The Indiana Publisher

mentioned Carol Johnson. In fact, there are few memo- ries of my adult life where the Times-Mail wasn't a part of it. (And one from my adolescent life wherein my father found out about a very bad speeding ticket by reading its pages at work.) Up until a few years ago, I couldn't imagine working anywhere else. In fact, I figured I'd retire from the newspaper, but alas, things change. Today is my last day working for the Times-Mail. It's time for a new adventure. I have accepted a position with the Lawrence County Prosecutor's Office, where I'll serve as the victims' advocate and public information officer for Sam Arp. A new role in our community, however, will not change my love and dedication for Lawrence County or the newspaper that serves it. As I told my former colleagues, I will continue to sub- scribe, read and send them story ideas because I love community journalism and I value its role in our society. And you should, too. Nary a day goes by when someone doesn't ask me, "Do you think the newspaper will be here a year from now?" I always answer with a definitive and resounding, "Yes." The Times-Mail has served the readers of Lawrence County for at least 150 years, and I do believe it will in the future, but much of that rests upon you, our readers. I don't want to live in a com- munity not served by a newspa- per. It's an integral part of the democracy and society in which we live. It keeps our government accountable, stands up for the truth and tells the stories of the men, women and children who make Lawrence County such a wonderful place to live and work. I urge you to look at the newspaper with those ideals in mind. Think of it as the one tool that provides a critical filter as it delivers to you the relevant, important, impactful and authori- tative news of our community. And then subscribe. The newspaper needs you, and you deserve the knowledge it contains. Thanks for reading, Lawrence County. You really have given me the best career in journalism in the most wonderful community in the world. hospitals have no reporting require- ments on their response to potential crimes or traffic accidents, unlike all other police departments. HSPA offered language to Julie Halbig, representing the Indiana Hospital Association and Kevin Mahan, who runs the Community Hospitals police department. Halbig made a counterproposal that would only cover arrests. This language was amended into S.B. 78 during its hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Transportation Committee, chaired by Sen. Crider. The committee approved the amendment bill, 4-2. HSPA will continue to work with the Indiana Hospital Association to improve the lan- guage as it moves forward. H.B. 1006, authored by Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Danville, attempts to address issues with law enforcement agencies. It included a provision to make certain disciplin- ary records of private university police departments available to the public. HSPA pointed out that the bill didn't include similar language for private hospital police depart- ments. Rep. Steuerwald agreed to an amendment to include them in the requirement. The amended bill came out of the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee, chaired by Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Evansville, with a 11-0 vote. It also was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Rep. Tim- Brown, R-Crawfordsville. The House approved the bill 96-0. S.B. 110, authored by Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, would cre- ate a law enforcement misconduct data base. HSPA suggested an amendment to strengthen language outlining what information should be included in the data base when an officer has been terminated, demoted or suspended without pay – specifically to clarify what "factual basis" should include as to documentation supporting a disci- plinary action. The bill was sched- uled for a hearing this week in the Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee, chaired by Sen. Michael Young, R-Indianapolis. uncover in his new investigative reporter role." Andrews, who has an under- graduate degree in telecommuni- cations from Indiana University, has had a long and distinguished journalism career. He has spent a total of 26 years at IBJ over three stints, with the business publica- tion winning dozens of state and national awards during his tenure as editor. As a reporter, Andrews has broken a number of high-profile stories. Perhaps his biggest scoop was exposing a Ponzi scheme involving Indianapolis financier Tim Durham that cost investors more than $200 million. Andrews also was the first to report on the down- town development that would become the JW Marriott, the state's largest hotel. Andrews initially worked for IBJ as a reporter covering bank- ing and finance from 1991 to 1995. He left in early 1995 to take a job covering the Indiana Statehouse for the Evansville Courier, but came back to IBJ as managing editor later that same year. Andrews, 55, joined The Indianapolis Star as a reporter in 1997 and became business editor in 1998. Andrews returned to IBJ in 2000 as special projects editor, and began writing his Behind the News column. He became the managing editor in 2005 and continued to write high-profile investigative pieces. He was pro- moted to editor in 2013. "Throughout my career I've always enjoyed investigative reporting but I've had less and less time to spend on that as my editing duties have increased," Andrews said. "I'm looking forward to making that kind of high-impact journalism my pri- mary focus." Andrews said he's also look- ing forward to working with Weidenbener in her new role. "One of the best hires of my entire career was when Lesley joined IBJ in 2015," Andrews said. "She's done a fantastic job and will be a great editor." Also part of the staff reorga- nization, Tom Harton—who has been with the IBJ for 37 years in roles including reporter, manag- ing editor and editor, and most recently served as contributing editor—will now serve as custom content editor. In that new role, Harton will work with the IBJ sales team on custom content opportunities. IBJ reporter Samm Quinn, who joined the staff in early 2018, has been promoted to assistant print editor. Coming to IBJ from the Greenfield Daily Reporter, Quinn first served as North of 96th reporter and then city government and education reporter. Quinn is moving into a role coordinating weekly print features and IBJ's special pub- lications, such as Women of Influence, Forefront and Indiana 100. IBJ Continued from Page 6 Thanks Continued from Page 7 Access Continued from Page 7 Page 14 February 2021

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