Letters to the Editor 09-22-1997
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- KABS - Prison Construction - Different Meanings - Confiscations - Zimmer Layoffs - Accident Case
KABS
Editor, Times Union:I attended the Sept. 15th meeting of the Warsaw City Council and was shocked and appalled by the actions of the council members towards the request for funding by the KABS bus service.
The meeting opened with a prayer asking God to give the board guidance to make good decisions for the welfare of the residents of Warsaw. The mayor quickly reviewed the agenda. He then made a comment that, although the budget for 1998 had not been voted on, it was already set and that the only changes would be to reduce the budget before the final vote. Consequently the board said that they would still listen to KABS request.
As the meeting progressed, KABS request was introduced and Jane Greene of the Cardinal Center and Tom Sherron of KABS was asked to make their presentation. After this, Mayor Wiggins asked to see a show of hands of people who were there in support of KABS. When approximately 60 hands went up, the mayor said that, unless anyone had something to say, other than what was already presented, there was no need to listen to each person's views because it would take too long. Approximately eight people did get to speak though, due to Mr. Sherron's urging.
I think the worst part was when it became apparent that the mayor and board were aware of this request and had been given a copy of the proposal at least three months prior to this presentation, but had not even bothered reading or try to understand what they were listening to during the presentation. Why didn't the board call with questions during those three months? Why wasn't KABS' request even considered when the budget was set up? Was this last minute presentation allowed only to appease a few squeaky voices? You obviously had your minds set before the meeting, so why did you waste everyone's time? Do you really think that waiting until next year to consider this again will help save Warsaw's bus service? Obviously even your opening prayer is just for show, because what you've done was definitely not for the good of the people of Warsaw. There are a lot of Warsaw residents who depend on KABS, and your lack of care and concern about their only mode of transportation will long be remembered. Especially at the voting polls.
Susan Lowman
Milford
Prison Construction
Editor, Times-Union:This is in response to the letter from Deanna Newton, printed on Friday, Sept. 12, 1997.
I agree that the money to be spent for the prison, which will be located at the former Grissom Air Base in Peru, is a bit outrageous. However, if you had to choose between your money and your life, what would you choose? I would choose to give up my money so that I may enjoy or have life. That is what the government is doing, taking our money to make our communities and lives safe by getting these criminals off the streets.
You stated that people charged with misdemeanors should not have to be incarcerated; that this would save the taxpayers money because not as many people would be in prison. Let me ask you this. What "misdemeanor" crime should go unpunished, if it is not "life threatening" (as you put it)? Would it be the class A felon that plea-bargained his charge down to a misdemeanor for sexual battery to a minor? Or perhaps a Class A felon charge that was plea-bargained down to a misdemeanor for assault and robbery?
Crime affects everyone, whether you are a victim of a crime or a family member of the person that committed the crime. Trust for other people is ruined, joy in a child's eyes is gone and the self-confidence is diminished when people become victims of crimes. Our society has made rules for people to live by. When these rules are broken, punishment must be handed out. I'll wager that if you took a poll of the people in prison now, the majority there are not "first time" offenders. Our court system allows criminals to plea bargain for a lesser charge and punishment. By the time a criminal actually gets to prison, most likely the crime or crimes they have committed have escalated in seriousness. The person who truly commits a misdemeanor generally spends two weekends or 60 days in a local jail, not a prison.
You also complained that there are far too many "drugs, gangs, homosexuality and corruption" in the prisons. How do you think these criminals ended up in prison? They got there because of doing drugs, joining gangs and not following societies rules.
Like I said before, let the government use the money to build bigger prisons to get these people off the streets. I would rather see this happening than the government spending billions of dollars on sending satellites to Mars to see if we will live there one day - unless, of course, they build prisons there also.
Jennifer Whitaker
Warsaw
Different Meanings
Editor, Times-Union:The following terms are often used to describe things we use in our lives today. These same terms were often used to describe things in the past but had different meanings. For example: CD: Grades parents never wanted to see on a report card. Remote: A location far away from everything. Personal Computer: The human brain. Computer Crash: How the brain felt after a wild party. Hard Drive: Taking a driving exam at the age of 16. Mouse: Something the cat brought home. Disk: Something placed on a record player. Web Site: Where a spider lived. Super Highway: A eight lane interstate. Ram: A animal with curly horns. Megabyte: How one ate a Big Mac. Megahrtz: What a boxer had after fighting the champ. Cell phone: Something found in a jail or prison. Beeper: An impatient driver stuck in traffic. Fax: Something Sergeant Friday always wanted on Dragnet, "Just the facts, ma'am." Call Screening: "Who is this?" Caller ID: What followed call screening. Call Forwarding: "Hey dad, phone!" Air Bag: A person that would not stop talking. (Sorry, that is a wind bag.) Insufficient Memory: An excuse for forgetting the wife's birthday.
Robert W. Stevens
Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Confiscations
Editor, Times-Union:A few years ago the federal government instituted a practice where private property could be confiscated from those who were dealing in drugs, without due process of law.
This opened Pandora's Box for confiscating property for other infractions of the law, without due process. Now some want to confiscate vehicles for an infraction of the law. Where will it stop? It will not affect me or you, but what offense will next be instituted for the taking of private property? When will the next offense or infraction of the law be considered so bad, and there will be one that a person would have their property confiscated without due process of law? They did not confiscate O.J. Simpson's property when he was convicted in Civil Court, he is losing his property, being forced to sell it to pay the judgments against him, but it was done in a court of law. I think these people should be punished and taken to court to pay for their offense, whatever that may be. It won't affect me this time, I don't drink, smoke or use drugs, but what will it be next time?
It has been said that bad things happen because good people do not take any action (until it is too late). Not a direct connection, but people in Germany took no action until it was too late. They didn't think it could happen in their country, but it did. Our country is over 200 years old and we think it can't happen here, but it can. I have great hope and belief that it will not happen here, but we have lost a lot of freedoms since our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were written. You should read them, and be informed. They will impress you. An article by Charlie Reese in a recent article in the Times-Union said, "Well, I don't want any part of a new world order of global civilization. I'll settle for the plain old constitutional republic that our revolution produced. That no longer exists either, except in form, but it at least is worth restoring. I hope you notice that all these folks who talk about globalism or new world orders never seem to get around to talking about the principles of the American Revolution - liberty, unalienable rights and self-government."
The Constitution of the United States - Amendment 5: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless upon a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
Taking of private property can cause loss and hardship to a husband, wife, children, and parents, when they have not been guilty of any wrongdoing. It is also possible for a police department to be over zealous since the sale from the property can be used by the department to increase their budget which may be short on funds. Let's have the courts decide the penalties to be assessed and abide by the Constitution.
Wallace W. Huffman
Warsaw
Zimmer Layoffs
Editor, Times-Union:230 - Remember that number. There is a story about an old man who walked the seashore everyday. He would bend over, pick up something, and throw it back into the sea. From an on-looker at his beach house, this old man looked like a vagabond with dementia. After a few days, the beach house owner meandered down the shore to find that the old man was throwing stranded starfish back into the ocean. "There are hundreds of starfish, maybe thousands, along this coastline. What difference can you possibly make?" The old man gently smiled, picked up one starfish, threw it into the water and whispered, "A world of difference for that one."
If only there was an "old man" at Zimmer with this wisdom. But, unfortunately, there is not. A dear friend and Zimmer colleague of mine, Becky, recently lost her husband, age 46, to a stroke. It is possible that Dave, also a Zimmer employee, was killed from the pressures and stress of doing multiple people's jobs because of the downsizing that is rampant at this company. But, I am not a coroner so I won't speculate. Despite losing her husband less than a month ago, Becky shows up to her job on Sept. 16 to find it has been eliminated. Becky is emotionally devastated. Her response when I tried to console her was someone at Bristol Myers Squibb had a number (230) to eliminate. I offered to her she was right, but a manager at Zimmer still had to make a call on which person filled that number slot. Unfortunately for Becky, it was a manager without compassion, so Becky is a number. A Zimmer manager could have made a difference, but instead chose to sit at the beach house.
I would like to remind the management at Zimmer, and the community, that the number quota (230 this time that does not include the people losing their jobs to the Puerto Rico transfer) they are actually meeting are widows, single mothers and fathers, people with families, mortgages and financial commitments. We all have feelings, intelligence and a variety of personalities. Personally, I am Mark D. Landes. I am a single father of two beautiful daughters, Amanda and Deanne. I am an engineer, marathon runner, volunteer for Leukemia Society and love Jesus Christ. I AM NOT number 4802 like Zimmer would like to think.
Mark W. Landes
Warsaw
Accident Case
Editor, Times-Union:Do citizens of Kosciusko County have a right to know the truth about matters impacting their community? If so, I hope the Times-Union prints this letter.
Prosecutor David C. Kolbe has refused, for months, to answer legitimate questions regarding his investigation of the collision that killed my brother, Michael "Kemo" Petrosky. This newspaper claimed, after running a July letter defaming my family, that the case had been "thoroughly covered." How can you - the public - draw informed conclusions when you're offered only partial information? Have you, perhaps, been manipulated by the prosecutor into accepting what he wants you to believe? consider the following:
In his letter to the editor printed April 1, 1997, Mr. Kolbe stated that the boy who killed my brother "... attempted to stop before the accident but claimed his brakes failed," and "... objective analyses support his (the boy's) statement at the scene." However, in the reconstruction report Mr. Kolbe arbitrarily withheld from my family for months, the technician who examined the vehicle opined that "... all four brakes were in proper working order." The prosecutor obtained this information in January, but he continued to mislead us, claiming that his investigation corroborated the boy's story. Does this look like a distortion of the truth? Has he done this to other victims as well?
The sequestered report also indicated that the boy "... applied the brakes much too late to stop before entering the intersection." Yet Mr. Kolbe stated, in a February South Bend Tribune article, "We don't know if he tried to stop too late." What reason could the prosecutor have for slanting this information?
David C. Kolbe has seemingly misrepresented evidence to my family and the citizens he's sworn to serve. It appears he withheld the reconstruction report merely to hide the fact that his statements about its contents were fallacious. Instead of conducting a thorough, timely and honest investigation, Mr. Kolbe apparently ignored this case for nearly a year, then spent your tax dollars to hire a special prosecutor to clean up after him. The Whitley County staff collected more evidence - a full year after the collision - than the Kosciusko County Prosecutor ever attempted to gather. The special prosecutor disproved each excuse made by Mr. Kolbe and the boy's defense attorney. One question couldn't be answered, however, after so many months had passed. Thus the charges remained dismissed. The special prosecutor made it very clear, however, that he didn't condone Mr. Kolbe's initial handling of this case, or his behavior toward my family. Throughout this lengthy ordeal, Mr. Kolbe's actions have seemingly focused on maintaining his media image, rather than on doing his job properly, relaying information honestly, and treating victims respectfully. My brother's widow deserves better from this elected official - and so do you.
My sister-in-law also deserves an explanation from The Times-Union. She was specifically mentioned in the libelous assertions printed July 1. The newspaper, however, hasn't run a single response to, correction of, or apology for those statements. Is this how victims are typically treated in Indiana?
Teresa Petrosky Wallace
Casper, Wyo.
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- KABS - Prison Construction - Different Meanings - Confiscations - Zimmer Layoffs - Accident Case
KABS
Editor, Times Union:I attended the Sept. 15th meeting of the Warsaw City Council and was shocked and appalled by the actions of the council members towards the request for funding by the KABS bus service.
The meeting opened with a prayer asking God to give the board guidance to make good decisions for the welfare of the residents of Warsaw. The mayor quickly reviewed the agenda. He then made a comment that, although the budget for 1998 had not been voted on, it was already set and that the only changes would be to reduce the budget before the final vote. Consequently the board said that they would still listen to KABS request.
As the meeting progressed, KABS request was introduced and Jane Greene of the Cardinal Center and Tom Sherron of KABS was asked to make their presentation. After this, Mayor Wiggins asked to see a show of hands of people who were there in support of KABS. When approximately 60 hands went up, the mayor said that, unless anyone had something to say, other than what was already presented, there was no need to listen to each person's views because it would take too long. Approximately eight people did get to speak though, due to Mr. Sherron's urging.
I think the worst part was when it became apparent that the mayor and board were aware of this request and had been given a copy of the proposal at least three months prior to this presentation, but had not even bothered reading or try to understand what they were listening to during the presentation. Why didn't the board call with questions during those three months? Why wasn't KABS' request even considered when the budget was set up? Was this last minute presentation allowed only to appease a few squeaky voices? You obviously had your minds set before the meeting, so why did you waste everyone's time? Do you really think that waiting until next year to consider this again will help save Warsaw's bus service? Obviously even your opening prayer is just for show, because what you've done was definitely not for the good of the people of Warsaw. There are a lot of Warsaw residents who depend on KABS, and your lack of care and concern about their only mode of transportation will long be remembered. Especially at the voting polls.
Susan Lowman
Milford
Prison Construction
Editor, Times-Union:This is in response to the letter from Deanna Newton, printed on Friday, Sept. 12, 1997.
I agree that the money to be spent for the prison, which will be located at the former Grissom Air Base in Peru, is a bit outrageous. However, if you had to choose between your money and your life, what would you choose? I would choose to give up my money so that I may enjoy or have life. That is what the government is doing, taking our money to make our communities and lives safe by getting these criminals off the streets.
You stated that people charged with misdemeanors should not have to be incarcerated; that this would save the taxpayers money because not as many people would be in prison. Let me ask you this. What "misdemeanor" crime should go unpunished, if it is not "life threatening" (as you put it)? Would it be the class A felon that plea-bargained his charge down to a misdemeanor for sexual battery to a minor? Or perhaps a Class A felon charge that was plea-bargained down to a misdemeanor for assault and robbery?
Crime affects everyone, whether you are a victim of a crime or a family member of the person that committed the crime. Trust for other people is ruined, joy in a child's eyes is gone and the self-confidence is diminished when people become victims of crimes. Our society has made rules for people to live by. When these rules are broken, punishment must be handed out. I'll wager that if you took a poll of the people in prison now, the majority there are not "first time" offenders. Our court system allows criminals to plea bargain for a lesser charge and punishment. By the time a criminal actually gets to prison, most likely the crime or crimes they have committed have escalated in seriousness. The person who truly commits a misdemeanor generally spends two weekends or 60 days in a local jail, not a prison.
You also complained that there are far too many "drugs, gangs, homosexuality and corruption" in the prisons. How do you think these criminals ended up in prison? They got there because of doing drugs, joining gangs and not following societies rules.
Like I said before, let the government use the money to build bigger prisons to get these people off the streets. I would rather see this happening than the government spending billions of dollars on sending satellites to Mars to see if we will live there one day - unless, of course, they build prisons there also.
Jennifer Whitaker
Warsaw
Different Meanings
Editor, Times-Union:The following terms are often used to describe things we use in our lives today. These same terms were often used to describe things in the past but had different meanings. For example: CD: Grades parents never wanted to see on a report card. Remote: A location far away from everything. Personal Computer: The human brain. Computer Crash: How the brain felt after a wild party. Hard Drive: Taking a driving exam at the age of 16. Mouse: Something the cat brought home. Disk: Something placed on a record player. Web Site: Where a spider lived. Super Highway: A eight lane interstate. Ram: A animal with curly horns. Megabyte: How one ate a Big Mac. Megahrtz: What a boxer had after fighting the champ. Cell phone: Something found in a jail or prison. Beeper: An impatient driver stuck in traffic. Fax: Something Sergeant Friday always wanted on Dragnet, "Just the facts, ma'am." Call Screening: "Who is this?" Caller ID: What followed call screening. Call Forwarding: "Hey dad, phone!" Air Bag: A person that would not stop talking. (Sorry, that is a wind bag.) Insufficient Memory: An excuse for forgetting the wife's birthday.
Robert W. Stevens
Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Confiscations
Editor, Times-Union:A few years ago the federal government instituted a practice where private property could be confiscated from those who were dealing in drugs, without due process of law.
This opened Pandora's Box for confiscating property for other infractions of the law, without due process. Now some want to confiscate vehicles for an infraction of the law. Where will it stop? It will not affect me or you, but what offense will next be instituted for the taking of private property? When will the next offense or infraction of the law be considered so bad, and there will be one that a person would have their property confiscated without due process of law? They did not confiscate O.J. Simpson's property when he was convicted in Civil Court, he is losing his property, being forced to sell it to pay the judgments against him, but it was done in a court of law. I think these people should be punished and taken to court to pay for their offense, whatever that may be. It won't affect me this time, I don't drink, smoke or use drugs, but what will it be next time?
It has been said that bad things happen because good people do not take any action (until it is too late). Not a direct connection, but people in Germany took no action until it was too late. They didn't think it could happen in their country, but it did. Our country is over 200 years old and we think it can't happen here, but it can. I have great hope and belief that it will not happen here, but we have lost a lot of freedoms since our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were written. You should read them, and be informed. They will impress you. An article by Charlie Reese in a recent article in the Times-Union said, "Well, I don't want any part of a new world order of global civilization. I'll settle for the plain old constitutional republic that our revolution produced. That no longer exists either, except in form, but it at least is worth restoring. I hope you notice that all these folks who talk about globalism or new world orders never seem to get around to talking about the principles of the American Revolution - liberty, unalienable rights and self-government."
The Constitution of the United States - Amendment 5: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless upon a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
Taking of private property can cause loss and hardship to a husband, wife, children, and parents, when they have not been guilty of any wrongdoing. It is also possible for a police department to be over zealous since the sale from the property can be used by the department to increase their budget which may be short on funds. Let's have the courts decide the penalties to be assessed and abide by the Constitution.
Wallace W. Huffman
Warsaw
Zimmer Layoffs
Editor, Times-Union:230 - Remember that number. There is a story about an old man who walked the seashore everyday. He would bend over, pick up something, and throw it back into the sea. From an on-looker at his beach house, this old man looked like a vagabond with dementia. After a few days, the beach house owner meandered down the shore to find that the old man was throwing stranded starfish back into the ocean. "There are hundreds of starfish, maybe thousands, along this coastline. What difference can you possibly make?" The old man gently smiled, picked up one starfish, threw it into the water and whispered, "A world of difference for that one."
If only there was an "old man" at Zimmer with this wisdom. But, unfortunately, there is not. A dear friend and Zimmer colleague of mine, Becky, recently lost her husband, age 46, to a stroke. It is possible that Dave, also a Zimmer employee, was killed from the pressures and stress of doing multiple people's jobs because of the downsizing that is rampant at this company. But, I am not a coroner so I won't speculate. Despite losing her husband less than a month ago, Becky shows up to her job on Sept. 16 to find it has been eliminated. Becky is emotionally devastated. Her response when I tried to console her was someone at Bristol Myers Squibb had a number (230) to eliminate. I offered to her she was right, but a manager at Zimmer still had to make a call on which person filled that number slot. Unfortunately for Becky, it was a manager without compassion, so Becky is a number. A Zimmer manager could have made a difference, but instead chose to sit at the beach house.
I would like to remind the management at Zimmer, and the community, that the number quota (230 this time that does not include the people losing their jobs to the Puerto Rico transfer) they are actually meeting are widows, single mothers and fathers, people with families, mortgages and financial commitments. We all have feelings, intelligence and a variety of personalities. Personally, I am Mark D. Landes. I am a single father of two beautiful daughters, Amanda and Deanne. I am an engineer, marathon runner, volunteer for Leukemia Society and love Jesus Christ. I AM NOT number 4802 like Zimmer would like to think.
Mark W. Landes
Warsaw
Accident Case
Editor, Times-Union:Do citizens of Kosciusko County have a right to know the truth about matters impacting their community? If so, I hope the Times-Union prints this letter.
Prosecutor David C. Kolbe has refused, for months, to answer legitimate questions regarding his investigation of the collision that killed my brother, Michael "Kemo" Petrosky. This newspaper claimed, after running a July letter defaming my family, that the case had been "thoroughly covered." How can you - the public - draw informed conclusions when you're offered only partial information? Have you, perhaps, been manipulated by the prosecutor into accepting what he wants you to believe? consider the following:
In his letter to the editor printed April 1, 1997, Mr. Kolbe stated that the boy who killed my brother "... attempted to stop before the accident but claimed his brakes failed," and "... objective analyses support his (the boy's) statement at the scene." However, in the reconstruction report Mr. Kolbe arbitrarily withheld from my family for months, the technician who examined the vehicle opined that "... all four brakes were in proper working order." The prosecutor obtained this information in January, but he continued to mislead us, claiming that his investigation corroborated the boy's story. Does this look like a distortion of the truth? Has he done this to other victims as well?
The sequestered report also indicated that the boy "... applied the brakes much too late to stop before entering the intersection." Yet Mr. Kolbe stated, in a February South Bend Tribune article, "We don't know if he tried to stop too late." What reason could the prosecutor have for slanting this information?
David C. Kolbe has seemingly misrepresented evidence to my family and the citizens he's sworn to serve. It appears he withheld the reconstruction report merely to hide the fact that his statements about its contents were fallacious. Instead of conducting a thorough, timely and honest investigation, Mr. Kolbe apparently ignored this case for nearly a year, then spent your tax dollars to hire a special prosecutor to clean up after him. The Whitley County staff collected more evidence - a full year after the collision - than the Kosciusko County Prosecutor ever attempted to gather. The special prosecutor disproved each excuse made by Mr. Kolbe and the boy's defense attorney. One question couldn't be answered, however, after so many months had passed. Thus the charges remained dismissed. The special prosecutor made it very clear, however, that he didn't condone Mr. Kolbe's initial handling of this case, or his behavior toward my family. Throughout this lengthy ordeal, Mr. Kolbe's actions have seemingly focused on maintaining his media image, rather than on doing his job properly, relaying information honestly, and treating victims respectfully. My brother's widow deserves better from this elected official - and so do you.
My sister-in-law also deserves an explanation from The Times-Union. She was specifically mentioned in the libelous assertions printed July 1. The newspaper, however, hasn't run a single response to, correction of, or apology for those statements. Is this how victims are typically treated in Indiana?
Teresa Petrosky Wallace
Casper, Wyo.
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