Recent editorials published in Indiana newspapers
The (Munster) Times. August 9, 2018
Time to drop beachfront lawsuit.
The beach belongs to the people.
It's the short answer, already provided by the Indiana Supreme Court, to anyone who would try to restrict public access to Lake Michigan waterfront contiguous with their properties.
Now in a misguided move, proponents of homeowners' rights trumping those of the public, the matter may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
It's a waste of everyone's time, particularly when considering the original homeowners who are pursuing the case, Bobbie and Don Gunderson, no longer reside in or own the Long Beach property that spurred the case to begin with.
It could be a long shot for the highest court in our nation even to accept the case. Nonetheless, it's time to end the pursuit.
And local authorities need to continue to send a strong message that the highest Hoosier court has ruled on the matter. Property owners attempting to impede access to nearby public beaches are breaking the law.
In February, the Indiana Supreme Court decisively ruled that the shoreline is owned by the state, held in trust for all Hoosiers. It specifically ruled that the property of lake-adjacent landowners ends where the soil becomes beach, also known as the ordinary high-water mark.
Yet, as detailed on today's Times front page, private Long Beach homeowners hired private security to restrict access to the beach Saturday.
The homeowners and contracted security attempted to push dozens of people off the public beach contiguous with the private property. The beachgoers had gathered for the annual Great Lakes Grand Prix boat race, which originates out of Michigan City.
Long Beach police had to be called in to set the property owners straight.
It shouldn't have come to that. The well-publicized ruling makes it clear, and property owners need to follow the law.
Meanwhile, the Gunderson case should be allowed to wash away with the waves.
It's time for the Region to move on from this issue.
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The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. August 10, 2018
Preoccupied
Hill's obsession with voting restrictions unseemly
Credible charges of inappropriate conduct should have prompted Curtis Hill to step down from office, but the Indiana attorney general is fighting on as an investigation into the allegations against him gets under way. Hoosiers, meanwhile, should take note of Hill's meddling in measures that restrict voters' rights.
The latest example is his challenge to a bipartisan agreement to establish early voting sites in Marion County. Hill filed a motion Tuesday arguing the consent decree was not unanimously approved by the county election board and is contrary to Indiana law and the public interest.
Secretary of State Connie Lawson - represented by the attorney general's office in the case - fired back: "As Indiana's Chief Election Officer, I oppose Attorney General Hill's intervention in the Marion County satellite voting case. I did not ask him to do this. He did not have the professional courtesy to provide me notice of his motion, even though I am named as a party in the suit."
Lawson went on to correct Hill'sassertion that the election board did not unanimously approve the consent decree.
"By his reckless action, the Attorney General has disrupted more than 18 months of productive, bipartisan conversations," Lawson said in a statement.
A federal judge agreed, promptly denying Hill's attempt to block the agreement.
Common Cause Indiana and theIndianapolis NAACP filed a lawsuit in May 2017, charging the Marion County Election Board suppressed the rights of minority voters by failing to provide adequate voting locations.
U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker in April issued a preliminary injunction ordering the county to open more early voting sites, and the consent decree agreed to by all parties was approved last month.
Hill filed a separate motion asking the federal court for a 30-day extension to file a notice of appeal in the case. The attorney general said he needed more time because he did not receive notice of the court's approval of the consent decree until July 11, a day after it was approved by a judge.
But Julia Vaughn, Common CauseIndiana's policy director, said the attorney general's office was notified of the July 3 approval at the same time as all other parties - one day after the groping allegations against Hill surfaced.
"They got the same notice as everybody else did," Vaughn told the Indianapolis Star. "Now, they may be distracted by other things going on in their office, but they got the same notice that was required by law and that everybody else got.
"The attorney general needs to butt out," Vaughn said. "He is not protecting the interest of Marion County voters, he's not protecting the interests of voters at large in our state, he is simply trying to act in a partisan way to satisfy a few hardcore partisans."
In April, Hill's office intervened in another election issue better left alone. The attorney general led an 11-state, all-GOP coalition in support of an Alabama state law requiring photo IDs from prospective voters, filing an amicus brief warning that overturning that law could create uncertainty about the validity of state photo-ID laws generally and discourage other states from enacting such measures.
As the brief itself states, Indiana's victory before the Supreme Court a decade ago in its own voter ID case makes the issue settled law. There is no reason for the attorney general to devote state time and resources to its further defense.
Fort Wayne attorney Dan Sigler was named as special prosecutor investigating the misconduct allegations against Hill. He will decide whether a criminal prosecution is warranted.
But regardless of the outcome of Sigler's inquiry, the attorney general's continuing preoccupation with measures restricting voter rights shouldn't be overlooked by voters themselves.____
Kokomo Tribune. August 8, 2018
Abuse must be stopped
Out of respect for some families, not talking about child abuse or neglect might seem like the right thing to do. Unfortunately, it clearly is not the right thing to do if a child is endangered. Neighbors, teachers, relatives and passers-by all have a stake in raising a child in a safe environment.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services back in February reported a spike in child abuse fatalities across the nation. "The bulk of the increase," reported WFIU-FM, "occurring in two states, Indiana and Texas, where child-welfare agencies have been in disarray."
According to HHS, 70 Hoosier children died from maltreatment in 2017, more than doubling the 34 deaths in 2016.
Indiana's Department of Child Services last summer reported almost 80 children died in fiscal year 2015. Almost 50 percent of the deaths were homicides and one-third of them were accidents.
For child advocates, that increase is not only alarming, it is simply unacceptable. The Department of Child Services reports poverty and drug use contributed to many of the child deaths in 2015. It was just three years ago then-Gov. Mike Pence said Indiana would hire more than 100 child abuse and neglect caseworkers.
But the job of improving Indiana's death rate in child abuse and neglect cases is just beginning, and Hoosiers should not have a false sense of security because more people have been hired. Socially, Hoosiers should promote child abuse prevention and dispel the myth that Indiana is a safe place to raise a child simply because of its geography. No place is safe when those who abuse or neglect children are not held accountable.
The culture of raising children has to be improved in Indiana. There should be more talk and action from everyday Hoosiers, Rachel Tobin-Smith, executive director Stop Child Abuse and Neglect, told us.
"Frankly, almost everyone has some involvement with children," she said. "We know that children who are seen regularly by caring adults such as teachers, day care providers, aunts, uncles, neighbors, home-based workers and nurses are less likely to be abused or neglected. We all can help protect our little ones."
It's been said it takes a village to raise a child. In Indiana's case, it will take a state government and residents committed to raising children in safer environments.
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The (Anderson) Herald Bulletin. August 8, 2018
Cadet programs need second layer of oversight.
Counselors. Coaches. Teachers. Mentors. Role models.
We depend on these folks to help teens develop into responsible citizens. And the vast majority of adults in leadership roles do just that. They nurture, guide, encourage and instruct.
Still, too often, we learn about adults who've leveraged their authority to sexually abuse children.
It usually starts with a tweet, an exchange of photos in a text or other communication via social media.
A June 9 incident in Ingalls involved Brian Cushman, who was recently indicted after an FBI investigation found he interacted with a 17-year-old girl, sharing sexual photographs on Snapchat and exchanging explicit text messages.
Cushman had been Ingalls' fire chief until he was fired after the June incident, when a 14-year-old girl was found unconscious on a sofa in his home and the 17-year-old was found in his driveway. Authorities allege they had been drinking alcohol at his home.
Cushman and the older girl had become acquainted through the fire department's cadet program.
Initiatives like the cadet program give teenagers a chance to serve the community while learning from local leaders. It's a great way to get high schoolers involved in helping others. However, an unscrupulous leader - combined with lack of oversight - can lead to an inappropriate and destructive relationship.
"The sexual victimization of a child is a heinous crime," said Doug Carter, Indiana State Police superintendent. "And in this particular case, it's even worse the crime is alleged to have been committed by a public safety official that we encourage our youth to seek out when they need help."
"This office will not tolerate the sexual abuse of our children by those who are supposed to lead our children from positions of trust," said Josh Minkler, U.S. attorney for the Southern District.
The father of the 17-year-old found his daughter, smelling of alcohol, in Cushman's driveway, according to the report. It's a good thing the man followed his sense that something wasn't right. If he hadn't discovered the girls, they might have been badly injured or exploited further.
In addition to parental involvement, another layer of oversight is needed to assure that adults working closely with cadets aren't taking advantage of them in any way.
With the rise of social media, everything has changed. So we have to change, too, to keep our community's children safe.
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