[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 120 (Thursday, September 5, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H10103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          REPORT FROM INDIANA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cooley). 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. Each weekend my wife Ruthie and I travel across the State of 
Indiana, and often we meet good people who are taking responsibility 
for making our communities a better place to live. In my book, these 
people are Hoosier heroes, Hoosier heroes because they work and 
sacrifice to make a difference.
  Today I would like to recognize many of those individuals involved 
with the Lincoln Central Neighborhood Family Center in Columbus, IN, as 
Hoosier heroes. There are 5,000 people who live in this neighborhood, 
one of the older parts of Columbus. The families who live in the 
Lincoln Central neighborhood may be considered poor in financial terms. 
There are 40 percent of them who are under the poverty line. Eighty 
percent of the children from that neighborhood are on free or reduced 
lunches. But I want to submit, Mr. Speaker, that they are rich in 
spiritual materials, because citizens from around the city came 
together to form a community group to help rebuild, to clean, and to 
make Lincoln Central a better place to live.

  They are people like Hutch Schumaker, a local businessman and 
community leader, who donated his time to make sure that the planning 
was in place and the community was behind the effort to improve Lincoln 
Central neighborhood; people like Randy Allman, who is the coordinator 
of the Lincoln Central neighborhood group, who is responsible for 
conversion of the armory into single apartments for senior citizens; 
and Kate Garvey, who is a local resident. She has been very active in 
the planning committee, making sure people from the community are 
involved in this effort.
  Then there is Diane Doup, who is the activities coordinator. She is 
responsible for allowing folks to come in and tour. She took me and 
then later Ruthie on a tour of the neighborhood so we could witness 
firsthand the remarkable efforts of the citizens of this neighborhood, 
taking charge of their own lives to build a better future.
  Citizens in the Lincoln Central neighborhood come from one of the 
poorest areas in the inner city of Columbus, but by joining together to 
improve, strengthen, and secure a better way of life, their mission is 
very simple. I want to quote to you today, Mr. Speaker, from their 
mission statement:

       To create a safe and caring neighborhood where individuals 
     are treated with respect and live in harmony in their 
     community.

  It first started in 1994, when hundreds of volunteers from around 
Bartholomew County, including local churches, businesses, and other 
groups, joined with the 5,000 neighborhood members in Lincoln Central 
neighborhood to work together. Along with some of the local service 
agencies, they took charge in a resolve to meet the needs of their 
community.
  When I was there I toured around the neighborhood in August and I 
happened to see some of their projects. I was greeted by proud 
residents who were eager to show me how they were improving their 
neighborhood. They began by buying up some of the old houses, getting 
them purchased so they could resell them to families who needed them. 
Now those houses have been fixed up and painted up and are some of the 
best-looking houses on the block. These families have been allowed to 
move in and they have a better hope for the future.
  The neighbors have come together and they bought up one house next to 
an old play lot and have torn it down, and are converting the entire 
area into a new playground for the kids of Lincoln Central 
neighborhood. I saw many dilapidated old homes that they have targeted 
for refurbishment and renewal, so those who are less fortunate will 
have a better place to live.

  What is so remarkable is one of the comments I heard from Jerry 
Combest, a resident. He told me, as an organization, we are looking for 
a hand up, not a handout. We want to help make our lives better for 
ourselves. That comes through in the spirit from the members of the 
Lincoln Central neighborhood. They are not sitting back and asking 
somebody else to take charge of their lives and their neighborhood. 
They want to take responsibility and fix up their own neighborhood. 
These good people are leading the way as examples in Columbus, IN. I am 
proud of their good work.
  I want to say that everybody involved with the Lincoln Central 
neighborhood has earned the title of Hoosier hero.

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