Welcome to the Posey Circuit Court
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Welcome to the Posey Circuit Court
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GAVEL GAMUT by Judge Jim Redwine Does anybody really know what time it is?
On their album “Chicago Transit Authority” the group Chicago asked the above question which one might say is timely! It is apropos that the album refers to a railway transit system as we have the railroad barons to thank for our current time zone approach. And the Barons sang: ♫ Once I built a railroad, made it run, made it run on time. Once I built a railroad, made it run, Buddy, can you spare a dime? ♫ If you do not know this song, check with a member of “The Greatest Generation”; they lived through it. The Standard Time Act of 1918 was passed by Congress at the end of The War To End All Wars (WWI). Its ostensible purpose was, now here’s a new thought, “National Security,” and economic development. Of course, its real purpose was to assuage the concerns of the railroads at a time when a train might go through 300 time changes from coast to coast. And we in Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson, and Spencer counties in southwestern Indiana and Lake, La Porte, Newton and Jasper counties in northwestern Indiana probably have Chicago (the city not the group) to thank for being on Central Time and Central Daylight Time. That’s 10 out of 92 Indiana counties. Five others: Clark, Dearborn, Floyd, Harrison and Ohio are on Eastern and Eastern Daylight time. For reasons unknown to us mere mortals outside of Marion County, the remaining 77 Indiana counties stay on Eastern time all year and do not observe Daylight Saving Time (DST). Speaking of Daylight Saving (or Savings) Time, our old friend and Forefather, Benjamin Franklin, was one of the first Americans to suggest “springing forward.” His “Poor Richard’s Almanac” counseled: “Early to bed, early to rise, Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Easy for Ben to say. He did not have to deal with his kids standing in the dark waiting for a school bus. Our Indiana Legislature has just voted to allow all of Indiana to go on Daylight Saving Time starting April 01, 2007. Is that date significant? Unfortunately, it is the Federal Department of Transportation, not our Legislature, that has the authority to set the time zones. Now the Governor says it’s up to each Indiana county to choose its own time by petitioning the Federal Department of Transportation “to be or not to be” on Daylight Saving Time and in a particular time zone. In the United States, only Arizona and Hawaii approach the Daylight Saving Time issue much as our Hoosierland does. And Arizona is even more bizarre than Indiana and Hawaii thanks to the age old rivalry between the Navajo and Hopi Native Americans whose reservations are within Arizona’s borders. The much larger Navajo nation totally surrounds the Hopi tribal lands. In an Alice in Wonderland touch, the Navajos observe DST but the Hopis do not. And on the world stage, Israel, which occupies much of Palestine, bases its DST on the lunar Jewish calendar but the Palestinians change their clocks at different times as an act of silent resistance against their fellow Semites. At least we Hoosiers have not as yet been surrounded or occupied by our neighbors. We just engage in internecine struggles over the right time. At the end of the day, Indiana and Hawaii stand together as twin sisters, the Gemini as it were, in the great constellation of stars on the U.S. flag in our approach to time zones and DST. I suggest that our Legislature may have done us a great favor in aligning us with Hawaii on this issue. Instead of Illinois and Kentucky, we can claim Hawaii as our sister state. Let’s each one call on our county Commissioners and Council to petition the Department of Transportation to maintain the same approach to DST as only Indiana and Hawaii do. Think of the benefits. Perhaps Hawaii and Posey County would want to engage in an extensive program of cultural and economic exchange. Peg and I would be happy to open our home to Hawaiian families for free lodging as long as they reciprocated (only if they lived near the beach, of course). After all, we do not live that far from the beautiful Ohio River. And we would be pleased to invite them to play golf with us as our guests at the Western Hills golf course in Mt. Vernon if they paid for our play in Hawaii. Further, since Peg and I have never been to Hawaii, it seems only fair that Hawaii fly us over on their state’s corporate jet if we are willing to make the sacrifice to go. I am sure that both of you who occasionally peruse this column have many more ideas that would greatly benefit both Hawaii and Posey County. On the other hand, Chicago continued its song as follows: ♫ Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? ♫ |
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