The North Vernon Plain Dealer from North Vernon, Indiana (2024)

February 12, 2015

Publication:

The North Vernon Plain Dealeri

Location:

North Vernon, Indiana

Issue Date:

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Page:

2

Extracted Article Text (OCR)

4 1 4 4 4 4 1 i 1 ''v I 2A The North Vernon Plain Dealer ebruary 12 2015 North Vernon Plain Dealer XgciAlX EDITORIAL PAGE BARBARA KING PUBLISHER BRYCE EDITOR I say is by way of discourse and nothing by way of advice I should not speak so loud ly if it were my due to be Michael DeMontaigne OUR OPINIONS YOUR I I The municipal election cycle has officially begun in North Vernon and voters in the city should pay close attention They will have plenty of choices to make at the polls first in May and then in November There is no shortage of quality candidates Thirteen individuals offi cially filed for the seven offices on the ballot Another candidate who acci dentally missed last noon fil ing deadline will be added to the mix too One of the most important deci sions voters will make is in selecting the new mayor Mayor Harold Campbell a Democrat and two term incumbent is not running for re elec tion Matt Hurley the current District 2 City Councilor on the Democratic side and Mike Ochs currently at large City Councilor oh the Republican side have thrown their hats into the ring for the chief executive job our years ago both were highly popular with the voters as Hurley gained more votes than anyone and Ochs ousted two term incumbent Pat York This mayoral race will be highly interesting and could be very very close There will be other potentially tight races to watch in the city too The campaign will start early since there is more than one Democratic Party candidate for clerk treasurer and the City District 1 seat That means there will be a Democratic Party primary on May 5 Interestingly two Democratic incumbents face challenges from with in their own party At clerk treasurer Shawn Gerkin who waged impressive campaigns in 2011 to upset Tony Eder in the Democratic primary and then bested Susan Taylor in the general election has his work cut out for him opponent in the primary is Vicki Webb daughter of the late Lulu Belle Webb who held the clerk name recognition alone Webb could be formidable Jn City Council District 1 four term incumbent David Shaw is no lock either ranny Hall Woodall is making a Democratic bid to take that seat Whoever prevails in the primary will then meet Jack Kelley the GOPs mayoral candidate four years ago in November which also should be a fas cinating battle Perhaps no race will be more interesting than the one for the City at large position ormer mayor and councilor Jerry Lamb iscarrying the Republican banner there while another former councilor Allane Colbert is the Democratic candidate Lamb lost four years ago in a squeak er to Connie Raybum in the District 3 race while Colbert just missed upset ting York for the at large nomination in the Democratic primary Both Lamb and Colbert are highly sea soned veterans who over the years have often proved popular at the polls so this match up could be a barnburner The aforementioned Raybum who just lost an exceptionally tight race for Jennings County Clerk that went into a recount will have no easy time this year either GOP candidate Baron Wilder a former mayor of Vernon is no political rookie In District 4 Republican incum bent Brian Hatfield who has held that seat eight of the last 12 years is as yet officially unopposed but the Democrats have a candidate they will add to the ballot in Bobby Stearns In District 2 Trent Wisner of the Democratic Party also as of yet has no GOP opposition but that can change if the Republicans select a candidate by the June 30 deadline The GOP could also pick a candidate to' run in the clerk race North Vernon voters have no excuse for not going to the polls this year They are plenty of strong candi dates on both sides of the ballot Pay attention NV voters Congressional Republicans not president making mess Dear Editor I have been watching and listening to the news on television and reading the news in newspapers The other day I heard a so called American man on television call our great president a What an ignorant and downright racist remark to make Let me say this My wife and I voted for Presi dent Obama twice and would do it again if the Constitution allowed him to run for more terms Mr Obama took office from a former president George Bush who total ly messed up everything How do you clean up a mess like that quickly? Now the Senate majori ty leader the House speak er and their Republican cohorts are making a mess yet again They con sider the prop sals no matter how good those ideas are Why not raise the pay of our workers? Why not make some public colleges free for low income people? Why not enact a tax hike on the wealthy? the well to do have tq pay their fair share of taxes too or should the working class and disabled citizens continue to be over burdened? The rich assisted by Republicans in Congress only worry about what they can steal from the people call a spade a spade with no candy coat ing The Republicans in Congress are out to rob the American people of all they can get up Mr McConnell and Mr Boehner Come clean and tell the truth William Sons Butlerville Dear Editor Re: 30 round Jan 29 I was bom into a gun family and a gun culture As a child anytime I was out doors I most always had a22 or a shotgun on my shoulder I would shoot invasive starlings or English spar rows before school and after school often prefer tak ing out a Win chester shotgun or rifle and actually put an effort into improving my skill rather than firing 10 times to bring down one bird I used guns that were over 50 years old and had wood furniture and blued barrels Today I find too much of an emphasis and excite ment regarding synthetic stocks magazine capacity and of course semi auto matics We used to take pride in marksmanship Now it seems like getting off 30 shots in under a minute to hit one target is satisfacto ry not much beauty in these guns nor is skill celebrated There seems to be a misguided interest in firearms especially amongst a lot of people in their 20s who intro duced to firearms by their parents guilty as a cul ture of failing to provide a decent foqndation to our youth in regards to firearms Some of us have led youth to believe that guns are evil and should never be touched or discussed Yet magically when that child turns 18 or 21 able to obtain a rifle or handgun regardless of their familiar Get it off ity with firearms We wind up with a lot of idiots with no sense of respect for firearms or the responsibility that comes with them This is no differ ent than turning a kid loose at college and suddenly allowing them unbridled access to alcohol Or never bothering to discuss sex education with teenagers Guns the prob lem Our society is for per petuating the delusion that all too idiotic to learn how to responsibly use a tool which is what a gun is A hammer can be used for destructive or constructive purposes but up to an adult to teach a child which use is appropriate If someone is deter mined to commit a crime find a tool to do it with Knives poisons pipe bombs or guns Bryce Jackson Osgood Misguided interest in guns office for 24 years With that kind of The art of compromise Halleluj ah Two opposing political factions found a way to work together in a big way recently It was just like in the good old days when compromise was the standard in Washington and Indianapolis a political strength not a political weakness as it is too often perceived of late With the state receiving fed eral approval for Healthy Indiana Plan 20 an estimated 400000 additional low income Hoosiers will soon be eligible for Medicaid While this is in essence an expansion of Medicaid Gov Mike Pence uses other words He calls it a reform of Medicaid Others such as State Rep Terry Gooden (D Austin) who formerly represent ed part of Jennings County claims the move shows that Pence is embracing Obamacare a word that some opposed to this measure call the Affordable Care Act Much of that political dis course has to do with as is often the case the parsing of words While more Hoosiers will be able to gain health insurance that afford it before HIP 20 requires more personal responsi bility than traditional Medicaid Participants will have to con tribute to the cost of their care though at only $1 to $27 a month to get the full benefits HIP is modeled after high deductible insurance plans with health savings accounts that the Pence administration says give consumers an incentive to make smarter health choices for instance going to a office or immediate care center instead of the emergency room Those who cannot make the monthly contributions will be put into a plan with fewer benefits and requires copayments for care The new HIP 20 is not perfect Critics say it creates an unnecessarily complicated bureaucratic maze for low income people to navigate Nevertheless it is an extension of coverage to poor people who had no health insurance before By any gauge that is good even if some con servative groups oppose the expansion of Medicaid in any form It is equally good and nearly as noteworthy how this develop ment shows that the art of the compromise has not been totally forgotten The people of Indiana and America should hope that polarizing issues are handled this way more often in the future just like they were in the good old days Kisses and hisses ISSES and a fond A farewell to Genevieve Curry who died eb 4 at the age of 94 One of North former first ladies she was a great one KISSES to the student kthletes who brought home a wrestling regional championship for Jennings County High School the first for the team since 1976 Good luck at the semi state Coach Howard Jones and boys Go Panthers! HISSES to the most unfor tunate circ*mstances leading to the fire that gutted the mobile home of Sharon Herr and Larry Shinolt last month Kisses to the many who have donated to help the mother and son A benefit auction will be held at 5:30 pm riday eb 13 at Scipio Auction Bam KISSES to Jeff Daniels and his band for the most excellent concert at the Park Theatre Civic Centre two weeks ago It was splendid big time entertainment right in the heart of little North Vernon HISSES to the battering that the Northeast is taking repeatedly from Old Man Winter KISSES to the rebound from midweek snow and cold to a very warm weekend in the Jennings County area warm enough to even do some yard work HISSES to the resurgence of measles cases in America because ill informed parents getting their children vac cinated KISSES and a fond farewell to Billy Casper who died Saturday at the age of 83 Hewas a great golfer on the PGA Tour a master with the flatstick your chest Want to' voice your opinion on an important issue? Write a letter to the edi tor or submit a or Web poll questions are also considered from our readers Simply write the editor at Plain Dealer 528 Ave PO Box 988 North Vernon IN 47265 or email bmayernorthver noncom Jess Wundren Dear Editor We need to stop judging people just based on the way they look or dress I mean how comepeople keep asking me for my cell number when I ever even been arrested? Jess Wundren Upcoming government meetings Thursday eb 12 Jennings County Com missioners 6:30 pm Jen nings County Government Center 200 Brown St? Vernon Hayden Wastewater Util ity Board 6 pm' Hayden i Historical Museum 6715 Wa CR 20S Hayden Tuesday eb 17 Jennings1 County School Corp special meeting on strategic plan report 7 pm library Jennings County High School 800 Walnut St North Vernon Thursday eb 19 Jennings County Animal Control Board 6:30 pm Jennings County Public Lib rary 2375 Highway 3 North Vernon Southeastern Indiana Re cycling District pm? Ripley County Annex: Building Versailles North Vernon Plain Dealer SIXTED WITH SOYINK Established 1862 (812) 346 3973 ax: (812) 346 8368 mail: pdsnorthvemoncom Web address: plaindealer suncom Barbara Publisher Bryce Editor NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION Staff: Sharon Hamilton sports editor Donna Skelton Tracy Eder front office Linda Spaulding accounting Janet McIntosh advertising director Marge Hueseman website editor and composition department Briana Barger website and composition department JC Porter pressman Mary Porter Wesley Bear Jane Trapp distribution department Morgan Webster editorial intern The publisher the North Vernon Plain Dealer reserves the' right to accept or reject all material presented for publication as news opinions letters to the editor or advertisem*nts Statements in editorial opinions columns and letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of The North Vernon Plain Dealer and should be attributable to the writer News stories are not the opinions of the writ ers or management Copyright 2015 North Vernon Plain Dealer and Sun Inc Entered as periodical mail at the North Vernon Ind Post Office i North Vernon Plain Dealer.

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