Todd Rokita Wins Another Settlement To Combat Robocalls
| Attorney General Todd Rokita wins another historic settlement to combat robocalls
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita today announced a historic settlement with Startel Communication LLC and its CEO. Attorney General Rokita filed suit in October 2021 against Startel, an Indiana company, and several other defendants for allegedly assisting and facilitating foreign robocallers in India, the Philippines, and Singapore who robocalled Hoosiers. Attorney General Rokita and Startel came to a resolution that will protect Hoosiers from more illegal calls. The resolution requires Startel and Ms. Hall, the CEO, to exit the telecommunications industry forever. Further, Startel and Hall are prohibited from operating or working with a telecommunications company. “The people of Indiana are tired of being bombarded by robocalls, and this settlement is a win for Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “If telecom companies are unwilling to stop the robocalls flooding into the US, we have no problem putting them out of business for good.†In this case, the robocallers allegedly made over 4.8 million phone calls to Hoosiers and hundreds of millions of calls to other states across the country. The robocallers allegedly operated a variety of scams, including IRS and Social Security Administration imposter scams, legal action or arrest scams, computer support scams, Apple support scams, and Amazon subscription scams.  Attorney General Rokita offers the following tips to avoid scams and unwanted calls:Â
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Eagles and Hawks Prepare for “Battle In The Water​​​​​​” Today​
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving teams will host Quincy University in a dual meet on Saturday, October 22, at 1pm at the USI Aquatic Center.
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USI Men
USI Men’s Swimming & Diving fell in their inaugural meet against Valparaiso University on October 1, 156-124. The Screaming Eagles captured their first-ever event victory in the first-ever event in program history by winning the 100-yard medley relay with a time of 1:37.92. The winning team was comprised of freshmen Colten Agdeppa (Redding, California), freshman Caleb Davis (Spring, Texas), freshman Gregory Benson (Plainfield, Indiana), and sophomore Payton Buse (Lynnville, Indiana).
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USI was victorious in five other events on the day. Freshman Carson Faley (Dixon, Illinois) won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:46.38. Agdeppa took home the win in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 55.65. Buse was victorious in the 50-yard freestyle with a final time of 21.71. The Eagles took back-to-back mens events as Gabriel Groves (New Carlisle, Indiana) took the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.04. Faley won his second event of the day as he took home the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:57.22.
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Freshman Lane Pollack (Boonville, Indiana) took both diving events on the day. Pollack took the 1-meter diving with a final score of 264.75 and the 3-meter diving with a score of 231.07. Pollack was named the Summit League TicketSmarter Peak Performance Diver of the Week after his performance against Valparaiso. He also competed against the University of Evansville on Octobter 14, placing second in both the 3-meter and 1-meter. In the 3-meter Pollack finished with a score of 216.53 and in the 1-meter he finished with a final score of 223.58.
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USI Women
USI Women’s Swimming & Diving earned their first-ever program victory over Valparaiso on October 1, 188-92. The Eagles would go on to win 14 out of the 16 total women’s events on the day. Freshmen Hannah Gardner (Bowling Green, Kentucky) and Sarah-Catherine Dawson (Prospect, Kentucky) led the team with three first-place finishes each. Gardner took the 100-yard breaststroke, 1:11.83, the 200-yard breaststroke, 2:34.20, and was a part of the 200-yard medley relay team, 1:53.78. Dawson joined Gardner on the 200-yard medley relay team while also taking the 100-yard butterfly, 1:00.85, and the 200-yard butterfly, 2:14.65.
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The other members of the 200-yard medley team included freshmen Makana Goss (Noblesville, Indiana) and Paige Neal (Owensboro, Kentucky). Goss also won the 200-yard backstroke, 2:14.30, and Neal took home the 50-yard freestyle, 25.74. USI had three other girls take home victories on the day. Freshman Mattilynn Smith (Morgantown, Kentucky) took both the 1000-yard freestyle, 11:00.85, and the 500-yard freestyle, 5:21.81. Freshman Adele Schnautz (Evansville, Indiana) took the 200-yard freestyle, 2:04.55, as well as the 200-yard IM, 2:17.08. Freshman Kate Hilgarth (Indianapolis, Indiana) took home the 100-yard backstroke for the Eagles with a time of 1:01.44.
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Freshman Autumn Turley (Hobart, Indiana) took home a pair of victories in diving for the Eagles. Turley took the 1-meter diving with a score of 173.40 and the 3-meter diving with a final score of 155.92. Against Evansville, Turley finished in third in both the 3-meter and 1-meter dives. She record a score of 149.03 in the 3-meter and a score of 162.90 in the 1-meter.
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Quincy Hawks
The Quincy Men’s Swimming team has competed in three meets this season. The Hawks fell to Lewis University, 151-43, and Saint Ambrose University (Iowa), 110-86, in their two dual meets. They also finished in second out of four teams at the University of Saint Mary (Kan.) Relays. The Quincy Women’s Swimming team has competed in the same three meets as the men. They fell to Lewis, 147-37, and Saint Ambrose, 145-42. The women also finished fifth out of five teams at the University of Saint Mary (Kan.) Relays.
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Tickets will be available at the door- $5 for adults 18+; $3 for ages 3-17; and those under 3 are free. USI students and employees are free. Doors will open at 11:30am, and the USI Aquatic Center’s Capacity is 285.
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EULOGY FOR THE VICTIMS OF OCTOBER 1878
EULOGY FOR THE VICTIMS OF OCTOBER 1878
GAVEL GAMUTÂ By Jim Redwine
I was born in Osage County, Oklahoma at a time Black people, then called Colored, could not eat, go to school or use the same restrooms as white people. Ironically, they were also unwelcome in our churches. Peg and I now make our home in Osage County after moving from Posey County, Indiana. I served as an elected judge in Posey County for almost forty years. We have many good friends in both counties.
Oklahoma, as most southern and southwestern states, has had numerous instances of racism, most notably the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. I personally remember the bus station and the pool hall in my hometown of Pawhuska.
When my brother, Philip, and I took the bus to our father’s family home in Wilburton, Oklahoma I was six years old. I still remember the separate restrooms and water fountains for whites only and Colored and how I could not lie down in that long seat in the back of the bus as it was where Coloreds had to sit.
As to the pool hall in Pawhuska, even after the 1954 Supreme Court case of Brown vs. The Topeka, Kansas Board of Education, Colored boys could not enter through the front door and they were restricted to playing pool as snooker was reserved for us whites.
Posey County, Indiana used to bus its Colored kids to Evansville for education and New Harmony, our longtime hometown, was at one time a “Sundown Town†where Blacks were not welcome after dark.
In other words, there was plenty of prejudice to go around in most of America for most of our history. That was why I, as the Posey Circuit Court Judge in 1993, was not totally incredulous to discover that right outside my courthouse door in Mt. Vernon, Indiana five Black men were murdered by a well-regulated group of approximately 200 white men on October 12, 1878.
The Posey County legal system actively covered up the crimes and the editors of the two local newspapers even interviewed the victims just before they were murdered and yet the papers did not print the names of the responsible parties. In fact, editor John Leffel called for the “Dark pall of oblivion to cover the entire matter.†And, with the acquiescence of the legal system and the citizenry, that is just what happened.
But on Sunday, October 23, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. a Committee led by Mt. Vernon High School student Sophie Kloppenburg and consisting of numerous, mainly, Posey County citizens, such as Tom Guggenheim, Chuck and Bonnie Minnette, Ben Uchitelle and Betty Hart with the cooperation of the elected members of the Posey County Board of Commissioners, dedicated a memorial to the Black men who were murdered, seven in all, and the more than 100 Black residents who were driven from their homes under threats of death.Â
I appreciate the efforts of all those who have for many years sought to bring these matters to light and who deserve credit for their courage and concern for justice.
As Peg and I are currently in the country of Georgia working with the Georgian judiciary we were unable to attend the dedication ceremony. Had we been able to attend and had we had the opportunity to speak, the following eulogy is what we would have offered to the victims.
Vazquez breaks program kills record against Bulldogs
Aces look for weekend split on Saturday
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Alondra Vazquez became the University of Evansville program kills leader as the Purple Aces faced Drake on Friday evening inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
Entering the match with 1,703 kills in her career, Vazquez quickly broke the mark before finishing the night with 13 as the Aces dropped a 3-0 decision to the Bulldogs. Giulia Cardona added 12 kills, 11 digs and 4 service aces. Kora Ruff finished the night with 32 assists.
Set 1 – DU 27, UE 25
History was made in the opening frame when Alondra Vazquez recorded the 1,707th kill in her illustrious career. Right off the bat, Vazquez recorded three kills to put the Aces up 5-3. Drake countered to take their first lead at 6-5 and a competitive set would ensue. Multiple lead changes saw both squads try to take control.
Evansville went up 14-12 on a Cardona kill while the Bulldogs made their way back to go in front by a 16-14 margin. Cardona would come up big once again, recording an ace that knotted the score at 17-17. Drake retook a 22-21 edge, forcing the second Aces time out of the set. An ace from Kora Ruff, coupled with kills by Cardona and Vazquez, gave UE set point at 24-22. The Bulldogs took a time out and regrouped to storm back to finish the set with a 27-25 win.
Set 2 – DU 27, UE 25
An ace by Haley Bush saw Drake open the second game on a 7-4 run. That is when Giulia Cardona once again took control. Following a kill, Cardona recorded three aces in a row to put UE on top at 8-7. The teams battled to a 12-12 tie when Drake scored three in a row to retake the 3-point advantage.
Things continued to go Drake’s way with a 21-17 edge, but Laura Ruiz added an ace to highlight a 3-0 stretch that cut the deficit to just one. After DU scored a pair, it was the Aces who had the big run. Scoring four in a row, Evansville had set point. Unfortunately, just as they did in the first set, the Bulldogs utilized a late rally to take the set.
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Set 3 – DU 25, UE 15
Looking for an early finish to the evening, Drake was on fire to open the third frame, registering six of the first seven points. Kills from Vazquez and Hannah Watkins were followed by an ace from Kora Ruff to make it a 2-point game. Once again, the Bulldogs countered to extend their advantage to 20-9 before finishing with a 25-15 win to take the match.
At 5 p.m. on Saturday, UE welcomes Northern Iowa to Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
UE Women To Host “Braun Intercollegiate”
Tournament Set For Monday And Tuesday
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Fall action comes to a close for the University of Evansville women’s golf team with the annual Braun Intercollegiate at Oak Meadow Country Club in Evansville.
Set for Monday and Tuesday, the tournament will feature one round of 18 holes each day. Play opens with a 10 a.m. shotgun start for each round. Par is 72 and the yardage is 6,032.
This year’s field includes Austin Peay, Bellarmine, Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, Evansville, UIC, Indiana State, Lindenwood, Murray State, USI and Tennessee State.
Mallory Russell was the top performer for the Purple Aces in their last tournament. Russell recorded a 3-round score of 232 at the Coyote Creek Classic in Bartonville, Ill. on her way to a tie for 10th place.
Allison Enchelmayer scored a 240 to tie for 25th while Kate Petrova and Magdalena Borisova finished 34th and 35th, respectively. Enchelmayer and Borisova paced the team in the final day of action at the event, carding rounds of 78.
Board of School Trustees of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Meeting
 The Board of School Trustees of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation will meet for the regularly scheduled Board meeting Monday, October 24, 2022 at 5:30 PM in the Board Room of the EVSC Administration Building located at 951 Walnut Street, Evansville, IN. Board meetings can also be observed by tuning to EVSC’s radio station, 90.7 WPSR or live streamed online at https://www.wpsrhd.com/.Â
Prior to the regularly scheduled Board meeting, three members of the Board, along with district administrators, will hold a Town Hall beginning at 5:00 PM. This Town Hall is for Vanderburgh County residents to speak directly with Board members in attendance about issues involving EVSC schools. The Town Hall will be held in the Technology and Innovation Center located at 951 Walnut Street, Evansville, IN. Members of the public who would like to attend the Town Hall should register by completing the Town Hall Registration Form located on our website at district.evscschools.com.Â
Anderson reaches historic milestone in three-set loss USI falls to Little Rock, 3-0
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Junior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) earned her 1,000th career dig Friday night at Jack Stephens Center to become the 13th player in program history to reach the feat. She also joins an elite club after earning 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her tenure as a Screaming Eagle, becoming just the fifth player to make the list. Despite Anderson’s accomplishments, University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (1-20, 1-9 OVC) was edged out in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-18) loss to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (6-18, 3-8 OVC).
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The opening frame was all Little Rock as USI falls, 25-18. The Trojans started with an early 6-0 run before a kill from Anderson stopped the bleeding. Little Rock doubled up USI with a 10-5 lead before sophomore middle blocker Lauren O’Neill (Covington, Indiana) tallied back-to-back kills to cut the deficit. The Eagles were able to shorten the gap even more after a block from O’Neill and Anderson made it 14-12. Despite an admirable comeback, USI watched Little Rock storm away with the lead, scoring 11 of the final 17 points to earn the first-set win. The Eagles recorded 11 kills, 14 digs, and four blocks in the opening frame.
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Anderson was able to capture her 1,000th dig despite USI dropping in the second set, 25-20. The Eagles earned their first lead of the match after Anderson and sophomore middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) threw down a block to make it 2-1. USI extended their lead after a pair of Anderson kills made it 6-3 before Little Rock pushed back and tied the set at eight apiece. After a back-and-forth battle between the two sides, the set stood at an 18-18 tie before the Trojans went on a 7-2 run to seal the Eagles’ fate and take a 2-0 match lead. USI put up another double-digit kill and dig total with 10 kills and 14 digs.
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USI could not get things rolling in the third frame as Little Rock strolled to a 25-18 victory. Sophomore outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) threw down a kill to earn the first point for the Eagles. Both teams were tied at nine apiece before the Trojans went on a 4-0 surge that made it 13-9. USI was able to cut the deficit to three before Little Rock went on a short 3-0 stint that resulted in a 19-13 lead that the Eagles could not recover from and ended with a Trojans’ victory. USI nabbed 14 kills in the third set, the most earned in the match for the Eagles.
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Anderson recorded her ninth double-double this season after posting a match-high 17 kills and a team-high 12 digs along with an ace and four blocks. She was the lone Eagle to earn double-digit kills and digs. Leading the passing game was junior outside/right side hitter/setter Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois) who ended the night with 13 assists. Downing earned a team-high five blocks while junior libero/defensive specialist Audrey Crowder (Avon, Indiana) contributed with one ace.
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The Eagles ended the match with 35 kills, 32 assists, and two aces while providing 36 digs and seven blocks. The Trojans tallied 45 kills, 45 assists, and four aces with 44 digs and eight blocks.
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