> SOUTHERN INDIANA — CHEERS

... to the city of Jeffersonville for getting rid of the weeds that were creeping up in the cracks of the brick  sidewalks in downtown. The weed removal blitz is noticed and much appreciated. Things are looking great in the parks and along Spring Street.

— Amy Huffman-Branham, assistant editor



READER CHEERS

... to the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library.

In March, I visited the Indiana Room of the library. Its staff, resources and user accessibility raise the bar for making research there productive, efficient and enjoyable.

New Albany is a great town, and my investment in the four days spent in the Indiana Room was worth every penny spent there. People like me represent a growing market with just enough time and money to travel in order in investigate family and history; our focus is not vacation but research.

Without the Indiana Room’s website, I’d never have known to visit New Albany to do further research; It’s easy to navigate and find archived information.

The Indiana Room’s librarians were unfailingly patient and available, always knowledgeable and friendly, often intuiting what I didn’t know to ask for, while helping me navigate the room’s many resources or teaching me how to use its first-class equipment.

Considerable effort is taken to keep the rich inventory of materials remarkably well organized, making it easy and efficient for a researcher to quickly locate collections, books, microfilm, maps, files, etc. It is a wonderful space to work in.

My thanks to the Indiana Room’s staff and the Library’s Board of Trustees for providing an exceptional experience.

— C. Crump, Denver, Colo.



READER JEERS

... to Greater Clark County Schools Board members Christina Gilkey, Jerry White and Ernie Gilbert, who voted against hiring a principal at Thomas Jefferson elementary and an assistant principal at Jeffersonville High School.

Both the individuals recommended by Superintendent Stephen Daeschner deserved to be hired. Gilkey actually called these individuals out by name at the board meeting and voted on their hiring individually. It was tactless and unprofessional on the part of these three board members.

They apparently believe the new superintendent should make these personnel decisions. Using their logic in hiring, one would think they would wait until after the election in November to hire the new superintendent in case the dynamics of the board change. But somehow they don’t see the correlation.

If we should wait for the new superintendent to hire any open positions for principals and assistant principals, then we should wait for the new board to hire the new superintendent.

Instead, they voted against two young, professional and well-qualified individuals for currently open positions. There was no justifiable reason to vote against them. Is it really “all about what is best for the kids” or is it what three adults on the board think is best?

— Alice Butler, Jeffersonville



READER CHEERS

... to the kind lady who kept a watchful eye on me when a vagrant man approached me for a hand out in the Kroger parking lot recently.

No money exchanged hands and he left quietly. With the coincidence of her and I both having legal backgrounds (I retired 18 years ago), we agreed we had a sixth sense in sizing up strangers.

Although she is off temporarily recovering from back surgery, she said she could still throw a can and scream if we needed help. Sorry we did not exchange names, but my thanks again for your concern about my safety.

— G. Nash, New Albany