Elected Officials, State & Beyond, Need Priorities

Notes found on the back of a Sheb Wooley autographed picture . . .

I want to ask a favor. (Are you supposed to start a conversation that way? I guess it could lead to a whole lot of folks suddenly remembering they have something important to do, like organize their CD collection . . . alphabetically . . . )

The eight or nine of you who read these scribbles regularly may recall that I often have a problem with our friends at the Indiana General Assembly. (Well, to be fair I typically have a problem with most elected folks, but I digress.)

As usual, the honorable senators and representatives are once again considering legislation that will eliminate the requirement that local and state governments have to publish legal notices in Indiana newspapers. Without going into the weeds TOO much, this concerns you because the state wants to create a public notice website that will cost you big bucks (the state press association already has one, by the way, that they don’t charge for). By taking away those notices the government is eliminating the checks and balances that a free press provides. And third, name me something – c’mon ANYTHING – that the government does better and more efficiently than private business.

To be clear, the government does pay us newspaper folks for the legal notices – but trust me, it’s not expensive. The government mandates the rate. What they let us charge them is either at or very near the bottom of anything we offer.

And to be even more clear, I get the idea that they think our industry is dying. But the fact that thousands of you are reading this on a tablet or a phone or a computer of some sort is evidence that we are not. Evolving? You bet. However, the last thing anything in transition needs is another negative. We may be evolving, but what’s the old saying about perception and reality?

So we are going to have an old-fashioned rally at the Indiana Statehouse to let lawmakers know we do not want them to pass any of this proposed legislation – and we are hoping to have a lot of people show up! Thus, the favor. We’d love for you to join us. The more the merrier . . . and the better our chances of convincing those aforementioned elected types that they should reconsider.

If you are willing, the rally is scheduled for March 19 at 11 a.m. We’re going to meet on the third floor, just outside the Senate chambers. If you would like to go, on behalf of newspapers all over Indiana – a sincere thank you! And if you want to go please do let me know. You can reach me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you – and we’re working on maybe getting t-shirts we can share.

Here’s the thing – we’ve all seen the horror stories coming out of D.C. about waste and fraud in government spending. I’m not saying we have that here, but it’s time we let those we elect know that we expect them to do better. Keeping a check and balance is just one way to do that.

Thanks for your consideration!

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AS LONG as I’m on the folks in the Statehouse, let’s talk about the ongoing saga of property taxes AND the ridiculous strategy being employed by schools, cities, counties and towns all over the state.

If you’ve been out of the country and missed it, here’s the gist. Gov. Braun comes into office and has a very public plan to fix exploding property taxes. He wants to start by taking property taxes back to levels from a few years ago.

That triggered a tsunami of opposition. What? Taxpayers were upset? Nope. The government was. You see if we all pay less in property taxes, the government gets less of our money – heavy emphasis on OURS. So, all those folks from two paragraphs above are suddenly screaming how they can’t do with less. They NEED that money . . . and the Indiana Senate responded by saying they would limit the increase in property taxes.

Yes, you read that right — limit the INCREASE.

Mark Franke, an adjunct scholar of the Indiana Policy Review and formerly an associate vice-chancellor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, summed it up best.

“Other than Governor Braun, I don’t think anyone in Indianapolis gets it,” he wrote. “The Senate Republicans are patting themselves on the back for “cutting” the proposed increase in property tax bills but only a governmental type could call it that with a straight face.”

Don’t know if you can join us for our newspaper rally on March 19, but if you do you might want to add your voice to the property tax battle.

Here’s the thing, if Indiana Republicans pass both (and to be very clear, that’s who would be responsible), then we all need to remember that the next few times we go to the polls. The party that used to be about limited government and fiscal responsibility has an opportunity here to prove it still is. We’ll be watching.

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I HAVE great respect for the League of Women Voters. The national League has published a letter that is signed by the organization’s top execs and representatives from all 50 states (and the District of Columbia). In short, the letter urges Congress to stop what it calls the overreach from Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

What’s the new hot saying now, read the room?

I can’t always say I agree with the League. It tends to lean a bit too far left for my taste. But I certainly respect their opinion. It has long been said in this space and others that a difference of opinion is what made and makes this country great. It’d be a sad state of affairs if everyone thinks like I do. But the idea of stopping the administration from cutting back on government spending is kind of like telling smoke jumpers to stop battling the out-of-control forest fire.

The League even mentions they don’t want USAID dismantled – that organization that spent $50 million for condoms in Gaza, $70,000 to produce a DEI musical in Ireland, $1.5 million to promote DEI . . . in SERBIA!

To be fair, there are certainly some roadblocks Trump and his team are hitting. However, the ridiculous bureaucracy and corruption that is our federal government today did not happen overnight. It is deeply entrenched and it is not going to be easy – or simple – to take it apart.

What is hard for me to fathom though is the amount of pushback. I mean the League – and most of the mainstream media – are acting like the fraud, the corruption, the wasteful spending . . . the mountain of things we should be aghast with – are the victims and the executive branch are the bad guys. Seriously. They are. You can’t make this stuff up.

And here’s another point. A little online research will tell you that the League gets donations from, wait for it . . . politicians. Hmmm, they didn’t mention that in their letter. They also didn’t mention that they have a handful of administrative types (CEO, COO, CDO, Chief of Staff, Chief Counsel, Chief of Culture and Chief Communications Officer) who all earn between $90,000 and $158,000.

What would a cut in government spending do to that?

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ONCE MORE, The Times is offering free tickets to the Indiana Flower & Patio Show. Just take a selfie with our Times (electronic OR print) and send it to us. You can send it directly to me and I’ll take care of it for you, or send it to [email protected]. If we print it (and we will!), you can win two or more tickets! (Honestly, tell me how many you want and if it’s not dozens, we’re pretty easy!) But hurry. The show begins March 15 and ends March 23.

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BY NOW most of you are aware that The Times is doing trips and inviting you guys along. Dick Wolfsie is hosting a trip to see the northern lights in Iceland that leaves March 18.

We’re meeting soon to figure out our next trip – but here’s a quick question. If my wife and I led a contingent to Israel, would you like to come along? Let me know if you do and we’ll start looking at details!

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LAST NOTE: Did you see the report that China and Russia are starting to target fired federal employees with security clearances? The idea is that they’ll be so ticked off at Trump and Musk that they’ll get cozy with the bad guys.

Anyone remember a world we used to live in where patriotism and love of country topped all the petty B.S.? Anyone remember a world where a foreign leader who has been given billions and billions of U.S. dollars thought better of biting the hand that feeds it.

Don’t know about you, and I’ve made it clear I think Trump can be an ass much of the time, but I like the idea he wants rare earth materials from the Ukraine and that he’s cutting off corrupt spending and waste. I hope he goes farther.

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I’LL BET A lot of you remember Sheb Wooley. He came to mind recently when we heard the sad news of Gene Hackman’s passing. Sheb played the wise principal of Hickory High School and the assistant coach for the Huskers in the classic, Hoosiers. Of course, the multi-talented star also played in a lot of westerns, including High Noon and The Outlaw Josey Wales. He was the trail boss in the TV show Rawhide. AND, he had Top 40 hits in both rock and roll (The Purple People Eater) and country (Almost Persuaded No. 2). Back when Sheb was in Indiana for the filming of Hoosiers, he was the only name that my Grandpa thought was a big deal. Sadly, he passed away in 2003. Rest in Peace, Principal Cletus Summers!

Two cents, which is about how much Timmons said his columns are worth, appears periodically in The Times. Timmons is the chief executive officer of Sagamore News Media, the company that owns The Noblesville Times. He is also a proud Noblesville High School graduate and can be contacted at [email protected].