disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Minger said disorderly conduct and public intoxication are misdemeanor charges. Because the resist resulted in an injury to a police officer, Minger said the preliminary charge of resisting law enforcement was upgraded to a class D felony and the preliminary charge of escape from lawful detention was upgraded to a class B felony.\nBaek did not return e-mails by press time.
(03/07/06 10:05pm)
IU Police Department officers arrested three students on suspicion of burglary at the Ashton Rodgers building in Ashton Center.\nOfficers found three students outside of the building at about 10 p.m. Wednesday after an alleged unlawful entrance, said Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report. The three students are all residents of Collins Center.\nMinger said off-duty IU-Purdue University Indianapolis officer Jared Lindley, who used to work for IUPD in Bloomington, was meeting his fiancee, a current IUPD Bloomington officer, when he saw flashlights from inside the building.\nAccording to the report, Lindley called for several other officers to report to the area. As the officers approached the building, they noticed the side door was open.\nAccording to the report, they found two of the students outside the open door. Minger said the other later exited through the door.\nMinger said one was carrying a backpack full of textbooks.\nHe said officers suspect the three climbed through an open window, took the textbooks from inside and exited through the side door.\nAccording to the report, the officers read the three their rights and transported them to the Monroe County Jail.
(03/07/06 6:24am)
IU Police Department officers are looking for a man who employees of the Herman B Wells Library reported was looking at child pornography on IU computers, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report.\nAccording to the report, security employees at the library said as they were monitoring computer use, they observed a man who would change the screen of his computer monitor every time an employee would walk by. They said in the report they saw him looking at "obvious child pornography," with children in "various states of undress and even performing sex acts."\nMinger said the employees reported that one employee confronted the man about it, and the man argued that he could do whatever he wanted in a public place. The employee said in the report he then reminded the man that child pornography is illegal.\nEmployees called the police, but by the time officers arrived, the man was gone and the employees were unaware of which direction he was headed.\nMinger said IUPD submitted the computer to experts to be analyzed for information that could tell what Web sites the man was looking at.\nAccording to the report, the \nemployees said that the man is a frequent visitor to the library. In the report, the employees described the man as a white male in his 50s with red hair pulled back into a ponytail.\n"We're hoping that if anybody knows of his identity or sees him in the future or may have seen this incident, they could contact us because they may have information they don't even know they have," Minger said.\nMinger asked that anyone with information on this case call 855-4111 and ask to speak to a detective.
(03/07/06 5:47am)
At about 10:30 a.m. Friday, junior Abram Hess walked outside to his car and found the word "homophobe" written in white-out across the windshield. \nHess believes the vandalism was in reaction to a letter he had submitted to the Indiana Daily Student. The letter, in which Hess questioned the idea of "islamophobia," appeared in the newspaper the day before the incident. \nThe letter, titled "'Cogniphobia' seeping into students' minds," ran in the March 2 edition of the Jordan River Forum. \nIn an excerpt of the letter, Hess wrote: "In any intellectual conflict, accusing an opponent of having an irrational fear adds nothing to the substance of the discussion, but speaks volumes about the one who makes such an allegation. The man who labels a contrarian view as a 'phobia' reveals that he is thoroughly entrenched in his own view to the point that he will not even grant his opponent a hearing." \nIn the letter, Hess called the idea of "islamophobia" a "carbon-copy of the same tired, old tactic used by the homosexual community."\nHess continued in his letter: "They long ago gave up any sort of cogent intellectual debate in favor of simply labeling their opponents as 'bigots' and 'homophobes.' \nHess said he believes the opinions he expressed about the gay and lesbian community made him the target of a crime. \n"It doesn't make much sense otherwise," he said. \nCordell Eddings, IDS opinion editor, said he was surprised by the news of the incident and found it counterproductive to the concept of the forum. \n"No one has mailed any letters to us in protest (of Hess' letter)," he said. "So (the offended party) handled it in other ways, which of course, we don't condone." \nHess said he did not receive any other similar comments about the letter throughout the day; the vandalism was the only response of that kind he received, he said.\nEddings said when he read the letter, he considered the fact that it might offend some of the readers. \n"I knew there would be many people who would disagree with the writer's point of view," he said. "However, the Jordan River Forum is for the exchanging of ideas, and so we ran the letter." \nEddings said he hopes this is an isolated incident and that believes the IDS readers should not be afraid to express their own opinions. \n"Even though (Hess) wrote the letter himself and attached his name to it, I think the backlash was unacceptable," Eddings added. \nHess said he feels the reaction only further proves his point. \n"If this act of vandalism is indeed connected to the letter I wrote, it would be rather ironic because the letter specifically condemns something like this, where people give up academic means and just label people as 'bigots' and 'homophobes,'" he said.\nHess filed a report with the Bloomington Police Department at about 10:40 a.m. Friday.\nPolice say no new information has come to light on the case.
(03/07/06 5:45am)
Bloomington police arrested two men early Saturday morning at a local White Castle who identified themselves as members of the Wisconsin wrestling team, said Drake, reading from the report.\nDrake said employees of the W. Jacob Drive White Castle called the BPD and said four males were outside the restaurant and had vandalized a sign and broken a water pipe.\nAccording to the report, the letters on the sign had been re-arranged to say "piss clam stew." According to the report, the water line had been broken off and water was shooting three feet into the air. Police found four subjects in the area who matched the description the White Castle employees gave.\nPolice arrested Zachary Menne, 20, and Daniel Sneider, 19, who told the officers that they were in Bloomington to wrestle in the Big Ten wrestling tournament. Police said the two men had been drinking. According to the report, the other two men who were with them, but not named, were of legal drinking age.\nDrake said Menne took complete responsibility for the damage and said the other three men had nothing to do with the vandalism. According to the report, Menne said he had messed with the sign and accidentally tripped over the water pipe. Officers said in the report that because of the severity of the damage to the water pipe, they did not believe that was possible.\nVince Sweeney, senior associate athletic director for external relations at the University of Wisconsin, said he had not heard of the situation.\n"I am not aware of the infractions, but I'm sure that the coach is and that we'll be taking the appropriate actions," Sweeney said. "I do not know what those are at this point"
(03/07/06 5:44am)
A male resident of a house on the 600 block of South Washington Street reported Saturday that his four-person hot tub, full of water, had been stolen from his backyard, said Bloomington Police Department Detective Sgt. David Drake, reading from the police report.\nThe complainant said in the report that residents of the house had last seen the hot tub, which was valued at $4,500, at about midnight the night before. He said they first noticed it missing at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and that people had been in the house the entire time. He said no one had heard or seen anyone the entire time.\nDrake said there were no indications that anyone had drained the water before taking it, and officers did not find any footprints or tire marks near the hot tub's original location.
(03/07/06 5:37am)
IU Police Department and Bloomington Police Department officers responded to a fight that broke out at a dance in the Indiana Memorial Union early Sunday morning, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report.\nAccording to the report, officers arrested freshman DeAndre Williams on preliminary charges of disorderly conduct after a fight broke out during an Alpha Phi Alpha event in Alumni Hall. Security officers said in the report they attempted to remove Williams, who started throwing punches and was resisting their attempts, from the event.\nMinger said several people were trying to restrain Williams, who was finally subdued, handcuffed and transported to the Monroe County Jail.\nNo other arrests were made.\nWilliams and Alpha Phi Alpha President James Bigsbee were not available for comment by press time.
(03/03/06 5:14am)
IU Police Department officers arrested IU freshman football wide receiver James Bailey early Monday morning under suspicion of trespassing, intimidation and conversion -- a lesser theft charge -- said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report.\nBailey was taken to Monroe County Correctional Center and released at 4:50 a.m. Thursday, \naccording to jail officials.\nA male reported that Bailey, with whom he said he had an altercation at a party about a month ago, came to his McNutt Quad room and threatened to beat him up, Minger said, reading from the report. According to the report, the complainant said he then pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. He said Bailey entered the room and snatched the phone away.\nPolice say a threatening verbal altercation ensued. Meanwhile, the 911 call had actually connected and was being recorded at the Monroe County central dispatch.\nThe complainant said Bailey left without giving his cell phone back.\nMinger said three IUPD officers went to Bailey's room and read him his rights. According to the report, he handed them the phone and confessed to the allegations.\nBailey was injured in March 2005 in a car accident, when an SUV he was traveling in was struck by a dump truck, according to an IDS article. In the following season, Bailey recorded 27 catches for 335 yards and three touchdowns. He was declared academically ineligible in early November 2005, sitting out the last two games of the football season, according to an IDS article.\n"We were made aware of the situation early this morning," said IU head football coach Terry Hoeppner in a statement Thursday. "We're currently in the process of gathering all the facts in the situation. We will proceed when the facts are complete."\nIU Director of Atheltic Media Relations Pete Rhoda said he could not comment further on the situation. Bailey was not available for contact by press time.
(03/02/06 10:01pm)
IU Police Department officers arrested IU freshman football wide receiver James Bailey early Monday morning under suspicion of trespassing, intimidation and conversion -- a lesser theft charge -- said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report.\nBailey was taken to Monroe County Correctional Center and released at 4:50 a.m. Thursday, according to jail officials.\nA male reported that Bailey, with whom he said he had an altercation at a party about a month ago, came to his McNutt room and threatened to beat him up, Minger said, reading from the report. According to the report, the complainant said he then pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. He said Bailey entered the room and snatched the phone away.\nPolice say a threatening verbal altercation ensued. Meanwhile, the 911 call had actually connected and was being recorded at the Monroe County central dispatch.\nThe complainant said Bailey left without giving his cell phone back.\nMinger said three IUPD officers went to Bailey's room and read him his rights. According to the report, he handed them the phone and confessed to the allegations.\nBailey was injured in March 2005 in a car accident, when an SUV he was traveling in was struck by a dump truck, according to an IDS article. In the following season, Bailey recorded 27 catches for 335 yards and three touchdowns. He was declared academically ineligible in early November 2005, sitting out the last two games of the football season, according to an IDS article.\n"We were made aware of the situation early this morning," said IU head football coach Terry Hoeppner in a statement Thursday. "We're currently in the process of gathering all the facts in the situation. We will proceed when the facts are complete."\nIU Director of Atheltic Media Relations Pete Rhoda said he could not comment further on the situation. Bailey was not available for contact by press time.
(03/02/06 5:17am)
Hip-hop artists GZA/Genius and DJ Muggs will make an appearance in Bloomington tonight.\nGZA, a member of the former Wu-Tang Clan, and Muggs, a member of the Latin-American hip-hop group Cypress Hill, will perform at 9 p.m. at The Bluebird, 216 N. Walnut St. The duo released an album together in November, Grandmasters, and is making a Bloomington stop on its tour.\nEarlier in the evening, Bloomington fans will have the opportunity to meet with GZA and have their albums signed at Tracks, 415 E. Kirkwood Ave. \n"A lot of people don't even believe it really," said Tracks manager Brett Hayden. "They see it and they're like: 'From the Wu-Tang? In Bloomington?'"\nBluebird owner Dave Kubiak said that although the two are touring to promote their new album, the audience can expect a wide array of songs.\n"I'm sure (GZA) will play off his full catalog and do some Wu-Tang," he said.\nKubiak said he expects the show to generate an audience of at least a couple hundred people. Hayden said the turnout at Tracks will probably depend on the weather and the amount of attention it garners.\n"There could be as low as 30, or as high as a couple hundred," he said. "It just depends on the weather. It is a Thursday and it is starting to get a little bit nicer (outside). There's a lot of hype for this."\nHayden said GZA should arrive at Tracks for the record signing at about 6 p.m. \nHe estimated GZA would stay for about an hour, but said it depends on customer turnout and GZA's performance preparation needs.\nAt press time, Hayden said he was still unsure whether or not DJ Muggs would accompany GZA at the Tracks appearance.\n"I think most people will be coming for GZA," he said. "It'll just be like a bonus if Muggs is here."\nIn the past, Tracks has hosted other established hip-hop artists including Sage Francis, Hieroglyphics and Little Brother. Hayden said his small record store has a large hip-hop fan base and that the store is doing its best to get the word out.\n"We know a lot of people that are into hip-hop," Hayden said. "But we don't make a lot of money, so we don't really have the money to \nadvertise. We're hoping to get a good turnout just by word of mouth."\nKubiak described hip-hop tours as "seasonal," saying October and November are the usual times for big-name hip-hop artists to make appearances at nightclubs and colleges.\nArtists such as Ghostface (another member of the former Wu-Tang Clan), De La Soul, Atmosphere and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien have performed at The Bluebird, as well as , who will return March 21.\n"Anytime you get a big-time artist in here, you're always excited," Kubiak said. "It's going to be exciting to have a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan and DJ Muggs"
(02/28/06 5:26am)
Local police officers arrested two men Monday morning in connection with two Sunday evening Monroe County armed robberies.\nA clerk for a Swifty's convenience store in Elletsville said a man tried to rob the store with a shotgun Sunday evening, said Monroe County Sheriff's Department Detective Shawn Karr. The clerk reported that two men in a white Chevrolet van pulled up in front of the store while one of the men exited the van and held the clerk at gunpoint, demanding the money from the cash drawer. \nThe clerk told police he then knocked the barrel of the gun away from his face.\nHe was able to memorize the license plate number of the van before it drove away, police reported.\n"He was able to remember everything except for one letter," Karr said. \nAbout an hour later, police received another report of an armed robbery in the area. Karr said a clerk at a Circle S Food Mart in Bloomington reported that a man had entered and displayed a handgun. The clerk emptied the cash drawer for the robber.\nKarr said that by the time of the report of the second robbery, Monroe County Sheriff's Department officers had tracked down the white van with the reported license plate number and arrived at the address of the owner.\nKarr said the van was sitting in the driveway, and the shotgun that matched the Swifty's clerk's description was in the front seat.\nAccording to the report, deputies retrieved the firearm from the vehicle and talked to a woman who lived in the house, who gave them the phone number of her husband. The officers contacted him by phone, and he agreed to meet with them to talk.\nOfficers then arrested Mark McIntosh, 50, on preliminary charges of armed robbery. McIntosh had previously been convicted of dealing a narcotic, so he cannot legally possess a firearm. Officers also had a photo on file for witness identification.\nMonday morning, Bloomington Police Department officer Jason Shaevitz spotted a man who matched the description of one of the robbery suspects standing in front of Kilroy's Bar and Grill, said BPD Detective Sgt. David Drake. Drake said Shaevitz exited his vehicle and grabbed the man.\nOfficers identified the man as Christopher Davis, 28, and arrested him on preliminary charges of armed robbery.\nMcIntosh also faces a preliminary charge of possession of a firearm by a violent felon because of his previous charges.
(02/23/06 5:43am)
While escorting a routine funeral procession, off-duty IUPD Lt. Tom Lee suffered what he and his employers believe to be some not-so-routine injuries.\n"I've had two surgeries already," he said. "Chances are, in the \nbest-case scenario, I'll have two additional surgeries. Worst-case: I'll need four."\nLee escorts funeral processions on a motorcycle for Regal Funeral Escort, Inc., a Bloomington-based business that hires full-time or retired police officers to stop traffic so that a funeral procession can pass through. But because of an accident during a procession on the morning of Feb. 7, Lee said he is now "pretty much immobile" for six weeks.\n"I got home from the hospital on Sunday, and I'm pretty much at the mercy of (my brother-in-law)," he said. "If you saw this thing on my leg, you would be really surprised that there were no broken bones."\nDespite the severity of Lee's accident, Todd Durnil, owner of Regal Funeral Escort, inc., said he believes his employees are still safe.\n"We've been in business for almost four years, and this is our first accident of any significance," said Durnil, who also works full-time as an Indiana State Trooper. "We've gone a long way without anything happening. We feel the potential for something happening is outweighed by what the service does."\nWhile at the rear of a procession on Rogers Street, north of 11th Street, Lee turned his lights and sirens on, passed the procession to approach the intersection and crashed his 2004 Road King motorcycle into another vehicle, said Bloomington Police Department Det. Sgt. David Drake, reading from the police report.\n"I hit a vehicle, but I'm not sure how," Lee said.\nAccording to the report, he had lost control while driving over a manhole cover, striking a stopped Dodge Caravan. Although Lee could not remember the event well enough to confirm this, he said the statement is consistent with what he does remember. Drake said he flipped his motorcycle several times before hitting the vehicle.\nWhile Lee said his helmet and suit protected him from any injuries due to contact with the road, his run-in with the van caused injuries that will keep him at home for months. The accident report listed injuries to his knee, foot and lower leg.\n"Every ligament and tendon that I have on my right knee is ripped off," he said.\nDurnil said that aside from a couple of instances of parked, off-duty motorcycles being backed into by other vehicles, Regal Funeral Escort had been accident-free until last week.\nBy law, funeral processions in Indiana are allowed to claim the right-of-way with sirens and flashing lights, and many choose to do this by hiring escort services. Lee said that typically, in a procession, employees "leap-frog" ahead to an intersection to stop any traffic that might interrupt. Regal serves funeral homes in Bloomington, Spencer, Elletsville and Martinsville. \n"Ironically, the idea is that it provides additional safety on the way to the final place of disposition," said Art Sater, one of the owners of Allen Funeral Home, which contracted Regal for the procession in which Lee was injured. "Tom Lee just so happened to be involved in an accident; it was purely an accident. I certainly wouldn't go on a funeral procession without them now."\nSater said that in his 35 years in the funeral home business, he can only recall two significant accidents.\nDurnil said his company uses motorcycles, rather than cars, because they can more easily maneuver around traffic. The idea, he said, is safety.\n"The benefit of a motorcycle over a car is that the motorcycle can move from one intersection to the next without causing a congestion or a hazard," he said. "The downside is that for that maneuverability, you forfeit some of the protection you would have in a car."\nLee said that the danger involved with passing vehicles at high speeds on motorcycles is greatly reduced because most civilians know they need to pull over when they hear the sirens.\n"Indiana law requires that traffic yield to funeral processions, and for the most part, since people have gotten used to the motorcycles around town, they normally see it and they normally yield," Lee said. "It's just that sometimes people aren't used to it."\nDespite the high speeds and vulnerability of motorcycles, Lee called his current situation "an exception rather than the rule."\n"Generally speaking, it is pretty safe," he said. "The whole idea is to make the trip to the cemetery better for the family. You know they've got enough other stresses and things to worry about without having to worry about fighting traffic."\nLee plans to return to both of his jobs after he heals from his series of surgeries, which he said could take months.
(02/23/06 4:48am)
A report of a suspicious looking white, powdery substance on the sidewalk caused the Bloomington Fire Department to close off a city intersection for about an hour Wednesday morning, said BFD Fire Chief Jeff Barlow.\nA woman called the fire department at about 7:30 a.m. after she walked by the intersection of 14th Street and Madison Avenue and noticed a balloon on the sidewalk that contained a white powder. Barlow said Hazardous Materials team members put on their protective suits and safely obtained a sample.\nThe team identified the substance as corn starch, according to Hazardous Materials.\nBarlow said traffic was able to flow through the intersection again by about 8:45 a.m.\nOfficials held Fountain Square mall patrons and employees on lock down for a similar reporting of a white powder substance Feb. 7.
(02/22/06 4:27am)
The owner of Bloomington restaurant Janko's Little Zagreb died in a house fire five miles west of Spencer Sunday night, according to Indiana State Police reports.\nFirefighters discovered John Pouch, 62, in his burning Owen County home, according to reports. Although Pouch lived alone, he is survived by two sons and a daughter from a former marriage.\nScene investigators found his body near the front door, leading them to believe Pouch entered the house during the fire and was overcome by smoke.\nAn autopsy, which took place Tuesday but has yet to return results, should reveal the exact cause of death.\nIndiana State Police 1st Sgt. David Bursten said the fire appeared to be accidental, but that investigations of this nature are treated as homicides until foul play can be officially ruled out.\nBursten said the case is being investigated by the Owen Valley Fire Department, the Owen County Sheriff's Department, the State Fire Marshal and the Indiana State Police.\nWith heavy hearts, Little Zagreb employees re-opened the restaurant Tuesday after closing for a day.\n"He was like a godfather to all of us," said former kitchen staff member John Floyd. "He's like your good uncle or something. He was a pal."\nFloyd received a call with the news and came to see how his friends at Little Zagreb were doing.\n"Everyone's pretty bummed about it," said Floyd, affectionately referring to his former boss as "Old Janko." "He was a good friend to us all."\nPouch, whose family emigrated from Zagreb, Croatia, bought the restaurant from his brother a few years after he opened it in 1973. Pouch turned it into a steak house and operated it ever since.\n"They're known for the best steaks in the state, big fat potatoes and the personable service," Floyd said. "That's what they say."\nFloyd said Little Zagreb has served several celebrities in the decades it has been open, including singer and songwriter Paul Simon. During his employment at IU, former men's basketball coach Bob Knight had his own table where he often ate at with his team. Indiana native John Mellencamp has made frequent appearances as well.\nFloyd said IU recruiters often bring their recruits to Little Zagreb for dinner, and said: "Basically, every IU football and basketball player has eaten here."\nLittle Zagreb management and employees say they have every intention of continuing to operate.\n"No one really knows yet (what's going to happen)," Floyd said. "But they're going to stay open because we know that's what he'd want"
(02/22/06 4:11am)
U.S. Supreme Court members announced Tuesday they would not hear the five-year college media censorship battle Hosty v. Carter, leaving university media advisers uncertain of the future of the First Amendment issue.\nThe case centers around a 2001 controversy when Governors State University Dean Patricia Carter told the school newspaper's printer not to publish the paper until \nadministration had approved its content. \nStudents sued Carter, claiming their First Amendment rights had been violated, and won in a federal district court. But a later 7th District Court of Appeals decision \ndetermined that the defendant would not be liable for \nthe damages because the law was too unclear at the time of Carter's actions.\n"The Hosty case is the first time that we know of where a high school standard was used to interfere with the free speech of college students who are adults," said Director of IU Student Media David Adams, who also serves as president of the Student Press Law Center.\nAlthough the Supreme Court does not have a standing decision regarding college newspapers, in the 1988 decision, Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, it ruled that officials could legally censor a high school class newspaper without a "policy or practice establishing it as a public forum for freedom of expression" for educational purposes, according to the SPLC Web site.\nSchool of Journalism assistant professor Tony Fargo said the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case does not necessarily mean administrators will have the right to censor college publications -- it just makes the situation a little more unclear.\n"Everybody had assumed that Hazelwood would not apply to college papers," Fargo said. "What Hosty did is it kind of attacked that assumption. It left open a door that would allow college administrators more leeway to censor student publications."\nThe Hosty v. Carter decision becomes even more \nunclear, Adams said, in a specific line in the case that compares the situation to the Hazelwood decision.\n"There is one phrase in there that scares the crap out of me," Adams said, referring to a line out of the official Court of Appeals ruling.\nThe phrase states that Hazelwood's framework applies to student newspapers at colleges, secondary and elementary schools funded by their schools. \nAlthough Indiana is part of the 7th District, Adams said he does not believe IU publications will be affected by the Court of Appeals decision because the Indiana Daily Student and the Arbutus are financially independent from the University, meaning they receive no money from student fees.\n"That could never happen at IU because the publications are self-supporting," he said. "But it would probably apply to 99 percent of newspapers in the country, as well as several schools in the Big Ten."\nIn fact, Indiana Daily Student Editor in Chief Rick Newkirk said he did not even follow the case closely because he knew it would not directly affect his publication.\n"It doesn't appear to be able to directly affect us, although when First Amendment violations occur in a newspaper, we are all affected," he said. "We're all journalists. This situation can be perceived as an affront to First Amendment rights."\nFargo said that although the decision might be perceived as an opening for administrative college media censorship, he thinks very few administrators will follow suit. \n"I don't think most college administrators would want to walk through that door," he said. "I hope most administrators would respect freedom of the press enough that they wouldn't."\nHe said the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case leaves college administrators with the always-present possibility of their own students suing and the Supreme Court choosing to hear that case.\nThe Court of Appeals ruling, which Fargo and Adams both said leaves college media censorship standards unclear, will stand unless a later case overturns it.\n"It was a nondecision," Fargo said. "I think it really means, we don't know"
(02/09/06 6:52am)
A one-car accident on Sare Road killed a man Wednesday afternoon, said Bloomington Police Department Sgt. David Drake, reading from a police report.\nA witness told the \nBloomington Police Department that the vehicle had been heading north when it suddenly crossed the center line, drove off the roadway and struck a tree head-on just south of David Drive, according to the report.\nBPD had not yet released the name of the man killed at press time. According to the report, no passengers were in the vehicle. \n"He may or may not have flipped his car a couple of times, but the vehicle was extensively damaged," said Drake, who visited the accident scene.\nAccording to the report, the left front wheel, tire, spring and a piece of the axle were all found on the opposite side of the road.\n"The car was just pretty much demolished," Drake said.\nWhen officers from BPD arrived three minutes after they received the call at 12:13 p.m., the driver was trapped underneath the car. He was already dead by the time they arrived, Drake said.\nInvestigators were sent to the site to reconstruct the scene. Police say the accident is still under investigation.
(02/09/06 6:49am)
IU Police Department officers arrested IU student Eric Garrison Tuesday on a warrant for failure to appear in Clark County court after finding his car parked illegally in a handicapped zone on Campbell Street, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report.\nMinger said Officer Douglas was on regular patrol duty when he found the vehicle. Minger said that after inspecting the vehicle, Wietlisbach found that its license plates were not attached to the vehicle to which they had been assigned.\nAccording to the report, officers contacted the owner of the license plate and found the vehicle was not in its grace period after a sale. Neither the vehicle nor the license plate had been reported stolen.\nPolice said as they were preparing to tow the vehicle, Garrison approached them, identifying himself as the owner of the car. According to the report, a driver's license check revealed that Garrison had a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear in court in Clark County for a charge of possession of marijuana.\nMinger said officers transported Garrison to the Monroe County Jail, where he would be held until being transported to Clark County.
(02/08/06 5:26am)
The Bloomington Faculty Council met in Ballantine Hall on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the first draft of a plan to raise the admissions standards for prospective freshmen of 2011.\nSuggestions for the changes had ranged from working to establish IU-Bloomington as an "elitist" University to not making any changes at all, but the draft proposed by the Educational Policies Committee of the BFC involved an increase in required college preparation classes and recommended class rank and SAT scores.\n"There is a range of views about how selective or elitist (the Bloomington campus) should become," said IU President Adam Herbert during a question-and-answer session at the meeting. "My belief is that if we can be somewhere close to the mean of the Big Ten, then that's not bad."\nA move toward the mean in terms of SAT scores would be a significant increase. This year's freshman class scored the lowest median out of any Big Ten school, a 1049, according to an Oct. 5, 2005, Indiana Daily Student article. \n"(Members of the committee) do not want us to remain dead last in the Big Ten in the quality of our student profile," Herbert said. "I think most of us would agree."\nBut Spanish and \nPortuguese professor Luis Davila said the increased SAT standards, along with a possible de-emphasis on class rank, could hurt IU-Bloomington's goal of increasing diversity. He pointed out that SAT scores and GPAs are on average lower in inner-city public schools.\n"That works against, ultimately, the disadvantaged," he said.\nOther members of the BFC expressed their concerns about increasing the importance of SAT scores, saying the scores are not always the best indicator of a student's future academic performance. If passed, the new admissions standards would aim to raise the SAT scores of the students in the 25th percentile of the profile by 50 points.\n"I think that talking about the SAT scores has been a good thing," said BFC President Ted Miller. "They're going to be taking them more seriously."\nThe proposed plan puts a greater emphasis on college preparation classes for admissions, changing the requirement from 28 to 33 credits. If passed, students would have to take seven credits of math instead of six, including one credit of pre-calculus. The number of required social science credits would increase from four to six and lab science credits would increase from two to four credits. The current admissions standards recommend four credits of world languages, while the BFC is proposing it as a requirement. The remaining credits would be more flexible, as long as they qualified as preparatory courses.\nEducational Policies Committee Co-Chairman William Wheeler said the requirement upgrade would make the student profile of IU-Bloomington comparable to that of a "top 30 university."\nJohn Carini, co-chairman of the Educational Policies Committee, told the council that the committee had considered increasing the standards, but decided the various divisions, such as the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Music that require separate admissions applications, do that job themselves.\n"Most of our students are coming in with this level of preparation or above," he said. "I don't think we're asking too much."\nThe draft of the new admissions standards also calls for an upgrade in the minimum of graduating class rank. If passed, preference will be given to Indiana residents who graduated in the top 45th percentile of their class. The current standard gives preference to students graduating in the top 50 percentile. The out-of-state standard, however, would actually be lowered. Wheeler said the University is not currently meeting the admissions standards it sets for out-of-state residents.\nDespite the proposed increase, Wheeler said class rank is becoming more and more obsolete because it is so dependent on what high school the student attended. He said 35 percent of high schools no longer even report it.\n"I think we're learning that class rank is becoming an increasingly meaningless concept," he said. "I wouldn't mind seeing it disappear."\nWheeler went on to predict that class rank will become completely meaningless by 2011.\nCouncil members will suggest changes if they deem them necessary, and Miller said the council hopes to discuss the admissions standards again at the March 7 meeting.