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FRIENDSHIP by Jim Redwine

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Gavel Gamut

By Jim Redwine

(Week of 10 August 2015)

FRIENDSHIP

In the winter of 1991 I attended a seminar for judges in San Diego, California. When I got on the plane at 6:30 a.m. in Evansville, Indiana it was 17 degrees and grey. It was 75 and sunny in southern California at noon. There may be a rare cynic out there who harbors the ungenerous thought those two statistics were my prime motivation; how unkind. It was knowledge I sought even if I had to endure such a variation in the weather.

There were judges there from every state north of the Mason-Dixon Line and even one from Maryland. Maryland was one of the states involved in the border dispute that was resolved by the establishment of the Line in 1767. Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed the line that gave us that great song, Dixie. Why not Masie you might ask? My analysis is, nothing rhymes with it but Casey and baseball had not yet been invented.

Now why a judge from the south would need to vacation, excuse me, study, in warmer climes still puzzles me but that is what Judge Al Northrop did. Maybe he was thirsting for knowledge as I was.

Regardless of the reasons, he and I ended up meeting and during those six days of classes and one day in Tijuana becoming friends. Since 1991 Al, and his wife Karen, and Peg and I have spent a total of four days together yet we are fast friends. Had it not been for Al’s convincing me to take up snow skiing at age fifty I would have only the warmest of thoughts about him.

After Al and Karen came to visit for two days this week I began to think about the nature of friendship. What makes and keeps a friend? More generically, what is a friend, and more selfishly, what is a friend’s value?

Kahlil Gibran (1883 – 1931), an American poet of Lebanese descent, said, “Let there be no purpose in friendships save the deepening of the spirit”.

Whether it is the life-long friends who are my family, my college friend of fifty years, neighbors and soul mates who support every one of my adventures and help at JPeg Ranch and other locations, colleagues at work, coffee shop philosophers, musically inclined judges and writers or the one who most deepens my spirit, Peg, Gibran has defined what I only enjoy.

Back to School Safely in Vanderburgh County

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ. 
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671
In the coming days Vanderburgh County students will be returning to school for the 2015-2016 school year. This will result in a large number of buses on the roads, children getting on and off the buses, new bus stop locations, new bus routes, congestion in and around the schools, new student drivers and many other factors to be aware of as our kids return to the classroom.

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office will be stepping up our presence and enforcement around the schools and on bus routes to help make sure this school year gets off to a safe start. The Sheriff’s Office will be increasing patrols near all of the schools in Vanderburgh County located outside of the city limits of Evansville. Deputy Sheriffs will be watching for unsafe driving behavior, monitoring bus routes for safety issues and enforcing school bus stop arm violations.

Sheriff Dave Wedding explained, “The added presence of our deputies will function as both a deterrent and a reminder to slow down and pay attention. Having deputies stationed near our schools puts us in a position to respond immediately to any situations that may arise.”

At many locations, Sheriff’s Deputies will be assisting school personnel with traffic direction in and out of the school parking lots and drop off zones. The Vanderburgh County Highway Department has placed large school zone warning signs near all of these schools to help warn drivers.

Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation schools will begin their first day on Monday, August 10, 2015. Corpus Christi School begins on Thursday, August 06, 2015. Resurrection Catholic School and St. Joseph School both begin their first day on Wednesday, August 12, 2015.

Tips for back to school safety:

  • If bus service is available, please utilize it.
  • Please take pictures of your new student before you get to the school. Do not park in the drop-off zones of any of the schools to take your child into class.
  • Utilize the proper restraint systems in your vehicle.
  • Keep your speed to a minimum and pay extra attention in an around school zones and near school bus loading areas.
  • Know when a school bus stops and its red stop sign or flashing lights appear children are boarding or exiting the bus. Be on the lookout for children crossing the street even after the bus has moved on.
  • Please, no cell phone use in the school zones while operating a vehicle and no texting at any time while operating a vehicle.
  • Encourage children getting on and off school buses to be very mindful of surrounding traffic, because the traffic may not be watching for them.
  • Give yourself plenty of time. Do not let the frustration of running late compromise the good driving decisions you make.
  • Please call 911 to report dangerous driving situations.

The men and women of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office wish everyone a safe and successful school year.

 

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ. 
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

 

Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday, Aug. 6.

Sharon Denise Sarchenko Possession of methamphetamine, Level 6 felony

Possession of paraphernalia, Class A misdemeanor

Todd Jefferys Strangulation, Level 6 felony

Battery against a public safety official, Level 6 felony

Resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor

Battery, Class B misdemeanor

For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Whitney Riggs at 812.435.5688 or via email at wriggs@vanderburghgov.org.

Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ. 
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

EPD Activity Report

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ. 
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

Pets of the Week

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 Can we interest you in a kitten or two? Bassoon is a 4-month-old male brown tabby kitten. He and his sister Clarinet are the final two left from the “woodwinds” litter. Brown tabbies wait on homes longer than other colors, and these babies are no exception. Bassoon’s $50 adoption fee includes his neuter, microchip, vaccines, & more! www.vhslifesaver.org or (812) 426-2563.

Daily Off Topic Forum August 7, 2015

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JON STEWART EXITS DAILY SHOW

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BLIGHT INITIATIVE STATEMENT BY BRINKERHOFF-RILEY

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As I told Dan and Conor, I support the blight initiative. However, the report is misleading at best. I collected the information from Central Dispatch, EPD and EFD. The data from EFD and EPD is sketchy. They just don’t track the time and manpower involved with runs. The EFD took their total budget and divided it by the number of runs to give us a per run number. Obviously those runs can really vary in time and manpower. EPD is the same way. Their per run number was low, but they have no idea of manpower and time involved.

Conor and John are right that there is not going to be 2 million that can be cut from the budget in funding this 2 million, and that won’t be the case for the foreseeable future. However, I think it’s important that these properties being auctioned by the County be caught and razed. They do tremendous damage to neighborhoods and quality of life. Over time, the Building Commission will stop chasing its tail and be able to engage in strategic code enforcement and razing. They will be able to use those tools to grow stable neighborhoods and stabilize declining neighborhoods. That will translate into investment and higher property values, which is critical to tax revenue down the road. There is also an intangible value to quality of life and safety. That too will help with population decline and suburban flight. The EPD and EFD will save resources and be able to focus on other initiatives. Over time, I think we would all like to see the need for these agencies diminished, but there are contractual issues that will have to be addressed down the line.

I will support Conor in the budget process. If it can’t come out of Riverboat funds, I understand. However, I would ask that the question be answered as to what the alternative is to this initiative. Kelley is wrong when he says this blight is finite. Over the next five years of tearing down existing blight, potentially hundreds more properties will fall into that state. If we are lucky, we can slow the trend by strategic use of code enforcement and razing and with the development of lots of affordable and market rate housing. Our blight is driven by vacancy, which is two-fold in economic issues and population decline. There are more answers that have to be found. But without this start, we cannot move to next layer of peeling the onion.

I am satisfied that the issue is part of budget discussions and will defer to the big picture of prioritizing our spending.

Sincerely

Stephine Brinkerhoff -Riley

3rd Ward City Council

THE OFFICE

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