Recent editorials published in Indiana newspapers

The (Munster) Times. July 25, 2019

Keep your wits when venturing into the lake

Don't let the beauty of one of our Region's best assets fool you.

The cool and picturesque allure of Lake Michigan on so many hot summer days shouldn't dull our senses to the real dangers of wading into rough surf.

Updated statistics from the Great Lake Surf Rescue Project note 22 people have drowned in Lake Michigan so far in 2019. At least five of those lives were lost along the Northwest Indiana portion of the shoreline.

The deadly reality lurking within Lake Michigan waters should be no secret.

Red warning flags often warn of rough waves and a current that packs just as much deadly punch as most oceans can muster.

Yet year after year, we report in the pages of our newspaper and website the fatal results of people jumping in the lake when posted warnings are telling them not to.

In 2018, six people drowned off the Region's Lake Michigan shoreline, so we've nearly matched last year's total in 2019.

And there's still a big portion of the summer beach season left.

Please ensure the rest of that season is marked by a beach-going population that has learned from past tragedies.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's website is a great place to search for tips to survive rip currents.

Exercise care when visiting the shoreline. Check for warning flags and go online to check for weather advisories for your beach of choice before wading into danger.

Be sure you talk to your children or other inexperienced swimmers in your family about not panicking if being carried by a strong current. Just stay calm and float until help can arrive - or the current subsides.

Your chances for survival increase if you keep your cool and your wits. Rip currents don't drag you under - they pull you away from shore.

But mix the currents with panic, and they become potentially lethal.

If you can, swim parallel to the shoreline until a strong current subsides. Then head into shore. Swimming against the current wears down the human body and hastens potential drowning.

Swimming lessons at the local YMCA or other service - well before children are allowed to venture into the lake - are among the best preventative tools.

There is still so much to enjoy about our shoreline, even on days of dangerous current, without going into the water.

Personal responsibility and caution are the only real means of curbing the dubious deadly statistics we see all-too often on our Lake Michigan shoreline.

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The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. July 26, 2019

Summer stock

For food bank, it's always a season of need

"Hunger doesn't take a holiday," said Carmen Cumberland, executive president of the Community Harvest regional food bank.

Nor does it diminish during the summer. "The need stays pretty constant," said Cumberland, whose organization distributed 13.2 million pounds of food in Allen and eight other northeastern Indiana counties last year. But, she said in an interview Thursday, "summertime focus is on kids who are out of school, who usually receive free and reduced breakfasts and lunches."

As one of the organizations seeking to fill that gap, Community Harvest serves hot meals to children at risk at sites called Kids Cafes. This summer, the cafes are at the Euell Wilson Center in Fort Wayne and the YMCA Caylor Nickel Foundation in Bluffton. The food bank's Kid BackPack program also distributes packages of child-friendly breakfasts, lunches and dinners for weekends year-round, and the organization has after-school food programs during the school year.

One in eight children in northeast Indiana is food-insecure, Cumberland said. "That means they don't know where they're getting their next meal from." The low-unemployment economy has reduced that number: last year, it was one in six kids. That still represents thousands of children in our region whose parents may be holding down one or more jobs but still need help keeping the kitchen shelves stocked.

Community Harvest got some good news this week. IndianaLt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced that $300,000 in funds authorized by this year's legislature will be distributed among 11 Indiana food banks; $30,180 of that will go to Community Harvest. "We'll use it to purchase fresh produce from local farmers," Cumberland said.

State dollars that flow to northeast Indiana for food programs stay in northeast Indiana, she emphasized: "It's always 'buy local.' " But only about 10% of the food bank's funding comes from government, Cumberland said; the other 90% comes from local people and organizations.

That support rises in the fall in anticipation of the holidays and the coming of winter and remains strong through February. But donations and crucial volunteer hours drop during the summer months, when people are pursuing vacation plans.

From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. every Saturday, Community Harvest distributes about 40,000 pounds of food to as many as 700 families at its center on Tillman Road. The operation requires 45 to 50 workers and, during the summer, "we're desperately in need of volunteers," Cumberland said. The food bank also seeks volunteers for a variety of other jobs throughout the week.

Monetary donations are always a smart choice for people who want to help. "We buy in bulk and we get really reduced rates," she said. "Every dollar we receive, we can turn that into four meals."

Of course, food donations are always helpful, too. "We need things that are high in protein - peanut butter, canned meats - you can never get enough of that," Cumberland said.

"We just take what we can get and make it work for everyone," she said. But when supplies are low and the organization puts out a call for help, the Fort Wayne area responds. Cumberland said a request for help she sent out recently brought in a quick $10,000 and 5,000 pounds of food. "People are amazing," she said. "They just kick in and make it happen."

You could be one of them.

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South Bend Tribune. July 26, 2019

St. Joseph County Public Library uses technology to make real world connections

Libraries have always been a place to connect with the world through books.

But through technology, they offer patrons even more ways to make connections both large and small.

Consider the St. Joseph County Public Library's Studio 304, the digital media laboratory located downtown.

The lab offers technology - and also will offer training - to patrons to record and edit music, photos and video, to create digital scrapbooks and develop podcasts.

"There are a lot of patrons that use it and it's one very valuable resource in our community," said Jennifer Henecke, communications specialist for the library. "It would be great if more people knew about it."

And although the studio serves to bring out the artistic talents of those who use it, there's also a practical, real-world use for the technology.

If you want an example, just read Melanie Smith-Guillaume's Viewpoint that appeared on these pages Wednesday.

With the help of Studio 304 staff and its technology, she was able to transfer decades-old family images onto a flash drive that she used on her computer to show her brother, who is battling memory loss.

As Smith-Guillaume explained, "the images helped pierce the fog of age-related memory loss" and helped lead to a connection between her and her brother.

The St. Joseph County Public Library has been one of this area's true gems. Its leaders have been forward-thinking and provided the public with a sea of varied resources that is deep and broad. Studio 304 in one of those important resources.

"Libraries are a place where you can always come and encounter new technologies," Henecke said.

Oftentimes people don't see the real-life impact their tax dollars have on a community. But what better example is there then Smith-Guillaume's story of helping to connect family members through the use of taxpayer-funded technology.

Beginning in November, the downtown library will begin a $36 million to $38 million renovation project that will be funded with a mix of private and public money. The project is expected to take as long as two years.

During that time, Studio 304 and other library offerings will be relocated to the former Brown Middle School, at 737 Beale St. on the city's northwest side.

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