AN OLD FASHIONED NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING

Thank you, Jones Memorial AME Zion Church.

Rev. Evans and The Jones AME Church did a real community service on Saturday, April 5th. They provided a nice meeting place for citizens to voice their opinions to Mayor England. They even cooked a delicious lunch. Nicole Yates was there to represent the NAACP and Rep. Baron Hill, she was also available to answer questions.

Mayor England responded to a wide range of subjects. Following is a list of the citizens' concerns:

1. Streets which are torn up by the utility companies and left with a rough surface for cars to travel.

2. Police patrol cars sitting around in parking lots -- should be driving through neighborhood streets to monitor drug dealers in New Albany.

3. Repeated flooding in neighborhoods without the city trying to correct this problem.

4. Trash scattered along Highway 64 in plain view of traffic on West St.

5. Repairs to Spring St. Hill.

6. Additional code enforcement needed in New Albany:

~ unsafe shabby houses

~ junk cars in yards and on the street

~ trash in yards

7. Housing Authority problems in Bono Rd. housing.

8. Sewers and sewer billing.

9. Lawsuits over no bid contracts.

10. Garbage pickup and trash pickup problems.

11. YMCA - How are children from lower income families going to afford the money for membership in the YMCA? Everyone is so excited about the YMCA building downtown. Who is working on a plan to help these children use the new "Y". We are putting city and county dollars into this project. Someone should be looking for a way to help our inner-city children.

On a personal note, I thoroughly enjoyed this meeting and hope this is only one of many. Several people expressed a desire to meet monthly or quarterly. I hope we can form a Neighborhood Association with this group, Rev. Evans said the same thing. Mayor England promised to return regularly. Maybe we can meet monthly as a group and meet with the mayor quarterly.

IN DEFENSE OF HILLARY

As everyone knows, Hillary Clinton visited New Albany on Saturday, March 29. I was privileged to be one of the supporters at the event.



I had heard a lot of negative comments about Hillary's personality and I must admit I was curious to see if she was the person people claimed her to be. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised. She came in to the Southside and talked to as many people as possible. She answered all questions openly and was courteous and pleasant.



I was not one of the lucky people allowed in the room where she was speaking but after the meeting she asked that everyone be allowed to come to her and ask questions or request autographs. She treated everyone equally, actually like a friend, and she kindly posed for pictures, yes I have a photo with Hillary & me. All of this drove the Secrect Service guys crazy but she seemed not to care.



All in all it was well worth the long wait in the cold.

A MESSAGE OF HOPE

Mayor England gave his "State of the City" address at last night's City Council meeting.

He addressed many concerns that New Albany citizens have expressed. The entire speech is printed in today's "Tribune"

THE FORGOTTEN NEIGHBORHOOD

I have been putting off writing this article for a while. It was both encouraging and upsetting to read the Tribune article about Carl Malysz going to the Building Commission meeting and telling them that it is time to clean up New Albany.

It is encouraging that this Administration has taken notice of our dirty city and wants to do some thing about it. Mr. Malysz and Mr. LaDuke are to be commended for taking the lead to get people to do something about unsafe houses. If the owners don't take care of their own property this city will do so and send them the bill. Great idea.

The upsetting part is that only certain areas are to be addressed in the near future. Mr. Malysz visited the S.Ellen Jones Neighborhood association and plans to use that neighborhood as a sort of pilot program.

As a west end resident I can't help but feel left out. Sort of like Cinderella without the fairy godmother. I know what you are thinking: get off your duff and do something about it. That is the exact thought that has been running through my head since I read the article. I have been waiting for someone the start a West End Neighborhood Association so I can become a member but it looks like that is not going to happen. We west end residents are going to have to unite and form our own neighborhood association if we want the administration to notice us.

AND THE WINNER IS!!!!!!!

This article was forwarded to me. I still cannot believe that it is for real.


"Oregon Holds Health Insurance Lottery"

"By Sarah Skidmore, Associated Press writer"



"The state will start drawing names this week for the chance to enroll in a health care program designed for people not poor enough for Medicaid but too cash-strapped to buy their own insurance.


More than 80,000 people have signed up since registration for the lottery opened in January. Only a few thousand will be chosen for the program.


"It's better than nothing, it's at least a hope," said Shirley Krueger, 61, who signed up the first day.


It's been more than six months since she could afford to take insulin regularly for her diabetes. That puts her at higher risk for a number of complications, such as kidney failure, heart disease and blindness.


Her part time job leaves her ineligible for her employer's insurance plan and with too little income to buy her own.


"I'm worried about it. I know it's a death sentence," Krueger said.


An estimated 600,000 people in Oregon are uninsured, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services.


Those selected in the lottery will be eligible for a standard benefit program, which was once a heralded highlight of the Oregon Health Plan...."


The article goes on to say that the plan covered 132,000 in 1995 but budget cuts in 2004 forced a cutback. I can well imagine how these budget cuts came about. After all we can't take care of our citizens and keep a war going at the same time, can we?


This plan will cover medical, dental and vision needs at little or no cost. Wouldn't it be wonderful if this was available to everyone who is uninsured or under insured?


Readers, please weigh this topic carefully when choosing a presidential candidate to support. People are dying for lack of health care and this is a disgrace for our country.

KEEPING NEW ALBANY BEAUTIFUL

Mayor England appears to be committed to keeping one of his campaign promises according to the front page of today's Tribune. Many of us had complained about the terrible conditions of the streets and today he promised to repair the potholes that threaten to swallow our cars. I don't know what kind of "creative financing" he has in mind but hopefully he can pull a rabbit out of his hat.

Another article featured Carl Malysz's visit to the S. Ellen Jones Neighboorhood Association meeting. I am glad that he is taking the citizens concerns seriously, a sentiment which I know is shared by many others. At last it looks like the code enforcement laws will have the government to back them up. Now if we could just get the city to start a program for rental property. We need inspections for rental property with minimum standards for upkeep and fines for non-compliance. If we had such a plan and enforced it, the fines would go far to help clean up and fix up our city.

Speaking of beautification, it was sickening to read that some ignorant bums are trying to destroy our Greenway before it is even completed. I hope the increased security will stop this. I can't understand why some people always seem to want to destroy something beautiful. Hopefully the weather will change soon and more people will visit the Greenway. If there are enough witnesses the degregation will have to stop.

Hang in there New Albany, better days are ahead.

THE HEALTHY INDIANA PLAN

The Tribune published an article about the State Government's plan to help uninsured citizens. It is called the Healthy Indiana Plan or HIP. This plan is funded by a 44 cent cigarette tax and federal dollars.


HIP was designed to cover lower income people aged 19 to 64 who are ineligible for Hoosier Healthwise. This sounds great on the surface but there are restrictions. If an employer offers insurance coverage at any price the individual does not qualify. Additionally the cost is $80.00 per month per person. To me this seems a little steep for someone making less than $20,000 per year, but I'm sure it is less than what many insurance companies charge.


As I said earlier, there are restrictions, they are listed below:

• You have not had health insurance in more than six months.
• You do not have access to health insurance through your employer.
• You are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid.
• You are between the ages of 19 and 64.
• You are a legal resident of Indiana.
• MAXIMUM annual household income is equal to or less than:

1 person in household; $20,400

2 people in household; $27,360

3 people in household; $34,320

4 people in household; $41,280

5 people in household; $48,240

To learn more about the Health Indiana Plan, and for more information on whether or not you may qualify, you can visit the Web site at http://www.in.gov/ or call 1-877-GET-HIP-9

SOURCE: New Albany Tribune

This is a start but I believe the Federal Government needs to provide healthcare for all US citzens without these restrictions