State Rep. Tim Neese holds town hall meetings for public concerns

The Elkhart eTruth presents the schedule for State Representative Tim Neese’s town hall meetings.

State Rep. Tim Neese, R-Elkhart, will host five town hall meetings around District 48 through mid-May, giving the public a chance to discuss the 2008 legislative session.

The gatherings will be:

* May 8, 7 to 8 p.m. in the Mayor's Conference Room at Elkhart City Hall, 229 S. Second St., Elkhart

* May 14, 7 to 8 p.m. in the Granger Missionary Church library, 50841 Birch Road, Granger.

Hero of “Hoosiers” supporting Tim Neese

HV08 found this great clip in the Elkhart Truth’s campaign corner.  It seems that Bobby Plump, the real-life hero of the movie "Hoosiers" held a fundraiser last week for State Representative Tim Neese.  From last weeks campaign corner:

Indianapolis businessman Bobby Plump will host a fundraiser next week for State Rep. Tim Neese, R-Elkhart, at Plump's Last Shot Restaurant here.

The event is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Plump hit the winning shot during the Indiana high school basketball championship game in 1954, a match-up that inspired the movie "Hoosiers." He hosted a similiar fundraiser for Neese in 2006.

Expected to be on hand next week are several recipients of the Indiana Mr. Basketball recognition -- a distinction Plump earned in 1954 -- as well as Indiana Pacers radio analyst Bobby Leonard.

Neese fights for impaired driving bill

The Lafayette Journal and Courier covers the bill and its purpose.

Dubbed the Jimmy DeBoy bill, the proposed legislation is named for a 9-year-old Lafayette boy who died after being hit by an impaired driver on July 2006 while riding his bike on South Ninth Street.

The driver, Cesar De La Rosa, pleaded guilty to driving with marijuana in his system and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. It was the maximum he could receive under a plea agreement to the Class B felony, which was the most serious offense prosecutors could charge under current law.

Senate Bill 90 passed 33-15, but was halted when the House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code failed to hear it. Alting is working with Neese to get the language written into House Bill 1052, which the Senate passed 46-1.

The bill would raise the penalty for repeat offenders who operate a vehicle while intoxicated causing death from a Class B felony to a Class A felony, which is the highest penalty class -- excepting murder -- and carries a sentencing range of 20 to 50 years in prison.

It also would increase punishment for impaired drivers causing serious bodily injury from a D felony to a B felony, which carries a sentencing range of up to 17 more years in prison.

Neese Bill Passes House Unanimously

From the Elkhart Truth:

HB 1052, authored by Rep. Tim Neese, R-Elkhart, passed by a 97-0 vote Tuesday in the Indiana House of Representatives. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Neese first filed legislation in 2006, after a 2005 fatal car crash in Noble County involving a then-17-year-old New Paris youth, Thomas Hoopingarner.

Two passengers, then 15, left the scene and did not report the accident to anyone. Hoopingarner was found dead in his upside down and submerged vehicle.