The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1346684
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, March 3, 2021 A-7 POWER Continued from page 6 Letter to the Editor EMS budget far larger than Martin County's To the Editor: A short trip to Shoals in Martin Coun- ty is usually on my list of things to do this time of year. It's a scenic drive and a side excursion will let you see a covered bridge and Wil- liams Dam where remains of an old mill can be seen. My trip is to the County Auditor's of- fice in search of the current contract be- tween Martin County Commissioners and their ambulance providers. Some while ago I attended the Mar- tin County Commissioners meeting and they assured me that they were well pleased with the service and felt they were getting a good deal for the taxpay- ers. I also visited with their provider to find some common sense things they do to provide a cost effective service. From the main drag to the Auditors office you pass a small restaurant nestled between two old buildings. If time allows I may enjoy some very good food at a fair price. This year because of COVID and in- clement weather, I chose to call the Au- ditor's office and request the contract I was looking for and made an offer to send the amount it would cost to have it print- ed and mailed. The lady in the office was quick to the task and mailed the information free of charge, including the eleven pages of in- fo attached to the contract. As usual the ambulance service con- tract was for multiple years extending the contract to 2023 with a cost of $210,000 per year. The Pike County safety tax budget is over $1,250,000. By my count that is 12 years the taxpayer has been overcharged by the Commissioners to a tune of around $13,000,000. Most taxpay- ers must like it because they keep vot- ing them back in office. I for one do not waste my money and don't like others wasting it. Jim Johns the life of Saint John Paul II and apparently his staff would quiet- ly and secretly arrange for him to go to beautiful places in Ita- ly where he could spend time to walk in the mountains, ski, hike and just view the forest and the valleys and the mountains. When he returned, he would feel quite refreshed. He did this about six times a year. Solitude helps us see things in a new light and help us come up with new ideas. Solitude helps us biological- ly. Blood pressure goes down, pulse slows down, stress chem- icals diminish and overall we feel better. Solitude does not mean we become isolated and shut off from the world for long periods of time. It's just for a temporary length of time. Being away from everything that distracts us pre- vents us from reflecting on the important things in life. ••• So where do we find places to practice solitude and reflection? Well, I think each of us has a fa- vorite place to enjoy peace and quiet. Some enjoy the outdoors, some find walking though na- ture trails a good way to be by oneself, some like to visit churches and places of worship. Some create their own space in their house as a place to medi- tate and pray. Some like to spend time near places like lakes, riv- ers, beaches. Whatever reinvigorates and refreshes a person is fine. Just find time to be isolated at times. Some scripture verses that re- late to this: Read Mark 6:31, Psalm 62:1-2 . Agree? ••• Because this is Lenten sea- son, here's a flyer I came across in a Church bulletin about prayer, fasting and almsgiving during this time frame. There are plenty of sugges- tions but I picked up just a few. Example, gather your family at night to say night devotions even if it's for a brief time. You'll be surprised to find what peace and harmony comes out of this habit. I heard a pastor say nowadays many homes' T V or i-pad has become the altar of the homes. That's sad. For fasting,try giving up something you really like, for doing so strengthens your char- acter. For almsgiving, visit or call someone who lives alone. Sign up for the next blood drive in your area. For it can give life to another person who needs this precious item. ••• It does not hurt to keep our spirits up, in a most appropriate way. Somebody I know said he's willing to give up meat on a Fri- day. He will just eat lobster and shrimp instead. Do you think that counts? al responsibility of each indi- vidual. If the ideal we seek is a free country with free citi- zens, then commissions such as that proposed in H.R. 40, which pretend to be about justice but are really about a left-wing agenda to put gov- ernment in charge of our lives, are not the way to go. Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renew- al and Education and host of the new weekly news talk show "Cure America with Star Parker." DIGNITY Continued from page 6 Court Report Civil Docket Pike Circuit Court In Re: the Marriage of Harold Louis Fort and Sharon Fort dissolution of mar- riage. Criminal Docket Pike Circuit Court James Clinton Hughes charged with possession of methamphetamine less than five grams, a level 5 felony and un- lawful possession of a syringe, a level 6 felony. Zachary James Skinner, possession of methamphetamine basic offense and for any amount below five grams, a level 6 felony and maintaining a common nui- sance (controlled substance), a level 6 felony; and possession of methamphet- amine, less than 5 grams of methamphet- amine, a level 5 felony. James Jones possession of metham- phetamine the basic offense and for any amount below five grams, a level 6 felo- ny; unlawful possession of syringe, a lev- el 6 felony and operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent, but less than 0.15 percent, a class C mis- demeanor. Levi King charged with operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more, but less than 0.15 percent with a prior conviction , a level 6 felony. Sharon Pinski charged with unlawful possession or use of a legend drug, a lev- el 6 felony. Heather McClaine charged with un- lawful possession or use of a legend drug, a level 6 felony. Mindy Rueger charged with auto theft, a level 6 felony. Alison R. Austin charged with pos- session of methamphetamine, the basic offense and for any amount below five grams, a level 6 felony. Tamara D. Wilhite charged with ne- glect of a dependent, placing dependent in situation that endangers the depen- dent, a level 6 felony. Patrick J. Taylor-Gerber charged with resisting law enforcement with vehicle, a level 6 felony and possession of a con- trolled substance, a class C misdemean- or. Civil Docket Pike Circuit Court LVNV Funding LLC sues Diana Foust for Civil Collection. LVNV Funding LLC sues Thomas Bertsch for Civil Collection. Midland Credit Management sues Maggie True for Civil Collection. LVNV Funding LLC sues Crystal Re- id for Civil Collection. American Express National Bank sues Lisa Brewster for Civil Collection. LVNV Funding LLC sues Lannie Wil- lis for Civil Collection. Professional & Business Collections sues Justin Furman for Civil Collection Lloyd & McDaniel, PLC sues Jason Beadles for Civil Collection. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Max Burkhart for Civil Collection. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Ted Cooper for Civil Collection. Infractions Pike Circuit Court Timothy Maang charged with exceed- ing 70 mph speed limit, a class C infrac- tion. Donald Matheis charged with no valid drivers' license. Daqwan Marshall charged with speed- ing and operating a motor vehicle with a false plate. Anthony L. Hasselbrinck charged with speeding in a 55 zone. Spencer K. Brody exceeding interstate speed limit, a class C infraction. Jose Luis Alfonso Flores Ortega charged with speeding. Mark S. Webb charged with exceed- ing 55 mph speed limit. Jenna M. Dore charged with exceed- ing interstate speed limit. Greta E. Zaccardelli charged with ex- ceeding interstate speed limit. Kendra Celest Hospelhorn charged with exceeding interstate speed limit. Jorge Mancia charged with exceeding local speed limit. Mollie Ewing Hutchison charged with exceeding local speed limit. Kyle Hollinden charged with exceed- ing local speed limit. Lynne A. Hill, Lynne charged with seat belt violation. Travon A. Williams charged with ex- ceeding interstate speed limit. Stephen P. Brescher charged with ex- ceeding local speed limit. Penny N. Burton charged with exceed- ing local speed limit. Traffic and misdemeanor Pike Circuit Court Braydon C. Porter, charged with pos- session of marijuana, a class B misde- meanor. Jana L. Guthrie charged with posses- sion of a controlled substance, a class B misdemeanor and possession of marijua- na, a class B misdemeanor. Michael G. Hatch charged with driving while suspended with a prior conviction w/in 10 Years, a class A misdemeanor. Allen M. Wiscaver charged with pos- session of marijuana, a class B misde- meanor. Jenny R. Wiscaver charged with pos- session of marijuana, a class B misde- meanor. Bryan W. Miley charged with operat- ing a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent, but less than 0.15 per- cent, a class C misdemeanor. Guadalupe Fuentes III charged with operating a vehicle without a drivers li- cense, a class C misdemeanor. Small Claims Pike Circuit Court Medical & Professional Collection Ser- vices, Inc. sues William L. Amburgy on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Tony W. Conrad on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Debo- rah L. Birk on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues David R. Earley on complaint. then people say, 'Eh, there's no money in poaching.'" "The problem is that people still see animals as commodi- ties! " Kalinina responded, "nat- ural resources for their use." Well, yes. I do. So what? I eat eggs. Chickens are plentiful because people like me pay for what chickens produce. Kalinina sneered, "Are we really going to just farm every single animal on this planet so we can endlessly continue sup- plying this bloodlust and thirst of people to consume wildlife products? " "Bloodlust? " Give me a break. Even if you oppose people using animal products, ban- ning sales doesn't stop the use. It just creates black markets and crime. Far better is letting rhino farmers trim horns and sell them. Farming gives people in- centive to protect rhinos from poachers. That saves both rhi- nos and human lives. When I told Kalinina, "your bans have failed... they are cruel to both rhinos and people," she replied that "education" is the way to stop poaching. The Hu- mane Society runs ads in Viet- nam telling people that rhino horns have no medical value. They claim this campaign con- vinced many people. "But what good did it do? " I asked. "People are still poach- ing the rhinos." "It takes time," she replied. "Time for the trickle-down ef- fect." It's nice that the Humane So- ciety tries to convince people not to buy horn, but it's outra- geous that their hatred of cap- italism blinds them to better ideas. "It's like the drug war," I point out. "You can ban things, but if there's money to be made, poachers will kill animals." "This is an endless argu- ment," she replied. "We can't live in a lawless society." But markets are not "law- less." Legal rhino farming or sell- ing fake horn, would save en- dangered animals. But the en- vironmental groups just can't see that. Now researchers from the University of Oxford have pro- duced a new form of fake rhino horn that they say would reduce demand for poached horn. "Environmental" groups op- pose that, too. Fortunately, South A frica wised up. A fter my video was first broadcast, officials decided to ignore the complaints from the environmental groups. They re-legalized sales of farmed rhi- no horn. A fter that, the killing of rhi- nos fell dramatically. John Stossel is author of "Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media." RHINO Continued from page 6 SOLITUDE Continued from page 6 enues have collapsed with businesses closed down. Why New Yorkers put up with walking disasters such as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, or why Californians tolerate Gov. Gavin Newsom, is their own business. The "progressives" in these states voted for high- er taxes, more regulations, high energy prices and eco- nomic lockdowns. That's de- mocracy in action. Now the latest census data and U- Haul trailer rental data con- firm that productive peo- ple are "voting with their feet" and accelerating their race to get out of town. The New York Post reports about 1,000 Northeasterners every day are relocating to Flor- ida, Texas and Tennessee. The biggest population los- ers last year were deep-blue New York, Illinois and Cali- fornia. Now, Biden wants to give some $400 billion to the failed blue states, main- ly from the prospering red states, the ones that wisely didn't shut down their econ- omies or schools. The blue states get a bigger slice of the pie, which is Robin Hood in reverse because blue states generally have a high- er per capita income than red states. The supposedly high- brow, highly educated, cul- turally refined elites in Bev- erly Hills, California, and Long Island, New York — the very same "progressives" who have generally thumbed their nose at the working class "deplorables" in Mid- dle America — have fallen so far that they now have to beg people in West Virginia, Arkansas and Mississippi for money. You'd think liberals would be ashamed, but spending other people's money is what they do best. Every liberal Democrat in Congress, from Sen. Eliza- beth Warren to Rep. Alexan- dria Ocasio-Cortez, will vote for the blue-state bailout. Do they understand that in do- ing so, they are verifying the collapse of the very blue- state liberal model they want to impose on all of America? Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foun- dation and an economic con- sultant with FreedomWorks. He is the co-author of "Trum- ponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive the Amer- ican Economy." BEGGAR Continued from page 6 nerships that better position the Navy for prolonged competition and success in combat, should war become inevitable. There is a problem, of course, with strategies that involve long-term hori- zons. Too often, they generate bureau- cratic admiration and lip service but lit- tle of the action needed. To overcome this, the report includes "sailing direc- tions," specific actions needed to drive implementation of the strategy. These ac- tions include: establishing standing task forces in the South China Sea and East- ern Mediterranean, deploying ships with non-lethal capabilities for gray-zone oper- ations, and naming an interagency lead for national maritime efforts. A new, useful Navy force structure as- sessment was announced at the twilight of the last administration. That work in- forms the threat-based analysis that un- dergirds the Naval Statecraft strategy. We determined that to balance effec- tive peacetime competition with China and Russia and keep pace with the myr- iad threats for conflict required a Navy fleet of 575 ships operating in decisive theaters taking on new missions requir- ing several new classes of ships. While well within historical trends, the cost to do this will require increased and sus- tained topline Navy budgets by as much as $12.3 billion a year through 2035. It will also require an invigorated part- nership between the Navy, Defense De- partment, industry, and Congress to con- vince the public that a stronger fleet is needed and achievable. Moreover, to gain the trust, confi- dence, and money required to deploy this burgeoning fleet, the Navy must be- come a smarter shipbuilding customer. One way it can do this is to restore its in- house ship design capacities. In-house engineering expertise and experience will be invaluable in guiding cost-effec- tive shipbuilding into the future. Since the end of the Cold War, assump- tions based on U.S. preeminent military and economic power have encouraged generally passive or reactive national se- curity policies. If the U.S. is to continue to play a leadership role in the world with the requisite influence that ensures its prolonged prosperity, this must change. Shifting to a proactive strategy cen- tered on the maritime will not be easy. It has been almost 30 years since the U.S. had to contend with the Soviet Union, our sole great-power competitor in the Cold War. The return of great-power competition requires that the Navy be able to field a war-winning fleet and compete aggres- sively in the peace. This new research provides one pathway to achieve this. Brent Sadler is a senior fellow for naval warfare and advanced technology at The Heritage Foundation.