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Photo courtesy John Winters

Thanks to The Boren Foundation, and Jack and Karen Kay Leonard for making this website possible. 

Collaborations Yield Success for IKE and Kids

IKE published its Fall Newsletter in early December.  Call IKE at 317-442-3973 or send an email to get a hard copy.  A PDF file will soon be available at this site.  In the meantime, the information in the newsletter has been parsed out on the IKE webpage with links. 

In the time it takes to have a child, IKE has grown from an idea to a full-fledged project. In May, IKE laid out an action plan. Through collaborative efforts, IKE has made significant strides in implementing that plan and advancing the cause of children’s environmental health in Indiana. But success has only come with the help and support of many people and organizations. Through collaborations, we can succeed. Just look what we’ve done so far.

  • Combined Sewer Overflows: IKE files civil rights action against the City of Indianapolis and pushes Indiana to follow letter of the law for sewer ban. See page 2 and 3.
  • Pest Control in Schools: With IKE’s support, the Indiana Pesticide Review Board adopted a model pest control policy in schools that reflects Hoosier values. The next step is to get schools to adopt the policy. See page 4.
  • Connecting Kids’ Health and the Environment: Tired of the hypotheticals, Indiana’s leading environmental legislative advisory council adopted initiatives to find out what is really going on with children’s health and potential linkages to environmental threats. See page 5.
  • Mercury: IKE works with IDEM to get stronger, albeit still weak, provisions to prevent the burning of mercury in medical waste. IKE calls on IDEM to go beyond voluntary programs to enforce the existing regulations. See page 6.
  • Lead-Based Paint: IKE’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Task Force begins to take on tough issues related to state policy, physicians, and landlords. Also, IKE has uncovered dangerous advice offered by paint suppliers.
  • Poison Prevention: IKE teams up with Taylor University and East Central Solid Waste District to identify ways to turn the Indiana Poison Center into tangible prevention strategies to protect kids.

IKE Gets By With a

Little Help From Its Friends

As you can see from a review of the newsletter, IKE owes thanks to many people and organizations working to protect children’s environmental health. Beyond those already mentioned, IKE thanks the following:

  • East Central Solid Waste Management District for providing Taylor University with an $18,000 grant to work on poison prevention.
  • IDEM for giving a $100,000 grant to Purdue Co-op Extension Service to promote integrated pest management in schools and child care centers.
  • IDEM for publishing an excellent webpage describing the results on the initial rounds of air toxics monitoring in Lake, Elkhart, Marion and Vanderburgh counties.
  • IKE’s Board of Directors for their guidance and support. The directors are Dr. Bill Beranek, Leslie Flower, Dr. Marc Lame, Dr. Jack Leonard, and Dr. Rae Schnapp.
  • Dave McCormick and the Marion County Health Department for its extensive support in hosting and coordinating IKE’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Task Force.
  • Tom Anderson, Jane Dustin, Bill Hayden, Glenn Pratt, and Dick Van Frank for their regular counsel and assistance.
  • Reporter Lauri Harvey and the Times of Northwest Indiana for the outstanding series on cancer cases in Hammond. See www.thetimesonline.com.

Other Notes and Issues Raised in Newsletter

  • Next IKE Advisory Council Meeting - January 27 at DowAgrosciences in Indianapolis.
  • Special thanks to Cinergy Corp. and Dawn Harvey-Horth for sponsoring this newsletter and IKE’s website. Cinergy also hosted the October IKE Advisory Council meeting. Their support makes a difference!
  • IKE’s website has been neglected. And as you can see from this newsletter, IKE has its hands full with active projects. Thanks to Perry Woodin, the site should be running by the end of January.
  • This newsletter references many documents, reports, and letters. Please contact IKE if you want copies. There may be a charge for some materials to cover costs.
  • CASA for KIDS - A Different Way to Help!  If you want to help kids in ways beyond environmental health, consider volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for Kids. CASAs are appointed by the court to represent the best interests of children in divorce or other legal actions. Tom Neltner recently completed the training and was quite impressed. Contact Indiana Advocates for Children at 317-576-6685 for details.