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Indiana State Park Inn summer lodging savingsStay two nights, and receive 25% off your stay May 29 through Aug. 31, 2023. Valid Sunday through Thursday only. Must stay two consecutive nights. Certain property specific restrictions may apply. Reserve today by calling 1.877.LODGES1 or reserve at IndianaInns.com.
Get your summer passesTo visit state parks regularly or to launch your boat in DNR waters, get your yearly permits now. We have available for purchase online:
Need a summer job?Looking for a summer job that gets you out into nature? We’re hiring seasonal staff for this recreation season at State Parks and Fish & Wildlife areas. Some of the available jobs include labor/property workers, lifeguards, gate attendants, naturalist aides, office help and more. Apply at http://on.IN.gov/dnrjobs. Indiana State Park Inns are also hiring for an assortment of jobs. Find out more at Indianainnsjobs.com.
Explore Indiana and earn prizesIndiana is home to many unique and remarkable natural features. From state parks to forests and lakes, this passport includes more than 80 outdoor locations to explore. It’s free to sign up. All you need to do is check in to one of the passport locations, and you will be on your way to earning prizes. The more you visit, the more you win.
National Fishing and Boating Week and Free Fishing DaysCelebrate National Fishing and Boating Week, June 3-11, with a fishing trip. What better way to celebrate than taking your family, friends, and neighbors out on the water? Indiana residents who fish on June 3-4 don’t need a fishing license or trout/salmon stamp to fish on state waters, as these days are Free Fishing Days. Keep in mind that all other rules such as seasons, bag, and size limits still apply on Free Fishing Days. Explore the outdoors today.
Gov. Holcomb announces fourth round of Next Level Trails at Elkhart trail celebrationGov. Eric J. Holcomb recently announced details for the fourth round of the Next Level Trails (NLT) grant program, which will dedicate an additional $30 million to connect communities through more hiking, biking, and riding trails across the state. To date, NLT has awarded $150 million to 75 projects across the state. The fourth round will award up to $22.5 million to regional projects and up to $7.5 million to local projects.
DNR seeks State Fair Fishin’ Pond volunteersAs you’re planning for the summer, remember to add volunteering at the DNR State Fair Fishin’ Pond to your calendar. DNR is seeking volunteers to help ensure the Fishin’ Pond runs smoothly. With four different volunteer positions available, we have the perfect opportunity for you. Come mentor the next generation of anglers.
2023-24 Migratory bird hunting seasons announcedIndiana’s migratory bird hunting seasons for 2023-24 have been submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The hunting seasons include those for mourning dove, waterfowl (i.e., ducks, coots, mergansers, and geese), woodcock, snipe, and sora rails.
Grants available for field trips to state parks, lakesEducators interested in taking K-12 students on field trips to an Indiana state park or state-managed lake in the 2023-24 school year can receive financial help through the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation (INRF). Grants from the Discover the Outdoors fund are available for all school types. Since the grant program’s inception in 2013, 174 school grants have been awarded, providing the financial opportunity for more than 18,000 students to visit state parks.
Wearing a life jacket could save your loved ones lifeWearing a life jacket could prevent most loss of life tragedies that happen in the water. A large percentage of drowning victims are over the age of 20. Life jackets are for everyone. DNR encourages everyone to learn to swim, but a life jacket is still the best option to prevent drowning. Let’s all work together for a safe and enjoyable summer and pass the word to Wear It Indiana!
Indiana Tree Project continues growing Indiana’s forestsVolunteers from Clif Bar recently joined the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation and the Division of Forestry to plant 2,500 trees in Greene-Sullivan State Forest. The Indiana Tree Project planting, completed in celebration of Earth Day and Arbor Day, continued a strong relationship between the groups. Clif Bar’s support of the Indiana Tree Project and the INRF began in 2019 and since then has featured five planting days, 20,000 new trees, and many hours of volunteering on Indiana’s public lands.
(From left) Robert Wrenn barn, Monroe County; Anja Martin 1st Pres Church, Goshen; Amanda Bennett-Cole, City Methodist, Gary DNR announces winners of historic photo contestThe DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology has announced the winners of its annual Historic Preservation Month photo contest.
Full slate of activities now open at McCormick’s Creek State ParkThe activities and buildings that closed on March 31 due to storm damage have reopened.
Attention Father’s Day ShoppersDad wants Outdoor Indiana magazine. Buy him a gift subscription or get one for yourself at shopINstateparks.com. View excerpts of the May-June issue at OutdoorIndiana.org.
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Gui Tesch Signs With UE Men’s Basketball
Gui Tesch Signs With UE Men’s Basketball
Tesch will be a freshman in 2023-24
MAY 30, 2923
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – With summer workouts on the horizon, University of Evansville Head Men’s Basketball Coach David Ragland has announced the signing of Gui Tesch. The 6-foot-9 forward will be a freshman for the Purple Aces in 2023-24.
“We would love to welcome our final piece of the 2023-24 roster, Gul Tesch.  Gui is a very talented player that’s even a better person,†Ragland explained.  “He has proven to succeed here in the states over the past 4 years both academically and athletically.  Gui will add to our roster more height, skill and shooting which were all necessary characteristics our staff sought after during the spring recruiting cycle.â€
Tesch spent his senior season playing at the IMG Academy following his time at North Broward Prep. Over the course of his high school career, Tesch averaged 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. His junior season at North Broward saw him finish with an average of 16 points and 5 boards.
“Gui shoots the ball from beyond the arch well with range.  He can also handle the ball and make decisions that best suit the team.  Gui has competed and been successful with and against some of the best players in the world,†Ragland added.  “He not only has an extremely high-level skillset but also a work ethic that matches.  Our staff looks forward to working with Gui to expand his game and our fans will love watching him evolve over the next 4 years.â€
The native of Brazil represented his country in the 2022 FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico. He led his team with a 23-point, 11-rebound performance against the Dominican Republic while recording 8 points and 5 rebounds over the course of the tournament. Tesch is set to represent Brazil once again in June when he will take part in the FIBA U19 World Cup. Running from June 24 through July 2, the tournament will be held in Debrecen, Hungary.
He also participated in the U18 South American Championship where he recorded an average of 10.6 points and 4.2 caroms per game.
MAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Jeanne Lou Brown
Dale G Lannert
Anne Scleper
Wade Cartwright
Jane Lawton
John Franks
Deanne Naas
Jon Fuchs
Charles Hendy Ferber
Billie Goodman
Aaron Biggerstaff
Sam Darke
Kerry Gorman Wesner
Zach Etienne
Dennis Au
Ashley Turner
Jason Greer
Lee J Wolfe
Tim Mills
Rick Herdes
Samantha Vaal
Julie Beckwith Merkel
Mike Hahn
Cary Maurer
Shannon Weightman
Dan Whitehead
Chaim Julian
Tom Wedding
Eddie R Robinson
Rob Dyson
Cindy M. Basinski
Sharon Harrison
Alison Jones
Katie Keown Carley
Oscar Velez
Shawn Stevens
Janice Geurin Labhart-Miller
Barbara Huebschman
Jeremy Lee
Jay Timber
Stephen Annis
John Stanley
Chris Siesky
Brent Jochim
Barbara Givens
Craig Egli
Greg Woods
Helen Ball
Susie Webb
Michelle Kirk
Garey W. Patmore
Jenny E Smith
Codi Alan Meyer
Roy Foertsch
Brad Anderson
Katherine Pruitt
Kalah Georgette-Vowels
Kelly Evans Wollenmann
Libby Treado Seltzer
Chad Brady
Tim Black
Jennifer Schoenbaechler
Thomas Schurger
Dannie McIntire
Emily Cosby
Scott Danks
Lisa Roth
John E. Miller
Jon Elpers
Jeremy W. Schnepper
Tracy E. Hayden
Chuck Renner
Garry Fredick
Jon Fuchs
Charlie Henry Farber
Billie Goodman
Aaron Biggerstaff
Ted Ziemer
Lisa Marie Hale
Matthew Field
Elaine Bradley McCarthy
Sandy Goodall Cannon
Ryan Van Laningham
Martin Fraering
Patrick Fairchild
Kim Booker
Jeanne Lou Brown
Dale G Lannert
Anne Schleper
Wade Cartwright
Jane Lawton
John Franks
Deanne Naas
Lee Riddle
Patrick Martin
Norman Patmore
Marc Sedwick
Jake Martin
Sharon Dorris
Jacob Pendleton
Billy Bolin
Alex Hazel
Sherman Greer
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Carl Rodenberg
Joanne Muth
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Jack Davis
Richard Lashley
Nancy Fleig
Connie Barron
Jimmy DeTalente
Pete Hillenbrand Jr
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Rodney Hunt
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Gina Moore
Steve Seitz
Kate Mercer Miller
Chris Paddock
Nancy Ritter
Chris Harp
Freda Lewis
Wally Paynter
Tonya Rine
Scott E. Klueh
Donna Salmon
Billy Weir
Ange Humphrey
Wayne Ellis
Linda Luecke
Patti Cosby
Jane Engbers Doughty Holmes
Romona Smith
Steve Bryant
Judy Mossberger
Camilla Buese
Shannon Libbert Miller
Debi Duvall Ziemer
Brian Ferguson
Ed Goebel
Jayne Stuckey Beitler
Tracy Hobgood McGuire
Sherri Eslinger
Teresa Huff
Eadye Simpson
Michael Schmahlenberger
Lorilyn Prestidge
Chad Penrod
Brad Dishman
Regina Cole Kasey
David C. Hart
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Jeff Smith
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EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
FOOTNOTE: Â EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.
Remembering America’s Fallen Heroes
Remembering America’s Fallen Heroes
State Representative Wendy McNamara
This Memorial Day, let us reflect on the military members who made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting our great nation.
There are many ways we can honor their service, like visiting a veterans’ cemetery, memorial or museum, and offering support through veterans organizations. We can also take part in the annual National Moment of Remembrance. At 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, Americans are encouraged to take a minute of silence to reflect on the freedoms our heroes fought to give us. It is also important to impart the significance of this holiday on future generations so that these service members are not forgotten.
Locally, there will be two Memorial Day events in Evansville at Locust Hill Cemetery at 10:00 a.m. and Oak Hill Cemetery at 11:00 a.m. on Monday.Â
I join my fellow Hoosiers in offering gratitude for the service and sacrifice of these men and women.
The Growing Challenges Teachers Face
The Growing Challenges Teachers Face
My husband just completed 51 years as a science educator at the middle school and college levels. That number plus my 47 years as a high school and college journalism/language arts teacher totals almost 100 years in education as a couple.
Our transitions from teaching to other chapters are bittersweet. Sure, there were challenging times, but the overall experience was positive, and we will miss it. We have great memories working with our colleagues, our students and their parents, and we have stayed in contact with many of them years after they were part of our professional lives.
We are pleased when our students become teachers but troubled that their circumstances don’t provide the satisfaction we experienced. It is important to understand why many are leaving the profession sometimes just a couple of years from when they entered it. What is different?
Some describe the challenges the pandemic created when they had to provide classes through technology rather than in person. Watching my grandson’s kindergarten teacher keep a classroom of five-year-olds on task for hours each day through Zoom was amazing. She did it, but it could not have been as rewarding for her or the children as interacting in person.
Since the pandemic, teachers worry about their students’ mental wellness and lack of interpersonal skills.
In addition, attacks on education have made teachers feel they are not respected for what they do. More and more they fear that the curriculum they develop may be challenged and they may lose their jobs over the standards-based lessons they teach.
The fact that teacher salaries and benefits are not keeping up with professionals in other areas also leads them to consider other career options.
Competition between public, charter, and private schools that some claim creates better schools —though much research shows this is not the case—results in funding and accountability concerns that can create more inequality rather than eliminate it.
Professional days for teachers and field trips that inspire students are limited today. I had students consider colleges they visited and careers they saw in person thanks to field trips.
High-stakes testing provides stress and questionable benefits as more engaging lessons are scrapped to prepare for tests. My husband’s Galileo Day, a lesson during which students donated items such as watermelons and old bowling balls to drop from the roof of the school, may not have helped prepare for a standardized test, but the activity helped students understand a science lesson with enjoyable, experience-based memories.
The recent book bans may be the last straw for many teachers as they remove high-interest selections from their shelves and limit the world students can explore. Only one parent challenged a book during my 33 years at the high school level, and my yearbook, newspaper, and broadcast students reported about topics that interested them without fear of censorship as long as their coverage was accurate, responsible, and fair.
My grandmother was a teacher in a small rural school in the early 1900s. She had 44 first and second-graders in her class one year. There were few resources, but she was trusted to create lesson plans based on her expertise that would help students learn without government oversight and high-stakes testing.
Talking about the old days isn’t usually the best direction forward, but today’s teachers and students would appreciate the old days of academic freedom and the joy of learning together.
Over the past two decades, legislators who have a super majority of power but little or no experience in education have made education policy decisions that have caused the negative results above.
Many teachers have lobbied for educational issues at the Statehouse where few teachers serve as legislators. We have had requests for meetings ignored. We have met people who traveled to testify only to be told to there isn’t time to hear them. We have seen amendments added at the last minute that destroys a good bill. And we have worked for a bill for months only to see it sabotaged the last week of the session as we scan the tally sheet of legislators who had indicated their support for it.
The process can be heartbreaking.
However, as my husband and I leave the classroom and retire our red pens and lab coats, we will continue to visit the Statehouse to try to influence legislation that supports teachers and students.
Please join us.
It won’t be nearly as much fun as teaching—but every bit as important.
DeSantis, Daniels, And Fights Rather Than Solutions
DeSantis, Daniels, And Fights Rather Than Solutions
When Mitch Daniels, then Indiana’s governor, was pondering a presidential run, he famously called for “a truce on the so-called social issues.â€
John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com
“We’re going to just have to agree to get along for a little while†to focus on budget and economic issues Daniels said in a magazine profile done on him in 2010.
That comment produced a backlash from social conservatives then and gained new life again earlier this year when Daniels was considering a 2024 Senate candidacy.
U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Indiana—a darling of former President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement who now has been anointed by the GOP’s hierarchy as the party’s Senate candidate next year—chided Daniels for daring to think that, maybe just maybe, solving a problem might be preferable to starting a fight.
The uproar over Daniels’ “truce†comment seemed to demonstrate the ascendant power of social conservatives within the Republican Party. If members of the social-issues crowd could cow and then ultimately drive away a figure as formidable and contrary as Daniels—likely the most gifted conservative politician and political thinker of this era—then they held the whip hand within the GOP.
Theirs, though, may prove to be a costly dominance.
Another Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, also for a long time has been mulling a campaign for the White House. He is expected to announce his candidacy within the next few days.
DeSantis has elevated his national profile by establishing himself as perhaps the political arena’s premier conservative culture warrior. He has embraced the most draconian restrictions on reproductive rights and abortion. He has worked tirelessly to marginalize and oppress citizens—even children—who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning.
In service of these causes, DeSantis has sought to restrict what students can read, what teachers can teach, and what everyone can say.
He does all this, he says, to wage war against the depredations of what he calls “the woke mob.â€
Strangely, “the woke mobâ€â€”whatever that is—doesn’t seem to be using the power of government to tell people how to live their lives, protect their health or even think their thoughts.
No, that’s the work of a supposed—or at least self-proclaimed—small-government conservative such as DeSantis.
As part of his holy war against everything “woke,†DeSantis also attacked The Walt Disney Company.
Disney is the largest single-site employer not just in Florida but in the entire world. More than 75,000 people work for Disney in central Florida.
That didn’t deter DeSantis.
He was upset because Disney criticized the “don’t say gay†law DeSantis championed. DeSantis vowed payback. He began stripping away tax protections Disney enjoyed and needled the huge company in various other ways, confident that he was the one in the power position.
Disney retaliated first by suing him and the state of Florida.
Then, to remind the governor and other MAGA acolytes that power does not reside exclusively in the political arena, Robert Iger, Disney’s chief executive officer, announced that the company was pulling the plug on a planned $1 billion development in the Sunshine State. That development would have created at least 2,000 new jobs in Florida.
Iger suggested in his statement announcing the cancellation that he and Disney were going to look for another state to invest their money and establish livelihoods for thousands of people.
Presumably, that state will be one led by a governor more interested in solving problems than starting fights.
DeSantis’ aides have been telling political reporters that he plans to build his presidential campaign around a theme—that he wants to make America like Florida.
I’m guessing that he does not mean that he intends to chase away businesses and cost hardworking people good jobs, but who knows?
Daniels, by the way, offered, all those years ago, a rationale for suggesting a truce in America’s culture wars.
“If there were a WMD attack, death would come to straights and gays, pro-life and pro-choice,†Daniels said. “If the country goes broke, it would ruin the American dream for everyone. We are in this together. Whatever our honest disagreements on other questions, might we set them aside long enough to do some very difficult things without which we will be a different, lesser country?â€
Wise words then.
Wise words now.