Recent editorials published in Indiana newspapers

The (Bloomington) Herald-Times. September 9, 2016

Heed police warning, keep yourself safe.

Bloomington police don't raise a public alarm very often; so when they do, it's best to pay attention.

Police issued a warning Thursday after four separate incidents this week on the city's southeast side in which women were confronted by a masked intruder in their homes. In one instance, police said a woman was told to remove her clothing or be killed. She screamed and fought back as he attempted to remove her clothing, and the suspect fled. In another case, police said a woman awoke to find a masked man touching her leg; that intruder also fled when she pulled off his mask.

Investigators believe all the incidents are connected. Besides a consistent description - a white man in his mid- to late-30s, approximately 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 1 inch tall with a thin build - there was this troubling similarity: In each case, a woman was asleep in a home with unlocked doors.

We'd all like to think we live in a community where we can sleep with the doors unlocked and windows open, but that is neither prudent nor safe. All of the incidents happened in the early morning, between 2 and 6 a.m., hours when people are most vulnerable as they sleep.

BPD officers are actively investigating these cases, and we hope for a speedy resolution before such incidents become even more serious and threatening.

In the meantime, we encourage Bloomington residents, particularly those on the southeast side, to heed the police's advice: Lock your doors and windows, leave exterior lights on at night, keep blinds and curtains closed and call 911 about any suspicious activity in the neighborhood.

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The Munster Times. September 7, 2016

Lake County officials' pay hike proposals show greed.

It's hard to take issue with pay increases for government workers that keep pace with inflation or costs of living.

But what seven of Lake County government's top elected leaders are proposing smacks of greed.

Those seven leaders are proposing 2017 pay hikes for themselves of between 11 percent and 16 percent.

Meanwhile, most of the county's full-time employees are seeing a 3 percent pay bump - a figure much more easy for taxpayers to stomach.

The Lake County Council, whose seven members have the final say on county government salaries, need to nip this one in the bud.

Seeking 11 percent pay hikes are Lake County Auditor John Petalas, Treasurer Peggy Katona, Recorder Mike Brown, Surveyor Bill Emerson Jr. and county Commissioners Mike Repay and Kyle Allen.

Their proposals would boost their annual pay from $56,050 to $62,500 each.

Lake County Assessor Jerome Prince seeks a whopping 16 percent pay raise, from $56,050 to $65,000 in base salary.

The officials, who range from relative political newcomers to perennial incumbents, argue they're entitled to such pay hikes because of the service they provide taxpayers.

But most of those taxpayers won't be seeing such exorbitant pay hikes. Many are lucky to see pay increases based on minimum increases in the cost of living.

The rate of U.S. inflation stands at just under 1 percent, making the pay hikes the seven county officials are seeking proportionately off the charts.

Some of the county's top elected officials are setting a much more reasonable example.

Lake County Commissioner Gerry Scheub, Sheriff John Buncich and Coroner Merrilee Frey all seek 3 percent raises that keep pace with what has been approved for other full-time county government workers.

Let's hope that same logic is applied on the County Council's cutting-room floor.

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The South Bend Tribune. September 7, 2016

Helping flood victims rebuild their lives.

As shock turned to anger for area homeowners and business owners following historic rains over two days last month, some much needed help is finally being made available.

Gov. Mike Pence announced last week the availability of low-interest disaster loans for St. Joseph, LaPorte, Starke, Marshall and Elkhart counties. The loans also will be available to two Michigan counties contiguous to St. Joseph County - Berrien and Cass.

The loans come through the U.S. Small Business Administration and are open to residents, businesses and nonprofit organizations. Businesses and nonprofits may borrow up to $2 million and residents may borrow up to $200,000 to repair or replace real estate or personal property, including vehicles. Property owners who don't qualify for the loan program may apply for a $5,000 grant from the state, which administers a Disaster Relief Fund.

Inspectors needed to identify 25 homes or businesses with at least 40 percent uninsured property damage to begin offering the loans. That is a threshold that was easily met, according to South Bend officials.

But it's not just homeowners and small businesses that are eligible for assistance. Small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses involved in aquaculture and most private nonprofits also may apply for economic injury loan assistance, even though the business may not have suffered any physical property damage.

Local officials were originally hoping for disaster aid, which could have meant federal grants to help with cleanup and repairs. The low-interest loans will instead mean, yes, repayments, and the money available won't be enough to repair or replace everything lost during the record-setting storm. But hopefully it can help people begin to get their lives back in order.

The key now is for the loan process to be smooth, efficient and fair. That can sometimes be a tall order, especially with federal programs. But for residents and business owners trying to rebuild their lives, this is perhaps a step away from frustration and a step toward hope.

For more information about the loan program, go to www.sba.gov/disaster.

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The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. September 8, 2016

Treatment less often option for rural drug offenders.

What recently brought a reporter from the New York Times to Lawrenceburg, an Indiana town of 5,042 souls on the Ohio River just west of Cincinnati? To write a feature on the charms of life in small-town America, or to cover a summer river festival, perhaps? Or maybe to see how the Hollywood riverboat casino is doing these days?

Nothing quite so prosaic, unfortunately.

The New York Times used Lawrenceburg as an example of how small towns and suburban areas across America are bucking a promising trend. As crime has continued to drop nationwide, most states, including Indiana, have moved to ease prison populations by reducing incarceration for nonviolent crimes. Large cities with the resources to provide drug treatment and rehabilitation have been channeling drug users into those programs instead of toward prison. Annual prison admissions from Indianapolis, for instance, dropped 36 percent in 2014, the Times reported.

As a result, the nation's prison population has dropped for the first time since the 1970s; the number of black and Hispanic prisoners has fallen even faster than the general decline. The strategy is not only more humane but far more cost effective. In Indiana, lawmakers have so far been able to put off spending another $50 million to build new prison cells.

But, the newspaper reports, "large parts of rural and suburban America - overwhelmed by the heroin epidemic and concerned about the safety of diverting people from prison - have gone the opposite direction." People in counties of 100,000 or fewer "are about 50 percent more likely to go to prison than people in populous counties."

A New York Times analysis found one of the highest rates of imprisonment in the country is in Dearborn County, where Lawrenceburg is the county seat and the largest community.

In 2014, the mostly white county of 49,904 "sentenced more people to prison than San Francisco or Westchester County, N.Y., which each have at least 13 times as many people," the newspaper reported.

In fact, Lawrenceburg is not a particularly dangerous place. The biggest crime problem there, as it is in so many communities, is heroin. Prosecutor Aaron Negangard admits he's aggressive about pursuing drug crimes. Police in Cincinnati have been known to steer drug cases to Dearborn, where those convicted will receive much stiffer sentences than they would just 20 miles upriver, Negangard told the newspaper.

"I am proud of the fact that we send more people to jail than other counties," he said. But the prosecutor also acknowledged he wished his county had more resources for helping people with addiction problems.

The New York Times report is in line with other concerns about the future of Indiana's rural counties, many of which are losing population and thus seeing reduced resources to cope with sometimes-overwhelming drug problems. As The Journal Gazette's Ron Shawgo reported earlier this year, many counties in northeast Indiana have jail populations above the national average, and the jailing of women is far above the national norm.

For many smaller counties, it may still be easier to lock people up than get them alternative help that might in the long run be cheaper and more effective.

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