​ Evansville – July 7, 2022 – CenterPoint Energy is alerting customers of reported increases in door-to-door, phone call and text message scams. Reports of individuals impersonating CenterPoint Energy have employed various tactics, including requests to check electric meters at customers’ homes and spoofing company phone numbers to threaten service disconnection.

 CenterPoint Energy will never call a customer and demand payment over the phone to avoid immediate disconnection. The company would never ask customers to make payments with a pre-paid debit card, gift card, any form of cryptocurrency, or third-party digital payment mobile applications. Furthermore, all CenterPoint Energy technicians and contractors will have a company badge to display when performing work.

“We encourage customers to remain on high alert as we continue to see utility scams on the rise across our service territories,” said Ashley Babcock, Vice President, Indiana and Ohio Gas. “Any customer who is approached with what they believe to be a scam should report the incident to CenterPoint Energy through our online Customer Service form.”

CenterPoint Energy continues to identify opportunities, such as working with its phone vendors, to mitigate the risk of scam calls to its customers. While scammers can spoof CenterPoint Energy’s phone numbers, if the company’s name is not displayed on the caller ID when receiving a call to a mobile device, it can be considered a scam call and the customer should hang up immediately.

If a customer needs to verify their account status, they may call customer service at the number listed on their bill or log in to their account on our website. Customers should not send money in any form until their account status has been verified with Customer Service.

Depending on the particular scam, customers who believe they have been a victim can also take the following steps to report:

• File a report with the local police department.
• File a report with the FBI.
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

Overturn Of Roe Vs Wade –Let’s Pause and Work Towards an Amenable Solution

By Dannie McIntire

JULY 8, 2022

The overturn of Roe Vs Wade by our Supreme Court has inflamed emotions on both sides of the abortion debate into very distinct “us” versus “them” camps, “Pro-Life” versus “Right-To-Choose”.

So where does the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn its earlier 1973 decision leave the issue of abortion?

First and foremost, the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe Vs Wade did not make abortion illegal in regard to Federal Law. 

Regardless of which political spectrum you identify with, I believe all of us need to pause the “hatred” that seems to have become so intense between the two “ideologies” and examine what the Supreme Court’s ruling in overturning Roe Vs Wade actually has done.

The court basically ruled that since abortion was not directly protected under the Constitution of the United States, the question of whether abortion should be legal or illegal was a “States Right”, protected under the 10^th Amendment.   

Under the Bill Of Rights 10th Amendment, all rights and powers not specifically reserved to Congress by Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution are reserved by the states.

The recent Supreme Court ruling in essence found that the 1973 Supreme Court ruling overstepped the federal government’s powers under our Constitution.

I think the rationale behind the court’s ruling needs to be celebrated, not on the basics of the abortion question, but that “the people” have the right to determine the issue. I think it bodes well for our democracy when that last step in our judicial system “rule of law” can say, “Oops, the earlier court in 1973 violated the Constitution by asserting a power it did not have.  

Now it’s up to the elected legislators in Indiana to determine, if so inclined, any tightening or loosening of abortion restrictions within the state of Indiana.

“The ball” in essence has been thrown back into “the people’s court”. Now it is “your job” as a citizen of Indiana, if so inclined, to let your state representatives know your feelings on the issue of abortion.

Research your representative’s stand on the issue of abortion, if it lines up with yours, let them know that, and let them know they will receive your vote the next time they stand for reelection. 

If your representative’s stand on abortion doesn’t line up with yours, let them know that, and let them know they will not receive your vote the next time they stand for reelection. 

But first and foremost, I hope the citizens of Indiana, regardless of their stance on the issue of abortion, if they engage one another on the issue of abortion, will remember that everyone has the right to their own opinion.

My opinion, if different than yours, doesn’t make yours wrong, as yours doesn’t invalidate mine.