Just a Note

By Shari Frank, LWVBC President

Celebrating Community!  That's the theme of this year's LWVBC annual meeting:  Together we’re stronger. Together we can work toward the community we want to be.
 

 Each year, LWVBC celebrates youth with an essay contest on topics of democracy at the middle and high school, a college scholarship, high school voter registration, donations to youth such as the Sprunica Elementary Students who just won the state Invention Convention and will go to National and the B.C. Middle School students who won the state competition for History Day and will compete at National. LWVBC donated to both Sprunica and History Day students and we invite those who can to consider it too.  For more info, see: Sprunica Go Fund Me  and  LWVBC member Carol Birkemeier’s appeal in this newsletter: “ Brown County Middle School Students go to National:  Donations needed”. 

Brown County has an extensive network of individuals and organizations working to strengthen our community.  We appreciated this year's LWVBC annual meeting speaker, Alice Susemichel, C.E.O. of the Brown County Community Foundation, sharing insights into BCCF and their work to raise money to support our Brown County non-profits who feed kids and families, support mental health and so much more.  Consider giving with a 2:1 benefit:  BCCF Legacy Fund  

At the National and State level, we see a lot of concerning legislation impacting voting rights, the schools, health care, research, communities and underserved families in need.  We all have a chance to help our community, and support those who can use a hand. 

Unite and Rise 8.5 is an LWVUS campaign calling upon all of us to unite and rise against  anti-democratic legislative actions and in-actions.   Why 8.5?  The number 8.5 million is the estimated number of voters it would take to bring about change through nonviolent actions. This is based on the following finding from the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights indicating it just takes 3.5% of the population to make a difference.  Read more: https://www.lwv.org/uniteandrise

LWVUS suggests actions we can all take:

• Protect democracy: Tell your Senators to oppose the anti-voter SAVE Act;
• Tell Congress not to gut crucial programs like Medicaid;
• Raise your voice about illegal deportations: join mobilizations around immigrant rights and due process with organizations like the National Partnership for New Americans, United We Dream, and others;
• “Turn Up the Heat” on elected officials: Connect directly with your representatives on the issues that matter via Town Halls and other opportunities
• Act locally: Join local organizations like your state or local League to act on the issues that matter in your community.

• County Council District changes: Brown County Commissioner meeting Wed. 5/21, 6 pm
• Vote Centers: Public meeting Thurs. 5/22, 6 pm

LWVBC 2025 Annual Meeting

The theme of the LWVBC Annual meeting was “Community”.  Alice Susemichel, CEO of the Brown County Community Foundation (BCCF), provided the key-note speech.  She presented information on the work of BCCF strategic planning, and aspirations to greatly increase the funding base to continue and improve support for the diverse non-profit organizations in Brown County.  We thank Alice for sharing her time, and vision.  She showed that the BCCF is indeed a core to strengthening the Brown County Community.
 

• Ava Cox, 1st place in the High School, with her essay entitled “Losing the Ability to Cooperate Means Losing Sight of Our Values”
• Bryan Teague, 1^st place in the BC Middle School with his essay entitled “America’s Democracy”

Sunny Leerkamp introduced the winner of the LWVBC Dorothy Stewart scholarship.  Congratulations to Hadley Gradolf, a continuing college student who has won the Dorothy Stewart scholarship 3 times.  Hadley addressed the attendees, speaking of her plans and progress in college. Dorothy Stewart was a founding member of the LWVBC.  This scholarship is intended to remember and commemorate her dedication and contributions to the community by encouraging study of public and environmental affairs.

Brown County Middle School Students go to National:  Donations needed

Brown County Middle School has 6 students that won first place at the Indiana History Day competition on April 26 and they are invited to compete at the National History Day competition in Washington, DC June 8 - June 12. 

NHD’s core program is its competition in which students in grades 6–12 choose a topic and dive deeply into the past by conducting extensive research in libraries, archives, and museums. They then present their conclusions and evidence through papers, exhibits, performances, documentaries, or websites, moving through a series of contest levels where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. Approximately 400,000 students compete each year throughout the nation and the top two entries in each division from each state and 10 territories come together to the National contest in June. 

Through this process, students develop skills in communication, project management, and historical thinking. Their teachers do as well.

The 2025 theme is Rights and Responsibilities in History Kristin Evans and Hailey Philliips researched, wrote and made a documentary about the Environmental Protection Act. They won first place and will represent Indiana in Jr. Group Documentary.

Kaleb Ice, Alison Schrader, Sully Rockwell and Aesop Birkemeier researched, wrote and created a performance: Remembering the Legacy of Ryan White. This group placed first in Jr. Group Performance and will represent Indiana at the national contest. 

These creative students are sponsored by Mrs. Emily Lewellen who was awarded Indiana History Teacher of the year and is nominated for the National Title!

All of these students will be travelling to College Park, MD to compete in the national contest. The contest lasts 4 days and includes many exciting opportunities to visit Washington DC landmarks. However, it takes money to send these students to the contest. There are registration expenses, travel expenses, and food and lodging. Unfortunately this year grant money to help them is not available. Estimated cost per student is $1000. Therefore, we are asking for your financial support to help these students have the best experience. Any amount that you can donate will be greatly appreciated! Check can be mailed to: Brown County High School,  C/0 Mrs. Emily Lewellen; PO Box 68, Nashville, IN 47448 -  or can be dropped off at the school office.

Here is a link to  a video of the junior group performance and their process paper and annotated bibliography so you can see the amount of work put into this project: 
  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rvrx4Wgio9etALICsZjO8_mGLtP1_meX/view?usp=sharing

Thank you so much! 
Carol Birkemeier

VOTE CENTERS

Should Brown County become a Vote Center county?  The Brown County Election Board is considering becoming a Vote Center County, to replace precinct voting. Public meetings are scheduled in the Brown County Office building for:

• May 22^nd 6 pm
• June 18^th 2 pm
• June 25^th Time tbd – to present a final Vote Center plan, followed by a one month written public comment period

• Are Vote Centers desirable?
• Is it more convenient to be able to go to any Vote Center?
• How are the proposed locations?
• What questions do you have?

NEW BROWN COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICTS

County Council Districts are being changed to improve Voter Representation. A resolution is on the agenda of the Brown County Commissioners meeting Wednesday 5/21, 6 pm in the County office building, or Webinar for virtual: Brown County Government (BCG) YouTube Channel  https://www.youtube.com/@BCG-INMeetings

Brown County has seven County Council Members. 

• Three Council Members are “At Large” meaning they are voted on county-wide, by all voters.The “At-Large” council members can live anywhere in the County.
• Four of the seven County Council Members are elected by District.For District Council elections, a Candidate has to live in the District they are running to represent.And, each District candidate can only be voted on by people who live in that district.

The population of each district should be nearly equal to make sure every citizens counts equally. For example, if Council District A has 1,000 voters, and Council District B has 2,000 voters, even though both districts elect one Council member, voters in District A have twice the voting power of District B.  .

To make sure voting power is equal, districts must be reviewed every 10 years after the Census.  Districts are required to be re-drawn if the population has changed significantly, and if the deviation is more than 10%, for local county districts.  The County Council Districts currently have a population deviation nearly twice the suggested limit, at 19%.  Districts were not redrawn after the 2020 census. 

Indiana added a deadline for counties that are out of compliance to redistrict by June 30, 2025.  Since Brown County DOES exceed the 10% population deviation limit, Brown County is working on redistricting by the deadline of June 30^th  2025.  Counties that fail to bring districts into compliance will face financial penalties.  Brown County was not alone.  Many other Indiana counties (and municipalities) are working on redistricting to meet legal requirements by the deadline.  

It is the Brown County Commissioners who have the responsibility to develop Council Districts.  Our Commissioners have drawn new districts that greatly improve the population equity.  Current County Council maps have a population deviation of about 19%, almost twice the allowed amount.  The proposed maps bring the population deviation to 7.8%, below the 10% limit. 

If you want to learn more, attend the May 21^st 6:00 pm County Commissioner’s meeting in the Brown County Office Building, 201 Locust Lane, Nashville.  Or get the video link on the government website  https://www.browncounty-in.gov/Calendar.aspx?EID=1506. 

Thank you to Commissioner Kevin Patrick for taking the time this month to share the plans for redistricting County Council.  And thanks to David Shelton, Knox County clerk who has been working with numerous local governments, including Brown County, over the past several months to help counties complete required redistricting. 

Thanks to the BC Commissioners for working to improve voter equity for Brown County.  This is the foundation of “one person –one vote”. 

Upcoming Government Meetings

Source: http://www.browncounty-in.gov/calendar.aspx?CID=14 and https://www.townofnashville.org/calendar-of-events?view=calendar&month=08-2024

Did you know? You can sign up to receive meeting agendas, alerts government job postings and more here.  The County Government calendar can be accessed here.

May-June 2025 Diversity Calendar
https://www.diversityresources.com/diversity-calendar-2025/

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” – Martin Luther King, Jr

Education Updates

LWVIN Education advocate Nanette Polk provided information about new legislation and impacts on education, with comments and quotes from the articles linked.

Sex ed, DEI, parents’ rights: New Indiana social-issue laws affect schools - Chalkbeat

On ending DEI training: Russ Skiba, an Indiana University professor emeritus whose research has found that Black students face higher rates of exclusionary discipline than white students, said changes in the way teachers learned about discipline practices in the early 2000s had a notable impact on reducing disparities.  On parental "rights": At the same time, parents are prohibited from using the law to access a “medical treatment, service, or procedure” for the child that has been banned in Indiana, such as an abortion or gender-affirming care.

Indiana lawmakers this year passed laws affecting the teaching of race and identity, sex ed, and social-emotional learning. Legislators tried but failed to pass similar laws in past years, but the Trump administration has given these efforts national momentum.  www.chalkbeat.org

IPS must sell School 65 but can keep its plans for School 102, court says - Chalkbeat

IPS must share building with charters or sell for $1…

Indiana schools have new requirements when older students are truant 

Indiana middle and high schoolers who rack up lots of unexcused absences will face more oversight and have access to more support, under a bill signed into law by Gov. Mike Braun last week.. The ...  www.wfyi.org    How does allowing school time to be used for religious instruction impact absences?  Secondary students can now miss one period a day to attend religious instruction with parental approval;  that's approximately equivalent to missing 20 days. Elementary can miss 120 min/yr. They will miss around 10.5 days.   

Indiana's school letter grades will help housing prices more than parents | Opinion  Indiana is going to start giving letter grades to schools again. Will they help parents at all, or… As IndyStar's Caroline Beck writes, a new law requires the state board of ...   www.yahoo.com   What will school grades be based on?  Test scores? Will they be punitive?

Michigan advocates fear ‘devastating’ impact of Trump education cuts as students continue to fall behind  As vulnerable students continue to fall behind, advocates want the state to invest more in programs they say will benefit them.  www.chalkbeat.org 

Hello - Even though many of us live in the middle and northern parts of Indiana, we thought that you all might be interested in these informative updates on the Ohio River from ORSANCO (Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission).  Reminder:  ORSANCO is an interstate commission (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) established in1948 to control and abate pollution in the Ohio River Basin.  ORSANCO prompted Indiana's first actions regarding PFAS several years ago because Ohio River testing was required of all its members.  https://www.orsanco.org/

The Ohio River Needs YOU!  It’s officially ORSANCO's Ohio River Sweep season — and there’s never been a better time to jump in and make a difference!

Whether you want to:

• Join an existing cleanup event
• Host your own cleanup site
• Or become a sponsor and amplify your impact

…this is your special invitation to get involved! Visit orsanco.org/river-sweep to learn more.

Every bottle, bag, and piece of trash removed helps protect our drinking water, aquatic life, and the communities who rely on the Ohio River every single day. Litter doesn’t just look bad — it breaks down into microplastics, carries harmful chemicals, and threatens wildlife. Together, we can change that story! 

Here’s How to Contact Your State, Federal, Local Legislators

A list is provided below of the legislators who serve Brown County. For contact information on other state representatives and state senators, go to https://iga.in.gov/information/find-legislators. For information about your Congressional Representative, go to  https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.

For information on your County Representatives and meetings for Boards, County Commissioners and County Council:

• Brown County:  https://www.browncounty-in.gov/
• Bartholomew County:  https://www.bartholomew.in.gov/

LWVBC Meeting Schedule

LWVBC monthlly meetings are held virtually the second Monday of each month 6:00 pm in person at the library. Except June there will be no regular meeting.  Come see us at the Brown County Fair June 9-14 2025. 

To participate in the meeting and receive the Zoom link, contact League President Shari Frank at browncountylwv@gmail.com.