GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Deaf Gahan wants to annex Grant Line Elementary School. Why didn't the Redevelopment Commission discuss this at its last meeting?

At the most recent Redevelopment Commission meeting, the made-for-election-year hosannas could be heard all the way out in Galena, where a similar investment in dead weights is being financed not by a brain-dead mayor, but by bake sales and GoFundMe.

New Albany High School weight room receives $100,000 TIF gift, by Chris Morris (Tom May Column Expositor)

Money will come from TIF funds

NEW ALBANY — New Albany High School's Health and Wellness initiative soon may see a significant upgrade thanks to a $100,000 grant from the New Albany Redevelopment Commission.

The money, which will come out of Tax Increment Financing or TIF funds, will be used to enhance both the health and wellness curriculum as well as purchase equipment for the school's weight room. The measure still must be approved by the New Albany Floyd County School Board at the March 11 meeting.

The redevelopment commission is allowed to use 15 percent of TIF funds for educational spending, and member Adam Dickey said this will have a positive impact on New Albany.

"This will benefit kids across our community," Dickey said. "This is a way as a city we can have an impact to help out the school corporation and impact lives in a very meaningful way."

This example of re-election campaign publicity hokum was so ill-considered that even David Barksdale voted against it.

But now it seems that the devil resided in ANOTHER detail. Back to Papa Morris:

BLACKBERRY RIDGE HILL

The redevelopment commission approved a contract with Clark Dietz, Inc. to design plans to shave three feet from the hill near the Blackberry Ridge entrance off Grant Line Road. Where the entrance to the development is located creates a blind spot for drivers pulling out onto Grant Line Road. Plans are expected to be finished in July and there is no timetable when work will begin.

Clark Dietz? Is it the same Clark Dietz that has gifted the mayor with $34,400 since 2011?

But I digress.

The Green Mouse has learned that the New Albany-Floyd County School Corporation's board will be asked to approve -- or is it to request? -- the city's annexation of land that includes Grant Line Elementary School, located a short distance from the Blackberry Ridge.

Apparently the topic of annexation did not arise at the Redevelopment meeting in question, although one might have found it of interest in light of the roadwork, right?

The city's annexation pitch to the school administration, which in turn has passed the glad-handing to the school board (the approval of which apparently is necessary), goes something like this: annexation will make the road work easier for the city, and annexation will then benefit Grant Line Elementary by (a) reducing sewer bills and (b) shifting responsibility for emergency responses to the NAFD.

The Green Mouse sounds weary.

Let me get this straight. With an election coming and "TIF for Schools" under fire via state legislation, Gahan tosses $100,000 at the school corporation that employs his wife and daughter, and Irving Joshua prattles nonsensically about weight training being the same thing as redevelopment; then, with little or no advance information provided to its own board, the school corporation encourages immediate compliance with/capitulation to an annexation move so well camouflaged it was completely invisible. Do these people ever do anything in the open -- and could Chris Morris ask a good question every other year, or is that too much to ask?  

Sadly, here in New Gahania it's business-on-the-down-low-as-usual. 

One year later, Indiana 111 is no less dangerous than before.

Kevin Hammersmith was killed a year ago tomorrow, when his car was struck by a vehicle driven by Wesley S. Bradshaw.

While there’s always the chance, albeit slim, that our community might someday commence a substantive discussion of what might be done to alleviate the hazards on the stretch of rural highway (Indiana 111) connecting Horseshoe with its customer base, there isn’t much to say about this sad anniversary beyond asking a question that might have occurred to others who knew Kevin.

What’s the status of the legal case against Bradshaw?

Since the aftermath of the fatal accident, Bradshaw’s journey through the legal system has been mentioned on two occasions within the pages of the News and Tribune.

Toxicology results

Additional counts

The state of Indiana’s search engine can be used to see further details. Click on criminal cases, and enter Bradshaw’s name. Charges filed against him are enumerated, as well as the chronology of the case. My most recent search yielded this:

Jury Trial (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer Orth, Susan L)
08/20/2012 Continued to 10/15/2012 - By Request - Bradshaw, Wesley S
10/15/2012 Continued to 02/25/2013 - By Request - Bradshaw, Wesley S

Yes, “justice” is a word loaded with trip wires. To the extent that the American legal system is capable of proffering justice, we’d all like to see “it” done in this case, and seemingly, the time may be drawing near.

Assuredly Kevin will not be forgotten, and since his untimely death, he has been remembered in numerous, meaningful ways, but wouldn’t the very best way to honor his memory be for us to come together to improve safety on that damned stretch of hazardous highway?

State 111 passes to the city. Bicycle lane, anyone?

The traffic along Grant Line Road hasn’t been as bad, apparently because the recession reduced the number of passing trains where the state of Indiana proposed an overpass, and in turn, eliminating it as a need.

Did it then become a “want”? We await clarification from Professor Erika’s Tea Kettle Serenade.

Of all the news stories to come down the information rutted dirt goat path of late, this is the one that requires a master’s degree in protocol before finally managing to tunnel through to the actual topic. The city of New Albany has wrested 4.5 miles of Indiana 111 from the state, and before I can express cautionary mixed feelings, there must be a discussion about whom to thank and in what order they must be congratulated.

Alphabetically, the contestants are State Representative Ed Clere, Mayor Doug England, and Deputy Mayor Carl Malysz. I imagine that John Rosenbarger and Scott Wood should be included, but they are not listed in the press release. Some might suggest that Governor Mitch Daniels receive credit, but I’d rather drink Bud Light than stoop to that.

Thanks, guys. Does Clere’s opponent, Shane Gibson, get equal time here? Just in case, go ahead and throw his name in the pot, too.

Now comes the part that we’re all waiting to hear: A detailed plan to allay fears that the settlement cash won't go toward future widening and upkeep of 111. I can already hear Dan Coffey demand that it be divided among flood victims or used to subsidize sewer rates.

As for widening, a bicycle lane connecting downtown with IUS now becomes a possibility, doesn’t it? One that passes the city's largest public park?

After all, it’s the city’s road to control. Daniel Suddeath's article mentions adding a fifth auto lane near the Interstate. Given current conditions, green makes more sense, doesn't it?