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> SOUTHERN INDIANA — Reader remembers Robert Willman
Now that Robert Willman has been laid to rest, it is time for serious reflection on what his life meant to New Albany. His memory must extend well beyond the celebration of his life which accompanied the passing of his mortal life.
Robert Willman was a quintessential member of the Greatest Generation. He was, like the hero in “Saving Private Ryan,” the modest school teacher who, as an Army Captain, served in World War II. His was the voice generations of New Albany High School (NAHS) students heard over the speakers at the gym and on Buerk Field. The man was a rock, a wonderful example of adulthood to thousands of teenagers, and he was everywhere.
Mr. Willman paid his dues teaching science at the ramshackle old junior high school along Spring Street. He inspired, and cajoled, hundreds of very ordinary kids, including this writer, who desperately needed inspiration, cajoling and leadership. In some ways, he was a multi-talented utility infielder. He taught a bit of everything. He ran the NAHS radio station and its programs. He taught a social studies class that would make anyone proud to be an American.
Throughout his long presence at NAHS, Mr. Willman was a tireless counselor. He loved the kids. He could be seen sitting down the worst smart-aleck for a spirited reading of the riot act. He found a place for the slow girl. He would not wait to be asked — you were counseled, even if you had no clue that you needed it.
I am surely not alone in crediting Mr. Willman for opening life’s doors. College would not have been possible if Mr. Willman had not been angry that a $25 fee kept this student from taking what was then called the College Boards. He demanded that I pursue a Navy scholarship, and hovered over every step of the process.
The “brass” in New Albany education history includes remarkable educators and fabulous human beings, so numerous that it would be hazardous to try to list them for fear of omitting a local hero. But it must be said that all of them were made better by the presence of Master Teacher and New Albany High School Hall of Fame member Robert Willman.
— Steve F. Kime, NAHS Centennial Class of 1958
Floyd Head Start appreciates grant
The children and staff of Floyd County Head Start are pleased to have received a grant of $6,824 from the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County.
The funds will be used to purchase equipment to be used in the 15 classrooms that serve 276 children in Floyd County.
We are appreciative of the continued support of our program by the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County.
— Judy Quick, New Albany
Reader voices opinion on toll roads
Relax. Don’t be afraid of tolls. They will be a good thing for our community. Such is the tone of the recent editorial by Michael Dalby of One Southern Indiana published Aug. 22. Tolls are actually innovative, progressive and the way cities will build in the future. Really?
Contrary to all the hype from the Bridge Coalition and Michael Dalby, tolls are not the panacea they claim. Two recent toll roads went bankrupt: the southern connector in South Carolina and the San Diego, Calif., tollway. Both were planned with unrealistic traffic and rosy financial scenarios. And, the administrative costs of the tolling bureaucracy consumes a good percentage of the amount collected, thereby reducing the value of tolls.
Tolls are not popular with the public. Drivers seek alternate routes to avoid tolls, which is why the Bridges Authority is requesting the Federal Highway Administration for a waiver to toll existing bridges so as to fully control any escape from paying a toll. No other American metro region will be split in two by such a process. This will culturally divide our metro population.
Tolls also discourage economic growth. Businesses in Southern Indiana will likely suffer most since Kentuckians will not pay the additional toll fee combined with Indiana’s already higher sales tax. Anecdotal tales are already circulating where Louisville workers, living in Southern Indiana, plan to sell their homes and move to the Kentucky side, thus devaluing Indiana real estate. Louisville will also be impacted by companies, especially logistics-based ones, who wish not to locate in a toll-based community.
Tolls are regressive since the fee doesn’t vary according to income and affects more negatively the blue collar and lower income levels. In fact, the inner Louisville neighborhoods such as west Louisville, Portland and Butchertown, who shop and dine in Southern Indiana, will be adversely impacted more than the upper-income. With those Southern Indiana businesses suffering from loss of customers due to the tolls, many may go out of business. There is a great social inequity in this toll proposal.
Per a 2006 review in the Denver Post, 75 percent of toll road financing and traffic projections are inaccurate. Of the three main toll consultants studied (including Wilbur Smith, who is the Bridge Authority consultant), the Post said they were wrong on 19 of 22 toll road projections.
The Indiana northern toll road has almost doubled tolls for cars and tripled for trucks in less than four years. So, wrong projections wind up as bail-outs by the local commuters who have to pay higher rates for such bad estimates.
One civic official in the Post report suggests that toll projections should be lessened by 25 percent for a more realistic forecast.
If we are opposed to tolls, then how best should more cross river connections be implemented?
Scale the design back to a size where it can be paid for within Kentucky and Indiana’s economic budgets.
Let’s not restrict our communities’ growth and divide it by using inefficient, unpopular and outdated tolls.
— Shawn Reilly, Louisville, financial adviser and co-founder of the group “Say No to Tolls” which is opposed to tolls on Louisville’s existing roads and bridges
