Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Absolutely ridiculous!" "Hypocritical!" "You're out of your mind!" "Your
service to us stinks!" Those barbed words were uttered at Saturday's town
meeting in Decatur with State Sen. Dave Ford of Hartford City and State Rep.
Mike Ripley of Monroe over the issue of gambling. Approximately 20 people
attended the event at Decatur Public Library. The lay-it-on-the-line speaker
was Art Adam of Preble, who was quite upset that the legislature is
debating, discussing, and deciding whether to allow 3,000 slot machines to
be placed at the state's two horse-racing tracks, yet police still conduct
raids to confiscate Cherry Master devices from private premises. "It just
doesn't fit," said Adam, adding that the removal of Cherry Masters from
American Legion Post 43 in Decatur led to layoffs of workers there, since
income was taken away. Adam strenuously urged Ford and Ripley to take action
to end the "hypocrisy." Said Adam, "Do something about it!" He also called
upon Ripley and Ford to represent ordinary people, not just the millionaires
in the gambling business. Ford explained that he voted this year against
expanding gambling by placing 1,500 slot machines at each of the horse
tracks (in Anderson and Shelbyville), although that bill was passed in the
Senate, 27-21. The veteran senator said that bill calls for those seeking to
set up the slot machines to pay $400 million as a licensing fee for each
location and such people would not bat an eye over paying $800 million. Ford
said the idea to put slot machines at the racetracks is supposed to be a way
to attract more people there or, as he put it, "increasing gambling to
support gambling," which he called "strange" reasoning. He also made fun of
the gambling vessel at landlocked French Lick, pointing out that the
"riverboat" is parked in a "mud puddle."