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June 30
June 27
Indiana's law is better that the new federal law! Those fed up with telemarketers can sign up Friday for a national do-not-call list that will block unwanted telemarketers, but the state attorney general says Indiana's law provides more relief from unwanted calls. Indiana residents still should choose the state option, Attorney General Steve Carter said. The federal do-not-call list is intended to block most telemarketing calls, but the federal list is not as effective as the Indiana list. For example, a company may call someone on the federal no-call list if that person has bought, leased or rented from the company within the past 18 months, and telemarketers also may call people if they have inquired about or applied for something from the company during the past three months. Charities, surveys and calls on behalf of politicians also are exempt. Fortunately, Indiana and several other states lobbied successfully to keep their own laws in place! Indiana's no-call list restrictions took effect in January 2002, and more than 1.2 million residential phone numbers are included the state's list. The exemption under Indiana's law: Insurance and real estate agents, charities that use employees or volunteers to place calls and newspapers that use employees or volunteers to place calls.
June 26
Be cautious when mowing grass or working on steep inclines. Brian Johnson, who lived southwest of Indianapolis, was spraying weeds on a lawn tractor when it overturned and crushed him to death. The tractor weighed over 1,100 pounds.
Indiana University will house a NASA research institute devoted to the search for life on Mars.. The Bloomington campus will be home to one of 16 lead teams selected this year to be part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Astrobiology Institute. NASA will provide $5 million in funding over five years to the IU center. The new institute will be know as the Indiana-Princeton-Tennessee Astrobiology Institute and will employ 18 scientists from eight research institutions. Researchers will conduct field and laboratory experiments as well as study biological samples taken from deep inside mines to figure out the best of way of detecting life on Mars.
Joining 129 other municipalities across the country, the Bloomington City Council has passed a resolution objecting to the USA Patriot Act and other federal laws approved after the 2001 terrorist attacks that council members say encroach on civil liberties. The resolution asks local and federal leaders to prevent infringements on individual freedoms even in the interest of homeland security.
Under the new state law enacted this past spring, the first of three annual increases in weekly unemployment insurance benefits in Indiana takes effect Tuesday when the maximum check available rises from $336 to $348. Weekly maximum checks will increase to $369 in July 2004 and to $390 in July 2005. The increase is only for workers who apply for benefits after Tuesday, the first day of the state's fiscal year, and who qualify for the maximum amount. For people receiving unemployment benefits now, the weekly maximum of $336 will not change. The amount also stays the same for unemployed residents who do not qualify for the maximum benefit. An unemployed worker's compensation is based on a formula that takes into account his or her earnings during the past 15 months. In general, the greater the worker's previous salary, the higher the unemployment benefits. The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week that Indiana's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in May, down from 5.1 percent in April. The agency reported 156,875 people out of work in Indiana last month.
June 25
The Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources is introducing endangered osprey chicks at Patoka Lake. The reintroduction is funded by donations to the endangered wildlife fund, state income tax check-off, and by direct donations.
This Saturday and Sunday there will be a free self-guided tour for visitors in Nashville, IN. The tour will feature the studios of 16 artists and craftsmen in Brown County.
Although Harrison County officials are not saying what changes they are seeking, they are in the process of renegotiating their multimillion dollar contract with Caesars Indiana Casino. The contract has been in effect for 7 years and included requirements that Caesars give $5 million to a countywide foundation as well as make annual contributions to charitable foundations in Harrison and Floyd counties based on a percentage of its annual revenue. The casino is preparing for a September hearing before the Indiana Gaming Commission to renew its license. Caesars and Belterra in Switzerland County are the only riverboats that have not completed the license-renewal process. During the license review, the commission examines whether casinos have met their contract obligations with local governments. The agreements on contributions to local projects or special construction requests typically do not involve state officials.
A high school principal has resigned about two months after he was arrested on drunken driving charges for the second time in two years. The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. board was unanimous Monday in accepting the resignation of Bill McCaa, who has been principal of Columbus North High School since 1993. District Superintendent John Quick said. School officials hope to have a new principal hired by the start of the fall semester in August. McCaa, who has been eligible for retirement for about three years, has worked in the school district for 33 years. He has been on paid medical leave since his April 13 arrest in Jeffersonville.
June 24
A controversial photo card issued by the Mexican government will now be recognized as legal identification in Indianapolis -- a move that could help Mexican immigrants obtain driver's licenses and insurance, open bank accounts and get health care. Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson said Monday the decision to accept the "matricula consular" -- also known as the Consular ID -- is a key step in efforts to reach out to a rapidly growing population. Its main impact on local government, he said, will be to help law enforcement and public safety. However, critics believe otherwise, stating the move amounts to an endorsement of illegal immigration and calling it a ploy by the Mexican government to circumvent immigration policy and process and the legal way the United States processes immigrants. The photo IDs are recognized by more than 400 cities and 900 law enforcement agencies across the country. Indiana cities East Chicago and Fort Wayne also announced Monday that they will accept the cards. The controversy has landed before a congressional committee led by Rep. John Hostettler who has said he called for a probe of the cards because of concerns that they could present a security risk.
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union is always on the watch! Now it says an ordinance passed this month by the Salem City Council requiring organizers of public gatherings in the town square to buy a permit is unconstitutional because it is too restrictive and you should not have to plan and coordinate in such a way to exercise your constitutional rights. The law, which takes effect July 8, requires a $100 fee be paid four weeks before a rally. Officials in this Washington County town, about 30 miles northwest of Louisville, say the catalyst for the ordinance was John Lewis and his Old Paths Baptist Church. The group is known for picketing with signs depicting aborted fetuses and rants against homosexuals. Over the past few months, seven people associated with Lewis' church have been arrested on charges related to picketing and preaching. Lewis, who said the ordinance violates his constitutional right to freedom of speech and religion, plans to fight the new law. He said he and members of his church, will continue their activities. When it comes to the pending criminal charges against some of his group members, Lewis said he has videotapes that will make it easy to defend their actions. Downtown merchants have videotapes of their own, which they say show Lewis harassing residents.
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It's no longer speculation! Yesterday Republican Mitch Daniels, who recently resigned as the White House budget director, took his first formal steps toward running for governor by filing paperwork to start raising money. Oddly enough, his campaign committee will be led by state Sen. Murray Clark, an Indianapolis Republican who also was seeking the GOP nomination in 2004, but he has withdrawn his name to throw his support to Daniels. Although, Clark was the running mate of David McIntosh on the Republican ticket in 2000, he claims his support would not include being Daniels' running mate if Daniels wins the nomination next May. McIntosh is running again this time, in addition to State Sen. Luke Kenley of Noblesville; conservative activist Eric Miller; and Petersburg Mayor Randy Harris. On the Democrat side, State Sen. Vi Simpson of Ellettsville and former state and national Democratic chairman Joe Andrew are seeking their party's nomination.
North Vernon Industry Corp., a Jennings County foundry that produces counterweights for forklifts, has announced plans to invest $20 million in a 90,000-square-foot expansion and almost triple the size of the company's work force. They expect production to begin in 2005. Last year the company, which is a joint venture of Ota Heavy Industries and Toyota Auto Loom, shipped 60 percent of its products to Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Inc. in Columbus. There had been some thought of building a foundry in Tennessee, but because of incentives offered by the city and state, the decision was make to expand the Jennings County facility instead. Hopefully this expansion will improve the economic slump caused by the reduction in work force and eventual closing of the Muscatatuck State Developmental Center.
In an effort to slow the spread of monkeypox, state officials have banned the importation and sale of prairie dogs and Gambian rats acquired since April 1st, and that ban will be in effect at least until the middle of July. The illness is closely related to smallpox and apparently is spread by contact with infected prairie dogs. There are currently 13 suspected cases of the disease in Indiana, and officials believe there may be as many as 100 residents who may have been exposed. The Centers for Disease Control said Saturday the prairie dogs likely were infected with the virus by a giant Gambian rat, which is indigenous to African countries, at a suburban Chicago pet distributor, and the suburban Chicago pet shop believed to have sold infected animals participated in a monthly Midwest Reptile Show on May 18 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Thirty-one people or businesses in Indiana are believed to have purchased prairie dogs, Gambian rats or other exotic animals from Phil's Pocket Pets in Villa Park, Ill., since April 15. Symptoms in humans include fever, chills, muscle aches, coughs, swollen glands and rashes within two weeks of being in contact with the animal. The disease has a low potential for transmission between humans and is seldom fatal.
June 9
There has been a lot of controversy over moving the residents out of the Muscatatuck State Development Center near Butlerville. State officials intend to close the facility by 2005 because of the cost and have already relocated many of the residents into a community setting. A recent poll of families of residents who left the facility in 2001 and 2002 reports that 89 percent actually prefer living in the smaller facilities and are happier in their new settings than they were at the state-run facility. Many parents of those still at Muscatatuck continue to believe the facility is the best place for their children. When the relocation program began, more than 1/3 of the families of those relocated were concerned about the transition, but the longer the residents were in the new community setting, their satisfaction with the change increased. They discovered the new setting offered more opportunity to make their own choices and participate in activities, as well as a living environment that was more like a home.
Leaders of Indiana Equality is a newly formed civil rights group that is planning to start a campaign this week to persuade state legislators to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Thirteen states prohibit private employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, according to Lambda Legal, a national organization working to win full recognition of civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. Only public employees are protected in Indiana, which has more than 10,000 same-sex households, according to the 2000 U.S. census. Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Lafayette and West Lafayette have local regulations adding protections in some other areas based on sexual orientation. But there is no statewide protection in private employment, public accommodations, education, housing, credit or union practices. Lawmakers proposed three bills in the Legislature that would have extended protections to cover sexual orientation and gender identity, but all were defeated.
June 6
Indiana State Police have formed a full-time squad to investigate methamphetamine-related crime in Bartholomew, Jackson and Jennings counties. The four-officer team was formed in response to an increase in reported meth labs in the three southeastern Indiana counties, police said. The group also is available to provide programs for businesses and community groups. The team is based at the state police post in Seymour, about 65 miles southeast of Indianapolis.
More than 1,000 Methodists from hundreds of southern Indiana churches prayed for forgiveness for past racism _ their own, and the denomination's. The service of repentance Thursday at the Indiana University Auditorium was part of the United Methodist Church's annual South Indiana Conference, which was being held at Bloomington.Clutching pieces of sackcloth, men and women with foreheads marked with ashes responded in unison Thursday as the Rev. John Adams of Crothersville led them in confession. After the ritual, each delegate took his sackcloth to a church leader, who dipped the cloth in water and used it to wipe the mark from each person's forehead. A similar service of repentance and reconciliation was held May 30 during the North Indiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church at Purdue University in West Lafayette.
Mr. Potato Head, a comic strip drawn by Garfield cartoonist Jim Davis, will end syndication this month, less than two years after it began. The strip was introduced in 57 newspapers in July 2001 and expanded to more than 100 papers since then. Davis considered it "a great property. But he said over time they just couldn't convince enough editors to publish the strip. Garfield, an orange, lasagna-loving cat, is featured in a strip distributed to more than 2,600 newspapers nationwide. The Mr. Potato Head strip, distributed by the Universal Press Syndicate, will be discontinued after June 22, Campbell said.
June 5
The 28th annual Crothersville Lions
Club Red, White & Blue Festival will be held at Bard Street
Park next week, June 12-14.
Although there will not be a carnival this year due to unforeseen
circumstances, the 25-foot rock wall climb is a new attraction and features
five different levels of climbing difficulty. The festival will
feature booths, entertainment, and a 4 PM Saturday parade.
June 4
Indiana's congressional delegation split along party lines Tuesday as the House voted 300-125 for a constitutional amendment to give Congress the power to prohibit physical desecration of the American flag. Democrats Julia Carson, Baron Hill and Peter Visclosky voted against the amendment. Republicans Dan Burton, Steve Buyer, Chris Chocola, John Hostettler, Mike Pence and Mark Souder voted with the majority in favor of the legislation.
June 3
First proposed in 1985, construction is expected to begin this summer on the Ohio River Greenway, a $42 million network of paths and recreation areas along the Ohio River in southern Indiana, linking New Albany, Clarksville and Jeffersonville. The project will create a seven-mile series of riverfront paths for walkers and bicyclists connecting the three cities. It also will include recreation areas, including overlooks, picnic areas, fishing piers, playgrounds, basketball and volleyball courts and an improved boat ramp in New Albany. Construction on the entire project is expected to take at least six years, said project manager Matt Schueler. The federal government is paying half the cost. Jeffersonville's Terrace Lawn amphitheater was built two years ago with the Greenway project in mind. The city plans to buy a floating stage for musical and theatrical performances there.
What a gooey mess! Sunday a tractor-trailer carrying 35 tons of pizza dough bound for Henderson, KY, overturned on an off-ramp at I-64 and Indiana 57, dumping its load. The driver was uninjured, but traffic was stopped for several hours while a backhoe cleaned up the mess.
Although the cause of a woman's fatal fall from The Raven roller coaster at Holiday World remained unclear Monday, state inspectors made a complete inspection have found nothing wrong with the ride. Tamar Fellner, 32, of New York City, was among a group of roller coaster enthusiasts at Holiday World amusement park Saturday night when she fell from The Raven. Paul Ruben, North American editor of Park World magazine and nationally known roller coaster expert said Monday that 12 out of 13 incidents on coasters result from not following rules and from "rider horseplay", such as trying to enhance the ride by loosening or even crawling out of the restraints, standing up or sticking arms out during rides. The Raven is known among coaster enthusiasts for its speed and design, Flaharty said. Its layout is quick, they say, but the speed makes it enjoyable for both families and die-hard enthusiasts. Even with the state's OK, Holiday World President Will Koch said, the rides will reopen only after being inspected by a national amusement safety consultant and an official from the Pennsylvania company that made the coaster's cars.
June 2
The victory of James Williams as the winner of the National Geographic Fpelling Bee prompted reporters to ask his mother why she and her husband to homeschool James. She explained, "We wanted to make learning a lifestyle". The runner-up was also homeschooled.
When the building supply store at the corner of Bloomington's Liberty Drive and Bloomfield Road closed, everyone wondered what would eventually move in there. Then the word came! It would be a Gray Brothers Cafeteria for the Bloomington area. So for the past few months many fans of the original Gray Brothers Cafeteria in Mooresville have been watching and waiting. The waiting is now over because the cafeteria, housing an 800-seat dining hall, opens today. The 122-foot stainless steel serving line at Gray Brothers Cafeteria will feature fried chicken, mashes potatoes, vegetables, breads and pies, among other things. There is also a banquet hall that is expected to attract wedding receptions, class reunions, and business gatherings. I wonder if the lines will be as long there as they are in Mooresville?
Holiday World is famous for its roller coasters. Saturday evening around 8 p.m. a woman fell from The Raven and died. Classified so far as an accident, the woman was 32-year-old Tamar Fellner of New York. It was reported that she had just joined the Amusement Park Enthusiasts Club and that she was sitting next to her fiance on the ride. Further details are unavailable and authorities are still investigating the death. Its first fatality, the park was closed Sunday but planned to reopen Monday. However, The Raven and The Legend (another wooden roller coaster) are to remain closed.
Home schooling is an increasingly popular option for Indiana parents, with the number of home-schooled children nearly tripling from 1998 to 2002, growing from 7,664 to 21,091. Those numbers may be an undercount because parents who home-school children are not required to register with the Indiana Department of Education. Although home schools are not bound by the state's academic standards, Indiana parents are required to keep a record of 180 days of attendance. The state requires children to be taught by age 7 through age 18. Many home schooled children exceed the the 180 days of attendance, as well as the state's academic standards, and go on to earn National Merit Scholarships and excel at the university level as well.
For years gardeners have depended on the hardiness zone
map to determine what kind of plants will survive in this area.
Some periods of years seem to run colder and some warmer, so if you
really want to grow a plant that is hardy only through Zone 6, you might
take a chance and get lucky for a few years anyway. A warm trend
can always revert to the former cold. Now it is reported that
the U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering a proposal to change
the nation's plant hardiness zones based on warmer winters that began
in the mid-1980s. Most of Indiana would move from its current Zone
5 to Zone 6, with the extreme southwest corner of the state moving to
Zone 7. The new map, now under review by the USDA's Agricultural
Research Service, is based on temperature info between July 1986 and March
2002, a relative warm period. The USDA has not yet accepted the
new map, however. Could it be that there are some in the agency
over the age of 50, who might remember back to winters with temperature
below zero?! The real buzz word here is CAUTION! Don't get
excited and start planting palms and fig trees!