Smart Growth Would be Progress

This week in MY FRIDAY COLUMN I tackle the problem that New Albany deals with with empty buildings and continued development when there seems to be no true plan.

SMART GROWTH WOULD BE PROGRESS

Several months ago the Sonic Drive-in restaurant in the 2500 block of Charlestown Road closed down literally overnight. Besides depriving me of “half price Happy Hour” slushees from 2-4 weekdays, it also has brought a little more blight to a neighborhood. Along with the vacant building and broken signage, trash and debris are beginning to pile up around the parking lot.

A few weeks ago just a block away, the electronic reader board at the Taco Tico announced that it was now closed and invited people to visit their Louisville location. That restaurant had been open a relatively short amount of time, they had remodeled an old Kentucky Fried Chicken that had moved further out Charlestown Road.

The now empty Taco Tico sits right next door to a former Taco Bell that has sat empty for many years. It had a short spin as a Mr. Spaghetti but that didn't last long. The property remains uncared for most of the year with a crew coming out a couple times a year to mow down the weeds, I always assume a Real Estate agent has a client on the hook and they are preparing to “show” the property. On the other side sits a Wendy's restaurant that has been trying to move down the road for a number of years.

The Colonial Manor shopping center sits across the street and is just now receiving a new major tenant. Save a Lot grocery is planning on opening in the building that has sat mostly vacant since Kroger moved out years ago.

Our community along with every community around needs new developments in order to grow. An expanded tax base along with the jobs that would be created would also be a huge benefit. Here in New Albany and Floyd County we need our growth to be a little smarter than it has been in years past. We can no longer accept the consequences of growth without the proper planning and forethought in order to keep from making the same mistakes, over and over again.

Our county leaders have been trying for years to try to develop land on Grant Line Road adjacent to Sam Peden Community Park. I am sure that if the economy had not gone sour a few years back they would have already sold the property and black top would already be covering one of the largest parcels of “green space” left in the area.

What would our county leaders do with the few million dollars that they plan to earn from the sale of this property? They might use it remodel the former Pine View School that they purchased to house the Floyd County Youth Shelter. They could use the money on the third trial of that state trooper who killed his family. They could use the money for expanding and running the Floyd County Jail, no conflict there, Mr. President. Whatever they spend the money on, when it is gone, it's gone.

After the land is developed and the grass is no longer there, it will never come back again. It will forever be a strip mall or a box store or an empty building that sits and gathers trash. Of course I am sure that drainage will no longer be a problem, since we always trust our developers to manage the extra runoff water so well.

Leaders of our Parks Department are also concerned that developing the land near the entrance of the park will ruin the aesthetics of the park. With many people disposable incomes taking a hit these days, sometimes a day at the park has to be a substitute for spending our limited entertainment dollars. On a nice sunny weekend, you can see families enjoying every corner of the park. We must stand strong and not let our County leaders sell this most valuable asset, just to make a fast buck.

Strategic planning has never been a strong point in this community. We have made some progress in the last few years, but we have decades to make up for. I am not against progress and I can understand the importance of expanding our tax base but we cannot continue to allow developers to build without looking to how it will affect our future.

I do not know what is in store for the futures of Grantline and Charlestown Road. A decade from now, I would love to drive down those streets and not see empty fast food restaurants and empty strip malls. Keeping our green space “green” is a step in the right directions, I just hope that our leaders get the message before it's too late.

Who us paying for 1sI endorsements?

This week in MY FRIDAY COLUMN I take a look at the plan for One Southern Indiana, our local chamber of commerce and their plan to make endorsements in this year's municipal election.

WHO IS PAYING FOR 1sI ENDORSEMENTS?

Each week I sit down at my laptop computer and type out my opinions for you to read. Some weeks many people agree with my opinion, some weeks, many people don't. I often wonder why some people that disagree with me every week, continue to read, I am just glad that they do. It is clear that I am not going to change some people's opinions and I doubt that they can change mine

.

That is what is great about this country, everyone is allowed to have a different opinion about a subject, and everyone is allowed to express that opinion any way that they feel. As a person that believes wholeheartedly in the “Freedom of Speech” that is guaranteed in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, I would never stand in the way of someone's right to express themselves.

Last week in an announcement that was published in The News and Tribune, One Southern Indiana the local chamber of commerce group, declared that they would once again make endorsements in this year's election. They will endorse candidates for mayor in New Albany, Jeffersonville and Charlestown. This is something they started last year when they took sides in the local statehouse races and the United States House of Representatives. I spoke out about it last year, and my opinion has not changed.

My problem with One Southern Indiana endorsing candidates is based on their desire to have local municipalities partially fund their programs. They were asking the city of New Albany for $70,000 last year about the same time that they announced who they planned on endorsing for the General Election. Will how those members voted for or against funding affect the pending endorsements this year? While they insist that the money they use as part of their political action committee is separate from their economic development money, there is always going to be a perception of shenanigans.

I decided to write this opinions column before the announcement is made on who they plan to endorse. Last year when I wrote about the 1sI endorsements I was criticized by some who said my opinion would be different if they had chosen to endorse candidates that I supported. I would have been critical of their decision no matter what candidates they chose. If they are going to continue to ask municipal governments for funds then they should probably get out of the election business.

My problems actually started with One Southern Indiana a few weeks prior to their plan to endorse candidates was announced last year. It was their endorsement of the Ohio River Bridges project and their unwavering support for the Bridges Authority that changed my mind. The New Albany city council was the first government body to publicly denounce the use of tolls, and then 1sI turned around and asked them for money few weeks later. It seemed counter productive to me for the city council to denounce the use of tolls and then turn around and give money to a group that trumpeted the Ohio River Bridges Project, whatever the cost.


Last year I wrote this column concerning One Southern Indiana's funding request that had come before the city council at same meeting it was voting on its "NO TOLLS" resolution.

CITY COUNCIL CAN SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE

I was at the New Albany City Council meeting last year when One Southern Indiana made their case for funding. They were asking for $70,000 at a time when New Albany had not seen a balanced budget in several years. Many of the council members were worried about how it would look to give money to a group who was now in the political action committee game. In the end a compromise was made and the group was given $30,000. I just wonder if members of the city council were looking ahead to this year's election when they were considering the funding request? I am sure that it was at least in the back of their minds.

I encourage everyone to get involved with the election process. I think it is important for everyone to learn as much as they can about the people that we will be going to the polls to elect. I cannot stop One Southern Indiana from making whatever endorsements that they see fit. I believe it is unethical for them to ask local governments for money, if this is the path that they have chosen.   

1sI Endorsements: A look back

With the announcement this week that One Southern Indiana will once again make political endorsements, I am curious how the vote that the New Albany City Council took last year will affect their decisions.

1sI to endorse Mayoral Hopefuls by Daniel Suddeath

Here is my column from October 8, 2010 where I reflect on the council meeting where the funding request was discussed

This week in My Friday Column I discuss my journey to a strange world:

WHAT A BIZARRE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Dan Coffey was making sense to me, and I agreed with him.  Steve Price, sporting a new clean cut look was in control of his emotions and was remaining logical.   

Monday night's city council meeting was one for the ages.  It was interesting to see 1sI member Bob Caesar pitching slow-pitch softballs to Mike Dalby.  Even better was the nasty "Knuckler" that city council president John Gonder threw, while Mr. Dalby just swung.

 Mr. Gonder related of how he ran into someone from a company that was listed in some of the literature that was presented.  Basically the person denied that Mr. Dalby’s group had any involvement in the company’s growth, contrary to 1sI’s claims. 

Some One Southern Indiana members were on hand for the public comments portion of the meeting.  Everyone basically said the same thing.  They never could have grown or expanded their company in New Albany without the help of 1sI.  The only specific thing that they could say that the group actually did for them was helped them to get tax abatements and other incentives.

So as I am listening, what it sounds like to me is that Mr. Dalby and 1sI are asking for $70,000 in Economic Development Income Tax money so they can teach their members to come before the council and ask for more tax money

It was clear that most of the council members were upset that 1sI decided to endorse candidates in the upcoming election.  As a private organization they are allowed to do whatever they want.  I am the last person in the world that would get in the way of anyone's freedom of speech, just don't ask me to pay for it.

I agree with his assessment that their organization has every right to get involved to advance their political agenda but I do not think that the city of New Albany should be asked to subsidize them.

TOLERANCE AND UNDERSTANDING IS COMMON SENSE

This week MY FRIDAY COLUMN takes a look at the Amy Gesenues column from July 20, 2010:
BEING GAY ISN'T WRONG 

While I believe that Amy wrote a good column and I would not try to speak for her, I thought it was important to point out some of the hypocrisy in the comments from that column:

TOLERANCE AND UNDERSTANDING IS COMMON SENSE

In 1977 the ABC television network introduced us to the television show “Soap” as part of their prime time lineup. The show, which was a parody of daytime dramas, featured comedian Billy Crystal as Jodie Dallas who was one of the first gay characters on television. Right wing and religious groups mounted a letter writing campaign to complain about the character, reportedly generating up to 30,000 pieces of mail before the show even aired.

A few weeks ago one of my fellow guest columnist wrote a column entitled “Being gay isn't wrong”. Amy Gesenhues wrote a sincere and honest story of love for her friends and family that happen to be homosexual. Almost immediately after the column was published online, she began being attacked by those with different opinions. I believe that a dialogue between the opinions columnist that appear on this page and the reader is important but after reading some of the comments they were anything but constructive.

The first comment from “Randy” which was timestamped at 12:33 am said “Being gay is not flowers and sunshine...In fact it's disgusting and goes against nature.” From there they didn't get much better. While some of the comments were supportive and simply thanked her for writing the column, many were judgmental and cited their moral and religious beliefs as their reasoning for speaking out against homosexuality.

While I am not a biblical scholar I do consider myself a fairly religious person. I went to Sunday School as a child, and I am pretty familiar with the teachings of Jesus Christ. If a bible category comes up on Jeopardy I can usually answer four out of the five questions correctly.

Many people invoke the name of Jesus when they use religion as their justification against homosexual behavior. If you ask them sometimes they use the always popular “God created Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve”. Many times they site Leviticus 20:13 “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination” these two examples are from the Old Testament. Christianity is a religion that is rooted in the New Testament. Jesus spoke often of tolerance and acceptance and I am pretty sure there was something in there about judging others.

It is interesting to point out that over the years we have become more accepting of what exactly is considered a sin. I would venture that adultery is more prevalent in our society than homosexual behavior but it is tolerated much more readily. I think that heterosexual promiscuity is more of an attack on our family and values than homosexual behavior, why has no one come forward to ban that?

The Indiana legislature is working on having a ban on gay marriage added to the Indiana Constitution. Most of the Republican presidential candidates have signed a pledge to amend the US Constitution to include a ban on gay marriage. Why are our leaders spending their time trying to deny citizens rights that others are guaranteed? I believe that there are far more important thing to deal with.

Not only were there many comments posted on the online version of two people took the time to write an actual letter to the editor. I do respect someone who would take the time to actually send a letter to the editor and at least they have a little more conviction than those who post anonymously on the internet. I just feel that they missed the point of Amy's column. Betty Robertson of Jeffersonville stated that “the simple facts are man and woman are made for one reason-to have sex and produce children”. Personally I believe that life is a little more complex than that. She went on to say “...in the way that you are teaching your children, you are almost telling them to be gay.” Teaching children that being gay isn't wrong is not telling them to be gay, just that they will be loved without judgment, whatever they choose.

It took great courage for Amy Gesenhues to write her column. I applaud her for telling the world her opinion that she believed that “Being Gay isn't wrong”. It is that type of unconditional love that will keep us moving forward as a society. Keeping a closed mind and judging others will only hold us back. If more people had the tolerance and understanding that Amy discussed, our world would be a better place.

Matthew Nash can be reached at dmatthewnash@gmail.com

Spending the day at Spring Mill

This week My Friday Column takes you back to years gone by with a trip to Spring Mill State Park in nearby Mitchell Indiana.

SPENDING THE DAY AT SPRING MILL

When your children reach a certain age it is sometimes hard to find family activities that everyone enjoys doing together.  Sometimes it is hard to hold the attention of my youngest son, who is nine and has grown up with a game controller permanently attached to his hand.  There are also times when my teenage son gets bored doing things that are age appropriate for his younger brother and sister and then there are times that the my little girl doesn't want to do something that her brothers enjoy doing.  When you find the activity that everyone enjoys you want to tell the world about it.

My children attend a church camp in Bedford, Indiana.  On the way home after dropping one of them off I like to treat the others by taking them to Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, Indiana.  It seems to be one place that each of them has a great time and we always find something interesting to do there.  We have been able to stop twice this year and the kids cannot wait to return.  Each time we go we try to do something new and we still haven't done everything there is to do.

When you enter Spring Mill State Park you are charged a minimal fee of $5 per car for Indiana residents a price that is well worth it.  As you approach the gatehouse at the park entrance you immediately notice a fairly modern building to your right.  This is the Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom Memorial, a tribute to America's second man in space who was a native of Mitchell.  Coincidentally, the Liberty Bell 7 mission that propelled this local hero into space and history books occurred 50 years ago this week.

Inside the Memorial you see pictures and memorabilia from his childhood growing up in southern Indiana through his years with NASA until his death in 1967.  While the small museum holds important artifacts including space suits and an actual Gemini space capsule, my children found Gus's grade school report cards some of the most interesting.  High School Year books and other memories donated by friends and family makeup part of the collection and a short movie is shown about his life.

As you move on through the park you come to a sign pointing to the “Twin Cave Tour”.  This is the only cave that is open to the public on any of Indiana's Department of Natural Resources properties.  The other caves on  forestry properties have been closed to control the spread of White-nosed syndrome, a fungus that is killing bats throughout the eastern United States.

Two small specially designed boats, like squared off canoes ,are loaded up with up to ten people.  The  guides lead the boats through the stream that runs into the cave,  carefully pointing to the caves unique formations and occasionally stopping to see the creatures that call the caves their home.  This cool trip into the underground world last about twenty minutes and is great on a hot summer day.  No matter what the temperature is outside the cave's air conditioning is always set on cool.

The main feature of Spring Mill State Park is the Pioneer Village.  An actual working gristmill  grinds corn every day is the cornerstone of this community as it was when the original settlers made this valley their home.  Over twenty buildings sit on the grounds of this world that seems to have journeyed back in time over one hundred and fifty years.  You can see what the houses of those early settlers looked like as they tried to make a go of it in this new frontier.

You can visit the Mercantile and pick up some penny candy or visit the weaver's shop to see how clothes were made back then. Many of the attractions are manned by interpreters that live their lives as they did back then,  in traditional garb they tell stories of life in pioneer times.  My children loved watching the Blacksmith as he stoked his fire and bent and hammered his metal forging tools out of raw steel.

Spring Mill State Park has miles of trails for hiking for just about any skill level.  We walked back into the woods along a stream a few hundred yards to see a waterfall that is the source of power for the gristmill.  Bike paths are also available throughout the park for those who enjoy some two wheel exercising.  There is also an Olympic sized swimming pool to keep cool on a hot day and plenty of areas for picnicking.

Spring Mill State Park is only about fifty miles away, perfect for a single day trip but if you prefer spending the night lodging is available inside the park at the Spring Mill Inn.  If you are the type that would rather rough it, campsites are available also with different levels of accommodations.

Taking my kids on a trip where they all have a good time is a rewarding experience.  Taking them someplace that they learn something makes it that much better.  If you are looking for a place to take the family I believe you can't go wrong by spending the day at Spring Mill State Park.

Our Space Program at a Crossroads

As the Space Shuttle winds I take a look at the our space program in this week's column

OUR SPACE PROGRAM IS AT A CROSSROADS

I remember my father waking me up early one morning when I was younger to watch something that was about to happen on television. I believe that this was the first time that he had actually made me watch something, having told me countless times when I was younger to stop watching television. We were about to see something Live on television that had never happened before. The launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia was an historic launch for NASA, and for me.

Fire shot from the end of the orbiter and the smoke bellowed from the launch pad, as the crew began that first voyage of the space shuttle program. I sat there and watched the launch of that inaugural flight and it was one of the most exciting things that I had ever seen. At eleven years old I had seen Star Wars and Star Trek but I had never seen the launch of a real space vehicle. It was a new era for the space program and I was there to see it begin.

I was born between the flights of Apollo 12 and Apollo 13. The manned missions to the moon ended when I was only two years old. There were a couple of times that the launched missions to Skylab when I was younger but I was too young to remember those. This was a historic launch because this was the first time that a space vehicle would blast off, return to earth, landing like an airplane, and then be used again.

Last week I sat and watched the final launch of the space shuttle program and the end of American manned space flight for the foreseeable future. It seems the cost of the program has begun to outweigh the potential benefit. Have we gone everywhere there is to go? Have we learned everything there is to know?

John F. Kennedy announced our plans to beat the Soviet Union to the moon in his speech to congress in 1961. “No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.” He realized that there would be a significant cost but the achievement would be worth it. The space program was a source of pride and something that the United States could do to set it apart from the Soviet Union.

One of the cost of the space program has been in human lives. The first lives lost to the American space program happened during a test of Apollo One. Three astronauts were killed in a fire on the launch pad just eighteen months before the historic moon landing. Included in that accident was fellow Hoosier Virgil I, Grissom. Hailing from nearby Mitchell Indiana, Gus, as he was known had been the second man in space. He was also rumored to be considered to be the commander of the first moon landing and could have been the first man to walk on the moon. Not too bad for a guy that grew up in a small town less than fifty miles from here.

In 1986 the Challenger exploded just after liftoff killing the crew of seven, including school teacher Christa McAuliffe. I was in high school when this happened and remember it like it was yesterday. After this tragic accident the program was put on hold for a while the program could be re-evaluated and so that changes could be made to the orbiter.

In 2003 the original space shuttle, Columbia, was destroyed during re-entry while completing its 28^th mission in space. All seven astronauts were killed when the shuttle exploded. It was determined that the shuttle's heat shield had been damaged during liftoff and the intense heat caused the shuttle to break apart as it prepared to land. Some believe this tragedy was what has led to the end of the space program as we have known it for a generation.

The space program has given us many advances in technology including engineering, electronics and telecommunications. Many of the things that most of do on a daily basis including cell phone or internet communications come from advances that came directly from the United States space program. Much of our ability to obtain weather data comes from technology that would not have been possible without space flight.

A couple of products are sometimes mistaken for coming directly from the space program. Tang the breakfast drink was created before the beginning of the space race and became popular after John Glenn used it on his mission into space. Velcro, the product that has delayed a generation from the ability to tie their shoes has become widely used because of NASA's adoption of it but they are often improperly credited with its invention.

As the last space shuttle mission comes to an end The United States space program is at a crossroads. I think there are still things we have to learn and there are still many places we have yet to go. I believe that we should continue to travel into space to so that we may learn more about this universe that we live in. JFK said it best in his speech to Rice University in 1962, “If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time...”

The Changing Tide of News

I thought this would be a good week to resurrect this blog after a couple of months off because of technical difficulties.

THE CHANGING TIDE OF NEWS

In the short amount of time that I have lived on this planet, the way that we receive our news has changed dramatically. Relatively recently if you wanted to see the news of the day's events you had to be home in time to watch the nightly news. Local news stations would give you a half an hour of what was going on around this area with a little weather and sports thrown in and then Walter Cronkite would tell you the way it was. Besides that you could wait until the next morning and read about it in the newspapers. 

When cable television began its explosion in the 1980's the twenty-hour news channel was born. Ted Turner was the pioneer that brought us CNN and later Headline News Network and changed the way we saw news back then. At that time when we wanted to see what was going on in the world we could hear about it as it was happening. In 1986 CNN was the only network that was showing the launch of Space Shuttle Challenger as it exploded. When the United States started its bombing of Iraq after their invasion of Kuwait in 1990, for the first time in history we were able to see war actually unfold live on television.

It continued this way for a few years with CNN leading the way until other news organizations decided to get into the 24 hour business. MSNBC and Fox are a couple of the main competition that arose from our need to watch the world unfold before our eyes. Together they changed the way we watched our news again. The only problem with these channels is that they count on big news stories, usually controversies, to keep people watching. Throughout the 1990's things like Bill Clinton's impeachment and the OJ Simpson trial had people tuning in but would it be enough to hold our attention for long periods of time. In 2000 our attention was drawn to the controversy of the Presidential election and the resulting recount.

As we rolled over to a new Millennium we turned on our television sets and sat watching the smoke billowing from where the first plane had hit the World Trade Center. We continued to sit paralyzed as we saw the second plane strike the other tower. I personally sat for hours that day watching the news unfold and wondering what could possibly happen next.

Over the next few years technology began to take over and the way that news was gathered and broadcast began to change radically. Personal computers became as common as the television in most homes and today most everyone can access the internet from a portable devise small enough to carry with you anywhere. Add to that the ability to capture photos and video and just about any one can call themselves a “journalist”.

Now, I can get my news from just about anywhere. A couple of days ago I was cutting the grass when the verdict from the Casey Anthony murder trial was announced. Within minutes of the announcement I knew what the results of the verdict was. Moments later I was already starting to hear feedback and reaction via Twitter.

All of these advances have had a major impact on other media sources. As you know this newspaper has gone through some radical changes over the last few months. The combination of the former Evening News and Tribune into one newspaper covering both Floyd and Clark Counties and the recent decision to go to deliver by United States Postal service everyday. The Courier Journal has had several major staff cutback over the last couple of years. Just last month their parent company Gannett made more nationwide cutbacks including the loss of the Indiana Statehouse reporter.

As traditional media outlets are cut back and people look to other places to get information, it opens the door for less than reputable sources to begin to spin the news. Now anyone that wants to can sit at their kitchen table and make up what the news is. They can “report” whatever they would like without the usual standards that journalist were once held to. Many of these new age of “journalist” even hide behind their keyboards and report anonymously.

Over the last few years technology has moved faster than at anytime in human history. Much of the new technology we have only begun to utilize to its potential. The ability to spread news at an exponential rate, comes with a certain amount of responsibility. Just about anyone has the power to influence thousands of people almost instantly and we have an obligation to use that power wisely.