The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1246281
The Press-Dispatch Opinion Wednesday, May 13, 2020 A- 11 Something Newsworthy? LET US KNOW AT 812-354-8500! Truth is never invented; it is discovered. As Jesus ministered to those around Him, He remarked about their quest for truth, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." The Christian's chal- lenge is to use the power of the Holy Spirit to discern what is TRUTH and what is garbage! What we think is the rudder of the ship of life. If we embrace fear, then we are resigned to be misera- ble and paralyzed. Paul, in his Letter to the Church at Rome wrote, "So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." Think about it and break free! Continued from page 10 STRONGHOLD and faith which affirms our dependence on a Higher Power. This gives me faith in humanity. Unfortunate- ly, some fall victim to de- spair and hopelessness for a variety of reasons. The world has indeed changed so much to an extent we have never seen before. • • • It was so inspiring to at- tend last week's Nation- al Day of Prayer held on Thursday at noon at the Courthouse. Many pastors and ministers and lay faith- ful and our City Mayor, RC Klispch, joined hands in a spirit of thanksgiving, sup- plication, and praying for the healing of our nation and an end to these terri- ble pandemic. It was great hearing our National anthem at the start of the service, and ending with the song "God Bless America." My take from this event is some- thing like this: "Stay close to Jesus and stay away from the virus." Read Psalm 23 and 91. Have a blessed week. Continued from page 10 Continued from page 10 TIME RETIRE time we saw a police officer in the building was during an assembly where we had to listen to a boring lecture on safety. Today, police pa- trol the hallways. Anoth- er school in north Phila- delphia, Strawberry Man- sion High School, once had 94 security cameras, six school police officers and two metal detectors. Stu- dents had to walk through the metal detectors to en- ter the building and were often searched by police officers. It was on the list of those most persistently dangerous schools in Penn- sylvania. Aside from violence, there are many instances of outright disrespect for teachers. First- and sec - ond-graders telling teach- ers to "Shut up." To note the attitude of some school administrators, a New Jer- sey teacher was serious- ly assaulted by a student. When she asked her princi- pal to permanently remove the student from her class- room, the principal told her to "put on her big girl pant- ies and deal with it." Years ago, the behavior of young people that we see today would have nev- er been tolerated. There was the vice principal's of- fice where corporal pun- ishment would be admin- istered for gross infrac- tions. If the kid was unwise enough to tell his parents what happened, he might get more punishment at home. Today, unfortunate- ly, we've replaced practic- es that work with practic- es that sound good and car- ing, and we're witnessing the results. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Continued from page 10 REPORT talking about the payroll tax as a policy tool to deal with this crisis, we should act. Let's allow working Americans, or at least those earning $40,000 or less, to divert their payroll tax into their own retire- ment account. They will get indepen- dence and have far more wealth when they retire. And when the unfore- seen is upon us again, when there is another crisis, they won't have to pray that the government will send them money. They will have their own savings, which they can tap into to get them- selves through the crisis. Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renew- al and Education and au- thor of the new book "Nec- essary Noise: How Donald Trump Inflames the Culture War and Why This is Good News for America." Court Report FELONY Pike County Circuit Court Brian Shover charged with count I maintaining a common nuisance - controlled substances, a level 6 felo- ny, count II possession of a controlled substance, count III obstruction of jus- tice, a level 6 felony, and count IV pos- session of paraphernalia. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANOR Pike County Circuit Court Louis Lee Fink charged with count I possession of a controlled substance and count II resisting law enforcement. Marva Dee Roberts charged with possession of paraphernalia. Mason David Robinson charged with count I operating a vehicle with an ACE of at least .08 but less than .15 and count II operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Lori Louise Hobby charged with count I domestic battery, count II inter- ference with the reporting of a crime and count III possession of parapher- nalia. James A. Young, Jr. charged with driving while suspended, prior. CIVIL Pike County Circuit Court Sherri Tredway sues Roger Willis and Stanley Willis on complaint. State of Indiana ex rel Indiana De- partment of Transportation sues Val- erie Jones on complaint. State of Indiana sues Ronald E. Zol- lars, Gregory M. Davis and Ashley M. Davis et al on complaint. Andrew Hurst sues Amanda Hurst for dissolution of marriage. INFRACTIONS Pike County Circuit Court Samantha J. Murphy charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Colton D. Head charged with litter- ing. Jamie S. Murray charged with no valid driver's license. Kevin M. Scheirmann charged with authorization for IAC Conservation Vi- olations. Troy L. Copeland charged with au- thorization for IAC Conservation Vi- olations. Jennifer N. Gayhart charged with knowingly authorizing a violation of IC 9 -18.1-14-11 (An individual less than eighteen (18) years of age who is op- erating or riding on an off-road vehi- cle shall wear a helmet that meets the standards established by the United States Department of Transportation). Marcial G. Wood charged with au- thorization for IAC Conservation Vi- olations. Heather L. Stein charged with speeding. James E. Kinder charged with speeding. Adam D. Myers charged with disre- garding stop sign. David A. Salmon charged with own- er allows dog to stray beyond owner's premises. But under the CARES expanded eli- gibility, workers can quit their jobs on account of COVID-19 and receive un- employment benefits. Steve Anthony, CEO of Anthony Timberland's pine mills in Arkansas, said of the $ 600 additional benefit: "As soon as I saw that, I immediately knew it was going to be a major problem." He noted that the fact that workers could make more money unemployed than employed led to "an uncommitted, un- happy workforce" that was less pro- ductive. A fter polling workers about whether they wanted to work or collect unemployment, the company decided to lay off 200 workers and cut produc- tion by half at one location. Harlan, K Y, coffee shop owner Sky Marietta explained how she and her husband had to stop serving custom- ers—primarily health care workers— because they couldn't compete with unemployment. "The very people we hired have now asked us to be laid off," Marietta wrote. "Not because they did not like their jobs or because they did not want to work, but because it would cost them literally hundreds of dollars per week to be employed." Marietta is right. And actually, ma- ny of workers could lose thousands of "free" dollars by remaining employed. Workers in the bottom 25% of earners (those making about $15.50/hour or less) stand to lose $5,000 or more over the course of the four months that the $ 600 bonus unemployment benefits are available. With those added benefits available through July 31, it's going to be hard to get people to come back to work— especially because the bonus benefit creates the biggest incentive for low- er-wage workers to stay home. And some of the hardest-hit industries of restaurants, travel and hotels tend to employ lower-wage workers. As restau- rateur and Top Chef judge Tom Colic- chio said: "They're not going to come back to work because unemployment is too attractive." With up to 14 million jobs on the line and as much as $1.5 trillion in lost out- put, Congress should fix this disas- trously flawed provision by capping to- tal unemployment benefits at no more than 100 % of workers previous wages. Moreover, Congress should not ex- tend the additional unemployment ben- efits beyond their current expiration on July 31. Economic studies and com- mon sense attest this would only fur- ther prolong the downturn and could lead to shortages in goods and ser- vices, including those needed to help combat COVID-19. Rachel Greszler researches and ana- lyzes taxes, Social Security, disability in- surance, and pensions to promote eco- nomic growth. Continued from page 10 COSTING JOBS Katiedid vs... by Katiedid Langrock Post-COVID fashion A friend of mine works in the fash- ion industry. She sighed as she spoke to our friends over Zoom last week. While most of us are dealing with being fur- loughed or being laid off or not having work come in, she was just given a raise. But with that raise comes a raise in expectations. "I was on the phone with Did- dy, and we just can't figure out the hot trend in a post- COVID-19 world! " (To be fair, I can't remember whether she said Diddy. It could have been Beyonce or or Drake or J-Lo or another A-list- er. When she talks about that level of fame, my mind tends to liquify, and I go from intent listening to wondering how the heck this is my friend's life. Now she is taking calls from... shoot, which celebrity was it?) Hmm, trend in a post-COVID-19 world. I can tell you what fashion trends are happening in my home in present CO- VID-19 world: No pants. No shoes. No bra. Gray roots. Pajamas all day — or not, when pajamas feel like too much work to put on. Bathrobes. No socks. Glasses, not contacts. No shirts. Some- how, miraculously, we're not naked. The belly rolls are spilling over the elastic of pajama pants with reckless abandon — no attempts made to tuck them in or suck them in. There is hair so oily it creates its own pompadour. No hair product required. There are hairy legs and hairy faces and haircuts done in front of the mirror with kids' safety scissors. The children have tak- en to hand-drawing tattoos on their bodies with wash- able markers. My daughter rubbed dirt over her body, proudly announcing she has a beach tan. Who needs a summer vacation? The current trend in my home is untucked, un- sucked, unwashed and un- shaved, and I love it. Before the coronavirus pandemic, I had to go to specific hostels, com- munes and festivals to find the dirty, hairy hippies I used to run with in my youth. If I was lucky, I would get a weekend each year surrounded by the specific body odor that brings me back to the good ol' days. Now all I have to do is go to the grocery! This is a fashion trend I can embrace wholeheartedly. Fat, hairy and dirty — the hot look of 2020. I told my friend to have Beyonce give me a call. We have loads to discuss. My friend, however, only responded with another sigh. She didn't like my suggestion. Apparently, our living in permanent semi-nudity isn't good for the fashion industry. Letting ourselves go equals billions of dollars lost. She is hoping for a pendulum swing. She is hoping we will all be so tired from not having to care about our appearance that we care more than ever. Suck it in, tuck it in, hide it, cover it, shame it. Making a reappearance will be not on- ly bras but also corsets and girdles and other medieval torture devices. Leg- gings will be replaced with form-fit- ting miniskirts. Stilettos will be high- er than ever, hair more bleached than ever and more styled than ever. Busi- ness suits will come covered in glitter and rhinestones. We will Netflix each evening in the prom dresses that would otherwise go unpurchased because of the canceling of high school. We'll never leave the house without a tiara. I understand the pendulum swing, but I hope it doesn't go that way. I hope that we instead choose to become more accepting of our bodies and our fac- es and our hair exactly as they are — that the trend that follows COVID-19 remains one unrestricted. I don't wish for the demise of any in- dustry, especially not small business- es, but perhaps a reimagining is in or- der. I want work pajamas, and I want black-tie events that accept tuxedo T- shirts, fashion Snuggies and fancy slip- pers. And I hope that instead of cov- ering the gray, we just let our silver hair grow in and get purple highlights so our heads look like glorious spar- kling disco balls. It's gonna be a brave new world out there. Let's make it re- flect us. But also, Netflix in prom gowns sounds amazing. Can we keep that? Katiedid Langrock is author of the book "Stop Farting in the Pyramids," available at www.creators.com/books/ stop-farting-in-the-pyramids. Petersburg Garden Club prepared Mother's Day flowers for local nursing homes The Petersburg Garden Club met last Wednesday and prepared Mother's Day flowers for the nursing homes in Petersburg. Pictured (l to r): Linda Culbertson, Judy Keepes, Karen Vinson, Connie Ross, Jeanine Houchins and Bettie Brenton. Photo taken by Kay Benjamin.