As natural disasters go, flooding can have a long and nasty legacy. Even when the waters have receded and raging creeks and rivers are passive once again within their banks, hidden dangers — and damages — persist.
Assessing those dangers and damages to both public and private property is a major concern now, and will be for days and weeks to come. The imminent threat of severe flooding — at least for now — has subsided, but misery remains.
It will take time and patience to get a clear snapshot of the “big picture.” Only then will communities affected by the flood begin to get a solid grasp on their situations.
Important questions must be answered. What is the damage to public and private infrastructure, and what will it take to repair or replace it? For those who had insurance, will it cover their property losses? For those who had no or inadequate insurance, what now? What is the environmental impact of pollutants that escaped into the terrain during the flood? What will happen to damaged or destroyed vehicles? Will there be serious health effects from mold or bugs in structures and what is the best method to handle them? What immediate and long-term impact will the damage and destruction of homes and apartment dwellings have on the local housing market? Or on the property tax base? How hard is it to hire a contractor right now to make repairs, simple or complex?
And that’s just a start. There’s clearly lots to consider as the Wabash Valley enters the next phase of recovery.
As journalists, we are beginning to ask these questions — and many others — as we seek answers to residents’ most pressing concerns and help them gain information needed to resolve flood-related problems. It is a major challenge and we are anxious to begin addressing some of these critical issues.
(Readers will see the first results of our efforts Sunday when we publish a story by veteran reporter Sue Loughlin on facts and fallacies concerning flood insurance.)
As readers, you can help by letting us know your questions and concerns, or even by helping us answer those questions by giving us direction on obtaining accurate information.
Contact me at the e-mail address at the bottom of this column, or send a postal note to me at the Tribune-Star, P.O. Box 149, Terre Haute, IN 47808. Your input and feedback is eagerly anticipated and much appreciated.
• Fans of the comic strip Doonesbury that appears Monday through Saturday on the Opinion page and on Sundays in our stand-alone color comics section, know that author Garry Trudeau has been on an extended vacation since early spring. We have been publishing what his syndicate calls “Flashbacks” during his break.
I’m pleased to tell you that Trudeau’s vacation has ended new strips will begin appearing on Monday.
Thanks to faithful Doonesbury readers for your patience. I think you’ll find Trudeau’s new work has been worth the wait.
• Tribune-Star readers have undoubtedly noticed a new byline in our newspages in recent weeks. DeAntae Prince, a native of the Chicago area, is serving a summer internship here, and we are thrilled to have him with us.
DeAntae will be a senior this fall at Indiana University-Bloomington, where he is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in I.U.’s Ernie Pyle School of Journalism. He was selected one of 10 students from Indiana journalism schools this past spring to receive a Pulliam Internship through the Hoosier State Press Association.
Upon his selection by a statewide committee of editors and publishers, DeAntae was placed at the Tribune-Star and began his internship in mid-May.
He will be with us through the end of July.
Editor Max Jones can be reached at (812) 231-4336, or by e-mail at max.jones@tribstar.com.
Editorials
Editor's Note: Covering the flood shifts to recovery
- Editorials
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EDITORIAL: Insult to an independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: Dashing finish for the Sycamores
It’s always thrilling to see Indiana State University’s athletic teams do well in high-level competition, and two specific teams rose to impressive heights last weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference outdoor track and field championships.
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EDITORIAL: Better monitoring needed to prevent local environmental messes
The nasty, hazardous messes lurking in the community raise a bottom-line, red-flag question. Could these environmental problems have been monitored and, thus, prevented?
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EDITORIAL: Memo to U.S.A.: You can ‘SPPRAK’ just as we do in Vigo County
Our kids, truly, are ‘Making a Difference’
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Some words in praise of boring government — Indiana’s
A conservative Republican governor has super majorities in both branches of the legislature. One might suspect such one-party government leads to major changes in public policy. This did not happen in 2013 in Indiana.
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EDITORIAL: Doc’s prescient prescription
Viewed through a 2013 prism, Doc Bowen’s response to the AIDS epidemic looks merely prudent, routine.
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EDITORIAL: Education remains worth the cost
Within the next few weeks, each of the local colleges will have conducted graduation ceremonies. A few days later, a different Class of 2013 will don caps and gowns for commencement — the seniors at five Vigo County high schools. It is still a smart, worthy aspiration for those high school grads to replicate the achievement of those college students by earning a higher-education degree.
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EDITORIAL: Good news for downtown
For decades, it seems, downtown Terre Haute has been in the throes of change
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EDITORIAL: Overall, state budget step in the right direction
For average Hoosiers uninterested in political point-scoring, the budget crafted by the Indiana Legislature inspires only muted, if any, fanfare.
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EDITORIAL: The lessons of organ donation
The range of emotion surrounding life-saving transplantation of a vital organ is extreme. It is the ultimate “good news-bad news” scenario.
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READERS’ FORUM: April 26, 2013
• Pence’s tax cuts benefit wealthiest
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
This does not qualify as a surprise in any way. But the Wabash Valley’s response to widespread flooding of recent days has been nothing short of impressive, even inspirational.
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EDITORIAL: Still waiting for the jobs reward
The forces in control of Indiana government for most of the past decade need to show some results to Hoosiers in one primary category.
Good-paying jobs. -
MARK BENNETT: Littered with irony: Why do people callously discard their trash, and who are they?
Though they aren’t acknowledged by the U.S. Census Bureau, there are basically two demographic groups of people … Those who would dump their old toilet on the banks of the Wabash River or a rural roadside. And those who wouldn’t.
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EDITORIAL: Doing the dirty work to clean up tossed trash
A first-of-its-kind, coast-to-coast project to remove litter from U.S. roadsides brought the Pick Up America crew through the Wabash Valley two years ago.
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EDITORIAL: Keep school security a local issue
The decision to provide armed security inside a schoolhouse should be made locally.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
Indiana’s parks need your help.
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EDITORIAL: The return of terror
Emotions today remain strong and raw in wake of Monday’s terror bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
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EDITORIAL: A solution to distracted driving … stop it … now
You’ve got to stop. You know you do it. It’s a miracle you haven’t caused a tragedy already.
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EDITORIAL: ‘Women of Influence’: 2013 selectees have given much to their communities
For the second year, United Way of the Wabash Valley has teamed up with local sponsors to select and honor a group of women who have made outstanding contributions to their communities, professions and families.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: A new honor for our veterans
A commendation goes out today to state Rep. Clyde Kersey, a Terre Haute Democrat who led the charge this week in the Indiana House of Representatives to pay tribute to the nation’s Purple Heart recipients.
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EDITORIAL: Shifting view on marriage
One could argue, as many have, that Sen. Joe Donnelly did the right thing last week when he dropped his support of government-sanctioned opposition to same-sex marriage. It wasn’t a radical move, considering most Democrats have now made the switch.
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MAX JONES: The American Newspaper: Changing? Yes. Dying? No way!
It happened again this past January when all those “looking at the year ahead” stories started popping up on Internet “news” websites and broadcast “news” programs. Under a provocative headline reading something like “Five industries/businesses doomed to tank in the coming year,” there it was, a prediction based on an unsubstantiated “expert” analysis that the newspaper industry will continue in 2013 to suffer its slide into oblivion.
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EDITORIAL: A chance to change our bad cultural habits
The sight of diligent, eager young people dragging trash out of the Wabash River wetlands is both inspiring and sad.
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EDITORIAL: Maintaining high standards
Standards
It’s the raging buzzword in education circles these days. Everyone insists that higher standards must be met. Anything less is, doggone it, unacceptable. -
Noteworthy in the news
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EDITORIAL: Crack down on dumpers
There is a reason it’s called “illegal” dumping. It’s against the law. And there is a very good reason illegal dumping is against the law.
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Season of Day 2s arrives
Calendars in Cincinnati contain one extra holiday — Opening Day, traditionally the first Monday in April.
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Congress fails to recognize problem of education costs
Who hasn’t gotten this message yet? The cost of a college degree has become unaffordable for a wide swath of middle-class America.
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EDITORIAL: The cause of public safety: Firefighter group dedicates itself to preventing tragedy
Ensuring that smoke detectors are in working order is one of those periodic chores that’s so simple, yet seemingly so difficult in terms of follow-through.
- More Editorials Headlines
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EDITORIAL: Insult to an independent press
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
China, Others Want What's Under the Arctic Ice
Raw: 6 Die in Russian Ship Fire
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Raw: Suicide Bomber Kills 2 Americans, 13 Others
Raw: Texas Gov. Flies Over Tornado Damage
Raw: Pope Frees Doves From Cage
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder
Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner
Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion
Beyonce Is Pregnant!
SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT
Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch
See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion
Woman tricked into taking abortion pill
Emma Watson Goes Pantless
IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes
Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety
Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos
Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths
Cindy Crawford Stuns At Cannes
Raw: Marines Come to Obama's Aid in the Rain
CUTE: Monkey shares lollipop with dog, then HITS pooch on head with it
Miranda Kerr Looks Sexy in a Bikini Photo Shoot
