TERRE HAUTE —
Now that the primary election is over, won’t someone please claim the poor, little orphan that’s shown up all over the 46th district, begging for attention?
Perhaps the homely, stapled, 11-page tyke made it to your house last week, wrapped only in an envelope and suffering from bad printing and even worse composition. The unclaimed child can do nothing but cry out about Democratic state representative candidate Bionca Gambill — except when it switches to crying about Congress being “bribed” and intimidated into passing a health care reform bill.
In 42 brief articles with 27 “datelines” — including the Sonka Tavern — this nameless issue of a secret mama and papa wails on about a variety of alleged transgressions by Gambill, who handily won Tuesday’s primary. Several of the deeds date to the late 1980s and the pitched battle over a BASF factory in Vigo County.
Seven of the articles are datelined “Tribune Star,” but contain only fragments of spoken quotations or of a reporter’s sentences. One “Dateline: Tribune Star” piece has no quotes at all from the Feb. 19 newspaper story from which it purports to be. But that did not stop the anonymous creator of “Political Pet …” from citing the Trib-Star to declare, “In choosing to run for District 46 Representative, Bionca Gambill demonstrated a lack of independence and insider connections.”
(Did she have insider connections or lack them? The mystery is typical of the orphan’s syntax affliction.)
The rest of that “Dateline: Tribune Star” article charges Gambill with the abominable action of choosing to consult two sitting members of the Indiana House while deciding to run for state rep, rather than “talk to the people of the District …”
Imagine. A person, contemplating a run for office, seeks advice from the Speaker of the House and a local district representative instead of — what? — taking a poll of thousands of voters and asking them if she should run? What was she thinking?
Worse, though, by far, are the boutique peppers.
They are the proverbial smoking gun in one of the orphan’s rants about the Gambill family’s farming activities. In yet another reference to the Trib-Star (but not datelined), “Bionca’s ‘Hoosier Rural Values’” offers “boutique peppers” grown on the Gambills’ land as proof that she is “[h]ardly a small town Hoosier farm girl.”
Instead, as the article insinuates, those peppers align Gambill with politicians who are “phoney [sic] as $3 dollar [sic] bills, and say anything to blend in with the voters they are conning.”
As someone who has bought tomatoes, corn, green beans and basil from the Gambills at the weekly Downtown Farmers Market — not the Terre Haute Street Fair, as reported by the orphan — I can say only that I’ve always had to wash real dirt off their produce just as I do from the other vendors’ wares. Then again, anyone who would consult with two elected lawmakers about running for office probably would not be above sprinkling somebody else’s dirt on her beans.
But to return to my original question: Who will claim this miserable, misbegotten orphan? It cries on, but, to date, all we have are denials of parentage.
Gambill accused her main Democratic opponent, Kal Ellis, of spawning the poor, photocopied thing, but he roundly discounted any connection. Despite similarly criticizing Gambill for taking (legal) PAC money, and for her opposition to the BASF plant and to constitutionally mandated property tax caps, Ellis has displayed no link to the orphan.
Dr. Joseph Selliken, one of the few people ever to take partial responsibility for previous byline-challenged, pre-election, hit-piece publications, also disavows patrimony.
Indeed, while the tone of the 42 bleats sounds eerily like that of past Selliken endeavors, the format seems well below his production standards. He tends to work with broadsheets, color, big headlines and numerous illustrations (albeit goofy illustrations) that originate in his Ohio Street graphics company. This most recent roundup features but one illustration and not a smidge of color.
Checking the various “datelines” for clues has been useless. The piece from the Sonka, for example, bemoans a Gambill fundraiser at that pub — an “exclusive ‘attorney only’ event” that was “reported” by an unnamed source to have drawn “a total of 10 people … hardly a raging show of wide spread support.” The item ends: “It is unknown whether the other attorney’s were scarred off by Bionca’s politics, or the ‘cash bar.’”
It is also unknown whether the author of this piece was in a hurry or really doesn’t know how to spell “widespread,” “scared” or the plural of “attorney,” which does not take an apostrophe.
“Dateline: Vigo County 4-H Grounds” reveals little more. Reaching, again, back to the BASF fight more than two decades ago, the article pillories Gambill for “putting her activist message in kids’ faces,” including “in a center isle booth” at the fairgrounds.
I did not live in Terre Haute during that time, but I’ve been assured that no sort of island, center or otherwise, has ever graced the fairgrounds. Aisles, yes, isles, no.
Enough, heartless parents of this woeful offspring. You conceived it, bore it, then stationed it on the figurative doorsteps of the people of District 46 to do your dirty work. It didn’t defeat Gambill, but it has served its purpose: To give voice to your political anger, your bottomless hatred of attorney Bob Wright and your prejudice against boutique peppers.
Come claim your child, Mother and Father. Are you not proud of your handiwork?
Stephanie Salter can be reached at (812) 231-4229 or stephanie.salter@tribstar.com
Stephanie Salter
STEPHANIE SALTER: Hush, little baby, don’t you cry; someone’s gonna claim you, by and by
- Stephanie Salter
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STEPHANIE SALTER: The more things change, the more they … change
What the late, great Pittsburgh Pirates slugger knew, so knew the ancient philosopher, Heraclitus, the Buddha and Andy Warhol.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Making room for the least among us — and their kin
Christmas. Quiet time. Down time. Not exactly the kind of day most folks tend to contemplate their fellow Americans behind bars. And yet, the United States leads the world in percentage of population in jail or prison, far ahead of second-place Russia. About 2.3 million people — nearly one in 100 adults — are incarcerated in this country.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Carols for the worn, weary and wigged out
For those who are agog and aglow with “the season” — you who start bouncing and humming in Toys R Us at the intro guitar notes of “Jingle Bell Rock” — better search elsewhere for a soul mate.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Times change. Things disappear. Toilet paper here to stay
You may have seen an email going around with “Nine Things That Will Disappear in Our Lifetime.”
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STEPHANIE SALTER: What I learned on election day
When I identified myself as a volunteer for the non-incumbent mayoral candidate, the woman on the other end of the line cut me off. “Save your breath, dear,” she said.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Of politics, protests, coupons and e-wishes
It’s roundup time again, that periodic hunting down and herding together of items that have but one thing in common: They grabbed me.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: ‘Understandable’ not the same as ‘wise’
Because I’m not running for office and don’t plan to, I figure I am free to publicly question the designation of some 30 stretches of city streets as “memorial ways” for police and firefighters killed on the job.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Where have all the protest songs gone?
A telling moment came during the annual Eugene V. Debs award banquet late last month, when the career protest singer and songwriter, Anne Feeney, implored a huge Hulman Center audience to join her for the refrain of “We Shall Not Be Moved.”
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STEPHANIE SALTER: It’s business as usual, but what does it cost to stay angry?
As painful and profoundly sad as the 10th anniversary of 9/11 has been, I found the actual day a balm.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: The unfortunate bottom line … St. Ann’s will close
Ever since word came down that St. Ann Church and Parish have less than a year to live, there’s been much invoking of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief.
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No matter how much time and energy I spend trying to understand the Hydra we blithely call “The Economy,” I often worry that its mystery will forever elude me.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Thinking, now and then, about now and then
I am lying, poolside, in a plastic chaise lounge, listening to pop music and watching water droplets dry on my skin.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Thousands of things she would have missed
For several years, until she received an official information packet in the mail, my mother planned to donate her body to medical research.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Marriage? There’s an app for that ... but it’s tricky
As I watched all the happy people celebrating passage of New York’s same-sex marriage law, I couldn’t help but project to a time when Indiana adopts a similar statute.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Back in the saddle — with the usual burr under it
I really didn’t expect to be gone nearly six months, but then, that’s par for the course these days: What I expect to happen and what actually occurs are often about 180 degrees apart.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: On the other hand … we’ll have a lot fewer leaves to rake
Editor’s Note: Former Tribune-Star Assistant Editor Stephanie Salter’s column resumes today in freelance form and will appear on this page every other Sunday.
TERRE HAUTE — My neighbor, Andy, had just lowered the bamboo blinds on his front porch when we heard a mournful sound. -
Memorable victories
This was about as much fun as a doubleheader split could get for Rose-Hulman’s baseball team.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Another batch of my status-quo-defending misinformation on schools
The day after state schools chief Tony Bennett responded to my three-column education series, a longtime friend and veteran teacher called.
“I just read the superintendent’s rebuttal in the Tribune-Star,” my friend said. “All I can conclude from it is that you are a dumbass. Welcome to the club. Anybody who doesn’t buy into his vision of education reform is considered a dumbass.” -
Stephanie Salter: One person’s roundup of significant folks lost in 2010
Every late December, as I comb through lists of notable deaths, I swear I will never repeat the process. It takes days of Internet research, mostly because I get distracted by looking up people about whom I know nothing.
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Stephanie Salter: I've got some really good news for some of you guys
Of all the sentences I’ve imagined writing in my long, moss-covered newspaper career, this is not one of them: I am quitting my job to get married.
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Stephanie Salter: A little history of mandated intermingling among U.S. troops
Back in July 1948, when President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, predictions for its effect on the U.S. military were dire. Sen. Richard Brevard Russell Jr. of Georgia echoed the sentiments of millions of Americans in an address from the Senate floor.
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Stephanie Salter: Another wronged woman becomes the nation’s paper doll
A few hours after the death of Elizabeth Edwards last week, the creepy, contemporary American ritual of vicarious grieving began in cyberspace.
“You are with your son now. Rest in peace.” -
Stephanie Salter: You’ve heard from me — now, listen to the teachers
As e-mail from Indiana teachers and principals continues to pour into my box, the portrait of this beleaguered group grows more poignant each day.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: Have you heard Indiana’s schools are failing? It’s a lie
In Gov. Mitch Daniels’ recent state budget PowerPoint, he put up a comparison chart: The percentage of Indiana public school students who’ve attained an advanced level of math achievement versus “the world.” Hoosiers lag behind the national average, trailing such states as Massachusetts, Oregon and New York, and such nations as Poland and Latvia.
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Stephanie Salter: Bashing teachers in the name of education reform
As I read the Tribune-Star’s recent Page 1 news packages about the governor’s push for education reform, I kept seeing faces.
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Stephanie Salter: After the turkey and before the pie, a round of giving thanks
As my colleague Alicia Morgan wrote last week, there is no downside to taking time out now and then to list and truly appreciate our blessings.
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STEPHANIE SALTER: A story of just one corporate lobby ‘investing in advocacy’
For those of you who know in your marrow that the president’s attempt to overhaul the U.S. health care system proves his socialist agenda, take the day off. What reporter Drew Armstrong of Bloomberg News shared this past week will be of no interest to you.
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Stephanie Salter: Inside today’s grab bag …: Stamps, bands and GOP $$$
It’s time for another roundup of items, little ideas that can’t grow big enough for a whole column, but just won’t go away from my field of focus.
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Stephanie Salter: Can’t make a decision? Consult strangers on the ’Net
A day after I heard screenwriter and director Nora Ephron talking on NPR about that moment in the aging process when you realize you are no longer cut out to be au courant, that moment arrived for me.
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Stephanie Salter: The years may pass, but a friend will always ride shotgun
I should have known there would be a first-aid kit. Susan provided for every contingency.
How like her to have tucked a 106-piece, American Medical Association-approved kit under the passenger seat of her Honda Accord. How like me not to have discovered it until I was deep cleaning the car to get it ready to sell. - More Stephanie Salter Headlines
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STEPHANIE SALTER: The more things change, the more they … change
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Mayor: Person Killed in San Antonio Flooding
Suspect in Killing of Officer Found Dead in Cell
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
Raw: Apple 1 Computer Sells for More Than $650k
Raw: French Soldier Stabbed in Throat Near Paris
Raw: Train Derails After Overpass Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
High Wire Spectacle Thrills Crowd in Austria
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Today in History May 25
Raw: Rescues From San Antonio Flooding
Raw: Gay Rights Activists March in Ukraine
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
Bus Fire Kills 16 Children, Teacher in Pakistan
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
Hagel Urges Cadets to End Scourge of Sex Assault
New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access
Massive Flooding in San Antonio Area; Rescue Efforts Underway
Hope For The Boy Who Can't Smile
Young protestor goes viral on Youtube
Toronto Mayor says he's not a crack head
Maine island offers lighthouse getaway
Should We Prepare for Quakes?
Lynn Kindergarten Class Rescues Ducklings
Congressional gold medal awarded to civil rights heroes
Charles Ramsey visits Kentucky
Unique Display Greets Guests At Revel Casino
Cape Cod Train Service Worries Residents
BASE jumper rides snowmobile off cliff to honor dead friend
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
SHOCKING: School Guard Throws Girl Down Stairs
Star Wars X-Wing Star Fighter Made of Legos
Actress Amanda Bynes Arrested in New York
Singer Psy Has An Imposter
