This Keith Henderson hagiography omits a few relevant points of contention.

Earlier this week, the Collected Works of Tom May's senior hagiographer considered the tenure of Keith Henderson as Floyd County Prosecutor. But first, noting that a "hard" g is preferred, but a "soft" g is allowable, Shane's Excellent New Words explains the meaning of hagiography (from March 9, 2016).

1. the writing of the lives of the saints
2. biography of the saints
3. any biography that idealizes or idolizes its subject

Read it for yourself.

MOSSWORDS: Henderson 'still passionate about justice', by Dale Moss

NEW ALBANY — Keith Henderson scanned headlines a few weeks ago. One stuck out.

David Camm's lawsuit against the state had been dismissed.

Swell news for Henderson, of course. As Floyd County's prosecutor, he represented Indiana in pursuing justice for the murders of Camm's wife and two children in 2000. After two murder convictions — one won by Henderson — and 13 years in prison, Camm was found not guilty in a third trial ...

Moss proceeds with the hagiography, and all that can be said about this mellifluous act of selective memory is that he's paid to produce hagiography because hagiography is what Bill Hanson's regime wants to spoon-feed its readers. No offense to Moss, so merely allow me to suggest there's a subtle but noticeable bias in the opening extract.

Granted, it's a fool's errand to speak dispassionately and rationally about the Camm murders. Extreme passions on all sides will remain inflamed for the rest of our lives, and probably the lives of generations to follow. Yet, as this pertains to Henderson as prosecutor, my personal view is unaltered.

If we "the people," operating with Henderson riding point (and before him, Faith), couldn't prosecute David Camm legally according to the accepted rules of engagement, then we screwed up. The task was to prosecute him legally, or let him go. Our prosecutors erred not once, but twice.

That's damning, when you stop to think about it, and Moss blithely waves away these concerns in his eagerness to pay tribute. I'm not entirely convinced, and back in August of 2016, one of the prosecutor's fellow Republicans wasn't, either.

It's worth revisiting his words, because even in the unlikely instance that the Camm affair was Henderson's only linked series of mistakes (tactics, book deals, expenses slush) in 16 years, they're mighty big ones -- and hagiography shouldn't blind us to this fact.

OAKLEY: Prosecutor ethics violation finding should serve as a wake-up call, by Matt Oakley (guest columnist at CNHI Court Avenue)

The Indiana Supreme Court hearing officer recently issued his report in the pending disciplinary action against Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson. After a lengthy trial on the matter, the hearing officer found that Mr. Henderson had a personal interest (the book deal) while he was still representing the State, a conflict of interest and an ethical violation. A separate complaint also alleged Mr. Henderson made “material statements that were false, dishonest, and Fraudulent” when he submitted invoices for his personal attorney to defend him from ethics charges from this private book deal.

The findings of the report are not just an indictment against our prosecutor but also an indictment of the process of spending taxpayer money in Floyd County. It is often easier to ignore embarrassing problems like this rather than to address the situation, but burying our heads in the sand won’t fix the problem ...

... Next, when inappropriate claims get paid even under the rights process, we should try and rectify the situation immediately. Although it should have happened in 2012, I will ask for a vote to request Mr. Henderson to pay back the $27,539 Floyd County paid to his private attorney for his ethics investigation. The Ethics Commission also alleged that Mr. Henderson’s ethical violations resulted in a delay in three years of the prosecution of David Camm and more than $225,000 in excess costs and expenses to Floyd County. Inaction is not an option unless we want to repeat this unfortunate scenario.

ON THE AVENUES REWOUND, PART THREE: Anatomy of a red herring.

ON THE AVENUES REWOUND, PART ONE: Yellow lines, and what comes due.
ON THE AVENUES REWOUND, PART TWO: You actually can get something for nothing.
ON THE AVENUES REWOUND, PART THREE: Anatomy of a red herring.

Okay, I'm jabbing and feinting.

There really isn't a third "ONE THE AVENUES REWOUND." Rather, the first two are intended solely to provide background and perspective for this link to a newspaper column this week by Dale Moss.

In which New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan still cannot bring himself to mention two-way streets without prefacing his statement with the word "possibility."

In which the fiction is perpetuated that local government and a solitary realtor have heroically turned the tide.

In which each person quoted, save one, actually has not invested a dime of his own money in downtown revitalization.

Jeeebus, agitprop like this is disheartening. Anyone got a bucket?

---

MOSS: Mike Kopp has his hand in progress in area downtowns; A little forward thinking goes a long way, by Dale Moss ('Bune)

... “It seemed like someone was waiting on someone to do something,” (Mike) Kopp said. “I figured it was me.”

Give me fried chicken, and stop with the top-down beautification propaganda -- both of you.

The single most relevant element that no one at all -- Jeff, Letty, Irv -- seems to understand is that the elusive "wow" factor comes when the excitement bubbles up from the grassroots as populated by dozens of diverse points of view, rather than being dictated from above, whether "above" means one official city group or another temporary collection of volunteers.

Can we be reality-based for just a moment? The planters in question simply cannot be described as "cosmopolitan" without the use of hallucinogenic chemicals, ever -- and my saying so doesn't imply I agree with their removal, only that offering us yet another two-party "solution" makes a strong case for vacating town, not volunteering.

(The independent mayoral campaign platform writes itself)

The problem here goes way beyond Dale Moss's dogged analysis. It remains a case of either this or that; City Hall vs. Clean and Green in a struggle over which elitists decide what "cleaner" and "prettier" and "attractive" mean. Meanwhile, the city's unforgivably obtuse and dysfunctional infrastructure pushes right back to make everything nastier, 24 hours each day, negating well-meaning efforts even if we agreed on the definition of well-meaning.

Fix the damn streets first -- then argue about flowers afterward. Until the infrastructure is made right, this entire argument is a waste of newsprint and time.

MOSS: A plea for ‘green peace’, by Dale Moss (Ad Express & Daily Iowegian)

Two groups commit to making New Albany cleaner and prettier. Beats having none, for sure.

One group would be better.

That way, everything is shared, not split. There’s only cooperation, not competition. One vision, one budget and one set of volunteers ready to work up a sweat better leads to the one ideal.

I count on a merger/peace treaty/meeting of the dueling green thumbs. Please.

Moss returns: "Tolls will set back regionalism," and that's not all.

Dale Moss has returned, and of course I'm delighted that in his first column for the News and Tribune, he gave me a shout-out -- but only because his point about the beer revolution resonated with me after a difficult week spent barely tolerating the new generation of auto-erotic narcissists.

Dale's observation about the toll-driven bridges project is repeated below. Climb the paywall to read the rest.

MOSS: Some thoughts while dreaming of a nap, by Dale Moss (N and T)

... Some days, when the nap is interrupted and lunch does more to me than for me, I do not believe I will live to see new bridges open or my Hoosiers win every basketball game they should. Other days, I believe in the future like I did that I’d always have hair and energy. I have quit believing that the Pulitzer Prize committee finally will come its senses. But I still believe my wife might give up expecting me to make the bed.

Anyway, as part of my reintroduction to you, after all those years in that other newspaper, here is some else of what I believe:

I believe we will adjust to Ohio River bridge tolls like we do to paying for 1,000 TV channels and 1 million cell telephone minutes. But the tolls will set back regionalism, will especially pinch Southern Indiana work commuters plus any business that relies on metrowide appeal. I believe that tolls should not have been an absolute must. A recent study confirms the incredible economic boost new bridges will provide. If any project is worthy of Uncle Sam playing sugar daddy, this one is.

In memory of Beer Money, a note to Dale Moss.

Dear Dale

I'm glad to see you're back in the game, writing columns for the News and Tribune. Whenever I'm able to deploy my sophisticated e-gadgetry, first perfected during the Main Street Opium Den Scandal, and tunnel through the Great Paywall of Hanson to glimpse the other side, I'll eagerly read your columns in spite of the pop-ups and roll-overs.

I've always been a fan of yours, but there's just one thing about the N and T; sad to say it, and sorry I have to do so, but my advice to you, borne of lamentable experience, is to eschew all future political endeavors if you want to keep the new writing gig in place.

I'd also advise against stepping out of the office to take a leak.

I learned this the hard way; I did my civic duty and aspired to the office of councilman, was promised I'd resume my N and T column if defeated, and then POOF ... the football was withheld, and the erstwhile columnist landed on his back, that gentle 'Bama mud oozing onward and upward, toward chain newspaper heaven.

It's a wound that hasn't healed, and I remain bitter about it. I've always respected you, so let's hope your fate isn't the same.

Good luck,

Roger

PS -- Wanna compare notes? How much are they paying you, and do you even get a free pass into Hansonville?

Dale Moss & Mosswords at Destinations Booksellers on Tuesday, August 27.

I might have to smuggle inside a Progressive Growler for this occasion.

Dale Moss Offers His Best With Mosswords, Aug. 27

If you’ve missed Dale Moss’s writing over the past year or so, never fear. The former C-J columnist, a Southern Indiana institution, will be reading from, discussing, and signing his new book, Mosswords: Stories of Indiana in The Courier-Journal, at Destinations Booksellers on Tuesday, August 27, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Along with numerous others, Dale Moss departs the C-J.

Courier-Journal reporter Harold J. Adams put it in perspective on April 12, via Twitter:

890 years of service and institutional memory leaving The Courier-Journal with 26 buyout retirees tomorrow. Godspeed to them.

Among them is Dale Moss, who I'll miss. He always tried to get it right, and usually did. Dale, if you're reading: I'll gladly swap you lunch for columns here at the blog. Pretty soon, we're going to be all that's left locally.

Dale Moss | Goodbye friends, it's been terrific

You no longer will find me on these pages. I have left for the unsettling world of early retirement. I struggled with that decision. You kept making it harder, kept asking that I keep telling your stories.

According to Dale Moss, we're cool in a diverse-type way.

I can hear former councilman Steve Price's anguished cry: "But if we're the Highlands, where are we gonna park all them cars? Aaaiiiyyeeeeee ... "

Dale Moss: New Albany gets its cool on (Courier-Journal)

... Paul Kiger, Southern Indiana’s 2011 Realtor of the Year, does all he can to promote the area as the Darrs find it.

Trendy is the word Kiger offers of momentum he contends only is beginning. “There’s definitely a movement,” he said. “It really offers a diverse-type culture for about any lifestyle.”

The Darrs make the most of handy parks and the city’s riverfront. They walk when they can and appreciate otherwise that parking typically is free and close. “It’s a five-minute drive here, a two-minute drive there,” Savannah said. All in all, they get a lot and gave up only a little. Their decision was smart, they say, not merely practical.

“I think the area we live in is the Highlands for the young professional,” he said.

Nice press for Earth Friends in the C-J.

On the same day that Professor Erika encourages the wee ones to expedite their monies out of town (the shareholders of Mega-chain-land thank you, dear), the C-J's Dale Moss profiles Stacie and her grassroots, local Earth Friends Cafe. Irony -- what a concept. Here's an excerpt.

Cafe serves food with thought; Restaurateur caters to vegans, vegetarians

Is a steady paycheck really worth it?

Stacie Henehan Bale’s answer is in a partly filled strip center alongside a funeral home off Grant Line Road in New Albany, Ind.

There, Bale owns and runs Earth Friends Cafe. Almost 41, Bale is finally her own boss, ready as she can be to cope when it seems no one else ever is going to come in that door.

Bale caters a good bit to vegetarians and to vegans in a Southern Indiana in which people line up for Paula Deen’s buffet. Bale likes her chances, nonetheless. Once in a while, business fairly thrives.

Moss: "Downtown New Albany on the path to renewal."

Last week, it was Dale Moss on Paul Kiger. This week, the C-J's columnist remains focused on New Albany.

Downtown New Albany on the path to renewal

Dave Thrasher, who has an art studio on Market Street, said the downtown momentum reflects growing appreciation for a simpler, throwback kind of life. “It's energizing, but it's fragile,” he said. “We're still a work in progress.”

It's a good piece, but I must observe that a completely empty Farmers Market pavilion is an odd choice for a photo with an article that specifically mentions the large crowds to be found there on market days.

Then again, the C-J is a shell of its former self. At least there wasn't a pop-up ad.

Dale Moss on Paul Kiger.

A nice C-J shout-out for Paul: New Albany Realtor Paul Kiger breaks mold, makes sales; 31-year-old could be region's youngest agent of the year.

I never can say goodbye boy ... ooh ooh baby, I never can say goodbye ... no no no no no no ...

The C-J's Dale Moss gets in on the "farewell tour -- wait, not so fast" political floor show here in New Albany. Through it all, not a single candidate for any city office has addressed the Verle Theorem of Being: Will there be a return of square dancing to downtown, or not?

Better still: When will the karaoke cease on Dewey Heights?

New Albany Mayor Doug England can't completely say goodbye, eyes council seat

England expects to win a council seat, as he would have assumed victory in a mayoral bid. Such assumptions are reasonable, as he contends New Albany is better off than it was four years ago. There is energy downtown and along the riverfront.

Mick!

The Courier-Journal's Dale Moss profiles Michael "Mick" Neely, former Floyd Central music teacher, and one of the single most influential persons during my high school years.

Floyd choir leader Michael Neely cannot stop teaching

... Neely is also described as lovable, a never-at-a-loss storyteller, a salt-of-the-earth type just as comfortable with a chainsaw as he is with a keyboard. He coached sports as well as directed choirs; little wonder he runs into thankful people wherever he goes.

I'm certainly one of these thankful people.

Moss and Johnson on bridges and tolls.

Taken together, these two Sunday opinion columns appearing in Louisville metro newspapers occupying opposite editorial sides of the bridge tolls debate make a unified, if unintended point.

Opposition to tolling may be misdirected, and perhaps even wasted, without a fundamental examination of future transit options as largely contradicted by the assumptions of the ORBP. Does the sacred plan and its $4 billion worth of boondoggle actually provide "mobility solutions," or might these goals be achieved by altered or entirely different means? What is the future?

Dale Moss Jeffersonville restaurant owners take on tolls (Courier-Journal)

Like many Hoosiers, Wes Johnson and Mike Kapfhammer wait impatiently for fewer maybes about the Ohio River Bridges Project. And like many – including me - they want to believe in it but still cannot.

Johnson and Kapfhammer co-own the Buckhead Mountain Grill and Rocky’s restaurants on Jeffersonville’s riverfront. They were regionalists before regionalism was cool ...

... Johnson and Kapfhammer are trying to rally people as part of the No2BridgeTolls.org effort. “When they realize, then they get excited,” Kapfhammer said.

In short, we mustn't accept recently proffered diversionary bait. It's time to take toll talk to a different level, but more on that later. For now, know that No2BridgeTolls is holding a another meeting on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at Buckhead Mountain Grill in Jeffersonville. Now, notice how Rev. Johnson instinctively grasps certain points that seem forever to elude the iron dictates of Stemlerism.

JOHNSON: A bridge too far, by Richard Johnson (Tribune)

... When new highways and bridges are built in urban areas, they tend to have the long-term effect of encouraging more people to drive. This in turn leads to more traffic and bigger traffic jams…the opposite of the intended effect. We know this, but continue to build them anyway.

Hagiography.

hag·i·og·ra·phy
hægiˈɒgrəfi, ˌheɪdʒi-/ [hag-ee-og-ruh-fee, hey-jee-]

–noun, plural -phies.

the writing and critical study of the lives of the saints; hagiology.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Origin:
1805–15; hagio- + -graphy

—Related forms
hag·i·o·graph·ic  /ˌhægiəˈgræfɪk, ˌheɪdʒi-/
[hag-ee-uh-graf-ik, hey-jee-]
hag·i·o·graph·i·cal, adjective

A columnist plumb snookered.

It's Wizard of Oz Day in the Open Air Museum. To all our friends on the outside ... please, don't judge the whole city by our troglodytes.

Newsmaker Vicki Denhart A woman working for the people, by Dale Moss in the Courier-Journal.

“I tell my friends, ‘I've got tire tracks on my back,' ” she said. “I guess it's like a badge of honor. But hey, I'm still standing.”

Moss on England, and the notion of "popular" demand.

Dale Moss devoted Sunday C-J ink to New Albany's mayor, Doug England. It is a brief portrait of a mayor in motion, mid-term and mid-flight, but one leaving unanswered the question, "to where?"

There is undeniable truth to the proposition that England is a polarizing figure, but sometimes I wonder if this assumption is overstated, seeing as a large measure of the disgruntlement expressed toward him is revealed to be congenital, reserved for indiscriminate spraying on any politician of any party or stripe aspiring to the office.

Some New Albanians support him, other oppose him, and the majority remains entirely apathetic. In short, political business as usual in the Open Air Museum.

Moss draws one conclusion (below) that is worthy of note: "(England) will seek another term in 2011 if, and seemingly only if, it is by popular demand."

That's interesting. It's why we hold elections, right?

What do you think it really means?

England to take New Albany's pulse.

England told me at the beginning of this year that by year's end he intends to know just how the city feels about him. He will seek another term in 2011 if, and seemingly only if, it is by popular demand. This is England's year to explain and listen, to make the most of any breaks the economy finally affords and to hope it all pleases as much as swift snow removal.

“I'll be looking for the word, looking for the feeling of the community,” England said. “Does it want to continue in the same direction or does it want to change. If it wants to change, I'll help it. It's not about being mayor for the ego.”

Moss profiles Harper.

I'm happy that Dale Moss caught this one. Scott Harper is a master sommelier, of which there are just over one hundred in the entire country, and he works in Jeffersonville. That's good news, any way you look at it.

Expert reveals the simple truths of savoring wines

Dale Moss in the C-J: "From parents to local colleges, giving some thanks."

The headline department must have taken the day off, but get past that, and read as the C-J's Indiana columnist offers a thoughtful survey of positive developments locally. His choicest words are at the beginning.

Dale Moss - From parents to local colleges, giving some thanks (Courier-Journal)

Then again, my parents never made sure I know how to hate, either. They couldn’t. They were clueless about meanness. However open-minded I am is due mostly to them being closed to any other option. My Thanksgiving blessings begin with appreciation for seeing all sides, for believing in the best of people. My parents passed too long ago. But I try for their most-valuable lessons to live on, after all.

I wonder increasingly how others were raised. Hate brews shamelessly on the Internet, at political rallies, on television and radio. Because we are free to believe anything, is it OK – not just legal -- to say and write anything? Here’s hoping the high road is rediscovered.