The Republic from Columbus, Indiana • Page 4

-a. a fa piiiniiiirD "5 i The Kepubnc Columbus, Ind-Tuesday. My taV 1 i Evelyn" Seward: Colembms conscience Editorial whn returned to Columbus, she By Marilyn Hayet IT was my and Bob's privilege, over a period of two decades, to know Evelyn Seward. During those 20 years, we nominated her for many awards Education Hall of Fame, Senior Citizen of the Year, Woman of the Year. For some she was selected, others not But the title she held undisputed, I believe, was "Conscience of Colum turned her energies to figuring out how to get him into training so be could obtain skilled employment in order to support his family.

By sheer force of will and use of her personal resources, she lifted a person with little going for him to a person with hope for his future. No publicity, no personal gain, lots of downers and pain as is always involved in such situations just a personal commitment and belief that a difference can be made in a life. The true nature of one's character is revealed in such a deed and the ordinary charitable gifts and vol-unteerism many of us engage in pales in comparison to Evelyn's efforts. like many others, her deeds were never done for public approval nor to advance her persona with any individuals or groups. Perhaps one of the more significant endeavors Evelyn undertook was the least known.

Several years ago she became interested in and convinced of the innocence of a young man accused of child molesting. She became his surrogate family, providing counseling, fee for attorneys (not my husband), and sustenance for his wife. I'm sure the few who knew about her commitment thought it was foolish pouring time and a large sum of money "down a sinkhole" as it was Kut When I expressed my concerns to er, she said, "Marilyn, I've been supporting my beliefs with my vol-unteerism and resources all my life, but I've come to realize that that is too clean, too easy." And so, with that realization, she' elevated her convictions to the next level. The young man was convicted in Bartholomew County and went to prison. Evelyn saw to physical and probably financial needs of his family while he was in prison.

She financed an expensive appeal through Indianapolis counsel and they won. Guest Opinion many periodicals and books. And from her reading and intellect came the formulation of ideas many of which landed on her state representative's desk. She was never heavy-banded with her suggestions, clippings, letters but she was persistent When others would have lost heart because of their seemingly minority position on an issue, Evelyn persevered, always believing that just maybe the next knock on the door would open it The various causes that Evelyn supported are legion and most of them appeared as bumper slogans on her automobile. She gave of her time and money to most environmental groups, the Humane Society, her church (including using her home as a meeting place after selling their building), the Democratic party (serving as a precinct committeewoman well into her 70s), school board and education-oriented groups, to name just a few of her interests.

For those who have observed the manner in which Evelyn lived her life, even if only peripherally, the most compelling component was that un We first came to know Evelyn through the Co-lumbus Peace Fellowship. At that time, we remember thinking that Evelyn had an enormous amount of energy and seemed incredibly young in the ideas and attitudes she Evelyn Seward was, indeed, the "Conscience of Columbus," and we shall all miss her gentle proddings as she moved about her community working for the betterment of us alL CVILYN SIWARO that we would espoused. We hoped commitment when possess half such Marilyn Hayet has served on the boards of several local organizations. Her husband is state Rep. Robert Hayes, D-Columbus, we were her age and that was 1973.

Evelyn Seward was an intellectual who brought her intellect to the street level She always read voraciously, two to three newspapers per day as well as Park money investment in future MOST government agencies and departments would be delighted to have the opportunities enjoyed by the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department Foremost among them is a steady flow of cash from sources other than the public treasury. While many department heads are put in the uncomfortable and sometimes unfair position of having to grovel for the money to run their operations, leaders of "the city's Park and Recreation Department can point to areas that do not require taxpayer dollars. For Instance, consider these self-sufficient park and recreation Rocky Ford Par-Three Golf Coursei Columbus Gymnastics Center. Greenbelt Golf Course. The junior baseball program.

Youth soccer. That is not to say that the Parks and Recreation department is turning a profit and will soon be issuing dividend checks to' In many cases the self' sufficiency is limited to uniforms, equip-' ment and part-time personnel such as umpires and referees. Major maintenance and facility upgrades still will need the infusion of tax dollars but the benefits from those expenditures will extend well beyond the primary users. For instance the newly formed softball association, which has taken over direction of adult softball programs in the city, cannot be expected to completely shoulder the task of paying for upkeep of fields at present User fees also cannot pay for all the administrative costs associated with many Letters XT IGAVEUPTRyiNG CONSERVATIVES HAVB MUCH THINNER SKIN. All letters appearing in this column must carry the name and hometown of the writer.

No letter will be printed without that information. Letters must contain the address and phone number of the writer for confirmation, although that information will not be "published and will remain confidential. Letters should be limited to approximately 300 words or less and may be edited because of length, taste, style or accuracy. 'Mum- School poll unscientific From: Chuck Richardson Columbus As I said at the school board meeting, many of my kin and I and millions of people that I don't know fought for the right to dissent or disagree. I have a major disagreement with your poll-taking in regards to year-round education.

Nowhere does it state that it is a grossly unscientific poll. Who called? What were the ages? Where do they live? How many people called more than once? I read your paper every day. Nowhere have I seen in the paper all the advantages and disadvantages given. There are many on both sides. In my opinion the advantages far outweigh, ithe disadvantages when it comes to education.

The idea was presented as a proposal of another 7 JZ! programs. i mm choice. It is stiH under study ny tnose invoivea in the DroDOsal. Having insider as lawmaker does not always work well In the past period of time I have seen many things occurring in this community that affect many people-Jjut I have never noticed a poll taken befoip.e. the change of Indiana 46, the new entrance to Columbus via Jonathan Moore Pike, the major renovation of Mill Race Park, Streetscape, the original (planning for the landfill, the changes at the post office, and on and on.

Many of the aforementioned items were not even discussed in the open before becoming firm plans. One of the many things that I'm very proud of in regardsto our local school board is, yes, we have executive sessions, but decisions are not made in executive sessions-Proposals are openly discussed By Thomas P. Vtyman Capitol 4 OPINION in open session and voted on there. However, the self-sufficiency of many of these programs frees valuable resources for use in other areas. It only makes sense that funds generated through use of facilities such as the Par-Three Golf Course should revert back to the course for re pairs and improvement, not go into the general fund.

As private entrepreneurs have long reached, the return of dollars to the. usiness is an investment in the future. The repairs and improvements can, generate additiohal business. Their; absence can eventually lead to reduceoS usage and a drop in revenues. The proposal, which was approved byi the park board last week and now goes! before City Council, was not self-generated in the park department i It surfaced last year in a meeting with golfers who regularly use the course.

That sort of attention to the needs of the cus-, i tomer is another key ingredient in any business success, no matter who is running-the show. The city's park department has been running several shows pretty well over the years and under, a number of directors, The current director, Chuck Wilt ah members of the Park Board have been very aggressive in guiding the department into more and more areas of self-sufficiency- Consider the Columbus Gymnastics Center, which was taken over in 1987 by the department At the time there were 200 children using the facility. Today there are 350 youngsters served by the operation. Central to its break-even status is the absence of a need to make a profit It can be operated more efficiently and ttcft lower cost to the user. The same is true of local golf course.

The charges at Greenbelt and Rocky Fofd Par-Three are as much as 35 percent beljv fees at private courses. Both are also heavily used. It is not the intention of the city to go into competition with the private sector. but'ihe operation of park programs and facilities has been so efficient that users have been content to pay for the service i All in all, public leisure time activities in Columbus appear to be a pretty good buy. i retting welfare not easy am: Bev Bryant Solurabus In The Republic April 29 issue was all of Presi Last year's biennial short session ended in mid-February, but this year lawmakers stayed in town through April, and even then did not finish writing a state budget In the meantime, the Gary center was spending more money than was coming in.

The equivalent of 40 full-time posts were eliminated, but Brown still had not brought the deficit under control. On top of that Brown may have misread the board's regard for an administrator he fired last week. Within hours of ousting the woman, Brown dent Clinton's reforms and a message to the people. I have tried from the county judge, child support prosecutor and congressmen to help me get child support for my three kids. We exist on my, income.

I'm not on welfare, food stamps, etc. The president wants to reform welfare, to end "welfare as we know it" There are people I know on welfare that have been or are going to school, have worked and quit their jobs because welfare 1 ffl. I -1 I INDIANAPOLIS Voters might presume mat businesses or agencies affected by state laws and that must be Just about all of them -would like the idea of having one of their own serving in the General Assembly. With the Legislature meeting only a few months of the year, most lawmakers under retirement age hold jobs outside their elected posts. And so Indiana has lawmakers who are funeral directors writing laws that regulate the funeral business, practicing lawyers drafting measures that control the practice of law, insurance agents writing insurance law.

The potential benefits to the lawmakers and their interests may be obvious, but law and rules, written of course by the same General Assembly, do not necessarily see any conflict of interest So it was particularly interesting to see the board of directors of the Gary Community Mental Health Center in action last week. For the past five years, Charlie Brown had served as the center's executive director. Brown had been a member of the board himself for several years before that Since 1982, Brown also has been a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, a Democrat representing a district in Gary. For most of those -years, he and his Democratic colleagues were relatively powerless members of the minority. Then in 1990, the Democrats won a clear majority In the House, and Brown became chairman of the Public Health Committee.

From that post he was clearly in a position to influence legislation affecting community mental health centers, including the one that employed him. But last week, the Gary center's board of directors decided that Brown's absence would be more valuable than the chairman's presence. By an overwhelming majority. Brown was fired from his The health center board had long been unhappy with Brown's lengthy absences during legislative sessions. The 1991 session, with its two lengthy special sessions, kept him in Indianapolis for most of nearly six months.

himseir was out or a jod, ana sne was remrea. Brown admitted rocky relations with the board. and however stunned ne may nave Deen oy i speed in oispaicning mm, ne was noi aurpnseu. Vernon Smith," a fellow Gary Democratic la maker and Brown's ally on the board, said i question of firing Brown had been brought up ispvprol hoard meetings but not acted on. In interviews over the incident Brown did his best to keep cool, though he hinted at legal action hv volunteering that he intended to talk with his loiwpr I The conflict between Brown and the board nnintt out fiin side to serving in the General QOes nave oeuer oeneuis anu mey uun i nave iu work for it Two years is a long time to find a job.

How many people had two years to look for a job? The president wants to create a nationwide computer "database" and involve the Internal Revenue Service, but yet he wants to cut budgets of federal agencies. Tell me, who and what will be helping people to get their child support? If I were on welfare, the county might try harder so that the county wouldn't have to support us. Did you see how much food stamp assistance went up? Quit depending on the promises, make laws to help people (and especially your children) who try to help themselves, because as Clinton says, "It is America's season of renewal." Also, I'd like to thank Mayor Stewart for a next-day request on leaf pickup. I wish that I could get my child support that quick. Assembly, a lawmaker's political Tsase atwork can unravel as he builds a political network inside the And whatever political clout comes from having an insider as lawmaker may have; limited value if day-to-day management suffers.

"i Thomas P. Wyman is an Associated Press writer. World War II Quote Dooncsbury by Garry Tfiideau AFOns HStlWATDOVOU em MAY 18 1.9-4 iufSsiarsoFComTi yecAMfV5CHAPEuwetJUsr TUN INTHS CHURCHES. SOTHZ FIRST 17 flHi4C ACUfXXT HSm' YOU TURN fjS AKAZ mrm- )x AGO- I A CHURCH. scorr American soldiers awxr y- fSCBACK.

ICtPMSRSOWAfOCUS moving from the south 6POUR and nor of Attu Island in TOSZZKT FROM SCXATCH 4P "Amid life's challenges and disappointments, your friends are an anchor In a storm, and I urge you to keep them." President Onton addressing by telephone college graduates, including a goddaughter, at lam Jew Coiteg Liberty. OJtHEfg. Alaska's Aleutian chain link up and begin preparing to attack the Japanese at Chicagof Harbor In Mediterranean, tfwASiee Intensify their bombardmerrt of PanteBena midway between Tunisia and Sidy, virtualy cutting of tha Italian Wand's defenders. kV.H Xj of. 31 Source: "21 84 Days ot W.

SmKh PubMTwi -World Almanac Book of World War Biton Books Core, iBtl Si..