EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
The Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office, Mt. Vernon Police Department and the Indiana State Police are investigating the death of an infant found injured in Mt. Vernon, IN.
The infant was taken to St. Vincent Hospital where she died of her injuries on 09-08-2022. The infant has been identified as Naiarii Kaczmarek, age 9 months. Â The Indiana State Police can provide updates when they become available.
Steven W. Lockyear
Coroner
Vanderburgh County Indiana
WASHINGTON – Senator Mike Braun released the following statement about President Joe Biden’s event this afternoon at the White House billed as a “celebration†of the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act,†a tax-and-spend spree that continues Biden’s Inflation Bomb agenda that has produced the highest rate of inflation in 40 years, crushing Hoosiers with high prices on everything. As millions of Americans make sacrifices to make ends meet, President Biden and his allies in D.C. continue to spend money we don’t have on their pet projects.
“Today, Joe Biden is holding a ‘celebration’ for his latest inflation bomb spending bill, as new consumer numbers show another month of crushing high prices. This is an insult to every American struggling to make ends meet this month.†– Senator Mike Braun
Earlier today, Senator Braun released the following statement on the Consumer Price data showing higher than expected inflation.
“Inflation is still high, which is surprising to folks on Wall Street but not to anybody on Main Street. Joe Biden and the D.C. crew don’t care how much it hurts you as long as they can keep printing money for their pet projects. We have to grow a backbone and stop spending.†– Senator Mike Braun
Earlier this year, Senator Braun introduced The Braun Budget: a balanced federal budget that would tackle the inflation crisis by reducing government spending and unleashing American growth.
USI “Engineers In Action” Chapter Helps Design And Build Pedestrian Bridge
September 15, 2022
Students representing the University of Southern Indiana chapter of Engineers in Action (EIA) spent six weeks, June 17 through the end of July, building a pedestrian bridge in Bolivia as part of a project with Duke University to connect isolated homesteads, including 300 adults and elementary students, to two schools, a health center, a farmer’s market and other necessities in the village.
Three USI students, led by Dr. Jason Hill, Associate Professor of Engineering, and Justin Amos, Lab Manager, traveled to Japo, Bolivia, and assisted in the construction of a pedestrian bridge spanning an 80-foot gorge. The former bridge on site was extremely dangerous to cross due to rainy seasons and frequent, swift currents in the area. The new 105-meter bridge was constructed at 14,300 feet of elevation in a remote area of the Andes Mountains.
“There was almost one year from project application to bridge inauguration,†says Xenia M. Adames Chanis, Project Manager and USI senior. “To me, this process meant having five weekly meetings, taking online courses, teaching, writing technical reports, giving presentations, and laughs and tears. While on campus, being the leader felt like an immense responsibility. In Japo, Bolivia, it felt like a blessing.â€
The pedestrian bridge was completed by Chanis, who served as Project Manager; sophomore Miguel A. Pinto Mendoza, who served as Cultural Relations Manager; and sophomore Josiah Hollis, who served as Quality Control Manager. Chanis and Mendoza both had Duke counterparts for the project, and Duke’s student team was comprised of seven students total. USI and Duke students coordinated on all aspects of the project.
All three students talked about the experience they received working on the project and how it will benefit their education and future careers. Chanis has already secured a position with Berry Global in Evansville while finishing classes. Mendoza plans to serve as Project Manager for the upcoming 2023 bridge building process. Hollis said he was honored to be a part of a project of this stature the summer after his freshman year—an experience he says he did not think he would have been able to find as an underclassman at another university.
Prior to arrival, students participated in design meetings and technical reviews with EIA instructors and project leaders. Financial support for the USI Bridge Project was provided by the USI Engineering Department within the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education.
“I am very proud of the incredible work completed by the student team,†Hill says. “Thanks to their leadership and dedication to this project, the Japo, Bolivia, community now has year-round access to critical resources.â€
During the six-week project, the team worked, ate, slept and socialized with the local community, learning the language and customs of its people. While cultural and language barriers presented challenges, they also provided opportunities to connect. “It’s so much more than building a bridge,†Amos says. “You immerse yourself in these communities and become a part of the culture. It’s an experience that is unmatched.â€
USI’s EIA chapter is a collegiate program of the larger EIA program that works with professionals to improve the lives of people in need through sustainable programs that build their capacity while also helping to develop global awareness among program participants.
In 2021, USI’s EIA chapter spent two weeks in West Virginia building a vehicular bridge to assist in rebuilding communities across the state damaged by high water events, including severe flooding in 2016 and 2017. The USI team was one of four teams participating in the larger EIA West Virginia Bridge Project, and the only team comprised of a single university. Other participating universities included Duke University, the University of Iowa, Cornell University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, Rutgers University, Georgia Tech and Cal Poly. In 2019, USI students and faculty traveled to eSwatini in South Africa to participate in an EIA Bridge project mentoring experience, assisting Cornell University in the build of a 90-meter footbridge to allow villagers to safely cross a dangerous river. In 2023, the chapter plans to return to eSwatini or Bolivia for another bridge project.
Indianapolis (Sept. 14, 2022)  – Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) announced that $950,000 was awarded to four Indiana non-profit organizations to administer the Indiana Housing First Program. The organizations will provide tenant-based rental assistance and supportive services to individuals and households with a serious mental illness or a chronic chemical addiction who are also facing a housing crisis.Â
“Affordable housing is vital to ensure Hoosiers can live, work and play right here in Indiana,†Crouch said. “The grantees will only add value to our network of housing partners to continue providing housing and services to Hoosiers recovering from addiction and mental illness.â€
The Indiana Housing First Program was established in 2017 to increase housing stability for individuals and households with a serious and persistent mental illness, a chronic chemical addiction, or a serious and persistent mental illness with a co-occurring chronic chemical addiction, who are also facing a housing crisis. The program can also help individuals who are exiting a residential treatment program or who could exit a residential treatment program with access to affordable housing and supportive services.
Situations which constitute a housing crisis may include living on the street or a place not meant for human habitation, residing in temporary housing such as an emergency shelter or transitional housing, staying temporarily with family or friends, facing an imminent court-ordered eviction or exiting an institutional setting.
Indiana Housing First Program funds were awarded to these four organizations:
The Indiana Housing First Program uses a housing-first model to quickly connect participants to permanent housing without preconditions or barriers to entry such as sobriety or participation in supportive services. Program participants must have a lease for a rental unit in their community and are required to pay a percentage of their monthly income towards the rent. The Program employs an evidence-based case management approach designed to build long-lasting support and increase the impact of assistance during the time of transition. The Program has helped nearly 400 households obtain permanent housing throughout Indiana.Â
Applications to administer the Indiana Housing First Program are accepted on an annual basis through a Request for Qualifications.
PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. – University of Southern Indiana teed off the 2022-23 campaign in fine fashion, tying for sixth in the Golfweek Fall Challenge at the True Blue Golf Club in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. The Screaming Eagles completed the three-rounds with 858 (284, 293, 281), finished 22 strokes off the pace set by challenge-winner Jacksonville State University’s 836 (283-275-278)
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The 54-hole 858 is five strokes off a USI three-round record (853 at the 2021 McKendree Bearcat Dual), while the third-round 281 was on stroke off the Eagles’ single-round mark (280 at the 2021 Music City Invitational).
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Individually, senior Zach Williams (Mt. Vernon, Illinois) had a record-setting tournament. Williams, who tied for fifth, broke his own USI single-round record by four strokes with a first-round 65 (-7) and 54-hole mark by three strokes with a 208 (65-74-69). The 54-hole record of 211 was established by Williams at the Murray State Invitational and sophomore Jason Bannister (Laguna Niguel, California) at the McKendree Bearcat Dual last fall.
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Bannister also got off to a great start in 2022-23 and tied for 19th, shooting a three-under 213 (72-71-70). Junior Jace Day (Bloomington, Indiana) was third on the Eagles with a 219 (75-73-71), which was good enough to tie for 44th.
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The Eagles return to action September 26-27 in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Derek Dolenc Invitational at the Gateway National Golf Club.
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