Recent editorials published in Indiana newspapers
The (Munster) Times. December 29, 2016
Safe communities make Region stronger.
It's easy to dwell on the negatives of our Region. Human nature makes it inevitable.
But a recent report out of Porter County reminds us of one of many positive aspects Northwest Indiana offers to the greater Chicago area: relatively safe sanctuary for residents.
Porter County is on track to end 2016 with zero homicides classified as murders.
For the folks who live in Northwest Indiana, that may not be all that surprising, but it's something to celebrate nonetheless.
An entire county free of slayings for a whole year is a sharp contrast to many of Porter's neighboring realities.
We're all familiar with the constant news reports of Chicago homicides. Multiple cases every week - sometimes every day - fill news reports flowing from the Second City.
Lake County also has its struggles. Though plenty of communities in that county remain just as safe as Porter, Lake County reported at least 72 homicides in 2016 as of early this week.
Lake County Coroner Merrilee Frey noted the numbers may change as final counts are ongoing.
Eight of those Lake County cases resulted from Illinois violent crime victims dying in Indiana, and it was unclear Wednesday how many of the remaining 64 cases were charged or investigated as actual murders.
Our Region and its neighbors must continue to deal with the social ills that lead to violent crime and murder.
But the absence of slayings in Porter County as the year draws to a close is a positive attribute our Region shouldn't overlook.
Areas with low crime rates offer a more attractive alternative to residents and potential commuters - and thus opportunity for growing tax bases.
More importantly, such communities provide a measure of Region pride.
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The Herald Times. December 29, 2016
Dual-credit delay helps teachers and students
Indiana teachers have received a wise reprieve from new academic requirements that would have threatened their ability to teach dual-credit classes.
The Higher Learning Commission - the regional accrediting agency for Indiana and 18 other states - had previously said high school teachers would need to hold a master's degree and 18 hours of master's credit in the subject they planned to teach, instead of just a master's degree, by September 2017. That requirement has been pushed back to 2022, which will give more than 2,000 teachers time to go back to school in order to keep the dual-credit opportunities available at their current level.
The 2017 deadline would have reduced dual-credit options and forced many students to take courses on university campuses that they could have completed in high school. That would have slowed down and added expense to completing their degrees on time.
The extra time will help move toward rigor in all classrooms while not hampering students who want to get an early jump on higher education.
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The Journal Gazette. December 30, 2016
Pence at his best
We frequently disagreed with Gov. Mike Pence's policies, but never his demeanor. He practices the art of political and personal civility, and he generally promotes basic American values. Anyone who dismisses these virtues as trivial has not followed the downhill trajectory of national public discourse.
As Pence prepares to ascend for the vice presidency next month, it may be instructive to ponder the strengths and weaknesses of his style as governor.
Pence's precise role in the Donald Trump administration has been the subject of wide speculation.
After a shaky start for the incoming administration's transition team, Pence took over and quickly got the process on track. Some saw that as a sign the vice president-elect would have outsized influence on all areas of policy in the Trump White House.
But the nonpartisan RealClearPolitics.com wrote this week that "Pence's style has so far suggested a quieter, less influential approach." Pence's role may more closely resemble Joe Biden's "loyal foot soldier" manner than the more powerful vice presidency of Dick Cheney, whose approach to the office Pence has said he would like to emulate, the website reported.
As governor, Pence has seemed most effective when he has drawn on his skills as a problem-solver and suggested new approaches. His Regional Cities plan, for instance, was a creative answer to the need for Indiana to help struggling rural counties share in economic development. He persuaded a reluctant legislature to approve $42 million grants to three regions, including northeast Indiana, by funding the program through a tax amnesty collection.
His response to the state's opioid crisis was a triumph of practicality over ideology. He created a task force that included a wide range of decision-makers and implemented their recommendations quickly. He overcame his long aversion to needle-exchange programs when an HIV epidemic threatened to overwhelm Scott County.
Pence was at his best when he fashioned a conservative alternative to the Medicaid-expansion provision of the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare remains anathema to Pence. But without Pence's willingness to look for a workable solution, hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers would have been left without access to medical insurance.
There was another thread that Pence's approach to these issues had in common - sensitivity to the human needs that must underlie policy decisions.
Gov. Pence was at his least effective when he ignored that sensitivity and allowed ideology to dictate his decisions. His efforts to promote Indiana and attract business to the state, for instance, were undercut by his support for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, widely viewed as condoning discrimination against gays. The 2015 law triggered widespread outrage and forced the legislature to draft a quick "fix."
Another bad move was Pence's last-minute decision in 2014 to cancel an application for up to $80 million in federal funds to help develop preschool programs because he feared the money would come with too many "strings." Lots of young Hoosiers would have gotten a better start in life if Indiana had that money.
And there were his all-too-frequent efforts to pick costly symbolic battles the state had little chance of winning. Examples included a decision to block Syrian refugees from receiving aid while settling in Indiana, an order that was overturned by a federal appeals court, and his support this year for an abortion-restrictions bill that has been put on hold by a federal district judge.
Pence could become just another ideological voice in the Trump administration. But Pence at his best could attempt to bring a blend of caring, civility and pragmatism to Trump-era policies.
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Kokomo Tribune. December 30, 2016
YMCA still needs us
With 12 giant scissors, community leaders and YMCA representatives cut the ribbon on downtown Kokomo's largest attraction March 2: the Delmar E. Demaree Family YMCA.
The 83,000-square-foot facility is the culmination of more than 30 years of on again, off again discussions and planning to replace the 105-year-old building next door.
"Just a couple of years ago, this site was a blighted, underused city block," Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight said. "It is now a hub of activity, quality of life and an economic driver for our community."
Walk inside and you'll find a 172,000-gallon lap pool with eight swimming lanes, two basketball courts, 20 spin bikes, 47 strength-training machines and 42 pieces of cardio equipment.
But the Delmar E. Demaree Family YMCA is much more than a place to get fit. It offers child care and summer camps. It operates a mentoring program and gives the homeless a place to shower. It is a place to get CPR training.
"It's our hope and our commitment that for the next 100 years in this facility ... all of us who are in here, be it staff, volunteers, community members, have that opportunity every single day to encourage somebody, to lift somebody up, to help somebody understand that they can be what they want to be, despite what they may hear elsewhere," the Y's executive director, Dave Dubois, said at the facility's ribbon-cutting.
Now that it's open to serve the needs of our community, it might be easy to be lulled into thinking the fundraising campaign is done, but it's not. The YMCA is still a bit short of its $16 million fundraising goal. The city helped the YMCA finance the project, but that money must be repaid.
The new YMCA is a cornerstone of all the development and momentum in our downtown. It is an indication of how far we've come as a community since the devastation of the Great Recession. It is symbolic of how Kokomo is reinventing itself, but it also represents our ability to do for ourselves what needs to be done.
Let's finish what we've started by finishing the YMCA's capital campaign. You can make a donation online at KokomoYMCA.org by clicking the "donate" tab.
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