SERVING HENDRICKS COUNTY SINCE 1847
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Our Readers Write Vince Kiger passed away May 10. He was truly a very special person. I knew Vince for over 40 years. I learned from a very early age he could tell a great story. I remember he was on his way to Muncie, Indiana and hit a pheasant on the interstate. The bird went over his care and hit a State Trooper behind him. Several miles down the road, the Trooper stopped him and gave him a ticket. Charge was an ISP Trooper the bird. That was Vince setting the hook and finishing a great story. Danville will go on, but without Vince Kiger, a great friend I will always remember. Bob Lybarger ______________________________________________
The Republican
Voices
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Earning/Deserving U.S. Citizenship By Elshadai Aberra
A Note From Bee
Musings on the Past “There will be a day when Washington will recover its now lost sanity. When that day comes, the Senate of the United States will wish it might blot from its records all traces of Thursday March 6. On that day it sank to a new low level in its history. “For weeks its mud guns have belched and splashed. What once was a great deliberative body has been resounding to the partisan yelpings of little men and the snaps and snarls of character assassins. They have made charges under the protection of the Senate they would not dare utter as man to man. They have made the investigation the excuse for an orgy of partisan denunciation the like of which had never been seen in the Senate and hardly anywhere else in America.” - The Republican April 24, 1924 Reading through the pages of the newspaper from 1924 it would appear some things never change. The article refered to a Senate Committee that held hearings on corruptoin in the Justice Department. The Attorney General had been fired and loyalists in the Justice Department conspired to have the senator who was head of the investigative committee charged with bribery. ______________________________________________
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ASK MR. TRAFFIC By Chet Skwarcan, PE, President/ Founder of Traffic Engineering, Inc. Chet@TrafficEngineering.com
Correction The story in last week issue, “From a Husband’s Viewpoint” was by Noel Gatlin. His name was unintentionally left out.
The citizenship process in the United States is difficult as much as it is lengthy. First, you must be a U.S. permanent resident for three to five years prior to even applying, which is then followed be a biometrics appointment and then a citizenship interview, and finally you take the civics test in which you must answer at least six of ten questions correctly to pass; six of ten questions the average American probably couldn’t answer themselves. It is unbelievable how quickly houses sell these days “I was telling my coworkers I was preparing for the and how the buyers pay so much over the asking price. citizenship test and showed them what I was studying and My friend’s son sold his house for $50,000 over the none of them knew the answers,” said Tsehai Nirayo, a asking price. Seventeen people were bidding on the house. newfound Ethiopian-American citizen. We have only bought two houses during our marriage. As Nirayo accounted how poorly her coworkers could Granted, we bought our last house fifty-five years ago. We answer the civic test questions, she said she feels that more paid $19,000 for a brick ranch, 3 bedroom, bath and a half, U.S. born citizens should know the answers. living room, family room, and two car garage. The house “The questions are fair and more people should know was five years old. The realtor made the comment that the them, but they don’t know anything about this country’s seller was going to make $1,800 which he thought was history,” said Nirayo. too much profit. We paid $11,000 for the house we had to While the average U.S. born citizen may be able to sell to buy the new house. We stayed there for five years. study the 100 question study guide provided by our govUnfortunately real estate had not appreciated in that five ernment in a week or so, it took Nirayo far longer. years. So we priced it for $11,000. “I studied for a whole three months before I took the We probably only had six people look at it. Three test,” said Nirayo. “I prepared a lot.” women all said they wanted to buy it.They were all single. As Nirayo’s granddaughter, I can pledge to her diliThe first woman said she hated men. We got down to a gence and blood, sweat, and tears as she would hog our closing date and she backed out because she changed her television for hours at a time watching YouTube videos mind about hating men and decided to get married. The prepping her for the test. It was no easy feat and while second woman’s ex husband said he would buy the house that’s understandable, I think we need to evaluate whether for her. Again we got to closing this woman ran away with it was an irrationally difficult one. another man. The third woman did not have good enough Living with someone taking the civics test and discovcredit to buy the house. ering a recent survey of over 41,000 Americans exposing When we thought we had the house sold the first time that approximately only 40% of Americans can pass the we got permission from the owner to have a fence put up civics test has opened my eyes to the fact that we as a and carpet laid. Needless to say, we were in a desperate nation should question both the integrity of our citizenship situation. However, there was a happy ending. Our realtor process and the quality of America’s education system. bought our house. ______________________________________________ Bee Jones ______________________________________________
Thursday, June 24, 2021
What Am I? The other day a longtime subscriber stopped in to let us know he hadn’t received his paper and wanted to pick one up. “By the way,” he says to Betty, noticing I wasn’t in the office, “I hear he’s a Democrat,” letting the statement hang in the air hoping Betty, our taciturn Editor, would give a nod or a wink indicating one way or another. I don’t know what Betty said, but she doesn’t say much on a chatty day and she is fiercely loyal to The Boss. (I think.) This was the third time I recently heard others expressing their opinion that I was a Democrat. Three times. It must be because of the newspaper that anyone would care if I am a Democrat or not. I don’t recall anyone ever caring before. So, since some of you seem to care… The current toxicity of politics along with the benefit of time to ponder such things, it’s clear I don’t fit into the suffocatingly small box that either party has to offer. Actually, I’m probably still a registered Republican even though I don’t want to be anymore. But I don’t want to be a Democrat either. So, what am I? Since I can remember, both parties have told me, promised me, that if I voted for them they would fix things. They also told me that if I voted for the other party, it would be a disaster. Obviously neither party knows how to fix things and instead of maybe working together, each side has become more entrenched in what I feel are observably flawed ideologies. I’m through with it. I am decidedly independent. As for the newspaper, it is and always will be a newspaper for the community, regardless of party. Jerry Vornholt ______________________________________________
Neither a borrower nor a lender be... William Shakespeare
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Electric Cars Traffic Jams and Dead Batteries This week’s column is in response to a contribution by one of my long-time readers, Tony (not his real name, his real name is Doug). What happens when a bunch of electric cars get stuck in a traffic jam and all those batteries die? I asked my uncle about this — he still insists there’s no such thing as an electric car. He says that even if they did exist, they would still need roads. He’s right. I was stumped. I forgot what I asked him… Yet, traffic jams do exist. And in some parts of the world, it snows. And snow can cause traffic delays, even gridlock. And there’s the gridlock surrounding popular destinations. And there’s the occasional accident or roadblock that creates unexpected and unpredictable traffic jams. And what if all those cars stuck in traffic were electric? And what if all those batteries run out of power? Even when the cause of the “jam” dissipates, those “dead” electric cars would remain stationary until...I don’t know...how do you charge hundreds of electric cars out in the middle of nowhere? I guess they’d be there a long time. But let’s assume for a moment my uncle is wrong and that electric cars do in fact exist. Such a futuristic vehicle would likely have an “auxiliary” battery for emergency use only, agree? And if you’re stuck in traffic, turn off the car (does the A/C or heater need battery power?) — and don’t turn anything on until you can actually move. Currently (no pun intended), electric cars are limited to 300 miles or so and charging them takes too long for nonstop road trips (and where do you even charge an electric car?). Range anxiety is definitely a thing with electric car owners. The limited range is why you don’t hear much about electric trucks. Instead, the alternate energy for trucks is hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen provides a much greater range and can be “refilled” as quickly as filling a gas tank. Fuel cell vehicles somehow combine hydrogen and oxygen to power an electric motor (science). The only tailpipe emission is water vapor. But who knows how all that water vapor impacts the climate — we’ll let our grandchildren figure that one out… My uncle’s right, electric cars still need roads. And our dependence on cars won’t change anytime soon. But, through smart design and development, we can reduce some of our daily travel needs. Working remotely or living closer to where you work, shop, or recreate all help to reduce traffic on the road, and we will always need roads. ______________________________________________
A Squirrel About Town By Archy “Congratulations,” Archy greeted me. “Hope you have better luck with this one.” My befuddlement was obvious, even to a squirrel. “Your new holiday - Juneteenth,” he patiently reminded me. “I hope you can do it justice.” The squirrel sensed further explanation was needed. “Humans have a tendancy to lose focus when they turn history in to a holiday. It becomes a commercial event that has more to do with getting a day off work than exploring the lesson that can be learned.” The squirrel was right. Look at July 4th - instead of a time to reflect on the founding of our country, it becomes a time to tow your boat to the nearest lake for a sunburn session. Archy added, “It’s your tendency to look at history as a long line of inspirational men and events, a romanticized ideal that has little to do with reality, then or now.” I thought about Mason Weems, who planted the story of young George Washington and the cherry tree to humanize our first president. Archy jumped into my stream of thought. “Exactly!” he said. “Weems wouldn’t have had to humanize Washington if others hadn’t deified him. Humans maintain a fourth grade level of understanding their history. History needs to be constantly re-examinated or the same mistakes will be made. The view needs to be widened as time passes. On reflection, motivations aren’t always as clear cut as they might seem.” I could see his point. Celebrating the day when word of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, officially arrived in Texas, two and a half years later, is an important part of our history. But so is what followed: The devlopment of the Lost Cause movement, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, and Jim Crow laws. “Not exactly something to celebrate,” Archy nodded in agreement. “But definitely something that should be remembered.” ___________________________________________
