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(11/07/02 5:03am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Keely Beckner waited in line three hours to apply for winter heating assistance.\nBut by the time she reached the front of the line Monday at Community Action of Greater Indianapolis, it was too late to apply that day. She had to return Tuesday and wait again -- in a cold, steady rain this time -- for much-needed heating help.\n"It's never been this bad," said the 38-year-old Beckner, who needs kidney dialysis three times a week and missed Monday's appointment waiting for heating help.\nCommunity action agencies throughout Indiana began taking applications this week from the elderly, disabled and those in emergency situations who need help paying heating bills this winter.\nOther low-income households in need of help can begin applying Nov. 18.\nThe program, which is run through the federal government, serves households with incomes at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level, which for a family of four is an annual income of about $22,625.\nThe average household benefit is roughly $250 for the entire heating season.\nIndiana is expected to receive $36 million to $43 million through the federal Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, said Dave Menzer, utility campaign organizer for the Citizens Action Coalition.\nWhatever the final figure is, it likely will not be enough to help all those in need, Menzer said.\n"It's a recurring problem every winter, and every winter the state runs out of funds," he said.\nBecause of the sluggish economy, more Hoosiers are expected to be in need of heating assistance this winter.\nAnd with natural gas prices projected to increase an average of 20 percent to 40 percent, money available for assistance programs will not stretch as far as in the past.\n"There's a lot of folks in trouble this year," said Bob Schmidt, executive director of ACTION, Inc. of Delaware County in Muncie, which serves Delaware and Grant counties. "The demand is very, very high this year. The working poor are just barely making it."\nSchmidt said many of those who have come to his agency this week are on the verge of having their service disconnected and need help.\nAlthough natural gas prices are increasing, the amount of money Schmidt's agency has to distribute does not rise with the costs.
(11/07/02 5:01am)
PAOLI, Ind.-- A one-room schoolhouse in southern Indiana's Orange County has been approved for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.\nFormer Lynd School teacher Bethel Cornwell received a letter last notifying her of the distinction.\nThe nearly 130-year-old building, which served as a voting site for Tuesday's elections, has been listed on the Indiana Register of Historic Places since August.\nThe letter was read during an event held at the schoolhouse last week, Cornwell said.\n"When we read the letter, they all clapped their hands great big. They're happy too," she said. "It makes you feel like we've got something special in Stampers Creek Township, for it is the only one-room school left around here."\nBRAZIL, Ind. -- The Indianapolis law firm that represented the Clay Community school board in a lawsuit filed by a former school board member is asking the school district to pay a $7,200 bill for legal expenses.\nBose, McKinney and Evans represented the school board in a lawsuit filed by former school board member David Wise, who accused the board of violating Indiana's open meetings law by discussing school board candidates in executive session.\nA judge in Clay Circuit Court ruled that the school board did not violate the law. Wise has said he will appeal the decision.\nLegal expenses to be paid by the school district will increase because the bill covers legal services only from May 2 to July 30, and the trial did not take place until October.\nThe law firm's claim was filed in October but was not made public until this week. School corporation business manager Randy Burns said Friday he was unsure whether the bill was a public record before it was presented to the school board.
(11/05/02 5:57am)
Bloomington voters will notice only minor changes to the voting process today as registered voters head to the polls.\nThe polling sites in Bloomington will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at various locations across campus and Monroe County.\nStudents who have registered to vote may do so at the polling place which corresponds with their district. \nVoting will take place at Foster, Willkie, Teter and Briscoe Quads, Read Center, Assembly Hall South Lobby, University School gym lobby and other sites.\nPolling places will function in the same way they have in the past, Monroe County Elections Supervisor Tara Stogsdill said. \n"The only thing that is going to be new is that clerks will ask for a driver's license number or the last four digits of the social security number," Stogsdill said.\nPolitical Science Clinical Assistant Professor Christine Barbour said she encourages students to make it to the polls today.\n"If you don't vote, your interests don't get heard. If your interests don't get heard you can't complain if your interests don't get attended to," Barbour said.\nShe said she hopes that efforts by INPIRG and Democratic get-out-the-vote drives will help bring people to the polls.\nVoters will have several selections to make on this year's ballot.\nBloomington's Mayor John Fernandez (Dem.) is running a highly contested race for Secretary of State against Todd Rokita (Rep.) and Rebecca Sink-Burris (Lib.), who is also from Bloomington.\nVoters may cast their ballot for Connie K. Nass (Rep.), Barbara Huston (Dem.) or Bruce Parisi (Lib.) as Auditor of State, and Day Smith (Dem.), Sam Goldstein (Lib.) or Tim Berry, (Rep.) as Treasurer of State.\nThere are two U.S. Representative districts within Monroe County. Voters in the 9th District will choose between Baron P. Hill (Dem.), Jeff Melton (Green), Al Cox (Lib.) and Mike Sodrel (Rep.). 4th District voters can select Bill Abbott (Dem.), Jerry L. Susong (Lib.) or Steve Buyer (Rep.). \nState representative positions are up for election as well, in both District 60 and 61. District 60 voters can select Peggy Welch (Dem.), Jim Billingsley (Lib.) or L. David Sabbagh (Rep.). District 61 candidates are Matt Pierce (Dem.) and Clark Brittain (Lib.).\nVoters can also choose Patrick M. Schrems (Dem.) or Carl A. Salzmann (Rep.) as Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney.\nCounty council positions and other county offices will be on the ballot as well.\nVoting in Bloomington will be a new experience for many underclassmen this fall, and some said they are not planning to vote at all.\n"I just never went and registered," freshman Andrea Holbrook said. "My voting wouldn't be right, it wouldn't be very fair, because I don't know which side to vote for."\nFreshman Becky Brown said she won't be voting tomorrow because she voted in her hometown election in Jennings County.\n"I actually registered to vote in my hometown and voted by absentee ballot," Brown said. "I figured it would be better to vote where I knew the views and the issues rather than choosing randomly." \nYoung voter rates are low because those voters don't feel the issues apply to them, Barbour said. Because the turnout rates are low, politicians don't direct their issues to young voters, so it creates a complicated circle, she said.\nFor voting questions, call the Monroe County Clerk's Office at 349-2600.
(10/22/02 6:32am)
Police arrest 4 in connection with meth operation\nCOLUMBUS, Ind. -- An early morning police stakeout at a farm led to four arrests of people accused in the theft of anhydrous ammonia that can be used to make methamphetamines.\nThe owner of the farm in eastern Bartholomew County had reported previous thefts of the farm chemical, sheriff's Capt. Stan Franke said. An informant told investigators that another theft at the farm was expected, leading to the surveillance effort, Franke said.\nTwo sheriff's detectives and two reserve deputies hid near an ammonia tank as two people stole some of the chemical about 2 a.m. Friday, Franke said. The pair were picked up by two people in a car.\nOfficers stopped the car a short time later and reported finding ammonia and other items used to make methamphetamine.\nThe four were being held on charges of possession of a controlled substance.\nOfficers in the sheriff's and police departments had previously conducted surveillance on the property, but without seeing any thefts occur, Franke said.\n'To End All Wars' wins top prize \nat local film festival\nINDIANAPOLIS -- "To End All Wars," a drama about Scottish soldiers held captive by the Japanese in World War II, won the top prize at the 11th annual Heartland Film Festival.\nThe not-for-profit festival honors life-affirming films, with screenings held at theaters across the city.\nSeventeen independent films collected Crystal Heart Awards and a total of $105,400 at the annual awards gala Saturday.\n"To End All Wars" received the $50,000 grand prize. The $14 million film is based on the true story of a young Scottish soldier captured with his regiment and forced to build a railway through a jungle in Thailand.\nThe film was directed by David L. Cunningham, with stars Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland, Ciaran McMenamin and Sakae Kimura.\nThe festival is supported through foundations, grants, and donations from corporations and individuals. More than 300 volunteers are working on this year's event, which runs through Friday.\nIndiana man injured in Nebraska power plant fire\nNORFOLK, Neb. -- A worker from Martinsville, Ind., was critically burned in an explosion at the Nucor power plant.\nJeremy Monk, 28, was in critical condition Sunday night at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, a nursing supervisor said. Monk was flown to the hospital after the explosion Saturday evening.\nFirefighters were able put out the fire and got Monk and another injured worker away from it. Jason Ingram, 29, of Rio Rancho, N.M., was treated and released for smoke inhalation.\nIt was not known what caused the explosion, the Norfolk Fire Division said. No other details were immediately available.
(10/22/02 6:14am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Democrats who control the Indiana House are shooting at it. Democratic Gov. Frank O'Bannon is taking shots at it, too. So is the Indiana Democratic Party.\nAs a group, Republicans who rule the Indiana Senate aren't saying anything about it. Senate Democrats are taking a collective pass, too, seemingly resigned with a sigh to still being outnumbered big time come Nov. 6, the day after the upcoming election.\nCall it pie-in-the-sky, too costly, trying to have it all ways.\nCall it what you want or say nothing about it at all, but of the O'Bannon administration and the four caucuses in the General Assembly, the only group with a pre-election, pre-session plan for taking on Indiana's lingering problems is House Republicans.\n"Right now it's the only plan for the future of the state, because most other state leaders are silent at a time when our state is in near-crisis mode," House Republican Leader Brian Bosma said. "It's not just political, it's an issue of leadership."\nWithout much backing from House Republicans, the General Assembly passed a major tax-increase and tax-restructuring plan during a special session in June.\nIt was designed to shore up the state's budget deficit, shield most homeowners from big property tax increases and create jobs.\nIn time, it might create jobs and turn Indiana's economy around. But for now, the state still has a big budget deficit, and the national recession still has a grip on Indiana.\nTo help turn things around, House Republicans are proposing new tax breaks for businesses that create jobs. They're proposing a state spending cap at 99 percent of projected revenues.\nThey want a commission appointed to root out government mismanagement and agency duplication. They want to expand the state government program that helps low-income seniors pay for prescription drugs.\nThey want to shorten the ISTEP test and make teachers take tests to ensure they know what they're teaching.\nHouse Democrats say the proposals are costly and hypocritical.\n"Just a week ago, the House Republicans were calling for massive cuts in state spending and now they say they want an expansion of programs that will cost our state easily $100 million or more," said House Ways and Means Chairman B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend.\n"Indiana does not have that kind of money, especially during the national recession."\nDemocrats also accused House Republicans of campaigning on the state's time by having staff put out news releases that were political pieces, not policy pieces.\nHouse Republicans dismissed the claim and continued playing up their proposals.\n"House Republicans are proud but somewhat surprised to be the only caucus that is talking about a pre-session agenda before the election," said Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale.\n"We think it's very disappointing ... that the House Democrat reaction was not one of releasing their own agenda, but in fact, simply crying because we have an agenda and are willing to share it with Hoosiers."\nIt's an agenda that might not win them the majority on Nov. 5, but Espich and Bosma are right about one thing. When it comes to future state policy, it is the only agenda out there right now.
(10/22/02 6:10am)
Incumbent backs health care for senior citizens, families\nSince 1998, Peggy Welch, the democratic candidate for Indiana State Representative in District 60, has represented portions of Greene, Monroe and Lawrence counties, working to improve the quality of life not only for those residents, but for all of Indiana. \nAs a part of the Local Government, Public Health and the Ways and Means committees, Welch has strongly enforced her platforms of job creation, homeowner protection, Hoosier health and strong education.\nA registered nurse at Bloomington Hospital, Welch said she supports long-term care options for senior citizens and their families, as well as financial management of Medicaid dollars. Welch also said she is an advocate for reducing costs and increasing access to prescription drugs and new medical technologies.\n"As a nurse, I am interested in issues that provide healthier environments and better protection for our citizens," Welch said. "That is one of the reasons I worked so hard for the passage of the .08 bill. However, we must continue to find ways to keep drunk drivers off the road and hold accountable those who break the law."\nShe said she plans to support the current trend of improvement among Hoosier schools. She said she supports a greater amount of parental input and more choices in their children's schools and education.\nCandidate focuses on education, broader school selection\nJim Billingsley (Lib.), an employee of the IU Physical Plant, is running for the Indiana House of Representatives in District 60. \nHe said he wants to focus his campaign on education, because he said financial difficulty prevents each child from attending the most appropriate school. \n"I entered this race to bring the very important issue of educational freedom or 'School Choice' into the arena of public debate," Billingsley said.\nHe also said in order to provide the best education for each child, families should consider all kinds of schools -- including public schooling, independent schooling or homeschooling.\nBillingsley said if families choose to send their children to a private school, they will have to pay taxes to the government for public education as well as to the private school of their choice. \n"They cannot afford the unfair 'double payment penalty' of tuition, materials, or forgone income (in homeschool families) for the non-government school setting they desire, while still paying the full load of burdensome taxes for the government schools they don't desire," Billingsley said.\nTo give each family an opportunity to consider all schools, Billingsley said his campaign backs a $1,750 educational tax credit. He said if tuition for a private school is $5,000, families need to spend $3,250 for the education of their selection. \nBesides the endorsement of broader school selection for children, Billingsley said the state government should limit its spending to the 1998 level and keep the rate of state spending increase lower than that of inflation. \nBillingsley also said he supports the right of people's gun ownership and defends individual property rights.\nHoosier hopes business experience will help leadership\nAfter growing up in West Lafayette, L. David Sabbagh said he believes his business experience in Bloomington and as the current 5th District City Council Representative will help create the leadership he believes is lacking in the state government.\n"I'm running because Indiana in the last several years has had a lack of leadership. The last budget passed was $600 million out of balance," Sabbagh said. "I believe that there is a lack of leadership in the governor's office and the House of Representatives. With my background, I believe I could provide the missing leadership."\nOriginally, Sabbagh was a professor of mathematics at Bowling Green University. He moved to Bloomington in 1982 and has been a businessman since. \nOver the years, Sabbagh said he has helped the community by providing jobs in his engineering analysis software business to graduate and undergraduate students from IU, Purdue University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.\nThrough his business, Sabbagh said he has strongly supported the two issues he is most concerned with: investment in education and investment in jobs.\n"Part of my platform is gaming money for education," Sabbagh said. "One of those sub-plots is for supporting college students in return for them staying in the state to work after graduation. There is over $500 million in gaming money each year. I want to use part of that money for education, such as free textbooks for students in grades K-12."\nAs for jobs, Sabbagh said he wants to keep as many graduates in the state as possible to help further economic development. He said he would like to do it with good economic development and tax credits.\n"I want tax credits to increase job creation. I would like to see a sales tax exemption for Research and Development equipment, and have that tax exemption be permanent," he said.
(10/22/02 6:07am)
Democrat wants to expend more effort for a better future\nDemocratic candidate for the Indiana House of Representatives Matt Pierce has an experienced background which he said he hopes will help in his long-range goal of improving the quality of the state of Indiana.\nPierce said he is running for the position because he believes Indiana needs to expend more efforts on working toward a better future.\n"I think the General Assembly should be asking itself what kind of state it wants to be in 10 years and what it could do to be there," Pierce said.\nTo accomplish this goal, Pierce said he believes attention and resources should be removed from the excessive amount of crisis management at the state house and for the state to begin to question what it is doing for the future of Indiana. \nPierce said he is also mainly concerned with what the state can do to support higher education and the local schools, better preserve and protect the environment, improve economic development and maintain new jobs and small business and make health care more accessible and affordable to everyone. \nIf elected, Pierce said he believes his experience working with the House of Representatives will be a great asset to the position.\n"The decision for the house majority leader to retire is a great loss of influence at the State House for the community because he had 16 years of seniority and leadership as the majority leader. He had a lot of influence over the processes of the House," Pierce said. "While a freshman cannot replace that influence, I believe my background will give me a lot of advantages over a lot of other freshman representatives."\nBorn in Northern Indiana, Pierce grew up in Eastern Pennsylvania, but later returned to Indiana in 1980 to attend IU, where he was vice president of IUSA in the 1982-1983 school year. Pierce received his B. A. in Political Science and Telecommunications, then went to law school to complete his education. \nAfter law school, Pierce headed to the House of Representatives, where he spent ten years there, then for the final two years as the elected principle clerk. From 1995 to 1998, Pierce served on the Bloomington City Council, then as the Chief of Staff until October 2002 for U.S. Representative Baron Hill.\nDrug prohibition a major campaign issue for Libertarian\nDr. Clark Brittain (Lib.) said he seeks to fill the District 61 Indiana House of Representatives seat to be vacated by long term Democrat and House Majority Leader, Mark Kruzan of Bloomington. \nBrittain said once he is in office, he hopes to tackle drug prohibition issues.\n"As a physician I see the devastation that the war on drugs has caused, which is much worse than the drug use itself. I seek to change that," Brittain said.\nBrittain said he stands firmly by the Libertarian party platform of being fiscally conservative and socially tolerant. He said many Indiana politicians understand that drug laws need to be changed, but they are unable to speak with a united voice in Indianapolis. \nBrittain also said he is for the legalization of medicinal marijuana and believes other drugs should be more readily available to prescribe to addicts in a scheduled manner to help them overcome their addictions. He said that it is scientifically verifiable that maintenance therapy helps conquer addictions, but the idea doesn't appeal to our emotions. \nBrittain said he does not smoke marijuana or use drugs himself, even avoiding caffeine, but said he believes the wishes of others should be respected. \nBrittain, 54, is a Bloomington physician, owns a Ob/Gyn clinic in Bloomington and is an assistant clinical professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine.
(10/22/02 5:49am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- State health officials said Monday they had identified 26 new probable human cases of West Nile virus.\nThis brings the total number of probable or confirmed human cases of the virus in Indiana to 228.\nNo specific information was released about those suspected to have the mosquito-borne infection.\nState health officials said the ages of those infected in Indiana range from less than 2 to 89, with a median age of 50. Men have 109 of the cases and 119 are female.\nOnly 36 of the probable 228 probable cases have been confirmed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\nThe counties with the new cases are: Adams, four; Allen, eight; Elkhart, three; Grant, two; Howard, one; Lake, four; Marion, one; Porter, one; and Whitley, two.\nAllen County has the most probable human cases in the state with 62 total. State health officials believe six Indiana residents have died from the virus.\nThe virus, which is mostly spread through mosquito bites, has infected 3,231 people across the country so far this year and killed 176, the CDC said. Most people bitten by an infected mosquito never get sick.\nState health officials said they did not expect a significant decrease in the number of new cases until a hard frost kills many mosquitoes.
(10/18/02 5:10am)
OOLITIC, Ind. -- Most people have never heard of the tiny Indiana towns of Oolitic, Ellettsville and Stinesville.\nBut anyone who has visited the Empire State Building, the Pentagon or the U.S. Capitol has seen the stately gray limestone that generations of Indiana stoneworkers have painstakingly pulled from earth around these towns, and hand-crafted into the building blocks that form banks, state capitols and courthouses throughout the country.\nThe projects are as varied as the landscape. Crews renovating the Empire State Building are using replacement stone quarried by Indiana Limestone Co., which also provided the original limestone for the building in 1931.\nIn Washington, D.C., the Pentagon, left with a gaping hole on one side during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was rebuilt with Indiana limestone.\nAnd in Philadelphia, nearly 2 acres of the stone is being used to build the National Constitution Center -- a 160,000-square-foot center dedicated to the U.S. Constitution and how it affects the daily lives of Americans.\n"Limestone is the nation's building stone," said Liz Barszczewski, the center's spokeswoman.\nAbout 80 percent of the limestone quarried in the United States comes from Indiana, though there also are pockets of the rock in Tennessee, Alabama and Texas.\nIndiana is rich in limestone from a shallow sea that dried up more than 350 million years ago and left the limestone behind. The limestone is the deepest and most uniform deposit found anywhere in the country, said Jim Owens, executive director of the Indiana Limestone Institute of America, a Bedford-based trade association.\nIn south-central Indiana, limestone has been an important source of jobs since before the Civil War and still provides a livelihood for hundreds of families.\nAfter extensive fires in Chicago and Boston in the 1870s burned large parts of those cities, limestone was in high demand for its durability and because it tended to show the least fire damage of many commonly used building materials.\nThe country's largest limestone quarrying and fabrication company, the Indiana Limestone Co. based in nearby Bedford, is providing the stone for the Constitutional Center in Philadelphia.
(10/10/02 5:47am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Republicans vying for control of the Indiana House pledged efforts Tuesday to make more seniors eligible for state prescription drug benefits, and help people save more for retirement.\nTheir proposals would expand the number of low-income seniors eligible under the HoosierRx program from an estimated 30,000 to 100,000. The program allows some residents age 65 and older to shave 50 percent off their medication costs up to yearly limits of $500, $750 or $1,000.\n"We think they have paid a lot into the state of Indiana over their lives, not only in taxes but in building this state, and the least we can do is make sure they have prescription drugs they need at an affordable price," said Rep. Mike Murphy, R-Indianapolis.\nDemocrats, who control the House 53-47, said the GOP proposals would cost more than $100 million at a time when the state still faces a budget deficit.\n"Even in good times this would be tough to do," said House Ways and Means Chairman B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend. "In tough times, they are really airing something that gives false hope to people."\nAlthough Democrats hold a slim majority now, all 100 seats are on the November ballot and control of the chamber is in contention. The party that wins will wield tremendous power over legislation and state spending over the next two years.\nRepublicans said they could pay for their plans by controlling overall state spending and rooting out inefficiencies in state government.\nTheir proposal would extend prescription drug benefits to seniors with incomes at 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($1,476 for a single person, $1,990 for a couple) who are not covered under other government or private plans.\nThe current limit is 133 percent of the poverty level, which is $997 a month for a single person and $1,344 for a married couple.\nHouse Republicans also want to cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for low-income seniors who face so-called "catastrophic" illness expenses. Murphy said he hoped the cap could be lower than $4,000 a year.\nThe GOP also proposed what it called a "Nest Egg Protection Act." Among other things, it would exempt dividend and interest income up to $1,000 from state taxes.\nRep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, said the tax exemptions would cost the state about $30 million a year. Because of the state's budget crunch, it could be limited initially to senior citizens at a cost between $10 million to $15 million, he said.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
The suspect arrested in connection with the rash of SUV vandalism over the weekend denies any involvement. Police linked the suspect to only one case of vandalism out of the 40 committed in the city and on campus Friday and Saturday. \nHe said he was jumped by two men while walking home from a bar and has been mistakenly accused.\nThe Bloomington Police Department has had more than 60 reports of vandalism to sport utility vehicles and other high-end cars such as BMWs since the beginning of September. Bloomington Police Capt. Joe Qualters said the apparently related cases involve slashed tires and defacement with spray paint.\nMost of the vandalism took place between Eighth and 11th Streets and Grant Street and Park Avenue, Qualters said. The police have beefed up their nightly patrols in those and other neighborhoods.\nOn campus, much of the vandalism took place along the Seventh Street corridor, IU Police Department Sgt. Chad Bennett said.\nA handful of luxury cars have been defaced, but police say the vandals have targeted mostly SUVs. While some victims believe it is a political statement made by radical environmentalists, Qualters said police don't have enough evidence to support such a conclusion. \nAn investigation continues, but police have only made one arrest in connection with the rash of vandalism.\nAccording to the police report, two men -- whose names the police cannot disclose -- spotted a man kneeling down by a hissing tire at the corner of 11th and Grant Streets early Sunday morning. The report said the two men called out to the suspect and he took off running.\nThey detained the suspect after a struggle, the police report said. According to the report, both the suspect and one of the men were injured in the scuffle.\nOfficers then arrived on the scene and made an arrest at 4:06 a.m., according to the report. The officers reported noticing paint on the suspect's jacket, which Qualters said has been taken to the lab for testing.\nAfter searching the suspect and the surrounding area, the officers reported that they could not locate the sharp object the man allegedly used in the act of vandalism. The suspect was taken briefly to the hospital for X-rays and then to the police station for questioning. \nMussie F. Debessay, of 406 E. 11th St., a 27-year-old graduate student, faces a preliminary charge of criminal mischief, a class D felony. He was bonded out of the Monroe County Correctional Facility Sunday afternoon on $500 cash bail and $2,000 surety, a prison spokesman said.\nVandalism cases totaling more than $2,500 in damages result in the felony charge, Qualters said. \nWhen contacted by an IDS reporter Sunday evening, Debessay declined to comment before he could speak with an attorney. He has since decided to come forward with his version of Sunday's events. \n"I have been unable to leave the house," said Debessay, a international student from East Africa who has only been in the country two years. "I would never do illegal things, stupid things."\nDebassay said he had been returning home from a bar when he was accosted by two men while taking a shortcut through an alley near his apartment complex. He said the men asked him what he was doing there and then assaulted him.\n"They beat me bad for some time," he said. "I was trying to escape, to run away. I didn't want to go back to my house because it was very close and they would try to follow me."\nDebassay said he was dragged to a nearby house, where the men kept him on the porch until the police arrived. He said he didn't know why he was arrested until he was released from jail. \nDebassay's face is badly bruised and scraped, and all of his front teeth are chipped. His lips were still swollen Wednesday evening; his left eye still severely blood-shot. \n"The police just accepted what they said," he said. "They should investigate those men to know what happened."\nA master's student in education, Debassay said he has been unable to attend classes or work for the past week. He said his only hope is that his name is cleared.\nThe police are conducting an investigation into the rash of vandalism. Qualters urged anyone who observes suspicious behavior to call the Bloomington Police Department at 339-4477.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, many people have questions. And many of them are children.\nDr. Linda Smith, a psychology professor, recommends not telling children under age five about events of terrorism simply because they can't comprehend what's going on, and it only causes unnecessary stress. Adults should expose young children to traumatizing events only if a significant person in the child's life was affected, she said.\nBut, she said, it's essential for parents to talk about the issue if children are worried. \nOlder elementary students, who are more exposed to the media, might have the gist of the recent attacks, but Smith said they might need an adult figure to help them fully grasp the situation.\n"Parents do need to help interpret it for kids over eight years old," Smith said.\nShe said parents should be honest with children and also reassure them of their safety. \nFor children in school, the responsibility is still on the parents' shoulders, but teachers and faculty must also acknowledge the issue carefully.\nThe administration of Broadview Elementary School, 705 W. Coolidge Drive, did just that. \nFourth, fifth and sixth graders watched approximately 15 minutes of the news about terrorism in the United States and teachers opened discussion, which Smith said she highly recommends.\n"The key is to reassure kids that the school is a safe place to be," said Doug Waltz, principal of Broadview.\nWhile some area schools dismissed students on the Tuesday of the attacks, others beefed up security. Normally, all but one of the doors are locked at Broadview for safety -- a routine practice before the attacks.\nRhonda Caldwell, an intermediate special education teacher at Broadview, said the children knew they were safe and felt reassured.\nA few parents picked up their kids from Broadview, Waltz said, but the normal routine went on.\n"The kids couldn't fathom why someone would deliberately take thousands of lives," Waltz said. \nSmith and Caldwell said that the traumatic happenings shouldn't be pushed to the foreground.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
For the past three and a half weeks, Bloomington resident Steps to Freedom has been living with his fellow peace protesters in Dunn Meadow. Steps to Freedom is the spiritual name of Sean Bagley. He adopted his spiritual name and cast off his old one as "legal fiction." \nSteps to Freedom, who prefers to go by "Steps," and his fellow protesters have camped out to protest the bombing in Afghanistan. Steps' tent is a gathering place for many of the protesters; they've set up a make-shift mess under its canopy. Nearby is a wood stove that has been brought out to keep the protesters warm through the winter. Steps spends the day outside with his fellow protesters and makes a special effort to greet passers-by warmly. \nBart Peiffer, 41, a former student in 1986 and 1987 from Pennsylvania, came back to Bloomington to finish his degree in mathematics and philosophy. He said he joined the peace movement because of Steps.\n"Steps is propelling. He gives you a will to become active," he said. "He gives you an inner energy."\nAlthough Steps said he feels that "some people despise us because they think our free-speech is anti-American," he said the Bloomington community has been very supportive. Many residents have brought them supplies such as food and blankets.\nSteps said he sees the war as a futile effort. \n"The war won't work, it will just create more terrorism," he said. "What's the point in killing and starving millions of people?" \nHe said he's disappointed that the United States has not proven that the Taliban or Osama bin Laden were involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. Because of this, Steps said he does not support the attack.\nHe urges Americans to "combat hate with love" and stresses that the United States did not try any other solutions. He describes the war as a "knee-jerk response" caused by an emotional reaction, which he sees as short-sighted.\nSteps said he sees the attacks on the United States as a product of America's foreign policy. \n"The people were interested in being treated as humans, not commodities," Steps said. \nSteps to Freedom has very specific demands from the U.S. government. First on his list is to abolish the CIA. He stresses that it has never been proven that bin Laden was behind the attacks on the United States and he leaves open the possibility of CIA involvement. His demands change in U.S. foreign policy. But, Steps is also frightened by Congress' new anti-terrorism bill and is concerned for Muslims in America.\nSteps makes it clear just how determined he is. \n"We're here till the war's over and they say that could be years," he said. \nBut, he does say that it would be nice for the war to end before the winter so he can go home. \nUntil then, company continues to join him.\nJay Settlemeyer, who followed his girlfriend to the peace camp, became active when he realized that he held similar views as Steps. \n"I'm into following the rainbow, going wherever that takes me," he said. "And Steps gives me the inspiration to do so." \nStaff reporter Eric Baker contributed to this story.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
DETROIT -- Kmart Corp., the discount chain that gave America the BlueLight Special and introduced Martha Stewart home fashions at cut-rate prices, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday.\nKmart becomes the biggest retailer in history to seek court protection from creditors.\nThe nation's No. 3 discounter had long struggled to compete with the low prices of Wal-Mart and the up-to-the-minute products at Target. It went into an alarmingly steep slide after a disappointing holiday season, and failed to pay its top food supplier $78 million over the weekend.\nAnalysts said they expect Kmart to close as many as 700 of its 2,114 U.S. stores. Kmart said only that it will close weak stores and that it expects to emerge from Chapter 11 next year.\n"We are determined to complete our reorganization as quickly and smoothly as possible," chief executive Chuck Conaway said.\nKmart, which has 275,000 employees, said it has secured $2 billion in financing to keep going.\nOn the New York Stock Exchange, Kmart stock dropped 60 percent Tuesday, or $1.04, to close at 70 cents. Its stock had traded as high as $13.55 last summer.\nBy the time Kmart figures out its business strategy, customers may have found somewhere else to shop. Analysts said filing for bankruptcy means the shelves are not going to be fully stocked, something Kmart is already struggling with.\n"You're going to frustrate customers and they're going to go and it's going to be hard to get them back," said Emme Kozloff with Bernstein Sanford.\nThe first Kmart discount store was founded in 1962 and the chain got its official corporate badge in 1977, when the S.S. Kresge Co. changed its name to Kmart Corp.\nKmart introduced the BlueLight Special in 1965, flashing blue police lights in the aisles to lure customers to discounted items.\nThe Martha Stewart Everyday brand, which includes sheets, towels, paints and kitchenware, is Kmart's largest volume-producing label, generating about $1.5 billion in sales last year.\nStewart has a provision in her contract that allows her to exit Kmart in case of bankruptcy, but such a move has to be approved by a bankruptcy judge. Martha Stewart officials did not return calls for comment.\nKmart has nearly $16.3 billion in assets, making it the largest retailer ever to declare bankruptcy. Federated Department Stores, with $9.1 billion in assets, was the biggest when it filed for bankruptcy in 1990.\nLast week, Kmart ousted its president and named a new chairman, James Adamson, to replace Conaway, who remains as chief executive. On Tuesday, it named Ronald Hutchison as the head of its restructuring.\nHutchison, 51, was most recently chief financial officer of Advantica Restaurant Group Inc., where he and Adamson were instrumental in the company's reorganization.\nFaced with the successes of Wal-Mart and Target, Kmart has tried to go after the mother through partnerships with Stewart, Walt Disney and Sesame Street. Analysts said the strategy still lacks clarity.\n"I think it will be extremely difficult to pull out of this," said Kevin Murphy, a research director of retail operations at Gartner G2, a research firm. "Just cutting back on unprofitable stores isn't going to save the company ... they need to find some point of focus."\nThe bankruptcy filing in federal court in Chicago was good news for Kmart's suppliers, including food wholesaler Fleming Cos. The compaany cut off shipments Monday, saying it was owed $78 million.\nFleming said Tuesday it intends to resume deliveries to Kmart "upon receiving satisfactory assurances from Kmart, via the bankruptcy court."\nOther suppliers have delayed or stopped shipments to Kmart, but the bankruptcy filing is expected to restore their confidence.\nStill, "the one thing Chapter 11 can't solve is the quality of actual merchandise and sales," bankruptcy expert Martin Zohn of Proskauer Rose LLP said.\nAt Big Kmart in Roseville, Mich., cashier Rita Sassin, 55, said the company had to make sure it kept shelves full for customers.\n"To heck with the rain checks, they want the items," she said.
(11/01/01 5:24am)
As development in Bloomington moves west, downtown businesses work to attract and maintain consumers. \nPart of an ongoing plan that revitalized Kirkwood Avenue last year included the renovation of People's Park.\nWhile businesses are happy with the new downtown, concerns remain that those hanging out in People's Park and on Kirkwood might discourage visitors from enjoying downtown. \n"Businesses are calling us complaining about people who are hanging out in the park and on Kirkwood causing problems for people," said Captain Mike Diekoff of the Bloomington Police Department.\nBut some Bloomington youth workers like Erin O'Shea, a volunteer youth outreach worker for the Shalom Community Center, said the youth hanging out in People's Park are not necessarily a problem. \n"This has always been a spot for that subculture of our youth that feel like they've slipped through the cracks," he said. "They band together in order to feel like they have a family. A lot of these kids out here are each other's family. For kids out there without hope, it's a safe place for them to come."\nBloomington Police Department records show police responses to People's Park increased nearly 40 percent since it reopened last May, but more than half of the time, no official action was taken. \nDiekoff said while it is difficult to pinpoint the reason for the increased number of police stops at the park, businesses' concerns are a factor.\nSuspicious persons, vandalism, disturbances, loud parties and drugs form the bulk of the reasons people call police, according to BPD records since May. \nAll of these drive consumers away, and that is what downtown businesses want to stop.\nTalisha Coppock, executive director of the Commission for Downtown Bloomington, works with downtown businesses. She said she realizes that People's Park has always attracted people with different thoughts and issues, and she believes businesses respect that. But it becomes a problem when there is illegal activity, she said. \nBusinesses close to the park declined to comment on whether they have called police about goings on at the park.\nJunior Adam Brumm lives across from People's Park on Dunn Street. He said he has noticed that Tuesdays, when the parks department has concerts, a wider variety of people use the park, but usually it is the same crowd that hung out there before the renovations. \n"It looks a lot nicer," he said, "but they have a lot of the same situations over there."\nBrumm said he called police when people from the park climbed the fire escape on his building to smoke marijuana.\nAlthough he said he has been verbally harassed and even spit at when walking through the park, he tries to avoid conflict with park users. \n"They stay in the park, and I stay over here," Brumm said from the steps of his building.\nBrad Wilhelm, youth director at Rhino's All Age Music Club, questioned the assumptions about the kids hanging out in the park.\n"I'm not saying there's not kids drinking when they're supposed to be, or there might be drug dealing going on down there," he said. "But there's drug dealing going on at high school football games. There's drug dealing going on at churches."\nWilhelm said he believes the park is a place for kids who for one reason or another do not fit into more traditional youth programming. \nO'Shea said he saw the vandalism that took place soon after the park reopened as the work of "little kids," who need an outlet for their energy. He has tried to create a positive outlet by providing board games for them to play in the park. So far, he said, everyone has respected and appreciated the games. O'Shea's involvement with the youth is personal because as a Bloomington native, he himself hung out in the park as a teenager. \n"I used to be one of these kids," he said, "but now I've got things I'm doing with my life. But I still consider them kin." \nO'Shea said he believes understanding would help alleviate some of the tension felt between those who hang out in the park and those who don't.\n"When people don't understand something, they label it and fear it," he said. "They don't get to know it"
(10/29/01 3:27pm)
A fire destroyed a vacant downtown building early this morning.\nSmoke continued to billow hours later from the building's remaining hotspots, leaving much of the area of a light haze.\nThe fire spread through the warehouse at 316 S. Washington St. around 2:30 a.m. Bloomington Police Officer Tiffany Willingham was on duty shortly after that when she noticed the fire. Fire crews were dispatched at 2:56 a.m.\nMinutes later, fire crews were on the scene and found heavy smoke covering the area and flames shooting through the roof of the building.\nCrews poured water on the building from the south side to protect the adjacent building north of the warehouse, both owned by Bloomington resident R. J. Phelps. Firefighters evacuated an elderly woman from her apartment above Modern Cleaners, 112 E. Third St., because of thick smoke.\nAs firefighters began battling the flames, the south wall collapsed, followed by the front of the building and roof, distributing debris along South Washington.\nThe fire kept traffic blocked from the 300 and 400 block of South Washington, the 100 block of East Smith Street and the eastbound lane in the 100 block of East Third Street.\nCrews from another fire station joined the scene, dousing the flames from the roof of the adjacent building, University Publishing Corporation, 310 S. Washington St. \n"We didn't make an interior attack because of the strength of fire," said Fire Captain Rick Petermichel. "We knew it was a vacant building so we didn't want to risk anybody's life."\nWater from the fire hose ran a foot deep away from the building, but firefighters could not completely stop the fire. Petermichel said hotspots continued to burn in the debris underneath the rubber-tarred roof.\nPhelps said he received a phone call around 3:30 a.m. in response to a building alarm.\n"When we got down here, the thing was gone, and I live 10 minutes away from here," he said.\nPhelps purchased the warehouse about a year ago and has been using it for overflow storage of books from University Publishing and for furniture from his rental properties. His red Chevrolet truck -- covered in bricks -- stuck out from what remained of the building.\n"And there she is," he said, pointing to his truck.\nPhelps said he could not estimate the damage, but he said he purchased the building for "a couple hundred thousand dollars."\n"Whatever it is, it's total," he said. "Right now, I'm probably just going to wait and see."\nPhelps said he was not sure what caused the fire, but he speculated that it was electrical.\n"I'm just assuming that the old building has some electrical problems," he said.\nBackhoes dug through wood and brick from the building's rear just after sunrise from the alley.\n"We're hauling it off as we put (the fire) out," Petermichel said.\nCrews piled the debris in a parking lot behind the building as firefighters continued to hose down hotspots.\nRed Cross volunteers provided hot chocolate to fire crews and were working with the displaced resident.\nPetermichel said an investigation into the fire will begin today.
(10/25/01 5:17am)
The name of the League of Women Voters might mislead some to think the organization excludes men.\nBut men were given the opportunity to participate in the organization in the 1970s. \nThe name was not altered after the addition of male members because of the group's history, an executive member said. \n"The league felt it historically needed to remain because of the hard fight women put forth in order to get the right to vote," said Nancy Lumley, vice president of the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County. \nThe League of Women Voters was created during a National American Women Suffrage Association convention. Six months later, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granted women the legal right to vote. \nThe League of Women Voters has remained active in Bloomington, Indiana and at the national level in Washington since its establishment. \nJoyce Pace, president of the Bloomington and Monroe County sector, said the league's foremost intention is to "inform the public on various political issues as well as get women to vote." \nMatters pertaining to natural resources, social policy, international relations, health care and representative government are addressed by the nonpartisan organization, according to the group's Web site. \nWith about 130 members, the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County is the largest league in the state in terms of membership, Lumley said.\nPace presides over the meetings, acts as an official spokeswoman for the league and works with the board formulating the direction of the organization. That direction is based on local, state and national issues that need attention. \nOn a national level, the league is focusing its efforts on the problems that existed in the last presidential election. Locally, concerns about Lake Monroe and security of the water source are being examined. \nThe League of Women Voters encourages college students to get actively involved as well.\n"As strong as the diversity of ideas is, we need a diverse number of ages," Lumley said.
(09/26/01 4:03am)
When Stephen Grimsley, a doctoral student of Hispanic Linguistics, eats at the Golden Corral, he said he notices the increasing number of Spanish-speaking employees. \nWhen he goes shopping for books at the Barnes and Noble, 2813 E.Third St., he finds shelves full of books teaching Spanish to different types of workers from health care providers to managers of restaurants.\nDaily examples like these are the basis for his belief that there is an increasing need for communication between co-workers, bosses and customers who cannot communicate because of language barriers that divide Spanish-speaking people from those who only speak English. In fact, Latinos represent 13 percent of the U.S. population, making up the largest minority group in the United States. \nAs a partial solution to this language barrier, IU's Continuing Studies programs and Bloomington Parks and Recreation, in conjunction with many local organizations, have developed various Spanish-oriented programs. Participants will learn basic Spanish communication skills and culture.\nThe most recent of these programs started Monday night as seven participants, all social service providers, took part in Parks and Recreation's pilot program that teaches basic Latino culture and communication to English speakers.\n"Intro to Spanish Skills for Social Service Providers" meets every Monday at the Bloomington Adult Community Center, 349 S. Walnut St. With only two instructors and seven students, participants receive hands-on teaching and role playing designed to teach as much about culture and basic communication as possible. \nMichael Simmons, a specialist with Adult and Family Services at Bloomington Parks and Recreation, oversees the pilot program and said the need for programs is high throughout Bloomington and the United States.\n"The need for more effective communication was expressed to us, and we explored ways to fulfill the need," Simmons said.\nHe looked to Gonzalo Isidro-Bruno, director of IU's International Center and doctoral student, for the curriculum for the class. He then got a certified Spanish teacher and a native Spanish teacher to teach the class.\nSimmons said that while the weekly class aims to teach gestures, basic communication and culture skills to social service providers from various nonprofit organizations, it is a pilot program. With changes to the curriculum through an evaluation process, Simmons hopes to make the class a regular part of People's University.\nPeople's University, the school for Bloomington adults offers courses from "Uncooking," a class that teaches healthy eating, to "Doing the Splits," a woodworking course.\nPeople's University also set up a series of courses that teach English as a second language to international community members. These classes often have many Spanish participants, Simmons said, who learn along with many Asian students and Bloomington residents from Russia and other countries.\n In the spring, Parks and Recreation will offer classes that teach Spanish to health care providers, a growing necessity in the health care industry across the nation, Simmons said. Associate Professor of Spanish and Portugese Joseph Clements, undergraduate studies director for the department, agrees. \n"Nursing students have come to our department looking for Spanish courses for health care providers," Clements said. \nThe growing need for communication among people who speak different languages affects the IU campus, community and students' lives, Clements said. \n"Indianapolis doesn't know what to do with all the Hispanics that have moved there. They can't communicate with them, and they are a valuable workforce," Clements said, "Students are also realizing that Spanish is the most practical second language and that becoming bilingual makes finding a job much easier."\nIn Spanish classes at IU, both Grimsley and Clements note the increasing enrollment in Spanish classes from the 200 to 400 levels. This semester, 2,631 students are enrolled in various levels of Spanish, many more than any other language at IU.\nWhile only 1.9 percent of Monroe County is of Latino origin, Simmons said he expects that percentage to increase, approaching the state average of 3.5 percent.\nGrimsley begins teaching a continuing studies course "Spanish in the Workplace" Sept. 27 with hopes of reaching the people in need of communicating in the workplace or business setting.\nIn the future, both the Department of Continuing Studies and Parks and Recreation plan to extend the programs available to accommodate the increasing need to understand the Latino culture that in the next census should exceed any other minority group in the United States.\nAs the Latino population continues to increase, Grimsley said, he expects to see even more teaching resources on the shelves of bookstores. He said he hopes that with courses like his available, the next time he is in the Golden Corral he will hear effective communication between employees of every linguistic background.