Letters: Thoughts about gateway monolith, unsafe city parks, water in Indiana
Common sense needed
We now have the preliminary budget reports which have been approved by the city council. They do not tell us the whole story. It is the job of local government to solve local issues effectively.
What are the big issues? What problems do we have to solve here in Bloomington?
First, the lack of affordable housing, easy access to affordable effective healthcare, public safety both police and fire, dealing with mental health and substance dependence. These questions have not been addressed effectively, with affordable and clear solutions.
A 40-foot obelisk will not solve any of our problems. Neither will the closing of streets and extensive road work make life any easier for the citizens of Bloomington. The considerable expense rebuilding the west side of the Showers building at a cost of that we don’t know will not make for better services. The surprise sale of the current police building does not solve the budget issue there … what are we doing?
We are not addressing problems but designing legacies, which we cannot afford to do, and they are not building a community. The budget should address our real issues, not create new problems, diverging traffic with a surprise announcement of the aluminum obelisk, which is not representative of Bloomington at all. The community should make an outcry for the use of common sense.
Charlotte Zietlow, Bloomington
City parks are unsafe
Recently, The Herald-Times published an article and a video that explained the bicycle accident in Switchyard Park on Aug. 18, involving my daughter. The accident sent her to the emergency ward at Bloomington hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured rib, a collapsed lung, hearing loss in one ear, and a number of serious abrasions.
For this, she received a battery of tests and first aid that will cost thousands of dollars; an automobile accident in the family cost $25,000 for an emergency visit. Private insurance will cover only 80%, so she could easily owe $5,000 or more. The city of Bloomington takes absolutely no responsibility for liability in these situations.
According to one of the leading personal injury law firms in the city, no one can sue Bloomington for injuries occurring in the public parks or on the B-Line. Even though Bloomington allows the unrestricted mingling of bicycles and pedestrians on the B-Line Trail and in the city parks, the city administration takes no responsibility for the accidents that are certain to happen.
In addition, the Bloomington police seem to take a pretty laissez-faire attitude toward safety in the parks as well. When the police officer arrived on the scene in Switchyard Park, the bicyclist explained to him that his brakes did not work. Nevertheless, the officer allowed the bicyclist to ride off down the B-Line on his defective bike without a citation.
The people of Bloomington should be aware that they walk the B-Line and the city parks at their own risk, and the city administration should be held accountable for the safety of the citizens in public spaces.
Michael C. Milam, Unionville
Thanks for help after accident
Many, many thanks to the out-of-state man who provided steadiness after I hit a small dog on (Ind.) 446 Friday noon. I hope the dog, Duke, is doing OK. He should not have been in the road! And to the driver who was coming at me, in my lane, turning left, shame on you! Shame! And as much as I worry about Duke, I am grateful to have missed that white car.
Marilyn Fagg, Nashville
GOP should respectfully mourn Sen. Feinstein's passing
The death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein was illustrative of the state of the modern Republican Party. There has always been a strain of cruelty in politics, from all sides, but it has become more open since 2015.
It is possible to think that Feinstein was wrong on a great many things, yet it is appropriate to mourn her death. This is because she, like every other man and woman, was made in the image of God. But too many people on the right actively attack conservatives who mourn her passing as compromisers or worse.
This is what Donald Trump has done to the Republican Party and the conservative movement. Instead of seeing our political opponents as wrong, Trumpism treats political opponents as personal enemies who cannot be afforded any kindness whatsoever. Having compassion for political opponents as persons, even while opposing them on policy, is “why we lose.”
We have to “fight fire with fire” if we hope to “win.”
Trumpism is not a policy agenda or a set of principles. Trumpism is a combative attitude and a raised middle finger. But the 2020 election showed that Trumpism is not the path to victory. Sure, Trump turned out millions more voters than voted for him four years earlier, but millions more turned out to vote against him.
Had Trump been disciplined, restrained, and focused, he may well have been re-elected. But Trump could not resist venting his spleen every day on social media. Trumpian candidates then lost critical races in 2022 that were winnable. It is time for the Republican Party to move on from both Donald Trump and Trumpism.
Scott Tibbs, Bloomington
Considering the gateway project as sculpture
Regarding the proposed Bicentennial Gateway Project in Miller Showers Park: Let's consider this object as a sculpture, and put it through the questions that art is supposed to satisfy.
The setting: What will be the relationship of the metal tower to the towering metal electrical poles that are being installed on 17th Street? How does the structure relate to the water feature that educates park users on the geography of the site? How does it serve to enhance the meaning of J.P. Darriau's limestone sculpture, Red, Brown, Black, and Olive?
The material: Limestone is the literal bedrock of Monroe County, and integral to the sculpture and architecture of Bloomington. Steel structures, particularly box-shaped ones, create an urban industrial context.
The meaning: Perhaps using the name of the town tells all and nothing at the same time, and is therefore devoid of meaning beyond being a label.
The mood, or emotional influence: This object does not even exist yet, and it has proved to be a powerful force for bringing out emotions. Examine the response that it has received, and to assess if that mood is one that is beneficial to the community.
Bridgette Z. Savage, Bloomington
Monument instead of leaf pickup isn't progress
It seems strange that in tree city we are managing to build a useless monument to commerce and still can't pick up leaves. Exactly what does my property tax pay for? It is not a monument to commerce. We have colored balls in our downtown and now we have obelisks. I don't think that is progress.
Doug Butler, Bloomington
Indiana's limiting factor is water
Justin Liebig's "law of the barrel" is the oldest math there is. Liebig's law states that the shortest stave caps how much a barrel can be filled, less than full, because the stuff above the short stave leaks out. Indiana has discovered its "population" barrel and its short stave: water.
Market forces do not manage for the greatest good for the greatest number, and market forces have plumbed out Indiana wrong. We build levees too close to rivers, depriving them of their groundwater recharge. We build roads to collect, channelize and drain runoff — when crowning and out-sloping bring on infiltration to recharge wells.
Forests are overstocked with bio-pumps that suck water from the soil and pass it off skyward, shorting supplies. (Water, not timber, is our most important forest product.) By comparison, California develops its recharge infrastructures like reverse tile drainage, infiltration ponds, flotation tires that stop hard pans from forming, even winter flooding.
The California Farm Bureau endorses beavers for water table advantage, as does the Sierra Club! "Green fields forever" is not our future unless the state re-plumbs its recharge infrastructures.
Bud Hoekstra, Bloomington
Blessed are those who can think for themselves
A considerable number of “high-minded” folks steadfastly believe that their ideology serves the needs of all mankind. But they’re often just following a crowd that mocks others to satiate their own needs.
Blessed are those who can think for themselves, regardless of how the mainstream consensus directs them. These individuals are few and far between, though they are easily spotted. They have an inner strength that often makes them conspicuous.
They are not the most fashionable, nor do they pay much attention to social trends. They pilot their own ship as they navigate curiously. They listen attentively to advice and are almost always respectful in disagreement. They will tell you what they think, but not usually before they’ve been asked.
Scott Thompson, Bloomington
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Letters: Obelisk solves no problems, Bloomington park safety
