WWW.POSEYCOUNTYNEWS.COM • SERVING THE COUNTY SINCE 1882 • THE POSEY COUNTY NEWS
APRIL 19, 2011 • PAGE A10
OPINION
My friend Bruce has a way of softening the blow, even the ultimate Each week, I try to learn at least one thing that will make me a better person. Some weeks, I succeed and it seems like some weeks, I don’t. Sitting in church on Sun- TRUTH... day, I could not help but no- STRANGER tice how many people in our THAN little area are suffering from FICTION the ravages of cancer. This BY DAVE terrible disease has taken so PEARCE many prematurely, already, and threatens others. As I read down the list and so many names that I know personally and recognized, I could not help but be moved and remember a phone call I received earlier this week. No matter what your occupation, you have the capacity to make friends. I enjoy people and I enjoy friends. One morning this week, before I left to go to Henderson to work, I received a phone call from a friend that I met. He was buying a car from me shortly after I began selling vehicles in Henderson going on eight years ago. Bruce and his family have become not only good customers but also good friends. There
have been times when he has just stopped in to chat or has just called to chat. We seem to have a lot in common (he is also in sales) and it always seems to be a contest to see who can get a word in edgewise when we get on the phone. Bruce was his usual jovial self when I answered the phone. We joked around for a little while and I asked him how he was doing. You see, this healthy friend I met several years ago has been fighting cancer now for about four years. But to talk to him, you would never know it. We talked for a while and he indicated that he was no longer cancer-free. He is currently treating a lump in his neck with chemotherapy and despite his attempt at optimism, I couldn’t help but notice a little different tone in his voice this time. He’s endured multiple surgeries over the past few years as well as several rounds of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. I know that at times, it has taken so much out of him
yet he always seems to find a way to smile and look for the good in life. He proceeded to tell me a story about a recent outing. He said that his chemotherapy doctor had asked him if he would like to eat lunch together sometime. Thinking that “sometime” could be anytime in the future, of course Bruce agreed. But the doctor wanted to be more specific so he tied Bruce down to a particular day. Bruce checked his schedule and agreed to meet the doctor for lunch in Newburgh. Little did Bruce know that his doctor had called Bruce’s wife Margaret and asked her to put Bruce’s golf clubs in the trunk of his car early that morning. So when they met for lunch, the doctor got into the car with Bruce and asked him to drive them to the “restaurant.” Not knowing Newburgh very well, the doctor instructed Bruce to head northeast of town and before he knew it, they were at the gates of Victoria National Golf Course. Bruce figured he was going to get a special treat, a meal in the restaurant. But when they got out of the car, the doctor asked Bruce if he felt like playing golf. Inquisitively, Bruce replied that he did not have his clubs. But the doctor insisted that Bruce check the trunk of his car just to be sure. Sure enough, everything Bruce needed to play the course he had dreamed of playing was there in the trunk of his car. “Why are you doing this,” Bruce asked, surprised. “I can’t tell you, not until after we have teed off on the first hole,” the doctor answered. So, finally Bruce agreed to go ahead and start the round of golf as the suspense seemed to be getting the best of him. Finally, after hitting a great tee shot off the No. 1 tee box, Bruce demanded an explanation. “You know,” the doctor began to explain, “most of the time when people have finished
their chemotherapy, I am the last person they want to see and the place where the chemo is administered is the last place they want to be. But you were different. After your chemo was finished, you came back. You checked on friends you had made during your time in the hospital. There was even an 85-year-old woman that you came back to check on.” As I watched, I learned that if I had told you I was taking you to play Victoria National, you would not have let me do it, would you?” the doctor asked. Bruce said he had to admit that he probably would not have agreed to allow the doctor to spend the money on him had he known what the doctor had planned. Then as the conversation proceeded, Bruce admitted to me that he was too weak to play all the holes. There were times when he was just too tired but he enjoyed seeing the course and playing the holes he was able to play. As I thought about it, this incident and golf are a little like life. Sometimes conditions are good but sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes we just have to play the holes we are able to play and just be glad we are able to see the course and enjoy the sunshine and the company. And sometimes, we just have to be content as we enjoy watching others play the course. As he prepared to hang up, with no letdown in his voice, Bruce assured me that I was on the list of people to be called “when something happens.” “I’m going to fight it with everything I have until the last breath,” Bruce said with resolve. “Then when I have done all I can, I am going to go home.” But I knew this was Bruce’s way of telling me that I could probably expect a phone call from Margaret in the not-so-distant future. But true to form, he found a way to make it positive and a way to make me smile as he told the story. Oh, the lessons we could all take from Bruce.
Letters to the Editor State Representative Wendy McNamra... Building relationships, crafting legislation Two of my top priorities this legislative session were to build relationships that would improve Southwest Indiana and to author, sponsor and amend bills that are needed for all Hoosiers. This has ranged from crafting legislation to help our schools stretch their dollars to making the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) aware of our roadway needs. Building and developing a strong working relationship with INDOT has been a top priority since our roads are in desperate need of attention. I have advocated for the fixing of our roads such as in Posey County, a safer route for trucks to turn west out of the Port, the "truck ruts" that line Highway 62 in Mount Vernon and many other issues that have been brought to my attention by constituents. Last week, I led Senate Bill 465 through the House legislative process. The bill streamlines the Department of Child Services (DCS) and brings clarity to DCS programs. A large portion of this bill removes conflict in language to align Indiana with federal guidelines, other portions amend some definitions. A key section of this bill focuses on do-
mestic violence. This bill will clarify what the fatality review team can assess when investigating the suicide of a victim of domestic violence. The bill also changes the foster care license capacity from 8 to 5, but does give exception to foster families who care for siblings. Another significant aspect of this bill pertains to the interviewing of children in an alleged case of domestic violence. Currently DCS needs the permission of the child’s parent or guardian to have access to interview the child. This is an apparent conflict of interest when the parent or guardian could be the perpetrator. This was a bipartisan bill that passed out of the Senate with a vote of 49-1, out of the Committee for Family, Children and Human Affairs with a vote of 9-0 and out of the House with a vote of 85-13. The passage of this bill will permit DCS to better facilitate services to children and families. I came to the Statehouse with the intention of sticking to my beliefs and to represent my constituents. I am resolute on continuing to build relationships that will redirect focus on Southwest Indiana and on crafting legislation that serves Hoosier families.
Gavel Gamut’s “Learning by Doing” On May 2, 2011, in the courtroom of the Posey Circuit Court, students from Posey County’s three high schools will learn about America’s legal system by putting on a Mock Trial. This educational experience will begin at 9 a.m. and is open to the public. The schools, which en- GAVEL courage their students to GAMUT take a day from their busy schedules, do so because for BY JUDGE twenty-six years students JIM REDWINE have learned a great deal by their hands-on participation. This certainly makes sense to me. Other than a general feeling of ennui, what I remember most from law school are the mock trials from my freshman criminal law class and the moot court during my senior trial skills seminar. While the years in between these experiences were less educating than debilitating, those two “adult education” experiences taught me a great deal. When I became a judge, I drew upon those hands-on events more than any of my core courses. Of course, my adult education received from ten years of practicing law was my safest refuge when I first took the Bench. Now I can rely upon an additional thirty years of adult education from the courtroom. It often turns out I am in need of more, but now, at least, I usually can sense my deficiency before total disaster results. Adult education stresses participation and immediate use of what is learned. The goal is to learn information and techniques one week in class that can be used the next week in life. Adult learning is best educed, not imparted. That is, instead of information
raining down on the students’ heads from Olympus, it is drawn forth from the students via active participation and observation. Nothing teaches as doing does. Those of us who spent up to twenty years in class only to find on the job training was where we are truly educated appreciate the principles of adult education. In fact, many suggest adult education techniques should be simply education techniques: Class participation, discussion and role playing are what make lectures dynamic, information usable and learning indelible. It is not that theory is unimportant. It is just that it has no immediate efficacy. As the old adage, often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, goes, “Study and prepare and when opportunity arises you will be ready.” However, another equally valid adage is, “You have to get some dirt on your hands to do the job.” In other words, theory is for preparation but doing is for application. This year’s Law Day Mock Trial, i.e. the learning by doing experience, will begin with remarks by Posey County Bar Association President Donald Baier and Posey Superior Court Judge Brent Almon, both of whom graduated from Mount Vernon High School. Posey County’s Bar Association contains attorneys from each of our three high schools. Then Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan will speak to the students about our legal system and the significance of Law Day. If you have the time, the celebration and the learning by doing exercise will begin at 9 a.m. You are welcome to attend.
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Should Planning bodies reconsider decision? On April 14, 2011 Posey County Zoning board approved the zoning appeal B3 for the land located at the corner Boberg Road and Harmony Way. My wife could not attend the meeting since she had to work. I could not attend since I had a business dinner with 20 health professionals from the area that took months to arrange. I was not too concerned about the zoning since I felt fairly confident our local leaders would look at the basic premise and evidence and come to the obvious conclusion to reject the B3 zoning. B3 zoning allows the O’Risky Excavating to build just about anything they want. The O’Rrisky’s propose to build a lot to store all their heavy equipment smack dab in the middle of an area that is virtually all residential. There is a Coffee Company that has a special use permit which none of us opposed since it generated no traffic. Then there is Kokies which has been a neighborhood icon for decades without problems. We had 89 signatures of area residents who oppose this zoning. There were 15 local residents that broke away from their busy lives to personally attend this zoning meeting. There were many more like myself who have to work their daily schedules. Given all that surely the zoning board would surely reject this rezoning. Apparently, the zoning board had a Charlie Sheen moment. As I understand it Mr. O’Risky has twice wasted 30 minutes explaining all he has done for the community in these zoning meetings. I would suggest in future meetings to play fair and skip all this fluff and discuss the issue at hand on the facts. There are plenty of residents in the area whose service to this country and community that have done as much or more than Mr. O’Risky. There were two character witnesses that I respect, that have no skin in this game. Play in your own neighborhood! The parcel in question until recently consisted of a farm house and rolling pasture with farm animals. The reason my wife and our family moved into this rural and residential area was to escape these commercial zonings in Vanderburgh County. There are areas of concern
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where the county has not enforced basic zoning around us, but we see no reason to make our lives infinitely worse by allowing O’Risky Excavation to wreak havoc in our quiet neighborhood. In fact the county would do the whole neighborhood a great service by enforcing the code laws on all residential and rental properties around us. First of all residents are thankful the county had Rudolph repave the road last year. Did the county have the foresight to construct this road to the rigorous standards needed to withstand this large heavy equipment? I really doubt three expensive inches of pavement is anywhere near the requirements for use for such heavy industrial equipment, plus Boberg is not a truck route. The previous damage to the road came from sparse usage by snow removal trucks, farm equipment, and heavy utility equipment. Even if Boberg Rd. was constructed to handle the heavy equipment there is the greater issue of public safety. Many school children ride the bus and drive to school using Boberg. There are many pedestrians and bicycles that use Boberg Rd. The speed limit on Boberg is posted 20 miles per hour. Ther is no way all this heavy equipment should ever be allowed on one square inch of Boberg Road.T This is like locating a construction road through a school yard. When we first moved out here my wife sideswiped a car on the very narrow bridge located on Boberg Road that the Orisky’s plan to use for heavy equipment. The other car was loaded with sev-
eral neighbor teenagers. The Posey County Sheriff determined neither was at fault since the bridge is not designed for two cars. Plus the sheriff said the bridge is built at a strange angle for safety. We plan on checking with the county to determine the weight limit for this bridge since there seems to be different stories being floated around. I invite the planning board to do likewise. Plus it might be in the best interest of the residents that the county verifies all the details of this proposal with a nonpartisan expert. Also, there are concerns about runoff and drainage problems. Vamderburgh County had to pay $3 million to fix Bayou Creek after Kight developed the Red Bank Rd. development. Kight got off with a $500,000 fine. This needs to be in writing, just because they are an excavating company there is no guaranteed compliance. At the very least Mr. O’Risky should have had the vision and secured egress and regress onto Harmony Way. There is no way that property can be accessed safely using Boberg Rd. When I first heard about this proposal I thought the only way it would possibly work would by allowing access off Harmony Way using Hwy 66. Vanderburgh County would not like O’Risky using Harmony Way as a heavy equipment route. The Planning Board would be Community Insensitive to approve this ludicrous proposal. Boberg Rd. is not a truck route! The next meeting needs to be on a Saturday morning. David Musgrave Boberg Road Resident
Elks appreciate patronage of fundraiser The Mount Vernon Elks Lodge #277 would like to thank everyone who patronized our recent Pork Chop/ Fish carryout fundraiser. Because of the generosity of our community, our lodge is able to continue our many programs, charities
and scholarship funding. Mount Vernon is a wonderful place to live with people who are always willing to help when needed. Again, thank you. Tony Gross Exalted Ruler 2011-12 BPOE #277
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