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Softball sweeps Bulldogs to clinch series

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Aces to face Tennessee Tech on Tuesday

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – An exciting day of action at Cooper Stadium saw the University of Evansville softball team sweep Drake to clinch the first Missouri Valley Conference series of the season.

UE (17-8, 2-1 MVC) defeated the Bulldogs (6-15, 1-2 MVC) by finals of 5-3 and 12-3.  Over the course of the doubleheader, Haley Woolf had three hits, two runs and two RBI while Mackenzie McFeron registered four RBI in the two games.  Jenna Lis and Jessica Fehr picked up three hits and three RBI apiece.

Eagles complete first spring season tournament

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USI finishes 8th out of 12 teams

GEORGETOWN, Ky.— University of Southern Indiana Women’s Golf settled with an eight-place finish out of 12 teams Monday at the Saginaw Valley State Spring Invitational hosted by Saginaw Valley State University at the Cherry Blossom Golf Club.
 
The Screaming Eagles finished its first tournament of the spring season shooting a two-day score of 676 (+100). USI started off round one shooting a 343 (+55) to sit in eight place. Day two saw little improvement for the Eagles as it shot a 333 (+45) to maintain an eighth-place finish. USI did find success in par-three’s, averaging the third best in the invitational (3.53).
 
Sophomore Katelyn Sayyalinh (Rockford, Illinois) led all USI women golfers after shooting a 36-hole score of 164 (+20) to claim a tie for 27th out of 69 competitors. Sayyalinh shot an impressive 81 (+9) in round one to sit in the top-20 but dropped 10 spots after shooting an 83 (+11) in round two.

Another top performer for the Eagles was senior Hannah Herma (DeMotte, Indiana) after shooting a two-day score of 168 (+24) to capture 35th place. Herma started off slow carding an 86 (+14) in round one before surging in round two with an impressive 82 (+10) to bump up in the standings.

University of Findlay was crowned victorious at the Saginaw Valley State Spring Invitational with a two-day team score of 605 while holding six of the top 10 player spots in the leader board. Kristina Kniesly of Findlay won the invitational shooting a two-day score of 146 (+2).

Trailblazers begin conference play with road win at Spoon River

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CANTON, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer baseball team began their Mid-West Athletic Conference play Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader at Spoon River College in Canton, Ill.

The Trailblazers fell behind early and battled back to take game one 8-6 over the host Snappers.

Game two of the doubleheader was suspended after the 5th inning due to darkness, with Vincennes holding a 14-9 lead. The game will be resumed tomorrow, March 21, before the scheduled doubleheader at 2 p.m. eastern.

Spoon River was the first to get on the board in the bottom of the first with a two-run home run.

Vincennes tied the game the next inning with a run driven in by freshman Nick Williams (Alexandria, Ind.) and a sacrifice fly by freshman Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.).

Spoon River broke the tie with a run in the bottom of the second and the Trailblazers responded back with four runs in the third.

Freshman Kaden Elliott (New Albany, Ind.) drove in a run on a fielder’s choice and Nick Williams came through with an RBI single. Ethan Burdette finished off the inning with a two-RBI double.

The Snappers tried to attempt a comeback with a run in the third and fourth to cut the VU lead to 6-5.

VU freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.) drove in another VU run in the sixth with an RBI double as sophomore Peyton Lane (New Paris, Ohio) came around to score.

Vincennes would score another run in the seventh as Ethan Burdette hit his second RBI double of the day and his fourth RBI of the game.

“What Ethan did today at the plate was phenomenal,” VU Assistant Baseball Coach Brian Campbell said. “He’s been in a little bit of a jam. He’s hitting the ball well, he’s just been hitting it at people and as a hitter that can get very discouraging because you know you are doing everything right, you are just hitting right at guys. But he continued to swing the bat and continued to have confidence in himself and he had four RBI’s today. He’s a big part of getting our whole lineup going. When he’s hitting well and getting on base, it helps us out a lot.”

The VU bullpen closed out the game to give the Trailblazers the 8-6 win and their first conference win of the season.

Sophomore Connor VanLannen (Clinton, Ind.) got the start on the mound for the Trailblazers Sunday afternoon, throwing 5.2 innings, giving up six runs on four hits and striking out eight Spoon River batters.

Sophomore Braedon Nichols (Sullivan, Ind.) entered from the bullpen to throw 2.1 innings, allowing only one hit and striking out four.

Sophomore Luke Osborn (Perryville, Ind.) took the mound in the ninth and picked up the save, striking out one batter in the inning.

“We knew that this series wasn’t going to be easy,” Campbell said. “Spoon River has been playing pretty well lately. Our guys knew that this is a Conference series and everybody needs to be up and ready and our guys have matured a lot since the start of the season. They have found ways to compete and that’s exactly what happened today.”

“We went down early, but we knew that we’ve been swinging the bats well and we put pressure on them,” Campbell added. “We had situations where we could bunt and put the ball in play and that’s really what got us going today. Once we got the momentum we didn’t let it go.”

“VanLannen pitched well but didn’t have the greatest of days. Once we got through the lineup three times we made the move to Nichols and did a great job and did his part. Then Osborn came in and closed the door. Our guys just fought really well and flat out competed and that’s how we ended up on top.”

Game two of the doubleheader was suspended after the fifth inning due to darkness, with the Trailblazers holding a 14-9 lead.

VU fell behind early in game two of the day after giving up eight runs in the second inning.

The Trailblazers battled back with a two- RBI single by sophomore Dale Coy (Evansville, Ind.) and a three-run home run by Colton Evans.

Colin Long picked up a pair of singles in the fourth inning as the Trailblazers used a seven-run inning to take a 13-8 lead.

Vincennes added a run on a sacrifice fly by Kaden Elliott to give the Trailblazers a 14-9 advantage.

The game will resume tomorrow, Monday, March 21, before the scheduled final two games of the four-game set at 11 a.m. eastern, with Vincennes batting in the top of the sixth and Colin Long, Peyton Lane and Colton Evans due up.

“Our guys know that tomorrow is going to be a long day,” Campbell said. “We are going to be at the field at nine in the morning taking batting practice and getting ready to go. We’ve just got to take care of business. We are in a really good spot, going into the sixth with a five run lead, our guys have been seeing the ball well and we’ve gotten into their bullpen and have been making them use some guys out of the pen.”

“At the end of the day we just have to make the routine plays,” Campbell added. “This team is going to hit and put the ball in play and as long as we can make the routine plays and not give them any extra outs, I can see us being pretty successful at finishing off game two.”

“We are going to take care of our guys after that, make sure that they are well rested and they are just going to have to dog it out. This is what JuCo baseball is sometimes. You have to be able to handle the X-factor and our guys are just going to have to be ready to play and ready to compete. Spoon River isn’t just going to hand us any games. Every Conference game is meaningful, so we have to just continue to carry on the energy that we had today and continue to compete.”

 

Vanderburgh County Arrest Warrants

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Vanderburgh County Arrest Warrants

Legislators Ask Holcomb For Special Session Depending On Supreme Court Abortion Decision

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Darron Cummings/AP/Shutterstock (11717541e) Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb delivers his State of the State address virtually, in Indianapolis State of the State, Indianapolis, United States - 19 Jan 2021

Legislators Ask Holcomb For Special Session Depending On Supreme Court Abortion Decision

  • By Taylor Wooten, TheStatehouseFile.com
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INDIANAPOLIS—Over 100 Indiana lawmakers are asking Gov. Eric Holcomb to call a special session if the U.S. Supreme Court rules that states can restrict abortion in a case expected to reach a final decision before the end of the year.

In an open letter, the legislators made it clear that the intent is to restrict abortion in the state.

“As a state that recognizes that life is a precious gift that should never be neglected, it is our desire that you, as the governor of Indiana, ensure that those values are upheld without delay,” the letter said.

The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, could overturn parts or all of Roe v. Wade. The case deals with the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi state law outlawing abortion operations after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. If the Supreme Court upholds that the law is constitutional, it would be a green light to states to create restrictions surrounding abortion.

According to research by the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights organization, Indiana is classified as a state “likely to ban abortion,” surrounded by several the institute has classified as “certain to ban abortion.” Illinois is the nearest state that is expected to have a legal abortion.

The Republican supermajority has previously run into issues trying to restrict abortion in the state.

In 2016, a law under then-Gov. Mike Pence stating that abortions cannot take place on the basis of sex, race or disability and requiring pregnant women to view an ultrasound and listen to a fetal heartbeat within 18 hours of a procedure was struck down by the Supreme Court.

The topic of a special session was discussed widely prior to the letter. During the 2022 legislative session, a bill that would have automatically had the legislature convene over the Supreme Court decision did not make it out of committee. The bill, Senate Bill 309, was authored by Sen. Erin Houchin, R-Salem.

Some restrictions on abortion by the state have been successful. A bill outlawing coerced abortion passed during the 2022 session, authored by Rep. Joanna King, R-Middlebury. Despite the bill’s passage, abortion rights advocates aren’t content with the legislation.

Planned Parenthood released a statement on the bill, which Holcomb signed on March 11. The organization said reproductive coercion does happen, but the most common form is when partners force people to become pregnant or carry a pregnancy to term.

“HB 1217 has nothing to do with protecting pregnant people from coercion and everything to do with endangering patient safety and access to time-sensitive essential care,” said Lisa Humes-Schulz, VP of policy and regulatory affairs for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.

Since the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the appointment by former U.S. President Donald Trump of Justice Amy Coney Barrett left the Court with a conservative majority, the idea that the Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade has been widespread

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

Legislators Rush To Send Bills Over The Finish Line Of 2022 Session

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FEATURED

Legislators Rush To Send Bills Over The Finish Line Of 2022 Session

  • By Isaac Gleitz, TheStatehouseFile.com
  • INDIANAPOLIS—As the General Assembly reaches the final week of the 2022 session, legislators are trying to finalize bills in conference committees.

These committees, which are intended to iron out differences between the Senate-passed and House-passed versions of bills, are legislators’ last chance to reach a compromise that will allow a bill to pass in both chambers.

A conference committee is sometimes called when a bill, after passing through the rigors of the legislative process, comes out altered from how it was initially written. Think of it as a game of telephone, except the participants are wearing suits and drinking coffee.

This concept often manifests itself as a House bill being stripped of major or minor provisions by Senate amendments or vice versa.

Conference committees initially have two Republican and two Democrat members, but the majority party of the chambers can replace opposing members with legislators from their own party to ensure a desired outcome. For a bill under review in a conference committee to become law, it needs a signature from all four members, otherwise known as unanimous consent.

If a bill passes through that phase, it must next travel through a rules committee (both chambers have their own version of this) before making it to the Senate and House chambers for final passage. Because legislative leaders are often members of the rules committees, they get a chance to review the revised bills before they enter the chamber floors for final presentation.

Given the number of steps involved in the process, the fate of some bills will be decided in a buzzer-beating fashion. Here is a highlight reel of some of the key bills that are being discussed this week.

House Bill 1002

Disagreement on this bill is not rooted only along party lines but is rather a confrontation between senators and representatives.

House Bill 1002 passed in the Senate last week. It was initially written to authorize $1.3 billion in tax cuts, but some of those cuts were weakened by a Senate amendment.

Under the bill, Hoosiers who don’t make enough to file for taxes can still get a tax refund. Proponents of the bill say even though some citizens with low incomes don’t file taxes, they still pay sales tax, which entitles them to returns.

The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Bremen, Travis Holdman, R-Markle, and Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago.

Senate Bill 209

The bill is currently about drug policy, but language from House Bill 1077 will be added to it. This is permissible under the law since both bills deal with criminal law.

If passed through the conference committee later this week, the bill would repeal the requirement that Hoosiers obtain a permit to carry a handgun.

Senate Bill 83

Senate Bill 83 changes the language of House Bill 1130 regarding school board meetings.

HB 1130, authored by Rep. Timothy O’Brien, R- Evansville, already passed in the Senate and House and went to Gov. Eric Holcomb on Friday. The bill “requires a governing body of a school corporation to allow each member of the public attending a meeting the opportunity to provide oral public comment.”

SB 83, authored by Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, adds charter schools and stipulates that public comment comes before the governing body’s discussion.

“In regards to oral public comment I wanted to make sure that individuals that were speaking at a school board meeting under the rules of that particular school board, that the comment that they would make would occur before the board would take final action on whatever subject they were discussing,” said Leising.

“It would be like us having a committee meeting and we’d say, ‘We are gonna let you talk, J.D., but not until after we vote’’—it just didn’t seem right, so that’s why I put that in there.”

The conference committee did not move past the preliminary discussion Monday.

House Bill 1002

House Bill 1002 adjusts the previous laws for tax exemptions in Indiana. This ensures that more Hoosiers will qualify for an automatic taxpayer refund by being able to claim more on their annual exemptions. It also addresses how businesses in Indiana will handle taxes.

The bill was discussed Monday during a House conference committee in which lawmakers addressed their concerns. Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Bremen, was in support of other methods of using excess money, similar to previous discussions regarding the automatic taxpayer refund.

Sen. Timothy Lanane, D-Anderson, suggested waiting until the House makes next year’s budget to make any major decisions on taxation, or using excess funding to help with the current state pension funds or taxation on gas.

“These are highly volatile times,” Lanane said. “I don’t think we’ve seen such volatile times in the world since World War II.”

While a lowered gas tax is unlikely to be implemented, Lanane and others agreed it was one of the most direct ways to put money back into the pockets of Hoosiers. The tax rate for gasoline is 32 cents per gallon, or $4.80 for a gas tank holding 15 gallons, for example. With the added pressure of rising gas prices in the state, this is no doubt a concern for many.

The bill also contains a provision to lower business personal property tax, an annual payment Indiana businesses must make as part of owning equipment needed for jobs. This can include anything from machinery to office computers and furniture. This revenue is then used within counties to fund resources such as schools, jails and police departments. No exact number was cited for the new lower tax rates.

No final decisions were made on the bill.

FOOTNOTE: Isaac Gleitz is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students. Maddie Alexander and Ari Lovitt also contributed to this report.

Deputy Mayor Steve Schaefer To Be CCO “Speaker Series” Event Speaker

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Realtor Tim OBrien Underwrites The May CCO “Speakers Series” Event

Steve Hammer the Chairman of the City-County Observer “Speakers Series” just announced that the sponsor of the first speaker’s event of 2022 will be local Realtor Tim O’Brien.

This event will be held during the month of May in downtown Evansville. The time, date, and location will be announced at a later date.

The May 2022 CCO “Speaker Series” will be the Deputy Mayor of Evansville Steve Schaefer.

Steve Hammer also stated “that the 2022 CCO “Speaker Series” event will focus on featuring unique and insightful stories of success and perseverance from prominent political and community leaders that tend to fly under the public radar.”

City-County Observer Publisher, Ron Cosby also added; “We understand that there are a lot of successful entrepreneurs in and out of government that had to do creative things to keep things going in a positive direction because the COVID-19 Virus caused economic, technological, and political challenges that caused a negative financial impact on nearly every profession”.

We look forward to hearing how Evansville Deputy Mayor Steve Schaefer artfully negotiated the numerous challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last several years.

We would like to thank Tim O’Brien for sponsoring this most worthy community event. This event is complimentary is by invitation only.  Later on, we will be providing additional information concerning the May 2022  “Speaker Series” event once all the plans have been finalized.

 

I Like Pork – When It’s From A Pig

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I Like Pork – When It’s From A Pig

By Dannie McIntire 

City-County Observer Feature Writer

Like many American, I grew up eating pork. I still enjoy a nice pork roast or a pork tenderloin sandwich, but just as long as the pork is from a pig and not our federal government. I believe a majority of my fellow Americans still think of our country as being the richest nation on earth. In reality, our nation is not the wealthiest. Using the index of “Gross Domestic Product Per Capita” as a measure of national wealth, according to the 2021 World Bank rankings below,  the United States ranks 5th in the world.  

  1. Liechtenstein – $116,440
  2. Switzerland – $84,310
  3. Norway – $78,180
  4. Luxembourg – $73,500
  5. United States – $64,530
  6. Ireland – $64,150
  7. Denmark – $63,070
  8. Iceland – $62,420
  9. Qatar – $56,210
  10. Singapore – $54,900

While the United States GNP is impressive compared to most nations, the last time our federal government finished the fiscal year with a surplus was in 2001. For the last 21 years, our federal government has been operating at a deficient. In simple terms, our government has been spending more money that is raised from taxes and other various revenue. This forces our government to borrow money with which to operate. According to “UsDebtClock.org”, the current federal debt is over 30 trillion dollars. That works out to debt of approximately $91,115 per citizen, and even more disturbing a debt of $241,611 per actual tax-paying citizen. I don’t know about you, but if my personal bank account is deficient, I realize I need to better control my spending, something our federal government seems incapable of realizing.

Just several years ago, both political parties swore off inserting “pork barrel” earmark projects into our federal budget. However with the recent trillion-dollar stimulus bills passed or proposed by congress, “pork-barrel” earmarks” are back in vogue. 

According to the website “richmondteaparty.com”, the below is just a sampling of the pork barrel spending included in the omnibus spending bill. My thoughts in bold lettering are in the frame of “just asking”.

$615,000 for “Railroad Quiet Zones” in Commerce City, Colorado. Quiet zones? Can’t the train engineers be instructed to perhaps slow down in congested areas and not blow the train horns so often? If perhaps it is to add gated crossings isn’t that the railroad’s responsibility?

$3,000,000 for the “Palo Alto History Museum” which will “showcase the legacy of innovation and remarkable heritage that are unique to Palo Alto.” Nothing against Palo Alto but their local and state taxes should fund this, not my tax dollars.

$142,500 for Las Vegas bike-share bikes. The program “gives you access to some of the best restaurants, shopping, and attractions in Las Vegas!” Yep, next time I go to Vegas I’ll be sure to bike to a restaurant. 

$800,000 for “artist lofts” in Pomona, CA. Federal dollars for an Affordable Housing and Studio Complex for Artists? Well, I have heard the term “starving artist”.

$3,000,000 for a Gandhi museum in Texas. Excuse me, shouldn’t a Mahatma Gandhi 

Museum be in India?

$496,000 for a local swimming pool in Yonkers, NY.

$3,200,000 for a local bike path in Rhode Island. That’s a lot of money, how busy are the bike lanes and paths around our area?

$2,000,000 for “Reducing Inequity in Access to Solar Power” in Delaware. $2,000,000 for a new soccer field in Anaheim, CA. Say what…put that in English, please!

$500,000 for a ski jump in New Hampshire.

$150,000 to “collect body mass index data school-wide and use that information to encourage young people to stay physically active” in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Where the heck is the Northern Mariana Islands? It takes this much money to tell kids they’ll get fat if they eat at McDonald’s too often?

$500,000 for a soccer field in New Jersey.

$488,000 for the township of North Bergen, NJ for “Municipal Traffic Calming.” In other words federal dollars for a red light or traffic bumps?

$750,000 for a baseball field in Lowell, MA. 

$209,000 for a “Creative Village Affordable Housing and Studio Complex for Artists” in Decatur, GA. Another Federal dollar for an Affordable Housing and Studio Complex for “starving artists”?

$1.1 million for “Soccer Complex Facility Improvements” in Rhode Island. That is a lot of soccer!

$400,000 for a local bike trail in McAllen, TX. Again, a lot of money for a bike path, how busy are the bike lanes and paths around our area?

$1.6 million for “Equitable Growth of Shellfish Aquaculture Industry in Rhode Island.”

Definition of equitable: Having or exhibiting equity: dealing fairly and equally with all concerned. Is Rhode Island having trouble dealing with their shellfish?

In a fair and equal manner? 

$1 Million to repair sidewalks in Louisville, Ky. Sorry Louisville, but I don’t want my federal tax dollars to pay for repairing your sidewalks, especially with the amounts your city has a payout in lawsuits recently!

$700,000 for a Covid-19 Memorial in Florida. Think about this one! Instead of a memorial, apply the money to covid-19 research so this type of memorial in the future isn’t even a thought. 

Our nation is in debt. Foreign countries currently own approximately 30 percent of their national debt. Yet we continue needlessly spending money which we end up having to borrow. This Financial folly has to stop or else our grandkids- grandkids- grandkids will be saddled with paying off the debt of our reckless spending. 

Come on Congress, you wouldn’t throw your personal money around so carelessly, don’t throw our tax dollars around so carelessly! 

Cutting Taxes for All Hoosiers

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becker

MARCH, 2022 BIRTHDAYS

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MARCH, 2022 BIRTHDAYS

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