At least 50 people attended a town hall hosted by Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith on Tuesday, July 1, at Warsaw City Hall.

Text and Photos
By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — A range of emotions were present at a Warsaw town hall put on Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith on Tuesday night, July 1.

More than 50 people came from counties, including Kosciusko, Fulton, Marshall and Tippecanoe, to Warsaw City Hall to question, comment, praise and admonish the actions of Beckwith and others at state and federal levels of government.

Seventeen people lined up to publicly speak to Beckwith, with him then having a chance to respond.

One of them was a woman who said she lost “her father in an Indiana prison because no one listened.”

She said her father died in New Castle Correctional Facility last year, with him supposed to have been released this year.

“He had serious chronic health conditions, (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), ulcerative colitis, anemia and high blood pressure,” she said. “For over a year, he reported passing out, struggling to breathe, losing weight and needing medical care. He begged for help.”

“He was in segregation, so he couldn’t leave his cell,” she continued. “The day before he died, he asked to go to the hospital twice and the guard even asked for him to be pulled from the unit. Nothing was done.”

She added her father “died alone, unmonitored for hours in his cell after telling me in message he wasn’t going to survive.”

The woman said she met another family who also had a relative die at the same prison.

“I’m here to ask: who is responsible for preventing deaths like my father’s?” she said.

Beckwith said he “was sorry” for the woman’s loss.

“I know one of the things Gov. (Mike) Braun is looking at and myself too is (examining the Indiana Department of Corrections),” he said. “There have been a lot of really important things that have been going on for far too long when it comes to the Indiana Department of Corrections. Some say it’s due to lack of funding, others due to lack of leadership, but that is something that we are looking at.”

“I don’t know specifically about your dad’s case, but I certainly want to get more information on the details of that because we’ll take it to the governor and we’ll do our due diligence and look into that as well because certainly people in the Department of Corrections need to be treated in a human way.”

Beckwith added that possibly IDOC “policies” might need to be changed or “guardrails put in place.”

The woman asked about the “oversight … private companies like The GEO Group,” which is involved with New Castle Correctional Facility, have.

Beckwith said he would “look into that.”

Brian Joseph Smith referenced the numerous lakes in Kosciusko County and added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, types of human-made, long-lasting chemicals, have been located in Hidden Lake in Warsaw.

He added that lake is “going to host the (International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation’s) World Ski Show Championship in 2027, so that is going to have a big economic impact in Warsaw.”

“My fear is PFAS are going to start spreading to other lakes, so would you support State Rep. Maureen Bauer’s PFAS biosolids testing bill?” asked Smith.

“It depends,” said Beckwith. “I don’t know everything in that bill. Obviously PFAS are something that sticks around forever. We know we can’t get rid of it.”

He added he hadn’t “looked at (Bauer’s) bill.”

“What is the fiscal impact, what is she requiring, what is going to be the responsibility to be able to clean up and will it actually be effective?,” said Beckwith of what he would ask, adding he’s “certainly open to the discussion.”

“We talk about PFAS a lot and as secretary of agriculture, that is something that is very much concerning to our farmers and we’re seeing it in a lot of land right now and (trying to figure out) how we can get rid of it,” he said.

Beckwith speaks at the town hall.

Vicki Morton asked about public education.

“Obviously in the last budget session we did not get an increase to public education. There’s going to be cutbacks,” she said.

Morton said a number of degree programs were also being cut from Indiana University’s main campus, including bachelor’s degrees in chemistry education, mathematics education, physics education and statistics and master’s degrees in elementary education and secondary education.

“And something very near to my heart, because I have a son with special needs … a master’s in special education,” she added.

Morton said she recognized “that (IU Bloomington) may combine (programs) with Indianapolis.”

Beckwith said he hadn’t specifically looked into the degree issue.

“I still think there’s going to be plenty of options for people that are wanting to go into those fields,” he said.

Regarding public education, Beckwith noted that about half of the state’s just-passed $40 billion-plus budget is going for that area, with some also from property taxes.

“Is that not enough? By far, that’s the largest slice of the pie and it’s going to education … and if that’s not enough, what is the number that we should be fighting for to where it would be adequately funded for teachers and schools and students and parents to get the result that they are wanting on all aspects of education?” said Beckwith.

Morton said she didn’t know the number, but she was concerned about minimum teacher pay being “too low for the job that’s required.”

Beckwith said he believed education funds could be better utilized if school consolidation occurred in more rural counties without dramatically increasing class sizes.

He said a principal in Muncie told him school consolidation would be a good route, but people are opposed to it because they “have pride in the schools they grew up in.”

Jesse Bohannon praised Beckwith “for actively standing for what the Republican party says it stands for.”

“Two years ago, I was at an event for locally elected officials and business leaders in Plymouth and your predecessor came and told us that cutting taxes and keeping taxes low was old thought and we needed to raise taxes and do all (this) programming and make people’s lives better,” said Bohannon. “So thank you for what the governor and you are doing, and I know we just took one step forward into doing property tax reform this year and you guys have really empowered county councils to step up and take … leadership in how local government is funded, so we’re looking forward to embracing that challenge in Marshall County … and figuring a way to lower taxes with the authority that you all have given us.”

Mike Felker praised Beckwith, but asked him if he could fight for further tax cuts.

“The state extorts money from us … and I want you to push that envelope (of cuts) for us a little bit more and let our legislators know, ‘Hey, the Constitution of Indiana says all power is inherent in the people and that’s founded on our authority,'” he said.

Beckwith said further cuts were being considered and added tax cuts had to be eased in, so it wasn’t too large a strain on local governments.