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Taxpayer Refund Bill Passes In The House, Moves To The Senate

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Taxpayer Refund Bill Passes In The House, Moves To The Senate

  • By Jack Sells, TheStatehouseFile.com
Rep. Ed DeLaney, R-Indianapolis, asks the author of House Bill 1001, Rep. Sharon Negele, R-Attica, questions about the bill. HB 1001 passed 93-2 in the House and now advances to the Senate.

Screenshot by Jack Sells, TheStatehouseFile.com.

INDIANAPOLIS—“How do I loathe thee? It comes from a poem, I think. Let me count the ways,” Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, said on Friday during the third reading of House Bill 1001.

The poem in question was “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and the actual line is, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

Unfortunately, we’ll never know if Browning approves of DeLaney parodying the sonnet to point out he has many disagreements with the bill because she died 161 years ago.

Bill Summary

For the third time in a week, the Indiana House discussed HB 1001—after passing in the Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday and having amendments added in the full House on Thursday.

On Friday, during the all-important third reading, the bill was further debated by the House and ultimately passed and will now advance to the Senate. HB 1001 would put $225 into the pockets of taxpayers and increase funding for mother and child health programs.

The bill’s primary component—the taxpayer refund—was the original inspiration behind the special session but has been overshadowed by the abortion bill, Senate Bill 1.

The topic has crept into the House discussion, generally raised by Democrats using the looming abortion ban as a reason their various amendments should be added.

On Tuesday, one Democratic amendment, brought by Rep. Chris Campbell, D-West Lafayette, increased the time women can receive postpartum care under Medicaid to one year and, on Thursday, Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, made sure the bill would start a doula reimbursement advisory board.

Republicans had an easier time getting their amendments adopted, surpassing the Democrats’ two.

The bill would now help women under Medicaid consolidate their medical visits, allow grant money that would have gone to baby boxes to go to promoting them, and force license branches to post posters reading, “Do you have questions about adoption, foster care or pregnancy? Please visit www.IN.gov.”

Democrats Criticize But Vote In Favor

Following his allusion to the poem, DeLaney summed up most of the issues Democrats have with the bill.

He said facets like the Nurse-Family Partnership funding should have already happened, and it doesn’t do enough. DeLaney also went through the math of the dependent child exemption change, saying the $100 increase isn’t a big difference.

“Let’s assume you’re a taxpayer,” DeLaney said. “And right now you’re getting a $1,500 deduction and we increase it to $1,600. The tax rate is 3.23%. Three-point-two-three percent on $100 is $3.23.”

The author of the bill, Rep. Sharon Negele, R-Attica, pointed out it’s doubled from $1,600 to $3,200 for the first year, which would be $48.

And Delaney ended his discussion of House Bill 1001 with, “Let’s vote for this bill!” and a sarcastic fist punch, drawing laughter from the crowd (his colleagues).

While every Democrat voted in favor, multiple representatives spoke about the shortcomings they saw and missed opportunities in the form of amendments.

“This body refused to remove sales tax from breastfeeding supplies and equipment, which was proposed by Rep. Bauer,” said Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington. “This body did not want to adopt Rep. Porter’s idea of not taxing on the sales tax everyday routine products that families have to buy for newborns and for kids, toddlers as they’re growing.”

“Rep. Hamilton—she wanted to have us put some money into some after-school programs,” Pierce continued. “Rep. Porter tried to help with a major tax credit for parents with a newborn because we know there are a lot of new expenses when you have to kind of get all the things you need to be able to care for a child. But that wasn’t accepted.”

Pierce listed off four other amendments that weren’t adopted on Thursday.

Rep. Sue Errington, D-Muncie, spoke positively about the bill giving those who didn’t need to file a tax return the opportunity to receive $225—as Gov. Eric Holcomb’s original plan applied only to taxpayers—and talked about a constituent named Linda who has cerebral palsy and asked before the bill was created to include a similar addition.

“Although I would like to see this bill be more than it is, along the lines that Rep. Porter explained and some of the other people who have testified, this is what we have,” Errington closed. “And so I’m going to be supporting this bill for all of us and for Linda.”

Two Republicans Spoil Unanimous Vote

Half of the “no” votes on the bill explained in the House Chamber their reasoning—half being one representative.

Rep. John Jacob, R-Indianapolis, said he would have voted for a bill that was only about the taxpayer refund, and HB 1001 is not the best way to help Hoosiers now.

“We could have reduced the gas tax, but we didn’t,” Jacob said. “We could have reduced the tax rate. We didn’t. I feel like we should have been dealing with things that we could have dealt with that are immediate instead of dealing with things that aren’t—in other words, not even knowing whether or not an abortion bill is going to be passed when we’re already dealing with issues that are related to that.”

Rep. Curt Nisly, R-Milford, was the other vote against and didn’t respond to The Statehouse File’s request for comment by press time.

House Speaker Rep. Todd Huston, R-Fishers, stepped down from his perch up front to speak forcibly for the bill.

“I guess I just want to be the one person that came up here and said I support the bill without a but,” Huston said. “I support the bill because at the end of the day, it’s our taxpayers’ money. I support the bill because I don’t want to determine exactly who gets it and who doesn’t. I think it should go back to everyone.”

Huston also insinuated the gas tax is an important reason for Indiana being “the No. 1 infrastructure state in the country”—likely a reference to the honor handed down by a CNBC study—by saying if the state suspends the gas tax, the result is “our roads crumbling.”

The House speaker agreed with Pierce that the bill is “modest” but said he sees the descriptor as a positive.

“Because you know who wasn’t modest?” Huston asked. “Who went big? Caused all this inflation for all of our families, for all Hoosiers? The folks in Washington, D.C.; they weren’t modest. They were going to do big things. Now those big things are impacting Hoosier taxpayers.”

“We didn’t get to be able to give a billion dollars back to people by accident,” Huston said. “We didn’t have the extra money to provide support to families by accident. It’s by being responsible. It’s by making the right decisions.”

FOOTNOTE: Jack Sells is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

CenterPoint Energy Seeks Approval For 130 Megawatts Of Renewable Energy To Serve Southwestern Indiana

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          CenterPoint Energy Seeks Approval For 130 Megawatts Of Renewable Energy To Serve Southwestern Indiana

July 29, 2022

(Renewables represent the third round of proposed solar agreements related to the company’s Smart Energy Future Plan.  CenterPoint Energy selects Pike County for 130-megawatt solar array development)

 ​Evansville, Ind. – July 29, 2022 – CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) today announced its Indiana-based electric and natural gas business, CenterPoint Energy Indiana South, is seeking approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to acquire a 130-megawatt (MW) solar array as part of the company’s long-term electric generation transition plan.

CenterPoint Energy has entered into an agreement with Invenergy, who will construct the 130-MW utility-owned project in Pike County, Ind., to acquire the project upon its completion. This project represents the third round of solar agreements introduced as part of the utility’s plan to meet stakeholder sustainability goals and implement a more cost-effective and diversified energy generation portfolio. The agreement is subject to IURC approval. The company was previously granted approval to build a solar array in Posey County now sized at 200 MW, as well as enter into power purchase agreements totaling more than 400 MWs in Warrick, Vermillion and Knox Counties in Indiana.

“By seeking to add another universal solar project to our renewable energy portfolio, we continue to move forward with our long-term generation transition plan and remain committed to our economic and environmental goals for the region,” said Steve Greenley, Senior Vice President of Generation Development. “If approved, with the addition of this project, CenterPoint Energy will be adding nearly 800 MWs of solar generation to power our southwestern Indiana customers.”

Michael Kaplan, Senior Vice President of Renewable Development at Invenergy, said, “Invenergy is pleased to be working with CenterPoint Energy to support the utility’s generation transition goals and to provide its customers in Indiana with clean energy. Our team looks forward to the completion of this project and growing our project portfolio within the state.”

Construction of the Pike County solar project is expected to begin upon obtaining a decision from the IURC which is expected in early 2023. The project will support approximately 130 construction jobs during the construction period and is expected to be placed into service in 2025.

“We are committed to delivering reliable energy generation in the most cost-effective manner for our customers while contributing to Indiana’s clean energy infrastructure,” added Greenley. “CenterPoint Energy would like to recognize officials in Pike County for their support of this project and efforts to bring cleaner energy solutions to our communities.”

For more information on CenterPoint Energy’s long-term electric generation transition plan, visit www.centerpointenergy.com/smartenergyfuture.

CenterPoint Energy delivers electricity to approximately 150,000 customers in southwest Indiana in all or portions of Gibson, Dubois, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick counties. Programs and services are operated under the brand CenterPoint Energy by Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Company d/b/a CenterPoint Energy Indiana South.

Forward-Looking Statement:

This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this news release, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “projection,” “should,” “target,” “will” or other similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions of management which are believed to be reasonable at the time made and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Any statements in this news release regarding future events, including anticipated cost and timing of the project, including IURC approval and construction, the number of anticipated job opportunities related to the project, the anticipated size and capacity of the generation transition plan and the mix of renewable resources for CenterPoint Energy’s generation transition, and any other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement contained in this news release speaks only as of the date of this release. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the provided forward-looking information include risks and uncertainties relating to: (1) the impact of disruption to the global supply chain; (2) financial market conditions; (3) general economic conditions; (4) the timing and impact of future regulatory and legislative decisions; (5) effects of competition; (6) weather variations; (7) changes in business plans; and (8) other factors, risks and uncertainties discussed in CenterPoint Energy’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, CenterPoint Energy’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About CenterPoint Energy
As the only investor-owned electric and gas utility based in Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is an energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. As of March 31, 2022, the company owned approximately $35 billion in assets. With approximately 8,900 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.

About Invenergy

Invenergy drives innovation in energy. Invenergy and its affiliated companies develop, own, and operate large-scale renewable and other clean energy generation and storage facilities in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Invenergy’s home office is located in Chicago, and it has regional development offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Japan, Poland, and Scotland.

Invenergy and its affiliated companies have successfully developed more than 30,000 megawatts of projects that are in operation, construction, or contracted, including wind, solar, transmission infrastructure and natural gas power generation and advanced energy storage projects. Learn about Invenergy at Invenergy.com.

 

With Abortion All But Banned, Sue Errington Doesn’t, Can’t, Won’t Give Up

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With Abortion All But Banned, Sue Errington Doesn’t, Can’t, Won’t Give Up

  • By Colleen Steffen, Executive Editor, TheStatehouseFile.com
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Her coming-of-age tale starts with a tiny Indiana town, a narrow religious upbringing, and a conservative family where men were men and women were women.

Even as a little girl growing up in Atwood, Indiana, Rep. Sue Errington, chafed under the traditional gender roles she was expected to abide by—for example, having to iron clothes inside when she would rather have been cutting grass outside. “I wanted to be me,” she says

She always felt different. Later, her mother would blame her for going away to college for this difference that had always been there. “You should have been born a boy,” her mother liked to say. Quietly at first, and then louder, her daughter asked, “Why?”

Through education and hard work and tenacity, the small-town girl eclipsed her past, rose to a position of power to help girls like she had been, became a figure of liberal inspiration as an activist, organizer, and lawmaker.

And there the book would end with an implied happy ending like a leftie “Girl of the Limberlost”—except it’s not a book. It’s Rep. Sue Errington’s life. And now comes a plot twist in the waning chapters.

Eighty-year-old Errington has devoted decades to women’s reproductive rights, from grassroots activism to Planned Parenthood to the limestone halls of the Indiana Statehouse, where she’s arguably the Democratic face of the issue. Now she’s watching Senate Bill 1, which calls for an almost total ban on abortion in Indiana, unravel that lifetime of work.

“I guess I’m over the shock,” she says. “But I’m really mad about it, sad. And I want to fight back.”

Rep. Sue Errington spent 17 years at Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky as public policy director before deciding she might effect greater change by switching sides of the table. She spent four years as a state senator before becoming a state representative in 2012.

And that’s about as much emotion as you’re going to get out of Sue Errington. If you’re expecting to find her depressed, discouraged, or even just tired in her bones at this moment in history, you’ll be disappointed.

On June 24, when the U.S. Supreme Court finally announced its overturning of Roe v. Wade after a leaked draft opinion earlier in the summer shocked many Americans, she was at home in Muncie. Her first thought was about Indiana inevitably following suit and her very limited ability to stop it.

As a Democrat, Errington is in the super minority at the Statehouse—and as a certain Hoosier pundit likes to remark, the Democrats don’t have enough power in either chamber to even call for a bathroom break. Sure enough, SB 1 cruised through Senate committee this week, and while the pushback of Democrats and pro-abortion protesters was passionate and loud, it has so far been futile. The bill is widely expected to become law before the special session must end on Aug. 14.

And yet, this isn’t a story about Errington lying down in traffic or withdrawing into bitter retirement. Her second thought, after her superior status, was about getting to back work.

“She’s super principled,” says her 20-something press secretary, Anna Groover. She remembers a professor during her freshman year in college telling her class that the most successful students show up every day no matter what. They don’t even give themselves the option of skipping because permission is a slippery slope a lot of people can’t help sliding down. It’s the best metaphor she can think of for her boss.

“It’s hard as a young person, it’s hard to grasp the potential timeframe of having to fight over these basic issues. I grew up with it settled, and it’s no longer settled,” Groover says.

“When it was settled, she still showed up.”

Errington has been showing up since her own college days, which put her on the campus of Indiana University and then the University of Michigan during the Vietnam era. She attended the latter university’s first teach-in, listened to student radicals like Jerry Rubin, and wondered at how very far she’d traveled from Atwood, Indiana.

After graduating from high school, when she sat for this portrait, Rep. Sue Errington spent formative years on the campuses of Indiana University and the University of Michigan, where the Vietnam War and other issues birthed a generation of activists.

There, she had been the oldest of four children wishing she could mow the lawn with her brothers while getting stuck ironing with her sister. The gender norms were observed and church-going was mandatory, though her dad was more likely to question a sermon’s message at Sunday lunch. During his childhood in Lexington, Kentucky, he had witnessed the Ku Klux Klan burn a cross on a neighbor’s yard, and it had shocked him into more independent thinking. “You’re your dad’s girl,” her mom would say.

While dipping her toe into political activism, Errington studied Spanish and eventually would become a teacher. She married and had two daughters of her own, settling in Muncie. But an early edition of Ms. Magazine helped crystalize what her life’s passion would be. In 1973, when Roe was passed, Ms. ran a jarring black and white police photo of a woman killed by illegal abortion. The message: Never go back.

“That really affected me,” Errington says. “She’s crouched there on the floor. I mean, it’s stark, stark. It’s just engraved on my mind. That’s what happened then.”

Rep. Sue Errington in her 20s. She studied Spanish in school and taught it at the college level before her interest in women’s issues and politics became the focus of her career.

She carries the images of other women as well. Errington soon landed at Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, where she served as public policy director for 17 years before deciding she might effect greater change by switching sides of the table. She spent four years as a state senator before becoming a state representative in 2012.

There was the trio of high school girls she saw in the Muncie Planned Parenthood parking lot, three abreast, the middle one crying as the other two tried to soothe her. She didn’t get here soon enough, Errington remembers thinking. It’s already too late.

There was the girl from the wrong side of town with no mom, a college scholarship and accidental pregnancy. She was too young to get an abortion without parental permission and too frightened to ask her father. She would be in her 40s now. Errington still wonders what became of her.

There was the pregnant woman who had learned her fetus was so malformed it would die as soon as it was born but who could not afford the procedure to terminate. The Planned Parenthood staffers rummaged through their purses to come up with the amount.

At the Statehouse, with these and many others in mind, she tends to favor environmental and reproductive rights policies. A notable recent victory was the passage of a bill she co-authored closing a legal loophole in the state’s rape laws. Less victoriously, her sex education bill failed, not for the first time—but she plans to bring it back.

“When times are tough, you can’t put your head down”—that’s probably the biggest lesson Errington has taught her, says Aimee Robertson-West, a Muncie activist who serves as local point person for Women’s March.

“It’s grit. What else can I call it,” she says. “She has laid out a roadmap for people like me to really meaningfully help people. She views every person as worthy of getting respect, and it doesn’t make a difference if they disagree or have even slandered her.”

Rep. Sue Errington poses with her daughter Amy Oversmith, her granddaughter Adelaide, and her husband, Paul, a former Ball State University physics professor, before his death in 2016. Muncie activist Aimee Robertson-West says, “A lot of people thought she would just retire [after her husband’s death], leave on a high note and do something else. And she didn’t, and I’m so glad she didn’t.” Robertson-West calls Muncie the last blue spot in East Central Indiana due to Errington’s work.

Errington represents District 34 in Delaware County, where more than 55% voted for Trump in the last election. She’s on the ballot again this November, and it’s not unusual to spot her walking Muncie neighborhoods delivering her own campaign signs. She’s spoken at all the local rallies since the Roe announcement.

Errington answers her phone, Robertson-West says—always.

“She works really hard to maintain relationships, and in this work, she finds fulfillment and connections,” she says. “To me, she is like the epitome of who I want to be when I grow up … the patience and care and grit.”

Here, perhaps, is the key to understanding Sue Errington in this moment, when so many others sharing her views feel angry and hopeless: She always loved the mother who didn’t understand her. She loved her family and wanted them to be close, so she made it a rule they could never talk politics. And it worked.

“We were able to keep the politics away from the personal, so I think that helps me as a legislator,” she says. “Having grown up at odds ideologically with my mother but being able to have a relationship, a good relationship—I think it helps me work across the aisle.”

For Errington, life isn’t a book with clear heroes and villains and a plot tying up all loose ends. People and movements are more complicated than that.

“My entire time in the state legislature, I’ve been in the minority. You don’t get discouraged. When something happens, I get reinvigorated,” she says.

“Years ago, I was told by a friend when I was really discouraged that making change is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, and that has stuck with me, and I think that keeps me working.

“I guess sometimes it takes more than one lifetime. You have to hand the baton. But keep going.”

FOOTNOTE:  Colleen Steffen is executive editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students. Prior to stints in journalism higher education, marketing/public relations, and consulting, she spent 13 years as a reporter and editor at newspapers in three states. 

The City-County Observer posted this article without bias or editing.

RECESSION: Braun Slams Biden’s “Reckless Spending Agenda” And “D.C. Incompetence”

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WASHINGTON—Senator Mike Braun released the following statement today after the GDP fell once again in the second quarter, indicating a recession.

Following a wave of inflation Senator Braun predicted would be kicked off by the $2 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, the U.S. economy has now contracted for the second consecutive quarter.

“Hoosiers didn’t need a GDP report to know that they’re paying the price for Joe Biden’s reckless spending agenda and D.C.’s incompetence. Senate Democrats didn’t go for a solution to cut wasteful spending and unleash growth, so what’s their plan? Hike taxes and spend another couple trillion we don’t have on stuff we don’t need!”—Senator Mike Braun

Last week, Senator Braun put forth a comprehensive solution to fight inflation by balancing our federal budget to unleash American prosperity and energy independence. The final vote on the Senate floor was 34-65.

 

Attorney General Todd Rokita And Team Achieve Fourth Straight Win For Indiana Laws Protecting Unborn babies and women’s health

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A federal appeals court today handed Attorney General Todd Rokita the state’s fourth legal victory this month in cases involving Indiana abortion laws.

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Indiana can immediately begin enforcing a law requiring the notification of the parents of minors who obtain abortions — a law previously enjoined by a federal district court before it could ever go into effect.

“This pro-life victory is not just a win for me or this office,” Attorney General Rokita said. “It’s a win for all Hoosiers who believe in protecting the sanctity of life, the health of women and the crucial importance of families.”

Indiana law generally requires the consent of adult parents in order for minor females to obtain abortions, but the law exempts minors who successfully persuade a juvenile court that they are mature enough to make the decision for themselves.

The parental-notification law requires that even in those cases, however, the adult parents must be notified that their minor child is undergoing the procedure. The law does not require that notification in cases in which the juvenile court finds that it would endanger the well-being of the minor undergoing the abortion. A minor in Indiana is defined as someone under age 18.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, Attorney General Rokita has secured three earlier wins for Indiana pro-life laws.

On July 7, Attorney General Rokita achieved another historic pro-life legal win when a federal district court granted his motion to lift an injunction on dismemberment abortions, which occur well into an unborn baby’s development.

Then, on July 11, a U.S. appellate court vacated judgments in the Whole Woman’s Health Alliance v. Rokita case that had invalidated several other Indiana laws protecting unborn children and the health of their mothers.

On July 18, a U.S. district court vacated a judgment against an Indiana law prohibiting abortions sought on the basis of the unborn child’s race, sex or disability.

“I look forward to working together with all Hoosiers of good will to continue building a culture of life in Indiana,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Let it be clear that we value the life of every individual, born and unborn. Let us work to ensure that everyone has the best possible chance at the best possible life, and certainly let us give special priority and emphasis to the mothers bringing these children into the world. Truly, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”

Documents related to today’s court actions are attached.

CATS & DOGS

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CATS & DOGS

GAVEL GAMUT By Jim Redwine

July 30, 2022

The American Veterinary Medicine Association estimated that as of 2021 Americans had 77 million dogs and 58 million cats as domestic pets. If you currently own or have owned a pet you know the downs and ups of pet ownership, such as having to walk them in blizzards, feed and water them, clean up after them and pay veterinary bills. Or, as Peg might say, “You know, sort of like a husband.”

On the other hand, you could eschew organic pets and buy a pet rock. Pet rocks were marketed first by Gary Dahl (1936-2015). He came up with the idea while sitting in a tavern in California in 1975. Is anyone surprised the Genesis of such an idea occurred in the land of fruits and nuts? But Dahl had the last laugh as he made enough money selling what anybody could pick up for free to buy a tavern in Los Gatos (The Cats), California. Dahl named his bar Carry Nations to mock the prohibitionist Carrie Nation (1846-1911).

Dahl’s friends were constantly complaining about vet bills, the cost of dog and cat food and having to clean up after their pets. Dahl advertised his pet rocks as needing no maintenance and they never die. Also, Gentle Reader, if you, as have I, ever owned a beloved pet you know the very real sense of loss a whole family and often friends too experience when a long-time pet dies from a lingering illness or even worse when a sudden and unexpected loss, say being hit by a car, occurs.

Peg and I just did not want to go through such trauma again after we lost Haley, our schnauzer. So we no longer have a dog or a cat although we have had several of each. It also hurts when friends or family lose their pets. We know there is nothing we can do to assuage the heartache but, I hope, we listen attentively and neither discount the loss or, much worse, say, “Get on with things, it was just an animal.” I am aware there are many other pets that people are fond of besides cats and dogs. However, a very high majority of domestic pets are dogs and cats.

Just last week one of our nieces lost a long-time good friend, Richard Parker the Cat, and another good friend of ours lost a one-time stray cat that he named Marvin after he had allowed the waif into his home. Both our niece and our friend felt the heavy body blow and now know all any of us can do is commiserate and encourage the owners to concentrate on the joy Richard Parker and Marvin brought with them when they slowly worked into family status.

Another well-meaning but counter-productive bit of advice we often give family and friends who lose a beloved pet is, “I know it hurts now, but perhaps you should get another cat right-a-way.” While we probably do not believe animals are interchangeable, our niece and friend might take our sympathy for a lack of appreciation of the pet’s unique qualities. We could not even fathom such advice for a lost child but somehow we sometimes let loyal pets be thought of as we might widgets in an Econ class.

So, what do we say and do when a family member or a good friend loses a good pet? I suggest we can affirm their deep commitment to the pet by listening and helping to fill the gap with shared activities or just a quiet cup of coffee. And of course, here at JPeg Osage Ranch, while we no longer have cats or dogs, we do have skunks, armadillos and various other not-so-cuddly uninvited guests!

FOOTNOTE: For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.James Redwine.comb Or “Like/Follow” us on Facebook & Twitter at JPegOsageRanch

WEEKLY DEATH REPORT FOR VANDERBURGH COUNTY

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weekly death 2022-07-15 TO 2022-7-29

EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT

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EPD

 

EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT

MEDIA

 

 Barricaded Suspect/SBI Domestic Battery Arrested

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 Barricaded Suspect/SBI Domestic Battery 

SUMMARY 

On July 28th, around 11:15 p.m., Evansville Police Officers were dispatched to the 3900 block of N. Fulton Ave. in reference to a Domestic Violence in progress. Officers located the Victim outside who stated that her boyfriend, Jayvontae Kelly, beat her up. Kelly punched, kicked, and hit the Victim with a piece of exercise equipment, which rendered her unconscious. Kelly then proceeded to stomp on her head. The Victim had visible injuries and officers called for AMR to provide medical aid to her. 

Officers tried to make contact with Kelly, who was inside the residence. Kelly refused to answer the door but started yelling at officers. Dispatch notified officers that one of Kelly’s family members called and stated that Kelly had armed himself with a gun. The situation turned into a barricaded gunman. 

EPD SWAT and Negotiators were called to the scene and a perimeter was set up around the residence. A negotiator made contact with Kelly and he made threatening statements about shooting police. The negotiator was eventually able to convince Kelly to put his weapon away and come out of the residence. Kelly finally agreed to come out of the residence but began throwing items at officers and would not comply with their commands to stop and get on the ground. 

Kelly was eventually taken into custody with the aid of a CEW (conducted electrical weapon) but did not sustain any injuries. Kelly was transported to the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center and booked in on the charges of Domestic Battery with Serious Bodily Injury, Intimidation, and Resisting Law Enforcement. 

Vanderburgh County Arrest Warrants

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Vanderburgh County Arrest Warrants

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