[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H2934]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2100
                 REPORT FROM INDIANA ON HOOSIER HEROES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana [Mr. McIntosh] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McINTOSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give my report from 
Indiana. Every weekend Ruthie and I travel around my district and often 
meet amazing people, individuals who are truly dedicated to being the 
backbone of our community.
  These are good people, taking responsibility for the future of our 
community. I like to call them Hoosier heroes. Today I want to praise 
leaders of the Stop the Violence movement in Anderson, IN, who have 
come together to help their community. With their persistence and 
dedication, they have created a very special group called Stop the 
Violence. Members of the community like Garrett Williams, Rev. Ray 
Wright, and Al Simmons have joined with schoolteachers and students at 
the Shadeland Elementary School. They were fed up with gangs and drug 
dealers and the violence in their streets, and they came together and 
said, ``Stop the violence now.'' They marched through their streets 
wearing purple ribbons, purple T-shirts, and a purple ball cap to 
symbolize peace in our community.
  They sent a message to the drug dealers. They were not going to take 
it anymore. Today, the Stop the Violence movement, which is spearheaded 
by Rudy Porter in the mayor's office, sends a message to the 
schoolchildren of Anderson: You do not have to carry guns, you do not 
have to fight with your classmates, you do not have to buckle under to 
the pressure of drug dealers to be cool.
  Stop the Violence gives schoolchildren and parents hope. They give 
our entire Nation hope, and I am proud to have been able to march with 
Rudy and those students, and I wish all Americans could witness the 
pride and joy that came from those children's faces as they set out to 
stand up to the criminals and the drug dealers who roam their streets.
  They said no. No more violence, no more drugs, no more crime. Hoosier 
heroes like Rudy Porter and Stop the Violence Committee give us hope 
that America's best days are indeed yet to come.
  That is why I would like to commend not only Rudy, but also the 
schoolteachers, Karen Crawford and Freddie Williams, and a principal at 
Shadeland School, Sharon Taylor Martin, who cares deeply about her 
children. And let us not forget the children, the children in Shadeland 
School, whose small, tiny voices, spoke out loudest of all. You made us 
proud. You are all Hoosier heroes.
  If every community in America had Hoosier heroes like Rudy Porter and 
the students and the leaders of the Stop the Violence movement, our 
young people would get a message from us, a message loud and clear, we 
care about you, we have not forgotten who you are.
  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is my report from Indiana for today. God 
bless.

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