City resolves to combat domestic violence
Also, Geek Street gets banners; Ivy Tech grad leads Lewis Cass Polytechnic
City resolves to combat domestic violence
The Kokomo Common Council passed a joint resolution with Mayor Tyler Moore to recognize October as Domestic Violence Prevention Month at its Sept. 26 meeting. Council member Greg Davis offered the resolution for approval.
“We encourage all aspects of enforcement come together to work against domestic violence,” said Davis.
Councilman Lynn Rudolph, retired police chief for the city of Kokomo noted the importance of domestic violence prevention.
“The thing we should be most conscious of is domestic violence,” said Rudolph. “The only policeman we ever lost in the line of duty in the city of Kokomo was responding to a domestic violence call.
“We have 1,400 cases of domestic violence a year. It’s not something that just happens once or twice; it’s constant. It takes everyone working together to combat it. You can’t lock them all up. Some need treatment. But the effect this has on parents and children is something we need to be very conscious of.”
Davis read the resolution into the record before the council voted unanimously to adopt it.
“Whereas domestic violence exacts an unacceptable toll of death, injury, child abuse, and economic cost to our community;
“And whereas one in three women will experience domestic violence, one in seven men will experience domestic violence, and 57 percent of the population knows a victim of domestic violence;
“And whereas mothers of young children are often victims of domestic violence and the consequences which often have long-lasting effects;
“And whereas research has shown that exposure to domestic violence can have a life-long, negative impact on the health and development of children;
“Now, therefore, Tyler Moore, mayor of the city of Kokomo, Indiana, together with the Kokomo Common Council issue the following resolution:
“We resolve to solemnly urge our community’s courts, law enforcement officials, probation officials, corrections, educators, healthcare providers, and mental health workers to coordinate services and delivery efficiently and effectively to safeguard the protection of victims of domestic violence while holding offenders accountable.”
Geek Street gets banners
City traffic department workers hung new banners along the 100 block East Sycamore Street on Sept. 27, proclaiming the area “Geek Street” in Kokomo. The red, white, and blue banners are intended to be a permanent feature of the block to aid in drawing tourism to the city.
“Geek Street” is so named because of the close proximity of pop culture-related businesses along the stretch of road. Geek Street encompasses Comics Cubed, Kokomo Toys, American Dream Hi-Fi, Chapter II Books, and Kingdom Cards and Games.
Comics Cubed owner Shawn Hilton was on-hand to watch city crews erect the banners, and he was excited by the new addition to Geek Street.
“This is something I have waited to see for a long time,” said Hilton. “We’ve called our street Geek Street for years, but it is great to have the city recognize our businesses and our efforts in this way.
“We have hundreds of visitors from all across Indiana, the Midwest, and beyond come to Geek Street every month. Not a Saturday goes by that we don’t have tourists flocking to Geek Street to experience what Kokomo has to offer. I know I speak for all of the businesses on Geek Street when I say thanks to the city for helping us bring economic activity to the community in this way.”
Ivy Tech grad leads Lewis Cass Polytechnic
Mallory Claypool, a 2012 graduate of Ivy Tech Kokomo’s Education program who now serves as director of the Lewis Cass Polytechnic Academy in Galveston, is being honored with the Ivy Tech Community College Distinguished Alumni Award for the College’s Kokomo Service Area.
Each year, Ivy Tech Kokomo Service honors a graduate who exemplifies an appreciation of lifelong learning, a dedication to work, and a commitment to community. Claypool will be honored Thursday, Sept. 29, at a ceremony in Indianapolis that will recognize award winners from Ivy Tech’s 19 campuses around the state.
“Ivy Tech Kokomo is proud to call Mallory Claypool – teacher, husband, father, community volunteer, life-long learner – our 2022 Distinguished Alumnus,” said Ethan Heicher, interim chancellor of Ivy Tech’s Kokomo Service Area, which includes Cass, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Pulaski and Tipton counties. “Through his efforts bringing together students, higher education and employers throughout north central Indiana, he is making tremendous contributions to our community.”
Claypool is in his fourth year as the director of Lewis Cass Polytechnic, a part of the Lewis Cass School Corporation devoted to preparing high school students for jobs of the future focused on science, engineering and math. It’s a job he loves with a passion and one where he changes students’ lives for the better every day. But go back 10 years or so and it’s hardly a job that he ever anticipated filling.
In those 10 years or so, Claypool became a “poster child” for the value of an Ivy Tech education in reimagining one’s life. In 2002, after almost 20 years in the food service industry, jobs that took him all over the country, he and wife Lori settled in Walton to raise their five children. Mallory made what he now describes as “kind of a radical decision.” He decided to return to college to become a math teacher.
He chose Ivy Tech Community College in Kokomo and, in 2012, the veteran restaurant manager graduated with his associate degree in Education. In 2015, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Mathematics Education from WGU and started teaching math and industrial technology classes at Lewis Cass High School before moving to the new Polytechnic Academy. In the meantime, he has completed a master’s degree and nearly all his coursework for a Ph.D. in Technology, both at Purdue University.
Claypool credits Ivy Tech with providing the basis for his new life. “Getting that two-year degree versus waiting on a four-year reward probably made all the difference,” he said. “It was that milestone, a tangible result, that gave me the confidence to move on from there. Ivy Tech got me to a point I knew I could complete the next degree.”
He now partners with employers and schools across north central Indiana to expand the offerings of the Polytechnic Academy. This includes a partnership with Ivy Tech that allows students to complete a variety of dual credit classes that can move right into jobs or further education.
Claypool isn’t the only career-changing Ivy Tech alum in the family. His wife, Lori, also came back to Ivy Tech as an adult student, earning an associate degree in Early Childhood Education in 2011, the year before Mallory completed his first degree. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Trine University and completed her master’s degree in Social Work while Mallory completed his. She now is a family therapist working for Counseling Partners in Lafayette. Together, the Claypools have raised five children, all of whom have completed or are pursuing college degrees.