IS IT TRUE MARCH 21, 2018

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We hope that today’s “Readers Forum” will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way?

IS IT TRUE just like the City-County Observer predicted in February, the building that the Courier Press has owned and occupied since 1990 has been sold to a New York-based real estate investor?…Twenty Lake Holdings purchased the newspaper building at 300 E. Walnut St. for $1.58 million on March 8, and The Courier Press will remain a tenant in the building they owned for nearly three decades?…Three Lake Holdings has been buying up properties owned by struggling newspapers for less than true value and the CP building is no exception? …to see an extremely nice office building that served as the center of operations for a major newspaper sell this cheap is shocking?…the CP building is a comp for downtown Evansville and the valuation of other properties based on this sale will be pathetic compared to what it costs to build?  …we encourage you to continue to support the Evansville Courier and Press printed publication?  …we also recommend that you read the Courier and Press online publication because it to is a good read?”

IS IT TRUE that yet another Evansville based non-profit is being faced with an alleged misappropriation of funds by its Executive Director?…this time it is ECHO Housing that has discovered that some personal expenses were paid with a non-profit check?…this is a tragic thing that has happened over and over for at least the last 15 years?…in this case the Executive Director enjoyed a stellar reputation and had been a finalists for the highly respected Athena Award?…we hope this all works out and that fiduciary responsibility prevails?…the often overlooked reality in cases where employee theft is alleged is that the boards of directors are responsible for oversight of non-profit spending?…it is that fiduciary responsibility that fails time and time again in River City at the board level that keeps these kinds of things happening?

IS IT TRUE we tried to find a list of the current ECHO Housing Board of Directors to no avail?  …does anyone know who is the current ECHO Housing Board Of Directors? …does anyone know who is the current Treasurer of the ECHO Housing agency?

IS IT TRUE it was recently reported by the Courier and Press that the former Executive Director of ECHO Housing Stephanie TenBarge used funds from the agency to pay her personal property taxes? ..ECHO Housing attorney Scott Wylie told the Courier and Press that the former Executive Director Stephanie TenBarge used ECHO funds to pay her personal property taxes?  …it was reported that TenBarge used ECHO money to pay the taxes for three (3) of her personal properties in November 2017, May 2017 and November 2016?

IS IT TRUE that ECHO attorney Scott Wylie told the Courier and Press that “all donor funds that have come to ECHO Housing have been accounted for”?  …we wonder if ECHO Housing attorney Wylie had an official Forensic Audit done by an independent CPA firm to back up his statement? …we wonder if attorney Scott Wylie alleged financial review statement included income and expenses of the 66 rental houses owned by ECHO Housing?  …we also wonder if his alleged financial review also included the Homeless Veterans housing unit and the Corporate office building repairs costs, insurance costs, property taxes, utility costs and bank payments? …we would hope that Mr. Wylie financial review also addressed business entertainment expenses, petty cash accounts, employees payroll and travel vouchers of the former Executive Director and ECHO Housing staff during the last several years?

IS IT TRUE that the Director of Evansville DMD, Kelly Courses told the Evansville Courier and Press that “ECHO Housing is an important partner for the Department of Metropolitan Development?” …Courses also stated that  “We’re going to continue without missing a beat. We’re going to support ECHO just the same as we always have?” …that Mr. Courses  also told the Courier and Press that “We combed through all of our grant programs and all the money that we run through ECHO, “We are 100 percent confident that ECHO used all our fund’s property?”

IS IT TRUE we find it interesting that Mr. Coures also told the Courier and Press “that he did not know what funding source TenBarge used to pay her personal property taxes?”  …we got the gut feeling that the Director of Evansville DMD, Kelly Courses knows more about this situation than he’s willing to talk about?

IS IT TRUE the City-County Observer respectfully request that either the ECHO Housing attorney or members of the ECHO Board of Directors immediately file a police report concerning the alleged misappropriation of agency funds? …when they do this it will allow the Indiana State Police to conduct a full investigation? …we feel if someone misappropriates money once they have the capacity to do again?…if the ECHO Housing authorities don’t, we respectfully suggest that members of the Evansville City Council do so?

IS IT TRUE we are told that many people want the Indiana State Police to conduct the investigation because they are independent of local control?  …if any alleged misappropriations of the ECHO agency funds for personal use turn out to be true the Indiana State Police should give this information to the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor and the US Attorney’s office so they can determine if criminal charges are warranted?

IS IT TRUE in a stunningly mind-numbing move, the Evansville City Council has discussed passing a limit to the number of terms that one can serve on the City Council and VOTE IT DOWN?…term limits are extremely popular with the taxpayers but the majority members (5) of this group of self-serving elected officials have essentially attempted to vote themselves the possibility of being “Council Members for Life’?…given the contempt these five (5) City Council members have shown to the taxpayers they may feel that it  might be time to replace the Council members that voted against term limits at the next election in 2019?

Todays “Readers Poll” question is: Do you feel that a police report should have been filed concerning the misappropriation of ECHO Housing funds in order to allow the Indiana State Police to conduct a full investigation?

Please take time and read our articles entitled “STATEHOUSE Files, CHANNEL 44 NEWS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, READERS POLL, BIRTHDAYS, HOT JOBS” and “LOCAL SPORTS”.  You now are able to subscribe to get the CCO daily.

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19 COMMENTS

  1. Echo Housing: tip of the iceberg floating in the DMD swamp?
    Echo Housing owns 66 rental properties?
    Typical.DMD director Courses is unfazed by news of theft from his realm. No big deal, he says.

  2. “…given the contempt these five (5) City Council members have shown to the taxpayers it might be time to replace the Council members that voted against term limits at the next election in 2019?”

    And that’s your answer right there. Term limits are feel-good legislation. They hamstring the electorate by preventing them from voting for a person they may truly feel does a good job for them (in the case of an elected official who is not allowed to run for another term in their office), and treat the electorate as too dumb to realize when an elected official is NOT doing a good job and should be voted out of office. If the electorate is so dumb, gullible, short-sighted or indifferent that they continue to re-elect an individual or party which is demonstrably bad at governing, well, they are getting the elected official they deserve and should be forced to sleep in the bed they made.

    • I agree with a lot of your points, but the incumbents have a huge advantage over a new candidate. Take for instance the race for sheriff. When the sheriffs two terms are up, usually about 6 months before the election you never see the sheriff on the news anymore. It is usually the chief deputy who is running to replace him. They want to get his name out to the voters and over the years has been a very successful tactic.

    • the post. it smacks of low IQ.
      you coulda just done your best dumb sidekick impression with a “yeah! what he said!”

  4. “…we also recommend that you also read the Courier and Press online publications because its a good read”?
    Apparently you haven’t been reading the C&P in newsprint version or on-line. Either version is a poor example of what should be a newspaper. The newsprint version barely qualifies as birdcage liner material. The on-line version is “posted” by interns who never learned who, where, what, when, why, and how or grammar. The current C&P is a shadow of its predecessors; The Courier, The Press, and the Sunday C&P.

  5. Got an up close personal look this morning at Courses’ north main bike path. Three cars, one bike, and no other sign of human life from the Lloyd to Garvin Park. Colossal waste of taxpayer money.

    • Thank you very much gun nut JoeBiden, for POINTING OUT THIS GOOD GUY WAS NOT A TEACHER.

      Thank God. He was a Law Enforcement Officer and a SWAT veteran! And IN FACT, the Maryland law enforcement officer who stopped the Maryland school student who had a gun?

      That Officer IS ON RECORD as saying TEACHERS SHOULD NOT BE ARMED in schools.

      Why? Because the easiest way for a Student to kill his entire class is to grab his classroom Teacher’s gun and mow down his classmates. The Maryland law enforcement officer who stopped the student shooter? He is a class act. And he knows the people who think you should arm English Teachers with guns are nuts.

      • I think there are some teachers that could be armed, others just don’t have the mentally stability or capacity to handle pepper spray. Some of those liberal teachers would be a bigger threat to students than a deranged student. Nothing will make a lot of difference, it has become obvious that Law Enforcement, Mental Health Specialist, Educators, Judges and a host of others are just not up to the task of dealing with today’s kids.

      • WifeysWorld, I do not agree all teachers are kooks and incompetent like you believe. Trained volunteers with access to gun safes in active shooter situations is the real answer. It’s called a good guy with a gun. It works everywhere its been tried.

        • Joe, you just described the perfect recipe for student test scores to fall, fall, fall…hire teachers who want to pack guns instead of be great Educators.

          Your idea is a disaster. Destroy quality education in our schools…because you are a gun nut? No thanks.

  7. Congratulations on an outstanding job of police work and cooperation on the Austin, TX bombing cases. So nice to see the level of the work and the relationship between all the federal, state and local agencies. Technology and good old police work developed a suspect which led to the fatal confrontation. In this case, the bad guy took his own life and no law enforcement were injured during the arrest attempt. Good job and you have the gratitude of the country for a swift resolution to a domestic terrorist.

  8. Channel 14’s on-line app reports on the Austin bomber situation and his demise.
    Eyewitness News on-line app reports on the Austin bomber situation and his demise.
    The Courier & Press on-line app reports on the Red Fez dining room.
    Don’t worry, the Courier & Press newsprint version and on-line app will cover this,story in 2 days. After all, they’ve got to get that breaking news out about the C&P Bridal Expo and voting for the Silver, Gold, & Platinum award winning businesses.

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