EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
FOOTNOTE: This information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.
Polakovich named OVC Player of the Week
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week for his efforts the Screaming Eagles games versus Southeast Missouri State University and Eastern Illinois University. The OVC honor is the first for Polakovich and the third this season for the Eagles.
The weekly honor is the second of Polakovich’s career after earning a GLVC Player of the Week honor last season with the Eagles.
Polakovich started the week by overpowering Southeast Missouri State University in the lane, posting 27 points and grabbing 26 rebounds in the 86-81 victory. The senior, who also had a career-high five assists, was 11-of-18 from the field and five-of-nine from the stripe, while swiping 11 offensive and 15 defensive rebounds off the glass.
The 26 rebounds were one short of the USI single-game record (27 by Aaron Nelson versus Kentucky State University December 7, 2013) and is the first 20-20 game by an Eagle since Emmanuel Little had 29 points, 21 rebounds versus Missouri University of Science & Technology January 18, 2018.
The 20-20 outing also is the first in the OVC since Austin Peay State University’s Terry Taylor (26 points and 23 rebounds versus Belmont University) and the University of Tennessee-Martin’s Quintin Dove (26 points and 20 rebounds versus Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) posted those numbers in the 2019-20 season. Polakovich’s 26 rebounds also is the most in an OVC contest since before the 2002-03 campaign.
Polakovich finished the week with a nine-points, 10-rebounds performance in the loss at EIU. He reached double-digits on the glass for the third time in four games with six offensive and four defensive boards.
For the week, Polakovich averaged 18.0 points and 18.0 rebounds per game. He shot 53.6 percent from the field (15-28) and averaged 3.5 assists per game.
Polakovich and the Eagles resume OVC action Thursday when they visit Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. (CST) tip, streaming on ESPN+ and airing on ESPN 97.7FM and 95.7FM The Spin.
Aces unable to overcome rough start against Racers
Murray State takes 78-61 win at Ford Center
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Opening the game on a 23-1 run, Murray State fended off a second-half challenge to defeat the University of Evansville men’s basketball team by a score of 78-61 on Sunday afternoon inside the Ford Center.
Leading the way for UE was Marvin Coleman II. He scored 13 points on the way to his fourth double-figure scoring effort in the last five games. For the second game in a row, Gabe Spinelli set his career scoring mark. After recording 10 on Thursday at Indiana State, Spinelli tallied 12 against the Racers. Yacine Toumi and Antoine Smith Jr. recorded 11 apiece.
“We have to be ready – this is the Missouri Valley Conference. It is competitive and physical,†Aces head coach David Ragland said. “They (Murray State) were more aggressive and committed to getting defensive steps at the start. We responded better after 10 minutes but you cannot spot that many points to a good team like Murray State.â€
Five Racers scored in double figures with Justin Morgan leading the way with 15 points. Jamari Smith and Rob Perry scored 14 each. Perry hauled in a game-high eight boards.
Another rough start for the Purple Aces saw them fall behind by a 15-0 score. Murray State hit 7 of their first 10 field goal attempts. Evansville scored its first point at the 14:04 mark when Antoine Smith Jr. hit a free throw to halt a 23-1 start by MSU. Following five more Racer points, UE ended an 0-9 start to the day when Antoine Smith Jr. hit a layup. Smith hit another basket with 11 minutes left in the half to make it a 25-6 game.
Evansville’s defense improved at that time, forcing eight consecutive misses by the Racers. Unfortunately, the offense could not get close the gap before MSU got rolling once again. With five minutes remaining in the half, the Racers took their largest lead at 34-9. UE closed in the final minutes as Sekou Kalle and Yacine Toumi converted 3-point plays before Marvin Coleman II hit a triple to complete the first half. His shot cut the deficit to 41-21 at the break.
Kenny Strawbridge Jr. and Smith connected on triples in the opening minutes of the second half with the Aces cutting the gap to 14 points (49-35) as the 15-minute mark. Unfortunately, Murray State countered with a 12-3 run as they would push the lead back out to 23 points.
Despite the deficit, the Aces continued to battle back. Inside of the 3-minute mark, a pair of free throws by Toumi made it a 71-59 game. His points capped off a 19-8 stretch. UE was unable to get closer as MSU completed the game with a 78-61 win. The Racers finished the game shooting 47.5% with UE wrapping the day up at 39.2%. With 36 rebounds, Murray State won that battle by five.
With his 12-point game, Spinelli set his career-high for the second game in a row. After opening the season with a total of seven points in the first six games, he has averaged 6.4 points over the last nine outings.
“Coach Ragland has helped me a lot and the game is slowing down for me a little bit,†Spinelli explained after the game. “At the end of the day, I want to be there in any way that the team needs me in order to get some wins.â€
Next up for UE is a trip to Missouri State for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday evening.
EDITORIAL: ITS TIME TO CONDUCT A “FORENSIC AUDIT” OF THE FORD CENTER
CCO EDITORIAL: IT IS TIME TO CONDUCT A “FORENSIC AUDIT” OF THE FORD CENTER
DECEMBER 30, 2023
Following six years of hand-wringing, extravagant impact claims, and efforts to influence the public, Evansville opened the Ford Center in November of 2011 with a concert by Tri-State favorite Bob Seger. The first concert was a sellout and the facility proved itself to have good acoustics and comfortable seats. The then City Council members filed in smiling and waving to occupy the first row of the seating at the long concert.
The Ford Center construction was managed by John Kish, who should have gotten a standing ovation for bringing the project to fruition on time and within the original budget of $128.5 million. Most projects of this type go over budget by tens of millions of dollars and Kish will be forever remembered for being an impeccable steward of the Evansville taxpayer’s money.  We also give five cheers for the outstanding job that members of our local trades did building the Ford Center. With minor opposition Evansville mover and shakers decided to move forward with construction without having a public vote.
One former citizen who didn’t support a stadium launched a campaign called “Sewers Before Stadium†to try to force a prioritization of a projected billion-dollar-plus Water And Sewer mandated by the EPA to no avail. The Ford Center is now completed, and some positive progress has been made with the all-important projected billion-dollar-plus Water and Sewer project throughout Evansville. The reality is that 12 years after the Ford Center’s grand opening, other less-than-important projects were prioritized over the fundamental needs of Evansville such as paving and repairing potholes on many of our city streets, repairs and renovations of our city parks, getting aggressive in correcting blight throughout Evansville, bringing housing stock to livable standards, making positive changes to public safety, and most importantly balancing the 2024 City budget to name a few priorities facing the new Mayor-elect Stephanie Terry and the newly elected members of City Council..
Years ago the City of Evansville commissioned a group called Chema to do a financial projection for the Ford Center and they concluded that it would pay for itself from day one and start to earn profits in year three. These projections never have been achieved. Quite the opposite, the Ford Center has reportedly lost the City of Evansville many millions of dollars in cash flow for every year it has been operating. In fact, over the years other city departments’ budgets have sacrifice due to the unexpected recurring financial shortfalls at the Ford Center.
In defense of Mayor Winnecke from day one his administration inherited the 6 million dollar annual interest payment associated with a $128.5 million arena construction bond debt. Coupled with the annual 6 million dollar arena bond payment his administration was also forced to figure out a profitable marketing plan to generate enough income to pay the bills. After attempting to do so for the last 12 years it turned out to be an impossible task.
The early years of athletics were anticipated to be lucrative with dollars flowing to the City of Evansville from rents north of $10,000 per game from the University of Evansville Aces, and the Evansville Icemen hockey team. After only a few years, the Evansville Icemen decided to leave for the greener grass of Jacksonville, Florida where they reportedly found phenomenal success. The Lady Aces unfortunately never had the kind of crowds needed to pay the kind of rent that the Ford Center Center required and left for the safety of Carson Center on the University of Evansville campus. The UE men’s basketball team has struggled with attendance and with winning as the Purple Aces fans had become accustomed to at Robert’s Stadium where they won 5 NCAA championships and routinely drew crowds of over 10,000 per game. The Evansville Thunderbolts have also been disappointing in attendance because of their up-and-down seasons over the years.  We were told by confidential sources that it would be in the best interest of the citizens to do a Public Records Request on who is paying for all of the expenses of the Evansville Thunderbolt Hockey team.
We have also been told that there is a strong possibility that the rental income coming to the Ford Center from UE men’s basketball and the Evansville Thunderbolts and Guns And Hoses fundraising event may be receiving a big reduction on their home game rental charges which doesn’t improve the Ford Center lack of profitability.
 The Ohio Valley Conference has held its annual basketball tournament at the Ford Center for several years. In years when the Murray State Racers have a big local following, their games drew large crowds but the other games struggle to get 1,000 basketball fans in seats. The impact of athletics has not been close to the expectations set forth by the OHIO VALLEY Conference promoters and the cash flow results reflect that.
The largest crowds ever at Ford Center are the two trips to the Tri-State made by former President Donald Trump during his campaigns that drew over-capacity crowds that spilled into the street. It is not publicized as to whether the Trump campaign paid a fee or not. Also, over the years several rock and county concerts drew-capacity crowds.
We wonder how on earth can a major facility that was touted as the savior of downtown Evansville lose money and come up short on economic impact, without the people in power not realizing it. We expect that the answer will likely never come from the current Mayor, City Controller, and or City Council members.
The Ford Center, as nice as it may be, has seemingly never been anything but a financial drain on the people of Evansville. The most recent approval of Evansville City Council Financial ordinance G-2023-17 which grants the City of Evansville Redevelopment Authority (not to be confused with the Commission of the same name) the approval of a $9 million dollars in “LEASE /RENTAL REVENUE BONDS by a 6-2 vote  (Missy Mosby and Ron Beane voting against the proposal with Jonathan Weaver being absent) bonds to update the Ford Center and knowing that the current Ford Center annual income can not support an additional $9 million dollar bond debt payment.
The collateral for the $9 million dollar projected costs to update the FORD CENTER interior and exterior signage and concession areas are leasing and renaming rights of 29 streets throughout Evansville by using a little-known “LEASE/RENTAL REVENUE” bonds. It’s important to point out that members of the Evansville City Council unwisely approved this transaction during a recent meeting with little discussion and without asking for the details of the costs of the improvements at the Ford Center, the interest rate of the bonds, and the length of repayment of this bond. This important information was not disclosed in the loan document given to City Council members at the time they voted.
It is time for transparency to be demanded on behalf of the taxpayers of Evansville concerning the financial operations of the Ford Center. The Evansville taxpayers, not the politicians) who pays the tab at the Ford Center deserves to know how the cash flows from one government entity to another in the game of many Cards Monte played in Evansville to generate an honorable profit.
The only way this is likely to happen is for the new financially responsible Mayor and a responsible City Council to order a Forensic Audit to be conducted on the financial transactions between the entities created to perpetuate this currently unsustainable financial project. Whatever may be found, we are convinced that the taxpayers of Evansville/Vanderburgh County will be stuck with this financially underperforming Ford Center until our newly elected official comes up with a workable plan to make it more financially sustainable!
We ask Mayor Terry to do the right thing by asking the newly elected city Council officials to hire an out-of-state private auditing firm to do a Forensic Audit of the Ford Center.  We would like to stress that we feel a Forensic Audit would be appropriate due diligence on behalf of the taxpayers of Evansville and will help to find a new direction for running the Ford Center toward being financially profitable.
State of Indiana Partners With Ivy Tech To Offer Education Opportunities
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The State of Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College today announced a new partnership that will offer state employees an affordable education with no upfront tuition costs.Â
“This is an investment in our state employees that provide them with more flexibility to pursue education opportunities that ultimately contribute to a stronger workforce,†said Governor Eric J. Holcomb. “We are grateful for this partnership with Ivy Tech that will ease the up-front financial burden for our employees to enroll in courses.â€Â
The state will join Ivy Tech’s Achieve Your Degree (AYD) program. Rather than paying for tuition expenses at the time of enrollment – which can be a barrier for some employees seeking to earn degrees and certificates – the state will pay Ivy Tech directly upon an employee’s successful completion of a course. State employees already have education reimbursement of up to $5,250 per year. Ivy Tech’s full-time annual tuition is less than $4,500, and the agreement with Ivy Tech means that employees won’t have to be reimbursed, but rather can enroll and begin taking classes with no upfront costs. Additionally, the College will provide the state with a rebate of up to 5% of the net tuition paid, which means the state will benefit from an even lower education cost.
All Ivy Tech campuses across the state are participating in the program.Â
“The State of Indiana is once again leading by example, this time by providing tuition assistance to employees, making it easier for individuals to pay for higher education,†Ivy Tech Community College President Sue Ellspermann said. “Programs like Achieve Your Degree can help businesses build their own talent pipeline through recruitment of individuals without a degree and helping those individuals learn the skills necessary to advance.â€
Partnering with Ivy Tech Community College offers state employees access to more than 70 academic programs, as well as opportunities to receive associate degrees, short-term certificates and workforce certifications in various fields. Additionally, Ivy Tech’s Ivy+ Tuition and Textbooks model provides students with free textbooks for required courses through the spring 2023 and a flat rate tuition cost for students who enroll in more than 12 credits.Â
On-site application assistance and academic advising are provided by Ivy Tech faculty and staff to accommodate state employees’ busy work schedules and to ensure appropriate course schedules. Ivy Tech will also provide individualized advising, financial aid and tutoring to foster employee success.
Through partnerships such as the Achieve, Your Degree program at Ivy Tech, the State of Indiana can skill-up its current workforce and encourage employees to earn free credentials through on-campus and online coursework.
Tuition reimbursement and assistance are available up to $5,250, to all State of Indiana employees of executive branch agencies who:Â
- have been employed full-time continuously with the state for at least 12 months prior to submitting their Education Reimbursement program application;
- have not received disciplinary action in the 12 months prior to the end of the course; and
- have completed the course with a satisfactory grade of at least a “C†or above (or an equivalent “pass†grade).
As part of its NextLevel State Work initiatives, the State of Indiana will continue to pursue partnerships, policies, and programs that continue to make the State of Indiana a competitive, engaged, and flexible workplace.Â