On March 1, the local political parties will hold their reorganization meeting, a gathering of all Precinct Committee members (PCs) and their Vice PCs to elect new county officers. This process occurs every four years and is usually a smooth, drama-free event.
While the Vanderburgh County Democratic Party will likely have an easy time reelecting its current officers, the GOP may face a contentious gathering with multiple factions fighting for control of the party for the next four years.
Cheryl Battinger-Smith and Ken Colbert address the crowd Saturday. Photo by Johnny Kincaid
On Saturday (2/8), one of those factions met with the candidates supported by Ken Colbert and Cheryl Battinger-Smith, who call themselves “Republicans in Bad Standing.” They played a key role in recruiting numerous candidates to run for Precinct Committee members (PCs) last year before party leadership removed them from their positions for five years. Colbert and Battinger-Smith believe that the PCs they recruited will vote as a bloc to support their chosen party candidates.
Candidate for GOP Chair, Frank Peterlin. Photo by Johnny Kincaod
Frank Peterlin, a long-time conservative member of the party, was introduced to the crowd of 75 PCs as the candidate for chair. Peterlin promised the audience that he would reinstate the monthly party breakfasts and create more opportunities for party members to gather together.
Lauren Bell was announced as candidate for Vice Chair, Walter Valient is running for party treasurer, and Brian Pease is a candidate for secretary.
Steve Airy, who is also planning to run for county chair, attended the event. He previously ran for county chair and was a candidate for mayor. However, he did not have the chance to address the crowd.
Other GOP candidates are likely to arise before the February 26 registration deadline.
The RAINS group (Republican Assembly of Indiana, Southwest) will hold a meeting for all Republican PCs and Vices on February 22 at City Gate, located at 320 Eagle Crest Drive. All candidates for party leadership positions are invited to speak.
Local Democrats do not anticipate any challenges to Vanderburgh County Chair Cheryl Schultz or other members of the Central Committee.
In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prayer in public schools was a violation of the Constitution’s establishment clause, which prevents the government from establishing a state religion. In 2022, the court ruled that a public school football coach is allowed to pray with his team after a game as long as he is not forcing players to pray with him.
On Wednesday, the Senate Education and Career Development Committee debated a bill that would give Indiana schools the option to hire chaplains.
In the midst of these seemingly contradictory rulings, the Louisiana legislature passed a law in June of last year that required all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. The law was blocked in November by a federal judge who said it was unconstitutional.
Now, Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, is attempting to pass Senate Bill 523, a bill that would give Indiana public and charter schools the choice to employ a chaplain who would provide secular and nonsecular advice to students.
On Wednesday, the Senate Education and Career Development Committee heard the bill’s initial reading.
Chris Daley, the Indiana executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Hoosier school children need more support—but not necessarily this kind.
Two years ago, the Texas legislature passed a law allowing school-employed chaplains in public schools, but Daley said very few Texas school districts have hired chaplains despite the new law.
“Out of the 12,000 school districts in Texas, three or four of them actually chose to do that because of the fear of encroaching on separation of church and state,” Daley said as he testified before the committee.
Donato said the bill would supply schools with additional counseling resources and support students and staff regardless of their faiths.
A 2023 report by the American School Counselor Association said Indiana has a ratio of 519 students to 1 counselor. The organization recommends half of that.
In light of that shortage, Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, asked Donato why she isn’t focusing on bringing more counselors to Indiana schools.
“I am additionally adding a tool to the toolkit,” Donato answered. “I am not trying to jeopardize the school counselor. They have a very valuable position. This is just another adult with a different skillset to potentially help a student be successful.”
Qaddoura said he was apprehensive about chaplains working with kids who might be easily influenced religiously.
“I’m just concerned about how you would regulate people with different value systems, different understandings, trying to coerce their own values onto someone who does not subscribe to them,” he said.
Donato said the bill has a “may” provision, which gives schools the choice to employ a chaplain of any faith background or not have a chaplain at all.
Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, opposed the bill because she said she doesn’t think chaplains should be employed by the government.
“It’s the fact that districts would have the ability to use taxpayer dollars for these roles,” she said.
Maliha Zafar, executive director of the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network, said allowing chaplains in schools might make Muslim students feel more isolated as a religious minority.
“School counselors play a critical role in supporting students through a range of challenges not based on religious beliefs,” Zafar said. “Chaplains, on the other hand, offer counseling through a specific spiritual and religious lens. … Introducing chaplains from a specific faith tradition, … whether paid or volunteer, blurs the line between church and state, threatening the religious freedoms we all hold dear.”
Qaddoura and Sen. Sheli Yoder, D-Bloomington, both questioned if school chaplains could give nonsecular advice, but Donato said any action an adult takes to help a child is considered nonsecular advice.
“I would envision any adult in the school building that would be helpful to maybe tie a shoe or open a ketchup package … Anything that you would do for a child that you saw anywhere, I think that would be nonsecular advice,” Donato said.
Qaddoura said he thinks advice is related to mental health and situations a student may need insight on, not any action an adult can do to help a student.
Donato said the bill would require a school chaplain to have a B.A. with four years of counseling experience, a B.A. with two years of counseling experience while pursuing a master’s degree, or a master’s degree with two years of counseling experience. She added that they would also have to undergo a criminal background check like any school employee or volunteer.
Jan Desmarais-Mors, the executive director of the Indiana School Counselor Association, said she was worried that, in the bill’s current form, chaplains would not have sufficient training, especially for traumatic events, abuse and self-harm.
“As defined under Senate Bill 523, chaplains would not possess the academic and professional credentials of a school counselor,” Desmarais-Mors said. “Even with the best intentions, they may provide inappropriate responses or interventions to students that could jeopardize a student’s development and wellbeing.”
Scott Carr, who also testified on behalf of the Indiana School Counselor Association, added that chaplains would need suicide prevention training, CPR certification and licensed mental health counseling training like a school counselor would.
At the end of the meeting, committee Chair Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, shared that he is a chaplain and supports the bill.
“That’s the simplicity of this concept, it’s about an adult who cares about young people. … I make no reference whatsoever to biblical things unless they come and pull it out of me,” Raatz said. “I’m there to support them emotionally, … just be emotional support to them.”
Anna Cecil is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Hollywood has a responsibility to address America’s mental health crisis By Leslie Weirich
A suicide devastates more than one life.
I learned that lesson shortly after my doorbell rang at 2:30 a.m. on September 10, 2016. My 20-year-old son, Austin, had died by suicide. After decades reciprocating his infectious smile and admiring his achievements on the football field and in the classroom, I had to digest in an instant that I would never see him again.
Every single day, I wish I could go back and talk with him one more time. Would it have helped? I’ll never know. But I do know, seven years into my journey as a suicide prevention advocate, that severe mental illness doesn’t manifest in a vacuum, especially for young adults.
Whether we’re aware of it or not, the media we consume strongly influences how we process mental health crises.
The folks who shape our culture have never been more aware of the mental health challenges Americans face. But they largely haven’t responded to that awareness by depicting mental health more responsibly.
Over the last two decades, the suicide rate among those aged 10 to 24 has risen nearly 60%. The factors behind this crisis are complex and multifaceted. But researchers are coming to understand that Hollywood plays a role. Many shows have inadvertently contributed to the increase in the youth suicide rate by glorifying suicide and the mental health conditions that cause it.
Consider “13 Reasons Why,” a show developed for Netflix that depicts the story of a teenage girl who takes her own life and leaves behind a series of audiotapes that implicate the people she holds responsible for her death.
Just one month after the show aired, the suicide rate among 10- to 17-year-olds increased nearly 30%. The series was intended to start a meaningful dialogue about bullying, sexual assault, and suicide. It instead portrayed the main character’s choice as a means of exacting emotional revenge on those who wronged her.
Some teens with existing mental health issues are more susceptible to emulate suicides that are glamorized — a well-documented phenomenon called “suicide contagion.”
While “13 Reasons Why” has exacerbated some awful mental health trends in America, it’s hardly the only one. Fortunately, other shows and movies do just the opposite.
The critically acclaimed film “Silver Linings Playbook” has been praised for its realistic depiction of people living with bipolar disorder. Or consider “Adieu,” a movie currently in production that centers on a prodigal violinist struggling with depression after her sister’s suicide. Several leading mental health professionals have commended “Adieu” for depicting grief, depression, and the value of human connection in an authentic way — allowing viewers to see the possibility for recovery and growth even after a tragic loss.
Stories like these are crucial because they tap into what some experts call the “neuroscience of hope.” These scientists hypothesize that optimism stems from distinct neurological processes that are subject to outside influence. As a result, certain forms of art could literally rewire the brain to generate feelings of hope that combat mental illness.
By creating powerful art that more appropriately considers and depicts mental health challenges, Hollywood could use its great power more responsibly.
Leslie Weirich is a nationally renowned suicide prevention speaker and author who advocates for youth mental health. (LesliesHope.org)
The Board of School Trustees of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation will meet in executive session at 3:30 PM. on Monday, February 10, 2025, in the Schroeder Conference Centre located in the EVSC Administration Building, 951 Walnut, IN 47713, Evansville, IN. The session will be conducted according to I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1. initiation of litigation or litigation that is either pending or has been threatened specifically in writing, (b)(2)(B); purchase or lease of property, (b)(2)(D); discussion of the assessment, design, and implementation of school safety and security measures, plans, and systems (b)(3); and job performance evaluation of individual employees (b)(9).
CONSENT AGENDA: FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS
A.
ORDINANCE R-2025-04 An Ordinance to Rezone Certain Real Estate in the City of Evansville, State of Indiana, More Commonly Known as 3200 N Burkhardt Rd Owner: ANB Investments LLC Requested Change: R1 to R5 w/ UDC Ward: 5 Koehler Lindsey Representative: G Michael Schopmeyer, Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn, LLP
REGULAR AGENDA: SECOND READING OF ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS
A.
ORDINANCE G-2025-03 AMENDED An Ordinance to Vacate Certain Public Ways or Public Places Within the City of Evansville, Indiana Commonly Known as a Portion of Alley Located Within the Locust Street Parking Garage, Lying Between 22 SE Fourth Street and 15 SE Fifth Street Sponsor(s): Carothers Discussion Led By: Public Works Chair Koehler Lindsey Discussion Date: 2/10/2025 Notify: Maria Bulkley, KDDK
ORDINANCE F-2025-01 An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Evansville Authorizing Transfers of Appropriations, Additional Appropriations and Repeal and Re-Appropriation of Funds for Various City Funds Sponsor(s): Allen Discussion Led By: Finance Chair Allen Discussion Date: 2/10/2025 Notify: Robert Gunter, Controller
ORDINANCE R-2024-36 AMENDED An Ordinance to Rezone Certain Real Estate in the City of Evansville, State of Indiana, More Commonly Known as Part of 4100 N Burkhardt Rd & Part of the Parcel to the SW Owner: Do it Right Investments, LLP Requested Change: C2 to M1 w/ UDC Ward: 5 Koehler Lindsey Representative: Bret Sermersheim, Morley
RESOLUTION C-2025-06 A Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Evansville Establishing Financial Management Policies for the City of Evansville and its Component Units Sponsor(s): Trockman, Green, Allen Discussion Led By: President Trockman Discussion Date: 2/10/2025 Notify: Robert Gunter, Controller
FOOTNOTE: EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.
An executive session will be held prior to the open session.
The executive session is closed as provided by:
I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(5): To receive information about and interview prospective employees.
I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(6)(A): With respect to any individual over whom the governing body has jurisdiction to receive information concerning the individual’s alleged misconduct.
I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(9): To discuss a job performance evaluation of individual employees.This subdivision does not apply to a discussion of the salary, compensation, or benefits of employees during a budget process.
OPEN SESSION:
CALL TO ORDER:
ACKNOWLEDGE GUESTS:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
January 27th, 2025 (Sutton, Johnson-Kincaid, Thompson)
APPROVAL OF CLAIMS:
PROBATIONARY OFFICER UPDATE:
Update for Probationary Officers in SWILEA and Field Training.
PROMOTIONAL PROCESS:
Notification that Officer Jared Reidford was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on February 5th, 2025. [NO ACTION NEEDED]
APPLICANT PROCESS:
Certify the scores from the January 2025 hiring process into the active eligibility list.
APPLICANTS:
24-157
24-165
24-162
24-202
REMINDERS:
The next scheduled meeting is Monday, February 24th, 2025, at 4:15pm.
Fourth quarter comeback leads Lady Blazers over Southwestern Illinois
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers returned to the home floor Saturday afternoon for a Region 24 showdown with Southwestern Illinois College from Belleville, Ill.
The Lady Blazers found themselves trailing 50-42 after three quarters but were able to get the momentum back and come away with a big 65-62 victory over the Lady Blue Storm.
Vincennes went toe to toe with the Lady Blue Storm right from the tip with the two teams battling in a back and forth first quarter of play with Southwestern Illinois coming out of the first 10 minutes of action with a narrow 16-15 lead.
VU continued to battle in the second quarter, after falling behind 26-22, the Lady Blazers closed out the first half with six straight points to take a 28-26 lead into the locker room at the break.
Coming out in the second half Southwestern Illinois grabbed the early momentum with a 10-2 scoring run to go ahead 36-30.
The Lady Blue Storm would maintain this lead throughout the rest of the third period with Vincennes heading into the fourth quarter trailing 50-42.
Early in the fourth quarter the momentum shifted back to the Vincennes sideline as VU connected on a pair of threes early in the fourth quarter and opened the final 10 minutes of play with eight straight to even the score at 50-50.
SWIC would get the lead back and held a 57-55 advantage late in the fourth before Vincennes once again was able to connect on a pair of three-point plays to grab the lead back and get the home crowd energized with a 63-57 lead.
The Lady Blue Storm would not go away quietly however, getting back within one point of the Lady Blazers and holding the ball with 20 seconds remaining, SWIC looked to draw up a play to get the final shot.
The VU defense ramped up the pressure on the out of bounds play and forced a Blue Storm turnovers which forced SWIC to foul and send Vincennes to the free throw line.
After connecting on both free throw attempts Southwestern Illinois had one more chance to send the game into overtime but were unable to convert as Vincennes came away with the 65-62 victory over the Lady Blue Storm.
The Lady Blazers were led offensively by sophomore Marta Gutierrez (Alicante, Spain) who finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in the game.
Freshman Ahmya Thomas (Phoenix, Ariz.) found her three-point shot early and was able to finish the game with 12 points, five assists and four steals.
Freshman Delora Pricop (Satu Mare, Romania) just missed out on another double-double Saturday afternoon, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Freshman Jazmyn Robey (Sellersburg, Ind.) was the fourth Lady Blazer in double figures, finishing with 11 points and a pair of rebounds.
Freshman Emani Washington (Indianapolis, Ind.) moved the VU offense throughout the game, finishing with eight points and a team-high seven assists.
The Lady Blazers will look to keep this momentum going as VU now prepares for another tough challenge against No. 7 ranked Wabash Valley College Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. eastern, inside the P.E. Complex.
This game will not count towards the Region 24 standings, as the regularly scheduled Region 24 matchup between VU and the Lady Warriors is set for Saturday, March 1.
Three-point goals: VU 7 (Thomas 2, Robey 2, Washington 2, Gutierrez). Rebounds: VU 28 (Pricop 8). Assists: VU 18 (Washington 7). Steals: VU 14 (Thomas 4). Blocked Shots: VU 5 (Dixon 3). Turnovers: VU 16. Personal Fouls: VU 14. Fouled out: Pricop.
UE defeats UT Martin before falling to Tennessee Tech
GREENVILLE, S.C. – In the second day of the Paladin Invitational, the University of Evansville softball team split a pair of contests. After rallying to defeat UT Martin by a final of 9-6 to open the day, the Purple Aces fell to Tennessee Tech by a score of 2-0.
Game 1 – UE 9, UT Martin 6
Scoring four runs in the top of the seventh, Evansville rallied to open the day with a win over UT Martin. After the Skyhawks scored twice in the bottom of the first half, UE knotted the score in the top of the second. Callie Meinel’s third home run in two days knotted the score with Taylor Howe also scoring on the play.
In the third, the Aces doubled up UTM at 4-2 as Eliza Piggott and Jess Willsey hit 2-out solo shots. The next two innings belonged to UT Martin. After retaking the lead with three runs in the fourth, the Skyhawks tacked on a single run in the bottom half of the fifth to go up 6-4.
Evansville cut the deficit to one in the sixth when Willsey crossed the plate on a single by Howe. Down to the final three outs, the Aces staged a rally in the 7th. With one out, Brooke Voss homered to right center to score Keghan Pye and put UE back on top. With two outs, a 2-RBI single from Howe added some insurance as UE went up 9-6.
Gracie Hollingsworth entered the circle looking to finish off the game. Just one runner reached on an error with UE taking the win. Kate Ridgway was credited with the win. She threw two innings of relief with one unearned run scoring while Hollingsworth earned the save. Elle Jarrett made the start and threw four innings with five runs, three earned, scoring on five hits.
Howe went 3-4 with three RBI and a run while Willsey scored three times. Piggott added a pair of hits.
Game 2 – Tennessee Tech 2, UE 0
Despite outhitting Tennessee Tech by a 7-5 margin, the Purple Aces dropped the second contest of the day by a final tally of 2-0.
Brooke Voss recorded Evansville’s first hit of the game in the first, but it was the Golden Eagles who plated the first run with a single score in the second before adding a second run in the third.
Evansville looked to break through in the bottom of the second, stranding the bases loaded. Jess Willsey and Callie Meinel both recorded a single while Morgan Adams reached on a walk before TTU was able to get out of the jam.
Willsey picked up her second hit of the game, picking up a leadoff double in the fourth before three quick outs ended the threat. UE left two runners on base in both the 5th and 6th frames before looking make a final rally in the 7th. Kynadee Warner reached on a leadoff single, however, the momentum was halted as the Golden Eagles recorded the final three outs to take the 2-0 win.
Cassidy Gall made her first collegiate start and gave up two runs on four hits in four innings of work. Sydney Weatherford tossed the final three frames and allowed just one hit. UE completes the Paladin Invitational on Sunday against Tennessee Tech and Furman.
