114 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(11/30/11 5:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Police arrested five protesters Tuesday evening in the Kelley School of Business after protests at a presentation from JPMorgan, a banking and investment corporation.A group of protesters blocked the door to the Cohort Classroom, Room 1050 in the Godfrey Graduate and Executive Education Center, where bank executives were recruiting business students. Sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the room’s door, protesters blocked anyone from entering the room. When police arrived at the scene, they advised the protesters in a calm voice to move from the door or they would be arrested for trespassing. After the threat of arrest, most of the protesters sitting in front of the door moved away but continued to protest in the surrounding hallway and stairwell. However, three protesters remained, silent. After several additional warnings of arrest, police grabbed the three protesters — one female and two males — and pulled apart their linked arms. The female protester was rolled onto her stomach and officers locked her wrists with handcuffs. Throughout the first wave of arrests, protesters yelled at the police, “Shame on you.”The three were removed from the building, and the female’s legs hovered above the ground as police carried her out.One protester waved a sign reading, “Not on our campus.”Directly following the removal of the three protesters, two more male protesters sat cross-legged in front of the door, linking arms. Again, police threatened their arrest. The scene intensified as the two protesters were also arrested and removed from their spot in front of the door. Shortly after their removal, several police stood in front of the door to prevent more protesters from squatting there.“Thank you for blocking the door for us,” one of the protesters shouted at the police.Although the protesters were not directly representing Occupy Bloomington or Occupy IU, senior Justinian Dispenza said the protest was organized in solidarity with the Occupy movement. Dispenza was designated as the group’s media liaison. He said the purpose of the protest was a direct action against JPMorgan-Chase.The five protesters were “arrested for blocking the entrance to a room after being asked numerous times to stop blocking the entrance or be arrested for trespass,” IUPD Chief Keith Cash said in an email. “The others were not arrested as they were peaceful and not blocking people from entering the room.”After protesters were arrested, Dispenza recited prepared statements from those arrested.“JPMorgan-Chase was among the major financial institutions that caused the 2008 financial collapse with its criminally greedy, fraudulent lending practices,” said student Nick Greven’s prepared statement.“JPMorgan-Chase has played a significant, though not solitary, role in this globally perverted economic structure, and thus action against this company is action against oppression,” said sophomore Peter Oren’s prepared statement said.Before the protests began, Dispenza stood in the Herman B Wells Library in a black suit with subtle gray pinstripes. As protesters slowly began to congregate, the sleeves on Dispenza’s suit were rolled up, exposing his forearms. Written on his arm in purple marker was a phone number to a safe house hotline. Dispenza passed black, red and purple markers to participants and suggested they write phone numbers on their arms in case of their arrest. Many complied.Together, the group walked from the library at 6:30 p.m. to the graduate school in the Kelley School of Business. Upon their arrival they struggled to locate the specific location of the meeting because it had been moved. But the location was quickly found after the protesters broke into small groups to search. At first, six officers arrived to the scene. But then it multiplied to 12, then 13. Police told protesters they would have to vacate the building if they were not students or employees of the University.“You’ll have to check in at the registration desk if you want to be in this hallway,” one officer told the protesters. Responding to the officer, one protester said no campus regulations required them to check in to be inside the building. “JPMorgan, feel free to leave,” protesters chanted. The commotion eventually escalated from just in front of the door to down the hallway and to the building’s front entrance. As protesters tried to leave, police barricaded them inside. One man in a business suit was allowed to pass by the police outside into the rain. At one point during the commotion, several protesters were allegedly pushed by a man in a gray suit. The man was later identified as IUPD Detective Greg McClure. “Do you treat your wife this way?” protesters yelled at McClure. Following McClure around the building, protesters demanded to know why “peaceful protesters” were being arrested when McClure was not being arrested for “assault.”Student Rachel Geiger was one of three students claiming she was assaulted by McClure. Although she said she was not planning to press charges without first consulting with the other people allegedly assaulted, she showed a small bruise above her right elbow. Protesters moved back in front of the door where their protest originally began. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway, three students told police they could not legally be arrested for sitting peacefully in a hallway. One officer objected. He told the protesters they were a fire hazard. They moved. Sophomore Paul Gillette, who tried to attend the JPMorgan presentation, said he hopes to pursue a career in investment banking after graduating. He was walking to Kelley when he noticed police cars parked outside with their lights on. He said he did not think anything of the police as he walked inside toward the presentation. As he approached, he said he heard protesters chanting their frustrations against America’s current economic condition. He said police were blocking the door, and he was unable to get inside. He was disappointed that he was unable to attend, and after sticking around for only a few minutes, he walked back home. Gillette said he disagrees with the Occupy movement. He said he thinks the protesters are trying to take away the essential component of the American Dream. “I was very disappointed that the event was canceled,” Gillette said. “JPMorgan and other banks that make the trip from New York to Bloomington invest a lot of time, money and other resources recruiting the incredible talent that the Kelley school has to offer. What the protesters don’t realize is that they ruined the presentation for all of the hard-working students attending the event. “With Thanksgiving just last week, it’s really important to remember how much opportunity there is in America to be thankful for. There are no limitations in this country preventing any one of us from chasing our dream.”A video was posted on Youtube showing the arrests. Click here to watch the video on Youtube.
(11/08/11 4:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A Bloomington man was arrested early Monday in connection to an area shooting spree that ended in the death of Pizza X delivery driver Adam Sarnecki.James D. Finney, 21, is suspected in three recent crimes involving firearms, including the murder of Sarnecki, 22, Bloomington Police Chief Mike Diekhoff said during a press conference Monday.On Oct. 31, a 60-year-old woman was shot in the thigh while taking her dog for a walk on West Ninth Street. Police found the bullet was from a .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun. A day earlier, a man broke into the Smoke-N-Lotto Specialty Store located on South Leonard Springs Road in rural Monroe County. He allegedly gained entry by shooting his way through the glass entry way, said Mike Pershing, chief deputy of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Sarnecki was shot shortly after midnight Friday. Police said Sarnecki told officers he witnessed someone trying to break into another employee’s vehicle behind the south side Pizza X store where he worked. Police said Sarnecki confronted the suspect, who then shot him in his right side with a .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Before losing consciousness at the scene, Sarnecki provided police with a description of the shooter.Sarnecki died from the injury at 4:40 a.m. at IU-Health Bloomington Hospital.Beginning early Friday evening, Diekhoff said police initiated around-the-clock surveillance of Finney at his mobile home on West Lilac Lane after he was identified as a suspect. At that time, police did not have enough evidence to make an arrest, Diekhoff said, but officers considered Finney to be dangerous because of his past criminal record.Finney has been previously charged with battery resulting in bodily injury, intimidation and theft, among minor charges. After obtaining a search warrant, police arrested Finney at about 3 a.m. Monday. He was booked in the Monroe County Jail at 7:23 a.m.Finney initially denied his involvement in the shootings. He later admitted to all three crimes after police found a .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun inside a dryer vent in his mobile home, Diekhoff said. Police have not identified any connections between the spree’s two victims, and police are also unaware of any motives behind Finney’s violent actions. Diekhoff said Finney told police he owned the handgun out of fear of being shot. The concern, he said, stems from when Finney was the victim of a shooting when he was 19. In 2008, Finney was shot in the chest and arm by a teenager in the 1200 block of Arlington Park Drive. Finney is facing preliminary murder charges. He remains in jail without bond.
(11/04/11 2:46pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A Pizza X delivery driver who was shot shortly after midnight Friday has died from his injuries.Adam Sarnecki, 22, died at 4:40 a.m. after surgery at IU Health Bloomington Hospital, Monroe County Coroner Nicole Meyer said. An autopsy will be conducted Friday afternoon.Sarnecki previously attended Bloomington High School South. He was not an IU student. He leaves behind a fiance and young children.On their Facebook page, Pizza X said that a fund was being set up to help Sarnecki's family. The Pizza X Twitter account (@PizzaX) also began circulating the hashtag "#RIPAdam" midday."We are in somewhat of a daze today and Pizza X South will remain closed tonight in support of our staff there," they posted on Facebook. "We are very sad today."Sarnecki was shot behind the Pizza X location at 2443 S. Walnut St., Bloomington police Lt. Bill Parker said.Parker said that Sarnecki "saw what he thought was a guy trying to break into cars." Original reports say Sarnecki approached the man, but a current police report said that when Sarnecki got out of his car, the man turned and shot him.Parker said the shooter was a white male of unknown age and medium height, who had a goatee and was wearing a brown hoodie.Two Pizza X employees in the store said they did not hear gunfire, but called police when Sarnecki came into the store after being shot.The area behind the store was blocked off with police tape, and BPD officers searched the area with canine units and flashlights soon after the shooting. Police were searching a green car with its lights on and a Pizza X sign on the roof, as well as a silver Ford Taurus that was parked behind the store. Two men found in two different places near the area were taken to the police station and cooperated in interviews before being released, Parker said. A police canine led police to an area near Winslow Court, but a suspect was not located.Detectives and officers gathered evidence and will continue investigating, Parker said. Parker stressed that anyone who witnesses criminal activity should contact police right away rather than engage suspects alone.Jake New contributed to this report.
(11/02/11 2:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As children dressed as ghosts and goblins began roaming the Bloomington streets Monday, 41 of Monroe County’s convicted sex offenders waited in line at the entrance of the Justice Building. Mandated by their probation or parole officer, they waited to attend a free showing of the 1993 movie “Rudy.”After passing through the security-guarded metal detector, the offenders lined up again at the information booth and checked in with probation officer Ken Bugler.Eleven years ago, Bugler, an adult probation officer focusing on sex offenders, started the event “No Trick-or-Treating for Sex Offenders.” The event requires every person in the county on probation, who has committed a sex offense in which the victim was a minor, to meet at the Justice Building on Halloween during Bloomington’s trick-or-treating hours, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. For the last four years, sex offenders on parole have also attended the meeting.The sex offenders mingled in the lobby of the Justice Building while the remainder of the offenders checked in. Rocky, a 45-year-old man who was incarcerated for a sex offense involving a minor in 2007, spoke positively about the night’s film selection.“You know, it’s based on a true story of a football player at Notre Dame,” Rocky said. As Rocky spoke, he crossed his arms across his chest and slowly swayed left and right. Rocky got his nickname while he was incarcerated. He spent 13 months in the Monroe County Jail. During this time, other inmates dubbed him Rocky because his anxiety disorders cause him to fidget uncontrollably. “This is awesome,” a man said to Rocky sarcastically, the hood of his black sweatshirt pulled over his head and barely obscuring a neck tattoo. “It’s Halloween and I’ve gotta watch some goddamn football.” But Rocky said he likes the movie “Rudy.” He has seen it multiple times. In fact, he used to own it. Shortly after 5:30 p.m., Bugler led the sex offenders to a courtroom upstairs, Room 301. A large glass wall divided the seating into two sections. The room smelled distinctively of male cologne.At the front of the courtroom was a large flat-screen television, but the distance between it and the seating made it appear small. While the men were allowed to leave the courtroom to use the restroom and had the option to read a book rather than watch the film, they had to stay in the Justice Building for the three hours.“The basic purpose is twofold,” Bugler said. “Number one, it gets the guys off the street who have a conviction that put them on the sex offender registry. This would help them to be safe so that if anybody were to make an allegation, they have an actual alibi that they were with their probation officer. It also helps the community by getting those guys off the streets.”Bugler said in the past he has shown “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “Up” and other films typically directed toward children. He said the purpose of the movie is simply to entertain and they are not picked for any specific reason.Bugler said the event is to ensure a sexual assault does not happen on Halloween, though he does not recall any sexual assaults occurring on the holiday in the recent past. “For the most part, they understand and accept it,” Bugler said. “Some of the guys have not been pleased about being here, but again, it’s just a matter of being reported and directed by the order of the court.”But most of the guys have been with Bugler so many years, he said, that they are used to attending the movie night each Halloween.Sex offenders are able to skip the meeting if they are unable to attend for medical reasons or they are at work. But if they are at work, Bugler said the probation officers require a statement from their employer explaining that the offender will be working. A probation officer also goes and checks to make sure they are where they say they are. “I have not had anybody in the years I’ve been doing this not be where they’re supposed to be,” Bugler said. “The order of their probation specifies that they are to report as directed.”Other than sounds emitted from the television, the dark courtroom was nearly silent. While men frequently passed in front of the television to leave the courtroom and returned with bottles of Coca-Cola, the offenders rarely spoke to one another. Rocky sat in the back row, his eyes fixated on the television as he rocked back and forth in his seat.“Wait, throw me off the team? Does that mean I’m on the team?” the film’s title character asked on the screen. "Yeah kid, you’re on the team,” the coach responded.As Rudy gave his coach an unexpected hug, the sex offenders laughed. But moments like this were rare. The room was silent as “Rudy” came to an end.“Damn, we still have another hour,” one of the offenders said to another. Bugler flipped on the bright courtroom lights. “Sir,” an offender said, getting the attention of Bugler. “Smoke break?”“Nope.”For nearly another hour, some of the sex offenders stayed in their seats in the courtroom. Others mingled in the lobby directly outside the door. Some spoke with each other, others remained in solitude. “So, listen,” a man said, pointing out the faint grey facial hair on Rocky’s face. “Are you trying to grow a beard?”“No, I just forgot to shave this morning,” Rocky said, laughing. “No, just kidding.” Soon, Bugler said, “Have a good night, gentlemen,” dismissing the group 10 minutes early. The men began talking again. They walked swiftly down the stairs, past the security, out the front door of the Justice Building and into the dark, Halloween night.Bugler remained upstairs as everyone left. “It just went as usual. No incidents and everything went really well, so I was very pleased,” Bugler said.
(11/01/11 4:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The sound of sobbing women dressed in black filled the dark church Sunday. At the front of the room, an open casket displayed the motionless body of a middle-aged man. A pastor stood behind the casket and softly read a sermon. A group of people walked into the room and sat down on the front pew after a woman handed each person a red rose. A loud, sinister laugh engulfed the room as a demon appeared, dressed in a black cloak with a saturated red and black face. For the past 12 years, the House of Prayer Ellettsville, located at 4100 N. Hartstrait Road in Bloomington, has transformed their holy sanctuary into a hellacious depiction of the devil’s work during the Halloween season. But Pastor Larry Mitchell said their performance, dubbed Hell House, is “a demon-guided tour that will change your life,” not a haunted house. Mitchell said he admits Hell House is controversial, but he justifies the performance by saying each scene is a depiction of real-life situations. “I love funerals,” the demon guide said. The demon identified the man in the casket as Jason, who died from AIDS.“We told him he was born gay,” the demon said. “Who in their right mind would actually believe that? Now he’s gone forever, into eternal fire, with all the other perverted, twisted, sin-infested souls. We’ve got your alternative lifestyle — in hell.”The demon urged the group to take a closer look. Standing from the pew, the group walked past the motionless body in the casket and walked outside. Klansmen stood in traditional Ku Klux Klan robes. One man carried a noose. Flames engulfed a large wooden cross. A man lay on the ground in front of a defunct pickup truck, also on fire. Three confederate flags cover another truck. “These simpletons actually believe that they are the supreme race,” the demon said. “All these fools have done is bought into one of my biggest lies: racial hatred and prejudice.” As a Klansman and the demon attack the man lying on the ground, he is shot in the head. In another room, three women surrounded another woman who was laying on a bed with her legs up. Her gown was covered in blood. The woman screamed as the doctors performed an abortion.“Killing babies is a wonderful choice,” the demon told the group. “It’s so convenient. After all, a woman has the right to murder her own child.” After quickly descending down a flight of stairs, the group entered a room filled with leaves. A wrecked car filled the corner of the room. A woman’s arm could be seen emerging from the vehicle.“You and your beer have killed your wife and daughter,” the demon told the man on the ground. After seeing these scenes and several others, the group entered the hell scene. The devil was depicted as a goat-like character with large horns and ears. Guards wore medieval armor and carried battle axes. Commotion in the scene was amplified by screams of “save me” from a group of women behind a prison gate. Then, an angel emerged. Dressed in a white gown, his large wings rose from his back above his head.He led the group into the final scene, the heaven scene. Quietly, a group of women and young girls, also dressed as angels, sat on the green carpet. A man portraying Jesus stretched out on a cross. He came down from the cross and offered the group a confession of faith. As Jesus spoke to the group through the speakers, he stared them in the eyes. His lips didn’t move. Tears ran down a man in the group’s face. He removed his glasses and wiped his eyes. “I don’t think a person can walk through those six scenes without identifying with at least one of them that’s happened to them or someone in their family,” Pastor Mitchell said. “We’re just trying to tell people the devil is real. There’s a heaven to gain, there’s a hell to shun.”Despite Mitchell’s confidence in the program, he admits criticism isn’t uncommon. Mitchell said a group from another church attended the event last Friday and expressed disagreements.Others disagree with the performance’s graphic nature. “It makes them sick. They’re disgusted,” Mitchell said. “They usually will pick out the funeral scene. They’ll usually make comments about that. We get a lot of comments about the abortion scene because they have the right to make their own choice, but once again, we’ve all got the right to make choices, but we make bad choices.”Karen Jeffries attended Sunday. Rather than taking offense from the graphic depictions, she said it helped restore her faith in God.“The scariest scene was, of course, the hell scene, but the best scene was the scene with our Lord, the Savior in heaven,” Jeffries said. But among the scenes, she said she had a personal connection with the drug scene because she said she was a “pothead” when she was younger.Many of these scenes resonated with several members of the House of Prayer because of their rough backgrounds, Mitchell said.“We’re out there on the cutting edge. I mean we’re out there three yards from hell just snatching people from the flames,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of former drug addicts and prostitutes and gang leaders here, and so we went after them. We didn’t wait for them to come into our doors. We tell them they don’t have to stay the way they are. They don’t have to live the way they are.”Even Mitchell himself said he lived a life of crime before becoming a pastor. After graduating from high school, Mitchell said he became the president of a motorcycle gang, the Hell’s Henchmen out of Chicago. He said the Henchmen’s motto is “It’s better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.” On Sunday, Mitchell wore a black T-shirt with white lettering: “Jesus Christ loves bikers, too.” The sleeves were cut off, and his arms were exposed, dotted with colorful tattoos. Until 1978, Mitchell said drugs and alcohol consumed his life until he said he received a vision in the night from heaven. “On the night of Jan. 28, 1978, the first miracle was that I didn’t smoke anything, I didn’t take anything, (and) I didn’t drink anything before I went to bed because I usually had to because I didn’t sleep well,” Mitchell said. “I was living a violent lifestyle.”He slept poorly that night, he said, but at about 2:30 a.m., a miracle happened. Laying in his bed, he said he saw a scale. On one side of the scale, he said he saw several parts of his current lifestyle, including his drugs and alcohol. On the other side, he said he saw peace, joy and eternal life. “I had a voice speak to me ‘Larry, you’re choosing death, but I’ve come that you might have life,’” Mitchell said. “That’s all I heard, and it hit me right straight in the heart.”From that moment on, Mitchell said he has dedicated his life to Christianity, never looking back. He became a pastor in 1993.Hell House is not Mitchell’s original idea. He borrowed it from an acquaintance but altered the scenes so it would resonate better with Bloomington’s demographics. For example, Mitchell added the KKK scene.“The Klan’s not dead,” Mitchell said. “They’re rallying around here. They’re trying to make a revival. They’ve been passing out fliers for the last several years now, trying to make a comeback in this area. We’re not about prejudice and racial hate and all that.”As the group of visitors exited the hell scene, they were directed into a small room. They were asked to fill out a card describing the impact Hell House had on their lives.For Mitchell, this is an opportunity to gather statistics. While he said about 1,700 people attend each year, about 25 percent of the people who attend say it is their reason for converting to Christianity. About $9,000 is generated each year from Hell House admissions, but they continue to invest at least $4,000 into the show each year. While Mitchell said he wrapped several themes into the performance, homosexuality is one of the main underlying themes. He said he does not believe homosexuals are born gay because it would require him to admit that God made a mistake. “I believe God loves the homosexual. I believe he loves the alcoholic. He loves the drug addict. He loves the old mangy biker scum guy, and he loves us the way we are, but he loves us too much to leave us that way,” Mitchell said.
(10/21/11 2:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Waving a cardboard sign above her head with her right arm and holding her 4-year-old daughter’s hand with her left, IU employee Nicole Cadow Johnson, 34, stepped off the curb at Peoples Park. Her two older children walked in front of her, blending in with the large group of protesters marching west on Kirkwood Avenue toward Chase Bank.One side of Nicole’s cardboard sign read “Robin Hood was right.” The other side read, “It’s easier to buy a gun than my education.” Each of her children — Zoe, 11, Uriah, 8, and Willow, 4 — wielded their own signs. “Wall Street needs adult supervision,” read a sign dangling by a rope from Willow’s neck. But it took a few moments for Nicole to convince Willow to carry the sign.“Willow, Willow, baby. Please carry this for me,” Nicole said to her daughter before the march. “It would be really cool because you’re a kid.”But Willow, who sat on a park bench with lunch smeared across her face, contested, shaking her head. “Please, will you do this for me?” Nicole asked, but quickly gave in. She was beginning to drape the sign from her own neck when Willow changed her mind. She agreed and Nicole placed the rope around Willow’s neck and gave her a hug. “It looks extremely cute on a kid,” Nicole told her daughter. As the group of protesters progressed west on Kirkwood Avenue during the “People’s March” on Oct. 15, unified chants were illuminated by the hollow sound of bongo drums“Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like,” Nicole chanted in unison with the group. “You pay tax and so do we, everyone except GE.”For two weeks, protesters have gathered at Peoples Park for their movement, “Occupy Bloomington.” This movement is a spin-off from “Occupy Wall Street,” a protest in New York City gathering mostly in opposition to perceived corporate greed. The protest in New York began in September. * * *Currently, tents occupy a majority of Peoples Park. For more than a week, Nicole and her husband Joshua’s six-person tent has been one of dozens on the grass. The zipper for the front entrance to the tent has since been duct-taped shut. A thin layer of familiar items line the tent’s nylon floor — sleeping bags, clothes, a set of drumsticks and a white football. Inside a mesh pouch on the tent’s wall are two Lego figurines.On Oct. 16, Nicole sat cross-legged on the tent’s floor when Zoe and Uriah rushed in through the tent’s back entrance. “Can I show you what I got?” Uriah said.“Of course you can show me what you got,” Nicole said. “Where did you guys go? Oh, you guys went to the comic store.” Uriah held a Green Lantern figurine and a Green Lantern comic book, the prequel to the movie. Nicole was impressed with their find but quickly moved on to Uriah’s messy appearance.“You’re dirty. You really need to wash your face,” Nicole said to Uriah. “I washed my face this morning,” Uriah replied.“Yeah, but you’ve got something going on on your chin there, man,” she said laughing.Shortly after Uriah and Zoe entered the tent, Joshua appeared with Willow in his arms, crying. “She just sat down and scraped her back over there,” Joshua said to Nicole. “Hey, are you OK?” Nicole asked.“No,” Willow said.“I’m sorry,” Nicole said.“It’s my fault, not yours,” Willow said with a soft voice. While the family has not stayed in their tent in Peoples Park every night, Nicole said she has been out there as much as possible. So far, factors preventing their participation have included rain and illness. “But I mean, we have kids,” Nicole said. “I’m not going to put my kids in substandard conditions. Camping is one thing. Camping in substandard conditions when you have a house a mile away is totally different.”When they do stay, she wakes up at 5 a.m. and drives a mile home. After bathing and eating a hot breakfast, the family parts for work and school. Nicole is the project director for the IU Smoking Survey . Then, at the end of the day, it’s back to Peoples Park. Nicole and her family did not attend the first night of the protest.“We didn’t come down the first night because I needed to see the vibe,” Nicole said. “My husband came down. He attended the march. He didn’t even sleep but stayed really late to see if there was going to be any police action, someone getting harassed or whatever,” Nicole said.But the next day, Nicole and her family were a part of the movement. On Oct. 13, rain pummeled Peoples Park. Water filled the inside of Nicole’s tent, and since her children were already sick, they stayed home for the next two nights. “I think they’re probably sick from a lack of sleep, not so much just from being here,” Nicole said. “It’s not hard to get to sleep, but it’s just been a change in environment.”Nicole added that she also struggles to pull her children away from the festivities in Peoples Park each night.* * *As Joshua watched over the children at home, Nicole endured the rain on Oct. 13. Wearing multi-colored rain boots, she placed a dry protest sign on a bench and took a seat. Regardless of their illness that day, Zoe, Uriah and Willow marched beside their mother Oct. 13.“I feel it is important because I need to be active in what I believe in and my children need to see people be active in what they believe in,” Nicole said. “I cannot raise responsible citizens if they see apathy. ... I need my children to be exposed to not only the inequalities that exist but the fact that you can do something about them.”So far, Nicole said she has not been approached by anybody opposed to her children’s inclusion in the protest. Instead, she believes her children have benefited the movement. Because there are children present, she said protesters are better behaved. It’s also been a learning experience for her children, she said.“They love it because it’s community,” Nicole said. “If we were home, I would be fielding requests constantly for television and computer use. ‘Go out and play.’ ‘But I want to play on the computer. I want to be attached to an electronic machine.’”Zoe said her mother told her they were protesting to end everything that’s bad in the world. “It’s really fun, actually,” Zoe said. “There are lots of kids here and I like the food. I guess it’s good to be protesting and being in the environment, the community, and being part of it. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it’s freezing at night, even though I’ve got an awesome sleeping bag and I’m fine once I’m inside of that, but still.” Zoe said her main cause is to end animal abuse. In fact, she inspired her family to become vegetarian.“I told my mom I didn’t want to eat anything with a face on it,” Zoe said. After a gathering in front of Chase Bank, chanting, “We got sold out, Chase got bailed out,” the group walked the wrong direction on College Avenue. Cars were brought to a halt as the protest consumed the street and sidewalk. Some motorists honked their horns while others shook their heads with disapproval.After a stop in front of the Monroe County Jail, the group approached the Farmer’s Market.“We support the Farmer’s Market,” Nicole chanted at the top of her lungs, waving her sign above her head. Zoe and Uriah stuck together several yards in front of Nicole. By this time, protester Lily Rushlow was carrying Willow on her shoulders. Rushlow currently works as a nanny.“I have two hands,” Rushlow said. “I might as well use them when someone else needs them.” Beginning in 2003, Nicole attended a community college in her hometown, New Orleans. While she, Joshua and her two young children visited family for the weekend in 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. Although she did not protest the way the government handled the hurricane, she was angry. She has participated in numerous protests throughout the years, ranging from the current immigration laws in Arizona to supporting a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion . Because people were not let back into the New Orleans, Nicole and her family were unable to reach their home. With nothing more than a car and a change of clothes, they moved to Phoenix. During this time, Nicole gave birth to her third child. Nicole graduated from Arizona State University in 2010 with two degrees in psychology and sociology. Around the same time, the recession hit and Joshua lost his job.Nicole said she has heard people criticize the “Occupy Bloomington” movement by telling protesters they need to get jobs.“Our biggest hackle is ‘Get a job, you fucking hippies,’” Nicole said. “But it’s like, ‘Dude, we’ve got jobs, and if we don’t have jobs it’s because there’s no jobs and we have educations.’”On a whim, Nicole and Joshua agreed to move to Bloomington, his hometown, for numerous reasons. “The valley is a really big place. Arizona is super right wing, and we don’t agree with a lot of what’s going on there, and I can’t let my kids ride their bikes around the corner,” Nicole said. “Meth is a serious problem out there, a very serious problem. This is like night and day. I live in a storybook currently. That’s how I feel here.”* * *Shortly after moving to Bloomington in July 2010, Nicole was hired by IU. However, she struggled to pay the student loans she accumulated during the last seven years. Currently, Nicole owes $60,000 in student loan debt. In the future, Nicole plans to attend graduate school, thus incurring additional loans. However, those are not the only causes drawing Nicole to the movement each day.“I’m here occupying public space until corporations cease occupying the government,” Nicole said. “I don’t believe the government should be able to tell me anything about how I should live my life.”She does not believe corporations should be treated legally as people, as the United States Supreme Court has ruled they can. She said the government’s continual bailouts for corporations need to cease, and lobbying should be illegal. “Why are they bailing out corporations,” Nicole said, “when they could be bailing out young professionals and people who are losing their homes?”And while Nicole believes these changes need to occur on the federal level, she is content with working small.Within Bloomington city limits Nicole said she hopes to inspire multiple reformations, such as creating designated “Free Speech Zones” and eliminating corporate personhood. “Corporations currently hold the same rights as an individual, and it would be to remove that in the city of Bloomington,” Nicole said.She also marches each day with environmental motives.“But the thing is, it’s the corporations who are destroying (the environment), so it all goes back to the corporations,” Nicole said. “They’re the ones who have the poor environmental protocols.”Many protesters, she emphasized, do not share her exact political beliefs or motivations. This is positive, she believes, as long as they use nonviolent tactics, operate with autonomous action and don’t try to impose a hierarchical system. Nicole doesn’t know how long she will continue to stay in the movement at Peoples Park, but she said she does not want to put her children in a harmful situation — harmful due to weather or extreme police action. But for now, she can be found among the protesters, carrying a cardboard sign, cleaning up or supervising her children as they run and play among the rows of tents. * * *The flock of protesters crept toward Peoples Park, energy deflated, and the Peoples March came to a halt.Nicole dropped her cardboard signs to the ground and climbed atop a cement sculpture in the park. Chatter ceased.“Thank you all very much for showing my children what democracy looks like,” Nicole yelled to a silent crowd.
(10/04/11 4:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Family and friends of IU freshman Renee Ohrn remember her as a compassionate and outgoing person who brightened the lives of everybody around her. Ohrn, 19, of Gary was killed Saturday morning in a fire at Terra Trace Apartments. “Renee was like my best friend, but she was more than that,” said Renee’s childhood friend and roommate at IU, Natalie Korpak. “She was more than my best friend — we were like sisters. We hung out every day, we did everything together, she was my roommate, just everything.” The friendship between Renee and Korpak began while they were in kindergarten. It continued when both were accepted to IU and chose to become roommates in Eigenmann Hall. Korpak said Renee’s personality allowed anyone to talk to her about almost anything, and anyone could become friends with her. “She was understanding, and she could make you feel so good about anything,” Korpak said. “She could make you feel so good about yourself, and she just made every situation a happy and fun experience.” On Sunday, Renee’s parents, other family members and friends cleaned her belongings out of her dorm room. Her mother, Connie Ohrn, said the students she talked to told her that Renee was the nicest person they had ever met. Her father, Mark Ohrn, said several residents of Eigenmann visited to express their sadness about Renee’s death. “Several of her floormates came by and I asked them, ‘You know, you’ve seen her in the last month, and I haven’t seen her in the last month. What was she like? Did she like school?’” Mark said. “And they said, ‘Oh, she just loved it here. She was just having a great time.’ They all said that she was always smiling and never had a bad day, or at least she would never show it.” Renee and her two brothers lived with their mother and Renee’s godmother, Paulette Cialdella, in Gary. Mark, who lives in Hoover, Ala., said Renee was his “little princess.” He recalled memories of Renee when she was young up until her acceptance at IU. “She loved to go to the park and play on the playground equipment and she loved the swings,” Mark said. “She was so phenomenally excited to go to IU. She was one of the happiest people that I’ve ever known.” Renee graduated from Andrean High School, a private Catholic school in Merrillville, Ind., just outside of Gary. While there, Renee was an important member of the women’s soccer team. In 2011, the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association awarded Renee with two distinctions — the Top Player of the Year Award and the All-Academic Award. Her brother, Nick Ohrn, said Renee had not yet declared a major and was taking core classes. But because she was so active, he said she was interested in studying exercise and nutritional science. In high school, Renee was also voted Prom Queen and her classmates voted for her for the “Best Personality Award.” “I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter,” Connie said. “She was everything and then some.” Connie said she cried for about a month before Renee left for college. “But when she left,” Connie said, “everything was OK because we were talking the night before, and she said, ‘Mom, I’m going to miss you, but Mom, this is the way you raised me. You know, you got me here.’” Father Paul Quinz, the principal at Andrean High School, said a moment of silence was given Saturday at the school’s Homecoming dance. At the start of the school day Monday, Quinz said students offered a special prayer for Renee and her family. “My hope is that people will remember Renee as someone who was a little bit goofy but always sincere and always willing to give a little bit of help to whoever needed it,” Nick said. “Judging by people’s reactions so far, I’m fairly confident that that’s the way it’s going to happen.” Nick said Renee’s Facebook page has seen an influx of posts since her death. Some of these people, he said, credit Renee as the most influential person in their lives. In one particular post, a high school friend said Renee was responsible for her coming out of her shell and being herself without worries of being judged. “I’m really glad my sister was able to make that happen, at least for one person for sure, and I know there are many others,” Nick said. Renee is survived by her parents Connie and Mark; her brothers, Nick and James; and her grandmother, Phyllis Porcelly. A wake will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Nativity of Our Savior, 2949 Willowcreek Road, Portage, Ind. Renee’s funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at the same location. “Remembering my sister is something that is going to be really easy for me,” Nick said. “She was the sweetest, most genuine person I have ever met in my entire life.”
(10/04/11 3:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ryan Patrick Mobley, 27, was arrested Sunday for allegedly stealing a family friend’s pickup truck.Officers pulled Mobley over at 7:30 a.m. Sunday after he ran a red light at West Third Street and North College Avenue, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Jeff Canada said. When officers approached the vehicle, Canada said Mobley was acting “overly friendly.” When officers asked Mobley his name he said he was Shane — the name of his brother. He also told police he was driving to get doughnuts for himself and his father, Canada said.But when Mobley gave police a different name than what appeared on the black 2010 GM pickup’s registration, Canada said police became suspicious. Then, as police continued to ask questions, Canada said Mobley’s attitude changed. The man became nervous and stopped answering questions directed from police. Police contacted the man who appears on the truck’s registration. While he told police he knew Mobley, he said he should not be driving his truck. Police also reported Mobley kept reaching toward the side of his waist. He later allegedly exposed a hypodermic needle and a spoon. When police asked Mobley to vacate the vehicle, he allegedly started the truck’s engine. Before Mobley could shift the vehicle into gear, Canada said police forcibly removed him. Mobley is charged with vehicle theft, possession of a hypodermic needle, falsely identifying himself as his brother, disregarding the red light and driving with a suspended license. — Mark Keierleber
(10/04/11 1:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The costs to attend college at IU can add up after tuition, room and board, but the bills do not stop there. Don’t overlook college-mandated extra expenses, such as books and additional fees.For prospective students, calculating a more accurate “net cost” might have become a little easier. On Sept. 12, IU’s Office of Enrollment Management launched a net price calculator through The College Board. It is designed to help prospective students determine an accurate cost of attendance. “With the introduction of the net price calculator, students and their families can use the calculator to help estimate their net price or cost when considering earning an education at IU,” said David Johnson, vice provost at the IU Office of Enrollment Management. “We are very pleased to be able to offer this valuable calculation to assist families in determining their estimated cost to attend IU.”The calculator, which can be found at npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/indiana, is a five-stage questionnaire. According to the welcome screen, the calculator estimates a student’s Expected Family Contribution, the amount of grants, scholarships and other forms of financial aid and subtracts these from the total cost of attendance. Freshman Katie Riedman, who is from Indianapolis, visited numerous universities throughout Indiana and the Midwest before choosing IU.“When I went on college visits, it just kind of stuck out to me, and I liked the campus,” Riedman said. “I want to do psychology. I heard they have a really good psychology school here.”Although Riedman was aware of additional costs beyond tuition, room and board before enrolling at IU, she said she is unsure how much she will pay by the end of her first year in college. However, she said the tool would have been useful when searching for schools.“I could have planned better and saved better,” she said.IU was the only school junior Joanna Goins, an Indiana resident, applied to because she expected to receive scholarships from the University for her grades and test scores. Each year, Goins said she receives about $9,000 in scholarships. “I don’t really have to worry about tuition,” she said. “It’s pretty much the meal plan and textbooks that cost me the most.”Regardless, Goins said she researched the actual cost to attend IU before she attended. “Tuition, cost — I pretty much looked at everything,” she said. “Technology, transportation, the printing cost — they’ll get you when they can. That would have been really helpful. Oh well, I’m always a couple years too early for my time.”When sophomore Ian Krotinsky enrolled at IU, he said he knew his education would cost more than it does for most IU students because he is from New York. However, he said he is unsure if the calculator would have been helpful for him when he was a prospective student.“You kind of go in with knowing that you’re going to pay that cost plus some more for certain things,” Krotinsky said. “Even though it says you’re paying $30,000, you have to keep in your mind that you’re probably paying $5,000 more.”A federal mandate requires universities to make this service available by Oct. 29. But IU launched it early, according to a University press release. “I’m still curious to see if the education pays off, but I think it will,” Krotinsky said.
(10/03/11 12:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Anthony Ray Halliday stood at the front of the courtroom with a straight back. His black suit and light blue Oxford shirt were clean and wrinkle-free. His shaved head towered above his attorney, who stood to his right. Halliday, 41, pleaded guilty in the Monroe County Circuit Court on Sept. 27 before Judge Marc R. Kellams for driving while under the influence of alcohol on two separate accounts. Halliday was almost motionless, occasionally rocking forward onto the toes of his polished black dress shoes. Halliday joined the Army in May 2003 at the age of 32. In 2007 and 2008, he served in Iraq as a sergeant of the Military Police Unit. While in Iraq, Halliday watched as fellow soldiers were killed around him. His time in combat was traumatic and life-altering, he said. “I was a very good soldier, and I was coded to be a very good soldier,” Halliday said. After returning from combat to the United States, Halliday said he suffered from several medical problems, including a hernia and tinnitus. But he also suffered mentally. After a visit to the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis, Halliday was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in late 2009, nearly a year after he returned from Iraq.Halliday is not alone. According to PTSD Research Quarterly, a report from the National Center for PTSD, 18 percent of veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom suffer from PTSD. Halliday has been taking classes to deal with his PTSD since he was diagnosed. He is currently in a combat anger course at the VA hospital. He attends class once a week in Indianapolis. Once a month, he meets with a psychologist. Halliday admitted he has struggled with his anger since returning from war. He said most people find him intimidating. “He really has uncontrollable anger,” said Halliday’s girlfriend, Tabatha Oliver. Halliday and Oliver have been dating since September 2008. Oliver, who said she also suffers from PTSD, said it has been a challenge dealing with Halliday’s problems. “Once he started seeking help, at first he was resistant,” Oliver said. “Once someone finally explained to him, ‘Hey, this is not something we can cure, it’s something you have to learn to live with,’ he has made huge improvement.”Oliver credits Halliday as the best thing that’s ever happened to her three teenage sons. Halliday said several of his war buddies committed suicide upon their return to the U.S. But for Halliday, taking his own life isn’t an option. “I couldn’t believe they did that. One of them just had a newborn daughter, too. That really upset me.”According to Halliday, the difference between the war in Iraq and previous American occupations is a lack of boundaries. In previous wars, Halliday said there had always been a boundary separating war zones from safe zones. But in Iraq, he said this boundary was nonexistent.“In Iraq, there was a constant threat everywhere you went,” Halliday said. “There was no safe place, including in our FOBs (Forward Operating Base), where a lot of the Iraqi nationals were (and) in our dining facilities and in our laundry facilities.”Halliday said threats could be anywhere and could look like anything. Terrorist groups used anything, including children and animals. He said they often looked like innocent Iraqi citizens until they began firing guns against American soldiers. Halliday credits his patriotism and love for democracy for his dedication in the service. However, he worries the war in Iraq will not have a lasting effect on the Iraqi people when the American occupation ends.“I truly believe that when we leave, those people are going to go back to doing exactly what they want to do,” Halliday said. “They’ve been a civilization for thousands of years, and it’s crazy for the United States that’s a couple hundred years old to think that we can dictate to them how we think they should live.”In the summer of 2010, Halliday enrolled in a few summer classes at IU. He continued school into the fall semester with a full load but dropped out when his PTSD collided with alcoholism. He is currently unemployed and considered 30 percent disabled from the VA hospital. He is working with the VA to increase his disability percentage.“Alcohol abuse goes hand-in-hand with PTSD,” Halliday said in the courtroom. When Halliday returned from Iraq, he began to drink substantially more than he did before he stepped foot on a battlefield. When he was drunk, he said he would tell his girlfriend the alcohol helped him feel normal again. But instead, he said it stalled his healing from PTSD and got him into trouble with the law.“Obviously the legal problems have been an issue,” Halliday said. “But maybe I needed those legal problems to get to where I am now because now I realize being sober has helped me.”On Dec. 4, 2010, police arrested Halliday for driving while under the influence of alcohol, possession of marijuana and for failing to stop after an accident resulting in non-vehicle damage.That night, at about 3:30 a.m., Halliday said he was driving home while intoxicated. After skidding through a red light, he ran his black 2000 Chevrolet Blazer into a street pole. After the accident, he continued to drive but said he was followed by a witness to the accident — an off-duty police officer.Police located Halliday and performed a traffic stop for the accident. During the time of his arrest, police reported Halliday smelled of alcohol and had slow speech, watery eyes and poor balance. Once detained, a blood sample identified his Blood Alcohol Concentration as 0.19 percent, more than double the legal limit to operate a vehicle in Indiana. After the arrest, Halliday said he signed into a rehabilitation program at the VA hospital. He said he was sober for three months before he had a relapse. After a friend’s funeral, he consumed alcohol on April 2. That evening, he was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol and for resisting his arrest. A blood test indicated his blood alcohol concentration was 0.22 percent. After his second arrest, Halliday said he has completed rehab and maintained his sobriety. Judge Kellams sympathized with Halliday. While he said he is rarely presented a case involving two open OWIs, he typically mandates a rehabilitation program when they arise. However, Halliday was not issued any additional coursework. Instead, Kellams commended Halliday for taking those steps on his own in a proactive approach to recovery. Halliday was issued one year of probation for each of the two offenses. His driver’s license has also been suspended for 90 days for each offense. All other charges brought against him were dropped.“Sobriety will be a lifelong process,” Kellams said. “As you already know, you just need to take it one day at a time.”Next spring, Halliday plans to re-enroll at IU and finish his degree in general studies with minors in communication, economics and psychology.
(10/03/11 12:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Scott Shake, 28, was arrested early Friday morning after allegedly breaking a window at WonderLab, The Museum of Science, Health and Technology, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Steve Kellams said. He also said Shake allegedly stole a stuffed river otter. Kellams said BPD officers responded to WonderLab late Thursday night because the museum’s security alarms were sounding. After their arrival to the museum, officers could not identify anything out of the ordinary. When a WonderLab employee went to the museum at about 4 a.m. Friday, Kellams said the museum employee reportedly heard the sound of shattering glass. Police arrived to the scene a second time and found two people — Shake and 21-year-old Chelsea Delker — in the Chase Bank parking lot close to the museum. Police also found the river otter in the parking lot, Kellams said. According to Kellams, Shake admitted to jumping a fence to get into the WonderLab facility. However, he denied breaking a window to gain entry into the building. He also admitted to stealing the river otter from the window, Kellams said.Kellams said Delker told police she was not near Shake when he allegedly broke into WonderLab. However, she also reported hearing the sound of broken glass.Shake is being charged for the burglary of a business — a felony — public intoxication and criminal mischief. Delker is being charged for public intoxication. According to WonderLab Marketing Director Louise Schlesinger, the crime caused unnecessary expenses to a nonprofit organization when money is already tight. Because of the shattered glass in the area, Schlesinger said several other stuffed animals will need to be replaced. At about 11 a.m. Friday, two WonderLab employees delivered a bundle of museum tickets to BPD. These were given as a token of appreciation to the officers who responded to the museum to investigate the sounding security siren.“It was a nice thing to do,” Schlesinger said. “We’re a nonprofit organization. Sometimes people like a ‘thank you’ in that form.”According to Kellams, the stuffed river otter has been returned to its natural habitat.
(09/29/11 2:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a newly enacted law in Indiana, cities throughout the state are unable to enact or enforce laws imposing firearm restrictions on most city properties.However, numerous cities across the state currently have regulations in violation of this statute.Zionsville attorney Guy Allen Relford, who is an NRA-certified firearms instructor, has been working for full compliance since the law first took effect on July 1. He is currently engaged in two lawsuits against two Indiana cities, Evansville and Hammond, and anticipates additional lawsuits in the future. Relford said the law was created to unify the state under one set of firearms regulations. By doing this, individuals with concealed firearms permits could travel across the state without fear of breaking city ordinances. Relford said cities across Indiana have inconsistent firearms policies. “It was completely varying from town to town... where a law-abiding gun owner, who is trying very hard to comply with Indiana law... never knows what the law is,” Relford said. “They could be absolutely legal to carry a gun on city property in one town and completely illegal in the next.”So far, Relford said he has sent out dozens of emails to city councils across the state informing the cities of statutes in violation of the policy. He said some cities, such as Speedway, have reacted positively to his emails and are currently in the process of repealing their statutes. However, he said other cities, such as Hammond, have refused to comply. The Evansville City Council has repealed a city ordinance banning firearms in city parks. However, Relford filed a lawsuit against the city and the Department of Parks and Recreation.On Sept. 10, Evansville resident Benjamin A. Magenheimer was escorted by local law enforcement from the Masker Park Zoo in Evansville. City officials insist Magenheimer was booted from the zoo for his “belligerent” behavior toward zoo employees and law enforcement,However, Relford, who has accepted Magenheimer as his client, said he believes Magenheimer was removed from the zoo because he was carrying a handgun in a holster on his hip. He said he believes the city’s claims are a fabrication. According to Evansville City Attorney David L. Jones, two visitors of the zoo became concerned when they noticed Magenheimer’s gun. According to Relford, Magenheimer was visiting the zoo with his wife and four-year-old son. A zoo manager eventually confronted Magenheimer about the gun on his hip and requested he conceal the weapon. Magenheimer refused, Jones said, because he was within the legal boundaries for carrying the gun. Because the zoo manager was unsure if any regulations prevented Magenheimer from carrying a gun on his hip, Jones said the manager called the police. Jones said the officer asked Magenheimer to conceal his firearm. He did not tell Magenheimer he was breaking any laws, but said they were concerned, Jones said.“In conversation from there, he started getting loud and basically unruly,” Jones said.Law enforcement then escorted Magenheimer from the zoo, Jones said. Jones said he has not yet interviewed the officers involved in the incident and therefore could not specify Magenheimer’s “unruly” behavior. Since the incident, Jones said he has received a number of phone calls from Evansville citizens who addressed concerns about Magenheimer. According to one man’s account, Jones said, Magenheimer was recently removed from a hospital after bringing a gun into the facility and acting unruly. He said he does not have specific details about the removal at the hospital. Several of Magenheimer’s neighbors, Jones said, have also called with complaints about Magenheimer’s behavior.But Relford described Magenheimer as a respectable, clean-cut man who understands Indiana laws surrounding firearms. He said he does not believe Magenheimer acted in an inappropriate manner when zoo and law enforcement officials confronted him about his firearm. In fact, Relford has challenged the city to prove its position. There are security cameras in the zoo, Relford said. In fact, he said he has personally visited the zoo and photographed security cameras located in the “Enchanted Forest.”“If my client was belligerent and hostile and was causing a scene and that’s why he got thrown out, do you think I would make that challenge?” Relford said. “Do you think I would say, ‘Let’s see the security video?’ That’s the last thing I would want the people to see if my client was being a jerk.”Relford said he thinks it’s “telling” that the city has not yet released video footage from security cameras. However, Jones denies the existence of security cameras in the zoo. “There were no cameras that captured this incident, and I have checked and verified that,” Jones said.Though Evansville officials say Magenheimer was removed from the zoo for his misconduct rather than for his possession of a firearm, on Monday the Evansville City Council repealed a city mandate banning firearm possession in city parks. Either way, Jones said the city plans to defend Relford’s lawsuit to the best of its ability and hopes witnesses will testify in court.“We’ll see what a jury has to say about this,” Jones said.In addition to the controversy in Evansville, Relford is currently representing two clients who are suing the city Hammond concerning three city statutes contradicting the new state law. Relford filed the lawsuit on Aug. 29, nearly two months after the new law went into effect. “The towns that are doing the right thing and are complying with state law, they don’t need to worry about a lawsuit,” Relford said. “It’s only those ones like the city of Hammond where the mayor stood up and openly defied state law.”Relford said in Hammond it is illegal for residents to possess more than 500 rounds of ammunition in their homes without a license from the city’s fire marshal. This ordinance is unjustifiable, Relford said. For people shooting .22s, Relford said a standard carton of ammunition, a brick, is sold in a quantity of 550 rounds. “Go to Cabela’s in Hammond and they’ve got hundreds of these boxes sitting around,” Relford said. “In Hammond, if you buy one of those and take it home, you’ve just violated a city ordinance and you’re subject to a $2,500 fine.”Relford said Hammond also has an ordinance banning firearms from any city park and an ordinance banning firearms from any building owned or managed by the cityRelford is currently waiting for a reply on the lawsuit from the city.Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott could not be reached for an interview before the IDS print deadline. Other cities across the state are also in violation of the new law, Relford said. If they resist compliance with the new ordinance, he said he plans to file additional lawsuits.
(09/22/11 4:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two IU students, ages 20 and 21, were reportedly robbed at gunpoint Saturday in their apartment at Varsity Villas.The victims were at a party Saturday night prior to the robbery., Sgt. Jeff Canada of the Bloomington Police Department said.One of the men mentioned that his roommate had recently received a large sum of money in student loans. They later left the party with a group of people to go back to their apartment.The victims told police the suspect followed them to their residence, pushed his way through the group into the apartment, pulled a gun on the victims and demanded money.The suspect, who referred to himself as “D,” is described as a black male in his 20s. He is approximately 5’ 11”, has short hair and is between 130 and 160 pounds. His weapon was described as a semi-automatic handgun with a silencer.The victims said they gave the suspect a large sum of money, but Canada did not specify exact figures. Nobody was reported injured in the incident. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call Detective Bill Jeffers at 812-339-4477.
(09/21/11 4:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Standing outside the main entrance to Ballantine Hall, junior Sean Flanagan took the final drag from a cigarette. As he exhaled a plume of smoke, he scraped the cigarette against a cement wall and dropped the butt on the ground. Flanagan knows a tobacco-free policy is in place at IU, but he continues to smoke on campus every day.“I’ve smoked everywhere on this campus,” Flanagan said. “I don’t really have an opinion of (the policy). If people really did have a problem with it, they would tell me. And if they do, I’ll move away.”In February 2007, a mandate by the IU Board of Trustees banned the use and sale of tobacco products on all eight IU campuses. The mandate took effect Jan. 1, 2008. According to the policy, which is available on the IU website, the University “is concerned about the toll that smoking and tobacco use has on the health and well-being of the university community.” For that reason, the use or sale of tobacco products is prohibited on all property owned or leased by the University. While this includes all parking lots on campus, the policy does permit smoking in private vehicles “provided users make a reasonable effort to contain smoke and smoking materials inside the vehicle (e.g., keeping windows closed).”Nearly four years since the policy was first initiated, Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson said the University is still struggling to develop a way to enforce the mandate. “Some proposals have been made, but there have been some complicated legal issues,” Hanson said.As graduate student Jerrell Allen walked away from the Herman B Wells Library, an unlit cigarette hung from his lips. He walked into the parking lot behind the library and lit the cigarette. Smoke unfurled around him. He said he continues to smoke on campus because the tobacco ban doesn’t have any consequences. He said the ban is far from his mind when he lights up. Instead, he is only thinking about getting his nicotine fix. “It’s not just because there isn’t like an administration that’s telling me not it do it,” Allen said. “But it’s a habit that’s really hard to let go of, actually.”Although he continues to smoke on campus, he said there are specific areas he avoids, such as doorways, while smoking. “But there are spots around that smokers kind of congregate, and people know not to walk through if they’re smoking,” Allen said. “So like there’s de facto smoking rules that I think have served the University well.”He said breaking the nicotine addiction is tough, but he is trying to quit. While the residence halls and the Indiana Memorial Union had exemptions from the rule the first year, additional exemptions are currently not in place. Currently, there are not designated smoking areas on campus. It’s not as simple when sidewalks are thrown into the mix. While several internal city streets are considered part of the campus, like parts of Seventh Street and Jordan Avenue, streets on the campus perimeter are not part of the campus for the purpose of this policy, Hanson said. Hanson said the University hasn’t collected any reliable data of the number of people smoking on campus before and after the policy took effect. But she said it’s pretty obvious that some people are disregarding it. Preventing tobacco use on campus, according to the policy, will “depend on the cooperation of all faculty, staff, and students not only to comply with the policy, but also to encourage others to comply, in order to promote a healthy environment in which to work, study and live.”Flanagan said instructors and students have confronted him several times in the past and asked him not to smoke on campus. He said he thinks these people think if they inhale second-hand smoke, they’ll get cancer, but people smoke freely around the world.Several yards away, freshman Mandi Reynolds sat on the ground and leaned her back against the exterior of Ballantine Hall. She said she opposes smoking on campus but said she is too shy to confront smokers about it.“I’m allergic to it myself, so even being around it makes me sick,” Reynolds said. “It’s not really thoughtful of everyone else, especially for me because I can’t breathe around it. It gives me a lot of breathing problems, and sometimes I break out in a rash.”Before Reynolds began college this semester, she said she didn’t know IU had a tobacco-free policy. After she learned about the policy, she remained supportive but wished students would comply. She also pointed out dozens of cigarette butts laying on the ground where she was sitting.“I like the idea that they tried to do that, but I just don’t think a lot of kids really listen to it,” Reynolds said. “Or I don’t know if they even know of it. I’ve seen like maybe one thing about it walking around on campus.”