The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/120907
The Press-Dispatch H Guns save lives Continued from page 2 a gun in self-defense within the previous five years. That is not a very high percentage but, in a country with 300 million people, that works out to hundreds of thousands of defensive uses of guns per year. Yet we almost never hear about these hundreds of thousands of defensive uses of guns from the media, which will report the killing of a dozen people endlessly around the clock. The murder of a dozen innocent people is unquestionably a human tragedy. But that is no excuse for reacting blindly by preventing hundreds of thousands of other people from defending themselves against meeting the same fate. Although most defensive uses of guns do not involve actually shooting, nevertheless the total number of criminals killed by armed private citizens runs into the thousands per year. A gun can also come in handy if a pit bull or some other dangerous animal is after you or your child. We need to recognize the painful reality that, regardless of what we do or don���t do about gun control laws, there will be innocent people killed by guns. We can then look at hard facts in order to decide how we can minimize the number of needless deaths. But that is not the way the issue is presented by many in politics or the media. Every story about an accidental shooting in the home will be repeated again and again, while a thousand stories about lives saved by defensive uses of a gun will never see the light of day in most newspapers or on most tele- vision newscasts. More children may die in bathtub accidents than in shooting accidents, but you are not likely to read that in most newspapers or see it on television newscasts. Some in the media inflate the number of children killed by counting as children the members of criminal teenage gangs who shoot each other in their turf fights. Many seize upon statistics which show that Britain has stronger gun control laws than the United States and lower murder rates. Yet they ignore other countries with stronger gun control laws than the United States, but which have much higher murder rates, such as Brazil, Russia and Mexico. Even in the case of Britain, London had a much lower murder rate than New York during the years after New York State���s 1911 Sullivan Law imposed very strict gun control, while anyone could buy a shotgun in London with no questions asked in the 1950s. Today, virtually the entire law-abiding population of Britain is disarmed��� and gun crimes are vastly more common. Gun control laws make crime a safer occupation when victims are unarmed. The gun control crusade today is like the Prohibition crusade 100 years ago. It is a shared zealotry that binds the self-righteous know-italls in a warm fellowship of those who see themselves as fighting on the side of the angels against the forces of evil. It is a lofty role that they are not about to give up for anything so mundane as facts��� or even the lives of other people. Wednesday, April 10, 2013 Court report Criminal Docket Pike Circuit Court James E. Kinder petitions for intrastate probation transfer from Dubois County. David J. Wilson charged with operating a vehicle with 0.08 percent or more alcohol in blood, a class C misdemeanor; count II, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class C misdemeanor; count III, operating a vehicle with blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more, a class C misdemeanor. Bernard E. Church charged with neglect of a dependent, a class D felony. Frederick L. Sumner charged with count I, strangulation, a class D felony; count II, battery, injury, a class A misdemeanor; count III, battery, injury, a class A misdemeanor; count IV battery injury, a class A misdemeanor. Tamara L. Haspe charged with count I, possession of meth, a class D felony; count II, operating a vehicle with 0.08 percent or more, alcohol in blood, a class C misdemeanor; count III, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class C misdemeanor. Heather Broshears charged with count I, obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, a class D felony; count II, possession of controlled substance, a class D felony; count III, obtaining a controlled substance by fraud/prior, a class C felony. Traffic and misdemeanor Pike Circuit Court Nathan A. Hoffman charged with count I, oper- ating a vehicle with 0.08 percent or more, a class C misdemeanor; count II, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class C misdemeanor. Vicente A. Hernandez charged with illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage, a class C misdemeanor. Kenneth Leroy Edwards charged with illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage, a class C misdemeanor. Autumn N. Bristoe charged with illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage, a class C misdemeanor. Brent C. Johnson charged with count I, operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 percent or more, a class A misdemeanor; count II, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class C misdemeanor. Ryan K. Powell charged with count I, operating a vehicle with a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor; count II, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class C misdemeanor. China L. Durst charged with illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage, a class C misdemeanor. Levi L. Loveless charged with criminal mischief, a class A misdemeanor. Joseph Burdette charged with hunting upon privately owned land without consent, a class C misdemeanor. Jonathan Haire charged with hunting on privately owned property without consent, a class C misdemeanor. Randy A. Taylor charged with count I, operating a ve- hicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 percent or more, a class A misdemeanor and count II, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class C misdemeanor. Small Claims Pike Circuit Court Hoosier Accounts sues Richard and Tina Bette for complaint on accounts, plus costs. Hoosier Accounts sues Scott E. Bush for complaint on accounts, plus costs. Hoosier Accounts sues Dennis L. Dillon for complaint on accounts, plus costs. Hoosier Accounts sues James A. Earls for complaint on accounts, plus costs. Hoosier Accounts sues Brenda Hatfield for complaint on accounts, plus costs. Hoosier Accounts sues Victoria and Jeremy Helsley for complaint on accounts, plus costs. Hoosier Accounts sues Roy King for complaint on accounts, plus costs. Hoosier Accounts sues Jenny Long for complaint on accounts, plus costs. Hoosier Accounts sues Brian Norrington for complaint on accounts, plus costs. Hoosier Accounts sues Philip Schrvering for complaint on accounts, plus costs. LVNV Funding sues Darlena D. Kiss on complaint for accounts plus costs. Tower Construction sues Danielle Huston on action for possession of real estate. Jeff Clements sues Kistin Lutz charged on complaint C-3 for loan plus costs. Pike County Development Corp. sues John and Karen VanWinkle on complaint for action for possession of real estate. Infractions Pike Circuit Court Seth D. Briggeman charged with speeding, 76 mph in a 55 zone. Jennifer K. Dant charged with speeding, 49 mph in a 35 zone. Robert A. Davis charged with speeding, 49 mph in a 35 zone. Taylor A. Gatwood charged with speeding, 64 mph in a 55 zone. Emily J. iafrate charged with expired plate. Jordan M. King charged with speeding, 49 mph in a 35 zone. David R. Matier charged with a seat belt violation. Kelly May charged with speeding, 49 mph in a 35 zone. Ryan E. Miller charged with speeding, 49 mph in a 35 zone. Dustin J. Miller-Kio charged with speeding, 49 mph in a 35 zone. Regean L. Myers charged with open container violation. Alex J. Roberts charged with seat belt violation. Christian T. Stepanek charged with speeding, 39 mph in a 25 zone. Danielle R. Uppencamp charged with following too close. William W. Welburn charged with speeding, 49 mph in a 35 zone. Letters to the Editor H Rebuilding a ruined city Heroes called police officers and daddies Continued from page 2 the empty buildings, arsonists strike more often in Detroit than anywhere, with more than 10,000 fires per year reported. Forbes magazine has named Detroit the most dangerous city for four straight years. Its murder rate is one of the nation���s highest. And in 2012, the city���s crime rate hit its highest level in 20 years. Help may be on the way, though, following some common sense political reforms. In a statewide election in Michigan last year, voters soundly defeated Proposal 2, a measure that would have made union collective bargaining a right and given collective bargaining agreements the force of law. Voters shot down the union-backed measure 5842 percent. Then in December, the Michigan legislature struck a blow for workers��� rights. It passed a bill to become the nation���s 24th right-to-work state. This simply means that workers will no longer be forced to join a union, though they remain free to do so. It���s possible that freemarketers will eventually rebuild on the ruins of Detroit. For now, though, it serves as a cautionary tale. Even a city with everything going for it can collapse under the weight of bad economic policies. The rest of us must learn from Detroit, not repeat its mistakes at the national level. Ed Feulner is president of The Heritage Foundation (www.heritage.org). H What was Bill thinking? Continued from page 2 an example of separating or compartmentalizing religion and politics/law. Where does his church stand on the issue? Pope John Paul II in his afore mentioned encyclical Evangelium Vitae, reminds the faithful that sexuality and marriage is expressed in marriage between a husband and wife. In addition, this has been the church���s position since its inception. O���Reilly���s statement reinforces the observation that having ���religion��� in our era is little more than having membership in a fraternity or sorority. Many Christians are woefully ignorant of the historical teachings of the church and the underpin- nings of Western culture. If one disagrees with a teaching of the church, one can either ignore it or simply change denominations to one that ���fits��� his/her personal tastes. Christians cannot expect to win the cultural war when high profile members water down the message and give comfort to those who oppose what we have stood for over the centuries. There is a compelling argument historically for marriage to remain between a man and a woman, which goes beyond simple bible thumping. The issue here is the master of the ���No Spin Zone��� failed to articulate it himself. Maybe he didn���t know himself. Think about it! To The Editor: There are all different kinds of heroes in this world, and for that I am thankful. But the two I���m talking about in this scenario are police officers and daddies. In the early morning of April 5, we were awakened by a phone call and knocks on the door by the state, city and county police. They were out to protect us from a wanted suspect. Although it scared me to death, I laid down beside my son, who was sound asleep, wondering ���What if?��� What if they get into a shootout? Where is the best place to put Hunter out of harm���s way? I woke him to have him sleep on the floor. (The lowest level if there were going to be bullets flying). Of course, he wants to get right in the action of what���s going on. He makes his way to the living room to have a conversation with ���Daddy��� about this serious matter. Daddy had his gun out to protect us so, of course, things were going to be fine. And what kid doesn���t look up to a police officer. That morning, he was in amaze- ment at how many officers were outside protecting ���him��� . . . he had no fears then. As a ���mom,��� that is the most comforted feeling I could have, knowing my child felt safe. I want to say ���thank you��� from the bottom of my heart to every single law enforcement officer that came out during the wee hour of the morning to protect us. As I watched officers walking by our house, it touched my heart knowing that many of them gave their time and left their families at home to come out and protect our community. You put your lives on the line each and every day for us. You don���t receive nearly enough appreciation for what you do. I am blessed to have you serving our community. You all and my husband are ���heroes��� in my eyes for what you do. But, especially in my son���s eyes . . . police officers and his daddy will forever be heroes in his eyes for keeping us safe during that unusual scary night. God is great and God bless you all. to go this week, while traveling, look for the prize money along the route. Clue���Shop at JC store. The math question���If you have two ditching machines and one can dig 2,400 feet in one work day, how long would it take to dig 300 feet of ditch? Circle correct answer���1 hour, 1 day, l week, 6 months, depends on who you ask and forever. The saving question��� Are we going to shut down the Otwell school? Can we really bus the children all the way to Petersburg and Winslow cheaper than having a school in Otwell? Michelle White From over the coffee cup To the Editor: Some questions came from over the coffee cup at the local watering hole, some make life interesting. The growing $6,000,000 dollar question? Did we really have a $10,000,000 surplus in 2008-09? Have we really squandered $10,000,000 and $6,000,000 more? Did I read in the paper ���the amount really depends on who you ask?��� The would you question���If offered to you and you were in this mess, would you accept help from a previous Superintendent? The did you question��� Did you tour from Winslow/ Cato road through the White Oak area? If you didn���t try From the Coffee Shop Jim Johns fits in your POCKET and your budget On sale now! Sign up today Just $5 per year additional to current paper edition subscribers or $35 per year for NETedtion only. See page A-3 EXPO Saturday, May 4 ��� 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attention all outdoor enthusiasts and sportsmen, mark your calendars now and plan to join us for the first ever Outdoor Sports Expo in Downtown Princeton! U Sell Boat & RV SaleS lot admiSSion iS FRee! 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