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Emmy-Nominated Documentary Filmmaker To Keynote 2023 USI Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration

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Keith Beauchamp

The University of Southern Indiana will host a presentation by Keith Beauchamp, Emmy-Nominated Documentary Filmmaker, honoring the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as part of USI’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Celebration at 11 a.m. Monday, January 16 in Carter Hall, located in University Center East. Doors will open at 10:15 a.m. The presentation is open to the public.

In 1999, Beauchamp founded Till Freedom Come Productions, a company devoted to socially significant projects aimed at teaching and entertaining. Over the past 22 years, he has worked tirelessly to tell the story of Emmett Till and has traveled extensively between New York, Chicago and Mississippi to investigate the historic murder.

Till was a 14-year-old African American boy who was abducted, tortured and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman in her family’s grocery store. The brutality of his murder and the fact that his killers were acquitted drew attention to the long history of violent persecution of African Americans in the United States, and he posthumously became an icon of the civil rights movement.

Throughout his journey, Beauchamp has worked with witnesses who had never spoken about the case and with influential figures like Muhammad Ali and Reverend Al Sharpton, all while persistently lobbying both the State of Mississippi and the federal government to reopen the Till murder investigation.

In May 2004, the United States Department of Justice re-opened the 50-year-old murder case, citing Beauchamp’s documentary, The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, as both a major factor in their decision and the starting point for their investigation.

In May 2005, Till’s body was exhumed, and in 2006, the FBI turned over their evidence to the appropriate district attorney in Mississippi. In February 2007, a Mississippi Grand Jury decided to not indict the remaining suspects in the case.

That same year, Beauchamp began his collaboration with the FBI’s new civil rights “Cold Case” initiative, producing documentaries on other unsolved civil rights murders in hopes of helping federal agents with their investigations and bringing remaining perpetrators to justice.

Beauchamp has been featured on 60 Minutes, ABC World News Tonight ‘Person of the Week,‘ Court TV, MSNBC, Good Morning America, CNN, BBC, and in hundreds of publications around the world, including The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Associated Press and the Chicago Sun-Times. He is currently the executive producer and host of Investigation Discovery’s crime reality series, The Injustice Files, and the producer of the upcoming feature film Till. Beauchamp is also a frequent lecturer at colleges and universities around the country.

“We are excited to have Mr. Beauchamp as our keynote speaker. He accepted the call to action that Dr. King passed on to each of us seriously,” says Pam Hopson, Executive Director of the USI Multicultural Center. “In the spirit of Dr. King’s life’s work, we must reaffirm ourselves as individuals in strengthening our community as we stand on the shoulders of him by championing the rights and dignity of all people.”

Letter To Th Editor: George Floyd Reconsidered:  Lies, Myths, and Fraud

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George Floyd Reconsidered:  Lies, Myths, and Fraud

By Richard Moss, MD

December 17, 2022

Yes, you’ve heard of George Floyd, the holy, blessed martyr, peace be upon him, newly beatified by the secular, pagan church of anti-racism.  He rests in his misty perch in atheist heaven on God’s right side, gazing benevolently upon us.

Yes, that George Floyd, the one with the rap sheet down to his ankles.  He had eight jail sentences for a variety of charges including drug possession, theft, criminal trespass, and armed robbery during a home invasion.  That latter charge involved holding a loaded firearm against the belly of a pregnant woman while five compatriots pillaged her home.  Nice George.

We live in a post-George Floyd universe.  The violent protest that swept our cities that summer has changed the nation.  It may serve to review the facts of the case.

Floyd met his fate, as the entire world knows, on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, MN, when police were called because he attempted to pass a counterfeit bill.  The disturbing video of the encounter with law enforcement showed officer Derek Chauvin holding his knee against the back of Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.  He was face down on the ground and handcuffed as he called for his “Momma” and said that he could not breathe.

Floyd, indeed, stopped breathing and subsequently died.  There was non-stop mayhem and violence in our cities for the remainder of the year leading to the election in November.

The final autopsy report issued by the Hennepin130 County Medical Examiner indicated that the cause of death was “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual restraint, and neck compression.”  Under enormous political pressure, it also stated that the manner of death was homicide.

The media, Democrats, and their leftist militias, Black Lives Matter and Antifa, hold that the Floyd episode is another example of police racism and brutality targeting blacks.  But the contradictions in the story suggest otherwise.

Two of the four officers who responded are non-white.  The Chief of the Minneapolis Police, Medaria Arradondo, is black.  Minneapolis is a Democrat-run city.  It’s Mayor, Jacob Frey, is a Democrat, as is their city council and state governor, Tim Walz.  Minnesota has voted Democrat in every national election since 1932, including the Reagan landslide of 1984, the only state Reagan lost. Are the critics saying that the Democrats who run the police, city, and state are racists?

Then came suppressed videos and court documents that mysteriously went missing as the outrage festered, and our cities burned.

The body-cam videos of the other three officers present during the arrest, including Tou Thao (Asian), Thomas Lane, and Alexander Kueng (black), showed Floyd to be highly agitated and erratic.  He resisted arrest before the officers placed him on the ground.  He appeared to have lost all self-awareness, complains of stomach and neck pain, and foamed at the mouth.  The officers struggled to get him in the back of the squad car.  Once there, he complained that he “can’t breathe.”  He then left the vehicle on the opposite side.  He asked the cops if he can get on the ground because he is having trouble breathing.  In another video, Floyd is seen in his car before the arrest swallowing a white pill. Perhaps, concealing evidence.

None of the four officers in the case used racial slurs or referred to his race.  There was no evidence that race motivated them at all.  Furthermore, why would the officers, particularly Chauvin, deliberately murder Floyd in broad daylight with multiple witnesses, and cell phones and body cameras recording?  If the cops intended to murder Floyd, why did they call the ambulance and help Floyd after the medical team arrived?

Previously suppressed court documents showed that the chief medical examiner, Dr. Andrew Baker, stated that the fentanyl level in Floyd’s blood was “pretty high” and could be “a fatal level of fentanyl under normal circumstances.”  Dr. Baker also said that “if Mr. Floyd had been found dead in his home… and there were no other contributing factors he would conclude that it was an overdose death.”  Baker, referring to Floyd’s fentanyl level of 11 ng/ml, told investigators that “deaths have been certified with levels of 3.”  In another memorandum filed on May 26, the Attorney’s Office said Baker concluded, “The autopsy showed no physical evidence suggesting that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation.”

In another document, Baker said, “this is a fatal level of fentanyl under normal circumstances.” Other forms also noted that Floyd had a “heavy heart” and “at least one artery was 75% blocked.”  The Armed Forces Medical Examiner agreed with Baker’s findings, writing that Floyd’s “death was caused by the police subdual and restraint in the setting of severe hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and methamphetamine and fentanyl intoxication.”

So, if the knee on neck didn’t kill him, what did?  Why, drugs did.

Floyd overdosed on fentanyl, which stopped his breathing and his heart, known as cardiopulmonary arrest, resulting in death – whether the officers encountered him or not.  The stress of the arrest and positioning did not help, but with the amount of fentanyl he ingested, he would have died anyway.  He also had morphine, amphetamine, alcohol, and marijuana in his system.  He died of cardiopulmonary arrest, caused by a fatal fentanyl overdose and underlying cardiac disease.  He sealed his own fate.

Derek Chauvin was convicted of second and third degree murder and manslaughter and sentenced to 22 years in prison.  All four were convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights.  Lane and Keung pleaded guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.  Thao is awaiting trial.  The other three officers are serving prison terms of some three years.  Their careers are over.

Yet, none of the officers sought to murder Floyd.  There was no intent to do so. You cannot prove murder or manslaughter unless there is intent.  Although they have since been changed, at the time, Minneapolis Police training materials show pictures of a suspect, face down, handcuffed, with knee on neck. Chauvin was simply following police protocol.  The autopsy and videos demonstrate it was not racially motivated and was not murder.  These officers are innocent.  They should have never gone to trial.  It was a fraud, a manufactured lie.

Why did authorities not release the exculpatory evidence earlier to prevent the violence, looting, destruction, and death?  Cops did not kill Floyd.  Why did they let cities burn?  Must we imprison innocent men to appease the mob?  Authorities deliberately withheld evidence that could have cleared the police, undermined the narrative, and stopped the mob violence. Because the Left wanted the lie to go out.

Black lives don’t matter to the Left, the media, the Democrats, or their brown-shirt militias.  Blacks are simply pawns in their game.  They use them, reckless charges of police brutality and “systemic racism,” and the consequent civil unrest to agitate their base, get out the vote, and win elections.  It is a naked will to power, nothing more, whatever the cost.

The family of George Floyd received a $27 million settlement from the city of Minneapolis.  This is the legacy of the George Floyd case: mob rule and two-tiered justice.

FOOTNOTE:  This letter was posted without opinion, editing, or bias.

Dr. Moss is a practicing Ear Nose and Throat Surgeon, author, and columnist residing in Jasper, IN.  He has written A Surgeon’s Odyssey and Matilda’s Triumph, available on amazon.com.  Find more of his essays at richardmossmd.com. Visit Richard Moss, M.D. on Facebook, Twitter, Parler, Getty, GAB, TruthSocial, and Instagram.

THE WEEKLY SCOOP

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Resounding Joy aims to grow the music therapy program in 2023

Excerpt from an article by Mark Ambrogi in Current

Lindsay Zehren is a huge proponent of the many benefits of music therapy.

Resounding Joy is a nonprofit that started in San Diego in 2004. Zehren, who worked with Resounding Joy in San Diego, moved to Carmel from San Diego in November 2020. She launched Resounding Joy Indiana in July 2021.

In 2022, Zehren said Resounding Joy Indiana supported more than 2,000 individuals in central Indiana. The goal is to support more than 5,000 in 2023 with the addition of another music therapist to the team, she said.

Read the full story.


Man pointing out details on vibrant mural

Artist Mark Schmidt stands in front of and points out details in his mural behind the Brown County Visitors Center. The mural shows different aspects highlighting life in Brown County. Image courtesy of Corbin Parmer


Brown County Visitors Center’s ‘a love letter to Nashville;’ new interactive mural completed, details local life

Excerpt from an article by Corbin Palmer in Brown County Democrat

A small crowd gathered in Coachlight Square last week just behind the Brown County Visitors Center, to witness the reveal of a new public art installation that highlights Brown County life.

The work was created by local artist Mark Schmidt, who is also owner of Nashville Spice Co. He described the mural as “a love letter to Nashville.”

Read the full story.


Strengthening Your Next Community Engagement Project

Excerpt from an article by Forecast Public Art

If you want greater community involvement in your next project but are unsure of how to get started, you’re not alone! And you shouldn’t be working alone either. Before building something new, it’s important to listen to stakeholders and invite them into the co-creation process. In fact, it’s an essential early step. But once you take that step, you’ll find that your work better reflects the diverse community of voices in your community, and responds more effectively to their values and priorities.

Read the article.


NEA 2023 Grant Opportunities Now Available

Challenge America

Challenge America offers support primarily to small organizations for projects in all artistic disciplines to reach historically underserved groups/communities that have rich and dynamic cultural identities. Challenge America may be a good entry point for organizations that are new to applying for federal funding. The category features an abbreviated application, a robust structure of technical assistance, and grants for a set amount of $10,000.

Grants require a cost share/match of $10,000 consisting of cash and/or in-kind contributions. Total project costs must be at least $20,000 or greater.

Application Deadline: April 27, 2023 for projects taking place beginning in 2024.

Grants for Arts Projects 

Grants for Arts Projects is our largest grant program for organizations, providing expansive funding opportunities for communities across the nation in a wide range of artistic disciplines. Through project-based funding, the program supports opportunities for public engagement with the arts and arts education, for the integration of the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector.

This grants program also welcomes projects that engage with individuals whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, race or ethnicity, economics, or disability.

Application Deadlines: February 9 and July 6, 2023 for projects taking place beginning in 2024.

Learn more and apply.


Support Hoosier Creativity Through a Position with the Indiana Arts Commission

The Indiana Arts Commission has a number of exciting opportunities to grow your career and support arts and creativity in the Hoosier State. We are currently accepting applications for the Grants and Research Manager position, as well as two paid internships though the Governor’s Public Service Summer Internship program. If you have a passion for arts and culture in Indiana and an interest in public service, be sure to check out these openings!


“What’s New with Arts Organization Support?” Webinar

The Indiana Arts Commission will be making changes to the Arts Organization Support (AOS) program in FY2024, as a result of the programmatic review that took place this year. Over 150 Hoosier provided input to this process and the coming changes are reflective of that feedback and the impact that that Hoosiers wish to see the AOS program have on Indiana.

Next week, a public webinar will be held to discuss the changes to the application, panel, and funding process. The “What’s New with AOS?” Webinar will be held on Monday, December 19th at 4:00PM ET. Register to attend the webinar.

Not able to attend live? Don’t worry, the meeting will be recorded, and additional application support sessions will be held in the coming months.


Dates and opportunities to keep an eye on:

Job Opportunities:


Stay creative and awesome,

Paige SharpDeputy Director of ProgramsIndiana Arts Commission

psharp@iac.in.gov

Headshot photo of Paige Sharp

2023 Meeting Notice for EPD Pension Board of Trustees

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For your general information, below is a list of planned dates and times for the 2023 monthly meetings of the Evansville Police Department Pension Board.  The meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of each month at 8:15 a.m. in Room 307 of The Evansville Civic Center Complex located at #1 NW M L King Jr. Blvd.  The meeting for February is held on the first Wednesday following the annual election that is held on the 2nd Monday of February. As the need arises, an executive session may be held before the beginning of the regular session and will be closed as provided by I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(7). For discussion of records classified as confidential by state or federal statute.

Immediately following the Executive Session, a regular Open Session will be held on.

January          4 Wednesday 8:15 am Civic Center Room 307

February       15 Wednesday       8:15 am        Civic Center Room 307

March          1 Wednesday 8:15 am         Civic Center Room 307

April              5 Wednesday        8:15 am        Civic Center Room 307

May               3 Wednesday       8:15 am        Civic Center Room 307

June               7 Wednesday       8:15 am        Civic Center Room 307

July                5 Wednesday      8:15 am        Civic Center Room 307

August           2 Wednesday       8:15 am        Civic Center Room 307

September      7 Thursday          8:15 am        Civic Center Room 307

October          4 Wednesday       8:15 am        Civic Center Room 307

November      1 Wednesday       8:15 am        Civic Center Room 307

December       6 Wednesday      8:15 am        Civic Center Room 307

Eagles break the Pomeroys, 84-42

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball rolled through Saint Mary’s of the Woods, 84-42, Thursday evening at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles rise above .500 for the first time as a Division I team and are 6-5 after tonight’s action, while the Pomeroys are 4-7.  

The Eagles and Pomeroys started slow with each team posting a bucket through the first four minutes. USI ignited after the first media timeout with senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) sparking a 14-1 run to put the Eagles up 16-3.  

Polakovich had six of the 14 points during the run as the Eagles were five-of-eight from the field offensively and held the Pomeroys to just two shots in three minutes. The USI defense would go on to hold SMWC to under 10 points through the first 12 minutes of the contest.  

After graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Indiana) broke a three-minute scoring drought with a three-point bomb from the top of the key, USI went on an 11-2 run to post a 22-point, 34-12 lead. The Eagles were a perfect four-of-four from the the field during the run, led by sophomore guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana), who had five of the 11 points.  

USI finished the opening 20 minutes by increasing the lead to as many as 24 points twice, including the 38-14 score at the intermission.  

The Eagles pulled away for gook early in the second, expanding the lead to more than 30 points through the first 10 minutes. Senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) scored 13 of his 18 points during the first 10 minutes of the final half as USI outscored SMWC, 27-15.  

The USI lead would grow to as many as 44 points before the final buzzer on the 84-42 victory.  

In addition to Simmons’ team-high 18 points, sophomore guard Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) and Polakovich followed with double-digits in the scoring column with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.  

USI, as a team, won the battle on the boards, 40-36, led by sophomore forward Nick Hittle (Indianapolis, Indiana), who grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds.  

Next Up 2022-23: 

USI return to the road next week to play in the Indiana Classic hosted by Purdue University Ft. Wayne at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Ft. Wayne. The Eagles will play a neutral site game versus Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis Monday at 3 p.m. (CST) before concluding the classic against Ft. Wayne Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CST).  

IUPUI, which hosts Eastern Illinois University Saturday before playing in the Indiana Classic, is 2-8 overall and is led by junior guard Bryce Monroe and sophomore guard Jlynn Counter, who are posting 12.0 points and 11.2 points per game, respectively.  

USI holds a 12-5 series lead between the two programs, dating back to the 1972-73 season. The Eagles took back-to-back games with the Jaguars (then known as the Metros) to start the 1994-95 season, 117-99 at the Physical Activities Center and 89-83 in Indianapolis.  

Ft. Wayne, who was Indiana University/Purdue University Ft. Wayne when it and USI were a part of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, is 7-5 overall and have won three-straight games. The Mastodons are led by graduate guard Jarred Godfrey and graduate forward Bobby Planutis, who are posting 15.3 points and 13.0 points per game, respectively.  

USI leads the all-time series with Ft. Wayne, 25-13, and had a GLVC advantage, 22-13. The Eagles had won 16-straight versus the Mastodons, prior to Ft. Wayne making the jump to Division I. The last meeting in 2001 ended with USI posting a 110-108 victory at Ft. Wayne.   

USI To Hold Commencement Ceremonies Today

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WHO: USI students from the Fall Class of 2022 will be recognized at USI Commencement Ceremonies.

WHAT: USI will hold two Commencement Ceremonies to honor the Fall Class of 2022.

WHEN: Ceremonies will take place tomorrow, Saturday, December 17. A schedule of Commencement Ceremony times follows:

  • 10 a.m.: College of Nursing and Health Professions, Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education and School of Graduate Studies
  • 1 p.m.: Romain College of Business, College of Liberal Arts and School of Graduate Studies

WHERE: Both Ceremonies will be held in the Screaming Eagles Arena. A map of the USI campus, featuring the Screaming Eagles Arena, can be found at USI.edu/map. Media should enter through the front doors of the Arena and will be escorted to the media platform, section 104, accessed from the second level. Elevators accessing the second level of the Arena are available if needed.

*Doors open one hour prior to each ceremony. Access to students lining up for Commencement will be cut off 10-15 minutes prior to each ceremony. Please arrive early to setup and/or interview students, faculty or staff.

 

Graduation Of The 83rd Indiana State Police Recruit Academy

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This evening, December 15, 2022, the 83rd Indiana State Police Recruit Academy completed its graduation ceremony in the Indiana State Capitol Rotunda. Opening remarks and commencement address were made by Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas G. Carter

After the commencement address, the oath of office for the 11 new State Police officers was delivered by The Honorable Justice Christopher M. Goff, of the Indiana Supreme Court. Each new trooper was then presented their badge and official identification by Superintendent Carter and his staff.

Today’s graduation marked the culmination of 23 weeks of intense training which totaled more than 1,100 hours. Some subject areas of training included criminal and traffic law, de-escalation, emergency vehicle operations, defensive tactics, firearms, impaired driving detection, scenario-based training, and a host of other academic subjects related to modern policing.

Each graduating trooper will be assigned to one of 14 State Police Posts across Indiana. Once at their assigned district, the new troopers will spend the next three months working side by side with a series of experienced Field Training Officers. The purpose of the field training is to put to practical application the training received throughout the formal academy training. Upon successful completion of field training, the new troopers will be assigned a state police patrol vehicle and will begin solo patrol in their assigned district.

* Included below is a link to the graduation ceremony program which lists each new trooper’s name and district of assignment.

83rd Recruit Academy Graduation Program