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(02/21/12 4:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Occupy Bloomington protesters were evicted from Peoples Park about a month and a half ago. But Monday evening, demonstrators reminded the Bloomington community they have not gone away.Unlike in previous demonstrations, protesters gathered with a unified agenda.“Freedom to the prisoners, fire to the prisons,” protesters chanted across the street from the Monroe County Jail on College Avenue. “Burning mattress, burning cell, tell the guards to go to hell.”The noise demonstration was a collaboration between the Occupy Bloomington Decarcerate Working Group and Decarcerate Monroe County. As part of the “National Occupy Day in Support of Prisoners,” organized by Occupy protesters in Oakland, Calif., demonstrators called for solidarity with prisoners, demanding the end of incarceration “as a means of containing those dispossessed by unjust social policies.”Protesters held a sign painted on a bed sheet reading “imprisonment is a form of torture.”According to American Civil Liberties Union statistics, Indiana increased its prison population by 47 percent from 2000 to 2010. Nationwide, 2.2 million Americans are incarcerated, according to the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. This amount accounts for 23 percent of the world’s incarcerated people, although the United States has fewer than 5 percent of the world’s population. U.S. prison populations are predominantly African-American.Protesters wielded cardboard signs reading “no one is free while others are oppressed” and “abolish slavery.” Across the street, the windows of the Monroe County Justice building were black and lifeless.Breaking open a “value pack” of multicolored whistles, the protesters increased the noise level. Using a tree limb, a woman banged on the bottom of a stainless steel bowl, a blank expression on her face. “For every life taken by fascism, a life will be liberated by anarchism,” read another cardboard sign.Among the 40 or so people who gathered to demand decarceration, protester Nicole Johnson spoke into a megaphone.“We will also shine a spotlight on the local mistreatment of incarcerated individuals in the Monroe County Jail,” Johnson said. “Between 1976 and 2000, the United States built, on average, a new prison each week, and the number of imprisoned Americans increased tenfold.”Since Occupiers were removed from Peoples Park following a demonstration during New Year’s Eve, during which three protesters were arrested, the group has not been as visible in the community. Monday’s demonstration was the first time protesters have hit the streets since their removal from the park. Without the park, Occupy participants have moved their general assembly into the Showers Building outside of the City Council Chambers every evening. Overall, the protesters have divided into smaller subgroups.“The only thing we lost was a common space, but I don’t really feel like anything has changed except we’re not in everybody’s face everyday,” Johnson said. “Instead of having a group of people who are just discontent about everything, we have smaller groups meeting in houses and basements and coffee shops to talk about specific issues.”Protester Thea Linnemeier said she is not heartbroken that a physical occupation no longer exists. The real value of Occupy Bloomington, she said, is her ability to network with like-minded activists. As cars waited at red lights, protesters rushed the streets with pamphlets. “The passion for freedom is stronger than the prisons,” protesters said, withdrawn at first. But their intensity built until silence took over completely.“The key word is passion, y’all,” one protester said.“Nobody inside can hear us, nobody in their cars can hear us,” one of the protesters said to another. “I’m glad we’re doing it, but nobody is likely to get mad at us.”Linnemeier said she opposes the incarceration of nonviolent criminals.As felonies are destroying the personal records of imprisoned individuals, she said, there has to be a better way. “The occupation was a way to bring people together,” Johnson said. “It’s not a noun, Bloomington isn’t an adjective, it doesn’t describe a thing, it was a place and that place, although it may not be there in physical form, everyone involved is still carrying that around in their heart.”Today, Occupy Bloomington protesters will join other Occupiers from across the state to protest outside the Indiana Department of Corrections headquarters in Indianapolis.
(02/20/12 2:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite support in the Indiana House of Representatives, a bill designed to punish K-12 students for unfavorable off-campus speech faced opposition Wednesday in a state Senate committee hearing. While HB 1169 has been backed primarily by education special-interest lobbyists, the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development heard opposition from a variety of entities, including the Indiana State Bar Association, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Hoosier State Press Association.“It’s something they tried to sneak through, and they successfully sneaked it halfway through, but the public has awakened, and they don’t want this,” said Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center.However, local education administrators believe the bill would be beneficial to school officials and students alike.Authored by Rep. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, HB 1169 is a minor adjustment to current law with the potential to create significant change. Currently, a student can be suspended or expelled if he or she engages in illegal activity off campus, such as selling drugs. But Koch’s amendment removes the word “illegal” from current law, allowing school administrators to punish students for speech that would “interfere” with the school’s educational function. This adjustment, Koch said, would allow schools to target cheating and cyber bullying. LoMonte said he views the situation differently.“The only justification given at yesterday’s hearing was that schools want to be able to punish a student if he says something insulting to a principal or superintendant at the grocery store on a Saturday,” LoMonte said. “The idea that government officials get to use their government authority to punish people who criticize them is just un-American.”Bloomington’s Jackson Creek Middle School Principal David Pillar said the school is currently empty-handed when targeting cyber bullying.“It’s a real challenge because we spend a lot of time dealing with Facebook bullying,” Pillar said. “The thing we face is, we can’t control the Internet, we can’t control texting and cell phone plan policies and things like that, and I’ve found that parents want us to be involved more than we can be when their children are victims.”Pillar said administrators often pass bullying cases to the Bloomington Police Department.“If texts are exchanged between two kids who are in their homes at seven or eight o’clock at night, there isn’t a whole lot we can do,” Pillar said.Pillar said HB 1169 would allow school officials to become more involved in preventing threats to and from students.“We do need to have some authority to deal with the people who are creating an unsafe learning environment for those kids and scaring those kids basically into not coming to school,” Pillar said.But LoMonte said he worries the authority given under HB 1169 would be abused. Because cyber bullying does not appear in the legislation, and because it is not an amendment to the state’s already existing bullying law, he said he believes the bill is being pushed for public relations purposes.“It really is the ‘Principal in your Bedroom’ bill,” LoMonte said, referring to the title of his most recent blog post on the SPLC website. “There’s no doubt you’re going to have principals trolling people’s blogs and Facebook pages, looking for insults so they can suspend them. We know, because of how badly principals abuse their authority over on-campus speech, they use their authority to protect their own public relations images, and they’re going to do that with students’ blogs and off-campus speech if they let them.”Additional problems arise, LoMonte said, with the education system’s current punishment strategies. African-Americans, he said, are disproportionately singled out for suspension or expulsion. If additional students are suspended or expelled for off-campus speech, he continued, more African-American students will find themselves limited in their educational advancement.“I don’t know how many colleges are going to be willing to take a chance on somebody who has been expelled from their high school,” LoMonte said. “If you’re going to give administrators a vastly expanded authority, they’re going to have to give students vastly expanded due process rights so they can clear their names.”While Pillar said he supports the bill, he has not yet determined a plan of action if the bill is passed. However, he does not anticipate any significant policy changes. Similar to situations under current law, Pillar said he will continue to recommend that parents contact the police if their child receives a threat.Parents must also be willing to skim their child’s phone or Facebook page, he said.“I couldn’t tell you how we’re going to enforce that or how we’re going to use that until circumstances arise where we’re faced with it,” Pillar said.The Senate Committee on Education and Career Development plans to review potential amendments to the bill this week. By the time HB 1169 makes it out of the Senate, LoMonte said, he anticipates the language will appear completely different. If significant amendments are not made, LoMonte said he believes the bill will be immediately challenged as unconstitutional.“If the school lobbyists succeed in Indiana, they are going to try to do this in every state,” LoMonte said. “That’s why it’s important for the public to stop them in Indiana so that this terrible idea doesn’t become contagious.”
(02/13/12 1:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington resident Wanda Hosea has traced her family tree back to her great-great-grandfather, a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia.But she plans to learn more.After attending a genealogy workshop Saturday that was led by Donna Stokes-Lucas, the Indiana Genealogical Society’s regional district manager, Hosea said she plans to dig deeper into records about her ancestors — as far back as she can go.“When you understand where you come from and who you are, you can do some things for your family down the generations,” Hosea said. “When you know your history, you know your greatness.”The genealogy workshop was part of the City of Bloomington’s Black History Month celebration in the City Hall Council Chambers. Stokes-Lucas provided a handful of attendees with tips and resources for researching ancestry. The United States Census, which has been recorded every 10 years since 1790, is a researcher’s most vital tool, Stokes-Lucas said.Initially, Hosea purchased software to assist in research about her ancestors. The software, she said, was not much help. But with Stokes-Lucas’s tips, Hosea said she plans to search military records to find new leads. Stokes-Lucas mentioned several situations that make it difficult to trace back family histories, such as when women marry and change their last name. But African-Americans often face an additional obstacle. “Here in the United States, slavery clearly poses as an obstacle, but you can still research with the technology and databases and information that is available,” Stokes-Lucas said. “It is becoming easier to get through those brick walls for everybody.”To research enslaved family members, Stokes-Lucas said African-Americans must identify the slaveholder of their ancestors. “Through those records, because blacks were considered property, you will find, hopefully, some information that can answer some of those questions of when they came, how they came and so forth,” Stokes-Lucas said.Stokes-Lucas said she has also researched back to her great-great-grandfather. In 1866 in Griffin, Ga., Stokes-Lucas said, the great-great grandfather and other members of the community sent a letter to the Freedman’s Bureau. Through the letter, her relative and the other individuals established resolutions to prevent additional inequalities to colored citizens, she said.“It makes me more appreciative of history, it makes me more appreciative of the struggles that this country has gone through to maintain themselves and it motivates you to do better than those who have gone before us,” Stokes-Lucas said. “I’m hoping, as I do this for myself and my great grandchildren yet to come, that I can leave them with a legacy that will inspire them to do the same.”
(02/09/12 3:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White, 42, was convicted of six felony charges Feb. 4, including perjury, theft and voter fraud. Shortly after the Hamilton County Superior Court Grand Jury’s verdict, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced White’s replacement. But with plans to appeal his Class D felony charges in hope of reducing them to misdemeanors, White could regain his job, according to an article by the Associated Press. However, it is still unclear if this sentencing reduction will be enough to get White his job back.“I have chosen not to make a permanent appointment today out of respect for the judge’s authority to lessen the verdict to a misdemeanor and reinstate the elected officeholder,” Daniels said in a press release. “If the felony convictions are not altered, I anticipate making a permanent appointment quickly.”Daniels chose Chief Deputy Jerry Bonnet on an interim basis. Bonnet has been a secretary of state employee since 2005.Bonnet, who was unavailable for comment, is currently becoming situated in his new position during a busy time for the secretary of state’s office, as signatures for president, U.S. Senate and governor are being certified this month. White began his term as secretary of state Jan. 22, 2011. But his legal problems stem back from before his election to when he occupied another elected position. White, a resident of Fishers, Ind., was elected to the Fishers Town Council in 2000, occupying that position until 2010. Registered to serve the council for a specific Fishers district, White claimed to live with his ex-wife. But the jury determined White had actually moved into a different district.However, the jury found he continued to represent his previous district in the town council and continued to accept his salary from the town.The jury also ruled that White committed a felony when he voted in the May 2010 primary election using his ex-wife’s address.The jury found White guilty of three counts of voter fraud, two counts of perjury and one count of theft. His seventh charge, fraud on a financial institution, was acquitted.White could face between six months and three years in prison for each charge. White’s defense attorney, former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, was not available for comment. Special Prosecutor John Dowd said he presented the jury with more than 60 exhibits, including White’s voting records, a lease on his condominium, employee records, telephone records and evidence concerning cell tower connectivity, which reflected the general locations where White made calls on his cell phone. “It is more by far than his claims that he was busy and forgot to do it,” Dowd said. “I think it was a corruption of the system by an individual who knew the system. I think it was a violation of the law by an individual who knew and understood the rules better than most and violated those rules.”While White could reoccupy his desk in the secretary of state’s office if his felony charges are reduced to misdemeanors, Dowd said he does not believe the charges will be reduced.“One of the responsibilities of the secretary of state is to oversee state elections and state election laws and this individual is, based on his conviction, clearly not fit to serve in that role and under law is now out of that office, at least until sentencing,” Dowd said.While Bonnet is currently working as White’s former title, Indiana Democrats bring another dilemma into the equation, according to the AP. On Tuesday, the Indiana Supreme Court agreed to hear the Democrats’ request to replace White with their 2010 candidate for secretary of state. At the hearing, which is scheduled for Feb. 29, the court will decide whether Daniels should be allowed to appoint White’s replacement or if the position should be filled by Democratic candidate Vop Osili.Democrats contend that White was not eligible to run in the 2010 election, and Osili was the eligible candidate who received the most votes. But until the Supreme Court makes a verdict or White’s charges are reduced to misdemeanors, Bonnet is carrying on with his duties.“Jerry Bonnet is a longtime employee who absolutely knows what should be done to provide the effective supervision and oversight the office requires,” Daniels said.
(02/06/12 1:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A speech Thursday from Indiana’s first African-American female mayor launched Bloomington’s Black History Month celebrations, highlighting the progress African-American women have made from slave ships to the workforce.Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, who gave her keynote speech in Bloomington’s City Hall Council Chambers, was inaugurated in January as the mayor of Gary. Her victory was historical because it made her the steel city’s first female mayor.“We have come to our respective stations in life,” Freeman-Wilson said in her speech. “From the bowels of slave ships to the plantations, from the underground railroad to the lynching platform, from segregated restrooms and classrooms to a place in time where we are privileged, in some instances, to be our own worst enemy. “As accomplished as many of us may think we are, we must always remember that our feats pale in comparison to those who have blazed a trail and on whose shoulders we stand.”The kick off to Bloomington’s eighth annual celebration of African-American history and culture, dubbed “Black History Month — Bloomington Style: Black Women in History and Culture,” also included an introduction from Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan. Freeman-Wilson highlighted several distinguished African-American women, such as Harriet Tubman, who paved the way toward equality for African-Americans. But her focus, however, was on the lesser-known women who, she said, were equally as influential.“This ought to be a month that we simply highlight the contributions of African-Americans to history because we understand that African-American history is really U.S. history,” she said. “From Jamestown to present-day Washington D.C., and every point in between, we are there.”Freeman-Wilson credited her success to her mother. Freeman-Wilson was a graduate of Harvard Law School, and she served as a presiding judge of the Gary City Court before serving as Indiana Attorney General. Following her term as Indiana’s Attorney General, Freeman-Wilson became CEO of the nonprofit National Association of Drug Court Professionals and executive director of the National Drug Court Institute based in Washington, D.C.“We celebrate the strides that we have made as African-Americans and other women of all races, but every day we are also reminded of the distance that we have left to travel,” Freeman-Wilson said. “We must continue to fuel the fight for freedom in business, education, government, in the faith community and yes, in the streets.”Bloomington’s Safe and Civil City Director Beverly Calender-Anderson, who helped coordinate Bloomington’s Black History Month celebration, said it is important for Bloomington residents to understand the contributions of various ethnic groups in the community.“African-American history is everybody’s history,” Calender-Anderson said. “We are all interconnected, and we all need to know our history.”While Calender-Anderson said Bloomington is more supportive of racial diversity than other communities, she said additional progress can be made. By providing the community with educational opportunities, such as those throughout February’s Black History Month, Calender-Anderson said she hopes to further promote tolerance. While Freeman-Wilson’s speech marked the beginning of Bloomington’s Black History Month festivities, there are more on the way. On Tuesday, a panel discussion, titled “Why I Sing Amazing Grace: The African-American Worship Experience,” will examine the history of the African-American worship experience.A genealogy workshop Feb. 11 will help residents learn about their ancestors. Following these events and others, Black History Month will conclude with the Fifth Annual Black History Month Gala on Feb. 25.“Because I am African-American, it has been very important to me to not only know my history, but to teach my son his history,” Calender-Anderson said. “I really believe that if you don’t know where you’ve come from, you’re bound to repeat the same mistakes.”
(02/01/12 3:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>From “Judge Judy” to last year’s highly televised Casey Anthony case, Americans can watch only a handful of court cases from their living rooms. After all, most courtrooms bar the use of cameras.But a pilot project will allow video and audio coverage of certain trial court proceedings via webcam in three northern Indiana courtrooms, Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard announced this week. The project, which will allow cameras in three Lake County courtrooms, will allow direct access to trial court proceedings on the web.“Citizens will be able to see for themselves what happens in a courtroom as disputes are resolved,” Shepard said.However, the only organization authorized to webcast these select proceedings will be the Times of Northwest Indiana, which will also pay for the webcasting equipment and installation.“Allowing the public to view these trials will help demystify the process, provide a better understanding of what goes on in a courtroom and increase the public’s trust in the judicial process,” the Times’ Managing Editor, Paul Mullaney, said in a press release. “We hope the pilot program serves as a springboard to a permanent process.” According to the court order authorizing the cameras, all civil proceedings in the three Lake County courts will be eligible for video and audio coverage. However, criminal proceedings are not eligible.Cases involving police informants, undercover agents, minors and victims of sex-related offenses are not eligible. Video feeds will not be displayed live. Instead, Shepard said they must be delayed by at least two hours. This delay is intended to give judges discretion to permit or deny the webcasting of a specific case. Circuit Judge George Paras, who agreed to participate in the pilot project, said media access to courtrooms is necessary to provide the public with confidence in a court system “conducted by impartial and independent judges.”“A democracy cannot survive without the media or the courts,” Paras said. The pilot project will be evaluated by students at Valparaiso University School of Law. Professor Bruce Berner, who will supervise students involved, said students will interview jurors, witnesses and attorneys to determine the impact cameras have on court proceedings. “If the evaluation is successful, it might open the door to a real understanding of how a courtroom operates, as opposed to a perception created by television crime,” said Hoosier State Press Association Executive Director Steve Key.Video feeds for the 18-month trial project can be viewed at the Times of Northwest Indiana website, nwitimes.com.
(01/31/12 5:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A state bill aiming to give residents limited rights to resist police officers who enter their homes illegally has been passed by the Senate and will appear before the full House of Representatives in the next few weeks. If enacted, SB 1 would allow residents to use whatever force is necessary to remove officers who do not properly identify themselves as police or are not on duty.“Officers do have a tough job, and they put their lives on the line for us and they’re willing to die for us, and so what we’re attempting to do is to draw a bright line in the sand so both people know what is lawful and unlawful,” Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, said. “If a police officer oversteps the bounds, it’s called unlawful for a reason. It’s because it’s wrong and no one has the right to break the law.”But Bloomington Police Capt. Joe Qualters said the bill could be problematic for law enforcement.“It would seem to have the potential to create more danger for officers who are doing their jobs properly because they will come in direct conflict with a homeowner who feels they have the right to defend their home when they may not really have that right, depending on the circumstances of the call,” Qualters said.Young, who authored the bill, said the legislation is in direct response to last summer’s Indiana Supreme Court decision in Barnes v. State of Indiana.In the case, an Ellettsville, Ind., man resisted a police officer who entered his home after receiving a call for a domestic disturbance. The Supreme Court ruled that a citizen never has the right to resist an officer in pursuit of an investigation. Young disagrees, citing the state’s self-defense statute for unlawful entry, which was enacted in 2006.“It says we have the right to protect ourselves on our property, inside our car, ourselves or anyone else, from unlawful entry by anyone,” Young said. “We don’t have to back down and can use whatever force is reasonably necessary to stop the unlawful entry, up to and including deadly force.”The bill is also intended to protect citizens from individuals pretending to be law enforcement. But with the bill comes several exceptions. A citizen is unable to resist an officer during an investigation of suspected domestic violence, if the officer is in hot pursuit of a suspected criminal, if the officer has a warrant or if a citizen is trying to escape from police after committing a crime. “My concern is that citizens might think they know under what circumstances they could prevent entry by law enforcement when, in fact, it might not be one of the exceptions allowed,” Qualters said. “That will cause conflict and could escalate a situation simply because a person doesn’t fully understand the law or applies it incorrectly to their particular circumstances.”Young mentioned another incident in Carmel, Ind., last summer where an inebriated officer showed his badge to try to access a woman’s home. Young said the woman managed to keep the inebriated officer out until on-duty officers arrived.After-the-fact court cases do not provide justice to homeowners, Young said. “Had he gotten in, who knows what he was going to do,” Young said. “But had he beaten her, had he raped her, going to court is not really the best thing to do. What you want to do is protect yourself in the first instance.”While the bill says a citizen may use physical force to eject an officer who is inside his or her home illegally, it has to be a last resort.“If the only thing that is left to you is to defend your property or yourself with physical force, then you can use it,” Young said. With bipartisan support, the bill passed its third reading in the Senate 45-5 Jan. 23. Before being enacted, the bill must pass in the House and receive Gov. Mitch Daniels’ signature.“There is already a legal remedy for when officers might apply this concept incorrectly, and that remedy does not include the option of physically resisting and confronting law enforcement,” Qualters said.
(01/26/12 3:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A bill to ban toy-like novelty lighters in Indiana is currently working its way through the Indiana House of Representatives. The bill passed its second reading in the Statehouse yesterday after a
delay as House Democrats and Republicans debated the state's "Right to
Work" billIf entered into law, House Bill 1056 would make the manufacture or import of novelty lighters for sale a crime. According to the bill, a novelty lighter includes those with a toy-like appearance, including the physical form of an animal, animated character, vehicle, weapon, telephone or food. Though the bill includes lighters with entertaining audio or visual effects, lighters with logos, decals or decorative artwork would remain legal. The bill was authored Jan. 9 by Rep. Randy Frye, R-Greensburg, a retired firefighter. The bill is intended is to protect Indiana’s children, Frye said, “We don’t need them. They fall into the hands of kids, and kids just can’t distinguish the difference between a novelty lighter, which is basically a toy, Frye said. Frye mentioned one lighter looks like a small fishing pole. “You push that little button on the handle, similar to what your grandpa would do if he was casting his fishing rod, and fire comes out of the end,” Frye said.With the bill, the state fire marshal would be required to formulate a list of forbidden novelty lighters. The fire marshal would also be granted authority to seize and destroy novelty lighters.During his 26-year occupation as a firefighter with the Indianapolis Fire Department, fires involving injured children stick out in his mind the most, Frye said. “They happen all the time,” Frye said.In fact, Frye mentioned a fire in Indianapolis last week where an 8-year-old boy destroyed his family’s home after accidentally setting it ablaze with a lighter. In this incident, nobody was injured.But the problem expands beyond the city limits of Indianapolis, Frye said. So far, about 20 states have passed identical laws. Since 1996, the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled thousands of novelty lighters because they pose dangers to public safety. Bloomington Fire Chief Roger Kerr said he backs Frye’s proposed legislation. “It takes lighters out of the hands of, possibly what could be, young kids who think they are toys that leads to possibly a juvenile setting a fire unintentionally, playing with something they think is a toy but actually is not a toy,” Kerr said.
(01/24/12 4:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The driver tossed a clipboard onto the dash of the tow truck, hopped inside and turned the ignition. The hood of the blue truck displayed a Superman logo. The driver, Mike Setze, 37, wore a navy-blue jumpsuit with neon-orange stripes. On this particular snowy Saturday morning, his 12-hour shift at Chad’s Towing and Recovery Wrecker Company had just begun. During his shift at Chad’s, spends most of his time driving from one tow to the next. On busy days, particularly on days with inclement weather, he is often too busy to stop for a lunch break. The day prior, when a sheet of white snow began cumulating on the ground, four tow truck drivers completed 76 runs, two times more than an average day. So far this January, Chad’s manager, Brian Sample, said his drivers have completed approximately 900 runs. This number is higher than in warmer months, Sample said, but with this year’s milder winter, business has not decreased. Since he started his job at Chad’s seven months ago, this January has been his busiest month yet, Setze said.For him, though, business is good. With paid commission for each job, busier days allow for a larger paycheck. Plus, driving a tow truck allows him to help other people.“Most people are just happy someone is coming to help them out,” Setze said. “Yesterday, they were just happy to get out of the cold.” However, Setze dreams for something a little different. Something he once had.Willing to accept a pay cut, Setze hopes to one day rebuild his career as a pilot. Setze became a flight instructor at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Ind. upon graduation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. in 1999. Setze was hired by the Indiana University Foundation in 2000 after instructing flight students for a year. While with IU, Setze flew turbo-prop airplanes, transporting the University’s athletes and high-ranking employees across the country.But when the University sold its planes in 2006, Setze lost his job. Setze’s wife of eight years owns her own hair salon. Because of this, among other reasons, Setze was unwilling to relocate to find a new flying job.Working briefly in the auction business, Setze was eventually hired by Chad’s.“Brian figured if I could fly a plane, I could handle a tow truck,” Setze said. Although Setze said Bloomington’s scenery is prettier from the air, he said driving a tow truck is similar to flying a plane.“It’s all just transportation,” Setze said. “It’s similar in that respect, getting people from Point A to Point B.” Both as a pilot and tow truck driver, Setze said he has appreciated his ability to roam.“It’s why I wanted to fly,” Setze said. “I’ve never wanted to sit in a cubicle. I’d go crazy.”But for now, Setze shifted the diesel engine into gear and pulled away, leaving a pack of cigarettes and a Styrofoam cup half-full of coffee in the shop.As instructed by Chad’s dispatcher, he was off to pick up his first vehicle of the day.Driving the tall wrecker through town, Setze gazed down on the surrounding traffic. Following a GPS unit mounted to the top of the windshield, Setze approached his destination — Landmark Collision Repair Center.Pulling into the repair center, Setze halted his rig in the middle of the parking lot. Facing toward the tow truck, a middle-aged man and woman sat in a white PT Cruiser. Exiting his truck, Setze walked toward the PT Cruiser, and the woman stepped outside. Setze was not there to retrieve the PT Cruiser. Rather, he was there for a blue Ford F-150 pickup parked in a row of other vehicles.The F-150, Setze said, had recently been in an accident. The woman in the PT Cruiser, who owns the truck, scheduled for Landmark to repair its body damage. But before body repairs could be made on the truck, Setze said the owners needed to fix damages to the truck’s brakes. Because Landmark was unable to do the repairs, Setze was instructed to transport the vehicle to where the woman’s husband works: A waste removal business. From there, the woman’s husband planned to fix the vehicle on his own. But almost immediately, however, the woman presented Setze with a problem.She did not know where to find the truck’s keys.Setze waited patiently as the woman used her cell phone to call Landmark, hoping someone on the other end could solve their problem.Nobody inside the garage answered. “Can you tow it without the keys?” the woman asked.“Not very well,” Setze replied. But then, a Landmark employee approached Setze’s tow truck, rolling the window on his turquoise car down halfway.“The key is in the gas door,” the man said. “Found it,” Setze replied a few seconds later. Similar scenarios are common, Setze said. He frequently waits for people as they search for their vehicle’s keys. Finally, Setze was ready to tow the pickup. Both the PT Cruiser and turquoise car pulled away from the parking lot as Setze lined the back of his tow truck up to the front of the F-150. Setze slipped on a pair of oil-stained gloves and lowered his tow truck’s ramp onto the ice-covered asphalt. Two hooks latched chains to the front of the F-150. Pulling a red-handled lever on the side of his tow truck, the Ford crept forward. After securing the truck with chains around the back wheels, Setze jumped back into the heated cab of his tow truck and drove off the parking lot into Bloomington’s mild traffic. Arriving at K&S Rolloff, the waste removal business, Setze backed up next to a cluster of large, empty green dumpsters. Stepping into the cold, he lowered the F-150 back onto the ground.His first tow of the day was complete. His next stop was at the Delta Zeta house, where he was instructed to seek out a black Volkswagen. Pulling into the sorority’s parking lot, Setze immediately pointed out the Volkswagen, which had its hood propped open.The Volkswagen, which Setze said was only three weeks old, likely did not need a tow. The owner, a female IU student who arrived to the vehicle’s location with her father, believed the car only required a jump-start. But Setze arrived in a tow truck, just in case. After hooking a blue jump-start pack to the Volkswagen’s battery, the woman turned the key in her ignition, and the engine fired immediately. With only a dead battery, the car did not need a tow. “Thank you,” the woman said as Setze walked away from the Volkswagen, back into his tow truck. Without another immediate job, Setze drove his tow truck back to the garage. But to get there, he took the long route downtown, just in case he was dispatched to another vehicle needing a tow. Without receiving an immediate call, Setze arrived at Chad’s and brought his wrecker to a halt. “Now to find a cup of coffee and wait for the buzzer to go off in the office again,” Setze said as he crawled out of the driver’s side door. Grabbing his Styrofoam cup, Setze walked into an office toward a table cluttered with potato chips, Diet Coke and two coffee pots sitting side by side. Temporarily away from the cold, Setze poured himself a cup of hot coffee. From there, Setze waited to help the next person in need.
(01/23/12 1:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As two women walked down the Wetlands Trail along Bloomington’s Griffy Lake, the frozen soil crunched beneath their feet. Approaching a cluster of fallen branches along the trail, one of the women threw the branches to the side as the other picked up a small piece of trash. For one of the women, 19-year-old IU sophomore and IDS copy editor Kim Payne, the cold Friday morning marked the first day for her next year-long project for Bloomington’s Citizen Scientist Certification Program. “I’m looking out for fallen branches, anything that’s blocking the path, anything that may pose a problem to people walking it or anything that is just not healthy for the environment,” Payne said.The other woman, the Environmental Commission’s Education Specialist Kriste Lindberg, pointed out the area’s wildlife as they walked along the lake’s crystal-clear water. Lindberg is in charge of Bloomington’s Citizen Scientist Certification Program, a volunteer project through the City of Bloomington’s Parks and Recreation Department, as well as the City of Bloomington’s Utilities Department. The purpose of the program, Lindberg said, is for volunteers to help the city protect the community’s natural resources. So far, more than a dozen volunteers, mostly students from IU and Ivy Tech Community College, have committed to this year’s certification program, Lindberg said — but she’s hoping for more. “Basically, what we ask people to do is take at least two programs and volunteer at least 10 hours within a year,” Lindberg said. “And a lot of people get it done in a lot shorter time span, more like a semester.”Through the Citizen Scientist Certification Program, volunteers are trained to help preserve the area’s environment through a variety of projects. This year, Payne is participating in the city’s Adopt-A-Trail program. In the past, Payne helped the city clean Crystal Lake and Lower Cascades Park.Other volunteer projects that qualify for the certification program include invasive plant eradication, geographic information systems projects and rain gardens. Although Payne admits it is often hard to fit volunteer projects into her busy schedule, she views her projects as an opportunity to get off campus. Plus, she said, she is helping the environment. “One of the main premises of the CSCP is to expand resources,” Lindberg said. “Volunteers help us to keep the quality of life up in the community. It is especially important during these tough economic times.”Besides the Adopt-A-Trail project, Lindberg said, the program is also focusing on water quality monitoring, watershed projects and storm drain marking. Lindberg said most of the streams in Indiana are considered impaired from pollution. This pollution comes from a variety of sources, Lindberg said. Because Bloomington’s storm drains run directly into the streams, misuse of these drains contributes to the pollution. Sediment and run-off from roads also contributes to the pollution, Lindberg said. The Clear Creek Water Shed Project, which incorporates an IU chemistry class, the American Cetacean Society Student Coalition and School of Public and Environmental Affairs students, aims to improve the water quality in Jordan River. Jordan River, which runs through the IU campus and underneath Bloomington, has been monitored by volunteers at several points for the last three semesters. By collecting chemical and biological data, as well as physical assessments of the stream, volunteers have developed an overview of the stream’s water quality. “I’m excited about it,” Payne said. “It will be fun to be out in nature more and to really be familiar with the nature that’s around Griffy and part of Bloomington.”
(01/18/12 3:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Standing in neon orange vests along the side of Bloomington’s B-Line Trail Monday afternoon, city volunteers eagerly approached three men approaching on bicycles.“Would you like a bicycle bell?” one of the volunteers shouted to the cyclists.One of the cyclists agreed as he came to a halt. “Sure, I don’t have one,” he said. As volunteers handed each of the cyclists a bell to be mounted onto their handlebars, another volunteer explained something they, like many other cyclists, did not know. According to an Indiana state law enacted in 1991, all bicyclists must equip their bicycles with a bell or other auditory device capable of delivering a signal heard at least 100 feet away.“One less way I break the law. Thank you, I will use it,” one of the cyclists said as the three resumed their ride along the B-Line Trail. Although volunteers did inform cyclists of the state law, that was not the main reason they congregated along the trail on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “The idea, at least for our project, isn’t to play cops and bad guys here, we’re just trying to encourage people to promote courteous behavior,” said Vince Caristo, Bloomington’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. “This project, I think, fits in really well with Martin Luther King’s idea of serving others and thinking about others, not just yourself. Letting other people know that you’re there on the trail and thinking of their needs, I think it embodies one aspect of some of the messages he was trying to give.”Kriste Lindberg, who works for Bloomington’s Environmental Commission, said it was originally her idea to offer free bells to Bloomington cyclists. Lindberg said she proposed the idea to the City of Bloomington Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission. Once the project got rolling, The Project School, Bloomington Community Bicycle Project and the Bloomington Bicycle Club also joined the effort. Through a $400 grant from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, volunteers were able to purchase 140 bells and hot chocolate, which was also offered to cyclists and pedestrians on the B-Line Trail. While installing the free bells onto bicycles with Phillips screwdrivers, the volunteers encouraged cyclists to use them before passing pedestrians and other cyclists. Andrew Greene was one of many cyclists to accept the bell installation when volunteers approached him Monday while he was on his way home from work along the trail.“I’ll probably use it, especially on the B-Line Trail,” Greene said. “There’s a lot of times elderly people who can’t quite hear you coming without something like that. I usually just shift, and most of the time they can hear me shifting and they get out of the way, but now I don’t need to shift anymore.”Greene also said he was unaware of a state law mandating bells on bicycles. “There’s so many laws on the books, it’s impossible to know what they all are,” he said.Unlike Greene, not all cyclists eagerly accepted a bell. “No thanks,” one cyclist said as he blazed by an approaching volunteer. “But it’s the law,” the volunteer shouted back at the cyclist as he continued down the trail without return. “Supporting bike riding really is a service to one of our great common resources, and that’s the quality of air,” said volunteer Daniel Baron, a school leader at The Project School. “It’s a small town, and now we have lots of great bike access, so we’re really encouraging people to park their cars and ride their bikes.”Accompanying Baron on Monday was his 7-year-old grandson, Elijah Baron. Racing up and down the trail on his blue bicycle, he rang his newly installed bell.“It’s important to have a bell so you can warn people you’re coming their way so you won’t run into each other,” Elijah said.Volunteers plan to congregate along the B-Line Trail once again Feb. 24 to distribute the remaining bells. The project will continue into March if bells remain after February.
(01/17/12 4:21am)
Lauren Spierer disappeared more than seven months ago. As search efforts for Spierer dwindle, posters bearing her picture are no longer present on nearly every telephone pole as they once were.
(01/13/12 3:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Several weeks remain before the Super Bowl’s kick-off, and as game-day approaches, the City of Indianapolis is preparing for the influx of football fans.But state lawmakers are preparing for the arrival of a different crowd: human traffickers. “We believe the Super Bowl to be the biggest human trafficking event in the country, if not the world,” Sen. Randy Head, R-Logansport, said.Senate Bill 4, which Head first proposed Jan. 4, is intended to tighten Indiana’s laws against human trafficking, specifically combating human traffickers expected to transport teenage prostitutes to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Human trafficking includes the recruiting, harboring or selling of a person, especially a child, for purposes of prostitution, commercial sex acts, forced labor or involuntary servitude. “There are enormous economic benefits of hosting large sporting events such as the Super Bowl,” Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said. “But the disturbing reality is that such gatherings in other states have drawn criminal rings that traffic young women and children into the commercial sex trade.”According to the bill, the changes would increase the penalty for people arranging for sex with a minor to a Class A felony. This would apply even if the minor consents to the acts and no money is involved. Currently, Indiana law only prohibits forced marriage and prostitution.Adults arranging prostitution using a minor that is not their child could currently be prosecuted for a Class B felony, “promotion of human trafficking.” However, this legislation changes these acts into a Class A felony, “sexual trafficking of a minor.”A Class B felony garners a prison sentence of six to 20 years. A Class A felony, however, carries a 20-to-50-year sentence. On Tuesday, the bill passed through the senate unanimously on its third reading and passed into the House. Head’s goal is for the bill to reach the governor’s desk and be enacted into law prior to the week of Super Bowl XLVI. This objective, Head said, should be attainable.“I think people are understanding the size of the problem,” Head said. “It’s not just the Super Bowl. It’s going on nationally in a scope that I don’t think anyone was really aware of. This is something that we didn’t count on when we picked up the Super Bowl.” Head said the bill was a recommendation by Zoeller after communicating with lawmakers in Florida and Texas. Head said both states encountered increased human trafficking cases when they hosted the Super Bowl in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Accurate estimates of the number of prostitutes present during the last two Super Bowls do not exist, Head said. However, a task force led by the Texas Attorney General’s office reported 133 prostitution-related arrests during last year’s Super Bowl. Lawmakers are also unable to estimate how many prostitutes and human traffickers will arrive in Indianapolis in a few weeks, Head said. According to the U.S. State Department’s 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, approximately 12.3 million adults and children are trafficked across international borders into forced labor and sexual exploitation worldwide.Sen. Doug Eckerty, R-Muncie, said he also hopes the legislation passes before sports fans and athletes occupy Lucas Oil Stadium. “We need this law in place to prosecute human trafficking offenders promptly and send a message that such activity won’t be tolerated in our state,” Eckerty said.
(01/12/12 2:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Since an Indiana law banning texting while driving was passed six months ago, Bloomington Police Department Cpt. Joseph Qualters said BPD has not issued a single citation for the offense. Though Qualters said texting and driving and other distractions in the driver’s seat are problems worth preventing, he said Indiana’s current law is inadequate for enforcement. But the National Transportation Safety Board is calling for states to adopt laws banning cell phone use while driving altogether, which could make enforcement easier.Officers can enforce Indiana’s no-texting law only if the violation is observed. However, Qualters said the law is difficult to enforce because officers are unable to prove the motorist was sending or receiving a text message. A police officer cannot seize a portable electronic device to check if the driver was texting.“It would seem that restricting any use of a device while operating a vehicle would make enforcement much easier,” Qualters said in an email. “It would take the ‘guesswork’ out of it by not requiring the officer to determine how the device was being used and whether that use is an ‘exception’ to whatever legislation is in place.”The safety recommendation, issued by the NTSB in December 2011, specifically calls for the 50 states and the District of Columbia to ban the non-emergency use of portable electronic devices for all drivers other than devices specifically designed to support the driving task. The NTSB’s recommends banning hands-free devices other than those installed in the vehicle by the manufacturer. Qualters said he anticipates that even emergency calls could cause enforcement tribulations unless an “emergency” is defined.“Someone having a medical issue would clearly constitute an emergency to most of us,” Qualters said. “To others, checking to make sure their child arrived home safely from school might be an ‘emergency’ in their minds, and that’s where issues with any exceptions make it difficult for enforcement if those exceptions aren’t clearly defined.”The NTSB recommendation is the result of a board meeting discussion about an August 2010 multi-vehicle highway accident in Gray Summit, Mo., where a pickup truck ran into the back of a truck-trailer that slowed for an active construction zone. The pickup truck was then struck from behind by two school buses, resulting in two fatalities and 38 injuries. The pickup driver sent and received 11 text messages in the 11 minutes preceding the accident, an NTSB investigation revealed. The last text was received moments before the pickup struck the truck-trailer. But this is not the only accident resulting in fatalities because of texting while driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,092 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents. In Indiana, 2,134 personal injury crashes attributed to distracted driving were recorded in 2010, Indiana State Police Sgt. John Bowling said. Nineteen crashes resulted in a fatalities. As of Dec. 29, 2011, Bowling said 51 tickets and 49 warnings were issued in Indiana for texting while driving since the law took effect July 1, 2011.Currently, 34 states have laws that ban texting while driving. Nine more states and the District of Columbia ban handheld cell phone use while driving. But, in Indiana, cell phone use is still legally acceptable. “The bottom line is this: Driving requires your full attention to ever-changing conditions,” Qualters said. “That includes adjusting to the poor driving habits of others. And anything that can be done to save lives would seem to be the right thing to do.”During the last few years, Bloomington residents have expressed concerns to Bloomington City Council Pres. Timothy Mayer regarding cell phone use while driving. Mayer said he has observed motorists using their phones, even texting, while behind the wheel.“If you drive and you observe other drivers while they’re driving, it’s awfully scary sometimes,” Mayer said. “You’ll be sitting at a light, for example, you’re three cars back, the light turns green, and the car in front of you doesn’t go. And you know the person in front of you is on their phone. So it’s not a good idea to be on the phone while you drive. That’s the bottom line.”He said the city has not taken direct control of the issue to develop a city ordinance.“The state legislature is working on it and doing the best that they possibly can, so that kind of takes the pressure off of localities,” Mayer said. “Even though we might have the opportunity to, it takes the pressure off because then the public has seen that the issue is being addressed.”
(01/09/12 12:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When a disabled veteran from Indiana complained to State Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, that a performance of the “Star-Spangled Banner” was offensive, Becker responded with proposed legislation. The proposed bill aims to set “performance standards” to performances of the National Anthem in Indiana’s public schools and universities.Any performer who does not comply could face a $25 fine.“Parodies, while some are intended as harmless jokes, have the potential to end up being very disrespectful,” Becker said in a prepared statement. “Singing our national anthem is often a sign of gratitude to those who have served our country, a tradition I think should be preserved.”According to the bill, which would also cover private schools receiving state or local scholarship funds, performers of the National Anthem would be required to sign a contract agreeing to perform the original composition of the song without drastic alterations. This applies not only to the lyrics, but the tune as well. However, what would or would not meet these performance standards has yet to be identified.This task, the bill says, would be determined by the State Department of Education and the Commission for Higher Education. But Eugene O’Brien, executive associate dean at the Jacobs School of Music, said he is unaware of an “official” version of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”“There are lots of different versions out there, and the way the music was written and performed in the 19th century — before it was the National Anthem — is quite different from the way we hear it these days,” O’Brien said.The lyrics of the “Star-Spangled Banner” are a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer and amateur poet. The tune, however, is less original. The lyrics of the “Star-Spangled Banner” were set to British drinking song “The Anacreontic Song.”Indiana is not the first state to mandate guidelines for the “Star-Spangled Banner.” In fact, even federal law has established guidelines. According to federal law, those in uniform “should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note.” Everybody else who is present for the performance of the anthem “should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress.” O’Brien mentioned a law in Massachusetts prohibiting “rearranging the National Anthem in whole or in part.” O’Brien said composer Igor Stranvinsky, whom O’Brien considers one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, was arrested in Boston for his arrangement of the National Anthem in the 1940s.“Where do you draw the line?” O’Brien said. “And who makes that decision?”O’Brien said students at the Jacobs School of Music perform the National Anthem without changes to its original rendition when asked to perform at an event. But in January 2011, a Bloomington High School North student took the plunge at a basketball game. Shai Warfield-Cross’s version contained the original lyrics but a slightly different tune. After observers complained to the school, Warfield-Cross was told she could not sing the song that way again because it was disrespectful to the people who died for the United States. IU Law Professor Daniel Conkle said Becker’s bill could be unconstitutional. Although Conkle prefers traditional renditions of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” he identified several legal pitfalls within the bill. “I think it is misguided,” Conkle said. “I think the way the law goes about attempting to deal with this is unduly intrusive and is plagued with all kinds of vagueness issues if and when they do try to come up with the standards that they might have in mind.” Conkle said the legislature could insist that schools and universities use selection criteria that are consistent with maintaining the traditional rendition of the National Anthem.“In terms of standards, or the ideas of standards,” Conkle said, “I don’t think that is necessarily unconstitutional in this particular setting of school-sponsored event.”But for Conkle, the bill becomes problematic regarding the idea of imposing fines. “The idea of imposing fines on people who don’t comply with the standards looks to me like a type of punishment for First Amendment activity that would be problematic,” Conkle said. “It is not entirely clear to me, but I think the fine idea of this makes it, let’s just say, constitutionally problematic, if not obviously unconstitutional.” Aside from potential First Amendment issues, he said the bill also contains numerous implementation problems. Although the bill would require schools to keep audio recordings of all performances of the National Anthem for two years and develop procedures to deal with complaints if a musician is accused of straying from the performance standards, Conkle said it would still be difficult to enforce. “How in the world would you know whether someone had violated that standard? So you’ve got incredible sorts of issues of vagueness,” Conkle said. “I think this proposed law is a very bad idea.”
(01/06/12 3:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For nearly two decades, Darryl Neher provided news on local politics and issues to Bloomington residents through their radios. Now, he is using his voice for direct action.Elected to the Bloomington City Council’s District 5 last fall, Neher, a Democrat, was sworn into office for his first term on Jan. 1. Similar to his predecessor, Democrat Isabel Piedmont-Smith, Neher said his focus is narrowed in on one thing: serving his constituents.“Isabel was exceptional in providing constituent services and not only communicating with the residents of District 5 through a variety of meetings, but just being responsive if people were trying to solve problems,” Neher said. “She set the bar high, and I hope that I can maintain that level of constituent services throughout my term.”While Piedmont-Smith served as the District 5 City Council representative, she had monthly meetings with her constituents.Neher said he plans to continue her legacy, providing constituency meetings every fourth Saturday of the month. The first meeting is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 28. Neher said the specific time and location is yet to be determined. Neher is a native Hoosier from North Manchester. After graduating from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., Neher lived in Fort Wayne for a short period before moving to Bloomington. He began graduate school at IU in 1988.Neher said he quickly fell in love with Bloomington.“Bloomington is just diverse in so many different ways,” Neher said. “Bloomington has so many bigger-city amenities, obviously from the University, but we have a very incredible small-town feel. It’s balancing that, I think, that makes Bloomington a pretty special place.”After graduating from IU, the University offered him a job and an opportunity to stay. The Kelley School of Business hired Neher as a senior lecturer in the business communications program.On top of working full-time at IU and helping his wife, Jeanette Heidewald, raise his two stepchildren, Neher became a radio talk show host for Bloomington’s WFHB in the early ’90s. A decade later, Neher left WFHB for WGCL’s Afternoon Edition. Although Neher’s interest in local politics began before his first mic check, he said his radio appearances increased his interest. Since then, he has served as the vice chair of the City of Bloomington Commission on Sustainability, co-chair of the Higher Education Committee for Monroe County Community Schools and numerous other community service positions. “You have to do your background research and prepare so the questions you ask are the right questions,” Neher said. “Getting to know the issues was certainly an important part, but also getting to know the people.”City Council District 4 member Dave Rollo is among the local politicians Neher met while providing news on the radio. Though Neher’s regular involvement in radio ended in 2009, Rollo and Neher stayed in contact. Rollo eventually endorsed Neher during his campaign for city council. “I thought he was really on top of a lot of stories, whether they were national, state or local,” Rollo said. “He is an independent thinker; he has libertarian tendencies; he is a fierce defender of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I really respect that.”Although Neher said he has already confronted several local issues during his first week on the council, strengthening the economy in Bloomington is currently a hot topic. In the near future, Neher said he is anticipating the council’s work on Bloomington’s Growth Policies Plan. The plan, which Neher said acts as Bloomington’s mission statement, defines how the council hopes to see the city grow and develop. Building the economy within Bloomington is not going to be a one-man job, Neher said. “I don’t think any council member can say they have the magic bullet, especially in this type of economic environment,” Neher said. “It’s working together and trying to find solutions.”
(12/12/11 2:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Standing quietly alongside a sidewalk outside of the IU-Health Bloomington Hospital on Dec. 11, 20 protesters had cardboard signs reading “Died in the Bloomington Hospital ER begging for air” and “We demand answers from Bloomington Hospital.” Three years ago, on Dec. 11, 2008, Leanne Marie Watson died in the emergency room. And now, on the three-year anniversary of Leanne’s death, her friends and family are demanding answers. “She was wrongfully triaged as having a panic attack when she was actually going into cardiopulmonary failure,” Jessica Watson, Leanne’s daughter, said. “And we just want some answers because there have been some discrepancies in what we’ve been told since then.”As traffic filtered past the signs baring a picture of Leanne, motorists glimpsed at the signs. Most drove past the protesters and continued through the intersection of West Second Avenue and South Rogers Road. However, others honked or stopped to inquire about the protesters. Waiting for a red light, the passenger-side window of a silver car rolled down. A blonde woman in the passenger seat asked what the protesters were doing. Leanne’s husband, Jeff Watson, explained they were trying to raise awareness for Leanne’s death and demanding answers from the hospital. “I’m sorry. Good luck,” the woman said, pulling away as the light turned green.Among the protesters was John Turpin, a pastor who preached at Leanne’s funeral. As a family friend of Leanne’s for 19 years, he said he stood on the sidewalk yielding a protest sign to show his support. On Dec. 11, 2008, Jeff said an ambulance transported Leanne from their home about 14 miles away from the hospital to the emergency room because she was unable to breathe. Suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Leanne had previously been diagnosed with a list of medications. These medications, Jeff said, were documented in hospital records. She had also previously been diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disease and asthma. When she arrived at the emergency room at 4:35 p.m., Jeff said hospital personnel insisted she was suffering from a panic attack. Doctors treated her for the panic attack, but she died at 6:28 p.m. Throughout her hospital visit, Jeff said doctors were unable to help Leanne’s breathing.“She said to my daughter and I, ‘Shoot me, I’ve waited too long to breathe,’” Jeff said. “She said, ‘I’m dying. Give me something so I won’t know what’s happening to me.’”Shortly before her death, Jeff said Leanne was injected with Ativan through an IV. Ativan is a drug typically administered to patients struggling from panic attacks; however, Jeff said the drug had an adverse reaction when mixed with her other prescriptions. “After she died, it never entered the ER record that the possible cause of her death may have been the Ativan that was given to her,” Jeff said. Jeff said the hospital’s administrative director of emergency services present at the ER that night, Mary Hoskins, told him hospital personnel did not show care and compassion when dealing with Leanne’s medical needs. In an email statement from Amanda Roach, media relations coordinator at the hospital, Roach said “Indiana University Health-Bloomington holds our patients’ safety as our No. 1 priority and takes any matters of quality or safety very seriously. We regret any time a family suffers the loss of a loved one. We have actively responded to the concerns and questions raised by Mrs. Watson’s family and believe we have resolved any issues of concern with the family.”Since the incident, Roach said the hospital reached a settlement with Jeff in 2009 following extensive discussions. At that time, Roach said Jeff agreed to settle and release the hospital from all related claims.But still, Jeff said he is looking for answers. Following Leanne’s death, Jeff said her body underwent testing from two separate coroners, both of whom delivered different results. One coroner, Jeff said, decided Leanne died of a drug overdose from Leanne’s Tramadol and Hydrocodone. But the report said she was never administered Ativan, which doctors allegedly injected into her bloodstream via IV.The second coroner told Jeff she died from her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, he said. When Jeff inquired information about the alleged discrepancy, he said the coroner told him he never received the full ER report and was unaware of any discrepancies. “If you’re going to say that somebody died of a drug overdose on the autopsy, then shouldn’t you be aware of the last drug that went into her body, only moments before they coded?”Jeff said.Jeff said the coroner later proposed the idea that while the doctor reported administering Leanne Ativan, it is possible she was never actually given the drug. “Everything about the Ativan has the appearance of a cover-up, and I want to know,” Jeff said. “They’re still trying to solve John Kennedy’s assassination. What happened? My wife wasn’t an important person. We’re not important people in the community, but she was important to me. It’s my mission to get answers.”But Jeff said the hospital refuses to answer his questions.Jeff and Leanne met in 1986 and married on Dec. 29, 1987. Leanne had her own stencil business, selling stencils across the world, primarily for the craft industry. But since 1988, Leanne assisted Jeff in his business as a grizzly bear trainer. He currently owns three grizzly bears, which live on his property. “My wife and I have done ‘The Tonight Show.’ We’ve done ‘Walker Texas Ranger,’” Jeff said. “We’ve had bears in Mohammad Ali’s yard. We’ve had Jeff Corwin from Animal Planet in our yard. We’ve shot National Geographic cover shots. We’ve shot National Geographic television here, so we’ve done a lot of things over the years, and we worked together on that.”His last project was in Orlando, Fla., where he worked on a commercial for Carnival Cruise Line.The night before she died, they bought a Christmas tree. Taking a small branch from the tree and placing it inside a clear Christmas ornament, the tree’s presence still exists in their home. Before she died, Leanne decorated their home with Christmas ornaments. Ever since, Jeff said they have remained, untouched. Leanne’s daughter, Jessica, is currently pregnant. Her baby is expected Feb. 28. “She was my best friend, so it has completely changed my life,” Jessica said. “My mom is never going to get to see that baby, and my baby is never going to get to know her. Even if things couldn’t have been done differently as far as saving her life that night, they didn’t show care and compassion.”Jeff might never receive an answer from the hospital, but for him, the memory of Leanne’s life will never die.“When I get to heaven and if somebody were to ask me what defined my existence on this planet,” Jeff said, “I’d say meeting her, meeting Leanne.”
(12/12/11 2:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Winter is upon us, and the holiday season is drawing near. Since Occupy Bloomington protesters first settled in Peoples Park two months ago, new tents have been erected while others have been torn down. New supporters have joined the movement, and others have gone. But as a whole, they have made themselves clear: They don’t plan to disband anytime soon, regardless of the temperature. After giving their presence in the park a facelift and celebrating two months of occupation Friday, protesters have several agendas in mind for the near future. On Friday afternoon, they began removing rows of small, individual tents, exposing layers of straw beneath. The scene, however, was not an action of surrender, but expansion. In place of the small, individual tents, Occupiers erected a green military surplus tent extending the length of the park. “It’s going to be much warmer than the outside air and allow for our facilitated general assemblies to have events,” said protester Aaron Pollitt, who said he has stayed in the park most nights during the last two months. “It’s really going to give us a lot more options, a lot more staying power here.”While Pollitt said Occupiers plan to heat the tent in some capacity, he said they are still discussing their options. Like most military tents of its size, a hole in the roof allows for a chimney.“There is some discussion about propane heaters having fumes and that not being the right choice,” protester Thea Linnemeier said. “But there are chimneys here, and we might be able to heat it with wood, like a wood fire. That’s what sounds most appealing to me right now.”Occupiers said the tent was purchased with a donation given to the movement by a member of the community. Protesters declined to disclose the amount of the donation. So far, protesters have been bearing the cold without any source of heat. Protester Thomas Greenwood said while they initially tried to use propane heaters, they stopped because of their inefficiency.“They go through about five pounds of propane in six hours,” Greenwood said. “That’s like three bucks an hour, which is really inefficient use, and they don’t really heat up stuff that much.”Instead, Greenwood said protesters have been bundling up in warm clothes, eating soup, drinking “Occu-Chai” and “sleeping in big piles like puppy dogs.”The Occupiers are making do in the cold until they figure out their heating source. “Right now, just suck it up, buttercup,” Greenwood said.To aid in warmth, many protesters also layered the ground under their tents with straw, erected atop wooden pallets. On Friday evening, live musicians performed at Peoples Park to celebrate the protesters’ two months of activity. Protesters said they have additional agendas in the woodwork. One agenda for many protesters, however, is not even in Bloomington. Currently, in Oolitic, Ind., employees at Indiana Limestone are on strike because of a recent contract renegotiation. Last Thursday, Linnemeier and other protesters drove to Oolitic and helped show the Bloomington Occupiers’ support. “I think it’s important for people fighting for better rights and wages anywhere,” Occupy Bloomington’s media liaison Justinian Dispenza said. “I think it’s important to share solidarity and support.”Also in support of the strikers, Occupy protesters are planning a benefit concert Friday, Dec. 17, at Max’s Place. The intended $5 admission will go to help buy presents for the strikers’ children. Pollitt said Occupy Bloomington will have “Permaculture Day” on Dec. 18.“It’s the skills of creating human society or creating living situations for ourselves but are built into the patterns of nature. The first directive is to care for the land,” Pollitt said. “It really changes the perspective of how we relate to the land around us, how much we can really turn the ecosystems we live in to a beautiful, productive oasis of life.”Pollitt expects the event to begin at 1 p.m. in Peoples Park.Within Peoples Park, a small pine tree is decorated with Christmas lights, silver tinsel, a red bow and a silver star. As Christmas approaches, several Occupiers are planning to stick it out for the holiday season. Although Greenwood does not consider himself a Christian, he said he plans to attend church, spend time with his family and venture to Peoples Park to bake gingerbread cookies. “I care about many of these people on a deep and genuine level,” Greenwood said. “Christmas is a day for people you love and care for, so why wouldn’t I be here?”Linnemeier’s plans are similar to Greenwood’s. Because her family lives in town, she plans to spend her time with them. However, she said she will drop by Peoples Park to offer support. Similar to Thanksgiving, she plans to bring the protesters an “Occu-Pie.” However, Dispenza, an IU senior, said he will return home in Fort Wayne during IU’s winter break. He expects to find protesters in Peoples Park when he and the rest of the IU community return.“Even while students are gone, the Occupy movement carries on,” Dispenza said. “There are plenty of passionate community members and non-students who are going to be down at the park and would love a visit and would love some company. If you haven’t gotten involved yet, now is a great time. It’s the holiday season, the season of giving. Why not give some of your time and make America even better?”
(12/08/11 1:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The interior walls at the Middle Way House in Bloomington serve as a refuge for women and their children struggling against domestic violence. The roof of the three-story brick building, however, is used a little differently — to grow vegetables.So far, the operation has remained low-key and operated through a small grant from the Bloomington Garden Club, providing food for the women and children living in the shelter. But beginning next year, the size of the garden is expected to grow. The project recently received a $2,500 Sustainability Partnership Grant from the city of Bloomington and a $1,000 grant from the Bloomington Project School, the fourth and fifth grade students of which help water the rooftop garden each morning. For the past two summers, lettuce, radish and spinach have lined the roof of the Middle Way House, planted in black plastic trays and four inches of soil. Alongside the plastic trays are rain barrels that collect water used to hydrate the plants. Precipitation from Middle Way House’s heating and cooling infrastructure is also used.“I don’t think there’s anyone else in town growing food on a roof,” said Garden Coordinator Lindsay Davies, a senior studying biology. “So it’s a great learning tool, first of all, for people to see that you can do it and it can be successful.”Alongside Davies, seven other interns, all of whom are female, donate time to the garden pro bono. Six of these interns are current IU students, Davies said, and one is an IU graduate.“They were always really excited when I would come in with a big bucket of lettuce,” Davies said. “They were always like ‘oh good, we can have salad tonight.’” Middle Way House, a United Way agency, offers more than just shelter for the women and children adversely affected by domestic violence. They also offer crisis intervention for women subject to domestic violence and rape, as well as legal help and support services. Childcare services are also offered to working mothers taking refuge at the shelter. Middle Way House Executive Director Toby Strout said she started the project to help reduce the costs of fresh produce used by Middle Way House. “It’s just a great organization,” Davies said. “They do awesome things in the community for women who are struggling. By growing food, it’s just one little way that I can help them, I mean, it’s not going to totally change their life, but it’s just having a little bit (of) extra vegetables in their day that makes them a little better off.”With these increased funds, Davies said the size of the garden will increase, moving up from the small plastic trays to “kiddy pools.” With this increased vegetation, they hope to sell their vegetables at BloomingFoods and the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market. Strout said she also hoped the project would bring in additional revenue for the organization. “The containers we had before were smaller, so we could only plant certain things, nothing with really deep roots,” Davies said. “But we just did what we could with what we had.”Davies started volunteering for the rooftop garden project at the beginning of the semester.“It’s just been a great opportunity to learn more about urban agriculture,” Davies said.Although the growing season ended for the garden in mid-November once the lettuce started getting bitter, Davies is striving to raise awareness for the program and hopes to garner additional donations. Following her final exams next week, Davies is graduating from IU. She will then move to New Jersey to work at an organic vegetable farm. Once she leaves, IU student Ricca Macklin will fill Davies’ role as garden supervisor. Starting the growing season all over again, Davies said volunteers are coordinating a volunteer day on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — Jan. 17, 2012 — where volunteers will be asked to help plant seedlings and paint the newly-acquired kiddy pools. Davies said volunteers will continue planting seedlings through February until they are transplanted into the kiddy pools after winter’s frost thaws, probably in March. Although Davies said the variety depends on donations acquired, they plan to grow peas, lettuce, radishes and possibly a variety of berries.
(12/06/11 2:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sitting around a large round table in Rachael’s Café, residents gathered with Bloomington City Council member Isabel Piedmont-Smith on Saturday to discuss current city issues for the last time. Throughout the four years of Piedmont-Smith’s term for Bloomington’s District 5, she has had monthly constituent meetings, creating one-on-one interaction between the community and its city representative. But Saturday, these meetings came to an end. Elected to the city council in 2008, Democrat Piedmont-Smith did not run for reelection, and at the end of the year, her term expires. Elected as her successor is fellow Democrat Darryl Neher. As Piedmont-Smith’s final constituent meeting began, a middle-aged man covered the Beatles’ “Let It Be” on acoustic guitar. Sitting only a few feet away, Piedmont-Smith struggled to speak above the music and the clatter of a coffee grinder.Throughout the nearly hour-long meeting, 20 constituents and Piedmont-Smith discussed several current local issues, ranging from bicycling to increased fuel costs to urban chickens. During Piedmont-Smith’s campaign, she recognized a varying range of opinions among her constituents. As the department administrator for IU’s Department of French and Italian, Piedmont-Smith said she did not recognize these varying opinions outside of the University community until she began campaigning. For that reason, she decided to create constituent meetings each month and allow these opinions to be heard. She is the only current member of the city council to have regular meetings with her constituents. Bloomington resident Jeanette Richart said Piedmont-Smith’s last constituent meeting and the “changing of the guard” was a sad moment. She said Piedmont-Smith accomplished more in her one term than many people accomplish throughout their political careers. Bloomington residents were first allowed to raise chickens within the city limits in 2006. But with the legislation came several restrictions. Anybody interested in raising chickens within the city limits must apply for a $20 license. They must also receive consent from their next-door neighbors, a requirement Piedmont-Smith says restricts the number of license holders.Piedmont-Smith said the ability for local residents to raise chickens in their yards is an important issue, particularly for low-income residents. Beyond the initial expense, she said it’s an economically efficient way to obtain eggs. Most importantly she said it’s a form of self-sufficiency.“I think it’s cool to put people in touch with where their food comes from,” she said. “Food doesn’t come from the grocery store. Food comes from a farm. There’s a connection with the earth there that is lost for a lot of people. They just get it out of a box and off the shelf.”Piedmont-Smith gained interest in politics during the 2000 presidential elections. As former Vice President Al Gore and former President George W. Bush competed as the election’s top contenders, Piedmont-Smith supported Ralph Nader, the Green Party’s presidential candidate. Throughout Nader’s campaign, Piedmont-Smith aimed to fix Nader’s name to the ballot, a goal she never accomplished.She supported Nader, she said, because unlike Gore and Bush, his campaign and agenda were not influenced by large corporations. For three years, Piedmont-Smith was active with the Monroe County Green Party. In 2004, Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan appointed Piedmont-Smith to the city’s Environmental Commission. Environmentalism and promoting green spaces within Bloomington have remained important issues for Piedmont-Smith.As a city council member, she considers her largest accomplishment the city’s Green Building Ordinance, enacted in 2008. Piedmont-Smith co-sponsored the legislation with council member Dave Rollo.The ordinance requires all government buildings within Bloomington to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver Standard by 2022. “LEED encompasses all aspects of a building — the site plans, where you’re going to build it, the energy efficiency of the building, the passive solar lighting that you can gain by putting windows in certain areas of the building,” Piedmont-Smith said. “It’s a very wholistic approach to building.”After serving four years on the city council, Piedmont-Smith decided not to run for reelection. She said the post required more of her time than she expected.“I’m somebody who doesn’t do things halfway,” she said. “I really want to research the issues, talk to people, read very carefully the legislation that comes before us, and so it has taken more of my time than what I feel I can give right now.”However, she plans to stay involved in politics after her term ends. She was recently elected to the Steering Committee of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, a political action committee working to have progressive women elected to office in Monroe County.Neher will take over Piedmont-Smith’s post beginning Jan. 1, 2012. Attending Piedmont-Smith’s final constituent meeting, which ended in a “thank you” and applause from her constituents, Neher said he also plans to have regular meetings with his constituents.