By John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.com

John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – The latest squabble between Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz and, oh, well, just about every Republican in the state raises an intriguing question.

Is there one single sane functioning adult to be found at work anywhere at any level of state or federal government?

Ritz, a Democrat, filed suit Tuesday against the state Board of Education, all of the members of which had been appointed by Republican governors. Ritz argued that the board violated the state’s open door law by drafting and sending to Republican legislative leaders a letter last week urging them to take the controversial A-F school grading process out of her hands.

Ritz said that the board members didn’t even tell her about the letter, even though she’s supposed to be the board’s chair.

This Indiana playground donnybrook follows on the heels of a federal government shutdown that stretched on for more than two weeks, drained $24 billion out of the economy and slowed job growth across the country. That shutdown and resulting economic disaster came as a result of carefully thought-out strategy by tea party Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

The right-wingers’ finely tuned plan was to stamp their feet and hold their breath until the rest of the country gave them their way.

This battle over who controls education policy is every bit as mature as the shutdown fight was.

At the heart of this kindergarten tussle is an inconvenient election – for Republicans and self-proclaimed education reformers, anyway.

Last fall, Ritz defeated a heavily favored and heavily funded incumbent, Tony Bennett. Bennett was one of the darlings of the education reform movement, a fire-breather in favor of school choice, standardized school and teacher assessments and market-driven approaches to learning in general.

Bennett’s defeat was such an unwelcome development for the school choice and accountability crowd – in part because it undermined one of their basic arguments, namely that their approach was what the people wanted – that they pretty much decided to pretend it never happened.

Ever since Ritz got elected, the state’s Republican hierarchy has worked to ignore the new superintendent or thwart her if the circumstances didn’t allow them to ignore her.

The fact that, in addition to ignoring or thwarting her, they also were ignoring or thwarting the majority of the voters who placed her in office seems not to have occurred to the GOP deep thinkers and their appointees.

They have continued on their course even after a series of stories by the Associated Press revealed that, before he left office, Bennett altered the assessment process of the A-F school grading system to get the outcome he wanted for a specific school, one he had touted as a model for his approach to education. That revelation delivered a devastating blow to Bennett’s career and reputation and forced state officials to re-examine the whole A-F system.

When the revelations about Bennett’s manipulation of school grading system hit, Republicans and Democrats settled into another protracted set of squabbles. Republicans blamed Ritz for leaking the information that damaged Bennett and the A-F system. Democrats did their best to make Bennett the poster boy for everything bad in schools, state government and life in general.

The partisan pushing, shoving and jostling now have exploded into a full-scale playground brawl.

In addition to sending the signal to parents all over Indiana that their children will not be under anything resembling adult supervision as long as these leaders are on the job, the suit creates other interesting problems.

Attorney General Greg Zoeller, for example, makes it a point of pride to say that he is the state’s lawyer. Who does he line up with on this one – the schools chief elected by the voters or the state board of education appointed by the governor?

Zoeller refused to comment on the suit when it broke and may be looking for a way to sit this fight out, but others likely won’t be able to do so.

Thoughtful Hoosiers doubtless will ponder what all these folks could accomplish on behalf of the state’s students if they spent half – nay, a quarter – as much time and energy on improving kids’ learning experiences as they do trying to stick it to each other.

But that would require someone in a leadership position to show some maturity.

That, too, raises a question: Who’s going to be the grown-up, perhaps the only one around, in state government?

John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism, host of “No Limits” WFYI 90.1 FM Indianapolis and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

The Rotary Club of Evansville announced today that they will Cut the ribbon Thursday October 24, 2013 at 11:30 am for the Canoe/Kayak Launch located at the south east quadrant of the Green River Rd bridge over Pigeon Creek.  County Commissioners Marsha Abell, Joe Kiefer and Stephen Melcher will be present to help break ground.  The ribbon will be sretched out across Pigeon Creek.  Several people involved with the project will canoe up to it to cut the ribbon (weather permitting).

The total project was funded by the Rotary Foundation of Evansville along with several community partners.  The location was secured with Vanderburgh County and the adjoining landowner.  Rotary’s goal with this project is to continue the restoration of Pigeon Creek as the vibrant recreational and cultural center of the City that it once was.  What is lacking now is access to the waterway itself.  Currently, there is only one public access ramp on Pigeon Creek which means the only takeout available is on the Ohio River.  Siting a public access ramp at the intersection of Pigeon Creek and Green River Road would open over six miles of this waterway to the residents of Evansville, bringing the opportunities for paddling, fishing & exploration within easy reach of local residents and visitors.

Some of the major contributors include:  Evansville Rotary Foundation, Alcoa, Welborn Baptist Foundation, Vectren, Bussing-Koch Foundation, Koch Foundation, Crescent –Cresline Wabash Foundation, Evansville Commerce Bank, Old National Bank, German American Bank, Meyer and Mulzer Stone.  The Schnepper family donated property.

For details about the Canoe/Kayak Launch or to find out more about donating to the project, visit www.EvansvilleRotary.comor contact Rotary Executive Assistant Julie Spratt at 812-962-4687 or info@evansvillerotary.com .  For details regarding the ribon cutting ceremony, call Dianna Page at 812-480-1471 or dianna@evvairport.com .

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana consumers can dispose of expired or unwanted medications Saturday at no cost during National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller partnered with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) to remind Hoosiers to drop off any unwanted medications at one of 84 collection sites.

“State and local efforts alone won’t be enough to end Indiana’s prescription drug abuse epidemic,” Zoeller said. “That’s why we are calling on Hoosiers to do their part and safely dispose of their unwanted medications. This can help keep pills off of the streets and out of the wrong hands.”

All sites will operate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and consumers can find a location nearest them by visiting www.dea.gov or by calling 1.800.882.9539. Expired, unused and unwanted prescription medications and over the counter solid dosage medications such as tablets and capsules will be accepted. Intravenous solutions, needles and illicit substances like marijuana or methamphetamines will not be accepted.

“During the past take-back initiative, Indiana residents turned in 11.5 tons of medication at 83 locations and we hope to surpass that number this time,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Dennis Wichern, who oversees DEA operations in Indiana. “We are urging residents to clear out expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs in the home so that they will be properly disposed of and not be potentially diverted to illicit use and abuse.”

“One in five Hoosier high school students have used prescription drugs found in their home medicine cabinets, like Xanax, Vicodin, and Ritalin, for non-medical reasons,” said ISDH Chief Medical Officer Joan Duwve, M.D. “Many of these drugs were leftover from legal prescriptions written for family members. That’s just one example of why it’s critical to store the medications you need securely, and to dispose of everything else in a safe, environmentally responsible way. Take-back days are a great way to do this.”

Zoeller provided four tips Hoosiers should consider when storing or disposing of unwanted medications:

• Do not keep medications past their expiration date or intended period of use.Young children or pets might ingest medication if they find it which can lead to accidental poisoning. Avoid an accident by keeping unused medications out of your house;
• Avoid throwing medications away in the trash. As the epidemic of prescription drug abuse grows, theft becomes more common. This includes identity theft from the personal information on prescription bottles. Dealers and addicts will even go through your trash;
• Do not flush medications or pour them down the sink. Flushing your unused medication or pouring it down the drain contaminates Indiana’s waterways. This can have devastating results on the fish and aquatic wildlife of these ecosystems; and
• Never give or sell your prescribed medication to others as it is not only misuse, it is illegal. Legally prescribed medication is not permitted to be shared or transferred to others, because many of these drugs have harmful side effects and their use can lead to addiction. Misuse and abuse come with significant risks — including death.

The Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force is focused on ending the prescription drug abuse epidemic including finding ways to increase availability of disposal sites for unused controlled substances. Duwve, who co-chairs the task force with Zoeller, said members are currently working towards a pilot pharmacy-based take back program.

This year, Zoeller and the task force launched a new website, www.BitterPill.IN.gov, and a statewide public awareness campaign which includes radio and TV commercials about prescription drug abuse. The website serves as a one-stop-shop for consumers to find information about the epidemic and how to get help.

835 Vanderburgh County Middle School Students from 12 schools submitted their original artwork last month with the theme “Keep Evansville Safe” to earn a chance at a spot in the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office Annual Calendar.

Each school saw at least one winner, with those students’ posters and names to appear in the calendar.

Roughly 5,000 of these calendars will begin making their way through the county early next month. These calendars are distributed to the EVSC Middle Schools, Parochial schools, libraries, EPD, VCSO, Media Outlets, YMCA, YWCA and throughout the civic center.

Visit the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/vanderburghCoprosecutorsoffice to see a new winner each day.

For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Kyle Phernetton at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at KPhernetton@vanderburghgov.org

Annie – Annie is a 1-year-old German shepherd mix. She is lively and full of energy, and she has SUCH a good “sit!” She has had several dog friends here at the VHS, so after an approved meet & greet, she can go home with a family who may already have another dog! Annie is already spayed, so she’s ready to go home with you TODAY! Her adoption fee is $100, which includes not only her spay, but her microchip, vaccinations, and a bag of food.

www.vhslifesaver.org