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(10/28/08 4:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a whirlwind tour of the state, a storm of politicians descended on Bloomington on Monday night for Congressman Baron Hill’s fundraiser at the Showers Plaza.Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson took her entourage on the road in her “Road to Change Tour,” which aims to hit 56 different communities in 10 days.“This is a very important county to any statewide election,” Long Thompson said. “I’m here to talk with voters and make sure that I’m doing everything I can to demonstrate how committed I am to rebuilding Indiana’s economy.”Long Thompson originally scheduled a rally for Monday night, but she had to cancel because it conflicted with Hill’s fundraiser, which was not open to the press.Long Thompson stopped to talk with the press before heading into Hill’s function, saying it was important in this election to vote a straight Democratic ticket.“I have a number of friends, including Congressman Baron Hill,” Long Thompson said, “and I just think it’s important to recognize that even though you’re a governor and states have different responsibilities and authorities, that governors can be persuasive when it comes to broader policy that impacts the nation as a whole.”Long Thompson, who received an MBA and a Ph.D. from the IU Kelley School of Business, promised to expand the 21st Century Scholars Program and also the number of college credits that can be earned at the high school level.“Education is important not just to students, but it’s important to the overall state and the economy of our state,” Long Thompson said. “My life is completely different today because of the educational opportunities afforded me here in Indiana.”Former Sen. Birch Bayh and current majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives Steny Hoyer, D-Md., were also on hand. Hoyer, who was in town for Hill’s fundraiser, served with Long Thompson in Congress and strongly believes in her character.“I came out for Baron Hill, but I am one enthusiastic supporter of Jill Long Thompson,” he said. “The people of Indiana would be extraordinarily well served to have as their governor Jill Long Thompson.”Bayh joined Long Thompson’s tour for stops in southern Indiana and stressed the importance of supporting not only Long Thompson but Hill as well.“He calls it just like he sees it,” Bayh said of Hill. “You never have to guess what he’s thinking.”Bayh said a Democratic team of Long Thompson and Barack Obama would bring about change through fresh ideas.“With new blood we’re going to have new solutions to old problems that won’t go away,” he said. “We’re going to put Indiana back in the blue column instead of the red.”
(10/22/08 4:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>JASPER, Ind. – The audience at Tuesday night’s congressional debate was small, but the crowd was fierce. Once the candidates for Indiana’s 9th Congressional District dealt with the pre-written questions from the participants on stage, they had to face inquiries from the local residents themselves.SLIDESHOW: Indiana 9th District DebateIssues such as abortion, energy, the national language and the appropriate tax system had constituents’ patience stretched to the breaking point. One man lashed out at what he said is corruption among politicians and groups like the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), and a Bloomington resident argued with Democratic incumbent Baron Hill on abortion. But the main concern was the effects of the current tax system and its repercussions.“I would support either a flat or a fair tax, either would be better than what we have now,” said Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg, who is also an economics professor at IU-Southeast New Albany.Republican candidate Mike Sodrel said he is also in favor of either tax, although he prefers a fair tax, which he said would help knock out foreign market competition. Sodrel said 22 percent of the cost of an American product is embedded taxes that foreign products don’t necessarily have.“The fair tax is a jobs bill,” Sodrel said. “It doesn’t level the playing field between domestic and foreign products. It might as well be called the ‘American Jobs Creation and Retention Act.’”Hill favored the current system, saying the fair tax and its goal for revenue neutrality would drive the deficit up. When it came to the state of the economy and one audience member’s retirement fund, he believed things would soon get better.“Some economists are saying we’re going into a depression, but I don’t think that we are,” Hill said. “If you can hang on, I think eventually it will all come back. These things are cyclical.”Schansberg agreed things won’t get as bad as some might fear.“Unless the government does a lot of the bone-headed things it did in the ’30s, we won’t go there again,” he said.One thing all of the candidates agreed on was the bailout plan, which Hill voted against both times it came up in the House. Both Sodrel and Schansberg said they would have done the same.“It just boggles the mind the amount of money that we’re talking about here, and it will be paid by our children and grandchildren,” Sodrel said. “I think doing nothing was the wrong thing to do, but the bailout was also the wrong thing to do.”Schansberg agreed, commending Hill for his vote against the plan.“When the Republicans are leading the charge for that kind of spending, who’s left?” Schansberg said.
(10/21/08 3:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The congressional candidates for Indiana’s 9th district will meet on stage at 7 p.m. today at the Jasper Arts Center for the lone time before voters hit the polls on Election Day. But why only one, when last election they had the standard three debates? Both Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg and Republican candidate Mike Sodrel point fingers at Democratic incumbent Baron Hill.“We wanted to have more debates,” said Ryan Reger, campaign manager for Mike Sodrel. “Baron Hill made excuses not to.”Schansberg noted that in 2006, when Hill was the challenger, he was “clamoring” for debates but has dodged requests for debates this election.“We were trying to set up four or five debates,” Schansberg said. “The hypocrisy on this is rather annoying, that he wanted debates as a challenger, but he doesn’t want to debate as an incumbent.”Hill’s campaign did not return calls Monday seeking comment.During tonight’s debate, each candidate will take questions alone on stage before responding to questions from the audience together. All three plan to focus on the economy and the smaller things that fall under that category: high prices, energy, the deficit and jobs.“If I have to point to an overarching issue, it would be the need to restore fiscal sanity to Washington,” Schansberg said. “No economist can tell you the limits of the debt.”WISH-TV reported that as of Oct. 10, the polls showed Hill had a 12-point lead over Sodrel. Although the candidate who trails in the polls has a long history of starting personal attacks, Reger said that’s not Sodrel’s style.“He’s not one to get up and attack a whole lot,” he said. “He might say something about his record and say how he voted on certain issues.” Because this is the only chance the candidates will have to confront each other directly, they are planning on packing as much punch as possible. Schansberg sees this as an opportunity to push some new ideas into the spotlight of voters who are tired of hearing the same responses from Hill and Sodrel.“One of the disadvantages of me running in this race is that the other two are really well known,” he said. “But although they’re well known, they’re not necessarily well liked. Everybody knows them, and it’s not going to reveal much.”With undecided voters making up 10 percent of the district, the debate has the potential to affect Hill’s lead on Sodrel. “I’m fairly confident (Sodrel will win) because I’ve seen him in all the different forms, and he does very well on his feet,” Reger said. “He takes questions very well, even if it’s a question he’s not expecting. He’s always very well prepared.”
(10/15/08 4:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In Tuesday night’s final gubernatorial debate at the IU Auditorium, candidates sparred over the Indiana government’s ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two enormous mortgage-lending companies that the government recently rescued.Democratic candidate Jill Long Thompson accused Gov. Mitch Daniels of making risky investments with government money.“Well as you know, junk bonds are considered high-risk investments, and you know that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have had a bailout by the federal government,” Long Thompson said. “I think it’s also important to know that there’s no investment policy for those dollars.”But Daniels defended his actions, saying there are guidelines to government investments.“First of all, the treasurer decides on the investment of such funds,” Daniels said. “Secondly, there’s a very clear policy governing what is not permissible, and it’s one of the most conservative and cautious in America.” Daniels said in a press conference after the debate that Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock is scheduling a conference at 10 a.m. today to address Long Thompson’s accusations.Libertarian candidate Andy Horning had a different view of economic policy, which he acknowledged most voters might think is extremist.“I don’t think it was the investments that were made, but I think it’s more or less the way our government has structured its money in debt in every kind of respect and what we have done over the last 30 years in terms of moving away from a gold standard,” he said.Other topics, such as the priority of arts and culture, arose. Both Horning and Daniels said they supported the arts personally but agreed that it should not be a priority within the government.“Throughout human history art has lifted the spirits and called mankind to the highest instincts. It’s never been more important than now,” Daniels said. “Supporting the very best of the arts is essential in the role that it always has been. But in difficult times, a subsidy of the arts is not at the top of my list.”Horning went even further, citing government influence as a reason to cut government funding of the arts.“Art can be looked at propaganda as well. ... Only 10 percent of funding coming from the government, and we can do without it,” Horning said. “I would like to cut that out entirely and make no possibility about political influence.”For the rest of the questions, the main challenge the candidates faced was how to edge in attacks on the other candidate. The ongoing fight between Daniels and Long Thompson did not end here, when Long Thompson’s comments finally made Daniels snap.“Well, I thought eventually we might see a kinder, gentler you,” he said to her, “but I guess it’s not in the cards.”But Long Thompson wasn’t afraid her strategy and the bickering between her and Daniels would turn voters away.“I think it’s very important to talk very candidly about the issues, and that’s what I’ve always done,” she said.
(10/15/08 1:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The most surprising part of Tuesday night’s gubernatorial debate was how well the candidates kept to their time limit, which still wasn’t very well.With questions geared more towards the candidates’ personalities and personal beliefs, all three had the opportunity to become more palatable to Hoosier voters.This is the last debate for the gubernatorial candidates.Issues such as privatization and the economy did resurface, along with Democratic candidate Jill Long Thompson’s claim that Republican incumbent Mitch Daniel’s invested in the junk bonds of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.“Well as you know, junk bonds are considered high risk investments, and you know that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have had a bailout by the federal government,” Long Thompson said. “I think it’s also important to know that there’s no investment policy for those dollars.”“First of all, the treasurer decides on the investment of such funds,” Daniels said. “Secondly, there’s a very clear policy governing what is not permissible, and it’s one of the most conservative and cautious in America.”Daniels said Indiana treasurer Richard Mourdock is reportedly scheduling a conference Wednesday at 10 a.m. to address Long Thompson’s attacks.Libertarian candidate Andy Horning had a different view of economic policy, which he acknowledged that most voters might think is extremist."I don’t think it was the investments that were made, but I think it’s more or less the way our government has structured its money in debt in every kind of respect and what we have done over the last 30 years in terms of moving away from a gold standard,” he said.For the rest of the questions, the main challenge the candidates faced was how to edge in their Web sites and attacks on the other candidate. The ongoing catfight between Daniels and Long Thompson did not end here, when Long Thompson’s comments finally made Daniels snap.“Well, I thought eventually we might see a kinder, gentler you,” he said to her, “but I guess it’s not in the cards.”But Long Thompson wasn’t afraid her strategy and the bickering between her and Daniels would turn voters away.“I think it’s very important to talk very candidly about the issues and that’s what I’ve always done,” she said.
(10/01/08 4:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Before Congressman Baron Hill, D-9th, called Tuesday’s meeting to order, laughter and small talk filled the lobby of City Hall. But as soon as Hill began speaking, the mood quickly turned serious.Hill called an impromptu town hall meeting Tuesday in Bloomington to discuss the economic crisis and to hear questions and comments from Bloomington residents. For nearly an hour and a half, he listened to “the people” as his staff took notes.“This is a very serious, serious situation we have on our hands,” Hill said. “I spent the whole day in Bloomington, going up and down the streets, going in the shops. What I figured out is I need to hear from you all.” BLOG: The PolitikerThe meeting comes on the heels of the Congress’ rejection of the $700 billion bailout plan and the stock market nose-diving 777 points on Monday. Hill voted against the plan.“I voted no because I think we’re moving too fast for this,” Hill said. “We need to figure out what happened, who should be held accountable and what we need to do to get ourselves out of this.”Hill repeatedly voiced his opinion that lawmakers weren’t taking the necessary time to evaluate the economic situation, a sentiment echoed by the local residents, many of whom commended Hill on his decision.Hill said time is needed to assess the actual damage to the stock markets, citing the fluctuating numbers over the past few days.“There’s been all this gloom and doom that if we do nothing, there will be a complete collapse of our economy,” Hill said. “Yesterday the market tanked. It went down 770 points. Today it’s up almost 500. We have to wait and see what these markets do.”The theory of the bailout plan, Hill said, is that the federal government would use the money to buy the assets of different companies. The taxpayers would then be issued warrants to buy stocks in those companies, which could later be sold for a profit.As for how economists came up with the $700 billion figure, Hill, who served on the Joint Economic Commission, is unsure.“I asked that question myself,” he said. “Apparently it’s 5 percent of the gross domestic product. Why 5 percent? I don’t know. I asked (Federal Reserve Chairman Ben) Bernanke, and he said something about some economic formula.”Hill said the proposal that was rejected on Monday was a $250 billion proposal, with conditions built in for an extra $450 billion if necessary.The audience’s main concerns seemed to be health care, alternative fuel sources, the housing market and accountability for the current situation.“I hope this is going on all around the country,” local resident Scott Alber said of the meeting.Another Bloomington resident, Tom Zeller, agreed.“He was here to listen to what everyone had to say,” he said.Hill told the crowd he would keep them updated on what’s going on in Washington, where the House will meet again on Thursday to reconsider its options. The Senate was scheduled to vote on the proposal today, but Hill said they postponed any action until the House acted first.“I will try to keep you informed,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back and hold another town hall meeting, but if that’s what it takes, and I think its important that we do that, then we’ll do it again.”
(09/24/08 4:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>JASPER, Ind. – Had it not been for the third podium between them at Tuesday’s gubernatorial debate, Republican incumbent Mitch Daniels and Democratic candidate Jill Long Thompson might not have realized Libertarian Andy Horning on stage. The first two spent the evening attacking each other’s policies and sometimes their character, while Horning protested the evils of big-party politics.“For a very long time we have felt just that we don’t have a choice,” Horning said. “What do you hate most about politics? Every time we vote for a major party ticket, we vote for 100 years of division.”But it was the big party tickets and the big issues that took center stage. The economy, I-69, health care, education and fuel costs were the focus of debate. Indiana residents who previously submitted questions were invited to the debate to pose their questions directly to the candidates. BLOG: The PolitikerSixty-year-old Paul Higgs, a retiree of Alcoa-Warrick Operations in Gentryville, Ind., asked if the candidates were in favor of removing the sales taxes on gasoline and other heating fuels.Both Daniels and Horning opposed the tax cut, saying it was against the law and that it encouraged further dependence on oil.“There’s no authority to do it,” Daniels said. “We don’t know exactly what the winter will bring.”Horning added his opinion on the opposition of the tax cut, saying it “de-stimulates” other energy alternatives.“If we have a problem with scarcity of fuels, that’s not the time to start subsidizing to use it more,” he said.Long Thompson, however, was in favor of the tax cut, citing the recent economic downturn.“Hoosier families are hurting, and they need a break,” she said.When it came to the issue of social services, Horning took an unusual stance on child protection services.“We have to put an end to the organization that takes kids away from parents,” he said. “Nobody should lose their child unless there’s some kind of crime that’s been committed.”He clarified his position after the debate during questions from the press.“Instead of paying people to take kids, we need to empower police and judges to do their jobs,” he said. “You shouldn’t take away children without some sort of criminal prosecution.”Daniels had to answer to the press for an accusation Thompson made during the debate, saying Daniels uses the state airplane, funded by taxpayers, to fly back and forth from his vacation home in West Virginia.“Alright, listen,” he said. “Every one of those trips had official business attached to it. If we didn’t need to do it, we didn’t do it.”Daniels called the accusation “100 percent untrue” and deemed it a personal attack. Long Thompson responded by using a quote from Harry Truman.“‘I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell,’” Long Thompson said. “It is wrong for the governor to use tax dollars to fly to a vacation home.”Long Thompson also attacked what she called Daniels’ “privatization madness,” referencing the toll roads and welfare system.“Food stamp numbers are up, not down,” Daniels argued. “There are now multiple ways to contact the system, where before there was only one person. If they were sick or on vacation you were out of luck.”As far as the toll road is concerned, Daniels cited the $3.8 billion the state received from Macquarie-Cintra – a Spanish and Australian consortium.“The fact is the toll road was undersold at a sale price,” Thompson said. “The company will recoup the $3.8 billion in 15 to 20 years. The tolls will not only be going out of this state but out of this country. We could have done the same thing.” The next gubernatorial debate will take place on at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 in the IU Auditorium.
(09/10/08 9:37pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>From the electric beats of techno to the chest-thumping bass of hip-hop, one thing is certain about the Bloomington dance scene: It’s mobile.With the exception of bars like Jake’s and Kilroy’s Sports Bar, dance parties have no permanent home. The weekend dance crowd slides everywhere from places like the Econo Lodge to house parties and fraternities. One positive result of the mobile dance scene is the opportunities it provides for the local DJs. “The parties really showcase a lot of the local artists that are just as good and better than I am,” said Adam Kabe, a DJ for 96.7 FM, a.k.a., B97. “These dance parties that get put on all around town really get the message out.”Kabe works the turntables for the 5 o’Clock ROAD RAGE, a program that focuses on drive-time mixes, and he also has a 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. show Fridays. The shows get about 20,000 listeners between them. Kabe got hooked on techno when he discovered the song “Sandstorm” by Darude. “It was pure energy, without saying anything. I got really interested in the idea of music like that,” he said.Once he had the equipment and software he needed, he started DJing for his high school and friends. Kabe said the feedback from a live crowd is the “ultimate high.” He and a few other DJs have taken the dance scene into their own hands by coordinating their own parties, because the current dance scene wasn’t drawing them in. He said his favorite dance parties are the ones thrown by the WIUX, the IU student-run radio station on 99.1 FM.“The people who go there don’t want to get high, they don’t want to get drunk. They just really want to dance,” he said.Mike Quick, a graduate student and one of the DJs at WIUX, said he and his cohost Craig Shank threw about 10 dance parties last year at WIUX headquarters. “In my humble opinion, I think Bloomington dancing is very much underground,” Quick said. “We spend a lot of time digging for things you can’t find, like UK dance music. Most people, when they hear it, are surprised at how fast it, is or don’t even understand how it works.”Quick and Shank have a 10 p.m. to midnight show Tuesdays on WIUX. Half the time slot is devoted to house and disco, while the other half is given to drum ’n’ bass. The two DJs have recently gotten in on another part of the underground dance scene: a Facebook group called Sneak Attack. Members of the group receive messages about spontaneous house parties around Bloomington.“It’s kind of put together last minute, but it always turns out pretty well,” Quick said.Ben Jackson, a.k.a., DJ Action Jackson, has focused his attention on the bar scene. A DJ at Jake’s, the 2005 alumnus recently started a weekly Saturday night dance party.“We had a really big crowd the first night,” Jackson said of the event’s first night Aug. 30, “so I think it’s really going to take off.” Jackson, who does shows from coast to coast, also plans on continuing the parties he threw with DJ Flufftronix, who recently transplanted from Bloomington. The crew plans on throwing the next one Sept. 26 at Rachael’s Café. As far as the bars go, Jackson names Jake’s as the best place to dance, especially because of the variety of music and people.“They bring in DJs from all over,” he said. “They brought in a DJ from France, once. Plus you get everybody from the frat guys to the art school hipster cats.”Across campus at the underground hip-hop scene, senior Bryan Sanders, a.k.a., DJ Big Smooth, heads shows at parties thrown by the fraternities and sororities. Sanders’ big break came when he decided to take the idea of a graduation party to a new level. “It started off as I just wanted to throw the biggest graduation party the world has ever seen,” he said. “There was about 1,000 people there.”Even though Sanders was leaving for college, they continued the parties at a warehouse in Indianapolis as Club H2O, but the operation closed after a year when Sanders’ friend also left for college. Sanders said he believes the Greeks he DJs for “definitely 100 percent” throw the best dance parties. The boundless energy and eagerness to dance of the legions of people at those parties create the ideal dancing atmosphere, said junior Kelsey Pumel, a member of the IU Essence dance team.Pumel said she knows what makes a successful dance party.“You need good music, a big area, you need a lot of people,” she said, “and at least one crazy, energetic person to get out on that dance floor and start dancing when nobody else is.”
(08/06/08 9:36pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last spring, the Monroe County Correctional Center held 272 inmates. But the jail was only capable of housing 204 inmates, which meant the extra inmates had to sleep on the floor. Since then, the jail has added 65 beds, taking the total up to 271. Now only five inmates are without beds.“I can say the atmosphere in the jail has improved dramatically,” said Monroe County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Scott Mellinger. “A lot less problems, a lot less complaints.”Although the improvements have helped, they’re still not enough. More additions are in the works, and the overcrowding issue is still a major priority.“The county commissioners have passed a resolution, and they have already hired a consulting group to construct not only a jail, but also a juvenile detention facility,” Mellinger said.County Commissioner Iris Kiesling said they are also building facilities specifically for female detainees with bonds from last year. In years past, there were too few women incarcerated to warrant an exclusive facility.“Many more women are being detained,” Kiesling said. “They have no restrooms or private space. It’s being fixed right now; it’s being done as we speak.”But until those projects are completed, any incoming detainees will most likely be without a bed. Mellinger said jail inspectors have the overcrowding problem on the books, but unless one of the inmates files a lawsuit, no immediate action will be taken against the jail. Therefore, the happiness of the inmates is very important.“We do our best to maintain their general warfare but we do that because it’s our job, not because we’re trying to avoid a lawsuit,” Mellinger said.Craig Bradley, Robert A. Lucas Professor of Law at the IU School of Law, said jails can be subject to a federal court order to let inmates go if they are unable to house them, but only in serious cases.“If they’re only a few past capacity, there’s probably no basis for it,” he said. “You don’t have a constitutional right (for a bed). You have to show conditions for your rights of cruel and unusual punishment are being violated, not just that they’re suboptimal.”Mellinger said the general public tends to believe that nonviolent offenders shouldn’t be jailed, especially when the prison is at capacity. Decarceration activists have even appeared at political forums to push for the release of prisoners.“I think there may be some validity to some of the arguments, but I also think you have to look at individual persons who are incarcerated and look at their history and determine whether or not generally public safety is at risk if they are not in jail,” Mellinger said.Decarcerate Monroe County, a local decarceration activist group, could not be reached for comment.Commissioner Kiesling said there is a huge problem with methamphetamine in the rural pockets of Monroe County, like a lot of other rural areas, so releasing certain prisoners is a tough question.“Decarceration would be very nice, but that’s up to the state legislature,” she said. “I don’t know how you do that, if a person has violated their probation. What do you do with somebody who has not complied with the law, that’s the question.”
(08/03/08 11:14pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Steve Mangan has worked on campus for only three years but has already left a significant imprint on the Bloomington community.Mangan, general manager of Indiana Memorial Union Dining Services, was recently honored by The Sodexo Foundation – the independent charitable arm of Sodexo, Inc., which operates the dining services at the IMU – as a “Hero of Everyday Life.” Mangan has overseen the donation of 15,000 pounds of food to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank and coordinated several canned food drives, collecting 7,300 pounds of canned food. “For us, it’s just what we do,” Mangan said. “That’s the nature of the whole award is that we’re just going about things quietly.”Mangan is a volunteer on the board of directors for Hoosier Hills Food Bank, which distributes food to about 90 agencies in Indiana. In Monroe County, they distribute to about 40, including Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard and the Community Kitchen of Monroe County, said Julio Alonso, Hoosiers Hills exective director.“He’s been a great member of our board and very enthusiastic about the food bank and what we do,” Alonso said. “He’s someone who very much encourages the staff over there. He leads from the top down and sets an example.”The Sodexo Foundation also gave each of the seven recipients of the award a $5,000 grant to the hunger-related charity of their choice. Mangan gave his to Hoosier Hills, which is putting the money toward its new warehouse.“I was very pleased,” Alonso said. “It’s a great honor for Steve to be recognized in that way for the contributions that he has made for the food bank. Of course it’s very exciting for us to get the financial donation as well.”Mangan isn’t the first IU employee to be honored with this award. Back in 2006, Maureen Brown, who was involved in the IMU and is now Sodexo’s district manager in Bloomington was also named a “Hero of Everyday Life,” paving the way for Mangan and his team.“It was just natural to continue what we were doing and add on to that,” Mangan said.The “Hero of Everyday Life” award not only encourages humanitarianism within the Sodexo company, but also brings its employees closer together.“Fellow employees are really proud of their colleagues, who are recognized as ‘Heroes of Everyday Life,’” said Monica Zimmer, senior manager of Sodexo public relations, in a statement. “When you’re bestowed with such an honor, how could you be anything but proud of your coworker?”Mangan and his wife traveled to Washington, D.C., to receive the award from the Sodexo Foundation. Seven other people from across the country were also recognized, as well as a crop of students who were given scholarships for actions they have taken against hunger.“The event itself is huge,” Mangan said. “I had no idea what I was getting into.”Despite all the efforts between Sodexo and Hoosier Hills, there is a huge shortage of food for the hungry right now, Mangan said. Hoosier Hills typically hands out about 17,000 pounds of food a month to its agencies, but they only have 7,000 on hand, Zimmer said.“There is a dire need of products right now, it’s everywhere,” Mangan said. “You would just be totally amazed at how much need there is here.”Mangan and his IMU team are doing everything they can, he said. Last year, they involved Burger King in a program that donated customers’ loose change to Hoosier Hills, and every year the IMU provides space for Hoosier Hills to hold its annual banquet. Mangan doesn’t plan on stopping there. He said he has lots of other plans in the works, for both the IMU and the Food Bank. “We’re branching out a little bit, and supporting a lot of different organizations all the time with donations of either food or space or events,” Mangan said. “With some luck maybe we can get RPS involved.”
(07/09/08 6:19pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Fierce. That’s the new buzz word heard on runways around the country; the adjective designers and models struggle to become. The cutthroat world of fashion has taken daily entertainment by storm, flooding TV sets with shows like “America’s Next Top Model” and “Project Runway,” with plenty more in the works. But these shows never focus on where the designers learned their craft.IU alumna Bailey Redick graduated in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in apparel merchandising, fashion design and an associate’s degree in costume design. Pre-graduation preparation and a previous internship with MotionWear landed her a position with the dance-clothing company in Indianapolis.“This job is the best job that I could have asked for out of school, point blank,” she said. “It’s very stressful and I work a lot of hours but it’s very rewarding and I get to see the results of my work. I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.”MotionWear designs activewear clothing for young girls in dance and gymnastics, which really appealed to Redick, who wanted to work in the women’s or children’s industry.“I tend to lean toward designs that are youthful, fun, lots of color,” she said. Redick first started sewing in second grade, and experimented with clothing and designs throughout her teens. “I was the most fashionable girl in school just because I wore my own clothes,” she laughed.IU junior Lauren Stookal is getting an early start in the fashion business. Stookal landed an internship with Christian Louboutin in New York when she came across the opportunity on Seventeen magazine’s Web site. She thinks the fashion industry is a tough place for the both the business end of fashion and the designing process.“It’s pretty competitive, especially in New York because there are so many designers and so many companies,” Stookal said. “19,000 people saw this internship.”Christian Louboutin specializes in luxury women’s shoes and handbags that are sold at stores like Barneys and Neiman Marcus. Stookal’s job focuses on assisting with events like market week, where buyers came to look at new products. Although she had no trouble getting her foot in the fashion door, Redick said she knows fellow grads who didn’t find a job for over six months. She said this was because they didn’t start interviewing during school. She also thinks it’s more competitive for designers than it is for students pursuing a career in buying or planning.“It is harder for apparel design, kind of looking at the big picture. There are all these schools pumping out all these design students, but are they all getting jobs?” Redick asked. “You kind of have to … know what you want and you have to know way before you graduate.”While Redick is on the design side of fashion, Stookal is planning to take on a career in buying. The apparel merchandising major is a business minor, which is helpful when it comes to the buying and planning aspects of the industry. She hopes to intern at a company like Bloomingdale’s next summer.“I got to see how the buyers and designers interact, which is really interesting,” she said about her internship.Internships are the most prominent method of getting experience in the industry, but there are some other options available on campus. Stookal was the marketing assistant for the IU student Retail Studies Organization last year, and Redick ran the newsletter while she was in school.She said the organization allows for a great connection on campus to the outside fashion world because of the speakers that come to IU, such as the CEO of Sears.The organization is run by some of the professors in the Department of Apparel Merchandising & Interior Design, so fashion students in the organization can make a personal connection with them.“If you’re really active and you’re really involved, it shows your professors that you really want to be involved and learn more and immerse yourself in educational programs that IU has to offer,” Redick said.IU senior Jackie Daniel is a perfect example of how helpful IU networking can be. Daniel is the president of the Retail Studies Organization for the upcoming year, but received an internship through her job as the organization’s career seminar assistant. The apparel merchandising major is working with Kohl’s for the summer in the buying office.“Currently, we are working on spring ’09 lines,” Daniel said. “Designers in New York come and when we purchase from them, we tell them exactly what we want.”Daniel also acts as a sort of test group for the company, giving them her opinions on new lines and designs.“I let them know my ideas, because I am their target market,” she said. “They need fresh ideas coming from someone who hasn’t looked at this line forever.”Daniel said her education at IU is superior to the programs at other schools, and the Retail Studies Organization’s career seminar is a major help as well.“I’m well above the mindset of all the other students that are in the same position that I’m in,” she said. “You don’t get that kind of exposure in other schools. IU focuses on that those recruiters need to be here because this is where the retail industry is going.” Other programs are also available on a more general scale to help students make connections with national and international companies. Students in Free Enterprise is a national nonprofit organization that has groups on universities across the country, including here at IU.“It’s up to teams to design their own projects that they do,” Bill Six with Enterprise’s national headquarters said. “When students join SIFE, they are in our network, and our network consists of students and faculty and leading businesses around the world that support our endeavors. When they’re connected to SIFE, they’re connected to these businesses.”Students in Free Enterprise, started in the 1970s in Texas, is involved in 47 different countries and has teams on over 1,500 campuses nationwide. The total number of students involved with the program tops 38,000. “Because of the culture at the time, they were just trying to promote how business is a good thing,” Six said about the company’s start-up. “We promote how business can do good things by doing good for others.”With thousands of students graduating in the field of apparel design every year, Redick agrees you have to be top-notch in order to face the industry heads.“They will really rip you apart,” she said. “Anything in your portfolio that has your name on it that doesn’t look absolutely professional will not be looked upon nicely.”Summer fashion must-haves:Lauren Stookal's summer must-have is a belted summer dress, because she said it's comfortable for the hot New York City weather. "I see a lot of mod prints and vintage bags in the city as well," she said. "I just bought a vintage quilted Chanel bag at one of the many vintage stores." Bright colors and Ombre-faded fabric is also big in the Big Apple, she said.Jackie Daniel said that, for her, this summer's essentials are glittery or jewel-encrusted tanks, skirts, flip-flops, head bands and jewelry from such stores as Old Navy or Forever21. Racerback shirts, crochet tops, maxi dresses and gladiator sandals are also in style right now, she said.
(07/03/08 1:42am)
After six long years, it’s finally finished. Jill’s House, a home for out-of-town patients undergoing treatment at Bloomington’s Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute, officially welcomed its first residents Tuesday. The facility is named in honor of slain IU student Jill Behrman.\n“This started a long time ago when Bud and Peg Howard thought about it. They thought it was something that would be nice for us to be involved in and to work on,” said Eric Behrman, Jill’s father. “It’s also something very nice for the community to remember Jill by.”\nBud and Peg Howard were the driving force behind Jill’s House, which can hold 25 patients plus one caregiver for each patient. The Howards lost their teenage son Steve to cancer back in 1970, and their experiences during his treatment gave birth to the idea of Jill’s House.\n“We knew with the proton therapy the patients need a place to stay,” Peg Howard said. “I stayed about six weeks in New York. There was no facility for me to stay, so I had to stay in a hotel. It was very, very expensive. There was no place to fix food, you had to go out for all your meals. There was no facility to do laundry.”\nThe house is a cross between a hotel and a mansion, featuring four kitchens, laundry rooms, spacious sitting areas, a playground and a library. There’s also a children’s playroom complete with a giant flat screen TV, stuffed animals and stocked bookshelves. Each room has two double beds and a private bathroom.\nAccording to Executive Director Susan Dabkowski, donations primarily funded the creation of Jill’s House. While residents are asked for a donation of $30 per night, they need not pay if they are unable to do so.\n“We are not turning anyone away because of inability to pay,” she said.\nThe patients Jill’s House accommodates could range from senior citizens all the way down to children of 18 months. Dabkowski said the majority of inquiries the facility receives are from either pediatric patients or individuals suffering from prostate cancer. Three patients have moved in so far, and the house has 12 more reservations. Signs taped outside each room pay tribute to the individuals or organizations that funded it.\nThe residents are patients at MPRI and undergoing proton therapy, which is more exact than X-ray radiation. MPRI is only one of five institutions of its kind in the country, and the only one operating in the Midwest.\n“Proton therapy is a highly precise form of treatment for tumors that is extraordinarily good at protecting the healthy cells and healthy tissues around a tumor,” said Amanda Burnham, manager of marketing and development for MPRI.\nMPRI has been in operation since February 2004, and patients typically have to stay 8-10 weeks, Burnham said. She also said they have had landlords and hotels who offer discounts and shortened leases to patients, but nothing like Jill’s House.\n“Jill’s House is a long awaited, wonderful thing to help our patients have a home away from home,” Burnham said.\nWhen the Howards were laying the plans for Jill’s House, Jill Behrman was still missing. They decided naming it in her honor would be a way to keep her name in the public consciousness. \n“It could have been named any house, but about eight years ago when Jill was missing, from the time when she left on her bicycle ride and didn’t return, the whole community was looking for her,” said Eric Behrman. “And this gave us an opportunity to make something good out of the bad.”\nPeg Howard has devoted her life to fighting cancer since her son’s passing, and Jill’s House is the culmination of her work. She has spent years volunteering for the American Cancer Society, working with patients, and running support groups.\n“He was so brave in everything he did. He knew that the research he was undergoing was probably not going to save him but it was probably going to save somebody else,” Howard said. “It was that attitude that made me want to do something. I think he would be very proud of this house and what it stands for, and so would Jill.”
(07/02/08 10:37pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Are you stuck on campus away from your family for the holiday? Or are you a townie looking to rejoin your collegiate brethren for a day? No sweat! WEEKEND has cooked up a Fourth of July itinerary to beat the heat and celebrate Uncle Sam’s 232nd birthday. So break out the beers and start up your grills, because it’s going to be one hot holiday.9 – 10 a.m. Get your pride onGet an early start and shake off the pre-Independence Day hangover with a free concert given downtown on the courthouse square before the big parade. The Bloomington Community Band will kick off the festivities, performing for the parade’s expected 10,000 attendees. The band stands out from other local music groups because of its number of players and range of instruments.“We’re known as a concert band,” Director Tim Moore said. “That means something in the world of musicians.”The band plans on playing traditional July 4 songs like “God Bless America” and the national anthem to get the crowd in the mood, but they will also play other selections, including a “military melody” as a salute to all branches of the armed forces. The group plays a variety of venues, but they have played the parade since it began. Moore said the parade is probably the largest audience they perform for, which is a big departure from more-personal settings like the local retirement homes.“I had an 89-year-old woman come up to me when we were done playing and hug me even though I was all sweaty from directing,” Moore said. “I said, ‘Don’t hug me, I’m sweaty!’ She said, ‘I don’t care, I’m going to kiss you anyway.’”You can also catch the Bloomington Community Band at their next gig on Saturday, July 12 at the Orleans Concert on the Square.10 a.m. – noon Parade of floatsGet patriotic with the annual parade of floats created by over 100 local groups and organizations, featuring everyone from cheerleaders to the Indiana Special Olympics. The YMCA is letting the participants from their summer camps design their floats this year.“We think it’s a great community event and we’re all about building a stronger community with family and friends,” Laura Dahncke, who has been in charge of the parade entry for two years, said. “It’s important to get out there.”Groups like the YMCA are veterans in the parade, but a couple of new faces join the festivities this year.“We’ll have a marching band which hasn’t been in the parade for the past few years,” Sarah Nix, Recreation Specialist with the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, said. “We’ll also have Shriners on mini-motorcycles.”The Shriners of North America raise money for their children’s hospital, which according to their Web site, treat child victims of burns, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic conditions and cleft palates. The parade is celebrating more than America’s birthday, though. This year’s theme is “Celebrating 100 Years” of the county courthouse. As a tribute to the courthouse’s anniversary, free cake will be handed out after the parade in addition to another concert from the local band the Kookamongas. The band’s distinct name has a personal origin.“My brother used to call my kids – when they were little – ‘kookamongas,’” drummer Rex Miller said. “There’s actually an Indian tribe out in California, too, although I think it’s spelled differently.”The group will also be performing during the parade on one of the floats. Miller said they play rock ‘n’ roll, blues and country with an emphasis on dancing, but they haven’t decided which songs they’ll be performing.“We haven’t really thought about that,” he said. “We know so many songs that we can play about anything.”The Kookamongas’ performance will close out the parade festivities, but a coloring tent will be available on the square as well, in case you bring along any little ones.Noon – 2 p.m. Backyard barbecueNow it’s time for the age-old tradition of the backyard barbecue. Pop the tops on some Samuel Adams beers and set up a tournament of the college favorite and all-American game of cornhole. 2 – 5 p.m. On the lake...What’s a Fourth of July celebration without some time spent on the lake? Grab some floats and rent a boat from one of the several rental places to relax on the water at Lake Monroe. Be prepared to bring a few bucks, though, as rates shoot up for the holiday. Reserving a boat in advance would also be a good idea. “We sell out on the Fourth,” Allie Crouch, supervisor of boat rentals at the Fourwinds Resort & Marina, said. “Each rental may have to go out twice that day.”Also keep an eye on the weather. The Weather Channel reports scattered thunderstorms are expected throughout the day, but with the high temperature at 88 degrees, the rain might be a welcome respite.5 – 9 p.m. Dinner and a movieAfter you spend a few hours nose-diving in your attempt at water skiing, take a load off and do dinner and a movie. You’re in luck, because the two newest releases both have traditionally American themes. Choose from Will Smith’s "Hancock," a superhero movie with a twist, or Abigail Breslin’s “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl,” based on the American Girl doll stories.As for the meal, WEEKEND has tracked down some festive recipes available on our Web site, idsnews.com/weekend to whip up for your guests. If you’re lucky enough to live around the stadium, you might catch the live music the Bloomington AMVETS has set to kick off at 8 p.m. before the fireworks. If you’re feeling lazy, skip cooking and pick up a bite to eat from the vendors at the show.9 – 10 p.m. Just watch the fireworksThe fireworks kick off as soon as it gets dark and the sun goes down at 9:16, according to The Weather Channel’s Web site, so that gives you plenty of time to either make it to the stadium or set up chairs on your front lawn. The show usually lasts 30 to 45 minutes, according to Brenda Kerr from the AMVETS.10 p.m. – TBD Party timeHave a Founding Fathers’ bash! Hit up Campus Costume on 2530 E. 10th St. for some presidential outfits. Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty and colonial Americans are Independence Day mainstays, but get specific with Ben Franklin, George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. Massive amounts of fireworks are also available at the costume shop if the stadium’s show left you wanting more.
(07/02/08 10:30pm)
WEEKEND compiles the best patriotic and rebellious tunes for the upcoming holiday
(06/25/08 10:44pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington lies within the scenic foothills of Indiana, hemmed in by
trees all along the highway and through the IU campus. The city’s very
name evokes a sense of greenery. If you combine that with the liberal
reputation Bloomington has garnered over the years, the local
environmental movement here is only fitting.
Bloomingfoods led the charge for a local and more environmentally
conscious town more than 30 years ago, when a group of residents
decided they wanted a change.
“At that time, there was sort of a renaissance of food co-op across the
country,” Ellen Michel, marketing manager of Bloomingfoods, said.
“People weren’t finding natural foods in the grocery stores.”
The co-op started out as a buying program from a food distributor until
it built up enough of a market to open a store in 1976. The company’s
mission statement still applies today.
“A lot of the things they were concerned about turned out to be broad
mainstream concerns now,” Michel said. “That was 32 years ago, and the
whole local foods movement just sort of blossomed in the last four or
five years. They were kind of ahead of the game, I think.”
The environmental movement really caught on in 1970, following events
like biologist Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring,” which launched an
attack on pesticides upon its publication in 1962. In December of 1970,
the federal government created the Environmental Protection Agency,
which was “born in the wake of elevated concern about environmental
pollution,” according to the agency’s Web site.
One result of the green movement, the U.S. Green Building Council,
recently launched a project in conjunction with Bloomington’s Housing
and Neighborhood Development Department. EverGreen Village is a new
housing development still under construction as part of the building
council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
“The USGBC was founded in 1993 to bring together professionals from
every sector in the industry and to create a common definition for
green building,” U.S. Green Building Council Communications Coordinator
Ashley Katz said via e-mail.
The new housing addition is a pioneer project in the field of energy
efficiency for residential homes. Started in 2006, four of the 12
houses already have families; seven are still under construction.
“The last six or seven years the HAND department has really tried to
make our units more energy efficient,” Lisa Abbott, director of the
Housing and Neighborhood Development Department, said. “We don’t
believe that it makes sense to put a low-income family in a house
that’s expensive to operate. As technology has developed, we have
continued to move forward.”
The houses feature carpets made of recycled plastic bottles, pathways
of recycled pavement, solar panels and environmentally friendly
storm-water systems, Abbott said.
On the IU campus, environmental progression has been a focus since the
early 1970s with the founding of the School of Public and Environmental
Affairs. The latest college rankings issued by the U.S. News and World
Report list IU’s SPEA as the second best public-affairs graduate
program for 2009, tying Harvard and beating out the likes of Princeton
and Columbia.
Founding SPEA professor Philip Rutledge, who passed away last year,
spoke about the attitudes of establishing an environmental school in “A
Reminiscence: SPEA Deans I Have Known.” The passage ran in the winter
2001 issue of the SPEA Alumni Update newsletter.
“The concept of SPEA as a statewide system school to prepare a cadre of
managers to tackle the enormous public sector challenges emerging from
the turmoil of the 1960s was an idea whose time had come,” he wrote.
He felt SPEA “was to become the largest, most comprehensive, and,
arguably, the nation’s most innovative institution for the preparation
for careers in the public service.”
Rutledge and the other pioneers who helped launch both green and
locally driven programs paved the way for environmental awareness and
sustainability, and it seems as though that’s a tradition that will
never die.
(06/21/08 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Although Memorial Stadium was recently damaged by severe weather, Drum Corps International’s World Championship, starting Aug. 7, is still a go, according to the DCI Web site.
DCI holds competitions for the best amateur drum corps – comprised of brass, percussion and color guard sections – across the country. The organization recently signed a 10-year contract with Indianapolis to hold the championships at the city’s Lucas Oil Stadium, said DCI Development and Media Coordinator Diane Peasel. But Bloomington came in as a back-up location when officials realized construction on Lucas Oil Stadium would not be done in time, she said.
“We found out in April that construction wasn’t going to be completed in time, so we ended up moving our plan to Bloomington,” Peasel said. “It turned out to be a really good transition.”
DCI started 36 years ago, and has held the championships everywhere across North America from Pasadena, Calif., to Madison, Wis. DCI last visited IU in 1993 for a regional tournament, Peasel said. This year, officials expect about 30,000 people to come watch the 40 corps compete for the trophy.
“All the hotels are getting full,” said Bloomington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Assistant Director Laura Newton. “We’re working with transportation to make sure they see all of Bloomington and not just the football stadium.”
Severe weather threatened the condition of the stadium, but according to the DCI Web site, repairs should be finished by the time of the competition.
The DCI championships are a large deal, both in terms of the number of people coming to Bloomington and the impact the event has on the local music community, said Dave Woodley, director of athletic bands at IU. Woodley said he knows the importance of the event to the Marching Hundred and also to other fanatics, who he deems “corps-heads.”
“We have several kids who march in drum corps who are also in the Hundred. It will be great for them to come home and perform in the stadium they’re used to,” he said. “It’s kind of neat to have the DCI eyes of the world on Bloomington.”
More than a few local band members, from both of Bloomington’s major high schools and the Marching Hundred, are competing with different drum corps in the championships.
Bloomington used to have its own drum corps, the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps, which was a top contender in the DCI championships but stopped competing in 1993. It was also the first corps to finish in the top 10 at the DCI World Championships its first year, according to the group’s Web site. It finished in the top 10 every year it competed, and won the championship in 1991.
Drum corps participating in competitions usually sleep on gym floors in local schools, Newton said. Several local middle schools in Bloomington are housing the bands, but Bloomington High Schools North and South were unable to accommodate them.
“We got about 15 phone calls within a week,” said Bloomington High School North Band Director Janis Stockhouse. “As much as we love to host them, that’s the same week all of our athletics start up, and we have marching-band practice.”
Stockhouse and her students were unable to get tickets to the championships because they were sold out the first day they were available, but the students haven’t given up trying.
“We figure that people will have tickets available at the gate and some kids might volunteer and try to get in that way,” she said. “I hope we get to see the finals.”
Woodley said drum corps has a close-knit following. Many people, he said, follow the championship closely – they know what corps are participating where, and what songs they will play.
“It’s so exciting,” Stockhouse said. “This is the world series of marching bands and its going to be right here in Bloomington. It’s so inspirational.”
(06/18/08 6:29pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>What happens when you blend Caribbean reggae, hard-hitting rock ‘n’ roll music with cuisines from cheeseburgers to Thai food? You get the 26th annual Taste of Bloomington, a melting pot of cultures and cuisine.This Saturday, Bloomington residents can get a little more bang for their buck downtown at Showers Common next to City Hall, located at 401 N. Morton St. For $6, attendees will get eight hours of live entertainment and access to dozens of the best menu items from some of Bloomington’s most popular restaurants.Ron Stanhouse, Taste of Bloomington co-director, said that there are a record 40 restaurants participating. And although little has changed over the last few years, attendance has been increasing five to 10 percent every year, Talisha Coppock, Taste of Bloomington co-director, said. “I think it promotes a variety of restaurants that we have and it brings people into downtown to celebrate,” Coppock said. “It also has quite a following around the state as well. A lot of the attendees used to work at the restaurants when they went to school here in Bloomington.” If there’s one thing Bloomington has, it’s a plethora of locally owned restaurants. This year marked the first time Coppock and Stanhouse had to turn away restaurant applicants. Still, a few newcomers have joined the ranks, including Sugar Daddy’s Cakes, Catering & Café and FARMbloomington.Deanna Hawkins started Sugar Daddy’s two years ago with her brother, turning a hobby into a full-blown business.“My brother and I did catering on the side and it was just kind of a family thing,” Hawkins said. “We had the opportunity to buy out a bakery, so we turned it into a little mom and pop café.”Hawkins plans to showcase her specialty cakes at the Taste. Other than mini-key lime and strawberry cheesecakes, the Sugar Daddy’s booth will feature brisket, St. Louis ribs and pulled pork.FARMbloomington will offer a very different menu. Chef and owner Daniel Orr opened the restaurant earlier this year. He offers traditional farm fare with a modern twist.“It’s been awesome. We’re very excited about being in Bloomington,” Orr said. “I come from a family that had a big farm down near Evansville. This is like coming back to the farm.”FARMbloomington is not only a restaurant. It’s also home to a country store, a bar and a live-roots and bluegrass venue. Orr plans to serve gazpacho shots, minty green-pea guacamole and mango iced tea.“For a new restaurant, it hopefully allows us to meet some new friends and reach out and form a community with some other restaurants,” Orr said.The musical lineup is just as diverse as the culinary menu. Local rock ‘n’ roller Jenn Cristy kicks off the festival, followed by veteran roots reggae group the Ark Band and Polka Boy, a group popular in Indianapolis for turning hit songs into polka music. The eccentric group Here Come the Mummies will rock out in full mummy wraps, and the Lee Boys will close down the party with the holy sounds of the sacred steel movement, a new fusion of gospel, R&B, jazz and other genres.Not all the artists are local, but some have solid ties with Bloomington. The Ark Band, which hails from St. Lucia island in the Caribbean, has a long history in Bloomington. Terry Bobb and his brother formed the old-school reggae group 22 years ago, when reggae was still roots, not dancehall.But the heyday of roots reggae is long past. The Ark Band used to play with the likes of the Beach Boys and Kenny Chesney, but now the venues only book acts guaranteed to pack the house.“The student body who knew us is gone. There are still little pockets where reggae will never die,” Bobb said. “Twenty-two years later, honey, we’ve done everything. We’re just riding easy. We’re still here man. We’re still stroking.”Now that’s flavor.
(06/16/08 1:37am)
If you ask the experts if the recent weather is normal for this time of year, you’ll get conflicting answers. \n“I would say it’s what we should expect from Indiana,” said meteorologist Jason Puma of the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. “We do get our fair share of severe weather. It’s part of living in the Midwest.”\nThe National Weather Service reports the average amount of rainfall for this point in June in Indiana is 1.58 inches. Indiana has had 6.29 inches so far this month. Since May 30, Monroe County has had two tornado warnings, four tornado watches and 11 severe thunderstorm warnings.\n“I don’t think you could call it pretty average,” said Professor Scott Robeson of the departments of geography and statistics. “Some of the precipitation amounts that we have gotten are very, very high.”\nRobeson specializes in the study of climate change and applied climatology. Robeson said some of the statistics he has seen happen very rarely.\n“What we typically look at are return periods. For any \ngiven day, the rainfall we’ve had is pretty average,” Robeson said. “We have had 2.5 inches of rain a day before, but the problem is we had three of those days last week (June 1-7). Martinsville’s precipitation is definitely more than a 100 year event, more like a 200 year event.”\nRobeson has lived in Indiana for 16 years, and he lived in Delaware and British Columbia before that. \n“The amount of rain in such short periods of time is definitely the highest rainfalls that I have seen,” he said.\nPuma cites specific examples of recent weather to back up his opinion, like the 2004 Indy 500 race day tornadoes and the 2003 Fourth of July storms.\n“What we do see that’s very typical is different extremes,” said Puma, “and the extremes add up to the average.”\nSome parts of Indiana certainly have seen the extremes with last weekend’s flash flooding that dumped up to 10 inches of water in some areas of the state. The Monroe County Red Cross set up a shelter at Spencer Elementary School in Spencer to aid victims of the flooding and housed about 50 displaced residents from the surrounding areas. The Red Cross was recently able to close the shelter as the last of the displaced were able to get back into their homes. The organization still keeps the school open as a service center, open from 8 a.m to 8 p.m.\n“There are case workers there who are assisting individuals who have had damage to their homes,” said Sue Gulley, executive director of the American Red Cross of Monroe County. “We’re also doing damage assessment for both Monroe and Owen counties.”\nAccording to Gulley, the Red Cross had around 400 volunteers helping displaced Hoosiers. The volunteers and the centers had assistance, food and water ready for the victims.\n“When we had the flash floods on Wednesday, we had calls right after that,” Gulley said. “We had Red Cross volunteers go out and provide assistance then. It has just carried right through. We have had an outpouring of financial assistance from the community.”\nHopefully there won’t be much more need for that assistance. According to Puma, there’s nothing out of the ordinary for Indiana’s extended outlook in years to come.\n“There are equal chances for amounts of rainfall, however there will probably be lower temps in southwest Indiana,” Puma said.\nAnyone in need of assistance can contact the Red Cross at the 24-hour helpline 1-866-GETINFO. Donations can be placed online at www.monroe-redcross.org or by phone at 332-7292.
(06/05/08 4:16am)
Forty years ago, the people of America lost one of the most beloved leaders of their time. In a three-month whirlwind campaign, Robert F. Kennedy raised the hopes of many and gave a voice to the millions who had previously gone unheard. \nThe Indiana primary was one of the first for Kennedy in 1968, and therefore extremely important as a litmus test of his popularity. Entering the state as an underdog, Kennedy threw himself completely into his campaign, driving through small-town America in the back of a convertible. Although his advisors warned him he didn’t have much of a chance, the New York Senator swept the Hoosier state, defeating both Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy and Indiana Governor Roger Branigin. \n“The most interesting part was the importance of the Indiana primary in Kennedy’s campaign. Indiana was a gamble,” said Ray E. Boomhower, president of the Indiana Historical Society. “It was interesting the way he immersed himself in the state and how much time he spent here and the way the Hoosiers reacted to him.”\nBoomhower, author of the book “Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary,” was too young to remember much of Kennedy’s campaign, but one incident stands out. While Kennedy was in Mishawaka, Ind., shaking hands from the back of his car, one overzealous supporter held on to his hand too long and pulled him out. Kennedy chipped a tooth on the pavement. \nState Senator Vi Simpson has her own memories about Kennedy. She was a volunteer for his campaign as a college student in California. \n“When he spoke, you felt like you knew him. He was an amazing speaker and very sincere in his presentations,” Simpson said. “You believed him and you believed in him and believed he could lead this nation to a better place.”\nThe life and death of Bobby Kennedy has been dissected and analyzed from every possible angle in movies and books, and on TV and the Web. Shockingly graphic photos of his death have been circulated around the country, including on the front page of The New York Times. The photos ran under the headline “Kennedy is Dead.” \nBobby was not the first Kennedy killed. He served as attorney general under his brother John during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. Bobby’s resulting book “Thirteen Days” is a tribute to the courage and caution JFK used in the nuclear standoff with Russia. According to the June 2008 issue of Vanity Fair, Kennedy’s belief in this kind of politics, combined with then-president Lyndon Johnson’s fumbling of the Vietnam War, made him decide to challenge Johnson, a fellow Democrat, for the presidency.\n“I think I was drawn to Robert Kennedy because although he came from a very privileged background, he had a sense of compassion and understanding, empathy if you will, for people who were very vulnerable in our population,” said Simpson. “People of color, people in poverty, people with disabilities, working class blue collar families who were having a tough time in the economy.”\nFor many, Kennedy was a beacon of hope for change in extremely violent times. The country was still recovering from JFK’s assassination a few years before, while simultaneously dealing with the Vietnam War, violent race riots and protests, and the killing of another beloved leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.\n“It was a wonderful time and a horrible time at the same time. It was a very violent world. People felt that they had to resolve issues through violence,” said Simpson. “Imagine how society might be impacted by the killing, not just the death, but the killing of two of the most beloved leaders within months of each other and how it just took the life out of young people like me. It took me months to get myself together and get myself to the polls and vote. I didn’t want to work in politics. Now I can look back and say that it wasn’t politics that failed, but society that was feeling a high level of frustration.”\nOn June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Bobby Kennedy was shot in the head moments after concluding his victory speech for the California primary. The New York Times reported that Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was arrested as the shooter. RFK’s campaign was over before it had barely begun.\n“I remember being upset about Kennedy’s death and saying they should kill the guy,” Boomhower said. “I remember my mother looking at me and saying, ‘If he was alive he wouldn’t want to hear you say that.’”\n“I absolutely believe he would have been president,” said Simpson. “History would have been very different. But we’ll never know for sure.”\nDuring his campaign in Indiana, Kennedy informed a stunned crowd in Indianapolis of MLK Jr.’s assassination. In the face of escalating violence and anger, he preached love and acceptance. \n“What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred,” he said. “What we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom and compassion toward one another, the feeling of justice toward those who still suffer in our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.”
(05/28/08 10:28pm)
The Monroe County History Center literally has a piece of the county’s history. \nThey have several, in fact. \nSitting around the building’s two new exhibits are sections of the dome of the Monroe County courthouse before it was replaced. The entire courthouse underwent massive restoration in the 1980s. The repair was so intensive that the community had to fight to save it from being demolished.\n“I think it’s a piece of our heritage that would have been a shame to lose. Many counties have lost their original courthouses or their early courthouses,” said Jill Lesh, managing director of the Monroe County Historical Society. “This is a beautiful building and it’s made of local limestone.”\nOn May 21, the History Center debuted its two newest exhibits in honor of the 100th anniversary of the county courthouse, “100 Years Under the Fish” and “Life in 1908.” \n“100 Years Under the Fish” refers to the fish that tops the weather vane on the roof of the courthouse, and presents a timeline of the events since the courthouse’s construction, including the “Let’s Save It” campaign led by former County Commissioner Charlotte Zietlow in 1981.\n“Bit by bit, we saved it,” said Zietlow. “When I look back on this four-year process, I get tired.”\nZietlow said that when she took office in 1981, the courthouse was in shambles from top to bottom. Pieces of the ceiling were falling to the floor and the basement was full of raw sewage. County officers were scattered all over the city, and there was no computer network to connect them. The County Commission voted down two petitions to restore the courthouse.\n“Then they voted down the third one and said, ‘come back only when you have a comprehensive solution to this daunting problem,’” Zietlow said. “I actually read this, it was in the minutes, ‘Sell it, tear it down, or give it away.’”\nIn response, Zietlow created the “Let’s Save It” campaign. She rallied the community, raising funds and circulating petitions to save the courthouse. They sold T-shirts, posters and bumper stickers to raise a grand total of $11,000. Their efforts fell drastically short of the $2 million needed to complete the building’s construction, but the community finally won the commission over and they approved plans to restore the courthouse.\nSince then, more improvements have been made on the courthouse by current County Commissioner Joyce Poling. Lighting has been improved and the inside murals restored.\n“The courthouse is the jewel of the community,” said Poling, who also used to be president of the Historical Society. “We appreciate all the work the Historical Society has done to preserve our history.”\nAs the county residents, mostly elderly, wandered through the exhibits, exchanging stories and showing each other pictures, the importance of the courthouse became clear.\n“When all was said and done, we saved it,” said Zietlow. “And when I say we, it was the community.”\nIt’s like the old saying goes: You don’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been.