The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/315570
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, May 21, 2014 C-3 To the Editor: Finally we see some paving coming our way. Not to Marion Township yet, but getting closer. Want to thank our new Commissioner, Jeff Nelson, for trying to give some much needed at- tention to these much neglected roads. Unfortunately, lack of funding for District 1, precipitated by some mem- bers of the Pike County Council failing to acknowledge the extra road mileage in District 1, over the years, this com- missioner is forced to make up for the lack of past funding. Thanks for what you have done, Jeff, and thanks for whatever you can do. Ed Kluemper Continued on page 6 Letter to the Editor become just like her. I sense an old familiar lie here: "Do what you will, and you shall never die." Our children need a female Paul Revere to warn them: "The Devil is coming to get you, and her name is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [you fill in the blank], and it's not OK! Think about it! even an enunciation of their goals." By meeting with no bureaucrats present, they made real progress. The summit was also no- table for what was happen- ing on the floor above the di- rect talks. Mr. Adelman re- calls "American and Soviet officials talking informal- ly, asking each other about their families, sharing in- formation and impressions, even laughing together." The Americans estab- lished relationships with "every leader who mattered under Gorbachev," relation- ships that would continue long after the weekend end- ed. "In a small way, it helped end the Cold War by helping to thaw the cold ways we dealt with one another," Mr. Adelman writes. Finally, it was important because of what Reagan stood for. At Reykjavik, he fought for SDI because he thought it would help elim- inate the threat of nuclear weapons. The limited sys- tems we have today aren't as comprehensive as they should be, but the fact they exist at all is a result of Rea- gan's leadership, especially his stand in 1986. A few days after the talks, The New York Times edito- rialized that "Reykjavik pro- duced a roller coaster, first of hope, then disappoint- ment, and now confusion." Over the 25 years since the meeting, the actual re- cords and first-hand notes from both the American and the Soviet participants have been declassified and are now available. We now have a much better appreciation for what actually happened. Mr. Adelman, a profes- sional historian, tells the sto- ry for all to see, and we now know that these talks sped the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Sovi- et Empire. Not bad at all for a rainy weekend in Reykjavik. Ed Feulner is founder of the Heritage Foundation (heri- tage.org). Revenue Service (IRS) scan- dal. The fact that something this contrary to the concept of freedom can happen in a country based on constitu- tional values and be char- acterized as a "phony scan- dal" by people who suppos- edly have the best interests of this country at heart again points to the danger of plac- ing partisan politics above truth and honesty. When politicians huddle and try to figure out ways to defend their leader or their party and ignore the well-be- ing of their nation, the peo- ple must take notice and do everything within their pow- er to make sure they are represented by those who share their beliefs, and not by those who are simply par- ty loyalists. Obviously, the IRS was used in inappropriate ways, or Lois Lerner would not have pleaded the Fifth Amendment. It is more than disturbing that the president of the United States and ma- ny in his party feigned out- rage when the inappropri- ate actions of the IRS ini- tially were exposed, but now cannot lend support to a full and unfettered investigation of activities that threaten the very liberty of the American people. A bipartisan group should investigate both Beng- hazi and the IRS scandal in a transparent manner. If wrongdoing is discovered, those responsible must face consequences, and proce- dures must be established to ensure that such abuses never occur again. Most importantly, the peo- ple must awaken and look objectively at the actions of both Democrats and Re- publicans and not simply ac- cept what party leaders say. Freedom is not free, and vig- ilance in responsible voting is necessary to preserve it. Ben S. Carson is professor emeritus of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University. ★ Kangaroo courts ★ Own up to mistakes ★ Children taken captive ★ Rainy weekend Continued from page 2 Continued from page 2 Continued from page 2 Continued from page 2 The track record of aca- demics in other kinds of cas- es is not the least bit encour- aging as regards the like- lihood of impartial justice. Even on many of our most prestigious college campus- es, who gets punished for saying the wrong thing and who gets away with mob actions depends on which groups are in vogue and which are not. This is carried to the point where some colleges have es- tablished what they call "free speech zones"—as if they are granting a special favor by not imposing their vague and arbitrary "speech codes" everywhere on campus. The irony in this is that the Constitution already es- tablished a free speech zone. It covers the entire United States. Have we already forgot- ten the lynch mob atmo- sphere on the Duke Univer- sity campus a few years ago, when three young men were accused of raping a stripper? Thank heaven that case was handled by the crimi- nal justice system, where all the evidence showed that the charge was bogus, leading to the district attorney's being removed and disbarred. If all the current crusades to institutionalize lynch law on campuses across the country were motivated by a zeal to protect young wom- en, that might at least be un- derstandable, however un- justified. But those who are whip- ping up the lynch mob men- tality have shown far less in- terest in stopping rape than in politicizing it. Many of the politically cor- rect crusaders are the same people who have pushed for unisex living arrangements on campus, including unisex bathrooms, and who have put condom machines in dormi- tories and turned freshman orientation programs into a venue for sexual "liberation" propaganda. They laughed at old-fash- ioned restrictions designed to reduce sexual dangers among young people on cam- pus. Now that real life expe- rience has shown that these are not laughing matters, the politically correct still want their sexual Utopia, and want scapegoats when they don't get it. There is a price to pay for allowing unsubstantiat- ed accusations to prevail, and that price extends be- yond particular young men whose lives can be ruined by false charges. The whole at- mosphere of learning is com- promised when male faculty have to protect themselves from accusations by female students. People today are amazed when I tell them about a young A frican woman who had just arrived in America back in 1963, and who was so overwhelmed by everything that she fell far behind in my economics class. I met with her each evening for an hour of tutoring until she caught up with the rest of the class. There is no way that I would do that today, and there is no way that she would have passed that class otherwise. Instead, she would have returned to Afri- ca a failure. There are many unintended consequences of lynch law policies that poison the atmosphere on campus and diminish American life in general. Crminal Docket Pike Circuit Court Amy M. Guy charged with count I dealing in marijua- na, a class D felony; count II maintaining a common nuisance, a class D felony; count III possession of mar- ijuana, class A misdemean- or; count IV possession of methamphetamine, a class D felony. Chad R. Guy charged with count I dealing in marijua- na, a class D felony; count II maintaining a common nuisance, a class D felony; count III possession of mar- ijuana, class A misdemean- or; count IV possession of methamphetamine, a class D felony. Amy M. Guy charged with count I possession of a con- trolled substance, a class D felony; count II possession of paraphernalia; count III operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the body; count IV oper- ating a vehicle while intox- icated. Dameon R. Harmon charged with count I intim- idation, a class C felony; count II criminal reckless- ness; count III battery. Gary W. Crickmer charged with count I posses- sion of methamphetamine, a class D felony; count II pos- session of marijuana, a class A misdemeanor and count III operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a class C misde- meanor. Ashley K. Feltner charged with count I obstruction of justice, a class D felony and two counts of trafficking with an inmate. Traffic and misdemeanor Pike Circuit Court Christy L. Miller charged with illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage, a class C misdemeanor. David R. Matier charged with illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage, a class C misdemeanor. Jason B. Robling charged with operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol con- tent of 0.15 percent or more, a class A misdemeanor and operating a vehicle while in- toxicated, a class A misde- meanor. Aaron E. Mason charged with count I resisting law en- forcement; count II disorder- ly conduct; count III public instruction. Civil Docket Pike Circuit Court State of Indiana sues Steve Houchin on complaint. Doyle Gene Willis sues Delama R. Willis for disso- lution of marriage. Bank of America NA sues Alvin Bruce Underhill on complaint. In re: petition to restrict disclosure of records. Midland Funding sues Sabrina McDivitt on com- plaint. Virginia Padgett sues John William Pagdett for dissolution of marriage. Cash-Pro Inc. sues Mon- ica L. Ferguson on com- plaint. Small Claims Pike Circuit Court D. Davis Properties sues Danny Blount on complaint. Bonnie L. East sues Scott McCrary on complaint. Capital Alliance Finan- cial, LLC sues Jennifer L. Robinson on complaint. Ohio Valley Gas, Inc. sues Heather M. Brumfield on complaint. Medical and Profession- al Collection Services sues Theresa Jane Burkett on complaint. Medical and Profession- al Collection Services sues Steven and Cheryl Benefiel on complaint. Medical and Profession- al Collection Services sues Earl D. and Vicki L. Cox on complaint. Medical and Professional Collection Services sues Si- mons and April Wolverton on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Kyle Roach on com- plaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Anthony Kreig on com- plaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Angela Doane on com- plaint. Hoosier Accounts Ser- vice sues Todd M. Dorsey on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Rhonda D. Coleman on complaint. Court report Katiedid vs... by Katiedid Langrock Pseudo sick day When Elliott wanted to stay home from school and hang out with his new alien friend, E.T., he feigned illness by placing his thermometer next to a bed- side lamp. When his mother returned to check the rising mercury levels, there was no denying Elliott's fever. In that moment of celluloid synergy, projected onto the screen was the an- swer to the very question I had been chewing on for days: How can I ditch school and get away with it? The next day, I begged my mom for a lamp. From that day forward, the most fear-filled moments of my life would occur in the 10 minutes between the time I'd tell my mom I was too sick to attend school and when my mom would give her final decision. Those agoniz- ing minutes were spent dramatical- ly selling each symptom I claimed to have, theatrics worthy of a Broadway performance acted out in my bedroom. Eyes would tear. Lips would tremble. Sign language would replace talking. My sick day swindle was appropriately aided by props. A heated pad under the pillow made my forehead sweaty and clammy. Hiding a huge wad of Bubble Yum in my mouth created a congested- sounding voice. And of course, a high temperature showed on my thermome- ter, courtesy of my bedside lamp. The problem with pretending you are sick is that the stress of keeping up appearances doesn't end until you are "well." You have to consider your every action, second-guess your ev- ery statement. An inner monologue of self-doubt accompanied every sick day I took. Did my voice sound raspy enough? Maybe I should play it up. Oh, no, now I sound like Batman! Play it cool. Talk normal- ly. There you go, total- ly normal. WHAT WAS THAT ACCENT I JUST USED?! I'm supposed to sound phlegmy, not Flem- ish! Quick! Feign a cough- ing fit, and run! RUN! And the pressure doesn't soften when left in the house alone. You must im- maculately clean up after yourself so no one knows you were out of bed. You must sneak tiny bites from many dif- ferent dishes of food so no one can tell you ate with a supposedly suppressed appetite. The stress is enough to make you, well, sick. Now that I am a parent, I have been tasked with a much harder chore than feigning sickness. When I have to stay home from work with my sick kid, I have to feign working. My parents' allotted numbers of sick days never crossed my mind when I was a kid. Now that I'm an adult, I cannot afford to take an official day off when my child gets sick. Instead, I work from home. Er, excuse me. I feign working from home. The same fear of getting caught that coursed through my falsely heat- ed veins when I was a kid pulses on. I'm petrified that my boss will catch me not working. It's not that I don't want to work when I'm home. It's that I can't. My kid, on a good day, is a snuggler. My kid on a sick day is a cranky snuggler. A nev- er sleeping, never calm, constantly cry- ing, doesn't want to be held, doesn't want to be put down, fe- verish, angry, snotty, snif- fling, coughing, cranky snuggler. I can't even go to the bathroom when I'm home with him. I certain- ly can't do work. But I say I do. In place is a strategic, systematic schedule of perfectly timed corre- spondence with the work- place, creating the illusion that home is the perfect environment for efficient workman- ship—aka baloney. I write up what I'm going to say in emails the night before and shoot them off at random intervals. I call twice on my own accord, stepping outside in the five-minute grace period after putting in a DVD. I follow a plan! But still, the fear haunts me. Wouldn't it be lovely if we could just take off the time we wanted, whether we are young or old, without having to lie about it? Instead, my inner mono- logue rambles on. Hurry up. Oh, no, can the boss sense the panic in my voice? She can feel the urgency. Talk slower. SLOWER. No, not like that! You're not Dory trying to speak whale. Normal, just be normal. A-a-a-nd my accent just went Flemish again. I wonder what accent people in Bel- gium do when they are caught lying. Like Katiedid Langrock on Face- book, at http://www.facebook.com/ katiedidhumor. Response: 'We owe it to our students...' Pavement coming closer To the Editor: In response to Jason Smith's letter to the editor, "We owe it to our stu- dents to save the schools," 5 -14-2014. As a teacher, I perfectly agree that education is paramount. I came to this country 34 years ago to be on the winning team. I believe this coun- try's founding principles that among the basic human rights are "Life, Lib- erty, and the pursuit of Happiness." These goals can only be reached with a profound education in how the world works. This country gleaned from the world whatever worked there and made it work better here. It's called en- terprise, calculated but educated risk taking, setting priorities, hard work, and never-ending learning, and the re- ward of success. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Here in Pike County, differ- ent priorities are set: teachers' sala- ries are cut (but not the administra- tion's!) to pay for ancillary things that have nothing to do with academic GPA that help our grads compete in the world against up-and-coming coun- tries such as China and India, as well as leading countries such as Germa- ny. Next year, China will surpass us as the world's largest economy, while we advertise for and worry about hiring sports coaches. The world grows and develops while we play. Jason Smith rightfully laments financial misman- agement here, and I wholeheartedly agree. But when he mentions those who have been asked to sacrifice, he leaves out coaches and athletics. The paper is full of new hires. I myself have been asked to sponsor the History Club pro bono, "as funds are tight." I agreed to do that for this last school year, for the sake of my stu- dents. If you want to identify this as well as any other organization's prior- ities, regardless of the latest lip ser- vices, buzz words, fancy school im- provement goals etc., simply follow the money. This is where the truth lies. I am probably one of the most ed- ucated people at this school with four degrees, one of them a master's, and an adjunct instructor to IU. But they cut salaries across the board without education, experience, and quality of instruction being a consideration; the perfect cookie-cutter approach; why strive for excellence (non-certifieds are simply eliminated or their hours cut). I and many other academics are expected to work for free on top of that (academic ECAs). As the newspaper article said, the district spent $4,300 on advertising for a coach. Three times as much as the pay for an academic club sponsor. Here we see where the priorities lie. Furthermore, many, many times do I hear student responses about their failure to complete an assignment: "I couldn't because (insert a sports ac- tivity)." Not a surprise, as too many set athletics as a priority and fund it richly. Unfathomable. Sports heroes are featured and celebrated, academic achievements of individuals are large- ly unsung. Get ready to learn Chinese, you might need it soon. Mr. Smith also advocates a refer- endum for higher taxes. That would be tantamount to trying to fill a leak- ing bucket. They just spent 11 times more on the aforementioned ad than I paid in real estate taxes. Waste, waste, waste. And I am expected to pay more? Identify the leaks, fix them, get your priorities straight, and you will not need extra resources. I ran a department of GE with a bud- get multiple times that of this district (I was a CPM, a certified purchasing manager, comparable to a CPA, but in procurement); I do not speak from conjecture but experience. I have ac- tually been there. And I salute Mr. Grubb for being the only dissenter against this waste and for bringing it to our attention. Who knows what else money was wasted on. But here is an easy way to "fix" this entire problem: We are PCSC, Pike County School Corporation. Keep the acronym and call it Pike Coun- ty Sports Club, and all the issues go away. You can cut teachers and teach- ers' salaries, advertise for expertise in sports, and hire coaches and assis- tant coaches, and assistants to the as- sistants. You can attend the games and practices, hire inexperienced teach- ers, because the cream of the crop will have left for places where they are ap- preciated and can live their dream of teaching and making a difference both to the student and my beloved USA. It will be just a minor inconvenience that while you play, the Germans, Chi- nese and Indians learn and, little by little, eat your lunch, until you might have to reorder it in their language, but you can't because you didn't spend time on learning how, or for that mat- ter, little else. See you at the game! Fritz T. Krahl, BS, BA, M.Ed. Passionate and dedicated instructor