TERRE HAUTE —
Great cooperation at Wilson school
On May 21, I received word that an individual at Woodrow Wilson was suspected of having tuberculosis. The person had been given a test where the results would not be known for two or three weeks. It was also stated that due to school closing prior to these test results, our staff and students would need to take the test and have it read prior to the end of school on May 31.
Ray Azar, director of Students Services; Carol Lucas, chairman of the Vigo County Nurses; and Kristen Gauer, nurse at Woodrow Wilson, met with the Health Department. A plan of action was developed for the next seven school days and implementation began immediately..
The following day students at Wilson took home a note and a card for permission to take the test on Tuesday, May 29, and the card was returned before the students left for the Memorial Day break.
A phone message to all parents at Woodrow Wilson was sent the day we received notification as well as a reminder on Wednesday to return their cards to Wilson on Thursday.
Our school community response was terrific. Mrs. Gauer as well as Mrs. Lucas and the Health Department took questions and concerns of parents and the school community. Parents appreciated the timely feedback and the kindness shown to them by all individuals as their questions were addressed.
On May 29, the VCSC school nurses and several central office staff including Superintendent Danny Tanoos along with nurses from the Vigo County Health Department arrived at 7 a.m. and began setting up the testing stations. By noon on May 29 all of our students who had signed consents and our staff had been tested. Several students opted to receive the test with their family physician. On Thursday, the same crew of competent professionals arrived at 10:00 to read the results and again by 1:00 our Woodrow Wilson students and staff were finished.
The prompt response by the Vigo County administrators, nursing staff, and the Health Department allowed school to proceed with a minimum of interruptions and allowed our teachers to finish the school year in an orderly fashion.
I would like to personally thank all those who made this process so efficient and for the kind and caring way our students and staff were administered the test.
Members of the Health Department were impressed by the organization and teamwork of Vigo County central Office staff and the staff at Woodrow Wilson. As always, Vigo County sets the bar for all.
— Sharon Pitts, principal
Woodrow Wilson
Middle School
Terre Haute
In recognition of public workers
Every day, a group of people works hard to maintain the communities we live in. I’m talking about the 160,000-plus public service workers in Indiana. A lot of us take these people for granted, even though we depend on them for many of our most basic needs.
I’d like to take a moment to thank the police officers and firefighters who risk their lives to protect us, the men and women who keep our roads fixed and our parks clean, who enforce health codes to make sure the food we eat is safe, who make sure we have clean water to drink and bathe … the list goes on.
Now is a good time to recognize our public employees. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Retired Indiana Public Employees Association (RIPEA), which protects the retirement benefits of the men and women who’ve devoted their lives to public service in Indiana. RIPEA will celebrate Indiana’s public workers at the 22nd Annual Convention on Sept. 10 at Primo Convention Hall in Indianapolis.
I encourage everyone to take a moment to appreciate all the hard work these people do for us every day.
To all our public service workers, thank you.
— Bill Murphy
Executive Director of RIPEA
Indianapolis
Reader poll results
Recently, the Reader Poll at Tribstar.com asked:
Should Indiana take all collective bargaining rights away from all public employees?
Results: 199 votes were cast
• Yes — 83 votes, 41.71 percent
• No — 110 votes, 55.28 percent
• Don’t know — 6 votes, 3.02 percent
Opinion
READERS’ FORUM: June 19, 2012
- Opinion
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Mark Bennett: High-profile mural connects historical dots from city to river
At 96 feet wide and 2 stories tall, the power, impact and value of the Wabash will be evident.
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EDITORIAL: Waging the ‘readiness’ campaign
Almost every Hoosier who starts college intends to finish. Unfortunately, those who arrive on campus unprepared in key academic areas are far less likely to fulfill that aspiration.
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READERS' FORUM: May 19, 2013
• Flawed reasoning on gun checks
• A hint of things yet to come?
• Are the ‘makers’ doing the ‘taking’?
• The ‘Obamination’ is finally revealed
• Pondering effects of Obamacare
• Fantasizing on the ‘Apocalypse’
• Another view of Hinduism
• Great experience for HCMS students
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FLASHPOINT: A legislative session of missed opportunities
Given the nature of politicians, grand claims of accomplishments and overblown rhetoric about “historic” efforts are to be expected at the close of any legislative session.
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RONN MOTT: Mushrooms = Hoosier happiness
Someone wrote or said a few years ago a statement that would define the word “Hoosier.” According to this urban legend, a Hoosier is somebody dribbling a basketball around the Indy 500 while eating a fried, morel mushroom. It did not define me, at the time.
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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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READERS' FORUM: May 17, 2013
Hinduism doesn’t deserve ridicule — Shefali Purohit, Terre Haute
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RONN MOTT: Israel’s Air Force
Recently the Israeli Air Force bombed and rocketed a convoy leaving Syria going to Lebanon with rockets that were going to be used to attack Israel. It did not get there. It was destroyed.
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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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Readers' Forum: May 16, 2013
Moving Deming folks sounds ‘nuts’
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Readers' Forum: May 15, 2013
Participants rise to the challenge: I would like to write a letter congratulating all the Wabash Valley Roadrunners that competed in the One America Indianapolis Mini Marathon.
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RONN MOTT: Media merry-go-round
Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows. That isn’t a unique phrase to this writer or to this era in time. But, when it comes to the musical chairs of broadcasting, it certainly applies.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Courts see a different appearance than cops
Have you ever noticed the transformation between the arrest of an accused lawbreaker and the first appearance in court?
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READERS' FORUM: May 14, 2013
ISTEP failure exposes flaws
Community hasn’t changed its spirit
Egregious threat to nation’s defense
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READERS' FORUM: May 13, 2013
• Women’s group criticizes Bucshon
• Let’s hope this doesn’t come true
• Many get thanks for fest success
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MARK BENNETT: Life at face value: Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable daily challenge
Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research.
(Unless, of course, your mother is a scientific researcher. If so, carry a No. 2 pencil and take good notes.) -
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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GUEST COLUMN: Nursing more than medicine and bandages
Being a nurse … Like most nurses, I chose this profession because I had a strong desire to help others and no other career would allow me the opportunity to touch lives the way I have been able to through nursing.
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READERS' FORUM: May 12, 2013
Vigo Youth Football, entering 45th year, seeks new support
Media ignoring important case on abortions
Proud to be old-fashioned
Guns in school? What’s next?
Promoting hate not a ‘brave’ act
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FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
Last year, the people of Indiana entrusted the Republican Party with some of their most precious possessions.
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RONN MOTT: ‘Raccoons II’
In the Algonquin Indian language, raccoon means “working with hands.” They are really cute little fellows until they injure a child, or a pet, or leave feces around where you certainly do not want it.
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Readers’ Forum: May 11, 2013
I just wanted to express my disappointment at the lack of response shown by President Obama after the Boston Marathon bombings.
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Readers' Forum: May 10, 2013
CANDLES event plants new seed: On April 26, CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center hosted an event called “Sowing Seeds of Peace: A Celebration of Spring” at the Apple House. Our purpose was to introduce people to our concept of forgiveness as a seed for peace.
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RONN MOTT: ‘NRA Convention’
At the recent NRA Convention in Houston, Texas, where the right-wing political hot air almost lifted the convention's building off its foundation, the NRA trotted out the forever yours political dame of the right wing, Sarah Palin. Sarah did not disappoint.
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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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RONN MOTT: ‘Heritage gone’
The last high school I attended was being torn down just a few days ago. I didn't learn about it until I saw classmate Dick Mills on television and a display he had put together about State football championships in the middle 1930's. I began elementary school with Dick Mills. That was Matthew South Elementary School on South Sixth Street in Clinton, Indiana. After seeing Dick on TV, it dawned on me that all schools I had attended in Clinton have been torn down.
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LIZ CIANCONE: We always want more than we need
Washington seems more preoccupied with the unemployment rate than they are about the constant stalemate. Still with thousands out of work and the unemployment rate hovering somewhere between 7 percent and 9 percent, it does deserve more than a passing nod.
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my children. Every parent has felt that instant, apprehensive rush when their child plays too close to the street or falls down while playing soccer and it is our responsibility as parents to implement every safety mechanism we can muster to protect our kids.
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