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(09/06/12 5:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rick Dietz and the other Indiana delegates were settled off to the side in the Time Warner Cable Arena. Despite the crowds, they had a clear line of sight as former President Bill Clinton took the stage.It was far from the first time Dietz, chair of the Monroe County Democrats, heard Clinton speak. The last time they met in person was in Bloomington four years ago. The former president was endorsing his wife, Hillary.This is the first time Clinton has supported President Barack Obama from the beginning of his campaign. Many analysts considered the speech the most important of the three-day convention, apart from Obama’s expected acceptance tonight.The crowd surged to its feet, even in the nosebleed seats.“Mr. Mayor, Democrats, we’re here to nominate the president,” Clinton opened. “And I’ve got one in mind.”He discussed the positive points of Obama’s track record, saying he has already overcome adversity.“I want to nominate a man who’s cool on the outside, but he burns for America on the inside,” Clinton said.He continued, “After last night, I want a man who had the good sense to marry Michelle Obama.”The crowd exploded.Clinton said the Republican narrative, or the “alternate universe,” says all who are successful are self-made.“You see, we believe we’re all in this together,” Clinton said. “It’s a far better philosophy than ‘You’re on your own.’”He asked the crowd who they believed. Nearly as one, they screamed, “You!”Dietz said Clinton’s speech and the Tuesday video speech from former President Jimmy Carter showed one of the many differences between Democrats and Republicans in this election cycle.“I think one of the things that separates the Democratic convention from the Republican is that we’re very proud of our former presidents,” Dietz said.Some critics have countered this view, saying Democrats focus on past success rather than the party’s future.“It doesn’t really make sense to me, from what we’ve seen at the convention,” Dietz said.Dietz mentioned the mayors from bigger cities, such as keynote speaker Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio, as examples of why that sentiment is wrong.“From what I’ve seen just the first day, the Republicans are totally outclassed,” Dietz said.
(09/06/12 4:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Not all the vendors selling buttons, stickers and T-shirts outside the Democratic National Convention brought memorabilia of President Barack Obama. One brought music.Tiffany Lewis, the Virginian owner of All That Jazz and More, “jumped through hoops” to plunk down a booth across the street from the Time Warner Cable Arena. Now, though, Lewis and other licensed vendors are concerned they could lose business to competition that did not register with the city or pay for licenses.“I do support our president, but this,” she gestured to her booth, “is my life.”It was hard to wander through the cramped space under her awning, but she invited passersby, though there were few, to gaze at and fall in love with her novelty gifts. There were painted miniature figurines of women singing into microphones and men puffing into saxophones. A 24-carat gold and crystal statuette of a treble clef stood near the back. Below it were tiny replicas of violins and clarinets, magnetic keyboards and violins. T-shirts asked passersby, “Got jazz?”Lewis did not start her career as an entrepreneur. Her thick, red business cards read “Tiffany Lewis, Ph.D.”She earned her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, master’s in mechanical engineering and doctorate in systems engineering. That was back when the Fortune 500 company she worked for paid for education. Shortly after she earned her last degree, they decided they didn’t need her, and she was laid off, she said.Lewis had been stressed as she worked full time and taught part time. When she found herself without a job, the idea occurred to her.She decorates her house in jazz and music novelty items, and she said they’re hard to find. Why not set up a kiosk in a mall?“Let’s not just sell music,” Lewis said. “Let’s sell music stuff.”Lewis has been in business for a little more than a year. She said she had her biggest sales boom last Christmas, but the DNC has been a little slower.Carolinafest, on Monday, was fantastic, she said. Since then, vendors just outside the convention have stopped foot traffic from venturing across the street to legal booths like hers.The paperwork she filed and fees she spent to make it here made it all the more bitter, she said, when the unlicensed vendors set up tables along the sidewalks directly outside the convention. Nobody has tried to stop them, and they’re taking business from legal vendors, she said.A man running the booth next to hers, who asked to be called Jim, said he and other vendors paid $3,000 to set up booths at the event. They had to obtain licenses and insurance from the City of Charlotte.The Charlotte business license alone was $200, Lewis said.Both wondered why city officials aren’t trying harder to keep out illegal street vendors, since the city and the DNC were adamant about licensing and insurance.“A lot of the people here don’t realize, but the life of a street vendor is hard,” Lewis said.
(09/05/12 5:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Few choose politicians as heroes. Hoosier George Hornedo did.Tuesday night, his hero, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, stood before a crowd during the opening day of the Democratic National Convention as its keynote speaker. Castro set the tone Democrats had emblazoned on banners across the city that the Republicans might have built it, but the Democrats made it possible. First lady Michelle Obama continued the message to the end of the first day.Hornedo, a page for the Indiana delegates, watched from the floor, squeezed in with delegates, the press and the public. Hornedo said he has looked to the mayor for possibilities since he was 11 years old. Hornedo, who moved to Indianapolis before high school, was originally from San Antonio. He said he won the spelling bee in sixth grade and was eventually a finalist in the national competition. Castro, then a city councilman, wrote him a letter of congratulations. Hornedo remembered. It was April 23, 2002. Hornedo’s parents had always encouraged him and his brother to look up to Castro and Castro’s brother, also a prominent Texas politician, as Latino role models. The letter gave Hornedo a concrete reason to do so.“He’s the definition of the American promise,” Hornedo said.Castro is the first Latino chosen as the keynote speaker of the DNC. Many of the last few DNC keynote speakers, including Barack Obama, John Kerry and Al Gore, returned during the following presidential cycle as the Democratic presidential nominees. Political analysts so far have said Castro could aim for a nomination as Texas governor, but only a few have asked whether he will be the 2016 presidential nominee and, possibly, the first Latino president.Castro opened with the story of his family and the struggles through immigration and education that led them, and him, to the keynote post at the DNC.Castro’s speech waxed and waned, eliciting laughter when he poked fun at his home state, Texas, and dropping to a quieter tone when he continued about differences in opportunity that divide students.“We know that you can’t be pro-business unless you’re pro-education,” he said.When he admitted he’d watched the Republican National Convention last week, the crowd booed. Castro made a face and continued, saying Obama is the president who will provide further opportunity.He gave the Democrats scattered around the floor a chant, “Mitt Romney says no.” He applied it to same-sex couples, rebuilding the middle class and protecting education.“So here’s what we’re going to say to Mitt Romney in November,” Castro said. “We’re gonna say no.”The crowd rallied even more enthusiastically behind Michelle Obama, who has enjoyed high approval ratings even among independents. Michelle Obama’s moment began with a video outlining her past before her marriage, her time as first lady and her family. The video focused heavily on her work to promote exercise and nutrition for children.The first lady was greeted by chanting, which didn’t cease even when she started speaking.The beginning of Michelle Obama’s speech focused on her time visiting families across the family and the life she and her nuclear family led before the 2008 election.
(09/04/12 11:17pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The city is hidden.Under clouds that are white up close but gray far away, Charlotte is flat and sprawling. Delegates, protesters and other visitors see little as their planes touch down at the airport in the city’s west side. The host city of the Democratic National Convention is hidden on the ground, too, by beautification projects designed to impress the entire country.By Tuesday, traffic was light with just a few cars dotting the highways. The airport wasn’t busy by then, either.Distinguished guests to the city, such as first lady Michelle Obama and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, arrived Monday and throughout the weekend.The houses are tall, and the buildings are squat. The tallest building downtown, which locals insist on calling “Uptown,” is the Duke Energy building. It looks like an elongated metal bucket complete with a handle on top.As the planes touch down, the city’s first greeting is a display of orange tubes and trucks sprawled alongside dirty hills. The sight of construction is familiar to Hoosier delegates.Everyone flying into Charlotte during the weekend had to figure out where to go once the planes spat them into the city. The airport responded to the influx of visitors by shutting down parts of the facility and rearranging entrances and exits.Outside, a tall statue of a queen bent over a fountain grimaces at the newcomers. Queen Charlotte.Uptown is dotted with parks, and many who enter comment on the loveliness of the city. Some of the parks are permanent, but many are temporary, hastily erected for a week of trying to inspire a more muted DNC crowd than the one in Denver in 2008.Welcome to Charlotte.
(09/04/12 11:15pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The city is hidden.Under clouds that are white up close but gray far away, Charlotte is flat and sprawling. Delegates, protesters and other visitors see little as their planes touch down at the airport in the city’s west side. The host city of the Democratic National Convention is hidden on the ground, too, by beautification projects designed to impress the entire country.By Tuesday, traffic was light with just a few cars dotting the highways. The airport wasn’t busy by then, either.Distinguished guests to the city, such as first lady Michelle Obama and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, arrived Monday and throughout the weekend.The houses are tall, and the buildings are squat. The tallest building downtown, which locals insist on calling “Uptown,” is the Duke Energy building. It looks like an elongated metal bucket complete with a handle on top.As the planes touch down, the city’s first greeting is a display of orange tubes and trucks sprawled alongside dirty hills. The sight of construction is familiar to Hoosier delegates.Everyone flying into Charlotte during the weekend had to figure out where to go once the planes spat them into the city. The airport responded to the influx of visitors by shutting down parts of the facility and rearranging entrances and exits.Outside, a tall statue of a queen bent over a fountain grimaces at the newcomers. Queen Charlotte.Uptown is dotted with parks, and many who enter comment on the loveliness of the city. Some of the parks are permanent, but many are temporary, hastily erected for a week of trying to inspire a more muted DNC crowd than the one in Denver in 2008.Welcome to Charlotte.
(08/31/12 3:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A man sporting a mustache has not been elected Indiana governor since 1808.John Gregg, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, could change that this year.Gregg visited the Monroe County Building Association meeting Thursday to discuss his campaign.“Oh,” said Keith Hanson, a sales manager at Menards, as Gregg took his place at the front of the dining hall. “His bumper stickers now make sense.” Gregg’s logo is a sweeping blue mustache.Several political columnists have predicted Gregg will not beat his opponent, U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-2nd District, in November. Pence has outspent and is more familiar to constituents than Gregg.The event started a little late. Gregg sat down with a plate of food at noon, when he was to begin speaking.A chair of the building association led the Pledge of Allegiance and listed multiple sponsors.“At this time, we’ll bring Mr. Gregg up here,” he said. There was a pause. “Here he is.”Gregg was in mid-bite. He walked to the front of the room, swallowing. After minor difficulty withthe microphone, he started to speak. He thanked the chairman for the shortest introduction he’s ever had, and the crowd chuckled.Gregg spent the first few minutes making up for the short preface. He explained his history as a Hoosier who put himself through a bachelor’s at IU and law school in Indianapolis. He spoke about his 16 years in the Indiana House but said he doesn’t consider himself a career politician.He said his goal as governor would be to bring back the days when congressmen from both parties worked together. He said he wants politicians to consider ideas rather than party labels.“If you’re a person who thinks ideas are good or bad, and you’re an idealist ... give me a shot,” he said.Gregg outlined his vision for Indiana, a future that includes opportunities in energy, agriculture, research and manufacturing. As he talked, people who had gazed down at their plates began to sit up. They unfolded their arms. Some began to lean forward, watching and nodding.He talked long about education. His own was from public institutions, he said, and he’s sick of what he calls a war on public education institutions.“I tell people the day I’m elected, the war on those institutions will end,” Gregg said.He said he wants teachers and parents to have a voice in the decisions about public education. He wants that governance to be bottom-up.This comes just a week after Pence said Pell Grants should be given to students, but those who fail to graduate in four years with a university-approved class plan should have the rest of their education covered by the university rather than by using government funds.Gregg stopped in the middle of his speech, looked down and shook his head.“We spend a lot of time in Indianapolis picking on people,” he said.Hoosiers can’t even agree on basketball tournaments and time zones, he continued. The crowd laughed.“Thank you for laughing, but it’s true,” he said.He ended on a light note, though. He mentioned the last mustached governor and he said his odds aren’t that bad despite the facial hair. His opponent is a sitting member of Congress, and Indiana hasn’t elected one of those for governor since 1888.Gregg said people will march into the polls in November, and they’ll wonder whether they should elect the guy with the mustache or the one in Congress.“Well,” he said, “the answer is right under your nose.”
(08/27/12 3:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Challengers in elections are nearly always less well-known than their opponents, a disadvantage come Election Day. Shelli Yoder wants voters to know her name.Yoder is the Democratic candidate for Indiana’s 9th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She challenges incumbent Rep. Todd Young, R-9th District. Yoder’s campaign recently expanded, and staff now work out of two headquarters. One is in a rented house on College Avenue. The other is in Jeffersonville, Ind., two hours from Bloomington and located at the far southeastern corner of the district.Katie Carlson, the campaign’s manager, said having two headquarters will help the campaign reach voters in the sprawling district.She said the campaign’s staff is growing, especially with the return of IU students. The campaign is offering internships, and 90 students have indicated interest so far. Carlson could not give a specific number that will be hired.“It’s how people can fit well into the program,” she said.Three IU students serve as internship coordinators for the campaign, interviewing, hiring and managing student interns with Carlson’s input. She said this allows the coordinators, who have worked with campaigns before, gain management experience before they graduate.With a growing staff and expanded headquarters, the campaign can outline and execute its objectives. Carlson said in addition to informing voters about Yoder’s name and platform, the campaign is focused on fundraising, field programs and denouncing Young’s actions during his two years in office.The campaign is fundraising to increase television and mail advertisements. The field volunteers and staff, who phone voters and go door-to-door, are invaluable, Carlson said.“There’s nobody better at talking about these issues than other people in the district affected by them,” Carlson said.Yoder was endorsed this month by the political action committee founded by former Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. The PAC, which is endorsing just a dozen congressional candidates, will fundraise on her behalf and send staff to train her Bloomington volunteers, Carlson said.The campaign continues to grow, and Carlson said both Tea and Libertarian Party identifiers have reached out to Yoder, who has met with them personally. Carlson said members of other political parties now volunteer for Yoder.“They really just want to be listened to,” Carlson said.For now, the main focus of the campaign is to spread Yoder’s name across southern Indiana.“But more importantly, the people of the 9th District need to be heard and represented,” Carlson said. “We don’t feel like Todd Young has done that so far.”She said she hopes the grassroots campaign will continue to grow as fundraising makes advertising more extensive.“There isn’t a party tied to just listening, but that’s what we want to do,” Carlson continued. “That’s why Shelli’s running.”
(08/27/12 3:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>During election season, the presidential candidates receive the most attention. But they are far from the only names on the November Monroe County ballot.Two Monroe County commissioner seats will open, and as the election looms, attention has returned to the commission.The commissioners have had public meetings at 9 a.m. every Friday since at least 1988. Some residents want that changed, and the issue has risen to the surface just months before the election.Scott Tibbs, a conservative blogger and political activist, started the conversation with a guest editorial in the Herald-Times. He said no one seemed concerned about the meeting times before then.Tibbs worries the early weekday meeting time prevents the public from attending and speaking, since most community members work at that time.“People do not have the opportunity to speak about legislation being considered,” Tibbs said. “Also, it excludes working people from running for commissioner.”He said it’s vital the public be allowed to speak at commissioner meetings, as the commission makes decisions about zoning, smoking ordinances and legislative issues.Since his guest article, Tibbs has written multiple posts on his blog endorsing evening meetings.“When the H-T surprisingly endorsed my idea two days later, the editorial board suggested the meeting could be Friday evening or Saturday ‘if there are weekly reports that aren’t available until Friday,’” Tibbs commented. “There is no ‘if’ here. The reports need to be done by close of business on Thursday afternoon, with the checks printed and ready to be signed.”Tibbs said many other county offices, such as the city council, have meetings in the evening, so the commissioners have no reason not to. Iris Kiesling, a current commissioner, said the claim that more people would attend later meetings is incorrect. She said the commissioners have tried several different meeting times, and few people attended the others.“9 a.m. is not the greatest time,” Kiesling said. “Some counties have them at 8 a.m., 10 a.m.”Kiesling said a later meeting time would require the commissioners to find somewhere other than the courthouse to assemble, which she said would be difficult if not impossible.“I’m concerned about paying overtime for our staff,” Kiesling said.The commissioners are not required to make time for the public to speak at their weekly meetings, though the Monroe County Commissioners do. Nelson Shaffer, a Republican commissioner candidate, endorsed the later meeting times. He posted a letter on Facebook that he said he submitted to the Herald-Times, though he doubted it would be published. “Enabling interested county citizens to participate in their government by holding evening meetings would be one step in the right direction,” Shaffer wrote. “Varied experiences can, and should, inform decisions that affect the public. The time of a ruling class with like-thinking advisors should be replaced with open discourse among the public and their elected officials.”Tibbs said no progress has been made to change the meeting times. He said he believes a Republican or Libertarian in the 2nd or 3rd districts would be more likely than a Democrat to push for change, however.“Do I think it will be changed? No, I don’t,” Tibbs said.Kiesling agreed with Tibbs, saying if meeting times change, it wouldn’t be before the end of the year.“They’ve tried many different times,” Kiesling said. “It didn’t work.”
(08/24/12 4:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>GREENWOOD, Ind. — The night began with a weather report. It ended with a rallying cry for Nov. 6.Shelli Yoder, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House’s Indiana 9th District, wandered among guests at the Johnson County Democrats’ Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner on Thursday at a Greenwood country club.She hadn’t made it to her seat when the local party’s chair began introductions. Even once she had, she leaned toward her neighbor at the table set before the podium and whispered, smiling.Former Greenwood, Ind., Mayor Margaret McGovern was the next to stand at the podium where only moments before a cardboard cutout of President Obama stood smiling at the assembled Democrats, mostly middle-aged and in suits and dresses, at round tables bedecked with white linens.“Hurricane Isaac is on its way to Tampa, where the Republicans will have their convention next week.”She paused. A few chuckled. Suddenly, the whole room began to applaud.It was God’s way, McGovern said, of addressing the war Republicans have waged on women. There was more applause.McGovern reminisced about days when Democrats went door to door in Johnson County, which encompasses Greenwood and Franklin, Ind., talking to voters, stopping by people’s homes, watching children so parents could make it to the polls.It isn’t merely the times that have changed, McGovern said. “It’s us,” she said. “Somewhere along the way we became convinced a Democrat couldn’t win in Johnson County.“Let’s turn back the clock.”In November, Yoder, a Bloomington resident and associate director of professional development at the Kelley School of Business, will face Rep. Todd Young, R-9th District, who won the seat in 2010 against Democrat incumbent Baron Hill.The buffet dinner began. Yoder rushed to the back, near the silver platters of food, to greet the diners as they loaded their plates with rice and chicken. She gave them smiles and hugs, and she left the line occasionally to greet tables, kneeling beside chairs and nodding as she listened.Yoder’s focus is education. She said she’s talked to district residents who believe the Affordable Care Act will prevent them care as they age or become ill.“It’s just not true,” she said.She was asked Thursday how she, a Bloomington resident, could represent the people an hour north in Greenwood. She said she tried to explain how the district system works.Yoder spoke after dinner, and her sentiment reflected McGovern’s comments about the war on women.Though has never run for office, Yoder said she thought often about the political system, discussing her thoughts with husband Josh Perry, who teaches business law and ethics at IU.“Specifically, I said to Josh, ‘Where are the strong women? I know they’re out there, because I see them every day. But where are they in our political system?’”She talked with her hands, jerking them as she finished a sentence or moving them in slow circles as she explained key points.She mentioned her past, discussing the gas station her parents owned that they eventually had to sell. She told the audience she relied on part-time jobs and her selection as Miss Indiana in 1992 to take her to college. She admitted that, as she considered the political system, she drifted toward cynicism.“I had one night to sleep on it,” she said. “The next day was the filing deadline.”She decided to run, packing herself and her husband into the family van for a trip to Indianapolis to file the paperwork. She did so with just 30 minutes to spare.She moved from her past into her opinions about her opponent. She discussed his voting record and his support of the Paul Ryan budget, which she said would reopen the Medicare hole. She said Young sponsored the bill Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., has recently taken heat for that categorizes cases of rape.Her remarks were met with angry mutters and still more applause.“I am out there working hard every day to spread a message of hope,” Yoder said, her voice growing louder as she continued. “I am out there every day saying we can do better. Things don’t have to be broken.”
(08/23/12 3:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana lieutenant governor doubles as secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development.This made the Aug. 15 debate between candidates state Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington, and state Rep. Sue Ellspermann, R-Ferdinand, particularly poignant.The debate was managed by AgrIInstitute, a nonprofit that teaches leadership skills to those in the agriculture industry, at the Indiana State Fair.The candidates discussed many facets of agriculture, including jobs, education and the role of the government in maintaining this industry.Simpson, who is running with Democrat John Gregg, discussed the importance of agriculture to the Indiana economy, though she did not discuss specific plans to protect or enrich the industry.“Agriculture is Indiana’s first industry, and even though it’s been around the longest, it remains key to the economic success of our people and our communities,” Simpson said. “Today, agriculture is a $25 billion dollar industry, and it employs 20 percent of our workforce. We must be thinking about how we can ensure these numbers remain strong and grow even more in the future.”Simpson said her and Gregg’s emphasis on bipartisanship in the House and Senate will better ensure progress for farmers than U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-6th district, and Ellspermann.“John Gregg and I foresee rural communities and families that are better served by collaborative rule-making, an emphasis on infrastructure — which includes broadband — and job growth efforts that aren’t solely focused on smokestacks,” Simpson said. “We want our communities to be places where people want to live, and where their children and grandchildren want to stay.”Simpson said the debate was timely, as much of the state currently faces severe drought conditions.“We certainly thank the men and women who toil every day to produce our farm, food, fiber, fuel and forestry products,” Simpson said. “In a Gregg-Simpson administration, I assure you, they’ll have a seat at the table.”The latest poll conducted by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce reported Pence and Ellspermann had the lead with 50 percent of votes. Gregg and Simpson received 32 percent, and Libertarian Rupert Boneham had 3 percent.
(08/22/12 2:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Erin Biebuyck combed the shelves at the Monroe County Public Library. Nothing. She searched IU’s online library system. Nothing there, either.Biebuyck began work in January as a woman’s advocate at Middle Way House, a shelter and advocacy organization for individuals who have experienced domestic violence. Biebuyck’s background was in history, gender and sexuality. She didn’t know how to talk to women who had lived in a cycle of control and submission. She didn’t know how to relate to people who had seen their children beaten or verbally assaulted, knowing they were next. She wasn’t sure how to encourage people to escape their own homes safely. She became determined to learn. But there were no books.She’s about to change that.Biebuyck and Lindsay Lauver, a May IU graduate and intern at Middle Way, began a program called Pages for Change on Aug. 1. The program will raise money to purchase books addressing domestic violence. They will be distributed to local and university libraries in the six Indiana counties Middle Way serves, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Lawrence, Greene and Martin.Biebuyck and Lauver selected 20 books covering both general and specific topics, Biebuyck said. They outline how to leave an abuser safely and to whom survivors can turn. Some are targeted toward specific groups.“We have one that’s bilingual in English and Spanish,” Biebuyck said. “We have another for African-American women, and one for women of south Asian origin.”She said some of the selected books target individuals of high socioeconomic status.“People usually assume domestic violence happens among the poor or uneducated,” Beibuyck said. “We learn that’s not the case, and there’s a lot of shame, regardless.”Biebuyck and Lauver have a fundraising goal of $9,000, which they are collecting through a website supported by startsomegood.com. They want to reach this goal by Sept. 19.With $9,000, Biebuyck said she would be able to purchase two sets of the 20 books for each library, which they would buy during the last two weeks of September and distribute by Oct. 1.She and Lauver have set a “tipping point” of $3,000. If this smaller goal is not reached, the money raised will return to donors, Biebuyck said.The smaller goal will allow the project to succeed even if Biebuyck’s best case scenario of $9,000 is not realized, she said. The deadline for the smaller goal is also Sept. 19.The fundraising website asks supporters to donate between $15 and $1,000.“A lot of people we know are students trying to make ends meet,” Biebuyck said. “But Lindsay and I thought, ‘I could donate $20.’ So I like this method.”Regardless, Biebuyck said she and Lauver will purchase the books and distribute them by October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If they don’t reach $9,000, Biebuyck said they will distribute one smaller set of books, which will be different for each library to cater to different demographics. The smaller sets are between 10 and 14 books per library, she said, and the average cost is $150 per set.Middle Way has been lucky in the project, Biebuyck said, as they partnered with Boxcar Books, a local nonprofit, for the project. Boxcar will sell Middle Way the books for 35 percent less than the list price. Biebuyck said this price is about the same Boxcar Books paid to obtain the books from publishers.The women have tag teamed as they try to promote the program, and Biebuyck said she has treated it as a side project because of her numerous other duties at Middle Way. Lauver was hired as an intern for the project, but her job as a barista at Soma Coffee House and Juice Bar keeps her busy. Much of the work is done at home. Biebuyck spends her off-hours sending emails, writing press releases and maintaining the website.The work has so far paid dividends. The website has garnered $1,724 in just 21 days.One donor wrote Biebuyck an email explaining her reason for donating. The donor, an IU alumna, said she did so in memory of her grandmother, a woman who might have had a better life if she’d been able to find help.“This is exactly the kind of resource many people, especially women, in that area would benefit from,” she tapped on her keyboard to a woman she’d never met. “The person I want to mention in the dedication, my late grandmother, born and raised in that area, could have had a life filled with much less pain if she’d had a resource like Middle Way House or books in her local library about abuse available to her when she was young, and I know she would have supported an effort such as this to help others in similar circumstances.”
(08/21/12 4:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Those who receive emails from President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign have seen the pleas.“I just got back from Iowa, where we are being outspent two to one on the air,” read a Friday email written from Obama’s perspective. “Voters there mentioned it to me more than once. We expect Mitt Romney and the Republicans to outspend us.“Will you make a donation of $5 or more?”It’s a common appeal during election season, but Obama’s camp is not alone in the projection that the president is behind in campaign fundraising.Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said Monday Republican hopeful Mitt Romney’s campaign has an $189.5 million stockpile it will soon use to outspend Obama. Obama’s campaign has failed to disclose how much it has in reserve but has raised less than the Romney campaign for several months.Rick Dietz, chair of the Monroe County Democrats, said he wasn’t surprised by the news.“With campaign spending through Super PACs, it’s hard to imagine Romney not raising more money,” Dietz said. “He’s going to appeal more to billionaires and corporations than Obama is.”The Democratic Party is robust in Monroe County, and despite national figures, Dietz said the local campaign is strong, though it is not the national campaign’s priority.“Both the Romney and Obama campaigns are not putting a lot of emphasis on Indiana,” Dietz said. “The organization there will be pretty minimal on both sides. The Senate, House and governor’s races have a lot more attention.”Dietz said what is important is the source of donations rather than the amount.“Certainly in the primaries, Romney’s campaign was largely funded by corporations,” Dietz said. “You’ve got a handful of people who are bank rolling campaigns. “There’s a certain democratic element to raising funds in smaller amounts from regular people. It means there’s a real buy-in to your campaign. If you’re heavily reliant on Super PACs ... that’s an indication you really don’t have that support.”Priebus said during a CNN interview the Romney campaign will dominate television ads beginning the Republican convention next week in Tampa, Fla. He said this will continue through the fall.Dietz predicted this will not hurt public recognition of the president and his policies.“In the campaign, you don’t have to have the most money, but you do have to reach a certain threshold to be competitive,” Dietz said. “After that point, it doesn’t really matter so much what the total is. I’m fairly certain Obama is going to hit that threshold.” Trailing in spending is a new problem for the Obama campaign, which outspent Sen. John McCain’s, R-Ariz., campaign by more than $400 million in 2008. His spending exceeded the combined spending of 2004 candidates President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.The candidate who spent the most during election season has won the last three presidential campaigns.It isn’t only spending in which the Obama campaign lags behind its still undeclared opponent. Romney’s campaign and the RNC raised more than Obama and the Democratic National Committee in May, June and July. Romney raised $101.3 million in July, $26 million more than the Obama campaign.Many analysts project the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as Romney’s running mate will only improve fundraising efforts.“We are in control of that outcome, but our time to close the gap is dwindling,” Obama’s campaign email continued. “After three consecutive months of being significantly outraised, it couldn’t be more urgent.”Romney has stated before his goal to raise $800 million during this election season, $22 million more than Obama raised and more than $400 million more than McCain raised in 2008.In a June blog post for Obama’s campaign website written by Lauren Peterson, his campaign claimed Obama would be the first president in modern history to be outspent in a reelection campaign.“We can be outspent and still win, but we can’t be outspent 10 to 1 and still win,” the post read, quoting Obama.
(08/17/12 4:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana Senate race has been peppered with surprises since Republican Sen. Richard Lugar, the third longest-serving member in the Senate, was ousted by Tea Party-backed Republican Richard Mourdock in the May primary. Mourdock will appear alongside Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-2nd District, in a race two recent polls project will be extremely tight.Mourdock led Donnelly 41 to 39 percent in a poll released Thursday by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and prepared by Market Research Insight. Seventeen percent were undecided, and 3 percent supported Andy Horning, the Libertarian candidate.Donnelly led Mourdock, however, 45 to 43 percent in a poll for Majority PAC, a Democratic interest group. The poll, which was also released Thursday, was conducted by the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group.These numbers are inconclusive, as both polls report a 4 percent margin of error. With this adjustment, both polls report the race could go either way.Both campaigns will likely turn to independent voters to decide the race. The Chamber poll reported 41 percent of independents remained undecided. The poll further showed that, among independents, 25 percent supported Donnelly, 21 percent supported Mourdock and 14 percent supported Horning. Results among party members were more predictable, with 83 percent of Democrats for Donnelly and 80 percent of Republicans for Mourdock. The Chamber also inquired about the Indiana governor’s race, which will pit U.S. Rep. Mike Pence against Democrat John Gregg. Pence had a lead with 50 percent of the vote, while Gregg lagged at 32 percent. Undecided voters could change the direction of the race, as 15 percent identified themselves thus. Libertarian Rupert Boneham was chosen by 3 percent of those polled.The Chamber polled 600 possible voters. The Majority PAC questioned 601.
(04/23/12 1:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>About 300 people were ticketed by police this year during the “World’s Greatest College Weekend.” Tom Rhodes, Monroe County Community Corrections director, said 271 people were at the Monroe County Justice Center early Sunday morning after they were ticketed for offenses during Little 500 weekend.The atmosphere outside the justice building was not as somber as one might think. People standing in the line, which wrapped around the building, were laughing. One woman took photos of her friends with her cell phone. A man standing at the top of the steps leading to the square, granite building said, “I got tackled by cops two nights ago.”Some in line were eligible for a quick, albeit expensive, solution. It was a pre-trial diversion program. People ticketed for misdemeanors who had no previous convictions and were facing charges not involving violence or operating a vehicle were eligible. They were able to speak to workers from the prosecutor’s office about their options, but most people eligible for the pre-trial diversion program do it, Rhodes said, because it keeps the charge off their record. The program involved four parts for people after they arrived at the justice building and decided to participate: a $424 fine, four hours of community service the same day, an alcohol education class and a year of probation.Many Bloomington residents, therefore, had a Sunday that started at 8:30 a.m. with a wait in a long line and ended that night after an alcohol education class. But after that day — apart from probation — it was done.Others were not so lucky.Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff was one of several judges listening to cases not eligible for pre-trial diversion early Sunday, a time, she pointed out to the courtroom, when it is not common to see judges.The courtroom was as far from a “Law & Order” set as one can imagine. Green carpet lined the floor, chairs and walls. Light wood paneling covered the walls, doors and judge’s desk. There were no long pews, no area set aside for a jury. It was a small, bright room, but the moods of the people waiting to talk to the judge made it dismal.No one was talking and laughing in this room. People were sleeping, staring off into the distance or crying. One woman sitting next to her mother in the front of the room was visibly upset. Unlike the people next to her in dirty sweats, she’d donned a black skirt and flats. The woman, Alexandria Carmen, 22, had pinned up her brown curly hair. She’d taken time to do her makeup before coming in, but her face was red from crying.Diekhoff spent about five minutes on each case. A name would be called, and the person would walk to the bench. Diekhoff explained their charges and asked how they wanted to plead. Some pled guilty and waited until later to talk with Diekhoff again about sentencing. Others wanted to wait to decide how to plead or plead not guilty, and Diekhoff assigned them another court date, usually late in May.As people approached the bench, Carmen’s mother leaned toward her. “I can’t go up there, can I?” she asked.Carmen shook her head.After about 15 minutes, Carmen’s name was called. Her charge was a Class B misdemeanor public intoxication. She couldn’t choose the diversion because she was charged after drinking underage a few years ago.Bob Miller, the chief deputy prosecutor in Monroe County, offered her a deal that would result in a $1 fine plus court costs of $165 if she pled guilty. The deal, however, would leave the charge on her record.Carmen chose to plead guilty. Diekhoff asked her to sit on the side of the room away from everyone waiting to talk to the judge until she’d talked to everyone.Another woman was offered the same deal as Carmen. But when Diekhoff explained the deal, the woman tossed her hair and asked, “As opposed to what?”Diekhoff answered, but she also explained how easy the county was making dealing with the woman’s charges. It isn’t normal for a judge to listen to people on a Sunday morning, she said.“Do you see how many people are downstairs?” Diekhoff asked. “Do you see how many people are in this room? Do you know how many people were arrested during the weekend in Bloomington?” It was only 9:35 a.m. when Diekhoff was through with everyone and could call Carmen back to the bench. She invited Carmen’s mother to come with her.As soon as Carmen was before the judge again, she launched into an apology, explaining how embarrassed she was. Diekhoff seemed tired but appreciative as she listened.“I have a lot going for me,” Carmen said while holding back tears.She explained that she was going to graduate in two weeks and had a job in Indianapolis. She was afraid they were going to do a background check, and she asked if there was a way to keep the charge off her record.Diekhoff swore her in. She pled guilty to the misdemeanor and agreed to pay the total of $166 before May 31. Then Diekhoff asked her why she didn’t qualify for the diversion.“Underage,” she said.Diekhoff shook her head. “You know, you really need to stop doing this.”“I know — ”“Two arrests like this, and you’re, what?”“Twenty-two.”Diekhoff told her that if she’s charged with anything like this again, judges will not be lenient another time. With two drinking charges already, she’ll look like trouble.But, for the moment, Carmen was safe. Diekhoff said that because she brought her mother, offered a sincere apology and understood how she’d messed up, she could write a letter to the court and receive a dismissal. After that, she could go back to her life.“So, enjoy your job,” Diekhoff said. “Stay out of trouble.”Carmen nodded. “I sincerely thank you.”
(04/20/12 5:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>One hundred and thirty-four people were unable to avoid the Indiana State Excise Police during last year’s Little 500 weekend. The excise police issued 167 tickets to those individuals, the highest number since 2008. IU police, Bloomington police and officers borrowed from nearby police departments, such as Ellettsville and Indianapolis, will be on patrol this week.IUPD Chief Keith Cash offered advice for avoiding him and his colleagues.IDS What is the most common crime that results in arrest during Little 500 week? CASH Most offenses are alcohol-related. Persons are either violating an alcohol law, underage drinking or public intoxication. Those intoxicated sometimes break other laws, such as vandalism or fighting.IDS What are police looking for in particular this week? CASH Anyone drawing attention to themselves with behavior that shows they cannot care for themselves (and) large gatherings or soon-to-be large gatherings with drinking and noise-related complaints.IDS How can students stay safe during the week? CASH If they choose to drink, they should do so responsibly, and they shouldn’t engage in behaviors that invite the attention of the police.IDS How would you say students can have fun and still operate within the law this week? CASH If they choose to party, do so in a responsible manner that will not draw the attention of the police.IDS If students legally drink at bars, how should they get home this week without violating public intoxication laws? This summer, a ruling made vehicles public places.CASH This shouldn’t change the way persons travel. It is still appropriate to use a designated driver or use some form of public transportation if someone has consumed more alcohol than will allow them to safely operate a vehicle or to walk safely home.— Mary Kenney
(04/16/12 3:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Foundation-issued bicycles crunch on the cinders as they make circles on the track at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Two of the four women of Rainbow Cycling lean against the chain link fence separating the track from the bleachers, watching their competition practice.Some of the women have been on this track for three races. Some saw it for the first time this year during cycling practice.But this difference in experience will not necessarily decide the Little 500 Women’s Race.Rainbow Cycling is in the middle of the field. Their qualification time of 02:52.96 placed them 16 out of 33, a comfortable spot for a team only 2 years old.Juniors Torrey Byrd, Sarah Hugus and Kristen Coleman and senior Rachel Curley form the team backed by Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services this year, though they’re affiliated with the center only because they joined the team. Two are veterans, two are rookies. All joined the team for one main reason — they want to ride.Kristen’s eyes are hidden by reflective sunglasses as she gazes into the distance, reflecting on the minutes and seconds so crucial to a bike race. She shifts her weight from foot to foot, ready to start cycling.Kristen, a rookie, thinks about her teammates — who are the strongest riders, who are better in support roles? There isn’t a clear divide between the rookies and the veterans, she says.“I don’t think age is a huge factor, unless there are a lot of veterans — ”“I mean,” Torrey, a veteran, cuts in, “you guys are the two best on our team. So I’d say it doesn’t matter at all.”Neither Torrey nor Kristen are part of the GLBT center. Both identify as heterosexual. But the center gave them a chance to ride, and they seized it.Kristen heard about the team through a friend, and Torrey says recruitment for the team usually happens that way.The original Rainbow Cycling team was in the men’s Little 500 and debuted in 2006. Though the team did not return, its founder, Jacob Sinex, did. He now coaches the women’s team.“Oh, Jacob,” Torrey laughs. “We all love Jacob.”It’s strong camaraderie that marks Rainbow Cycling, both women agree.It’s kept the women strong through long months of training — they began taking long rides together in August to start building the muscle groups required to ride the 25.49 miles of the women’s race.Kristen remembers early rides from campus to Lake Monroe. They circled the lake on those rides. It was a perfect, if painful, way to familiarize the women with the sport.As a result, Kristen says she is in much better shape than before she joined the team.“Being on a team has been good motivation because you don’t want to let them down,” she says.But the team is about more than the exercise, building tradition and friendship. It’s about a community.“It’s our way of supporting people, even though it’s an unorthodox way to support GLBT,” Torrey says.Having a team affiliated with the GLBT center is a way to spread awareness and support for a strong community, Kristen agrees.“It’s giving them a team to root for,” Kristen says.
(03/29/12 4:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students have barely heard from local Occupy groups for months. That changed Wednesday with a protest that wound around Ballantine Hall, through the Sample Gates and down 10th Street.It wasn’t strictly an Occupy IU protest, but the group was among the organizers for “Spring Awakening: A Mobile Noise Demonstration,” which attendees formed to protest “tuition increases, University privatization and campus apathy,” according to the event’s Facebook page.Fourteen people arrived at 12:20 p.m. at the red clock between Woodburn Hall and Ballantine Hall to distribute hand-painted signs. Some were cardboard, painted with messages such as “No campus cops.” Others were thicker plastic, painted to look like commonly banned books, such as “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Ulysses.”One man carted a speaker in a blue wheelbarrow to blast songs with heavy bass lines.People slowly trickled in, bringing ukuleles, guitars and drums.About 30 people were gathered around the red clock by the 12:30 p.m. start time. They milled about, deciding how to start.One man stepped out from the crowd, addressing students on the sidewalk.“School costs too much!”His friends behind him laughed, and he turned to them. “Is that even controversial?”He tried again, taking a different tack. “Tuition is too low! Let’s go invade other countries!”A girl clad in pink plaid played a trumpet fanfare to quiet the group, which hovered at about 40 people. She climbed on a low stone wall, and someone handed her a megaphone.“What is the public?” senior Karissa McKelvey began.McKelvey talked about IU President Michael McRobbie’s 12-percent pay increase from the 2010-11 to the 2011-12 school year. She discussed the 5.5-percent tuition increase for the same year. She belabored the pay cuts University employees experienced.Students walking down North Forest Avenue toward Ballantine stopped to listen as she finished with a demand to the IU trustees, the state and the country to give citizens free education.The crowd joined her, chanting “free education” amid music from the various instruments and squeals from the noisemakers. The tour of campus began from there. The protestors walked to Beck Chapel and looped between Wylie Hall and the Chemistry Building, finally stopping to regroup in the plaza between Ballantine and Jordan Hall.“Let’s go through Ballantine!” someone shouted, spawning a debate. They wanted to reach the students and faculty in the building, but they knew IU police were aware of their presence on campus, and that wasn’t the type of attention they wanted.The need to reach students won out. The protestors decided to whisper rather than shout chants inside, but they stomped loudly as they passed full classrooms.They started in the back of the building, and classes quickly became alerted to their presence. Students peered out of classrooms. Some smiled, some chuckled. Many shook their heads and turned away.“They say cuts, we say fight. Education is our right!” the group chanted.They were about to exit the building near Beck Chapel, but someone saw a police car, and they turned back inside. They found an exit in the smaller of Ballantine’s two parking garages, and they cheered once they were out.The group, now more than 40 students and residents, took a path across Jordan River and turned left at Woodburn Hall, headed for Showalter Fountain. There, McKelvey reminded participants it was lunch time for people in the dorms. They headed to Wright Quad, blocking Seventh Street and Jordan Avenue.Every person in the dining hall looked up as the group crashed past tables and napkin holders, shouting the need for free education.The group left Wright and headed down 10th Street, blocking the eastbound lane in front of the Kelley School of Business. Protesters laughed and danced as drivers in the cars behind them threw their hands up in frustration.The group blocked Woodlawn Avenue on the northbound side as it targeted Collins Living-Learning Center. Protesters marched into Edmondson Hall, which contains the food court, and planted themselves between tables half-filled with diners. “They say cuts. We say fight!”Staff in Collins made the group leave, but the protesters weren’t done with Collins. Kelly Thomas, a doctoral candidate, gave a speech as one protestor, an alumnus who refused to give his name, took down the American and Indiana flags that had flown in the Collins courtyard. A group of Collins residents gathered around him to ask him to stop, but he did not.“Protests are fine as long as they’re respectful,” said Kevin Tanner, a sophomore and Collins resident. “I even agree with the message. But this isn’t respectful.”Thomas, meanwhile, talked about the purpose of schooling in the United States.She called it training for the capitalist rat race.The group withdrew, moving south down Woodlawn Avenue, again blocking northbound traffic. Protesters walked through Dunn Meadow to the Sample Gates, and as the people carrying signs painted to look like books formed a line, one protestor yelled, “You are being robbed! Your education will not equal a job, and it should not equal a job. Your education should be for you, not them!”They headed back to the Indiana Memorial Union and marched inside, shouting and stomping — though they were quiet as they crept through the sleeping room. They headed out and downstairs to Dunn Meadow, the last stop after a long, tiring and emotional protest. “I’d say that was a success!” someone identified as Con Rail on Facebook wrote on the event wall at about 3:53 p.m. “Good work everybody; way to tear it up like gangstas.”
(03/23/12 3:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Chuck Dietzen received his bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, his master’s from IU and is a classically trained doctor, but the first time an intern shadowed him, the intern said, “It appears to me you’re a social worker, Dr. Chuck.”Dietzen’s concept of medicine goes beyond traditional surgery. In his words, he focuses on “what a patient really needs.” In 1997, he founded Timmy Global Health to provide patients worldwide with the wellness resources they require.“If we lead an exemplary life, then those people who are around us, work with us, who see what we’re doing learn ‘I can do that, I can be that,’” Deitzen said. “You can be an ordinary person doing extraordinary things.”For Timmy Global Health, “extraordinary things” can be as complicated as curing cancer to as simple as cleaning water. Timmy Global Health is an organization that partners with international health groups to assist in implementing various initiatives. These include educating students, recruiting volunteers and empowering medical professionals with knowledge about global development and new health challenges. Timmy also gives financial assistance to organizations in developing countries.Timmy directs special attention to Ecuador, Guatemala, Nigeria and the Dominican Republic, but the organization also has strong ties to Indiana. The nonprofit is headquartered in Indianapolis.Dietzen has personally traveled to more than 23 countries during 80 medical assistance trips.“When you work with these children, the profound impact they have on what’s truly important is a revelation,” Dietzen said. Dietzen remembers a trip to India in which he treated 26 children suffering from Pott Disease, or spinal tuberculosis. He estimates there are 3 million individuals with this ailment worldwide. “I’m going to get to every one of those kids somehow,” Dietzen said. “If those 26 touch 26, and those 26 touch 26, and I get to go to the U.S. and give speeches to rooms like this, we’ll get 3 million.” Students interested in being involved with Timmy can join or start a Timmy Global Health Chapter at their school. IU has one of 17 university chapters, and there are four high school chapters. The chapters’ goals are to fundraise for the organization and spread awareness about its goals.
(03/21/12 3:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Kahri Wernimont was still in the fresh stages of mourning, but she needed to speak at her husband’s funeral. She was afraid that if she didn’t, Aaron’s strong faith in God would be overlooked.Aaron, a graduate student in optometry at IU, died the morning of March 13. He was asleep and suddenly had trouble breathing. Kahri called an ambulance, but Aaron didn’t make it to the hospital.She was one of the dozens of old undergraduate friends, new graduate school friends and family members packed into the gymnasium of Pocahontas Area Community School in Pocahontas, Iowa, for the funeral. Having the ceremony there meant no one had to be turned away from celebrating the life of Aaron Wernimont.Now, bewildered members of Aaron’s life remember the successful, almost unbelievable life that ended so abruptly and without obvious cause.***The wrestling team at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, was in a state of ecstasy. They’d just won the team’s ninth NCAA Division III wrestling championship, a heated victory.The wrestlers laughed and accepted congratulations from fans and prepared themselves for the afterparty.Three days later came a cold slap. Co-Head Coach Eric Keller was informed that one of the program’s most successful alumni, Aaron, had died suddenly. The congratulations the team received were now mingled with condolences.Keller had spoken with Aaron the night the team won the championship. There was nothing wrong with him — no medical problems, no medications. Keller said Aaron had told him he was training for a marathon.“Then he died Tuesday morning,” Keller said. “He was all excited for our guys, for our after-tournament social. Last time I talked to him was just a couple nights before.”***Keller and Aaron were closer than just coach and athlete. They were friends.Keller remembered a day when he and his family had planned to head to a lake late in summer. Aaron’s family had a cabin on the lake and offered it and the family’s boat to Keller.He did more, though. Aaron had to work the day Keller and his two sons, wife, father, brother and sister planned to visit. Before they arrived, Aaron set up the boat, tubing equipment and water skis. The family arrived, and Aaron greeted them warmly before he had to rush to work.“That was classic Aaron,” Keller said. “He was so excited for us, to see us have a good time.”That energy carried Aaron through three years of wrestling at Wartburg and a year of coaching.“To have someone with that natural ability to lead people,” Keller started, trailing off. “It was along the lines of how he carried himself. How he came to the practice room every day. That’s more powerful any day than someone who just talks all the time.”Aaron transferred to Wartburg after a year at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Keller said Aaron was easygoing and fit in better at the college than the academy.“He got to Wartburg, and he found a family,” Keller said.He also found a niche. During his time at Wartburg, Aaron was a three-time All-American. He won his last 80 matches, including the 157-pound national titles in 2008 and 2009.Keller said the team used to joke that Aaron’s multiple talents were somewhat ridiculous.“We used to joke that the guy’s got looks, brains, athleticism. He’s got it all,” Keller said, smiling. “And he did.”Aaron considered coaching to be a profession, Keller said. He loved interacting with the wrestlers, and the men he worked with considered him a mentor. Keller said Aaron asked him and the other head coach whether he was cut out to be a college wrestling coach.The two coaches told him he was, but that he shouldn’t do it. He was too good for it.“We told him — we said, you can be a doctor. Us two, we can’t be doctors,” Keller said. “The guy had so much to offer, we’re like, ‘You have to go do something else, man.’”Aaron’s strong grades helped him reach that goal when he enrolled in IU’s optometry school. Keller said Aaron told him it was a great fit, and Keller wasn’t surprised. Aaron had a knack for everything he tried.***Today, Keller follows Kahri’s desire to spread the mission of Aaron’s life. The importance he placed on church and religion shaped Aaron, Keller said.“I think it’s powerful to mention because there are so many people who wondered why he was always smiling,” Keller said. “I think for his sake, he’d want that known.”In that packed, hot gymnasium in Iowa, Keller made sure he did mention it, among other qualities. Aaron’s energy. Intelligence. Drive to succeed.“He was the kind of guy you hope your kids grow up and be like one day,” Keller said. “I don’t know a better compliment than that. I have two young boys myself, 4 and 2, and I’d have no problem with them being just like him.”
(03/09/12 4:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Nine miles away from a disaster relief site, the pungent smell of gasoline mixed with smoke from chainsaws permeates the town of Henryville, Ind. The stench is one of the remnants of the tornado that devastated the area only one week ago.Two women walk into Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg, Ind., close to one another, nearly arm in arm.Little would make them stand out in a crowd. They’re clad in jeans and old sweatshirts, with graying hair pulled back in braids. One wears a black-and-yellow letter jacket with “Henryville” in swirly letters sewn on the back.Rain is falling hard, and the two duck into Ogle Hall at Ivy Tech. They aren’t students or professors, but they need to be there. Their only opportunity for income is inside.Several state agencies have pooled resources to make the campus a “one-stop shop,” allowing people affected by the March 2 tornado to apply for unemployment support, file insurance claims and replace lost birth certificates and drivers’ licenses.Geraldine Noble, 57, and Patty Stewart, 51, call themselves a “dynamic duo,” and they say that bond is the only reason they can cope with the destruction of Henryville, Ind.***On March 2, Geraldine and Patty were at work in Henryville’s elementary and junior-senior high school, emptying trash cans and mopping the floors of the town’s only school. The two performed their jobs with little enthusiasm, going through basic routines. They had no idea that in a matter of hours, most of the building would be gone.The wind outside scared them, though, as did the radar showing red and yellow masses spreading through southern Indiana. A town in Illinois had been destroyed only two days before by storms newscasters said were headed their way.As the weather worsened, Geraldine and Patty decided their safety was more important than their work shift. They and Geraldine’s daughter, a student in the high school, and two of the girl’s friends rushed to Patty’s Kia Soul, piling into the small car to head to a neighbor’s house. The five of them joined another family in a spacious basement, and they waited for the storms.Patty said the storms hit at about 3:15 p.m., but they couldn’t hear anything at first. Darkness fell outside, and the quiet was deafening.Only a few minutes later, baseball-sized hail slammed into the house and Patty’s car, which was parked outside. Patty said it sounded like cannonballs hitting the roof.It seemed as though the storm lasted forever. Patty and Geraldine assumed after a while that it had to be about 6 p.m. They checked a watch. It was just shy of 4 p.m.When they emerged from the basement hours later, the skyline had changed.Trees littered the roads and yards, and glass was scattered outside the house. Patty had no idea what to expect next. Geraldine looked around her, and entire houses were gone.“You just lose all track of time,” Geraldine said. “I’m still in shock.”***Henryville remains as in shock as Geraldine. The Thursday after the storm, the skies are still a roiling dark gray, and rain falls hard on volunteers stacking tree trunks as if they were piles of twigs.Phone line wires crisscross in muddy puddles. Cars, trucks and vans snake through one cleared road in the town, and many are packed with furniture and clothes.West Clark Community Schools Bus 211 is still lodged in the front of Budroe’s Family Restaurant, where it landed last week. Someone has scrawled “Allstate call me! Julie and Todd Money” in black permanent marker across the hood of a blue Pontiac Vibe. Trees uprooted in a backyard of a one-story white house grow slick in the rain, but a row of daffodils remains unspoiled.There are some signs of cleanup. Inmates from Clark County and other surrounding communities are brought in to clean up the streets. United Way volunteers hand out water.The sky begins to darken at about 10 a.m. Contractors set up lights with bright bulbs on any flat surface they can find. The weather station reports a strong wind is coming. People begin to tie down makeshift tents covering food and water. There aren’t supposed to be strong storms, but the people of Henryville will probably never take a strong wind lightly again.Outside the school that once provided Geraldine and Patty’s livelihoods, there’s a traffic sign that spells “No School” in orange light bulbs. It flickers to finish “Week of March 5.”Pieces of metal cling to the sides of the building in some places, but most have been ripped away like tissue paper.That school provided Geraldine with what she, a single mother, needed to support her daughter, who could go to college soon. It gave Patty a steady schedule and standard of living to rely upon.But one storm tore the school and their lives away.It’s time to rebuild those lives.***Inside one of two new buildings at Ivy Tech, Geraldine and Patty find people in bright red shirts with “State of Indiana Disaster Response Team” stenciled in white, bold letters. Workers from various Indiana agencies — the Department of Education, Family and Social Services Administration and others — lead people to a back room. Inside are stacked boxes of paperwork and rows of tables with laptops and cords in small piles. Using Dell laptops, extension cords and a small bit of good faith, the agency workers will try to help people recreate legal documents.Gary Green, director of student services at the Indiana Department of Education, is “on loan,” in his own words, to Clark County for the relief effort. He says Indiana agencies are trying to replace necessary identification, offer mental health services and provide tetanus shots to those cut by glass or metal in the storm.“They found paperwork from Henryville in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky,” Green says, shaking his head.The response team plans to stay at Ivy Tech for at least 10 days but will stay as long as it receives valid requests for help, Green says.The Federal Emergency Management Agency is still assessing the damage in Clark County. Once President Barack Obama declares the area a disaster zone, Green says the agency will be able to provide faster service to the victims.Driving rain and cold wind linger, but Geraldine and Patty have survived worse. After making their way inside, they talk to people from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.Geraldine needs the money for her daughter. She needs to receive money lost from not being able to work, and she needs her insurance claim to be processed quickly. She lost her Saturn and her daughter’s Chevrolet Cavalier in the storm.The department told her she would need to wait three to four weeks for the check to come in the mail — a long time for a woman with no other income.“But they’re helping,” she says. “I still have my house. I’m luckier than most. Now, I just have to wait.”