GROUNDHOG DAY

6
Indy Asian American Times
Friday, January 30, 2015
Community 社区
ACSI Welcomes CIPA
Delegation
2015 年 01月 30 日星期五
GROUNDHOG DAY
“The trouble with weather forecasting is that it’s
right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often
for us to rely on it.” ~Patrick Young
天有不測之風雲, 人有旦夕之禍福.
Last month, ACSI and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) welcomed delegates from the
China Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) to Indianapolis. The delegation, consisting of top level business and
government leaders from Beijing, had the unique opportunity to visit Center Court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse
and interact with ACSI Board Members, regional leaders and special guests. The following day, the delegates
attended a presentation by the Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership at the Vincennes University
Logistics Training and Education Center in Plainfield.
Groundhog Day 土撥鼠節 is a popular, amusing
celebration based on folklore, held annually on
February 2nd in many parts of the United States.
During the event, thousands of visitors including
television crews gather together in Gobbler’s Knob,
in the proximity of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
where the most-watched weather forecast of the year
performed by the official groundhog Punxsutawney
Phil (named after King Phillip) takes place. He
emerges from his heated burrow at 7:24 in the morning
to reveal his prognostication of the upcoming weather.
According to the legend, if the day is sunny and he sees
his shadow and scared by it, he will hastily scamper
back to his burrow; indicating six more weeks of
winter. And if it is a cloudy day and he does not see his
shadow, he will stay around above ground; it denotes
that spring is approaching. There is probably truth to
this weather prognostication; in winter days when we
see our shadows are generally cold, since there are no
clouds in the sky to insulate the earth.
The origin of Groundhog Day can be traced to
medieval Europe and Candlemas Day. Candlemas
Day, February 2nd, is a holiday commemorating
Virgin Mary’s ritual purification after childbirth (40day purification period) and the presentation of Jesus
at the holy temple in Jerusalem. On Candlemas Day,
priests bless candles and distribute them to people. In
addition, Candlemas Day is a winter milestone; it is the
midpoint between the first day of winter and the first
day of spring. People believed that a sunny Candlemas
signified another six weeks of cold and snowy winter
to come. And if the day was cloudy and the sun was
not visible, winter was finally over. Early Christians
had an adage for the tradition, “If Candlemas Day be
fair and bright, winter will have another flight. But if
it be dark with clouds and rain, winter is gone and will
not come again.”
Additionally, in many parts of Europe centuries
ago, farmers kept an eye on hibernating animals, such
as badgers, bears and hedgehogs for the forecast of
upcoming weather. When the animals emerge from
hibernation, it indicated the end of winter; so the
farmers could plant crops. Traditionally, in Germany,
badgers were selected for weather forecast. If the
badger came out of hibernation and saw its shadow,
farmers would hold off planting crops, because snow
and cold would continue. But if the badger did not see
its shadow, spring was around the corner, and planting
could be started. German (Dutch from Germany)
immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania brought this
custom to the United States. Finding no badgers,
they adopted the groundhog as the annual weather
predictor.
The first official Groundhog Day was proclaimed
by The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper and celebrated
Dr. Patrick Lau was
born in Hong Kong and
immigrated to the U.S.
after high school. He
retired from the VA
Northern Indiana Heath
Care System where he
served as Chief Radiologist
and moved to Florida
with his wife in 2011. He
was an active member &
contributor of IACA and
ICMA while in Indiana.
Dr. Lau is also a scholar
of art and literature and
a prolific writer, he has
been a dedicated columnist
for Indy Asian American
Times since 2010.
in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2nd,
1887. The editor, Clymer Freas, was instrumental in
the creation of the holiday by recruiting a group of
local businessmen and groundhog hunters selling them
the idea. Since then, all the groundhogs performing
their prognostications have been named Punxsutawney
Phil. Besides Pennsylvania, Groundhog Day festivities
are also held in various cities and states. Punxsutawney
Phil apparently has several competitors in meteorology.
Pothole Pete is the official groundhog of New York
City; Buckeye Chuck of Ohio; Groundhog Jimmy
of Wisconsin; Octorara Orphie of Quarryville,
Pennsylvania; Smith Lake Jake of Alabama; and Gen.
Beauregard Lee of Georgia which has been bestowed
two honorary doctorate degrees, “DWP, Doctor of
Weather Prognostication” from University of Georgia,
and “Doctor of Southern Groundology” from Georgia
State University. The Groundhog Day is also observed
in Canada; groundhog Wiarton Willy is the star of the
event.
In 1993, a fantasy comical movie titled “Groundhog
Day” starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell was
released by Columbia Pictures. It was actually shot
in Woodstock, Illinois. It drew public attention and
popularized the Groundhog Day tradition, making
Punxsutawney Phil a celebrity. Since the film came out,
the attendees at the annual festival in Gobbler’s Knob
have dramatically increased to the tens of thousands. In
1994, crowds numbering as high as 30,000 participated
in the celebration. Annually, millions of people watch
the ceremony on television or via the web.
Today the home of Punxsutawney Phil is a
climate-controlled terrarium, located adjoining to the
Punxsutawney Library. There is a glass wall facing
outside to enable visitors to pay their respects for the
renowned meteorologist of North America. He works
only one day out of the year, and commands immense
popularity and fame.
Taking into consideration the prediction of
Punxsutawney Phil is accurate in 39% of the time and
it merely involves 50/50% chance, this practice of
foretelling the weather is evidently ineffective. When
meteorologists forecast the climate, they scientifically
factor in the temperature, wind speed and direction,
barometer readings, cloud patterns, humidity levels and
so forth, utilizing state of the art technology. Perhaps
we should trust them more than the ‘intelligent’ rodent
which is even scared by its own shadow. Nevertheless,
this old fashioned tradition that people hold so dear
will indubitably endure many more generations to
come, probably everlasting.
李白:欲渡黃河冰塞川,將登太行雪滿山。白居易:
日出江花紅似火,春來江水綠如藍。
2015:Municipal Election Year
Fishers: Indiana’s newest city
Jim Perron is a board
member of China Journal
Indiana Inc., the 501c3
organization which
operates IAAT. Jim is
the Director of Project
Development at United
Water. Jim is from South
Bend and had served as
Mayor of Elkhart IN for
12 years.
Indiana’s newest city is also one of its fastest
growing. Fishers, population 83,891 just went from a
town to a city in the past year. Its growth has been
phenomenal seeing a population of 363 in 1963; 2,000
in 1980; and 7,200 in 1990.
Fishers became the newest city in Indiana just
this year. In the 2012 general election, the citizens
of Fishers voted for Fishers to become a secondclass city. Second class refers to Indiana cities with a
population size of 35,000 to 599,999. Fishers officially
became a second-class city on January 1, 2015.
For a town to become a city under Indiana law, it
does not happen automatically once the town reaches
higher population thresholds. The classification
changes only through a referendum of a majority vote
of the town’s eligible voters. In other words, a very
large “city” could remain a town if it wanted to.
New City Offices
Fishers, now has a Mayor, City Clerk, and a nine
member City Council. These were selected last year
in what was a special municipal election for Fishers in
the general election.
Mayor
Under Indiana law, the Mayor is responsible to
enforce the ordinances of the city and statutes of the
state, insure efficient government of the city, and
supervise subordinate officers. The Mayor also has
various other duties per State Statute such as he/she
must provide a statement of the finances and general
condition of the city to the City Council at least once
Indy Asian American Times
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a year; provide any information regarding city affairs
that the City Council requests; recommend, in writing,
to the legislative body actions that the Mayor considers
proper; call special meetings of the City Council when
necessary; fill vacancies in city offices when required;
sign all bonds, deeds, and contracts of the city and all
licenses issued by the city, approve or veto ordinances,
orders, and resolutions of the City Council.
City Clerk
Under Indiana law, the City Clerk is responsible to
serve as the clerk of the City Council and maintain
custody of its records, maintain all records required
by law, keep the city seal, and perform other duties
prescribed by law. The City Clerk also has various
other duties per State Statute. As soon as a successor
is elected and qualified, the City Clerk must deliver to
the successor all the records and property of the clerk’s
office. The City Clerk must also administer oaths when
necessary in the discharge of the clerk’s duties without
charging a fee; take depositions, without charging a
fee; take acknowledgment of instruments that are
required by statute to be acknowledged, without
charging a fee; and serve as clerk of the city court if
the judge of the court does not serve as clerk of the
court or appoint a clerk of the court.
City Council
When Fishers was a town, the Town Council
consisted of 7 districts and each member was
previously elected at large. State law requires that
a second-class city council consist of 9 members, 6
of whom must be elected from established districts
and 3 elected at large. The City Council serves as
the legislative branch of Fishers government and is
responsible for the legislative duties of the city.
2015 Elections
State law requires that the Fishers offices mentioned
above will be on the ballot again this year. The office
of City Judge will also be on the 2105 ballot. Officials
voted into office in the 2015 election cycle will take
office on January 1, 2016 and each will have a 4 year
term.
P.O. Box 852, Carmel, IN 46082-0852

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