IS IT TRUE? Part 2 July 25, 2011

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IS IT TRUE? Part 2 July 25, 2011

IS IT TRUE that the scourge of meth has once again claimed the house of an innocent neighbor?…that it has been reported that 16 times so far this year that meth related fires have burned down a house?…that there have been 7 civilian injuries, one firefighter injury and one death this year from meth related issues?…that this count is the official count and does not include injuries to people from meth related violence that is seldom reported to the police?…that Evansville and other medium sized Midwestern cities have the perfect conditions for meth-makers?…that we just may be a meth-makers heaven?…that with our humidity, our critical mass of drug stores, and our close proximity to farms and agricultural chemicals that Evansville and cities like Evansville are to meth-makers as the Napa Valley is to wine makers?…that this is a problem in search of a solution and that the CCO encourages candidates for office and current public officials to come forward with any ideas that they may have to counter this culture killing scourge?

IS IT TRUE that the name of Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel is reported to have been thrown into the ring of consideration for the recently filled position of Superintendent of the EVSC?…that it is also reported that this suggestion was not given serious consideration?…that we are investigating this further and will report any new findings on this unexpected career opportunity?…that in a quick Google search that we could find no cases in major American cities where a mayor has ever become a superintendent of schools?

IS IT TRUE that during the last ten years that Clarksville, TN just 100 or so miles south on highway 41 has passed the City of Evansville in population?…that the population of Clarksville rose from 103,455 in 2000 to 132,929 in 2010 and is now the 9th fasted growing city in America?…that in 1960 when the City of Evansville peaked at 141,543 that Clarksville was home to a mere 22,021 people?…that Evansville was 543% larger than Clarksville in 1960 but Clarksville is now 13% larger than Evansville?…that it is hard to explain the reasons behind such a stark difference in growth?…that both cities are on navigable rivers?…that neither city has consolidated government?…that both cities have a state university with about 10,000 students?…that both cities have a private university of religious affiliation?…that both cities are in counties with a population in the 175,000 range?…that both cities have MSA’s that include parts of Kentucky?…that both cities have suffered through a killer tornado in very recent history?…that the average incomes of the cities are similar?

IS IT TRUE that as much as Clarksville and Evansville look alike on paper that finding real differences are somewhat difficult?…that Clarksville’s big brother to the south Nashville was at one time smaller than Evansville?…that Jimi Hendrix called Clarksville home for a short time?…that Jimi Hendrix Experience was the opening act for the Monkees in the Summer of 1969?…that the Monkees put Clarksville on the map with their song “Last Train to Clarksville”?…that train must have been leaving Evansville and that from a population perspective it must have been a one way trip?…that the State of Tennessee is a right to work state and that the State of Indiana is not?…that we welcome our readers input on other differences that may have contributed to the divergence of the growth and prosperity of Clarksville and Evansville?…that until convinced different that we will blame the economic effects on the Monkees and Jimi Hendrix conspiracy to promote Clarksville?

IS IT TRUE that the fortunes may have been reversed if the Monkees had recorded “Last Train to Evansville” and Hendrix had made his home on Riverside Drive.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

16 COMMENTS

  1. Clarksville has something Evansville doesn’t have….Fort Campbell.

    “Due to its close proximity to Clarksville, Tennessee, the War Department on March 6, 1942, designated Tennessee as the official address of the new camp. This caused a great deal of confusion, since the Headquarters was in Tennessee and the post office was in Kentucky. After many months of mail delivery problems, Colonel Guy W. Chipman requested that the address be changed to Camp Campbell, Kentucky. The War Department officially changed the address on September 23, 1942.”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Campbell

    Clarksville is also less then 50 miles away from Nashville Tn, on I-24 that translates into a less then hour commute if you worked in the Nashville area (north side).

    There may be similarities to our metro area but those two would account for the steady rise in population.

    JMHO

    • I am sure that Fort Campbell is a contributor to the growth. It however does not explain the kind of growth that has been seen there. Here is some perspective. Clarksville in 1950 was half the size of Henderson. Since then it has grown by the entire population of Evansville. In that same time Evansville has lost one Henderson. Henderson has not changed.

      • So far, all I see in the CCO report is numbers. “A” was this big and “B” was this big. Now “A” is way smaller, and “B” is way bigger. This has happened all over the country. Something explains it everywhere it happens. A little real research probably would uncover the reasons. Until then, I guess we’re supposed to be impressed or depressed with numbers?

        • There are geographic regions that have been on a population loss trend for the same 50 years that Evansville has. There are other regions that have been on a population gain trend. In general as shown by the migration of the median center of population the direction of gains has been southwest. Two of the direct southern cities that seem to have gained dramatically to join the ranks of middle sized cities are Clarksville, TN and Huntsville, AL. Both are close enough and demographically similar enough to Evansville that hopefully there will be some real things that turn up to learn from them. One thing that us known that is another difference in the high growth communities is that they tend to have more diversity of population. I think we should be concerned about the losses in population in Evansville. I also think that somewhere in the historical data are some answers that made those two towns and others grow while Evansville shrunk. Oddly enough Hopkinsville, KY that is 10 miles from the northern gates of Fort Campbell has shrunk. It is now included in the Clarksville MSA. Now that would make an interesting study since both towns are 10 miles from Fort Campbell. I am impressed with what has happened in both of those towns and depressed with Evansville’s numbers. Are they connected? I can not say for sure but every city including Evansville is to a large extent a product of the policies and decisions made locally for the past 50 years plus a little luck.

            • Yes you are right. Tennessee has ZERO income tax and KY has one that I think is similar to Indiana. That would not only influence where new residents would choose to live but some of the Hopkinsville refugees may be crossing the money saving Mason-Dixon line.

              I think that tax nirvana is to live and work in Washington right across from Portland Oregon. Washington has no income tax and Oregon has no sales tax.

      • While I don’t have the numbers to back it up in our metro area there has been for a long time now a mass exodus of people moving out of the city proper and into the county, even Warrick county, has seen a rise in Vanderburgh county residents moving further out. For whatever the reason (lower taxes, more land, less neighbors)and I doubt that is just a isolated case here in our area, most people aspire to do better in life for some that’s a home in the country, a piece of land they can call their own without the restrictions of zoning boards, city inspectors, and nosy neighbors. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we as a community might be loosing population from the city but the metro area of which I include Newburgh, Chandler, Boonville and other surrounding small towns is where the population is going…..ie fleeing the city! It would be interesting to see the figures related to population growth in our entire region vs the city of Evansville proper, I think you’d find the folks are still here just moving out of the city’s reach.

        Again JMHO

        • Here are the numbers that you seek:

          1960 2010 % increase
          Vanderburgh 165.8k 179.7k 8.4%
          Posey 19.2k 25.9k 34.9% (decrease since 1980)
          Gibson 28.6k 33.5k 17.1%
          Warrick 23.4k 66.4k 182%

          Total 237.1k 305.5k 29%

          USA 179.3M 308.7M 72%

          So over 50 years our metro grew by 29% which was only 40% of the national growth rate. Warrick of course contributed most of the growth and outpaced the national growth rate. The other three counties were much lower growth than Warrick with Vanderburgh being the slowest growth. Oddly nearly all of Vanderburgh’s growth came in the last 20 years. It is obvious that you are correct that the hinterlands have been growing at the expense of the City of Evansville. It should also be obvious that something in the city is driving these folks either to the hinterlands that are near but that many more have headed to other locations.

        • After doing a little search…..you would find this about Warrick county.

          http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/18/18173.html

          They gained 7305 in population….

          Posy County…lost 1151

          http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/18/18129.html

          Vanderburgh gained 7781

          http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/18/18163.html

          Gibson county gained 1003

          http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/18/18051.html

          So discounting Posy county’s loss of 1151 people there is still a net gain in the surrounding counties of 14938 people which more then covers the exodus of the city of Evansville and adds quite a few new folks to the surrounding counties..which is growth over the last census, just not in the city of Evansville.

          Hope this helps….

          • What was your base year? It looks like 2000 from the numbers. I have been using 1950 to capture long term trends.

        • To expand a little further. Lets safely assume that the we breed and die at the same rates as the rest of the nation. In that case the City of Evansville should have been at about 244,000 people by now as opposed to the 118,000 that we are. So where did those 126,000 people go? Making the same assumptions on births and deaths the 4 counties should be at 407,000 now if we kept pace with national averages.

          Freezing all other conditions we can roughly say that 126,000 potential residents left Evansville for greener pastures. Some of those pastures were a 20 minute commute away. The number that did would be 68,000 less the organic growth rate of the outer counties with the balance of 58,000 heading to places further away. This is simple but it is a try to do this without eating up a whole day. I would guess by the number of foreign born doctors in Newburgh that much of that gain came from afar and not from Evansville.

          • LOL….figures are just comparing the census of 2000 to the one in 2010.

            The difference in breeding and dieing since 1950 can’t really be a good baseline to work off of, lots of things have changed over the years like the advent of the baby boomer generation, birth control, while the mortality rate for living is retentivity the same (it’s 100%) births on the other hand can’t be a constant, it has to ebb and flow with desire. 🙂

            Joe, you know that 126k people were never here to leave, it’s just a figure based on a average growth rate compared to the rest of the nation, if our population was 244k and shrunk by almost half I could see the point, but since they were never here to leave…..

            I don’t have the solution or answer as to where people go or why they don’t stay here, or for that matter why our growth rate doesn’t match the rest of the nation but I’d suggest the “greener pastures syndrome” probably has a lot to do with it, I wonder of those that do leave do they ever wish they had stayed?

            • I am one that left and correspond with others who did too on a regular basis. In my case I left for a better job opportunity than existed here. I also left to pursue a graduate education in engineering that was not possible to do here. I enjoyed my time in California and was exposed to opportunities that simply do not exist here. My prosperity was enhanced by leaving. That statement holds for nearly every one of the former residents that I correspond with. I came back because I could and because my family is close. Most of the others would not come back period. They visit family but they have adopted other places as their home. Some others have returned. I do not know of any that did not have a family tie. The employment opportunities are just not up to par here and the lifestyle relative to other places is just okay.

              I agree that the 126k were never here but at average growth rates they would have been. The career opportunities have not kept up. Many people are leaving right now and they are good quality educated professionals leaving. Having lived in both cultures I will attest to this. It is very easy to survive in Evansville and difficult to thrive. It is difficult to survive is high cost areas like Silicon Valley or NYC, but it is much easier to thrive than it is here. It all comes down to what one wants. If the goal is to take the path of least resistance career wise and take it easy through life while being satisfied with an “average” life then Evansville is a good place to do that. If you want to be cutting edge the opportunities to do so are pretty thin.

              I never regretted leaving. I have often regretted returning. I would not have been able to have had the life experiences that I did here. Being in a professional leading edge career is not much different than professional sports. Don Mattingly could have stayed home and played for the Otters but he had the talent to be a Yankee. He prospered because he was willing to leave. He could not have prospered here in his chosen profession of baseball. The same is true for high talent/high ambition actors, financiers, engineers, professors, programmers, etc. The same is not true for factory workers, retail workers, massage therapists, etc.

              There are many who have left that wish the Evansville had the career opportunities and cultural amenities that they enjoy where they ended up going. There is one thing I have noticed with and that is with their spouses. The spouses from here are agreeable to coming back. The spouses that grew up elsewhere even if they attended UE or USI are violently opposed to moving to Evansville to raise their families.

  3. To sum it up, Evansville isn’t as bad as it would be if it was worse…

    There are ‘way too many people in this town who are more than ready to defend the ongoing decline of Evansville, and rationalize the failure that is the Democratic Party. Well at least we have a brand new gigantic toilet bowl that the politicians call “The Arena.”

    Enjoy your bread and circuses for as long as they last, dupes.

  4. I wonder how Clarksville’s parks system and other city facilities compare to Evansville’s in terms of availability, level of maintenance, etc…? I wonder how the two compare in over-all cleanliness and looks? Wonder how they compare in the number of abandoned/dilapidated houses?

    I’ve spent no time in Clarksville other than driving through on I-24 and possibly stopping at a gas station along the highway.

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