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: Noteworthy in the news
• Cream of the crop
• Keep the ideas flowing
• Remembering fallen officers
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TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Hazards of the spring abundant now on I-70
A major holiday weekend is approaching. The weather has been consistently inviting for travel and outdoor activity. Gas prices are even inching downward.
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EDITORIAL: Embrace the Sycamores
Terre Haute should understand the rarity of an opportunity to celebrate a championship.
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EDITORIAL: Good choice for stability
For the first time in 25 years, Indiana will have a new chief justice for its Supreme Court. For those who value stability on the state’s highest court — and we count ourselves among those who do — the appointment Tuesday of longtime Justice Brent Dickson is good news.
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EDITORIAL: Correcting the prison imbalance
Terre Haute will no longer count federal prisoners when the city slices its population into six equal City Council districts. That decision by the City Council last week to remove the inmates at the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex from the council district mathematical formula may not make waves, but it makes sense.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the News
• Sometimes bureaucracies do listen
• April hours bring May flowers
• Getting our airport off the ground
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EDITORIAL: When it’s IU vs. UK, there’s got to be a way
If the annual Indiana-Kentucky basketball game was not significant, would the coaches of the two universities be talking like this?
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EDITORIAL: Sen. Lugar’s compelling message
Richard Lugar, no stranger to reading political tea leaves, undoubtedly knew for weeks that defeat was coming Tuesday night in his primary fight for re-election against a more-conservative-than-thou opponent. A statement Lugar released just hours after his loss of titantic proportions indicates that the six-term incumbent saw the reality even before he knew Richard Mourdock was to be his opponent this May.
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EDITORIAL: Reviewing the landscape
The compelling story line surrounding the race between Richard Lugar and Richard Mourdock dominated most of the local primary election chatter. With those stunning results now in the books and Mourdock heading toward a showdown with Democratic Party nominee Joe Donnelly of South Bend (the current U.S. House rep from the 2nd District), it’s time to survey the landscape for other general election races that will be worthy of attention.
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EDITORIAL: GOP changed; Lugar didn’t
Six terms. Overwhelming popularity. A statesman and a gentleman. A visionary. An icon in the annals of U.S. Senate leadership, even world leadership. So dominating on the political landscape that the opposing party did not even produce a candidate in the last election.
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EDITORIAL: An exercise in democracy
Primary elections rarely draw the same levels of participation as general elections.
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EDITORIAL: Fight against child abuse demands ongoing attention
As with many of our nation’s most maddening and perplexing social problems, one hardly knows how to fathom the egregious wrongs that occur when a child is abused.
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EDITORIAL: A ‘giant’ for his hometown
Home is where the heart is. That’s true for all of us. In addition, your heart can take you home.
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EDITORIAL: Curbing corruption a worthwhile crusade
If you are cynical about government, down to its most local levels, you may think it is overrun — or even controlled — by corruption.
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EDITORIAL: The politics of Primary 2012
In less than a week, voting Hoosiers get a chance to make a statement about the future of politics in their state and beyond. But whatever that statement turns out to be, the final punctuation marks won’t be added until November. It’s possible that nothing will be settled by the end of the night May 8.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
• Their footsteps can lead us
• It would be music to his ears
• Feeding a genuine need
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EDITORIAL: Hoosier Republicans should stick with Richard Lugar
Until late 2008, most Hoosiers were quite pleased — and in many cases, darn right proud — to call Richard Lugar their senior U.S. senator.
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EDITORIAL: Matt Branam: 1954-2012
The sudden death of 57-year-old Matt Branam on Friday morning continues to leave an air of sadness hanging over the community.
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EDITORIAL: A transplant from St. Ann’s
It would be understandable, for most of us, if we were madder than the opposite of heaven if a beloved, historic, personal part of our lives was to be taken away against our will.
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EDITORIAL: Pragmatic approach to downtown development benefits community
Terre Haute has known for some time now that Indiana State University’s master plan includes creation of student residential centers off-campus in the nearby downtown area.
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TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: A salute to pride of ’55
Terre Haute gets the chance to witness and appreciate the extent of its rich baseball legacy this Saturday. Its past and present will merge at Bob Warn Field.
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EDITORIAL: A match of Mitt and Mitch?
Not every Indiana governor’s endorsement of a presidential candidate has made instant national news as did Mitch Daniels’ support for Mitt Romney on Wednesday.
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EDITORIAL: Drilling for fairness
Consistency and fairness were on trial Monday as the Vigo County commissioners grappled with a controversial rezoning request from a property owner who wants to drill for oil on his land near Hawthorn Park northeast of Terre Haute.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
Cheers, jeers and tears
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EDITORIAL: Be fair, consistent, but keep smokefree ordinance on track
The steps toward a healthier, more vibrant community should continue moving forward.
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EDITORIAL: Inspired by tradition, celebration
With the observance of Orthodox Easter on Sunday, the spring holy holidays for Christians and Jews will have passed for another year.
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EDITORIAL: No need to sing the blues
The words from Terre Haute Board of Works President Bob Murray on Monday afternoon were as sweet to the ear as a blues riff from an electric guitar: “The bottom line is, [Blues at the Crossroads] should be able to operate just as it has before. It will get worked out.”
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EDITORIAL: Traps abound in online world
For parents, guardians, civil authorities and those who supervise and nurture children of all ages, there is nothing new in the notion that the online world of digital communications is fraught with danger.
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EDITORIAL: Primary reaches critical junction
This is a key week in the highly competitive Republican U.S. Senate primary race between six-term incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar and state Treasurer Richard Mourdock.
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EDITORIAL: Don’t dismiss it, use it
There’s almost always a difference between how a community sees itself and how outsiders see it. That was apparent anew this week after a study called “Indiana Community Asset Inventory and Rankings 2012” came out and began to draw reactions across Indiana’s 92 counties.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
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