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(08/29/07 5:48am)
Griffin, a two-month-old border collie mix, played happily in his new home on Madison Street, after being adopted Monday from the Bloomington Animal Shelter. \nHe was one of the first animals to get a new home thanks to the shelter’s half-off “back-to-school special” on all of its adoptable dogs and cats. From now until Sept. 9, dogs and cats younger than five years are $37.50 and older animals are $27.50. All pets come vaccinated, neutered and microchipped. \nDirector Laurie Ringquist wants students to consider adopting pets, but warns them to think carefully about the responsibility of taking on a pet. \n“Students must take it seriously,” Ringquist said. “They have to realize that this is a living creature that will be around for 10 to 15 more years. They have to know if they are prepared at this point in their lives to take care of this animal for the rest of its life.” \nGriffin’s new owner, Lauren Treece, who’s been taking classes at Ivy Tech, understands the seriousness of owning a pet. She and her boyfriend, IU senior Michael Harris, owned their dog Penny for more than a year before adopting Griffin. \n“I have to watch him 24/7,” Treece said, holding Griffin. “I haven’t been able to take my eyes off him. Penny’s been great though.” \nTreece said the animal shelter asked her to bring Penny into the shelter to make sure the two dogs were compatible before allowing her to adopt Griffin. \nRingquist said there is a series of questions and application procedures that potential parents must go through before they are allowed to adopt from the shelter. She said the program is geared more toward permanent residents, but the shelter does not discourage college students from adopting. They just want to be sure the pet will fit into all parts of the student’s life. \n“We really try to find out what adopters’ lifestyles are like and try to match them with a pet to fit their lifestyle,” Ringquist said. \nRingquist said the shelter has students ensure the pet abides by landlord procedures and check with their roommates before adopting. Also, the shelter wants students to realize the time responsibility of taking on pets, especially dogs, which need to be walked everyday and often do not like being left alone for long periods of time. \nIU junior Christine Shimkus realized the needs of her new dog, Alfred, when she left him alone in her apartment for the first time and he chewed up all of her computer paper. Shimkus said he has been fine since, but she still worries the dog will get scared if she leaves him alone too long. \nRingquist also recommends the shelter’s foster program for students who want an animal, but are not sure how much time they will have available. The foster program has the same basic application procedures as adopting, but the shelter is very flexible on what types of animals people want to watch and how long the animals will stay with their foster homes. \n“If kittens or puppies are too young to adopt, they’ll often be put into a foster home,” Ringquist said. “If an animal is sick, we’ll provide medication to the foster family. Or even if an animal just needs a few weeks away from being in a kennel, we’ll call one of the foster families to take them for a few weeks.” \nRingquist said the shelter takes in more than 5,000 animals a year, and they have pets looking for homes every day. For more information or to adopt a pet, call 349-3492.
(08/29/07 5:11am)
It’s been hot in Bloomington the last few weeks, but not like Baghdad.\nThis was the opening sentiment of the candlelight vigil held 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Sample Gates. More than 30 people gathered in an organized effort to hold Congress responsible to end the war in Iraq. \nCathy and Norman Peacock, parents of two soldiers, spoke out against the war. The Peacocks have a daughter stationed in South Korea and a son in Iraq. Cathy, a Vietnam veteran, and Norman, an army veteran, said they were supportive of their children’s decision to join the war effort, but they have never supported the Iraq war. \n“Politically, we just feel that this has been a bad decision,” Cathy Peacock said. “We totally support our kids but we don’t have to support our government.” \nDuring his speech, Norman Peacock said though he has not lost his son, he knows Sgt. Michael Peacock will never be the same emotionally. \n“Injustices are being made to the Iraqi people and to our country,” Norman Peacock said. “We need to begin to withdraw.” \nBloomington activist and writer David Keppel said he strongly believes that the war needs to come to an end. \n“There will never be a good day to pull out of Iraq,” Keppel said. “We just have to do it.”\nKeppel and the Peacocks believe that if Congress takes responsibility and stops approving money for the war effort, the administration will be forced to withdraw soldiers. \n“After Sept. 11, the United States had a tremendous opportunity to unite the world against a terrible crime,” Keppel said. “Instead this country went out and started a war with a country that had nothing to do with it.” \nIU junior Anna Strand attended the vigil after a Students for Barack Obama meeting. Students for Barack Obama is a young voter support group working on Obama’s election campaign.\nOne of Obama’s primary platforms is full removal of active troops from Iraq, which Strand said she supports.\n“I’m infuriated with our country’s current stagnant position in Iraq,” Strand said. “I’m doing everything in my power to get Barack Obama elected.” \nKeppel said the energy of the vigil will help fuel the movement to exit Iraq.\n“Every gathering is a gathering of energy,” Keppel said. “People are able to gain strength and solidarity from each other. It’s very encouraging and strengthening to be with other people who care.”
(08/06/07 12:59am)
Changes in Indiana’s Department of Child Protective Services are being applauded by public officials.\nLindsey Smith, director of the Monroe County Department of Child Protective Services, said when Gov. Mitch Daniels was elected, two of his first official acts in office were creating the Department of Child Protective Services and hiring Judge James Payne as the state director of the department.\n“I've been here through about four or five state directors now, and none of them have been able to initiate the type of things that Judge Payne has been doing,” Smith said.\nThe changes by Child Protective Services include an increase in the number of caseworkers, intensive training programs and new laws that will provide caseworkers with the necessary tools to better protect children.\nA new law went into effect July 1 that allows caseworkers from Child Protective Services to remove perpetrators from homes instead of the children being victimized.\nIndiana State Sen. Richard Bray, District 37, who co-authored the bill, said he wants this law to be used as a tool to further assist Indiana caseworkers in the fight against child abuse.\nThe law will be used to try to prevent further tragedies, such as the June 23 incident in which a 15-year-old girl stabbed her mother’s boyfriend Michael E. Lewis, 38, in her Bloomington home.\nDonna Crawford, stepmother of the girl and the girl’s twin sister, said she filed several complaints with child protective services prior to the stabbing, but nothing was done to remove Lewis from the home.\n“They should remove the perpetrator,” Crawford said. “The kids aren’t at fault.”\nBray said one major source of child abuse in Indiana is live-in boyfriends.\n“If the mother is allowing that boyfriend to stay in the first place, that is obviously a problem,” Bray said. “So this law enables caseworkers to remove the boyfriend and make it a Class A misdemeanor if he returns, so he can be sent to jail, whether the mother allowed him to return or not.”\nFamily Case Manager Darcy Durbin said that, although it cannot be used in every situation, the law allows caseworkers to keep the family together.\nDurbin said evidence shows keeping families together has better long-term results, so beginning this fall, the Monroe County Department of Child Protective Services will be following the state trend and reorganizing itself to initiate Family Case Conferencing, which allows families to be involved throughout the child protective process and enables them to make decisions about how they think their problem can be resolved.\n“It is going to completely change the way we do business,” Smith said. “We can get the families involved in what they need to do, and it allows us to keep families together and to hold parents more responsible for how they nurture and care for their children.”\nThough representatives from Child Protective Services would not comment on specific cases directly, Durbin said some calls cannot be investigated due to legal restrictions. Durbin said all calls that meet the legal requirements are investigated within a time period of between one hour and five days.\nCrawford still feels that Child Protection Services should assist her stepdaughter by turning over the reports she made as evidence of the abuse the twins were receiving. \n“(Child Protective Services) needs to tell (the family of the daughters) they’re sorry,” Crawford said. “The girls have talked to caseworkers, and they felt like they were abandoned by everyone.” \nDurbin said Payne is working to double the number of caseworkers in Indiana so more energy can be put into each and every case. \n“The caseload size for an ongoing worker is between 30 and 50 cases,” Durbin said. “So the hiring of the caseworker staff has been the biggest initiative ever. We were around 400 caseworkers for the whole state, and Judge Payne is trying to get us up to 800 caseworkers.”\nSmith said the state is putting restrictions on every worker’s caseload, effective July 1, 2008. Investigators are allowed 12 cases at a time, and ongoing service workers will be moving from 30 to 50 cases at a time to being allowed no more than 17 cases at a time.\nBray said he hopes these new restrictions will help the administration find caseworkers who are prepared for the job.\n“It’s hard to make a bad mother into a good mother, and it is just as hard to make a bad caseworker into a good caseworker,” Bray said. “So with these new restrictions, hopefully the administration will be able to weed out the good from the bad.”
(07/23/07 12:57am)
Since 1997, readers have almost yearly immersed itself in the magical, mirror-image world of Harry Potter, a boy raised in England but educated in the ways of magic at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry’s coming-of-age tale, told in a language of wands, spells and the ever-present game of Quidditch, came to an end last week with the release of the last installment in author J.K. Rowling’s internationally renowned series.\nFans flooded bookstores across the world to snatch up copies of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” and the scene at the Bloomington Barnes and Noble, 2813 E. Third St., was \nno different.\nWitches, wizards and muggles alike came out Friday night in anticipation of Saturday’s 12:01 a.m. release of the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series.\nChildren and adults were dressed in their finest Harry Potter attire to attend parties being held at bookstores around town and to wait for the book to be released. \nSeven-year-old Jake Feigenbaum came to Barnes and Noble dressed as the famous Harry Potter, ready to wait for his copy of the book. \nJake and his mother, Kerry Feigenbaum, preordered their book but had to wait a long time because they did not get wrist bands earlier in the day that would have saved them a place in line. \nBarnes and Noble employee Susie Buzan said the store had been full of anxious customers since she came to work at 9 p.m. \n“Whoever would have thought that a book would do this?” Buzan said as she looked around the store filled with people laughing, talking and reading through books as they waited. \n“Wow,” she said. “What a great thing.”\nThe big discussions of the night seemed to revolve around which characters die in the final book, and whether Severus Snape, the former Hogwarts professor who killed headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the last book “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” is good or evil. \nCaroline Gilbert, 18, who reserved two books ‘just in case,’ said she still could not decide what was going to happen with Snape. \n“When I reserved my books, you could pick a cool sticker that let you support if Snape is evil or good,” Gilbert said. “I still have them both because I couldn’t choose.” \nAs people discussed the possible endings and how late they planned to stay awake reading the final book in the Potter series, Jake and Kerry Feigenbaum decided they would not let anyone ruin the series’ ending for them.\n“We’re going to read the last chapter, because we don’t want it to be spoiled tomorrow,” Kerry said. “We figure the ending will be all over the news and the media tomorrow, so we’re going to read the last chapter tonight at midnight (Saturday) and then start from the beginning tomorrow.”
(07/23/07 12:23am)
The crowd spilled onto the Fourth Street sidewalk Friday night for the “Be Playful Bloomington: A Sampler of the Arts” event being held at the John Waldron Arts Center. \nThe event was put on through the combined efforts of the John Waldron Arts Center and the City of Bloomington. \nEd Vande Sande, executive director of the Bloomington Area Arts Council, said he was using the event to try to attract a more non-traditional Arts Center crowd. \n“It is really important to me to make this a community art center and to include all elements of the community so that all sorts of people can come and have a good time here,” Vande Sande said. \nThe event provided a variety of activities in which people could participate. Vande Sande said the City closed off part of Fourth Street so that vendors and street musicians were able to set up and turn the event into a community block party. \nThe event also included interactive displays, psychic readings, bingo, face painting and a variety of musical groups playing throughout the evening. \n“This is one of the city’s ‘Be Bloomington’ events, and they provided the funding that paid for the bands and that allowed us to make this a free event, which allows us to encourage the whole community to come out,” Vande Sande said. \nA lightning ball kaleidoscope caught the attention of many children at the event. Marc Tschida, performance and technical director for the Arts Council, said they wanted to present a lot of different things in small doses and let the community know where they could find everything around Bloomington. \n“We have a lot of programs the younger demographic doesn’t really know about,” Tschida said.\nThe musical groups varied throughout the evening to satisfy everyone who came. A family band with a 9-year-old rocking out on the drums impressed the crowd at the beginning of the evening, and as the time grew later the music grew louder. \n“We want to reach a younger crowd and let them know that this is their art center too,” Vande Sande said. “The community is going to continue to see a lot of younger focus as well as the traditional classical music and plays. We are definitely not forgetting the core constituency, but I think it is so important that we reach out to all age groups and that all age groups feel welcome.”\nAnna Bean, a recent IU graduate, came to the event around 7 p.m., to watch the band Metal in the Microwave perform later in the evening. \n“It’s a great atmosphere,” Bean said. “It’s like Bloomington came out.”
(07/19/07 12:20am)
The Bloomington Police Department said a disabled Bloomington man was attacked in his home early Tuesday morning by a yet-to-be-identified intruder.\nBloomington Police responded to a call on Bloomington's south side where they found a 61-year-old man had suffered multiple head wounds after intitially refusing to surrender valuables to his attacker.\nThe victim said he was laying in bed when the man who attacked him, described as a white male with tattoos on both arms, came into his home on the 100 block of East Hillside Drive and demanded money, Bloomington Police Department Detective Sgt. David Drake said, reading from a police report.\nWhen the victim refused to surrender any money, his attacker began hitting him over the head with the yellow handle of what the victim believed to be an ax, Drake said.\nThe victim was clubbed on the head with an ax handle before he surrendered rent money he'd been keeping in his pocket, according to police reports.\nWhen officers arrived at the residence, the victim was reported to have had six to seven lacerations and several large hematomas on his head, Drake said. \nThe attacker was described as a white male in his mid-30s, about six feet tall with long, stringy black hair and numerous tattoos on both arms.\nAnyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Bloomington Police Department at (812) 339-4477.
(07/12/07 12:22am)
Between five and 10 protesters trying to gather support for a 15-year-old girl facing murder charges rallied Tuesday outside the Monroe County Justice Building.\n“Do not try as an adult,” protesters chanted.\nFriends and family were fighting against the decision whether or not to try as an adult a 15-year-old girl who is facing charges for the murder of Michael E. Lewis, 38, her mother's boyfriend. \nOn June 23, Bloomington Police Department officers arrived at 701 E. Miller Dr., to find Lewis lying facedown outside the residence. Lewis was pronounced dead at Bloomington Hospital from a stab wound to the chest.\nThe suspect's 14-year-old stepsister Kalynn Sciscoe protested and said there was a history of both mental and physical abuse between Lewis and the suspect and her twin sister, who is also in jail on charges related to but not including the murder. \n“They were abused badly,” Sciscoe said. “They went to my mom’s house with bruises all over them. He choked my sister, one of the twins, until she passed out. He has tried to kill himself in front of them. He bashed his head against the wall until blood was coming out of his head. They would come to school all freaked out.” \nSciscoe said her mother Donna Crawford had made previous complaints to child protective services as recently as last spring, but nothing had been done.\n“I think the system failed them,” said Diana Taylor, a relative of the suspect.\n“We know it was a terrible, terrible accident, and we don’t want them to get off scot-free,” she said. “But we want to see them get into juvenile court.” \n Some protesters were not related to the girls, but after hearing the story, wanted to get involved.\nCrystal Bryant, a friend of Taylor, said that after reading the first story regarding the case she knew there had to be more to the story. After getting in touch with the girls’ family, she learned about the prior abuse. \n“Somebody needs to do something,” Bryant said. “I have seen a lot of people in the past, family of mine, where it seems that nobody will protect young children until tragedy happens. Then they are blaming the child that somebody should have been protecting from the get-go.”\nTaylor said there were more protesters throughout the day, but people had work and prior engagements, so they were coming and going as much as they could. She also said most of the public had been supportive of the girls. \n“It’s about time someone stood up and said ‘no more,’” Taylor said. \nThe hearing to determine if the girl will be tried as an adult has been rescheduled for Sept. 25. The case will be heard before Monroe County Judge David Welch. \nPublic Defender Stuart Baggerly is representing the twin accused of murder. Baggerly said the girl is being held at a Johnson County facility on murder charges. \n“We're geting a psychiatrist and other expert witnesses to keep her out of adult court,” Baggerly said.
(07/02/07 1:07am)
Parades, explosions and blasts of colors in the sky will mark the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. \nIU students are preparing themselves for the celebration. With a variety of events from which to choose, students are spreading out across the region to enjoy the festivities.\nWhether they are going to Chicago, partying on Lake Monroe or heading home to spend the holiday with their families, IU students plan on celebrating. \nSenior Isaac Day is traveling to Chicago to hang out with friends over the holiday. \n“I’m getting crazy with some ladies,” Day said with a laugh.\nJunior Hanna Wilson is planning on leaving town to enjoy the Taste of Chicago.\n“We’re definitely going to Taste of Chicago to watch fireworks,” Wilson said. “But, we don’t have anywhere to stay yet, so hopefully that gets figured out.” \nTaste of Chicago is once again taking place in Grant Park, according to the Taste of Chicago Web site. Students who cannot afford the time or money to go to the event have found other ways to celebrate. \nSome students are heading out to Lake Monroe for the day. \nJunior Alison Brough is planning to spend the day on the lake with more than 30 other IU students and friends. \n“Most of us have jobs or are still in school,” Brough said. “So it’s great that we have somewhere close by to go. I just want to watch fireworks and play all day.” \nThere are several places around the lake to rent boats, Jet Skis and other water toys. According to their Web site, Lake Monroe Boat Rentals offers double-decker pontoon boats as well as speed boats, Jet Skis and canoes. The Fourwinds Resort and Marina also offers rentals as well as places to stay and a private beach if people want to extend their celebration, according to their Web site. \nSenior Kurt Bennett is going to Lake Monroe to ride wave runners and hang out on the beach. \n“We are going to have a barbecue and stay to watch the fireworks when we’re done on the water, “ Bennett said. \nSome students are heading home to spend a more traditional Fourth of July with their families. \nSenior Kourtney Parrott is originally from Bloomington and is planning on watching her dad and neighbor set off fireworks. \nParrott said her family usually goes to the parade in the morning, then cooks all day and watches the fireworks at night. Since the city fireworks are being changed to Tuesday night, they are planning to watch them Tuesday and then have their own celebration Wednesday night. As for the parade, Parrott is not sure if she is up for a morning celebration this year. \n“I might go to the parade,” Parrott said. “But it’s at 10 in the morning so I guess we’ll see if I get up.”
(06/25/07 12:06am)
Bloomington residents and students can get a closer look at Jupiter and the moon every Wednesday night at the Kirkwood Observatory.\nLast Wednesday night at 11:30 p.m., a line of more than 35 people ran down the stairwell from the upper level of the observatory in anticipation of viewing Jupiter. \n“The moon and Jupiter are the only things out,” said 7-year-old Dustin Durham, who was there with his big brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana, Mike Zawilinski. “But I looked through it once and one star looked like a thousand stars.”\nAstronomy graduate student Nathalie Haurberg said the telescope is open to the public every Wednesday in March through November. \n“If the weather’s iffy or it’s cold it’s usually less busy,” Haurberg said. “But when I’ve been here it’s been pretty crowded.” \nBuilt in 1900, the Kirkwood Observatory has been a part of IU for over a century. The Observatory also houses a 12-inch refracting solar telescope which, according to the Observatory’s Web site, is used to observe and study solar phenomena. \nGabe Lubell, a graduate student studying astronomy, said the department’s graduate students are required to operate the telescope at least twice per semester when it is open to the public. \n“We all enjoy it,” Lubell said. “It’s almost a fanatical appreciation of what this is all about.” \nDurham and Zawilinski said Haurberg came running into the Observatory to tell the group to move toward the Herman B Wells statue to catch a glimpse of a space station.\nHaurberg and Lubell were not the only students at the Observatory. Senior Jordan MacDonald is taking an astronomy class over the summer and receives extra credit for coming to the public viewing. \n“I didn’t realize the moon would be so close,” MacDonald said. “I’m waiting for Jupiter to rise; we have to catch both to get credit.” \nHaurberg and Lubell adjusted the telescope to show Jupiter and its four moons during last Wednesday’s viewing.\n“You can see the red spot of Jupiter,” Haurberg said to the group. “We’re in luck; I’ve never seen it before through a telescope.” \nDifferent constellations are viewable during each of the four different seasons, according to the American Association of American Astronomers Web site. Through the summer, the public will be able to see famous constellations such as Aquarius, Sagittarius and Capricornus. As the seasons drift toward autumn and winter, Pisces, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer will be able to be seen.\nTo learn more about the Kirkwood Observatory, contact the astronomy department at astdept@indiana.edu.
(06/17/07 9:00pm)
The Student Films Across America festival was held at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Friday. Fewer than 20 ticket sales later, the tour bus packed up and headed for its next stop. Sparse attendance is something the festival has been fighting all summer long.\nThe SFAA festival gives student filmmakers the opportunity to broadcast their work in professional settings all across the country.\nMore than 600 applicants entered the festival. The winning films comprise a two-hour show scheduled to appear in 50 cities throughout the summer, according to the SFAA Web site. The festival showed films from many genres, ranging from drama to comedy.\n“Where are the students? Where are the film majors?” said Shirley Gedeon, IU summer student and University of Vermont professor.\nGedeon said she was walking by the theater and decided to stop in because she had been thinking about seeing a film but didn’t want to see anything too commercial.\n“It’s a window on the mind of a younger generation,” Gedeon said about student films. \nNot only does festival giving students a venue for their productions, students are also running and financing it. Steve Amos, founder and co-director of the festival, said the cost of the program is falling to the directors.\nNot only are student filmmakers suffering, but student entrepreneurs and film supporters are as well. Amos said the total cost to rent the Buskirk-Chumley Theater was approximately $1100.\n“The bottom line is that the entire staff is volunteers. We are filmmakers ourselves; it’s just something we like to do,” Steve Amos said.\nBrian and Steve Amos – brothers, founders and co-directors of the festival – said they never started the festival as a way to make money. Steve Amos said they wanted to give student filmmakers a way to show their work and at the same time kill some of the stereotypes people have about student films.\n“People have ideas about what student films are,” Steve Amos said. “We want to educate the public that student films are not cliches.”\nStudent filmmaker and Ball State University student Jared Jeffries thinks short films will be the next big thing to happen in Hollywood. \nJeffries said due to the market being given to filmmakers by YouTube, the popularity of original short films is growing. \n“Big corporations are starting to catch on,” Jeffries said. “I think big studios will start to pick up short films again soon.” \nDespite the opportunities the festival allowed, the Bloomington venue had low attendance. It wasn’t the only one: the SFAA cut eight other shows from the festival tour due to financial losses.\n“We had PR out of New York City that we had to drop. We sent out 10,000 posters, we e-mailed every film professor in the country with little to no response,” Steve Amos said. “We even MySpaced and sent out Facebook invitations.”\nSteve Amos said they knew working that with a student-based audience in the summer would be difficult, but they did not anticipate the problems they are facing. \nThe SFAA is counting on their Ohio and East Coast shows to turn the festival around, so they can come back again next year, Steve Amos said.
(06/14/07 1:16am)
A class of unconventional students gathered at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Dogwood Room of the Indiana Memorial Union.\nCoffee in hand, the members of Adam Langer’s “Writing Like My Dog” class were unlike a majority of students on the IU campus. These classmates were not attending class for credit. Instead, they were attending the 67th annual Indiana University Writers’ Conference. \nThe IU Writers’ Conference brings in writers from all over the country. From playwrights to poets, the conference attracts well-known writers both as participants and instructors.\nConference participant and Bloomington Montessori School teacher Emily Miller said she often writes short stories to try to help her students understand how to form a storyline. She came to the conference to enhance these skills as well as her passion for poetry. \n“There are some things I would like to get published,” Miller said. “But if I had a mission, it would be to write a lot of really good short stories for the middle grades.” \nThe conference runs until Friday and offers a variety of learning and social programs for the participants. \nAccording to the Web site, the conference offers intensive workshops in fiction and poetry that require a manuscript submission and are available to students for University credit. Classes were available to all conference participants the entire week.\nOn Tuesday, Langer’s class was already comfortable together, bantering back and forth and commenting openly on each other’s work. \nLanger told the members of his class he does not want them worrying about what their writing is supposed to be. He encourages them to take their ideas anywhere. \n“It’s a form of communication between writer and reader,” Langer said. \nIU graduate student Shawna Ainsile said she has wanted to attend the conference since she was an IU undergraduate, but this has been her first chance, and she is enjoying every moment.\n“I’m working on my thesis, and this is really giving me the boost I need,” Ainsile said. \nFor a more social atmosphere, the conference opened its nightly readings to the public. Various instructors performed readings throughout the week in the Rose Firebay room at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St. \nBob Bledsoe, the Writer’s Conference director, greeted the crowd at the reading Tuesday, where Crystal Wilkinson and Langer read excerpts from their respective work. \n“I heard yesterday was hilarious,” said Daniel Castro, a recent IU graduate and conference participant, commenting on the Monday night reading, which featured Khaled Mattawa and Matthew Klam. \nThe chatter died down as the lights dimmed and as Wilkinson took the podium on Tuesday. \n“The last seven years, I’ve been trying to find things to keep me from writing my novel,” Wilkinson said with a smile to the crowd. \nWilkinson’s reading had the crowd silent and intently concentrating on her every word, and Langer’s reading had everyone laughing in their seats. Both were awarded with applause from the audience. On Wednesday, conference participants had the chance to read their own work during the nightly performances. \nThe conference ends Friday at noon, and the last public reading will be tonight, featuring authors Heather McHugh and Lee Martin.
(06/07/07 12:34am)
Students longing for the polyester couch that graced the lounge in their freshman dorm or looking for a good deal on new desktop computer can find them both at the IU Surplus Store.\nFrom computers to couches, the warehouse, located on East 10th Street, offers a wide variety of gently used items. All merchandise comes from IU’s classrooms and offices.\nSurplus Store employee Roger Stout said summer is the store’s busiest time because IU departments get rid of things they no longer need and the older computers on campus are replaced when school gets out in May. \n“We sell computers, furniture from offices and dorms, and any odds and ends we might get,” Stout said. \nWhile the store offers sturdy polyester furniture for as little as $50, Stout says the selection of IU’s old computers is the biggest draw. \n“Computers are by far our biggest seller,” Stout said. \nDell desktops are available for $200, and several different makes of Apple computers are available from $400 –$700. Only the basic operating systems are left on the computers. \nThe computers go through a thorough inspection by electronics experts, Stout said. Therefore, he said, buyers very rarely have any complaints about the technology. \nMike Hoffman is the one of the electronics experts responsible for all the Apple computers that come into the store. \n“These are the ones the school has retired from use,” Hoffman said, patting the top of the Apple desktop he was looking over. \nHoffman said the University typically “retires” its computers every three years. Then, after he and the other “techies” check them over, they are transferred to the Surplus Store and put up for sale to the public. \nStout said the Surplus Store began business about 10 years ago. Before opening the store, auctions were held to sell the University’s surplus.\n“The purpose is to recover some money but also to give the public a deal,” Hoffman said.\nThe money recovered contributes to IU’s technology fund. \nJunior Tessa Rossi said she goes into the store once in a while to check out the new merchandise. \n“They’ve got some cool stuff in there,” Rossi said. “And everything is so cheap.”\nStout said stopping in is the best way to find the biggest deals because the store receives merchandise on a regular basis. \nThe Surplus Store is located on 2931 E. 10th St. Only check or money orders are accepted. The store is open 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
(06/04/07 1:48am)
Despite overcast skies and a cool breeze hinting of rain, the Monroe County Civic Theater presented Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” Friday night. While the actors excitedly prepared themselves backstage, loyal patrons, umbrellas in hand, gathered on the lawn in front of the Third Street Park stage for the group’s annual Shakespeare in the Park production.\nAs music blasted from the speakers, director Phillip Addison ran around the lawn in a blue Hawaiian-print shirt, welcoming people to the show and passing out programs.\n“There is a method to the madness,” Addison said in regard to the pre-show music. \nAddison said the pre-show music is one of the first matters of business he plans when directing a show because it helps him to get a feel for the show’s rhythm. \nScattered across the grass, sitting on lawn chairs and laying on blankets, the crowd watched closely as the story unfolded.\nLindsay Orrison, an incoming IU graduate student, saw a promotion for the show on the Internet and brought her family to see the production. \n“It’s a very good show,” Orrison said. \nActors came from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, which made for a challenging production.\n“We had some bumps along the way,” said cast member Ben Aldred, who played Marc Antony. \n“Bumps,” interjected Addison. “More like potholes the size of cars!”\nSeveral cast members dropped out two weeks before opening day, leaving cast and crew in a disarray until several people jumped in to fill their roles.\n”I’m very happy with how the show went,” Aldred said. Addison nodded in agreement and said the cast worked hard and did a great job with the show. \nAddison said it is always a little bit sad when a show ends, but he has come to realize that he will continue to work with most of these people again. \n“There is a core group of people that do the Shakespeare in the Park, and every year it’s like a big reunion,” Addison said. “So, it is sad that one production ends, but you always know there is another one right around the bend.” \nAt the end of the show, the cast was in high spirits. Jessica Waters, who played Charmian, hugged Addison and a fellow cast member as she proclaimed, “We did it!” \nMCCT will put on two more productions of “Antony and Cleopatra” this weekend, at 7 p.m., June 8 and 9, at Third Street Park. Admission is free and open to the public.
(06/04/07 1:28am)
Bryan Park Pool and Mills Pool opened Friday May 25, giving patrons the extended Memorial Day weekend to enjoy the water and sun. \nBut the patrons were not the only people excited for opening day: the pool staff has been preparing for it for more than a month. \nIU student and lifeguard Nickie Schaad said she applied for rehire in February and called the pool once a week to find out when the new manager would begin hiring for the summer.\nSchaad and co-workers Whitney Stankovic, an IU sophomore, and senior Jenna McKee are returning lifeguards at Bryan Park Pool. Schaad, Stankovic, McKee and their co-workers began cleaning Mills and Bryan Park pools two weeks before they opened. In addition to the multiple professional certificates lifeguards are required to have, they also went through refresher training and pool procedures before opening day, they said.\n“They are really strict about training here,” Mckee said. Stankovic and Schaad nodded in agreement, saying they had training sessions every Monday during the summer. \n“We will live here this summer,” Stankovic said.\nDespite the strict training and long hours, the three lifeguards are happy to be back at the pool. \n“I love the kids and the people I work with. The people are definitely one of the things that make this job so fun,” Stankovic said. \nAndrea Basile, 15, is one of those people, and she did not want to miss a moment of being at the pool. She had her mom drop her off at Bryan Park around noon on opening day.\n“Today I’m just here swimming laps,” said Basile. “But most of the time I’m either swimming laps or with my friends.” \nBasile and her family, including six siblings, live 10 minutes from Bryan Park and are regular pool patrons. She said coming to the pool is one of her favorite summer activities.\n“It’s a lot of fun to play around with my brothers,” Basile said. With five younger brothers, she said she enjoys being able to come to the pool because they have room to spread out but can still hang out together. \nBasile’s younger brothers range in age from 8-year-old twins to 13 years old. And although they have their big sister to look out for them while they are in the pool, not all the children enjoying the water are as fortunate.\n“In the first month the pool is open, there (are) a good amount of rescues,” Schaad said, “because there are a lot of young swimmers still testing their limits.” \nStankovic agreed, saying, “Kids don’t know the rules or that the diving pool is actually... deep.” \nBut fewer problems occur after the first month, Schaad said. She said the lifeguards work hard at enforcing the rules to prevent accidents before they occur. \nThe lifeguards have the authority to make people take swim tests before going in deep water, and they said they pay special attention to children in the water by themselves.
(05/24/07 12:51am)
Children playing outside, baseball games, picnics and the hot sunny weather all make it feel like summer. For many, there is only one thing missing: swimming pools.\nBryan Park Pool and Mills Pool will open to the public 11 a.m. Friday, courtesy of the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. According to the City of Bloomington Web site, Bryan Park Pool will be charging $2.50 for adults and $2 for children 17 and under; Mills Pool will charge $2 for adults and $1.50 for children 17 and under. Both pools offer the options of daily entrance fees or passes for multiple visits.\nRob Gilchrist, the Parks and Recreation Department’s aquatic supervisor, said each pool offers its own variety of special features and programs, which include water basketball at Mills Pool and water slides at Bryan Park Pool.\n“There are a lot of different things,” Gilchrist said.\nThe prices are slightly more expensive for Bryan Park, because it is a larger facility, Gilchrist said, but the pools are a community service, and therefore the fees are used strictly for operating purposes. For an additional fee of $2, the Bryan Park Pool also offers its patrons a day of unlimited access to its water slides, the “Channelblaster” and “Bladerunner.”\nGilchrist said the pools will also be offering swimming lessons throughout the summer. The classes vary, from 6-month-olds in the parent-child water lessons, to the higher levels with students ranging from 12 to 14 years old. Three $40, two-week sessions will be offered by Bryan Park, running Monday through Thursday, June 4 through July 27. Mills Pool will offer two $40, six-week sessions that will run Saturdays from June 9 through July 28.\nThe pools also offer special prices for groups and are available to be rented out for private parties after closing, and at an hourly rate that varies depending on which facility is being used, according to the City of Bloomington Web site.\nMills Pool, 1100 W. 14th St., and Bryan Park Pool, 1100 S. Woodlawn Ave., will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout the summer season.