Commissioner Cheryl Musgrave reacts to Evansville ranking in The Wall Street Journal
Vanderburgh Humane Society Teams Up with Evansville Animal Care & Control and Best Friends Animal Society to Save More Animals
[Evansville, Indiana] — The Vanderburgh Humane Society is partnering with Evansville Animal Care & Control and Best Friends Animal Society as part of Best Friends’ Prince and Paws Shelter Collaborative Program with a goal of increasing a live release rate from 61% to 90% for dogs and cats entering Evansville Animal Care & Control.
In all, Best Friends is providing a grant in the amount of $150,000 (of which $60,000 has already been received) to support the initiatives in this partnership.
The shelter collaborative program matches shelters that are leaders in animal welfare with shelters that are working to save more animals. The goal of the partnership is to improve the save rate at Evansville Animal Care & Control (EACC) by the end of the year grant program. This would mean that the vast majority of the dogs and cats entering their care leave alive, understanding that some animals will be too medically or behaviorally fragile to be released. Best Friends helps to facilitate these matches, works with peer mentors to create a contract that includes clear grant parameters, provides mentors with seed grants, and offers ongoing training and coaching to mentors and fellows.
The Vanderburgh Humane Society (VHS) is a national leader in animal welfare who was chosen to partner with Evansville Animal Care & Control because they have experience overcoming many of the challenges Evansville Animal Care & Control faces each day. And Animal Control, bound by City Ordinances to pick up strays and accept all owner surrendered animals, is always looking for partnership to increase their live release rate.
“Things will only improve for our community’s animals if we all work together,†says Kendall Paul, CEO of the Vanderburgh Humane Society. “This grant will take the VHS and Evansville Animal Care & Control’s longtime partnership to new heights. The initiatives that come from this collaboration will have a positive impact for the people and animals of Vanderburgh County.â€
Through the shelter collaborative program, Best Friends will be providing grant funding to cover the expenses associated with achieving the partnership’s goals. Evansville Animal Care & Control and VHS will use the funding to implement nationally recognized proven strategies to decrease unnecessary intake and increase adoptions, community engagement, and rescue partnerships.
Current partnership initiatives are:
- FREE microchips for pets in the community at pop-up microchip clinics, including the first one coming up on:
Friday, March 3, 2023 from 1-5 pm
Located in the Vanderburgh Humane Society’s rear Intake lobby
(National microchip registration is included at no extra charge) - Use portions of the grant to waive reclaim fees so families can reclaim their pets from Evansville Animal Care & Control more quickly, with less financial burden
- Creative initiatives to improve outcomes for cats
- To provide best practice recommendations to update the City of Evansville’s Animal Control Ordinance
- A focused collaboration around promotion of adoptable pets and fundraising for animals’ medical expenses at both organizations
Together, the VHS and Evansville Animal Care & Control expect these strategies to dramatically reduce the need to euthanize animals simply for lack of space at Evansville Animal Care & Control.
Alisa Webster, Superintendent at Animal Care & Controls says “The collaboration between Evansville Animal Care & Control and VHS gives us the opportunity to truly reach out and help the community with their pets. One of our goals at Evansville Animal Care & Control has always been to reunite pets with their owners. Now with the Best Friends grant the programs that we have planned are geared towards reunification through microchipping, and free reclaims. Together we WILL save more lives.â€
The shelter collaborative program is a cornerstone of Best Friends Animal Society’s goal of making America a no-kill nation by 2025, according to Carrie Ducote, National Senior Strategist for the Shelter Collaborative Program.
The public is encouraged to follow both organizations on their social media accounts below to stay up-to-date with the latest news about this partnership:
NATE BARGATZE IS SOLD OUT FOR JUNE 3, 2023
NATE BARGATZE IS SOLD OUT FOR JUNE 3, 2023
NEW SHOW JUST ADDED!
TICKETS FOR THE NEW SHOW GO ON SALE ON FRIDAY, MARCH 3, AT 10 AM
Evansville, IN – February 28, 2023 – Comedian Nate Bargatze is stopping by Old National Events Plaza on June 3, 2023, with his national tour,The Be Funny Tour. The tour is offering a second show at 9:30 PM, in response to selling out the first show slated for 7:00 PM the same night.
“We are incredibly excited to host Nate Bargatze at The Plaza this summer. His last visit was phenomenal, and we wanted to give his fans the opportunity to see him again this year. The response has been overwhelming, and we’re looking forward to hosting two sell-out shows when Nate tours back to Evansville,†said Nick Wallace, General Manager at Old National Events Plaza.
Hailing from Old Hickory, Tennessee, stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze has been recognized this year as “The Nicest Man in Stand-Up,†by The Atlantic Magazine and a “Rising Star,†by CBS Morning. The 2021 GRAMMY Award-nominated comedian and podcaster is selling out shows across the world.
Bargatze’s comedy is both clean and relatable, which is evident in his ten appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon following four appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Both of Nate’s one-hour Netflix specials, “The Tennessee Kid†(2019) and “The Greatest Average American†(2021) premiered globally with rave reviews.
For more information and tickets, visit www.natebargatze.com.
Ticket Information:
What: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Nate Bargatze, The Be Funny Tour
When:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Saturday, June 3, 2023, at 7:00 PM SOLD OUT or 9:30 PM
Where: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Old National Events Plaza | 715 Locust Street | Evansville, IN 47708
Tickets: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Tickets start at $39.00 plus applicable fees and tax.
Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com or the Old National Events Plaza Box Office. For more information about the Aiken Theatre, visit:www.oldnationaleventsplaza.com.
 About Outback Presents
Outback Presents is the leading independent, full-service promoter of live entertainment. From their home base in Nashville, TN, Outback Presents specializes in producing music and comedy shows, tours and festivals across North America and connecting their diverse roster of artists with their fans. For more information, visit www.outbackpresents.com.
About Old National Events Plaza
Old National Events Plaza, managed by ASM Global, is Evansville, Indiana’s premier convention center and largest live entertainment theatre. Housing a spacious 2,500-seat theatre, 38,000 square- feet of column free exhibit space, a beautiful 14,000 square-foot ballroom, and 12,00 square-feet of meeting space, Old National Events Plaza hosts a variety of events. The venue offers easy scheduling, one-stop-shop services, and in-house catering and audio-visual services. For more information and a complete schedule of events, please visit www.oldnationaleventsplaza.com.
USI Men’s Basketball Polakovich, Swope Named All-OVC
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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) and sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) were honored with All-Ohio Valley Conference post-season honors today. Polakovich and Swope were named to the ten player first-team after being selected by the OVC head coaches and the communications directors. The post-season conference honor is the second for Polakovich, who was named first team All-GLVC last year and the first for Swope. Polakovich, the NCAA Division I leader in total rebounds (371), leads the Screaming Eagles and OVC with 12.8 rebounds per games. He also is averaging a double-double with 12.8 points per contest. The senior forward has had 14 double-doubles, four games of 20-or-more rebounds, and 20 double-figure rebound contests. The three-time OVC Player of the Week had a season-best 27 points and 26 rebounds in his OVC-debut versus Southeast Missouri State University. Swope earns his first-team honor after averaging a team-high 15.6 points per game, while dishing a team-high 3.6 assists and grabbing 2.5 rebounds per contest. The sophomore guard has reached double-digits in scoring in 23 of his 29 games this season and is averaging 24.8 points in the last four games of the regular season. Polakovich, Swope, and the Eagles (16-15) starts their first NCAA I post-season run Wednesday in the OVC Tournament as the seventh seed at the Ford Center. USI is set to play Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the sixth seed, in the 9 p.m. contest.
USI Women’s Basketball’s Haithcock earns All-OVC first team honors
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball senior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio) earned All-Ohio Valley Conference first team honors, the OVC announced on Tuesday. Haithcock was fourth in the OVC in overall scoring and first on the team with 14.8 points per game. The senior was sixth in scoring in league play at 14.9 points per contest. Haithcock was also ninth in overall rebounding in the league and third in OVC play, averaging 6.5 boards and 7.3 rebounds per outing, respectively. Her overall rebounding average was second on the team. Additionally, Haithcock finished in the top-10 in the OVC in offensive and defensive rebounds, top-15 in field goal percentage, fifth in free-throw percentage, and eighth in blocks. “Hannah showed from day one that she was going to be a great player in the Ohio Valley Conference,” USI Women’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Stein said. “Her consistency every game is something that stands out. We are so proud of Hannah and her accomplishments this year and in her career here at USI! Hannah will go down as one of the all-time great women’s basketball players here at the University of Southern Indiana.” Haithcock became the 10th USI player to reach at least 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. In 99 games played for USI, Haithcock scored 1,252 points and 562 rebounds. Her career points total is good for 10th all-time in USI history, while her rebounding numbers are good for 11th all-time. During her time in a USI uniform, Haithcock recorded 71 double-digit games, 10 20-point outings, 10 double-figure rebound efforts, and nine double-doubles. The Washington Courthouse, Ohio native dropped a career-best 31 points this season in a January 19 win at Lindenwood University. The senior was named Preseason All-OVC in October before the 2022-23 season started. Haithcock also earned OVC Player of the Week honors back in December after recording 24 points and 13 rebounds in a win against Brescia University (Ky.). Haithcock is the first-ever USI player to earn All-OVC accolades following the program’s first season in the Ohio Valley Conference and as an NCAA Division I program.