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NOAH ROBINSON OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR SHERIFF OF VANDERBURGH COUNTY

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 SHERIFF’S DEPUTY NOAH ROBINSON FILING DAY SPEECH

WELCOMING REMARKS

After meeting with thousands of Vanderburgh County residents at their homes, offices and places of worship I am pleased to announce that I will be your Democratic candidate for Vanderburgh County Sheriff. 

Thank you to my tireless wife for putting up with me over this past year; she is my confidant and partner in every respect. Thank you to my family who have made great sacrifices in order to make our campaign possible. Thank you to the dozens of sheriff’s deputies and confinement officers who are here supporting me, as well as countless other friends and supporters. 

Thank you to my campaign manager, City Councilman Ben Trockman, whose work ethic inspires me and friendship sustains me. Thank you to my Treasurer, Knight Township Trustee Kathryn Martin, whose caring nature and selflessness has shown me what it means to be a true public servant. Thank you to the elected officials standing behind me who are a continual source of guidance and support, including City Clerk Laura Windhorst, City Councilwoman Missy Mosby, Darmstadt Clerk-Treasurer Mallory Lowe, and City Councilwoman Kaitlin Moore Morley. 

Qualifications 

I’ve spent the past 23 years of my law enforcement career learning how to listen to people and understand their problems. I have a track record full of decisive actions and measurable accomplishments. When I say I am going to do something, I do it.

I served nearly ten years patrolling the streets, learning firsthand about the problems facing our families and businesses. I was a training deputy for over six years, helping to mold new sheriff’s deputies into competent law enforcers. I became a certified law enforcement instructor through the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy so that I could train the next generation of sheriff’s deputies. 

I took hundreds of drunk drivers off the road and taught dozens of deputies how to do the same. I spent five years developing our agency’s policies and procedures, ensuring our deputies operated with sound tactics and on solid legal footing. I conducted dozens of internal investigations and treated every accused employee with fairness and dignity. 

I expanded our agency’s social media presence, focused on communicating crime information directly to our many neighborhood organizations, and created our first ever Bicycle Patrol. I obtained over a million dollars in grant funding for our Office so that we could better serve the citizens of our county. I pushed for the expansion of our Information Technology Unit, doubling the size of the staff and improving responsiveness. I served as Human Resources director, overhauling our hiring process and improving our record keeping system. I worked to strengthen the relationship of our Office with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation and enhance the safety of our schools by improving information sharing and cooperation. 

I have served in every rank the sheriff’s office has, including Chief Deputy and second in command. I don’t have to learn how to run the Sheriff’s Office; I know how to run the Sheriff’s Office. 

CAMPAIGN PLATFORM 

My campaign platform reflects my experience and my expertise. 

I Will Keep Our Kids Safe. School Safety is and has always been my top priority. The best way to combat crime is to prevent our kids from becoming criminals. This means more than just having a police officer present in a school. Our specially trained deputies will mentor our youth and build relationships so that there will be no “school to prison” pipeline on my watch. 

I Will Protect Our Neighborhoods and Businesses. Our residents deserve to feel safe in their own homes. To that end, I will dramatically re-imagine the way sheriff’s deputies are deployed within our community. The residents of our neighborhoods, subdivisions and business districts will see and know the deputies who protect their homes, workplaces, and places of worship. Our deputies will be focused on preventing, detecting, and solving crimes by partnering with our residents and becoming valuable members of the neighborhoods they serve. 

I Will Root Out Violent Criminals and Drug Dealers who destroy our neighborhoods and poison our community. I will assign additional staff to the local ATF Task Force in order to trace, intercept and stop the flow of illegal guns into the hands of criminals who terrorize our neighborhoods. I will ensure the Sheriff’s Office continues to aggressively pursue drug dealers, while also seeking funding to treat drug users in the grips of addiction. 

I Will Hold Offenders Accountable and Make Our Jail More Efficient. Our law enforcement officers work hard to take criminals off the street and keep our community safe. As a community, we have a duty to do our best to keep one-time criminals from becoming repeat offenders. I will implement an aggressive substance-abuse and P.O. Box 15016, Evansville, IN 47716 | 812.647.6970 | noahforsheriff.com 

mental health treatment program combined with life skills and vocational job training. When offenders rejoin our community, they must have the prospect of employment, stable housing, and a drug free routine in order to interrupt the cycle of criminal behavior. I will not advocate for any jail expansion that is not specifically designed and purpose built to treat our inmates’ mental health and substance abuse issues. We cannot continue to operate our jail with half the required staff. We must fairly compensate and incentivize our confinement officers for the challenging work they do and empower them with the training and autonomy needed to make positive changes in the lives of the inmates they care for. 

I Will Invest in Modern Training, Hire a Diverse Staff, and Remove Conflicts of Interest. When a citizen is stopped by a sheriff’s deputy, I want the interaction to be safe, respectful, and professional. We will train our staff in the most modern and forward thinking law enforcement techniques, procedures, and strategies while ensuring our deputies and officers understand the issues of bias in law enforcement. I will seek out and hire the best, most qualified, and diverse workforce available. For a law enforcement agency to be effective, the agency must be perceived as both legitimate and transparent. We will end the practice of conducting our own criminal investigations of shootings involving our sheriff’s deputies. When an individual loses their life while being apprehended by a deputy or while in the custody of our Jail, an outside agency will conduct the investigation. 

 CLOSING REMARKS 

These are just some of the changes I will implement during my first term. I look forward to discussing my plans further in the coming days and months. This is a grassroots campaign, made up of thousands of supporters who believe in my vision for the Sheriff’s Office.

This May, I humbly ask for your vote in order that my plan can become a reality. 

THUNDERBOLTS HOST HUNTSVILLE, TRAVEL TO VERMILION COUNTY THIS WEEK 

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 Evansville, Ind: After playing three games against the Peoria Rivermen this past weekend, the Thunderbolts play this week’s games a bit earlier than usual, hosting the Huntsville Havoc on Thursday and traveling to Vermilion County on Friday, with no games on Saturday or Sunday.

  The Week Ahead: 

The Thunderbolts host the Huntsville Havoc on Thursday night at Ford Center, opening face-off at 7:00pm CT.  For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.  On Friday, the Thunderbolts will play in Vermilion County against the Bobcats at the David S. Palmer Arena, starting at 7:00pm CT.  Friday’s game can be viewed online with a paid membership to SPHL TV through HockeyTV or can be listened to for free on the Thunderbolts Radio Network; at EvansvilleThunderbolts.com/fan-center/listen, or via the Thunderbolts Mixlr Channel.

Scouting the Opponent: 

Huntsville Havoc: 

    • Record: 20-3-1, 41 Points, 1st Place
    • Leading Goal Scorer: Jacob Barber (17 Goals)
    • Leading Point Scorer: Jacob Barber (37 Points)
    • Primary Goaltender: Hunter Vorva (7-2-1, .923 Save %)
    • Thunderbolts 21-22 Record vs HSV: 1-1-0

      The Havoc lost both games this past weekend, the first time all season they have lost back-to-back games.  On Thursday at home against the Knoxville Ice Bears, Christian Faggas opened the scoring for Huntsville, but the Ice Bears would take the lead and not look back, defeating the Havoc 4-2, with Huntsville’s other goal scored by Robbie Fisher in the third period.  In a penalty-filled contest in Roanoke on Friday night, Huntsville again scored first, this time by Jacob Barber.  However, the Rail Yard Dawgs scored the next four goals en route to a 4-1 victory.  For actions late in Friday’s game, Dominick Procopio and Mathieu Newcomb both received a one-game suspension, and Nolan Kaiser received a 9-game suspension.

  • Vermilion County Bobcats: 
    • Record: 3-15-2, 8 Points, 10th Place
    • Leading Goal Scorer: Houston Wilson (6 Goals)
    • Leading Point Scorer: Houston Wilson (11 Points)
    • Primary Goaltender: Ben Churchfield (2-3-0, .904 Save %)
    • Thunderbolts 21-22 Record vs VCB: 2-0-0
The Bobcats started the past weekend with a 4-3 upset victory over the Quad City Storm, with goals scored by Declan Conway, Justin Portillo, and Houston Wilson, who scored twice.  Wilson’s first goal tied a 2-1 deficit in the second period, and the second goal proved to be the game-winner, scored on the power play to break a 3-3 tie with 2:31 remaining in regulation.  Ben Churchfield made 29 saves on 32 shots for the victory. The following night was less fortunate, as Quad City avenged themselves with a 4-0 shutout victory.

Call-up Report 

– Kyle Thacker (Adirondack Thunder – ECHL) 
– Games Played: 19 (5 with Iowa, 14 with Cincinnati, 0 with Adirondack) 
– 2 Goals, 1 Assist, 3 Point, 6 PIM

Cooper Jones (Idaho Steelheads – ECHL) 
          – Games Played: 10 (1 with Jacksonville IceMen, 9 with Idaho) 
– 0 Goals, 1 Assist, 1 Point, 2 PIM

– Cole Stallard (Iowa Heartlanders – ECHL) 
– Games Played: 19
– 3 Goals, 5 Assists, 8 Points, 33 PIM

– Scott Kirton (Cincinnati Cyclones – ECHL) 
          – Games Played: 1
– 0 Goals, 1 Assist, 1 Point, 0 PIM

Transactions:  

Wed. 1/5: Danny Cangelosi signed to professional tryout
Tue. 1/4: Tate Leeson signed to contract
Tue. 1/4: Jake Henderson placed on 21-day Injured Reserve
Tue. 1/4: Ned Simpson traded to Knoxville in exchange for future considerations
Sun. 1/2: Hunter Atchison moved from 21-day to 30-day Injured Reserve
Sun. 1/2: Andrew Green placed on waivers
Sun. 1/2: Matt MacKay signed to contract
Fri. 12/31: Connor Chatham signed to contract
Fri. 12/31: Andrew Green signed to contract
Fri. 12/31: Jake Henderson signed to contract

The Thunderbolts are currently competing in their fifth season in the SPHL (Southern Professional Hockey League).  Season tickets are less than $9 per game.  To order your tickets for this season, call 812-422-BOLT(2658).

COVID-19 Still Tops Discussions As General Assembly Kicks Off 2022 Session

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COVID-19 Still Tops Discussions As General Assembly Kicks Off 2022 Session

  • By Alexa Shrake, Ashlyn Myers and Ariana Lovitt, TheStatehouseFile.com
  • Jan 6, 2022 

INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana General Assembly gathered Tuesday for the second year during a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic that is still dominating discussion.

Legislators spoke about tackling issues such as COVID-19, economic growth and education.

Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said he looks forward to working with everyone together again.

“People are welcomed to wear masks if they feel they need to,” said Bray, who was not wearing a mask himself. “We don’t have the same scenery we had last year. We wanted to try to get back to the circumstance where we could have people in committee.”

Last year, the Senate was split, with half the senators at their usual desks in the chamber and the rest in the balcony, and the Indiana House met in the government building next door rather than its customary chambers.

“It’s really a matter of personal responsibility to take care of yourself,” Bray said.

He said he encourages people to get the COVID-19 vaccine and wear a mask if they feel unwell. While a few senators wore masks, Bray said he is unsure how many legislators are vaccinated. There is no specific contingency plan if there is an outbreak, but he said he plans to address that as it comes.

“In regards to the vaccine mandate, we’ll take a look at what the House sends over, and we’re going to have a spirited debate about it and try to figure out what is the best course for the state of Indiana,” Bray said.

He said he talks to House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, every day and will continue to talk about issues.

Senate Republicans’ Optimism

A press release for the Indiana Senate Republicans highlighted specific objectives for the 2022 session.

The supermajority’s goals include state taxpayer refunds, school funding stability for students currently in quarantine, and ending the COVID-19 public health emergency first declared by Gov. Eric Holcomb in March 2020.

Senators laugh and catch up before session convens. The Senate begin 2022 session with a late start. Photo by Alexa Shrake, TheStatehouseFile.com.

The end of the 2021 fiscal year resulted in a refund of $545 million to Indiana taxpayers and provided a budget surplus. Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, will make adjustments to Senate Bill 1 to allow for an additional 900,000 eligible Hoosiers to receive a tax refund of $125 in 2022.

Of the funding received by Indiana public schools, 85% goes to benefit students utilizing virtual learning tools for at least half of their semester. These students were set to receive less funding than their in-person peers. SB 2 assesses the attendance disparities between in-person and virtual students and offers equal funding for both groups.

The supermajority is hoping to end the public health emergency while also preventing “undue harm” to Hoosiers receiving certain healthcare and insurance benefits. SB 3 ensures the continuation of these benefits despite this call to action.

—Ariana Lovitt

Hopeful House Leaders

During the House of Representatives session Tuesday, minority leader Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, opened his speech by welcoming the new year as a chance to become “united” in making Indiana a state that benefits every resident.

While taking a positive stance, GiaQuinta also talked about what he finds to be Indiana’s major economic challenges. He said the state has ranked 46th in median wage growth, with it currently being around $56,000.

“Only 42% of workers in the state earn a living wage and have employer-provided health insurance,” GiaQuinta said.

Some of the minority leader’s other concerns are unaffordable childcare, student loan debt, and medical debt, paid family leave, a child tax credit, employment, addiction and education.

GiaQuinta also talked about the turbulence the pandemic has brought to Indiana. With the recent COVID-19 variant Omicron, Indiana’s numbers have risen significantly, hitting over 4,000 daily positive cases on Jan. 2, according to Indiana’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Majority leader Matt Lehman also discussed the current state of the pandemic while mentioning his excitement about having all legislators back in the House chamber.

“It’s great to be back in the people’s house,” Lehman said.

Lehman then went on to discuss how he and GiaQuinta do share some common ground, which differs from in other states.

“I’ve been in front of my colleagues in the states that only talk about their divide,” Lehman said. “While we don’t always agree, we don’t have the divide that other places have.”

Lehman did use some of his time on the House’s floor to discuss Indiana’s population growth from the Republican perspective.

“The only issue I maybe take some umbrage with is that we are growing. We’re the only state that grew in the Midwest by the highest percentage,” Lehman said. “If you look at our neighbors, you know, Michigan went up like 2%, Kentucky went up about 2%, Ohio about 2%. We went up almost 5%—4.7%.”

FOOTNOTE: Alexa Shrake, Ariana Lovitt and Ashlyn Myers are reporters for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students

Consumer Alert: Products Recalled in December

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Attorney General Todd Rokita is encouraging all Hoosiers who purchased consumer products that were recalled in December to take advantage of the remedies available to them.

“With ongoing supply chain issues, Hoosiers should not have to tolerate products that don’t work,” Attorney General Todd Rokita said. “If you purchased an item in December that has been recalled, then you should immediately stop using the product and see what forms of reimbursement the company that sold or manufactured the product is offering.”

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division (CPD) serves to safeguard Hoosiers from predatory business practices and will take legal action in response to violations of the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, and other consumer-related statutes.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the following consumer products were recalled in December:

  • American Angler Electric Fillet Knives from American Angler
  • Polaris RZR and GENERAL Recreational Off-Road Vehicles from Polaris
  • Royal Sovereign/Royal Centurian Portable Air Conditioners from Royal Sovereign
  • DEWALT ® Jobsite Pro Wireless Earphones from DEWALT
  • Bed Assist Handles and Bed Assist Rail from Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare
  • Children’s robes from Mark of Fifth Avenue
  • Schwinn Tone Electric Scooters (e-scooters) from Pacific Cycle
  • Hisun 250cc Utility Vehicles from Hisun Motors
  • Harbor Breeze Belleisle Bay and Honeywell Rio Ceiling Fans from Hong Kong China Electric Appliance Manufacture Company
  • Infant Bath Seats from Karmas Far
  • Endurance® Hand Bed Rails from Essential Medical Supply
  • Angel Line Bunk Beds with angled ladders from Angel Line

If you believe you recently purchased a recalled product, stop using it, and check its recall notice (linked above for all aforementioned products). Then follow the notice’s instructions, including where to return the product, how to get the product fixed, how to dispose of the product, how to receive a refund for the product, or what steps must be taken to receive a replacement product.

To view recalls issued prior to December, visit the Consumer Protection Safety Commission website.

OBITUARY FOR MATTHEW A. BRAUN

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OBITUARY FOR MATTHEW A. BRAUN

Matthew A. Braun, 47, of Evansville passed away Sunday, January 2, 2022 at his home. He was born August 14, 1974 in Evansville to Alan and Sharon (Evans) Braun.
Matt graduated from Central High School and the University of Southern Indiana. He was always proud to say he was Dartmouth educated after he completed a Tuck Executive Education Course.
Matt worked at Industrial Contractors and ICI Skanska for over 25 years. He was Vice President of Industrial Equipment and completed his years at the equipment yard and in safety.
Matt had a love of music, especially jazz, and enjoyed playing his bass guitar. He never met a stranger, was kind to everyone and had a huge heart. He will be greatly missed.
He is survived by his daughters, Lily G. Braun and Ella M. Braun both of Evansville; parents, Alan and Sharon Braun; sister, Molly A. (Lake) Russell and their children, Saylor, Sunday and Xavier Russell; mother of his children, Sabyn Grisham; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
Visitation will be from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Friday, January 7, 2022 at St. Benedict Cathedral, 1328 Lincoln Ave., Evansville. A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the church with Father Ted Tempel officiating.  Private family burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to Habitat for Humanity, 560 E. Diamond Ave., Evansville, IN 47711.

STATE HEALTH COMMISSIONER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

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STATE HEALTH COMMISSIONER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

IHCDA Seeks Volunteers To Count Hoosiers Experiencing Homelessness

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The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) and partner agencies across the state coordinate to conduct a one-night count of the homeless population. This year’s count will take place Jan. 26, 2022. IHCDA and partners are seeking volunteers in every county to help conduct the count.

IHCDA’s partner agencies in this effort are members of Indiana’s Balance of State Continuum of Care, which comprise 91 of the state’s 92 counties — every county except Marion. The count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and must be conducted at least biennially. For historical results of the Point In Time Count, please visit IHCDA’s website here. The PIT Count is a census of all unsheltered and sheltered persons experiencing homelessness across Indiana communities.

This count is a critical tool utilized by service providers working directly and indirectly with homeless individuals and families throughout the year. While a public place’s count can be subject to seasonal and other variations, the PIT Count is currently the most feasible method for gathering important information on homeless individuals and families.

Volunteers interview on the street, at shelters and at service-based organizations- including food pantries, emergency rooms, police stations, libraries, health clinics and soup kitchens.

Those wishing to volunteer with the 2022 Point in Time Count, please email HMIS@ihcda.in.gov with the following information by January 12, 2022: name, city of residence, counties willing to volunteer in.