WWW.POSEYCOUNTYNEWS.COM • SERVING THE COUNTY SINCE 1882 • THE POSEY COUNTY NEWS
FEBRUARY 16, 2016 • PAGE A11
OPINION Guest Editorial: Glenn Mollette Talking and shaking hands? During the campaign trails of Trump, Clinton, Cruse, Rubio, Sanders and the others we hear a lot of talk and see a lot of shaking of hands. Talking and shaking hands is good if it leads to saving our country. We could use some talking to America’s businesses. Federal and state leaders must ask our businesses to stay here. Cut their corporate taxes to 15 percent. Ask the cities and states to work in unison in creating work friendly states and communities. Simply waving goodbye to our businesses has to stop. It’s time to grab hold of real laborers and keep them here. Ask our businesses to come home. They have ed everywhere. Is anybody talking to these people? A 15 percent corporate tax rate would help. Unions must work in cooperation. A factory will not come back if they have to face a union demanding $35 an hour plus deďŹ ned beneďŹ t retirement packages and Obamacare along with our current tax rate.
Many corporations are going bankrupt now for various reasons including paying their executives too much. However, one reason is promising future packages to employees that they will never be able to pay. State and federal governments can only tax citizens so much to cover wages and pension promises. Many government employees have never contributed a dime to their retirement but yet are promised generous retirement packages that they collect for twenty to thirty years or more. These generous packages are funded by the government borrowing more with the hopes of collecting more taxes to pay for their promises. The future for more and more government promises to employees is bleak. Change has to occur if our country has any future of recuperating. Jobs must be moved to hard-pressed areas. For example coal mining is doomed in central Appalachia. Federal government and state
leadership must create incentive packages for real jobs to locate to depressed areas. Factories willing to locate in these areas must be given a pass on corporate and state taxes for at least ten years or maybe more. The people who are put to work would at least be paying taxes instead of collecting welfare. This would be a win-win for everybody. We are desperate to make stuff in this country again. There are lots of properties sitting idle in this country that could be bought by the state and sold or given to job creating entities that promised to stay and hire people for at least 25 years. Medical crises continue to bankrupt families across America. We are way past the point of taking serious action. The Affordable Care Act has failed. We must create a fourfold medical plan. 1. Put the poor and truly disabled on Medicaid. 2. Allow those with pre-existing conditions to buy into Medi-
care. 3. Make insurance shopping available across state lines. 4. Make hospitals and doctors accessible across state lines. People in California should be able to go to a doctor in Minnesota if they determine that it is best for them. The insurance company or government should not make that determination. Gaining control of our borders, spending billions on foreign aid and foreign wars and the continued decline of the morale of our military and Veterans are big problems. This all contributes to the overall morale of the entire American people. Somebody running for President has a big job ahead of him or her. I hope they will do more than talk and shake hands. On the other hand, maybe that would be a start in turning this country around. Glenn Mollette is an American columnist read in all fifty states. Contact him at GMollette@aol.com. Like his facebook page at www.facebook.com/glennmollette.
State Rep. Wendy McNamara Making education a top priority Education is an area that I continue to dedicate a majority of my time to, and I believe it is imperative that our students obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in today’s global economy. Working in education, I understand how important it is to provide students with the best programs in order to prepare them for their careers. This session, I have supported legislation that focuses on keeping talented teachers in Indiana classrooms. House Bill (HB) 1004 seeks to improve the state’s recruitment and retention of education professionals. This bill would allow educators with out-of-state teaching licenses to work in Indiana, offer more exible retirement plans and allow schools to offer a salary anywhere on the pay scale for teachers who work in difďŹ cult-to-ďŹ ll positions, while continuing to provide for local control. These incentives will allow Indiana to attract more experienced teachers and with that improve Indiana schools. Another piece of legislation that works to retain our qualiďŹ ed teachers is HB 1005. If enacted, this bill would establish a career pathways and mentorship program. New teachers are paired
with experienced instructors and are allowed to move up on the pay scale during their ďŹ rst two years. This allows new educators to gain experience and knowledge that cannot always be acquired through schooling. It provides the opportunity for instructors to focus speciďŹ cally on teaching. This program also incentivizes the more experienced teachers by compensating them for their mentorship. HB 1005 gives educators the ability to develop professionally, while staying in the classroom. Ensuring our students are receiving the best education possible is one of my permanent goals, and keeping dual-credit classes in our schools will help achieve that. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) announced new standards for dual-credit teachers this past spring. The HLC now requires educators to hold at least a master’s degree and 18 graduate credit hours in the subject they are teaching in order for them to teach dual-credit courses. This new requirement could force 1,200 qualiďŹ ed teachers to stop teaching dualcredit courses. HB 1370 addresses this problem by having state schools work with universities to waive all or part of tuition fees for a teacher who has a
master’s degree, but still needs the additional credit hours to meet the HLC requirements. If the new standards are not resolved we will lose dual-credit teachers and our high school students will be the ones who ultimately suffer. Dual-credit courses offer students the chance to become college and career ready, as well as the ability to cut future tuition costs. If we eliminate these teachers from this program, those students will no longer have the opportunity to get a head start on their college education and their careers. Education is an indispensable resource and we must work with our schools to address the problems federal rules and regulations cause. Education is something that I have always been passionate about, and making sure that Hoosiers receive a high quality education will remain a priority of mine. However, I understand that there are many issues besides education that need to be addressed. As always, please contact me at h76@iga. in.gov or by phone at 1(800)-382-9841 if you have any questions or input. Rep. McNamara (R-Evansville) represents portions of Posey and Vanderburgh counties.
Letters to the Editor Time for investments in Indiana roads
Lincoln Logs Last week we were contemplating why tourists should visit Posey County, Indiana. I postulated that our unique history is our main attraction. By coincidence, my friend and Posey County historian, Jerry King, GAVEL published an excellent article GAMUT last week on some of Abraham Lincoln’s connections to BY JUDGE Posey County. JIM REDWINE Jerry and his wife, Marsha, give generously of their knowledge, time, labor and money to preserving Posey County history. They have built a Pioneer Village in Solitude on the banks of Big Creek, five miles north of Mount Vernon. Jerry studied log cabin building techniques and has recreated an entire settlement that includes a church, a general store, several other structures and even Abraham Lincoln’s law office. Jerry and Marsha open their village for free to children and adults for history lessons, church services, weddings and an occasional dinner. It has even served as a movie set. If you are a tourist searching for a Lincoln or Civil War era experience, you can find either or both in Posey County. As Jerry pointed out in his article, Lincoln visited our county several times and had numerous interpersonal connections to Posey County residents. A few things Jerry knew about Lincoln, the Civil War and Posey County, but did not have space to include are set forth below. For example, if you are looking for the site of a Civil War incursion into Indiana by Confederates, you can visit West Franklin on the banks of the Ohio River near the Vanderburgh County line. On November 8, 1862 Posey County was invaded by members of the Fourth Regiment of the Kentucky cavalry under the command of Col. E.G. Hall. The rebels kidnapped local physician William K. Harris and held him for one week in Kentucky. No blood was shed, but when the Southerners were captured by Union forces and turned over to Posey County authorities, the Circuit Court Judge, William F. Parrett, Jr., refused to
afford them prisoner of war status. Posey County furnished three generals to the Union during the Civil war. One of them, Alvin P. Hovey, went on to become governor of Indiana after the war. All three generals had direct connections to President Lincoln. Hovey and Lincoln read from the same law books furnished by Posey County Judge John Pitcher. General Thomas Pitcher, John’s son, lived close to Lincoln as a boy. General William Harrow rode the law circuit with Lincoln in Illinois before Harrow moved to Posey County. Harrow and Hovey married the James sisters from Mount Vernon. General Hovey served at Shiloh next to General Lew Wallace of Ben Hur fame. General Pitcher served as the Commandant of West Point after the war. Hovey was one of the heroes of the siege of Vicksburg. When Hovey was in the thick of the battle at Shiloh and had a moment to reflect he wrote: ‘The groans of the wounded and dying fell sadly on the stillness of that gloomy night. Friends and foes seem to be intermingled on one broad field of carnage ‌.’ Posey County had another close, but tragic connection to Abraham Lincoln through Union private John Ramsey, who was born and died in Posey County. During the War he was assigned to guard duty at Ford’s Theater during a play called Our American Cousin attended by President and Mrs. Lincoln. Ramsey helped carry the President from the theater across the street to the Peterson Boarding House. Lincoln’s blood soaked Ramsey’s uniform. This precious artifact was lost in a fire at the Ramsey home in Posey County. Perhaps it was Jerry’s article or perhaps because I am writing this on February 12, but Lincoln, the Civil War and Posey County seem right for tourists interested in history. If you visit us, you might experience the same feeling.
Ph. 812-682-3950 • PO Box 397 • New Harmony, IN 47631 Fx. 812-682-3944 • www.PoseyCountyNews.com
Every morning, in countless homes across Indiana, Hoosiers play out their usual routine. A daily commute, getting the kids to school, going to the store for groceries, or maybe heading to church may be your routine. But how many bad roads and bridges now stand in the way of your daily routine? Roads are littered with potholes. Many bridges are rated for such low weights that school buses and farm equipment can’t safely cross. Roads are being converted back to gravel from pavement. Why do the roads seem to be in worse shape than in the past? First, the network that we’ve relied upon for decades is falling apart. Much of Indiana’s transportation infrastructure was built in the 1950s and after a 50 to 60 year life span, is simply due to be replaced. Second, the user-fee system of road and bridge repair has not kept pace with ination or technology. Fuel efďŹ ciency in vehicles and ination has undermined the per-gallon fuel tax, and only one cent of the seven percent sales tax on gasoline is currently used to fund roads. The Association of Indiana Counties has long advocated for a long-term, sustainable solution to the ongoing shortfall in funding for maintenance of roads in our state. Nearly 90 percent of all roads miles in our state are maintained by local units of government, 70 percent of which are county roads. Our mem-
Fair elections under attack America, we have a problem. It’s happening again, just like in the 2014 elections. Headlines: ‘Iowa polls way off on Trump, suggesting soft support.’ ‘Cruz’s unexpected victory exposed weaknesses in Trump’s unorthodox, personality-driven bid for the White House.’ Wrong, Wrong. The news media, polls, pundits, columnists and Democrats of all people, seem oblivious as to what is really happening. Donald Trump was at the top of each of the last ten polls in Iowa and Trump is half right when he says Cruz stole the Iowa election. The Republican’s ‘gerrymandering scheme that was instituted in state’s controlled by Republican governors and legislatures,’ skews the results of elections and brought the election to Ted Cruz. How long is media going to ignore this simple truth? In the 2014 elections, all the polls, media and pundits weren’t wrong. The Republican gained control of the Senate and a greater majority in the House through gerrymandering voting districts (redrawing boundaries), around the country to favor Republican candidates. The 2014 election still has everybody scratching their heads as to how ‘do-nothing’ Republican obstructionists pulled off such a stunning upset. The common denominator and guilty party in the GOP gerrymandering scheme is easy to ďŹ gure out. ‘Almost every single’ Republican congressman and senator now, is a religious anti-abortionist, including Ted Cruz. It wasn’t always this way. After seven years of Republican obstructionism in the U.S. government, the GOP has still gained control of 900 state legislature seats, 12 governors, 69 House seats, and 13 Senate seats and control of Congress. That’s how sinister and effective their gerrymandering scheme has become. When is somebody going to do something about this political crime and does it come under Justice Department’s jurisdiction? If you think these power mad and desperate Republicans will change their ways you haven’t been following politics for the last 15 years. In their ignorance Republicans will destroy one of democracy’s basic tenets - fair elections - and not even realize what they are doing. Ron Lowe
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bers have heard clearly the demands of Hoosiers for safe and reliable roads and bridges. However, at current funding levels, maintenance and replacement of our vital infrastructure is falling behind. House Bill 1001, as it passed the Indiana House of Representatives, is the long-term and sustainable road funding legislation that the Association of Indiana Counties has long requested. Indexing per-gallon fuel and diesel taxes to current buying power and shifting a large part of the state sales tax on gasoline to transportation infrastructure is a responsible return to the user fee funding of roads and bridges. This funding, dedicated by law to being spent on transportation infrastructure costs, would allow counties to make thoughtful, sustained investment over time to improve the system as a whole. The time for investment in our roads is now. The sooner repairs are made, the cheaper they are. A study completed for the Brookings Institute determined that every $1 spent on preventive maintenance saves between $4 and $10 in future repairs. By investing in our infrastructure, there will be an easier road ahead for Hoosiers. Ryan Hoff Director of Government Relations and General Counsel, Association of Indiana Counties
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The Posey County News - USPS 439500 is published weekly for $39 in-state and $48 out-of-state by Pearmor Publishing LLC, PO Box 397, New Harmony, IN 47631. Periodicals postage paid at Mount Vernon, Indiana Editor: Dave Pearce Postmaster: Denise Howard Send address changes to: The Posey County News, PO Box 397, New Harmony, IN 47631