November 2007
Vol. 2007-2008 No. 4
Nativity art for holiday luncheon
Heidi Gealt, director of the Indiana University Art Museum, will speak to the IU Annuitants Association on Wednesday, Dec. 5, after the annual holiday luncheon. In keeping with the holiday theme, Professor Gealt will speak on the Nativity in Art.
Professor Gealt has been director of the museum since 1989, following three years as the interim director. Her most recent book, published by IU Press in 2006, reconstructs a lost New Testament cycle by Domenico Tiepolo, 18th-century Italian artist of the rococo period. She was guest curator of last year’s Domenico Tiepolo exhibition at New York’s Frick Collection.
Her new book follows another volume, Domenico Tiepolo: Master Draftsman, published in English a decade earlier by the IU Press and in Italian by a publisher in Milan. A decade earlier her book on the Punchinello drawings of Domenico Tiepolo was published simultaneously in New York, London, Paris, and Milan.
Professor Gealt contributed more than 300 entries for Painters of the Golden Age, a 1993 biographical dictionary of 17th-century European painters. With colleague Bruce Cole, she wrote the companion text for the 1989 WNET television series “Art of the Western World.” In addition to her museum duties, she teaches in the art history department and the arts administration program.
For the gala holiday luncheon itself, you have your choice of beef brisket with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes or mushroom ravioli in cream sauce. Entrees will be accompanied by tossed salad, corn pudding, rolls and butter, pumpkin cheesecake, and coffee and iced tea. The cost is only $15 per person, but reservations must be received by no later than Nov. 29. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., with lunch served at noon. Terry’s Banquet Center is in Westbury Village off State Highway 48 West.
Please return the reservation form in this newsletter and your payment of $15 per person for a very special holiday event.
Extension for directory inclusion
Database manager Gerald Marker, who compiles the annual directory, has extended the date for inclusion in this year’s membership directory. Those who pay their 2007-2008 dues by Nov. 29, the deadline for luncheon reservations for the holiday gala, will appear in the directory, which will be mailed in December. Send your check ($5 single, $9 per couple) to Treasurer Don Weaver, IU Annuitants Association, P.O. Box 8393, Bloomington, IN 47407.
Dates to enter on your 2008 calendar
Start preparing for the new year by entering the Annuitants Association meetings on your 2008 calendar. On Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 2 p.m., Dr. Rajih Haddawi, director of Volunteers in Medicine, will speak at the IU Foundation.
Save these dates to round out the academic year: Feb. 13, 2 p.m.; April 9, 2 p.m.; May 14, 5:30 p.m. More details will appear in future “Newswatch” issues. The Annuitants Association does not meet in March.
November reprise
If Jim Kennedy decides not to run for another term as Monroe County sheriff, he can stand in for Jay Leno or write for “Saturday Night Live.” That was the opinion of many of the 65 people who heard his lively and witty presentation Nov. 14.
Jim started with three questions:
- Who is the most highly compensated public official in Indiana?
- Who is the most highly compensated public official in the United States?
- Who is the only president who was also a sheriff?
Answers appear at the end of this article.
Jim explained that law enforcement is only part of his job. As warden of the Monroe County jail, he is the “largest hotel operator in the county,” with a peak of 296 overnight “guests.” He accommodates them for $1.17 a day. Jim also has a host of administrative duties, among them collecting taxes, serving more than 2,000 civil processes each month, and maintaining the sex offender registry.
Although he has a full-time correctional staff of nearly 60, he says he’s 21 people short. He is grateful for the 41 percent increase approved by the County Council, which has allowed him to hire seven new jailers, one new process server, and three more deputies to be out on the roads.
Jim talked at length about jail operations. He says the majority of people in the jail have been there four times before for felony offenses. Most misdemeanors are bailed out almost immediately. Fourteen men are in the detox unit; no detox unit is available for women, who have to manage with makeshift facilities. The jail population currently includes six or seven people who are mentally ill and have committed criminal acts. With the closing of facilities for the mentally ill, he says, “The outpatient clinic is called the Monroe County jail.”
Jim Weigand modeled the “spit hood,” placed over the heads of prisoners who spit at law enforcement officers. Jim also modeled the spiffy black-and-white striped uniform, which, for people who are multiple offenders or have a record of violence, replaces the bright orange jumpsuit.
Jim Kennedy says that, if a new jail is not built – which is due to happen in 2012 – inevitably a prisoner will file a federal suit. Right now the indoor recreation area is a dormitory. Next month jail facilities will be renovated. The jail is a tough place, he said, with constant noise. The average age of inmates is in the mid- to high 20s. He would like to house people in the work release program in a different environment.
In answer to questions, Jim explained the pivotal role played by IU’s Police Academy. Because they all train together and because interagency transfers are common, excellent relations prevail among the state, city, and IU police and the county sheriff’s office. As one who has held both offices, he outlined the differences between the police chief for the city of Bloomington and the sheriff for Monroe County. The police chief is appointed and answers to the city council and mayor’s office; he has no jail responsibilities. The sheriff is elected, reports to the county council, runs the jail, and focuses his department’s efforts outside the metropolitan area.
President Bob Ensman presided and introduced Wain Martin, who updated us on the United Way campaign. The good news, Wain said, is that, with 103 annuitant pledges received, we’ve met two-thirds of our goal. The bad news is that one-third of the goal remains to be met. He challenged annuitants to “put the pedal to the metal” and announced that a reminder letter with a pledge form will be mailed shortly.
Sharon O’Bryan introduced the speaker.
Providing the delicious refreshments were Fran Bell, Jim Dawson, Judy Granbois, Sharon O’Bryan, Harriet Pfister, and Barb Randall.
- J.S.
Answers to Jim Kennedy’s questions:
- Frank Anderson, the sheriff of Marion County
- Lee Baca, the sheriff of Los Angeles County
- Grover Cleveland
December at the Emeriti House
Events scheduled at 1015 E. Atwater include a talk by Talmage Bosin, former director of the IU-Kenya program, on Dec. 5 at 4 p.m.; a life-writing session with John Woodcock, on Dec. 6, 3 to 4:30 p.m.; and an end-of-semester party on Dec. 7 at 4 p.m.
Calling all annuitant artists
Annuitants are invited to participate in the sixth annual Emeriti House Art Exhibit, scheduled for the month of April 2008. The show is multimedia, and graphic arts, jewelry, pottery, woodworking, and other media are welcome. Submissions won’t be due until early March for jurying, so this is early notice, but time flies.
John Woodcock and Bill Hansen are chairing this year’s show. Other committee members are Gil Clark, Dick Dever, Audrey Heller, and Ruth Miller. If you have work you would like to submit or if you have questions about the process of submitting, please contact John (woodcock@indiana.edu or 339-2741) so that you can be kept up to date by e-mail.
The Thanksgiving fern
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, combining as it does hospitality, gratitude, tradition, family togetherness,
and good food. But last year presented us with a bit of a quandary. Guests ranged in age from 7 to nearly 80, some had never met before, and they represented a variety of religious experience, from adamant atheist to devout Christian. How could we express thanks in a way that made everyone feel at ease?
Our answer: The 7-year-old, with some help, made autumn leaves out of colored paper. When people arrived, we asked them to write on a leaf something for which to give thanks. We hung the leaves on our Thanksgiving fern. Some of the entries: nature, compassion, food, home, family, humor, health restored, a paycheck, and specific individuals.
For what or whom do you give thanks this Thanksgiving? Please drop an e-mail to jschroed@indiana.edu, and we’ll include some entries in a future column.
- J.S.
