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Council Debates Hirings
City Council failed to reach consensus on whether to approve hiring two employees to replace those promoted in the electric and utility billing departments, despite administrators’ assertions the positions are key to operations.
Council will vote Oct. 18 on hiring one person for an electric lineman position in the electric department and a full-time employee for the utility billing department.
The vacancies occurred when employees retired and an employee in each department was promoted to fill the vacancy.
Council members aired differing opinions on whether to make the hires after hearing from department administrators at an Oct. 4 work session.
At issue among council was whether to hire or leave positions vacant because of tight city finances.
Administrators argued the departments seeking to fill the positions do not fall under the struggling general fund. Instead, their money comes from the separate enterprise funds (water, sewer, electric) that get their money from operations.
“I think you are making a major mistake if you don’t fill this position,” Mo Eichman, city utilities director, said of the lineman position.
Pool Attendance Good This Year
This summer was the best financially for the Tippecanoe Family Aquatic Center since its opening in 2005.
“We had a great year at the pool. It is all weather-related,” City Manager John Crusey told the City Council during a 2010 season recap on Oct. 4.
Comparing revenues to expenses, the center brought in $387,874 and had $380,362 in expenses, leaving the operation $7,512 in the black.
When capital expenses of $15,768 are included in totals, the pool lost $8,456 for the year. Councilman John Kessler said that number “was not all that bad, compared to the past.”
Among other numbers reported by Crusey were attendance: 50,653. Attendance was higher in 2005, 06, and 07, but this season was shorter because the facility closed when school started in mid-August.
Average daily attendance: 641, the highest since 2005’s 676 average
Election 2010 Coverage
The Gazette is presenting a two-part election preview – Oct. 13 and 20 – in order to help our readers sort out the issues and candidates they will be voting on in November. Many Tipp area residents recall the lack of information available last year at election time. Since beginning publication in March, the Gazette has worked hard to make sure that community issues and topics and are spotlighted so the public has a voice, and our elected officials know what folks are thinking. Please tear out these election pages to use them as you make decisions on how our town, county, state, and nation should be run. Our greatest gift is our freedom. Let’s exercise it on Nov. 2.
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Domestic violence is a fact of life in our society and it knows no social or economic boundaries.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and, during this time, there are some things the local police and the Family Abuse Shelter of Miami County can share with the public to provide some insight.
In Tipp City alone, police responded to 77 domestic violence calls in 2009, said Sgt. Eric Burris of the Tipp City Police Department.
“There were 23 arrests in 2009. A lot of the time, we get there and it is a verbal argument,” Burris said. “We have a large number of calls with no arrests. A lot of times, the people are arguing, but nothing physical is going on. We try to arrange for one party to go somewhere for the night.”
The abuse shelter, located in Troy, works with an average of 600 victims of domestic violence a year.
“This includes (individuals) in the shelter and through our court-based advocacy program” said Barbara Holman, executive director. “Last year, 311 civil protection orders (CPOs) were filed in Miami County.
“Last year, we provided emergency shelter services to 108 adult female victims of domestic violence and 97 of their children,” Holman explained. “On average, they typically stay in our shelter 6 to 8 weeks. This allows us to assist them through the courts, obtain protection orders, and help them to begin rebuilding their lives. This means obtaining income and finding affordable housing and day care.
“In addition to emergency shelter, we provide court-advocacy, safety planning, cell phones, support groups, crisis intervention and case management for victims. Our whole program works to provide them with whatever help they need to break free.”
Devils Bring It Home For Homecoming
In a topsy-turvey Homecoming game Friday against Bellefontaine, Tippecanoe coach Charlie Burgbacher looked like a man searching for a bottle of Maalox.
Behind twice in the game against the Chieftains, the Red Devils had to dig deep to find a way to survive some offensive and defensive mistakes and capture a 21-17 comeback win.
“We got ourselves into a battle,” Burgbacher said.
Late in the first quarter, Tipp was on the short end of a 7-0 score when Chieftain Daulton Mossbarger returned a punt for an 82-yard score as he outraced several Tipp defenders along the visitor’s sideline.
On the ensuring kickoff, Tipp senior Casey Clack answered the bell, returning the ball 79 yards to the Chieftain 10-yard line.
“I ran as fast as I could and found a seam up the middle,” Clack said.
After a roughing penalty advanced the ball to the 5-yard line, Clack got the call on the first play from scrimmage and ran to the right side for the touchdown. Bellefontaine took a 10-7 lead midway in the second period when Jordan Price connected on a 42-yard field goal.
Editorial:
Dirty Dancing Predictable
It is inevitable that kids will push the limits and adults will overreact. If you are waiting for a definitive outcome regarding who should be blamed for Saturday night’s “dirty dancing” episode at Tippecanoe High School, don’t hold your breath.
At press time, events were still hazy (and subject to the age-related bias of observers) and emotions still running high. Via Facebook and TippNews.com (and the security of anonymity) students were defiantly announcing that they would do as they pleased, while horrified adults reacted like a southern bell with a case of the vapors.
It summoned memories of every classic “us versus them” film, from Dirty Dancing and Footloose to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off…or, for those of us in the older set, The Wild Ones and Rebel Without A Cause. For as long as humans have had an organized society, there has been that inevitable conflict between young people testing the limits of authority and us old fuddy-duddys trying to figure out ways to thwart them. Heck, those of us who grew up in the 1960s recall an entire generation devoting themselves to the mantra “never trust anyone over 30.” Of course once that generation hit 30, well, all bets were off.
The bottom line is that Saturday night was an example of kids doing what kids do…pushing our buttons and trying to see what they could get away with. The grown-ups responded by doing what grown-ups are supposed to do. They pushed back and said “oh no you don’t.” Both parties played their roles beautifully and the ensuing public outrage and debate is what happens when you don’t have anything really serious to worry about.
If Tipp City was devastated by a tornado tomorrow or space aliens arrived on earth and declared war on humanity, would any of us give a second thought to a bunch of kids behaving like hormonal teenagers? Of course not. It’s all about perspective.
Our guess is that most of the students who were ejected from the dance were good kids who got caught up in the herd mentality and the unique adrenaline rush that comes from thumbing your nose at authority. Hopefully, their parents will deal with them through some sort of disciplinary measure. If you behave like an animal, you probably need to spend a little time on a short leash. On the other hand, the parents and citizens going crazy on the internet probably need to “take a chill pill” as well, and try to remember being a teenager. It’s all about raging hormones, an over-inflated sense of self, and the driving desire to define your own destiny, sans input from the previous generation. Let’s face it, as parents, at some point, we have to trust that the lessons we’ve been teaching for 16 years have taken root. The time for preaching is past. By this age, kids are on auto-pilot and will remain so until they suddenly begin to see that much of what we taught them had a grain of logic to it.
So, should we ignore the events of Saturday night? Absolutely not. We need to respond, because it is our job to do so – and to do so firmly. But we also need to relax a little and remind ourselves that, in the grand scheme of things, this is not only a pretty minor fracas but a pretty predictable one, as well.
These…and many, many more stories are part of this week’s Tippecanoe Gazette…YOUR hometown newspaper.
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