CenterPoint Energy Offers Tips To Help Customers Prepare For Colder-Than-Normal Temperatures
Evansville – Dec. 20, 2022 – CenterPoint Energy continues to monitor the weather forecast, as the greater Evansville area is expected to experience colder-than-normal temperatures later this week and into the weekend. Because safety is CenterPoint Energy’s top priority, the company is preparing for the upcoming weather conditions and wants customers to be prepared as well.
CenterPoint Energy encourages customers to have an emergency plan, particularly if they depend on electricity for life-sustaining equipment and natural gas or electricity to heat their homes. The company is offering these safety tips to help customers prepare as soon as possible:
Electric:
Electric outages may be caused by high winds, with the potential of strong gusts on Thursday night. Always assume downed lines or wires are energized and potentially dangerous if contacted.
- ​Do not go near downed lines or fallen wires.
- Keep your distance from objects touching downed lines (tree limbs, vehicles, fences, etc.).
- If someone is actively being shocked due to contact with a power line, do not try to rescue them – you can’t help if you become a victim. Instead, call 911 immediately.
- Report downed power lines to 800-227-1376.
- Never use an electricity generator inside your home or any other building.
 Natural gas:
- Make sure your heating system is working properly. Malfunctioning home heating equipment can cause a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. Check that outside furnace vents aren’t blocked by snow or ice. Keep your furnace filter clean for safe, efficient operation.
- Use space heaters safely. Use a space heater with an automatic shut-off feature, and keep children, pets and all items at least three feet away. A space heater that uses gas, propane or wood should be vented to the outside. Stoves and ovens should never be used for space heating.
- Check your carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke alarms. These devices are essential to warn you of a fire or dangerous condition involving a furnace, water heater, fireplace or stove. Test your alarms monthly and change batteries as recommended by the manufacturer.
- Immediately report a suspected natural gas leak. If you smell the “rotten egg†odor of natural gas, immediately leave on foot, go to a safe location and call both 911 and CenterPoint Energy at 800-227-1376. Don’t use electric switches/outlets, phones (including cell phones), drive or start a car inside or in close proximity to the location, or do anything that could cause a spark.
 Energy Efficiency:
Cold temperatures also mean increased energy usage. CenterPoint Energy recommends the following tips for more efficient heating:
Furnace: A furnace is the largest natural gas consuming appliance.
- Set your thermostat no higher than 68 degrees. If possible, set it at 65 degrees when you are home and 60 degrees when you are away from home.
- Lowering your thermostat can help you save on your annual heating costs. Installing a programmable thermostat can help you automatically control your heat usage. Add on extra layers of clothing to keep warm.
- Change your air filters monthly. A dirty filter restricts airflow and can increase the operating cost of your furnace by as much as 10 percent. A good reminder is to change the filter each time you receive your natural gas bill.
Other appliances: Although they consume less natural gas, you can still maximize their efficiency.
- Run your washing machine, dishwasher and gas dryer only with full loads.
 Make your home more airtight and keep cold air outside:
- Seal leaks around doors, windows, and other openings such as pipes or ducts, with caulk or weather-stripping. The most common places where air escapes in homes are floors, walls, ceilings, ducts, fireplaces, plumbing penetrations, doors, windows, fans, vents and electrical outlets.
- If it has been a while, consider adding more insulation in your attic.
- On sunny days, open draperies and blinds to let the sun’s warmth in. Close them at night to insulate against the cold air outside
- CenterPoint Energy has taken steps and implemented measures to prepare and be ready for winter weather across its territory. In addition, CenterPoint Energy is closely monitoring grid conditions and information from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).
Lt. Governor Crouch Appoints Indiana Grown Commission Members
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 20, 2022) – Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced today the appointments for the Indiana Grown Initiative Commission. These 12 members will provide guidance and direction to the staff of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) who will be responsible for connecting businesses that use or sell agricultural products such as restaurants, grocers, wholesalers, processors and farmers markets with Indiana-based producers of meat, fruits, vegetables, wine and forest products.
“The goal of this commission is to ensure we are representing the voices of the over 1,800 members of the Indiana Grown community,†said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, who also serves as Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “I am grateful to be working side by side with Hoosiers who represent all the different areas of Indiana’s agriculture industry.â€
The director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture will chair the commission and will be joined by a representative from Purdue University. The 10 commission members are:
           Natasha Cox – Farm Credit Mid-America
      Mike Hoopengardner – Indiana Farm Bureau
           Mayasari Effendi – Mayasari Tempeh
      Jeff Bricker – Ivy Tech Community College
           Nicky Nolot – Tolon Restaurant
           Rachel Boyer – Rachel’s Taste of Indiana
           Marcus Agresta – Piazza Produce
           Leigh Rowan – Ft. Wayne Farmer’s Market
           Gina Johnson – Madison Farmer’s Market
           Jennifer Rubenstein – Edible Indy
The first Indiana Grown Commission meeting will be held on Jan. 25, 2023, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. on the first floor of 1 North Capital, Indianapolis, IN 46204. This meeting is open to the public.
“Indiana Grown is excited to have these commission members representing Indiana agriculture and values,†said Caroline Patrick, director of Indiana Grown. “These members are volunteering their time and skills to the commission, and we are thankful to have their expertise help develop the Indiana Grown program further.â€
The Tri-State AIDS Holiday Project Has Served Community For 30 Years
The Tri-State AIDS Holiday Project has served our community for 30 years. We meet the needs of low-income households in our 3-state region impacted by HIV / AIDS.
We still need donations and family sponsors! To make a donation:
– [ ] Donate online at TSAGL.org/Donate.html
– [ ] Donate using Venmo @tristateallince
– [ ] Send a check to TSA Holiday Project, PO Box 2901, Evansville, IN 47728
To sponsor a household, message us or email 3statealliance@gmail.com or call/text 812-480-0204. We have large and small households that need sponsored, and we can provide you with a wish list including clothing sizes.
Only with your help can we continue to make a difference!
EVANSVILLE POLICE MERIT COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA
EVANSVILLE POLICE MERIT COMMISSION
MEETING AGENDA
Thursday, December 22nd, 2022
4:00 p.m. Room 307, Civic Center Complex
- *PLEASE SEE POSTED NOTICES REGARDING MATTER “F. PENDING DISCIPLINEâ€:
- Notice of Special Meeting (first) (4867-9466-0150)
- Notice of Executive Session (4895-7856-3894)
- Notice of Special Meeting (third) (4876-6425-7334)
- OPEN SESSION:
- CALL TO ORDER:
- ACKNOWLEDGE GUESTS:
- APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
-
- December 12th, 2022 (Cook, Sutton, Morehead-Moore)
- APPROVAL OF CLAIMS:
- RESIGNATIONS:
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- Officer James Michael Johnson, Jr, badge number 1547, resigning effective December 28th, 2022 after serving 11 months and four days.Â
- PENDING DISCIPLINE*:
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- 22-PO-24 – Sergeant Donald J. Thompson, Badge Number 5142 – 1 Day Suspension set for hearing. Â
- REMINDERS:Â
-
- The meeting scheduled for Monday, December 26th, 2022 has been cancelled.Â
- The next scheduled meeting is Monday, January 9th, 2023 at 3:00pm.
- ADJOURNMENT:Notice of Special Meeting On Thursday, December 22nd, 2022 at 4:00 PM, a special (open) meeting will be held to hear evidence in connection with Officer Donald J. Thompson II’s (Badge Number 5142) appeal filed on August 5, 2022, of the discipline imposed upon him under Personnel Order 22-PO-24 (1-day suspension without pay).
Vincennes University Has Named Matt Groneman As Its New Director of Assessment
VINCENNES, Ind., December 20, 2022 – Vincennes University has named Matt Groneman as its new Director of Assessment.
Before joining the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Groneman served as an associate professor in the University’s English Department within the College of Humanities. Since he began teaching at VU in 2010, Groneman has edited the Tecumseh Review, organized Poetry on the Green, and served for many years on both the Assessment Committee and General Education Committee.
In his new role, Groneman will contribute to the University’s high standards of ensuring educational quality and attaining accreditation through many accreditors and organizations, including the Higher Learning Commission.
Groneman said, “I am excited to work with faculty from across campus, helping them to refine their assessment projects and improve student learning. I look forward to applying my experiences from work on general education and assessment, as well as from assessing my own teaching and the design of my courses, toward my new role as Director of Assessment.”
Groneman received a bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg State University in political science and creative writing in 2002. He earned a master’s degree in English with an emphasis on cultural studies from Kansas State University in 2005, then led a tutoring program focused on freshman retention. He moved to New Orleans to work toward a master’s of fine arts in poetry writing in 2008, and after completing his coursework began teaching at VU.
Groneman grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, where he tutored students whose first language was Spanish starting in high school. His wife is a graduate of VU’s nursing program and works at Good Samaritan Hospital. He loves spending time with their three children, listening to music, and reading in his free time.
About Vincennes University – Indiana’s First College
VU is state-supported with campuses in Vincennes and Jasper, the Aviation Technology Center and American Sign Language program in Indianapolis, Early College Career and Technical Education Centers, and additional sites such as the Gene Haas Training and Education Center in Lebanon, the Logistics Training and Education Center in Plainfield, and the Gibson County Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics in Fort Branch. VU offers online degrees and classes to students who need access to college courses and flexibility through its Distance Education.
A leader in dual credit and career and technical education statewide, VU also offers instruction at military sites throughout the nation.
In addition to offering a wide range of associate degree and certificate programs, VU also offers bachelor’s degree programs in technology, homeland security, nursing, health care services administration, secondary education programs in mathematics and science, and special education/elementary education.
VU enrolls students from throughout Indiana, 35 other states, and 22 other countries. Tuition and fees are the lowest among Indiana campuses with residence halls. VU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Founded in 1801, VU is Indiana’s first college and is the only college in the nation founded by an individual who would later become President of the United States. William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. President, founded VU while serving as governor of the Indiana Territory. More information is available at www.vinu.edu.
EPA Announces FY 2022 Enforcement and Compliance Accomplishments
Agency Takes Significant Steps to Reduce Pollution and Help Overburdened Communities
December 21, 2022
WASHINGTON – The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) recently announced the FY 2022 Annual Environmental Enforcement Results report, highlighting increased inspections in the aftermath of the pandemic, reductions in significant noncompliance under the Clean Water Act, and aggressive actions to target the most serious water, air, land, and chemical violations that impact communities across the country
Taken together, OECA’s criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement cases reduced, treated or eliminated pollutants by 95 million pounds and required violators to pay over $300 million in penalties, fines and restitution. In keeping with EPA’s Strategic Plan, OECA focused on working to mitigate the effects of climate change and advance environmental justice in the enforcement program.
“In FY 2022, EPA’s enforcement and compliance program used a range of tools and best practices to hold polluters accountable and protect communities from environmental and health hazards,†said Larry Starfield, Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office Enforcement and Compliance Assurance on December 16. “Our FY 2022 accomplishments show that we have targeted the most serious and impactful environmental violations, and particularly violations that affect vulnerable and overburdened communities.â€
The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) worked to mitigate climate change by creating a new enforcement program under the recently enacted AIM Act to interdict illegal imports of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Those efforts resulted in the denial of entry to HFC imports in 2022 that prevented 889,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalents from entering the U.S. The HFC phaseout under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, once fully implemented, will reduce global warming by .5 degrees centigrade.
EPA’s enforcement and compliance program committed in EPA’s Strategic Plan to increase the percentage of annual on-site inspections in underserved and overburdened communities from 30 to 55 percent by FY 2026. In FY 2022, EPA surpassed this goal and achieved 56% of on-site inspections in overburdened communities. The program’s FY 22 accomplishments focused on protecting vulnerable communities using the full range of compliance monitoring and enforcement tools, including inspections, technical assistance supported by advanced technologies, and early actions and innovative remedies to ensure high levels of compliance with federal environmental laws and regulations.
EPA’s FY 2022 enforcement and compliance assurance accomplishments:
- Over 56% of on-site inspections were at facilities affecting communities with potential environmental justice concerns, exceeding the 45% goal set for this year.
- EPA’s enforcement staff concluded approximately 1,650 civil judicial and administrative cases; of these cases, over 44% addressed facilities in areas with potential environmental justice concerns, the highest percentage since FY 2014, when EPA began tracking. For example:
- USS Lead (East Chicago, IN): In this historically overburdened community, EPA secured commitments from multiple parties and a purchaser to clean up a large former industrial area contaminated with lead and arsenic and return it to a productive use. This complements the cleanup of 807 residential yards and ensures cleanup is completed in one of the site’s two operable units.
- EPA’s criminal program concluded important cases to protect health and the environment. For example:
- EPA with its federal partners demonstrated that major corporations like FCA US LLC (FCA US), formerly Chrysler Group LLC, will be held accountable for complying with vehicle emission standards.  FCA US was sentenced to pay approximately $300 million in criminal penalties.
- EPA took aggressive early actions in communities to address drinking water violations, issuing 85 drinking water orders to protect 8 million people using public water systems. 13 of the orders were to address emergency conditions in overburdened communities.
- Achieved the goal of a 50% reduction of significant noncompliance among facilities permitted under the Clean Water Act. The national significant non-compliance (SNC) rate has been reduced from 20.3 percent at the start of 2018 to 9.0 percent in FY 2022.
- EPA also worked with federal agencies to reduce the significant noncompliance rate at federal facilities by 64% compared to the FY18 baseline, helping to improve water quality and to protect people’s health.
- OECA released ECHO Notify, an email service that allows communities to get email alerts when a local facility has a violation or enforcement action.
EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
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.
Aces wrap up non-conference slate on Wednesday
UE welcomes Bellarmine to the Ford Center
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Non-conference play comes to a close for the regular season when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team plays host to Bellarmine on Wednesday evening inside the Ford Center. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT with the Purple Aces Radio Network and ESPN+ having the coverage. Fans will have the opportunity to get photos Purple Santa in the lobby of the Ford Center when the doors open at 6 p.m.
Last Time Out
– Up by 14 points at halftime, Ball State doubled its lead to as many as 28 in the second half on their way to an 88-69 win on Dec. 10 in Muncie
– UE closed the deficit to 19 points in the final minutes
– Leading the way for the Purple Aces was Marvin Coleman II who recorded 17 points while hitting three triples
– Kenny Strawbridge Jr. scored 15 while Antoine Smith Jr. checked in with 14
Top Scorer
– With his scoring average of 15.8 points per game, Kenny Strawbridge Jr. continues to lead the Aces while ranking 9th in the Missouri Valley Conference
– Scoring 25 points against Fairfield, Strawrbridge reached the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season
– His top scoring output of the season saw him register 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting
– Strawbridge is a 37.8% shooter in 2022, but his average over the last four games is 28.6%
No Fluke Here
– Three days after scoring a career-high 18 points against Campbell, Marvin Coleman II led the Aces with 17 points at Ball State
– Over the last two games, Coleman is 12-of-22 from the field and 7-for-11 from 3-point range
– In the win over Campbell, he set career-highs in scoring (18 points), field goals (7), triples (4) and minutes (38:20)
– The last two games have marked his first double-digit scoring games since the season opener at Miami Ohio
– Coleman entered the Campbell game hitting just two of his first 22 3-point tries but is 7-for-11 in the last two outings
– Over the last four games, Coleman has converted 19 out of 41 attempts (46.3%)…he opened the season hitting just 13 out of his first 70 field goal tries (18.6%)
Regaining His Form
– Entering the Campbell game, Antoine Smith Jr. was shooting 35.9% from outside but has found his shot over the last two games, hitting 7 of his 10 attempts
– Those efforts improved his season mark to 42.9%
– With one minute remaining in the Dec. 7 game against Campbell, he drained a triple that gave UE the lead for good; he completed the game with a season-high 15 points while draining 3 of his 4 outside attempts
– He has been on a roll over the last four games, averaging 12.75 points per game after recording a mark of 5.9 PPG through the opening eight contestsScouting the Opponent
– Bellarmine is set to face the Purple Aces for the first time in Evansville
– It will be the third meeting in program history and the first since March 6, 1965
– The Knights are led by Garrett Tipton, who is recording 10.8 points per game
– Ben Johnson and Bash Wieland are just behind with 9.8 and 9.4 PPG, respectively
– Juston Betz has a team-high 4.7 rebounds per game and is tied for the top total on the squad with 30 assists
– Bellarmine has played a challenging schedule that has seen them play road games at Louisville, Clemson, Duke, UCLA and Kentucky
Troopers Investigate Double Fatality Crash on US 41
Knox County – Monday evening, December 19, at approximately 6:40 p.m., Indiana State Police responded to a two-vehicle crash on US 41 at Industrial Park Boulevard that claimed the lives of a Vincennes couple.
Preliminary investigation revealed Russell L. Wilson, 60, of Princeton, was driving a 2015 Peterbilt tractor-trailer west on Industrial Park Boulevard toward US 41. After stopping at US 41, Wilson started to proceed across the northbound lanes to continue south on US 41 but stopped in the crossover due to southbound traffic. Wilson’s trailer was blocking both northbound lanes. Craig Wissel, 68, of Vincennes, was driving a 2015 Toyota Sienna north on US 41 and collided into the trailer. Wissel and his wife, Jane Wissel, 68, died at the scene. They were both wearing seat belts. Wilson was not injured.
The investigation is continuing.
Investigating Officer: Master Trooper Gary Goodman, Indiana State Police
Assisting Agency: Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the Knox County Coroner’s Office