The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana · Page 2

RegionB2 Public lnterestB4 The Buzz PageB5 ObituariesB6, 7 WeatherB8 rate The Indianapolis Star lndyStar.comnews Sunday, November 7, 2004 Section B Fire destroys shops at Greenwood strip mall. B2 Party atmosphere prevails at International Festival. B5 Tiny voice tremors are basis of computerized test Computerized voice stress analysis is a new technology being used by police and investigators. How it is . Question: "Did you take the gun?" Response: "No." The wider wave form indicates vocal stress. This is called a "blocking pattern." J i' "" ' """'ii'i'lli'ii'' " iir-nr-'--JMW'fWn' v." A ijSs. III .1 ----- -' .. supposed to work When a person is lying, the body's involuntary nervous system triggers a tremor in the person's voice, undetectable by the ear. The computer measures this change and displays a graphed response. The equipment A typical system includes a microphone, tape recorder, laptop computer and specialized voice analysis software. Each interview's results are stored as voice tapes, as digital files and as hard-copy prints. Results plotted as wave forms In this case study, an interviewer is trying to determine whether the test subject had taken a man's 22-caliber pistol from the drawer where it was kept. Question: "What is your phone number?" This is a control question, "v designed not to i provoke an emotional response. Response: (The subject gave his number.) The narrow wave form indicates no stress. This is called a "diagonaling pattern." mm wwss mm n Advocates call them valuable detection tools, but vocal critics contend they're unreliable. Sources: National Institute for Truth Verification. University of Missouri at Rolla Grea Nichols, Robert Dorrell The Star By John Tuohy john.tuohyaindystar.com Police departments across Indiana and the country are spending thousands of dollars apiece on a truth verification device that some scientists say doesn't work. The Computer Voice Stress Analyzer, designed by a former Indianapolis Police Department officer, claims to help officers assess truthfulness by measuring changes in one's voice. Eighty-five Indiana police departments, including IPD, use the machines, which start at $10,700 each. The designer, Charles Humble, now is chairman and CEO of the National Institute for Truth Verification, which makes the machines. In its literature, the Palm Beach, Fla., company touts it as "a very reliable investigative tool for verifying statements of witnesses, denials of suspects and for deter- mining the validity of allegations made against police officers." But several scientific experiments have shown the machine, which went on the market in 1988, is no more than 50 percent reliable in other words, a coin toss. In addition, the manufacturer conceded in a product liability lawsuit in California that the machine can't measure whether someone is lying. But more than 1,400 police departments nationwide have bought them and paid to train See Voice, Page B3 BANDS OF AMERICA GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS I 1 F Ur ,.. , i --f .. ..,;;.,.;,;A ' - i i 0 ' wiii-mii i nmw m m tmmn iwihii im i - Wwrayirna -w,..- - j X 7 Stan Healey The Star Overjoyed: Ben Davis drum majors (from left) Jennifer Utt, Jordan Smith, Clara Chew and Jessica Blythe were sky-high Saturday after learning they would march in the granddaddy of them all - the finals of the Bands of America Grand National Championships. Practice pays off on the field Months of marching get bands off on the right foot By Lisa Renze-Rhodes lisa.renze.rhodes(8indystar.com Members of bands named fi- nalists in the Bands of America Grand National Championships have marched when they were tired. They've marched when they were hungry. They've marched when they wanted to be anywhere but on their practice fields. But early Saturday evening, when the 12 finalists were announced, the many months of practice up to five months or more in sweltering heat, pouring rain and bone-chilling winds suddenly made sense. "Words can't really describe this," said a bubbly Colleen McHugh, 16, a junior from Ken-nesaw, Ga. Her friend and fellow band member Jessica Quade, 17, said the atmosphere in the RCA Dome is electric. "It's just great to be around so many people who like band," Quade said. Thirty semifinalist bands vied for a chance to advance to the granddaddy of them all, the Saturday night finals. The finals See Practice, Page B8 Gathering is unique link for Buddhists Followers from throughout state say event reflects growth of religion in Indiana. By Robert King robertkingindystar.com A Vietnamese nun in a lemon yellow robe brought a greeting of peace from her Eastside temple. A Tibetan monk, clad in a sleeveless red robe that made him resemble the Dalai Lama, brought a sacred white scarf a gift of respect for a first-time meeting. A Japanese sensei, robed in black, brought warm wishes to an audience of new friends. In one of the rarest gatherings of its kind in the state, more than 40 Indiana Buddhists from at least four traditions within the ancient faith came together Friday in Indianapolis for an evening of chanting and meditation. The Indianapolis Zen Center, a Northeastside group that practices a branch of Buddhism developed in Korea, used the occasion of the installation of its new guiding teacher, Lincoln Rhodes, to bring several of the region's Buddhist groups under one roof at the Old Centrum auditorium. "I don't know that that has ever been done," said Robert Blender, who holds the administrative position of abbot at the Zen Center. "It is a manifestation of the growth of Buddhism in Central Indiana." According to the Web site www.buddhanet.net, Indiana has at least a dozen Buddhist organizations. They are scattered all around in Bloomington, Gary, Fort Wayne, Kokomo, Terre Haute and Vincennes. Indianapolis has four organizations, and Greenwood has one. Local Buddhists say they don't have any problems getting along See Buddhists, Page B3 Stmt Healey The Star From a distance: Rhode Island resident Lincoln Rhodes, installed as the new guiding teacher of the Indianapolis Zen Center, plans to use e-mail to keep in touch with local Buddhists. Wildflower flap at State Museum let us share our roots You need some postelection relief, right? A break from the knowledge that the nation is hopelessly split, that red and blue will never again make merciful purple? Into the void comes the raging "nodding wild on- ion" controversy. The flap started a few weeks ago, with concerns that the Indiana State Museum was set to tear out native plants in its front yard in favor of sod. That's sod, as in grass. The sod was supposed to replace a delicate sea of prairie plantings, including purple cone-flower, showy black-eyed susan, butterfly weed, northern sea grass oats and nodding wild onion more than 50 plants native to Indiana, lovingly placed Ruth HoHaday when the museum opened in 2002 and tended by volunteer master gardeners. "Why not just make lawn grass the official state plant?" growled a testy Glenn Pratt, whose wife, Susan, is active in the Indiana Native Plant and Wild- flower Society, created 11 years ago to preserve native flora and fauna. Like others in the 600-member, statewide organization, Susan Pratt had been receiving alarming e-mails from her group about the museum's alleged plan. The society has a protocol for such an upheaval: plant rescues. Members show up with shovels, pots and plastic bags. They dig up threatened plants and transplant them to safe gardens. In the spring, some plants are sold at a public fund-raiser. The society has staged nu merous previous plant rescues. This one was set for late October. Glenn Pratt intended to be there, not only with picks but also with picket signs, so great was his indignatioa Fortunately, people in Indiana still drink. Shortly before the planned rescue, however, Pratt attended a cocktail party where he ran into Indiana State Office Building Commission Director Susan Williams. Over wine, the subject of the endangered plants came up. Williams the museum's first director expressed her shock that anybody would ever think those plants were in trouble. "I was out of town when all this blew up," says Williams. "So when I came back and heard about it, I sent e-mails to all these people going nuts. I made it very clear that those wildflowers were not going anyplace." Nobody is quite sure how what is now called "the miscommunication" oc curred. Indiana State Museum Director John Herbst, a gardener, says the only clue he has is that the museum was moving plants from the front yard to a side garden, so digging was taking place. Also, the nearby Eitel-jorg Museum has a landscape project that some might have thought threatened the native plants. "Or maybe somebody at the museum did make some crack that the wild- flowers looked crappy, but when they found out I was flying around on my supersonic broom, nobody had the guts to admit it," says Williams. Becky Dolan, president of the wild-flower society, is glad to have the record A fire pink wildflower corrected. Her group does have another plant rescue slated for Saturday at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. A construction project will destroy prairie grasses, and the Department of Natural Resources has approved the rescue. Also on the wildflower society's agenda is an effort for Indiana to adopt a wildflower as the state flower, replacing the peony. That failed last year, when the fire pink wildflower measure went nowhere. But with a new gover nor-elect and changes in the Statehouse, hope blossoms anew. Ruth Holiday's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. You can reach her at (317) ,444-6405 or via e-mail at ruth.holladayindystar.com nll ,. Mnrsh Weekly savings in todays pan! fiiKl p MfPJm EXPERTS IN FRESH