RUSHVILLE —
What an exciting time to be at the Statehouse! This session is shaping up to be a productive and busy time for the Legislature. With the bill filing deadline passed, a new governor inaugurated and 24 freshmen House members sworn in, there is a different dynamic at the Statehouse, but the same business is still to be conducted.
First of all, I would like to take a moment to congratulate Governor Mike Pence on his new role as the highest officeholder in our state. He has big shoes to fill, but I have no doubt that he will continue on the path that Governor Daniels’ forged, positioning our state for continued prosperity. Things around the Statehouse may change a little under Governor Pence’s leadership, but it will be refreshing to have some new ideas and many new faces working with our Legislature to better Indiana.
The first two weeks of session were educational, rewarding and demanding. January 14, the last day to file bills, was a mad rush to the clerk’s office with everyone waiting in line to ensure that their bills were ready to go. Each legislator is allowed to file up to 10 bills, but I decided to use this session as a learning experience. I am a co-author of two bills, but I chose to focus mainly on my duties to my committees and to absorb as much knowledge as I can before I start voting on legislation that affects the lives of Hoosiers.
As the vice-chairman of the Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee, I have met with representatives from the Department of Child Services, the Mental Health Association and other related agencies, and have learned a great deal about how I can contribute to this committee. My passion for helping families and children along with my newfound awareness of the issues affecting Indiana will assist me in making decisions to strengthen the family ties of our state’s most vulnerable Hoosiers.
If you are interested in following legislation as it is passed through the House or the Senate, I urge you to visit our website at www.in.gov/legislative. On the left column, click on the Bills & Resolutions tab and find the bill you are interested in. These bills will potentially affect your daily life, so I encourage you to stay up-to-date on what is happening at the Statehouse.
In order to help me better serve you, I invite you to fill out my 2013 legislative survey I mailed out and return it to me at the Statehouse or to complete the survey online at www.in.gov/h55. As your state representative, it is important for me to hear your views and concerns on issues facing our state. You are also always welcome to contact me by phone at 317-232-9850 or by email at h55@in.gov.
(State Rep. Cindy Ziemke serves as Vice Chairman of the Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee. She also serves on the Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development Committee and the Select Committee on Government Reduction. Rep. Ziemke represents portions of Rush, Fayette, Franklin, Ripley and Decatur counties.)
Columns
Ziemke: New roles and responsibilities
- Columns
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Stuart: From zippy to zapped in Old San Juan
My family’s spring break vacation didn’t last nearly as long as it’s taking me to tell you about it in these columns. If it had, our cruise would be going into its fifth week. That would be, I don’t know, like sailing with Christopher Columbus in 1492. Imagine the weight his crews put on at their shipboard buffets; no wonder those boats traveled slow!
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Ward: My early years
There are a lot of things from my youth that I treasure and would not be unhappy to have them back again. Don’t laugh, but BB Bats are one thing I loved as a child. They were a taffy like substance stuck on a stick.
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Barada: Local library should be a county facility
A noble effort is underway to renovate and expand the Rushville Public Library. It will not be an easy task. What will help, in my opinion, will be finally making the public library a county library.
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Stuart: Snorkeling fun, in and out of the water
As I continue to relive my spring break vacation in these pages (we’re only a couple of days into it so far - this could last well into the autumn!), I’ll reveal the biggest shock my kids received on our Carnival Cruise. It was 7:30 on a sunny Tuesday morning, when I woke them and said we’d arrived in Charlotte
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Ziemke: Back home again in Batesville
Following the hustle and bustle of Indianapolis, I must say that it has been nice to be home this past week. Session is an exciting process to be a part of, but for now, I am just going to enjoy the fact that I can be at my restaurant more often to talk to the folks I represent at the Statehouse.
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Wolfsie: Bird calls
One afternoon in 2011, my friend Eric spent a couple of hours over lunch explaining Twitter to me and I thought I understood it all, but as you’ll see from my first few tweets, I wasn’t very confident:
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Mauzy: Weddings paint a larger picture of life
The marriage of my oldest daughter was this past weekend. With great fortune, weather remained wonderful for the outside venue. More than a stroke of good luck concerning the weather, the calm and positive energies of everyone in attendance would have overcome any adversity.
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Messer: Have we learned the lessons of 9/11?
September 11 was a devastating wake up call for every American. The events of that terrible day taught us that we are at war with violent Islamist extremists. If we let them, these jihadists are committed to exploiting our generosity and legal protections to further their murderous mania. The 9/11 Commission which investigated that tragedy concluded warning signs were everywhere, noting that “the system was blinking red.”
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Ward: When making furniture was king
I have fond memories of Rushville when it had three lumber yard/coal yards, four railroads went through town, the city owned the electric utility and the phone company was user owned and operated. The main industry was furniture, with three large manufacturers in town.
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Barada: The GOP and its next run for the White House
I’m going to make a fearless prediction this week. If the Republicans don’t get their act together soon, very soon, there will be another Democrat in the White House for the eight years following the end of the Obama Administration.
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