Current Events – Page 252 – commonplacebook.com

Rain, rain, go the hell away

Post author:HFM
Post published:January 14, 2005
Post category:Indianapolis

As another 1.5 inches of rain fell on Indianapolis yesterday, neighborhoods like Frog Hollow (I love that name!) and Ravenswood, which were already battling flood waters are hit hard again. The city closed 12 streets, mainly in these neighborhoods and along Fall Creek and in a neighborhood on the southside near Troy and Harding streets which are flooded and impassable. The river is expected to crest this afternoon. UPDATE: Emergency crews are evacuating people from 78th and Keystone area due to the White River flooding. 16 people were rescued by boat from their homes. The attached photo show the level of water in that area. Emergency personnel also evacuated people from the Ravenswood areas.

According to the Indianapolis Star:

Before changing to snow Thursday, 2.66 inches of rain had fallen in the Indianapolis area since Sunday. That’s on top of 6 inches last week. So far this month, 9.04 inches of rain has fallen; normal for the entire month is 2.48 inches.

Indiana rivers were already higher than normal due to the heavy snows in December and ice storms in January.

May We Suggest “Flat, cheap and out of control?”

Post author:HFM
Post published:January 13, 2005
Post category:Indianapolis

According to the Indianapolis Star, the City of Indianapolis is trying to come up with a tagline to define the city, in the same way that Vegas has “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Although they hasten to assure us that they’re looking for something less risque. Damn. And I thought we were going to finally get some spiciness going in good old Naptown.

Story Time At the Zoo

Post author:HFM
Post published:January 13, 2005
Post category:Indianapolis

On Saturdays in January, February & March this year, the Zoo will have a brand new activity for kids – Story Time at the Zoo! See your favorite storybook characters come to life at Story Time at the Zoo. This all new event gives your little ones the chance to meet Lyle Lyle Crocodile, Corduroy Bear, Stellaluna, Curious George, and Winnie the Pooh up close and in person! (yeah! people in mascot outfits!)

Indianapolis Aerial Photography

Post author:HFM
Post published:January 10, 2005
Post category:Indianapolis

Using Indianapolis’ official City website, Indygov.org, you can view maps of Indianapolis much like mapquest, and aerial photographs dating back to 1935 that allow you to view the whole city and also to zoom in close to see, for example, the roof of your house.

The initial view of Indianapolis shows a map with a toolbar above and a list of layers over on the right. If you check off “2003 Aerial Photography” the map switches to aerial photos of the city, and you can click anywhere in the map to zoom into that spot. If you click on the pushpin icon in the toolbar, a pop-up window lets you enter a street address, which is then pinpointed on the map. Doing this first helps you zoom to the exactly location you’re looking for.

If you want to see Aerial photography from the past, go to the drop-down menu on your lower left below the layers list and select “aerial photography” and the layers list will change to a list of years. Click on the year you want to see and click “refresh map” and you will see your zoomed in location grow younger before your eyes.

I did this for my own house and could easily see in 2003 my old car parked behind my house. I stepped back through the years (my house was built in 1894) and watched the landscape and streets around my house change through the years.

You can also print out or e-mail maps, which means you can pinpoint your house and send a party invitation complete with street names filled in directing people to your abode. You can also measure distances between two locations, and a half dozen other uses I haven’t played around with yet.

Hidden Indy: Broad Ripple Dam

Post author:HFM
Post published:January 10, 2005
Post category:Indianapolis

Just east of Westfield Boulevard and north of Broad Ripple Avenue is the Broad Ripple dam, a wooded area of the White River that’s fenced off and not accessible, just north of the Broad Ripple pumping station. On a sunny summer day a few years back, my friends and I climbed up the painted wall next to Westfield Blvd., shimmied through a hole in the fence, and hiked back through the woods to the dam.

Hidden Indy: The Catacombs Beneath Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Post author:HFM
Post published:January 10, 2005
Post category:Indianapolis

Back in the early nineties, my friend Dennis Williams was a Franciscan friar. We met doing volunteer work, and once we were working on a fundraiser together and we needed folding chairs. Dennis asked the staff of Sacred Heart Church (one of the oldest and the only Franciscan church in Indy) if they would donate the use of some chairs for the fundraiser. Dennis didn’t mention until we were in the church that we were going down into the catacombs beneath to retrieve them.

We took one set of stairs into a basement area, and then another set of stairs further down, into a series of tunnels cut into the rock and dirt that wind around underneath the church. Dennis knew where he was going, but I quickly lost my bearings and would have been in trouble if I didn’t have a guide.

The tunnels were musty and creepy, even more so because tucked into nooks and crannies in the tunnels were statuary from the church, antique furniture, old church pews, and the gaudily painted equipment for their bingo/casino nights. Dennis claimed that there were tombs in the catacombs, but I’m not sure if that was true, or if he was only saying that to creep me out.

We eventually found the cache of wooden folding chairs and made our way out, and none too soon for me. I purposely chose not to volunteer to return the chairs.

PLEASE NOTE: I was in the catacombs with permission, and this was over ten years ago! Since that time the church has had a catastrophic fire and restoration, so it’s possible that the catacombs don’t exist or are empty. Please don’t get it into your head to go and visit.

Hidden Indy: The Mystery Tao on Delaware

Post author:HFM
Post published:January 10, 2005
Post category:Indianapolis

Back in the early nineties, I lived in the Marleigh Apartment building in the 1400 block of Delaware in downtown Indianapolis, which is in Old Northside neighborhood. Across the street was an impressive array of old Victorian houses with all the gingerbread and other bling they put on houses back in the 1800’s. I used to walk down the street and daydream about owning one of them. One day on a walk, I stumbled across something really strange.

Republicans, the United Nations and the Tsunami

Post author:HFM
Post published:January 6, 2005
Post category:Politics

Conservative extremist Michael Savage says we shouldn’t be sending any money to Asia for relief efforts.
Conservative extremist Rush Limbaugh says “these things do tend to get blown out of proportion.”

Feels a bit chilly in here; there might be a draft

Post author:HFM
Post published:January 6, 2005
Post category:Politics

Brethren Agree to Revive ‘Alternative Service’ Draft Programs — Leaders of the Church of the Brethren say they will follow through on a request from the Selective Service to have “alternative service” programs in place for conscientious objectors if a draft is reinstated. As one of the historic “peace churches” that shun military service, Brethren officials were “cautious” after an unannounced visit by a draft official to a church center in Maryland last October. In follow-up meetings, draft officials urged the church to dust off long-standing “alternative service” programs that allow conscientious objectors to serve in two-year domestic service projects in lieu of military service.”