Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 17 March 2000 — Page 1

Civil Rights Journal

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To Be Equal

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Youth Spotlight

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VOL. 9, No. 20

Also serving Anderson, Marion, Richmond and New Castle communities

March 17, 2000

Lewis enjoys being Anderson mayor’s assistant

By T. S. Kumbula It was the first Saturday morning in March. Julia Lewis, after working the second shift at Guide Corp. the night, was up early to present a proclamation, on behalf of Anderson Mayor Mark Lawler, at kickoff events for the Indiana Women’s Bowling Tournament. Such has been the busy schedule that Lewis has maintained since taking over on Jan. 17 as Lawler’s assistant for community affairs. She replaced Rudy Porter who relocated to Florida in a job-related move. “It has been overwhelming, simply overwhelming,” she said in a phone interview. “My duties are to step in for the mayor, when he is absent or is not able to attend, speak on his behalf, serve on some city and non-city board, attend a lot of functions, represent the city of Anderson and the mayor and try to be there for him.” After Lawler was re-elected last year and Porter resigned

earlier this year, the mayor was seeking another community affairs assistant. Lewis said she was the only woman among the job candidates. “I was the chosen one. I feel like I was a good candidate because I enjoy working with

people. I like to interact with people. I know a lot of people here,” she said, “because I have been here all my life. “But I never imagined what it would be like. I have to meet so many people. I have to try and make a difference for the city. I

feel we should all give back something to the community. The mayor’s motto is, ‘Working Together Makes A Difference.’ I believe in that. “The mayor has an opendoor policy. He’s the type of person who says if you want to meet with him, he will meet with you and direct you to the right people who can help you with your problems. “He really cares about the people and the city. He’s a good leader who really wants to make a difference. I’m looking forward to working with him and with the people in the city. These are very exciting times. Feel a lot of good things will happen in the future LEWIS SEE PAGE 9

Karen Jones with son Darius and daughter Dashia

Jones hopes next surgery will repair son’s spinal problem

By Judy Mays At 22, Karen Kimble Jones had no reason to suspect that her son, Darius, would require surgery just hours after his birth. “I found out that I was pregnant around the end of my first trimester,” said Jones. “I was healthy, didn’t drink, smoke or do drugs, so I had no idea that my son would be born with myelomeningocele, a birth defect of the spine.”

Also called “open spine,” spina bifida, or neural tubal defect (NTD), myelomeningocele (my-low-meh-nin-go-seal) occurs in about 1 out of 1,000 babies born in the Jnited States. While a great deal is known aoout the birth defect, doctors still do not know what causes it. Recent information, however, indicates that nutritional deficiencies, particularly folic acid deficiency, may play a role. Orange juice is a source of folic

acid. “I didn’t drink orange juice at all before my pregnancy,” Jones said. When it was time for Darius to be born, Jones had what appeared to be a normal delivery. “But then I was told my son had already had his first bowel movement. That placed him at risk because his lungs could have collapsed and he could have died. About 2 hours after the delivery Jones was told that her JONES SEE PAGE 5