Amy Gerstman

Last week was taxing. County budget sessions began Tuesday the 8th and continued through the 10th. As secretary to the county council by statute I am required to attend, assist and advise. I’m pleased the Prosecutor and Courts faired well, as did Auditing. And there were no lay-offs.

Thursday evening I attended a Center for Justice and Mediation (CJAM) fundraiser held at the home of Paige and Christian Freitag. You can learn more about CJAM at:

http://www.cjam.org

What a difference a week makes! The budget showdown has reached a state of compromise. Now the council just needs to pass it. Last Monday, I met with several department heads and we hashed out options. Tuesday, we received the actual COIT numbers for 2010, a rise rather than a flat line figure! This was all great news and it appears Monroe County will not be making layoffs for the next fiscal year.

Because Indiana may or may not be on the verge of a new rail industry, I thought it curious to visit the railroad of yesteryear. So on Mother’s Day, the children and I went to French Lick, IN and road the train to Cuzco. Cuzco is in Dubois County. If your French is proper, as the conductor will tell you, Dubois is pronounced (do-bwah), but if you’re from Southern Indiana, (dew-boyz) works fine.

From Amy’s Travels:
Occasionally, an exhausted single mother of two must venture off the beaten path and into the unknown.

Regina and I flew into Miami last Thursday and drove across the ocean to the Conch Republic (AKA Key West)-the only community in the United States to actually claim to have successfully seceded from the Union. (!!!)

Newsweek recently ran a story entitled, “We Are All Socialist Now”. (Written by Jon Meacham and Evan Thomas.)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/183663?gt1=43002

It discusses Obama’s economic stimulus package which includes 50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. The article also discusses the growing trend of the federal government in our economy, its possible ramifications and benefits.