33 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(01/23/06 2:26am)
Monroe County plans to construct a new park area on a piece of land that the Monroe County Fair Board has been using since 1955. This would cut fair parking areas and force the board to move a riding arena, lights and recreational vehicle hookups that currently occupy land.\nThe county owns this land and has, historically, allowed the fair board to use it. Now, the county plans to create soccer fields, a dog park, an outdoor music venue, an irrigation barn and a reconstructed pre-Civil War era barn on the land north of the fairground it will reclaim from the fair board.\nChuck Stephenson, the administrator of the Monroe County Parks and Recreation Department, said the Monroe County Fairgrounds is located on 40 acres, 15 of which the fair board actually owns. The other 25 acres are leased from the county.\n"The fair board is a private organization," Stephenson said. "You can't take public land and give it to a private organization."\nJohn Richards, an attorney for the fair board, said the county is trying to redistribute the land so the fair board would be able to use eight acres of land near the Karst Farm Park's disk golf area. The fair board, however, would lose the use of more land than it would gain.\nKenny Treadway, the president of the Monroe County Fair Board, said the fair board had a verbal agreement with the county that gave it use of an additional 10 acres, but the paperwork for that agreement was never signed. Also, in 1995 there was an agreement that the fair board could use this land until 2022.\n"It's been a fuzzy issue for many years," said Sophia Travis, who is a member of both the Monroe County Council and the Monroe County Plan Commission and serves as a liaison with the Monroe County Parks and Recreation Department. "There's been a lot of conflicting documentation."\nThe county wants to build four more soccer fields in addition to the fields at Karst Farm Park. The location of these fields falls on part of the 10-acre area the county said the fair board could use in their 1995 verbal agreement. \n"We hope we can reach an agreement," Treadway said. "The county has 200 acres at Flatwoods Park out west of Ellettsville. They could use that for soccer fields."\nThe county told the fair board it has until March 31 to dismantle the property that is determined to be on the county's land. The county is then going to put up a fence through the area the 4-H riding arena currently occupies.\nAdam Edwards, an adult leader for the Vaqueros 4-H Horse and Pony Club and a 10-year 4-H member, said the club will have to reconfigure its riding arena and will have to reduce the length of the arena if the county decides to proceed with redistributing this land for parks purposes. He said the club was told at one time nothing would happen until 2022.\n"We don't have a choice," Edwards said. "We have about a 90 percent chance of losing that land. We're just hoping we have a place to show at the fair"
(01/17/06 5:58am)
A Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at Barnes & Noble in Bloomington Monday brought the holiday into living reality for elementary-aged children.\nThe event was a collaboration between Big Brothers Big Sisters and Indiana Reading Corp., a volunteer reading program BBBS created, and Civic Leadership Development, a community service organization associated with the Kelley School of Business. \nVolunteers from these organizations came together to provide various educational activities for the children. Every child was able to choose a free book and had the opportunity to listen to local celebrities read books about diversity. In addition, volunteers were on hand to read to children, tell children about Martin Luther King Jr. and supervise a disability simulation in which children could ride in a wheelchair or be blindfolded. \n"I learned that (Martin Luther King Jr.) was shot," said Jaslynn Guerrero, a 7-year-old Highland Park second grade student. "He was making changes. A white boy didn't like what he was doing. He liked things the way they were before (Martin Luther King Jr.) made changes."\nGuerrero said she enjoyed the activities at the event and had a lot of fun. Guerrero and the other children had the chance to create a "Dream Chain," a chain made of paper rings on which the children wrote or colored their dreams. One boy wrote that his dream was that there be no more poor people. One girl had a dream that all children could be anything they wanted to be and another girl had a dream of being a princess. \nClifford the Big Red Dog greeted and hugged children as they roamed through the children's section at the store. The children's section was also the location of the celebrity reading. IU athletes and Jane Hoeppner, IU Football Coach Terry Hoeppner's wife, all read books about diversity as their young audience peaked over their shoulders and listened eagerly. \n"We wanted to promote that this as a day on and not a day off," said Jessica Phillips, an IU student and member of CLD. "We have an activity where they can think about what Dr. King would do in a certain situation. They are getting to learn the history behind this day."\nMarisol Carrillo, an Indiana Reading Corp. member, said the kids seemed to have a good time coming together and learning on their day off from school when they could have been staying at home.\n"It's important for kids to read instead of spend so much time watching T.V.," she said.
(01/09/06 5:05am)
Brea Weil-Hearon, the director of fund development for The Women's Heart Foundation, started The Heart Project in 2004 and has made it her life's ambition to help prevent women from suffering a premature death from heart disease. \nThe Heart Project, which is coming to Bloomington for the first time this year, collects unwanted costume jewelry and sells it at an event called "Untax My Heart," which is held the first Saturday after tax day.\n"I do this in memory of my mom, who died of a massive heart attack in 1994," Weil-Hearon said. "She was misdiagnosed and was told she was just having panic attacks."\nWeil-Hearon started the project while she was attending school at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. The project now takes place in Indiana, New Jersey and Ohio. Weil-Hearon's mother left a will, which stipulated that her jewelry and needlepoint not be divided until Weil-Hearon was 21. When the time came to divide the jewelry between Weil-Hearon and her sister, they were at a loss as to what to do with it. They eventually decided to sell it.\nThe jewelry sale will take place April 22 at the corner of 10th and College Streets. Last year, when The Heart Project was just in Ohio, Weil-Hearon raised more than $4,000. This year she said she hopes that she can raise $20,000 in Indiana alone. "Untax My Heart" will also have nurses on hand to answer questions about heart disease and to perform blood pressure screenings. In addition to the used jewelry sale, some jewelry donated from retail stores will be auctioned at the event. \nThe money raised by The Heart Project will benefit the Women's Heart Foundation. Some of that money will go to help educate nurses about heart disease in women in order to help correctly diagnose women with heart disease.\nWeil-Hearon said she hopes to make women more aware about heart disease. Her mother, who was 45 when she died, was in the best shape of her life and had a healthy diet. She hopes that people realize they may still be at risk for heart disease even though they eat healthy and are in shape.\nWeil-Hearon said it is common for women to be misdiagnosed. She said the symptoms in women are generally milder and more generalized. Women who are having a heart attack will often feel like they are tired or have the flu. In addition, women take longer to report a heart attack than men.\nHeart disease refers to various heart ailments including coronary heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, chest pain and rheumatic heart disease. According to the Women's Heart Foundation Web site, coronary heart disease, a disease of the blood vessels of the heart that causes heart attacks, is the leading killer of Americans. A heart attack occurs when an artery becomes blocked, which prevents oxygen and nutrients from getting to the heart. \n"Heart disease kills more women than the next seven causes of death combined," Weil-Hearon said. "It has killed more women than men every year since 1984."\nWeil-Hearon said she hopes IU students will participate in the event. She said students could help by donating jewelry, helping to clean and price the jewelry, and by attending "Untax My Heart." A drop-off box is located on campus at the philosophy office in Sycamore Hall. \nMore information on The Heart Project can be found at http://www.womensheart.org/HeartProject.com.
(12/09/05 4:55am)
Though the flu season is already here, some Bloomington residents are not able to receive flu vaccinations. But the problem is not specific to Bloomington, as other Indiana residents are experiencing the same problem.\nThe Indiana State Department of Health acknowledges many Indiana residents are having difficulty obtaining flu shots. It claims this delay is related to manufacturing and distribution problems, and is not evidence of a flu vaccine shortage.\nAndy Zirkle, spokesman for the Indiana State Department of Health, said the delay in distribution might have occurred because the demand for vaccinations is higher this year. He said the misconseption that seasonal flu vaccines will protect people from avian influenza, also known as the bird flu, is causing more people to want the vaccination. \n"There is not a vaccination for the avian flu now," Zirkle said. "However, the media coverage of a possible flu pandemic has reminded people that they should be vaccinated, even if it doesn't protect you from the avian flu."\nZirkle said this year's flu vaccine rush could also be attributed to people's fear of another shortage like last year's, which occured when Chiron, one of the largest suppliers of influenza vaccines, was shut down because of quality issues. \nBut Dave Burnworth, the senior director of clinical operation for Internal Medicine Associates, said he thinks there actually is a shortage. He said IMA, a system of medical offices in Bloomington that sees more than 1,000 patients a day, has only received 3,000 of the 11,000 vaccines it requested. \n"Something is wrong," he said. "We are not getting the vaccines we requested."\nBurnworth said the problem is a national problem.\nHe said the Center for Disease Control prioritized who received flu vaccines earlier this year. On Oct. 24, it lifted the priority system, which made flu shots available to pediatric clinics, nursing homes, home health agencies and hospitals first.\n"If they're prioritizing who gets the shot, that is a pretty good indication that they anticipated a problem," Burnworth said.\nThe Indiana State Department of Health suggested that people who wish to receive a flu shot contact their local health department so they can know when more vaccines will arrive and where to receive them. More vaccines are expected to arrive throughout December, the department said. \nAnother option for people wishing to receive a vaccine is FluMist, which is similar to the shot and is approved for healthy people between the ages of 5 and 49, but is more expensive.\nThe IU Health Center received all of the 4,000 vaccines it requested, but it has distributed almost all of them. It has enough vaccines to treat students, but has stopped offering the vaccine to faculty and staff, said Nursing Director Nancy Macklin. \nThe shots are only offered to students who are at high risk for the virus. Other students are offered FluMist. \n"The FluMist has a weakened live virus," Macklin said. "High-risk patients cannot take the weakened live virus."\nThe peak period of the flu season is typically from late January to early February.\n"A person can be vaccinated in late December or January and still be protected against the flu," Zirkle said. "It takes about two weeks for full protection from the virus to kick in."\nZirkle emphasized the importance of being vaccinated, noting that about 2,000 deaths occur every year because of complications from the flu.
(11/10/05 4:32am)
A site contaminated with toxin has been located in the back yard of an abandoned home near Clear Creek in Bloomington.\nThe site, located on Fluck Mill Road, about 10 miles southwest of IU, is much smaller than the infamous sites in Bloomington. \nWestinghouse Electric Company, who formerly manufactured electrical capacitors containing PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, in Bloomington from the late 1950s through the 1970s, is now a part of Viacom. Viacom is responsible for cleaning up PCBs in Bloomington. \nDottie Alke, Viacom's vice president of environmental projects, said workers found the site while testing the Clear Creek flood plain for PCBs. \nAlke said the site is not consistent with other test samples taken from Clear Creek, and the incident seems to be isolated. In the past, there have been other small-scale incidents like this one that Viacom has taken care of on an informal basis.\n"We don't now how the material got there," Alke said. "It may have been a former garden area."\nMore tests are needed to determine the extent of the contamination, and Alke is not sure when the site will be cleaned.\nAccording to information on the Coalition Opposed to PCB Ash in Monroe County Web site, Westinghouse Electric hauled off faulty capacitors to local area landfills and farms. When these capacitors were spilled during manufacturing, the material was flushed down the sewer system. Some of the PCB waste ended up as sewer sludge that people used as fertilizers for their gardens. \nDennis Williamson has been working on PCB cleanup projects for the Monroe County Health Department for 25 years. He said the new site is not actually new.\nWilliamson said officials have known about the possibility of sludge in residents' yards since 1975. \nHe said the site was tested in 1975 and was shown to have levels of 40 PCB parts per million. The maximum acceptable parts per million at the time was 50 parts per million. Now the site, which has recently been tested for the first time since 1975, has a level of 180 parts per million. The level now considered safe for a residence is 10 parts per million.\n"The last time it was tested it was considered acceptable," Williamson said. "We would ideally like to have no contamination."\nWilliamson said the site seems to be running off into Clear Creek and that workers aim to clean up the creek. While testing various flood plain areas for the creek, they came across the site. \n"This was the hottest spot we found," Williamson said.\nHe said people should be aware of the danger of eating fish that come out of Clear Creek. Besides that, as long as someone does not dig into contaminated soil, they should be safe.\nAccording to studies by the Environmental Protection Agency, PCBs have been shown to cause negative health effects and cause cancer in animals. The agency then concluded PCBs probably cause cancer among humans.\nWilliamson said the site will probably be cleaned up by hauling the contaminated soil to another site. This site is minimal compared to the larger sites that are being cleaned up around Bloomington: Neal's Landfill, Bennett's Dump and Lemon Lane Landfill. All of these sites, which were dump sites for PCBs, have contaminated ground water.\nSophia Travis, a Monroe County Council and plan commission member, lives with her husband on the historic Ketcham estate. Before they owned the property, it was part of the contaminated site. \n"It's an issue on one level I've always been aware of," Travis said. "Clear Creek has always been a polluted creek."\nWestinghouse Electric Company drained polluted material into Clear Creek. The creek has advisory signs posted on its banks warning people to not eat fish from the creek because of contamination.\nWhile Clear Creek's signs warn people of the contamination, the warnings are of little consolation to the Travises. Their home is located uphill from the hot spot, and the sludge site is very specific and concentrated. \n"It's not worked into the ground. It seems like it was just dumped there," Travis said. "It wasn't worked into the soil."\nTravis said the material has probably been there since the 1970s. She said many people used to think sludge material wouldn't hurt anyone if it was dumped at their homes.\n"The courteous thing for Viacom to do would be to alert the residents about this site," Travis said. "We've never been contacted."\nTravis said this incident makes her wonder how many hot spots there are around the area. She said people should be aware it could happen to them as well.\n"It's not as unusual as one would think," Travis said. "It's still an alive and current issue"
(10/31/05 4:05am)
A caravan consisting of 17 members of the Indiana Ghost Trackers drove down a winding road in rural Monroe County searching for a secluded graveyard Oct. 22. They were on a ghost hunt.\nThe Bloomington chapter of Indiana Ghost Trackers is dedicated to tracking and understanding paranormal activity. The members regularly go on ghost hunts and provide investigations, which are free of charge, to individuals who feel their homes or businesss are inhabited by ghosts.\nSenior Cody Bell joined Indiana Ghost Trackers about one year ago after reading an article about the group in the Indiana Daily Student. \n"I'm kind of a history buff, so I enjoy the history behind the places we travel to," Bell said. "We get to travel to a lot of locations that I would not get to go to otherwise."\nHe said the group has traveled to Mansfield, Ohio, to hunt ghosts in the prison where the movie "Shawshank Redemption" was filmed. He said it is ranked as one of the top 10 most haunted places in America.\n"We had access to the building all night long," Bell said. "I didn't really see anything there that led me to believe that there were ghosts."\nThe Indiana Memorial Union is reported to have a haunted bell tower. Bell said Indiana Ghost Trackers had an opportunity to investigate the building one night.\n"It's creepy in the Union Board office alone. I have heard footsteps in there when no one else was around," said Bell, who is also the vice president of programming for Union Board. "My friend is thoroughly convinced that there is a ghost in the Union Board office."\nBell said he is not sure if he believes in ghosts or not. \n"I've never really had anything happen to me that would make me believe," Bell said. "I'd like to believe. I guess I'm just skeptical, but I think it is possible."\nBell's mother has a different story. \nShe was watching her grandson at her home while her niece was gravely ill in the hospital. While he was playing in their computer room, she went to fix him a snack. Her grandson came down to the kitchen and asked his grandmother if she believed in ghosts. She said she supposed that she did, and asked him why he would ask. He said he thought he saw a ghost. He said he saw a blue shroud of light pass through the room where he was playing and it went into the wall. \nBell's family received a call about five minutes later letting them know that the girl had passed away. Bell's parents agree that this experience is proof of the existence of ghosts.\nBell said he enjoys using the gadgets the Indiana Ghost Trackers use to detect the presence of ghosts. The group uses specialized recorders and microphones to capture electronic voice phenomena, which are sound recordings of what might be ghosts.\nChris Garrison, who traveled with his wife from Indianapolis to go on a ghost hunt with the Bloomington chapter of Indiana Ghost Trackers, had a recording of paranormal activity on his own recorder. Garrison said he picked up the recording of a whispering voice saying "go away" at the Royal Theatre in Danville, Ind. \n"Theaters are a good place to look for ghosts," Garrison said. "There is a lot of history in theaters."\nGarrison said he finds paranormal activity fascinating. Although he said he was reluctant to join the group at first, he believes in the existence of ghosts.\n"They are people who've passed on and don't believe they're dead," Garrison said.\nIndiana Ghost Trackers is a non-profit organization. Members of the organization are required to pay a $20 membership fee, which helps them acquire their equipment.\nIndiana Ghost Trackers offers various training classes for its members. Garrison said members are required to complete training classes before going on an investigation. \nAn investigation differs from a hunt in that it is performed at a homeowner's request. The group will investigate the cause of paranormal activity for the public free of charge. The group keeps investigations of homes confidential.\n"We try to eliminate what is not causing something paranormal to happen," said Indiana Ghost Tracker Rick Schmelz. "We are just amateur investigators."\nSchmelz said no one knows exactly what is going on with ghosts. Although he has never had an experience with ghosts, he said he thinks ghosts are probably people who have not moved on or have unfinished business. He said he realizes that instincts are not scientific and said that the Indiana Ghost Trackers try to be scientific about their work.\n"There is not a whole lot of data on the subject yet, and it is hard to control the elements we are studying," Schmelz said. "It's a young science"
(10/31/05 4:05am)
A caravan consisting of 17 members of the Indiana Ghost Trackers drove down a winding road in rural Monroe County searching for a secluded graveyard Oct. 22. They were on a ghost hunt.\nThe Bloomington chapter of Indiana Ghost Trackers is dedicated to tracking and understanding paranormal activity. The members regularly go on ghost hunts and provide investigations, which are free of charge, to individuals who feel their homes or businesss are inhabited by ghosts.\nSenior Cody Bell joined Indiana Ghost Trackers about one year ago after reading an article about the group in the Indiana Daily Student. \n"I'm kind of a history buff, so I enjoy the history behind the places we travel to," Bell said. "We get to travel to a lot of locations that I would not get to go to otherwise."\nHe said the group has traveled to Mansfield, Ohio, to hunt ghosts in the prison where the movie "Shawshank Redemption" was filmed. He said it is ranked as one of the top 10 most haunted places in America.\n"We had access to the building all night long," Bell said. "I didn't really see anything there that led me to believe that there were ghosts."\nThe Indiana Memorial Union is reported to have a haunted bell tower. Bell said Indiana Ghost Trackers had an opportunity to investigate the building one night.\n"It's creepy in the Union Board office alone. I have heard footsteps in there when no one else was around," said Bell, who is also the vice president of programming for Union Board. "My friend is thoroughly convinced that there is a ghost in the Union Board office."\nBell said he is not sure if he believes in ghosts or not. \n"I've never really had anything happen to me that would make me believe," Bell said. "I'd like to believe. I guess I'm just skeptical, but I think it is possible."\nBell's mother has a different story. \nShe was watching her grandson at her home while her niece was gravely ill in the hospital. While he was playing in their computer room, she went to fix him a snack. Her grandson came down to the kitchen and asked his grandmother if she believed in ghosts. She said she supposed that she did, and asked him why he would ask. He said he thought he saw a ghost. He said he saw a blue shroud of light pass through the room where he was playing and it went into the wall. \nBell's family received a call about five minutes later letting them know that the girl had passed away. Bell's parents agree that this experience is proof of the existence of ghosts.\nBell said he enjoys using the gadgets the Indiana Ghost Trackers use to detect the presence of ghosts. The group uses specialized recorders and microphones to capture electronic voice phenomena, which are sound recordings of what might be ghosts.\nChris Garrison, who traveled with his wife from Indianapolis to go on a ghost hunt with the Bloomington chapter of Indiana Ghost Trackers, had a recording of paranormal activity on his own recorder. Garrison said he picked up the recording of a whispering voice saying "go away" at the Royal Theatre in Danville, Ind. \n"Theaters are a good place to look for ghosts," Garrison said. "There is a lot of history in theaters."\nGarrison said he finds paranormal activity fascinating. Although he said he was reluctant to join the group at first, he believes in the existence of ghosts.\n"They are people who've passed on and don't believe they're dead," Garrison said.\nIndiana Ghost Trackers is a non-profit organization. Members of the organization are required to pay a $20 membership fee, which helps them acquire their equipment.\nIndiana Ghost Trackers offers various training classes for its members. Garrison said members are required to complete training classes before going on an investigation. \nAn investigation differs from a hunt in that it is performed at a homeowner's request. The group will investigate the cause of paranormal activity for the public free of charge. The group keeps investigations of homes confidential.\n"We try to eliminate what is not causing something paranormal to happen," said Indiana Ghost Tracker Rick Schmelz. "We are just amateur investigators."\nSchmelz said no one knows exactly what is going on with ghosts. Although he has never had an experience with ghosts, he said he thinks ghosts are probably people who have not moved on or have unfinished business. He said he realizes that instincts are not scientific and said that the Indiana Ghost Trackers try to be scientific about their work.\n"There is not a whole lot of data on the subject yet, and it is hard to control the elements we are studying," Schmelz said. "It's a young science"
(10/10/05 4:22am)
The Monroe County Historical Society is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year of promoting history in Monroe County.\nThe society now consists of the Monroe County Historical Museum, the genealogy library and gift shop. Carrie Hertz, a 26-year-old IU student working on her Ph.D. in folklore, worked at the museum for two years. \n"There is a great deal to interest people at the museum," Hertz said. "It celebrates the community in which we live, honors those who have shaped our social and physical landscape and explores the multiple groups that make up the fabric of our daily lives." \nHertz said her favorite exhibit at the museum is one she put together called "Facing the Inevitable: Mourning and Mortuary Practices of Monroe County." \n"While death is an emotional and physical fact of human life that all individuals must face, the way in which we acknowledge and deal with death is very different," Hertz said. "This exhibit explores how different groups and individuals in Monroe County face the inevitability of death."\nShe said people enjoy museums because they are filled with interesting things.\n"I love museums and how they can act as a mirror for culture," Hertz said. "There is something especially powerful about tangible, three dimensional objects that cannot be reproduced on computer screens or in books."\nKari Price, the executive director of the society, said this is the 25th anniversary of the museum and also the 25th anniversary of the Bloomington Playwrights Project. The two organizations are participating in a joint enterprise. \nPrice said students should visit the museum because it gives them a sense of place. She said the museum is always looking for volunteers and interns. \nSue Shelden is a member of the Collections and Exhibits Committee at the museum. \n"I think it is interesting that 100 years ago, people were concerned about history in Monroe County," Shelden said. "Bloomington was so new. It's hard to imagine that they were concerned about collecting history."\nShelden said the genealogy library offers many land and census records for Monroe County.\n"It's a great place to learn to research," Shelden said. "It has information from all over the state."\nThe Monroe County Historical Society's goal was to have a museum in its first years, Collections and Exhibits Committee member Gayle Cook said. \n"It took them 75 years to build a museum," Cook said. \nPrice said the museum is offering many interesting exhibits. Besides the mortuary exhibit, the museum also has exhibits about summer clothing in 1905 and an exhibit that honors the 100th anniversary of medicine in Monroe County.\nIn November, an exhibit on Clara Kinsey, wife of sex, gender and reproduction researcher Alfred Kinsey, will showcase her life in conjunction with the Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection.\nThe Monroe County Historical Museum is located at 202 E. Sixth St. near the Monroe County Public Library. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children under 12.
(10/03/05 5:36am)
Brookelyn Walters, 26, sits in a cold, white cement room in a fluorescent orange jumpsuit. Her thick brown hair is starting to grow back.\nShe sits in the Monroe County Jail on charges of theft by deception. She has been accused of falsely attesting to having cancer. The Bloomington Police Department arrested her Aug. 29 for stealing money from a fund-raising event for the Indiana Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.\nIt's been five months since this all started and her hair has grown back from her "cancer."\nWalters has a hazy story and a tainted past. And for the first time, she's sharing that story. \nShe said she is sorry for the lies and hopes she can find help. \n"It's been portrayed as a scam to get money, and it's not," Walters said in an exclusive interview with the Indiana Daily Student at the Monroe County Jail. "It's a need for love and acceptance. People hug you more when they think you are sick."\nShe made them believe\nWalters met Erin Booher and Booher's husband, Mike, who own and run Rising Star Academy of Gymnastics and Tutoring in Bloomington. \nBooher hired Walters to work in her gym and became friends with Walters. Around the end of March, Walters told Booher she had been diagnosed with a form of leukemia. Booher said she eventually allowed Walters to move into her home.\nBooher said she and Walters organized a fund-raising event that benefited the Indiana Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She said they gathered about $3,000 with about $1,000 of that in the form of cash donations. Booher said the money was not intended to help Walters, although she had been discussing helping Walters finance a bone marrow transplant.\nBooher said the cash donations were kept in an envelope Walters was managing. One day, she noticed all of the large bills in the envelope had been replaced with \n$1 bills.\n"I let Brooke handle most of the fund-raising," Booher said. "At first I felt hurt and violated. Now I am angry. She's a thief. We don't feel sorry for her."\nWalters claimed she did not take any of the money.\n"She comes off so kind and warm," Booher said. "She's not."\nWalters showed up to work one day with no hair on her head or arms and no eyelashes or eyebrows. She claimed it happened overnight because of chemotherapy. Booher said Walters told her 5-year-old daughter that her hair was growing back because she was praying for her.\nBooher said she or her husband stayed up every night with Walters for a month while Walters was appearing to have seizures. She said she stopped going to her gym to stay home and care for Walters. When Walters needed to go to various hospitals in Indianapolis, Booher made sure she had a way to get there, but Walters never allowed Booher to accompany her to see a doctor.\n"She was doing everything she could to wrap me around her story," she said.\nBooher said Walters took many different medications that were kept in various re-sealable plastic bags. She said there were printed forms, which appeared to be prescriptions, with the medicine. Walters also injected herself with both clear and orange liquids.\n"One time, after Brooke had a seizure, I called 911. There were nine EMTs in my living room attending to her, and they all believed her," Booher said. "One of the EMTs pulled us aside and said that this was very serious and we needed to find a way to get Brooke to the hospital since she was refusing their service."\nA troubled past\nThis was not the first time Walters falsely claimed to have cancer.\nPeople close to Walters in Bloomington were also surprised to find that Walters had been convicted of two counts of felony theft while attending Ball State University.\nBPD Sgt. Barbara Beland, who arrested Walters, said Walters was involved in similar incidents at four other schools in northern Indiana.\nWalters said when she was 4 years old her father abandoned her and her mother and brother.\n"I interpreted my father's departure as a signal that I had done something wrong," Walters said. "I remember vowing at age 4 to be the perfect child so I would never lose a \nparent again."\nWhen Walters was 12 years old, she found out that her biological father committed suicide. She said she began telling people she had diabetes about one week after her father's death. Walters said she began giving herself insulin shots at age 12. At age 14, she started saying she had leukemia.\n"I was dealing with everything well on the outside, but on the inside, I was trapped in an emotional prison with nowhere to turn," Walter said. "If drugs or alcohol had been available, I would have turned to that. I sometimes wish I would have because society is accepting of drugs and alcohol."\nWalters was involved with 4-H Club, student council, cheerleading and gymnastics in \nhigh school. \n"I was voted 'Most Likely to Succeed,'" Walters said.\nWalters said she has tried to commit suicide several times. She said being arrested in Bloomington this August saved her life.\n"I was standing with a cup of antifreeze and was ready to drink it," Walters said. "I asked God to give me a sign if I wasn't suppose to die. That was when the police knocked on my door."\nWalters is being held at the Monroe County Jail on a $50,000 surety bond. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Oct. 18, according to the Monroe County Clerk's Office.\nSomething was wrong\nThe Boohers had started to become suspicious of Walters. She asked for access to the money and her seizures always stopped when the Boohers called for help, according to police reports. They were also concerned when Walters told them her heart stopped and she had to be resuscitated but left the hospital without discharge papers or treatment \ninstructions.\nBooher, after growing extremely concerned about Walters, spoke to a doctor, who said Walters told him she was from France, had cancer two years ago, was in remission and was being seen that day for a \nnosebleed.\nBooher said she believes Walters was setting her up to take $10,000 from her, which Walters claimed she would need for a bone marrow transplant. \n"I told her I didn't have the money, but she could say the word and I would find it," Booher said. "I would have given her that money in a heartbeat. I think I would have never seen her again."\nBooher asked her husband to see what he could find out about Walters. \nBooher's suspicion was confirmed when her husband found articles online about Walters from 2003 when she claimed to have cancer while attending BSU.\n"I was so shocked," Booher said. "I couldn't believe anyone would do this."\nThe Boohers found out Walters was arrested on a felony charge of theft and forgery in Delaware County, Ind.\nThe office of Disabled Student Development at BSU said it provided Walters with a deaf interpreter after she supplied it with the necessary paperwork. The office provided Walters with the interpreter, but had a gut instinct something was wrong and asked for additional documentation. When Walters provided their office with more documents, which turned out to be forged, Disabled Student Development turned the documents over to the dean's office.\nBSU was the first party Walters paid back after she pled guilty but mentally ill to two counts of felony theft. The other count of theft was in regards to funds Walters received from a fund-raiser organized by a sorority and fraternity at BSU.\n"I'm so mad a person could jump into our life like she did and cause it to be put on hold for a hoax, for a fake. What a selfish person," Booher said.\nWalters said she learned that she should not take money from people from the incident at BSU.\n"They just put the money in my account. I shouldn't have accepted it," Walters said.\nBrookelyn's recovery\nWalters said she was completing her last semester of student teaching at BSU before she was \nexposed.\n"I wanted to teach deaf elementary children. I am now $25,000 in debt for an education I'll not be able to use," Walters said.\nWalters said she has believed herself to be sick with cancer for 12 years and is having trouble stopping those feelings.\n"Often my mind believes so deeply that I am ill with cancer that my body even begins to exhibit some physical symptoms, such as being pale, hair loss, vomiting, weight loss and bloody noses," Walters said. "I am not getting any therapy in jail. It scares me. I feel myself slipping away." \nIU Associate Professor of Psychology Edward Hirt is researching self-handicapping.\n"There are a lot of reasons people perceive themselves to be sick. You get a lot of attention when you're sick," he said. "If a person has a preconceived notion he is sick, he can usually find something to be wrong with him."\nBut Walters said she has hope for the future.\n"My heart is with deaf kids," she said. "I would like to minister to deaf kids. Obviously, I'll have to get my own problems worked out first."\nHer first step is apologizing. \n"I want to say I'm sorry to the people I've told I have cancer," Walters said. "It's a problem I'm working on. I want to get better"
(09/22/05 2:02am)
InVenture, a joint endeavor between IU and Bloomington, recently celebrated the end of its first year helping University-related, technology-based businesses take off.\nInVenture, located in the IU Research Park in downtown Bloomington, has a mission to provide entrepreneurs with business support, to provide a professional facility and to initiate a business venture with limited financial exposure, according to the inVenture Web site.\nMike Von Foerster owns RightRez, a company that makes travel industry software He graduated from IU in 1977 with degrees in political science and history.\n"I realized that it is not easy to get a job with a liberal arts degree," Von Foerster said. \nVon Foerster said he met a professor while working as a waiter and was persuaded to return to school and earn his master's degree in computer science from Western Illinois University. \nHe said he worked at many different jobs before being laid off and returning to Bloomington. While in Bloomington, he worked at a software-based business until it closed. After it closed, he bought the business and started RightRez.\n"I worked out of my house with another guy," Von Foerster said. "We were awarded a deal with Holland America Cruise Lines, which is one of our clients, and I told my wife I needed to hire someone else. She said I was not going to bring anyone else in the house."\nVon Foerster said he started looking for office space and found inVenture, which he was excited to find out provided more than just office space.\n"Even if you're not a business major, they will help you with accounting and payroll," he said. "You know your idea and you're good at it, but you might not know the employment laws."\nIt is easy to start a business right away, Von Foerster said. There is no need to worry about getting phones and Internet installed in your office. He said you can just start working.\nInVenture continues to help RightRez expand, a partnership that has lasted for more than a year. Von Foerster said inVenture offers his business a variety of services. \n"InVenture provides infrastructure facilities, which consists of great office space, networking and phone systems," he said. "They provide access to training classes, business planning and help with accounting."\nVon Foerster said when RightRez started its partnership with inVenture, it employed two people. RightRez now consists of 10 people and has outgrown its initial office space. He said RightRez is looking to hire more people.\n"I have been exposed to lots of things and met a lot of people that most small business owners would not be able to be exposed to," Von Foerster said. \nBrian Kleber, director of inVenture, said inVenture tenants pay rent below the market rate and are provided with additional services. Tenants have access to Internet service, phone systems and business advice.\nKleber said inVenture has seven tenants who all have a relationship with IU. The tenants are either IU graduates, staff or have a business that relies on research taking place at IU. He said he hopes the number of tenants will grow to 14 by next year.\n"We want to create jobs," Kleber said. "We're providing an opportunity for people in Bloomington to have good paying jobs."\nKleber said people who want to become a tenant with inVenture should fill out an application, which is located on its Web site, www.inventuretech.com. He said applicants are considered based on whether or not they are a technology-based business, whether or not inVenture thinks it can help the company and if space is available.\nLynn Coyne, IU assistant vice president for administration and liaison with inVenture, said IU provides inVenture with space for its tenants.\n"We have a partnership with inVenture that will help businesses that use technology or life science technology," Coyne said. "Our resources help develop small business communities."\nInVenture is a partnership between IU, the Small Business Development Center, Bloomington, the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, according to inVenture's Web site.
(09/16/05 4:47am)
As gasoline prices increase, so does the temptation for customers to drive away from convenience store pumps without paying for their gasoline.\nGas purchaser Jack Barger said his organization experiences approximately two drive-offs per store each week. He does point out, however, that some stores are more vulnerable than others. \n"As an organization, we lose about $3,500 a day in drive-offs," Barger said. "Almost none of that is recovered."\nBarger said his company receives little assistance from law enforcement officials in recovering payment for stolen gasoline. \n"They consider it petty theft," Barger said. "They think we should be more responsible in watching the pumps and making customers pay before they pump."\nBarger said customers become irritated with the requirement to pay before pumping gasoline. He said his company is reluctant to impose that requirement on its customers. \nBarger said there has only been a slight increase in drive-offs since gasoline prices have risen. But drive-offs that occur when prices are high are more costly, he said.\n"There is a lot of anger toward the oil industry," Barger said. "Gas is essential in our society and people will do what they have to in order to get gas."\nBarger said an average gas station will pump 3,000 gallons of fuel a day. He said the typical profit is 10 cents per gallon. He also said a large part of a store's profit goes to pay credit card transaction fees. \nScot Imus, executive director of the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said convenience stores spend about 70 percent of their profit on credit and debit card transaction fees. He said it is not uncommon for a credit card company to make more than a retailer on a gasoline purchase, and that retailers try to keep their prices competitive to attract customers to their store.\n"Consumers are less willing to buy items like chips and sodas if gas prices are high," Imus said. "One $40 drive-off can take days for the retailer to overcome."\nMaggie McShane, executive director of the Indiana Petroleum Council, said gasoline is in very high demand.\nHurricane Katrina came at a time when oil production was already operating at near capacity, she said. Plants in the United States were running at 98 percent capacity before the storm hit, and about 5 percent of gas production in the United States is down at this time. \n"The hurricane hit an area where oil and gas production is concentrated. It has had an immediate effect on fuel prices," McShane said. "It hit the heart and soul of the oil industry at full force."\nShe said because Indiana is landlocked, it receives all its oil via pipeline. The problem encountered with the strike of the hurricane was oil couldn't be sent because there was no electrical power. She said the pipelines are now delivering oil at an amount that is near their former rates. \n"There is such a high demand for fuel now," McShane said. "Indiana is using every drop of gasoline it can get"
(09/12/05 4:38am)
Loud music booming vibrations throughout the rooms of a house morning might produce a well-attended party in the wee hours of the morning. But those same vibrations might draw a fine.\nThe IU Student Association collaborated with six neighborhoods surrounding IU's campus and passed out 5,000 doorknob hangers last night in an effort to educate the community about Bloomington's "Quiet Nights" initiative. \nAccording to Bloomington's city government Web site, "Quiet Nights" is a taxpayer-funded program that incentivizes the city's noise ordinances, giving money to the Bloomington Police Department for enforcing the late night rules. \nThe citywide mandate requires residents to curb noise coming from their homes between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Every resident found to be violating the city ordinance can be issued a $50 fine.\nA noise violation is defined as any noise of continuous or intermittent nature, which persists for a period of 15 minutes and can be heard by a person outside the immediate premises from the location of the noise.\nIUSA President Alex Shortle said IUSA's mission is to bridge the gap between students and members of the Bloomington community.\n"We are letting students know how to protect themselves," Shortle said. "If students respect their neighbors, they will be respected." \nPhil Worthington, president of the Garden Hill Neighborhood Association, said IUSA produced and distributed doorknob hangers to the Garden Hill, Old North East, Bryan Park, Elm Heights, East Side and Green Acres neighborhoods -- the areas surrounding campus. \n"When you're calling the police, it means one thing," Worthington said. "The situation is already out of control. We're taking proactive measures. We want to lessen calls to the police."\nWorthington said subwoofers are the most recurring complaint among Garden Hill residents. He said the speakers penetrate walls and vibrate windows, even when they are not played loudly, and make it difficult for residents to sleep and study.\n"It violates your legal right to privacy," Worthington said. "There are conflicting lifestyles in a college town."\nThe Garden Hill neighborhood is predominantly made up of students who rent property, Worthington said. He said about 23 residents are homeowners, amounting to less than 5 percent of the neighborhood's population. \n"Our mission is an educational one," Worthington said. "If that gets them thinking about being considerate, that would be great. It is a program to prevent problems."\nIUSA Vice President Will Leckey said about 40 members of IUSA helped distribute doorknob hangers.\n"IUSA wants to educate students," Leckey said. "Residents need to keep noise to a minimum and show general respect to neighbors." \nLeckey said IUSA does not necessarily agree with the "Quiet Nights" initiative but wants to make sure students are aware of the consequences of making a great deal of noise. He said when police investigate noise complaints, often other citations, such as alcohol-related violations, are handed out.\nShortle, Worthington and Leckey roamed the Garden Hill neighborhood at 8:30 p.m. last night. They made their way down the vehicle-lined streets and placed doorknob hangers that warned what could happen if noise is heard from outside a home. A party, in honor of a televised football game, was the only occasion for music heard.\nMark Hooker, a retired professor of the IU Russian and East European Institute and representative of the East Side neighborhood, said subwoofers are the biggest problem in his neighborhood as well. He said about 60 percent of the East Side neighborhood is made up of resident homeowners.\n"'Quiet Nights' has been effective when people understand it costs them money," Hooker said. "This is for people who aren't considerate of their neighbors."\nHe said it is important for students who live in neighborhoods to understand what is expected of them. \n"Many people aren't aware they can get in trouble," Hooker said. "It's about being a good neighbor"
(09/09/05 5:11am)
Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana began a statewide marketing campaign Sept. 1 to alert people of the changes the school is undergoing.\nJohn Whikehart, chancellor of the Bloomington Ivy Tech campus, said the school recently changed its name from Ivy Tech State College to Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana after Senate Bill 296, formally recognized Ivy Tech as the state's official community college system, July 1. \n"This name change is symbolic of the transformation the school has been making in the past years," Whikehart said. "The school is now formally recognized by the state as a community college."\nWhikehart said the school will be offering more degree options and more transfer credits. The school now offers 214 hours that can be transferred to a four-year college or university. However, the four-year college or university that will be accepting the transfer hours has final say in whether it will accept the credit. Whikehart said Ivy Tech being formally recognized by the state of Indiana as a community college will help encourage other institutions to accept transfer credits from Ivy Tech.\nHe said this change will not directly impact the funding the school receives, but the school does receive funding based on enrollment, which he expects to grow with the new programs the school is offering.\nIvy Tech Dean of Enrollment Services Bryan Newton said the marketing campaign will include television commercials, Web site updates and billboards targeting areas surrounding Ivy Tech's 23 campuses.\n"The theme of our branding campaign is 'Changing Lives,'" Newton said. "We want prospective students to know that Ivy Tech is affordable, close to home, has credits that transfer and will give you personal attention."\nIvy Tech of Bloomington saw an enrollment increase of 12 percent this fall, according to a press release from the Office of the Chancellor. This is also the 12th year in a row the campus has seen an increase in its enrollment, the statement said.\nKaci May, who transferred to Ivy Tech from IU two years ago, said she didn't think many people were aware of the changes taking place at Ivy Tech. \n"I thought Ivy Tech was a recognized community college last year," May said. "There are definitely more people this year."\nMay said she is confident all the classes she is enrolled in at Ivy Tech will transfer to a four-year college or university. \n"I went to Ivy Tech because I didn't really know what I wanted to study," May said. "Ivy Tech is cheaper and easier on my schedule than IU."\nMay said many of her friends attending Ivy Tech couldn't get into IU. She said many people attend Ivy Tech to raise their grades so that they can be admitted to IU or other universities.\nIvy Tech will offer a community college curriculum including general education, liberal arts and occupational and technical training at all of its major instructional sites, according to Senate Bill 296. It will also provide an opportunity for students to earn associate degrees that four-year colleges and universities will accept.\nIvy Tech is the second largest post-secondary institution in Indiana, according to the Ivy Tech Web site, IU is No. 1. Whikehart said the two institutions complement each other. \n"Indiana is a global research institution," he said. "We are a work force development institution"