Letters to the Editor 02-08-2006
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Botched Case - Toll Road Leasing
Botched Case
Editor, Times-Union:I would like to refresh your memories of an incident that happened in Noble County on Nov. 19 last year.
Doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but it will be an eternity to my whole family. My son, Thomas Hoopingarner, was pulled from Grebe pond in the Tri-County gaming reserve, upside down still in his seat belt and had apparently drowned. He had two passengers with him that were able to free themselves and then refused to get him help, apparently. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources headed up the investigation along with the Noble County sheriff to find out why these boys did such an inhumane thing. Nothing of great value in truth came out from the two young men and after turning it over to the county prosecutor to seek charges, he wasn't able to come up with a substantial law to charge the boys.
After doing some of my own research I had found a few laws that I would think apply to what crimes they had committed. And after exercising our rights to gain reports from the prosecutor on what his findings were, he refused to let us view these reports. Our son was a minor and I believe we have a right to know information on our own son.
In my opinion, I believe it should have been treated like a negligent homicide case. These boys are 15-year-olds and plenty old enough to know how to react to the situation they were in. They knew that Tom was stuck and in danger of losing his life, but walked away for reasons that may never be known. The investigators I believe mishandled the case entirely. For one reason I feel is that there was a bottle of alcohol in my son's trunk, so they assumed as they found out who the boys were that my son was apparently drunk and was totally at fault. Yet his toxicology report comes back clean and the case is closed.
What is wrong with this picture? Did they screw up thinking that my son was drunk and assume that they didn't feel the need to do a drug screening on these boys? Come on! A dead body is found and later investigators find out that two able body persons were at the scene and could have avoided this tragedy by getting immediate attention. I think the prosecutor feels that he might lose due to circumstances that my son may have also been at fault and it being his own demise. I don't want to think that he isn't doing his job, but I feel it was a botched case and they know it. Too many loose ends they didn't tie and so the two individuals run loose.
Tom Hoopingarner
Goshen, via e-mail
Toll Road Leasing
Editor, Times-Union:I do not understand the logic of leasing state property to someone for $3.8 billion up front and they still make money running the toll road with all its upkeep when we say we cannot do the same thing. I thought the toll road was managed by an appointed board. If the leasing company can make a profit, then, with proper management, so can we.
Get a good manager in charge, let him raise rates, reduce the people who are not really needed. After the road is making a profit, build an expensive buffer account, start a state road building account and we will run the road and make money. I think our governor is taking the easy way out. I think the people of Indiana want to do it themselves. Let's go to work.
P.S.: Have you ever leased a home and then the lease runs out? Nine times out of 10, you will have to renew everything. Think about it. Also, I think anything as important as state time or toll road leases should be decided by the Indiana voters. I thought the idea was to have the same time all over Indiana.
Jack W. Klinefelter Sr.
Warsaw
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- Botched Case - Toll Road Leasing
Botched Case
Editor, Times-Union:I would like to refresh your memories of an incident that happened in Noble County on Nov. 19 last year.
Doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but it will be an eternity to my whole family. My son, Thomas Hoopingarner, was pulled from Grebe pond in the Tri-County gaming reserve, upside down still in his seat belt and had apparently drowned. He had two passengers with him that were able to free themselves and then refused to get him help, apparently. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources headed up the investigation along with the Noble County sheriff to find out why these boys did such an inhumane thing. Nothing of great value in truth came out from the two young men and after turning it over to the county prosecutor to seek charges, he wasn't able to come up with a substantial law to charge the boys.
After doing some of my own research I had found a few laws that I would think apply to what crimes they had committed. And after exercising our rights to gain reports from the prosecutor on what his findings were, he refused to let us view these reports. Our son was a minor and I believe we have a right to know information on our own son.
In my opinion, I believe it should have been treated like a negligent homicide case. These boys are 15-year-olds and plenty old enough to know how to react to the situation they were in. They knew that Tom was stuck and in danger of losing his life, but walked away for reasons that may never be known. The investigators I believe mishandled the case entirely. For one reason I feel is that there was a bottle of alcohol in my son's trunk, so they assumed as they found out who the boys were that my son was apparently drunk and was totally at fault. Yet his toxicology report comes back clean and the case is closed.
What is wrong with this picture? Did they screw up thinking that my son was drunk and assume that they didn't feel the need to do a drug screening on these boys? Come on! A dead body is found and later investigators find out that two able body persons were at the scene and could have avoided this tragedy by getting immediate attention. I think the prosecutor feels that he might lose due to circumstances that my son may have also been at fault and it being his own demise. I don't want to think that he isn't doing his job, but I feel it was a botched case and they know it. Too many loose ends they didn't tie and so the two individuals run loose.
Tom Hoopingarner
Goshen, via e-mail
Toll Road Leasing
Editor, Times-Union:I do not understand the logic of leasing state property to someone for $3.8 billion up front and they still make money running the toll road with all its upkeep when we say we cannot do the same thing. I thought the toll road was managed by an appointed board. If the leasing company can make a profit, then, with proper management, so can we.
Get a good manager in charge, let him raise rates, reduce the people who are not really needed. After the road is making a profit, build an expensive buffer account, start a state road building account and we will run the road and make money. I think our governor is taking the easy way out. I think the people of Indiana want to do it themselves. Let's go to work.
P.S.: Have you ever leased a home and then the lease runs out? Nine times out of 10, you will have to renew everything. Think about it. Also, I think anything as important as state time or toll road leases should be decided by the Indiana voters. I thought the idea was to have the same time all over Indiana.
Jack W. Klinefelter Sr.
Warsaw
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