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Lugar Staff Judges "We the People" Competition in Evansville Larry Ordner, Senator Lugar’s southern Indiana regional director, served as a judge of the 8th Congressional District We the People elementary showcase competition in Evansville on April 24.
Organized as a mock Congressional hearing, the competition among teams of area fifth graders challenges the students to study the U.S. Constitution and answer prescribed questions before panels of volunteer adult judges. Their knowledge is further tested by unrehearsed follow-up questions from the judges. Eleven teams from six Evansville-area schools participated. “The We the People program, and many other programs sponsored through the Center for Civic Education, provide the curricula needed to give our young people a solid understanding of the vision of our founders, our progression as a nation, and our country’s place in the world. As a government, we must continue to make civic education a priority because the strength of our nation is reliant on how well we prepare our young people to lead,” said Senator Lugar. “While the We the People program deals primarily with the study of the Constitution, there are many benefits to participating,” said Ordner. “The students develop team building and public speaking skills, and gain self-confidence by giving oral presentations before the judges, classmates, and their thoroughly impressed parents.” Ordner has twice judged the state high school finals held at Indianapolis. Indiana’s We the People program is sponsored by the Center for Civic Education and is conducted by the Indiana Bar Foundation.
Lugar Center in Fort Wayne Celebrates Arbor Day and In April, the Richard G. Lugar Northeast Indiana Community Service Center marked Arbor Day and National Small Business Week with activities in Fort Wayne. Homestead High School junior and Lugar Center volunteer Michael Breuning celebrated Arbor Day by planting 100 trees in Indian Trails Park. The plantings took place on Arbor Day, Friday, April 25, from 4-8 p.m. adjacent to the Jorgensen Family YMCA on Aboite Center Road in Fort Wayne.
Breuning organized the tree planting while volunteering at the Richard G. Lugar Community Service Center. He completed 20 hours of community service for credit in an Advanced Placement U.S. Government class. Breuning is also an Eagle Scout. “Arbor Day celebrates the spirit of reforestation and the hope for the future that trees embody,” said Senator Lugar. “I congratulate Michael Breuning on his community service project and contribution to the Indian Trails Park which generations of local residents will enjoy.” Breuning recruited 50 volunteers from Homestead and an additional 10 Boy Scouts to help with the tree planting using the morning announcements and Facebook. On April 29 and 30, the Lugar Community Service Center hosted small business seminars in Fort Wayne. The sessions focused on the basics of owning and growing a small business. Representatives from the Small Business Administration (SBA), Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business,” and Women’s Enterprise offered insight into business ownership. The sessions were in recognition of National Small Business Week which was observed April 21- 25, 2008. “Prior to entering politics, my brother and I ran a small, family-owned company called Thomas L. Green & Co. The company, which was founded by my grandfather in 1893, made food machinery equipment, and was run by family members until it was recently sold. Businesses like Thomas L. Green & Co. keep the economy going by providing all kinds of jobs from the service industries to manufacturing. I hope these seminars will provide Hoosiers with necessary information to start and grow their businesses,” said Senator Lugar. Senator Lugar is a past recipient of the “Small Business Champion” Award from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and the Spirit of Enterprise award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for support of pro-business issues.
Lugar NW Indiana Director Participates in Biofuels Conference On April 28, Celina Weatherwax, Director of Senator Lugar’s Valparaiso, Indiana, office spoke at the “Biofuels Moving Indiana Forward Conference” organized by South Shore Clean Cities in Merrillville. “South Shore Clean Cities is a leader in promoting alternative fuels and idle reduction practices in Northern Indiana. The Biofuels…Moving Indiana Forward Conference is an important meeting to discuss the opportunities, and challenges, of rapidly increasing the production and use of renewable fuels. Reducing our dependence on oil is critically important to enhancing United States national security and economic prosperity,” said Senator Lugar.
Clean Cities is a nationwide network sponsored by the Department of Energy of approximately 90 volunteer coalitions that develop public/private partnerships to promote alternative fuels and advanced vehicles, fuel blends, fuel economy, hybrid vehicles, and idle reduction. For more than a decade, Senator Lugar has stressed the strategic importance of energy security and the economic and security risks of dependence on imported foreign energy sources. His legislative efforts promote sustainable energy production and use, incentives for renewable fuels like cellulosic ethanol and E85, increased economy in cars, and clean coal. The Lugar Energy Initiative highlights not only the repercussions of America's dangerous dependence on imported oil, but also provides information on energy legislation introduced by Senator Lugar, commentary by outside experts and information on alternative and renewable energy sources. |
South Shore Clean Cities is coordinated by 