The Nation Thank Your Mentor Day is January 22, 2010. However, Trusted Mentors of Indianapolis will have their Annual Thank A Mentor Celebration on January 20. 2010 at Immanuel United Church of Christ in Indianapolis. For more information please click here.

Circle City News is fundraising for the Indiana R.A.N.G.E.R Scholarship. The scholarship is for students attending Ivy Tech-Central Indiana. The scholarship is for $250.00; so if 25 people donate $10.00 then that is enough to pay for one scholarship.

Your donation is tax deductible and the donation should be made out to the Ivy Tech RANGER Scholarship.

Please mail checks to:
Ivy Tech Foundation-Central Indiana
50 W. Fall Creek Parkway, N. Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46208

You may visit their website to donate online by clicking here. Then, click on Make a Gift. Please make sure to click on Indianapolis for the campus and use gift for RANGER Scholarship. Also, the web address is http://www.ivytech.edu/indianapolis/giving/index.html.

A direct and secure link to the donation form can be found here. Please make sure to click on Indianapolis for the campus and use gift for RANGER Scholarship. The web address is https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/IvyTechFoundationIN/OnlineDonation.html

Please click here for a link to the scholarship. The web address is http://www.ivytech.edu/indianapolis/financialaid/criteria.html

Your help is much appreciated.

The Indiana RANGER Scholarship Fund

Read all you can
Apply what you have read
Never give up
Give to others
Earn respect
Reap the benefits of all that you have earned

Mark Nicholson (Sponsor) and Finis Tatum IV (Co-Sponsor)

The RANGER scholarship has been established to encourage students to think and write about the importance of diversity.

1. Eligibility
Enrolled at Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana at least 6 credit hours per semester

2. Application Process
Scholarship application handled thorough Next Gen software. Specific information can be found by visiting: http://www.ivytech.edu/indianapolis/financialaid/criteria.html

3. Award
$250.00

4. Criteria for Candidates:
• Demonstrate financial need;
• Preference is given to students from urban areas who have overcome economic hardships. Target Marion County students to receive award;
• First generation college student (parents and grandparents did not graduate from college);
• Record of service and involvement in civic, church, and/or school activities, and;
• Applicants must list one (1) book that influenced their life and write how the book affected them.

No soup for you! I know times are financially tough and State agencies are looking for ways to save money. I know I have stopped eating out as much for lunch to save money but I have not stopped eating lunch. I find it questionable that the reason for not serving lunch is to give the prisoners more time to recreate, essentially giving them more playtime. Since when is playtime more important than eating time? And why not use some of their playtime as a time to eat lunch?

One of my concerns is if the prison officials are not being honest about the real reason for not serving lunch, what else are they not being honest about? To read the entire Indystar article please click here.

I love a diversity of opinions but I prefer opinions that don’t encourage hate-mongering. Ms. Palin’s several campaign speeches were nothing more than hate-mongering. My evidence, her saying or implying that Obama doesn’t like America, he is not a real American, he pals around with terrorists, death panels, etc. During at least one of her rallies someone shouted, “kill him [referring to Obama].” She did nothing to quell those types of comments. Therefore, I will do nothing to buy her book. I am sure she will do quite well without me reading or buying her book!

I do not understand why all these talking heads (TV news anchors, commentators, talk shows hosts, etc.) are complaining about the suspected Gitmo terrorists being tried in New York City. Some of the reasons I have heard is that it will put people in New York at risk, it mocks our justice system, the civilian courts are not prepared to handle terrorists and that it will be another “OJ Simpson” trial. I am sure there are other concerns but my response should address those concerns too.

First, I fail to see how trying them in New York puts New Yorkers or America at risk. Does anyone actually believe that if they are tried in Gitmo that all the terrorists will no longer want to attack New York or America? It does not matter where they are tried, the terrorists want to attack New York and anywhere else significant in the United States. Second, I doubt there is anyone in New York that is not familiar with the attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) towers. If you think the good citizens of a New York jury are going to let these “suspected” terrorist go free…well, I think you are clearly mistaken. The comments about it being another “OJ” trial must be from people that did not like the verdict. It is interesting to note people mention the “OJ” trial as an example of the justice system failing but neglect to mention the hundreds of proven examples of our justice system sending innocent people to prison for decades or even to death. In other words, the likelihood of an innocent person being found guilty is much greater than a guilty person being found innocent. Furthermore, why do people think the military can handle this type of trial better than the government? They are both the federal government. It just so happens that the government has a lot more experience trying high-profile cases than the military. How soon people forget that the 1993 WTC terrorist bombers were tried and convicted in New York.

The bottom line is, these men will be tried, convicted, sentenced to death and executed like that piece of trash Timothy McVeigh. I am not sure what more these complainers want.

You stay up for 16 hours.
We stay up for days on end.
You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
We go weeks without running water.
You complain of a ‘headache’ and call in sick.
We get shot at, as others are hit,and we keep moving forward.
You talk about your buddies that aren’t with you.
We know we may never see any of ours ever again.
You complain about how hot it is.
We wear our heavy gear,not daring to take off our helmet to wipe our forehead.
You get mad at the waiter for getting your order wrong.
We don’t get to eat today.
You’re mad that your class got held 5 minutes over.
We’re told we will be held over an extra 2 months.
You roll your eyes when your baby cries.
We get letters with pictures of our new baby,and wonder if we”ll ever meet.

Now that is the life of a combat soldier!

This is being debated again? Now, I am not a smoker and I believe in the science that shows smoking is hazardous to your health. However, I just find it a waste of money and time to keep debating this issue. If people do not want to be around smoke then do not visit the places where they allow smoking…seems simple to me. I know some people will say what about the workers that have to put up with the second hand smoke? Well, it kind of comes with the job (I am referring to bars and clubs). If drinking offends me then I should not apply at place where they serve alcohol. I would venture to say that more people have died (or at least committed crimes, e.g., DWI) because of alcohol than smoking.

A proposal to ban smoking in most Indianapolis workplaces will return to the City-County Council for a vote later this month. Click here for the entire article.

Generally in our society we do not allow children to vote, drink alcohol, join the military, sign contracts, have sex, drive, etc. The research has proven that children are not fully developed yet. In other words, they are not adults. However, if they commit a certain crime then we do allow them to be sent to prison for life without parole. It is difficult to understand why that should be found constitutional, unless revenge and retribution is the goal. In the two cases the High Court heard today, no deaths were involved. One was a rape case and the other was a robbery case. It is not that these are trivial offenses because they are not. On the other hand, if this is a Christian nation (as some claim) then where is the forgiveness, transformation, rehabilitation or finally growing up?

The Supreme Court appeared split Monday along familiar ideological lines over whether the Constitution forbids locking up forever juveniles whose crimes fall short of homicide. Click here for the entire article.

Please tune in to Circle City News on November 11 at 7:00pm. Executive Vice President Cindy Thomas will tell us about Helping Homeless Veterans and Families.
Mrs. Cindy Thomas received a BA in Psychology from Indiana University in 1988 and a MSW from IU in 1990. She became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in 1996. She worked for 5 yrs as a family counselor for active Navy personnel at the now-closed Alameda Naval Air Station, CA. Currently she is the Executive Vice President of Helping Homeless Veterans and Families (HVAF) in Indiana. Please visit their website at: http://www.hvaf.org/index.php

Then she worked with the San Francisco VA’s Homeless Outreach Team where she case managed chronically mentally ill homeless veterans in the community. In 1988, she returned to Indianapolis and worked for the Indianapolis VA on the outpatient psychiatric clinic, counseling veterans and families on a variety of issues. In 2001, she joined the HVAF of Indiana, Inc. staff of 5, under our current Pres and CEO, Charles Haenlein, when we were known as Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation. HVAF stands for Helping Homeless Veterans and Families. HVAF now has a staff of 41 and houses 145 homeless veterans every night, with a wait list of 35+. She oversees the social workers and peer counselors, and helps in writing proposals to procure grant funding for their many programs.

On personal note, she is married to a social worker who has worked with homeless veterans for 20 years. They have 3 daughters, ages 9, 6 & 3. Her father is a retired Capt in the USAF, a pilot who flew B52’s during Vietnam.

It is with great sadness that I post this message. Professor Mary Harter Mitchell was so instrumental in helping guide me through the maze of law school. There are several stories I could tell of how she helped me but I will save them for a later date. I am sure those that knew her were impacted in a positive way. She was so nice and peaceful. Her presence will be missed. My prayers go out to her family and friends.

Please click Here to read more about her.