Millions of Americans will be traveling over this Christmas and New Year’s Holiday period, with the majority traveling by automobile. What this means for Hoosiers is more traffic on Indiana’s roadways. To help ensure the safety of all motorists, the Indiana State Police will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E., or Combined Accident Reduction Effort, from December 22nd through January 2^nd.

Operation C.A.R.E. is a federally funded program that allows additional troopers to patrol Hoosier roadways looking for drivers that are driving aggressively or impaired. Please help do your part to make this Christmas-New Year’s Holiday travel period safe by observing the following safety rules:

• When planning to travel, make sure you are well rested, as a fatigued driver is a dangerous driver
• Increase your following distance; remember the two-second rule
• Watch for slowed or stopped traffic when approaching construction zones or crash sites
• Leave a car length between you and the vehicle in front of you in stopped traffic. Watch approaching traffic in your mirror and be prepared to take evasive action
• Decrease your speed according to traffic and road conditions
• Beware of bridges, overpasses and intersections where ice tends to form first during cold inclement weather
• Make sure everyone in your vehicle is properly restrained, including making sure Child Safety Seats are properly anchored and that children stay securely fastened in them
• DON’T BE DISTRACTED-Pull over and stop to use electronic devices
• DON’T DRIVE IMPAIRED-Have a designated driver or use a ride sharing service
• MOVE OVER and SLOW DOWN for emergency and highway service vehicles
• Don’t “hang out” in the left lane.  Always drive in the right lane except to pass a slower moving vehicle

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, safety belt use is the most effective strategy a person can employ to prevent death and minimize injury resulting from traffic collisions. Motorists are encouraged to report aggressive or suspected impaired drivers by calling 911.  Give a vehicle description, location, and direction of travel.

It’s that time of year again – coyotes are on the move, and Indiana residents might see them more, but this should not be a cause for alarm.

Coyotes are common everywhere in the state, even in urban areas. Coyotes become more active during winter, and the bare vegetation this time of year increases the chance of catching a glimpse. Young coyotes leave their parents to find a new home, making them more likely to be seen during winter. And in January, coyotes will be looking to breed, making them even more active. Seeing more coyotes does not mean they are increasing in number.

Where people are, coyotes follow. Coyotes like to eat animals and plants that thrive around yards and homes, including rabbits, mice, fruit and squirrels. They thrive around people because of the abundant food that comes with human development.

Coyotes are a common member of Indiana’s urban wildlife community, as are raccoons, red foxes, and opossums. Coyotes are also an important member of Indiana’s wildlife community, helping control rodent populations and cleaning up carrion.

Coyotes typically weigh between 20-30 pounds and are similar in height to a German Shepherd. Winter fur, which is thicker, makes coyotes appear bigger than they actually are, potentially causing concern.

To reduce the possibility of pets having a negative interaction with coyotes or any other wildlife, keep pets leashed, in a kennel with a secure top, or indoors.

Problems between coyotes and people are uncommon. Follow these tips for making your property less attractive to coyotes:

– Clean up fallen fruit from trees or gardens.
– Keep garbage secure.
– Make sure pet food and treats are not left outside.
– If you see a coyote around your yard, take down birdfeeders; coyotes could be attracted to the rodents eating the seeds.
– Never intentionally feed a coyote, which could result in its losing its fear of people.

Making a coyote feel unwelcome around people can help maintain its natural fear of humans, but never corner or chase a coyote – you should always allow it to have a clear escape path to get away from you.

If you see a coyote and want it to go away, try to make it uncomfortable:

– Yell.
– Wave your arms.
– Spray it with a hose.
– Throw tennis balls or small stones at it, but don’t throw anything that could be food, like apples.
– Carry a jar of coins to shake or a small air horn to make noise.

Learn more about coyotes at wildlife.IN.gov/5688.htm.

  On December the 21^st. around 3:00pm officers were sent to 2516 Sterling Dr. to check the welfare of a man who was threatening suicide.   The responding officers were given information that 57 year old Brian Lee Mullen, was in an apartment and was threatening to shoot himself in the head with a gun that he had in his possession.  When the officers arrived to check on Mullen, he pointed a handgun at them.  The officers repeatedly told Mullen to drop the weapon, and one of the officers fired when Mullen refused to do so.  

In 2005, Mullen was arrested for domestic battery and attempted to grab a Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Deputy’s gun at that time.  

The two initial responding officers were placed on 3 days administrative duty per our normal department protocol.  The initial investigation indicates clearly that all officers responded appropriately to the call.  

A press conference will be held at Police Headquarters (Chief’s Complex) at 2:00 P.M.  

Sunday December 22^nd, the Indiana State Police investigated a single vehicle personal injury automobile crash on I-69 at the 323mm near Auburn, DeKalb County. According to investigators all three occupants were transported to the Parkview Hospital (North Campus) with non-life threatening injuries. Passenger restraint usage and airbag deployment was identified as having prevented a much more severe outcome.

At approximately 1:55pm, Trooper James Bailey responded to investigate the reported single vehicle crash. Bailey’s initial investigation revealed that a 2012 Nissan Rogue passenger car had been traveling southbound on I-69 323mm in the passing lane.  For an unknown reason, the Nissan Rouge left the roadway into the center grass median and the driver overcorrected, sending the vehicle across both southbound lanes of travel and into the west ditch.  The Nissan then struck two trees on the passenger side prior to coming to rest. The driver, 60yr old Anne Reitz of Angola and her two adult passengers were all wearing their seatbelts at the time, and all air bag systems deployed during the crash. Bailey stated that, as testament to proper restraint usage and airbag technology, all three occupants were very fortunate. All three were transported by DeKalb County EMS with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries.

This crash comes at time during this busy holiday travel period where the Indiana State Police would remind all motorists to buckle up, slow down, and don’t drive distracted. Every driver needs to do their part to ensure safe holiday travels for all motorists on Indiana roadways.  In an effort to intercept dangerous and impaired driving behaviors, Troopers from the Fort Wayne Post will be out in full force now through January 2nd as part of Operation CARE, aggressively patrolling to keep our roadways safe.

Trooper Bailey was assisted at the scene by Master Trooper Chris Levitt, the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department, Auburn Fire Department, DeKalb County EMS, and Parker’s Wrecker service.

An autopsy was completed on the person involved in the police action shooting, Brian Mullen. It was determined that he died from 2  gunshot wounds. The Evansville Police Department can update on the progress of their investigation.

Philip Burke, the victim from Saturday’s plane crash suffered multiple blunt force trauma.  The investigation is ongoing and the Sheriff’s Office along with the FAA/NTSB is continuing their investigation..

The Two Holidays Are Central to Understanding America

By Richard Moss, MD

Chanukah, the festival of lights, is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the victory of the Maccabees (or Hasmoneans) over the powerful armies of the Seleucid (Greek) Empire under King Antiochus IV. King Antiochus, in 167 BC, in a show of force, forbade important Jewish observances such as keeping the Sabbath and circumcision and dedicated the ancient temple in Jerusalem to Zeus.  In the town of Modi’in, Antiochus’ soldiers forced a village elder named Matityahu to sacrifice a pig before a pagan altar.  Matityahu refused. When another Jew complied, he killed him and another Greek official.  This sparked a three-year rebellion against the Greeks and their Jewish allies, some of whom accepted Greek or Hellenic culture.  Matityahu and his sons, the Maccabees, fought to maintain the ancient ways of the covenant.  At first, the Maccabees and their motley fighters employed guerilla tactics but eventually formed regular forces and routed the Greeks.  In 164 BC, the Maccabees entered Jerusalem and rededicated the temple, removing pagan influences, thus the name “Chanukah” or rededication.  

It was a most unlikely victory. But because of it Judaism survived. Without this victory, history would have been profoundly altered.  In the absence of Judaism, Christianity, which followed more than a century later, would never have emerged.

Chanukah is a victory of religious liberty, of the weak over the strong, of righteousness over tyranny, of light over darkness, a miracle.  But there was another miracle.  Jewish tradition holds that when it was time to light the Menorah in the Temple, there was only enough pure oil for a single day, but it lasted eight days after which it was replenished.  And the men that had been soldiers and were now priests and scribes knew that their victory over the mighty Greek army was not just by force of arms but through divine providence. That God walked among the defenders of Judaism.  

After the Greeks fell away, there was a brief interlude of Jewish independence in Israel but then the Romans conquered the Holy Land in 63 BC (Pompey).  Life under Roman rule was difficult and there was another rebe7llion in 70 AD.  General Vespasian destroyed the Jewish kingdom and King David’s ancient capital fell for a second time.  Many Jews died or were enslaved.  There rose again a savior in 135 AD, Bar Kochba, but in the end, his rebellion too crumbled before Rome’s might (Emperor Hadrian). Jerusalem and the Temple were plowed under with salt and hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered.  Jerusalem was resettled.  Rome renamed Israel, Palestina, reaching back to Israel’s ancient foes the Philistines to conceal its Jewish past.  The exiles went forth as slaves and rootless wanderers.  And the long night began. 

But the Chanukah flame continued to burn in the hearts of the Jewish people who dreamed of returning to Israel and Jerusalem.  For 2,000 years it burned in villages and cities across the seas and the continents.  And the exiles returned to reclaim their patrimony.  In 1948, out of the ashes of the Holocaust, the modern state of Israel was born, its fledgling forces defeating the five Arab armies that attacked it at the moment of its birth with the intent of annihilation, another miracle.  And so the Chanukah lights continued to burn in Israel, sometimes flickering but still illuminating, nearly 70 years later.  

With Christmas upon us, there is also a light that burns for Christians, under assault in the West by the secular left and around the globe especially within the Muslim world.  It is symbolic that in the darkest time of the year, Christian teaching tells that the logos or the word was made flesh in the form of a newborn baby, the baby Jesus, a Jew, under a star, a light for the world to drive away from the darkness and bring redemption and hope. 

That Chanukah and Christmas are closely linked in the calendar are fitting for the message they each bring. The two faiths, Judaism and Christianity, taken together as the Judeo-Christian tradition, is the foundation of Western and American civilization.  Western nations are the greatest in the world because they are informed by Judeo-Christian principles.  It is in the West where human rights, liberty, the rule of law, democracy, music and the arts, science, and technology have flourished and where slavery was ended. These are the nations that inhabitants from the rest of the world seek to live.  It is in Western nations where citizens are most free and enjoy the greatest prosperity.  It is not an accident.  

We must dedicate ourselves to preserving America, the West, and Western civilization, by preserving its Judeo-Christian tradition.  The light of Chanukah and Christmas must continue to burn and illumine the night, pushing away the darkness that is always present, the norm for most of history. They should guide us and our nation and the West for all time.  It is what distinguishes us from the rest, our values, our devotion to truth, knowledge, goodness, beauty, and reason, the belief in the sanctity of the individual made in the image of God, rejecting the moral and cultural relativism of the post-modern left and the totalitarian threat of unreformed Islam.  We must rededicate ourselves in our current battle as the Maccabees did against the Greeks and as Israel did against the Arab armies that sought its destruction in 1948 and has done ever since against its many enemies. 

The spirit of Chanukah and Christmas should inspire us.  Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas to all.

December 24, 2019

FOOTNOTE: Dr. Richard Moss is a board-certified head and neck cancer surgeon and was a candidate for Congress in 2016 and 2018. He graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine and has been in practice in Jasper and Washington, IN for over 20 years. He is married with four children.  Author and columnist, he has written A Surgeon’s Odyssey and Matilda’s Triumph available on amazon.com.  Find more of his essays at richardmossmd.com.  Visit Richard Moss, M.D. on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.