Area lawmakers to address issues at meeting November 5 in Bloomfield

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Alumni of the Greene County Citizen's Academy and Greene County Courthouse employees will get a chance Nov. 5 to talk face-to-face in Bloomfield with four area lawmakers about issues facing the upcoming legislative session.

The 90-minute session is planned for 1 p.m. in the commissioner's meeting room on the third floor of the Greene County Courthouse.

State Sens. John Waterman (R-Shelburn) and Lindle Hume (D-Princeton) and State Reps. Sandy Blanton (D-Paoli) and Bruce Borders (D-Jasonville) have accepted invitations to attend the session that will feature brief statements from each of the lawmakers.

There will also be ample time for questions and answers, according to Citizens Academy coordinator Cam Trampke, who is putting the program together.

"This will give people a preview about what some of the issues in the legislative session, since this is not a budget year. There always tends to be more policy issues in those sessions," Trampke pointed out.

This meet the lawmaker's session is targeted to the 60 Citizen Academy graduates and courthouse employees and is not open to the public, but Trampke said this meeting could serve as a springboard to another larger open session for anyone in the area to attend.

"Once the (legislative) session starts (in January) we probably need to have other meetings," Trampke said. "There will be a planning session for Citizen Academy Legacy Organization (CALO) members to work out the details about hosting additional sessions after the legislature convenes."

Since the Citizen Academy's inception in 2005, a diverse group of more than 60 individuals have completed the leadership training program. Some of the class sessions dealt with the often overlooked assets and treasures in Greene County -- giving long-time and newer residents a greater appreciation of what is in their own backyard.

The program touched on topics like local government, the judicial system, tourism, business, economic development, education as well as the role of the media and social service organizations in the county.

No regular session will be conducted during the 2009-10 term because of low enrollment numbers. There are plans to put together a class in the fall of 2010.

However, several other activities for Citizen's Academy alumni have been planned in the coming months -- including a Dec. 3 session dealing with the 2010 U.S. Census.

The census session will be conducted from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 in the community room of the Bloomfield-Eastern Greene Library in Bloomfield.

Another session -- entitled "Changing Ideas into Action" -- is slated for Jan. 25 from 6-9 p.m.

In this session, participants will learn the importance of building support for your ideas, and how to move them forward in the public arena. This session is especially designed for Citizen's Academy Alumni who wish to take the next step in becoming community leaders. This session is free for those whose alumni dues are current, $35 for other alumni and includes your one-year membership dues. The session will be taught by Darwyn Nelson, a previous academy presenter, who teaches political science at Vincennes University and serves as a Clay County school board member.

Participants are asked to RSVP to Trampke for each session by e-mail at ctrampke@wrv.k12.in.us or by calling the Greene County Community Learning Center at 659-3862.

The Greene County Citizen's Academy Legacy Organization (CALO), open to academy graduates, organized in the past year.

Annual dues of $25 can be paid by contacting Julie Decker at 659-3142 or Richard Nichols at 384-9289.

The next scheduled meeting of the Citizen's Academy Alumni Organization will be at 7 p.m. on Nov. 2 at the Bloomfield First Baptist Church, 500 Lincoln Drive.