We hope that today’s “READERS FORUM” will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way? WHATS ON YOUR MIND TODAY? 

WHATS ON YOUR MIND TODAY?

Todays“Readers Poll” question is: If the 2019 City Council At-Large election was held today, what three (3) potential candidates would you vote for?

If you would like to advertise on the CCO please contact us City-CountyObserver@live.com

Katie Stancombe for www.theindianalawyer.com

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a child in need of services determination based on the Department of Child Services’ agreement that reversal was required because there was insufficient evidence to prove a mother’s marijuana use ever harmed her minor child.

At the time of his birth in Nov. 2017, both B.V. and his mother tested positive for THC, the psychoactive substance in marijuana. That same month, DCS filed a petition alleging that B.V. was a CHINS after hospital staff reported concerns for mother’s mental health.

A family caseworker testified that mother admitted to regularly smoking marijuana during her pregnancy while knowing the effects that marijuana can have on a child, and to smoking marijuana when B.V. was in the home. When case managers and law enforcement arrived at the home for the detention, they detected a strong odor of marijuana inside, and B.V. was placed in a foster home.

After several months of improvement and successful visitations in which a supervisor found the mother to be an “a loving doting mom” and that she “took good care of him,” the Decatur Circuit Court placed B.V. with mother as an in-home CHINS. The trial court concluded it felt a CHINS determination was appropriate to make sure that Mother remained drug-free and consistent in her housing and employment.

But the appellate court found there was insufficient evidence to support the Decatur Circuit Court’s CHINS determination, and DCS agreed that reversal was required.

“(T)there is no evidence that Mother had any difficulty in meeting B.V.’s needs and that there were no findings that B.V. had any unmet needs. It asserts that the trial court’s only concern was that Mother was young and could backslide, which does not satisfy the statutory dictates,” Judge Elaine Brown wrote for the court.

“DCS concedes that there was no evidence that Mother’s marijuana use ever harmed B.V. and her visitation supervisor thought Mother did very well at visits and was loving and doting.”

The appellate court also added that in light of the overwhelming number of Indiana CHINS cases, “all would be better served if the system focused its time, efforts, and resources on the families who really need them. This one did not.”

The case is In re the Matter of B.V., Minor Child, and D.V., Mother v. The Indiana Department of Child Services, 18A-JC-988.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh denies all allegations and spoke out in his defense. Allegations of sexual assault were the center of a historic hearing in Washington.

Dr. Robert Dion, a political science professor at University of Evansville said, “We’re having another national discussion about how women are treated about whether we believe them or not when they were victims of misbehavior or sexual assault.”

Dion says this hearing is part of a bigger societal issue. “Sadly enough this grilling of this woman who has come forward is an opportunity for Americans to reflect on whether we can do better as a society.”

While the Senate determines if Dr. Ford’s allegations are in fact true. The future balance of the Supreme Court is in their hands.

Dion says, “Clearly we want to be fair to all sides involved and the Senate is making a high-stakes decision so they want to be as fair as they can and hear from both sides.”

Students we caught up with at the University of Southern Indiana agree vetting Kavanaugh is key to whether he will be confirmed.

Marshall Gruber, a sophomore at USI said, “It’s certainly important to make sure we are nominating people to the supreme court that has integrity that we want to be judging other people on the merits of very important issues going forward but at the same time it’s really he said she said with not a whole lot of evidence.”

Dion says it’s extremely rare and dangerous for someone to come out with false accusations.

“If she would come forward and say something flatly false and demonstrably false for political reasons she’s really disrupting her life and possibly destroying her reputation the whole notion that this is cooked up for some political grand purpose seems a little bit far fetched. ”

The lecture is being held to go along with the Dinosaur Discovery Exhibition which runs through October 28th.

The display includes robotic dinosaurs, fossil replicas, meteorites and activities for children.

Admission to this lecture is free.

Indiana State Police Major Nila Miller-Cronk Receives Torchbearer Award

The General Assembly established the Indiana Commission for Women (ICW) in 1996, charging it with assessing the needs of Indiana women and their families and with promoting the full participation of Indiana women in all aspects of society. Another task charged to ICW was the “identification and recognition of contributions made by Indiana women to their community, state, and nation.”

ICW created the concept of the Torchbearer Awards to honor the many Hoosier women who have overcome or removed barriers to equality or to whose achievements have contributed to making our state a better place in which to live, work and raise a family. Recipients are women who have been pioneers in their industries, have inspirational stories that set the standard for other women, have faced tough choices, demonstrated character and have made significant contributions to their communities and/or to the State of Indiana. While there are a number of award programs, these awards are the only such event in which the State of Indiana recognizes and honors its finest natural resource – the women of Indiana.

This evening during the awards ceremony held at the Indiana Historical Society, Indiana State Police Major Nila Miller-Cronk was recognized for her personal and career accomplishments and received the Torchbearer Award.

Major Miller-Cronk, a 32 year veteran of the Indiana State Police, serves as the commander of the Internal Investigation Division.

The Torchbearer Awards Ceremony recognizes women of Indiana who have been pioneers throughout their lives or who have stepped forward as leaders by breaking down barriers and overcoming obstacles. These women have become true beacons of light and their stories of courage, perseverance, and compassion create a lasting legacy and inspiration for all.

The Torchbearer Awards were created in 2004 by the Board of Commissioners of the Indiana Commission for Women to identify and recognize contributions made by Indiana women to their community, state, and nation. ICW created the concept of the Torchbearer Awards to honor the many Hoosier women who have overcome or removed barriers to equality or to whose achievements have contributed to making our state a better place in which to live, work and raise a family. The Victory statute atop the Soldiers’ and Sailor’s Monument was selected to represent the Torchbearer Awards because it is symbolic of the character and achievements of the women honored, and the flame she holds represents the light these Torchbearers have brought to our state and their communities. Torchbearers are Indiana’s most prestigious recognition of women in the state. They are women who have stepped forward as leaders by breaking down barriers to women’s full participation and who have become lasting legacies for us all by overcoming immense challenges with courage, perseverance and compassion.

Recipients are selected from a pool of nominated candidates who have overcome obstacles, made extraordinary contributions or been pioneers throughout their lives and are based on the recipients’ achievement in the areas of their professional careers, community leadership, and/or public service as demonstrated in the nominators’ application. Recipients must be living at the time of their nomination. The Torchbearer Award recipients are selected by a panel of previous Torchbearer Award recipients. These women, referred to as the Council of Judges, represent diverse geographic regions, and professional backgrounds and make their decision based on nominations received from the public.  Nominated women are scored based on several criteria and must receive a unanimous decision in order to be selected.