Police Ramping Up Patrols During Thanksgiving Travel Period
While people get their Thanksgiving travel plans ready, the Evansville Police Department is getting ready to increase patrol visibility as part of the annual Safe Family Travel campaign
The campaign, which starts November 16, focuses on impaired driving, aggressive driving, and proper use of seat belts. During the campaign, officers will work overtime conducting sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols designed to discourage impaired driving and promote seat belt use. The high-visibility enforcement campaign is funded with grants provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI).
“We’re anticipating another busy travel season this year, so for those sharing the road, remember; slow down, avoid distractions while driving, designate a sober driver, and buckle up,” said Devon McDonald, ICJI Executive Director. “We want everyone to make it to their holiday events safely.”
According to NHTSA, alcohol-impaired driving has tragically become associated with Thanksgiving Eve, with some people turning it into a night of drinking. Drivers who intend on drinking that evening should plan and secure a designated sober driver. “When you get on the road, you are pledging to use safe driving practices to keep all road users safe,” said Sgt. Nick Winsett. “Anyone heading out to a bar or party must make a commitment to stay sober for the night if they are driving or arrange for a sober ride home before they begin to drink alcohol”.
It is also important to wear a seat belt, put away the distractions and follow posted speed limits. Travelers are encouraged to check road conditions before each trip and to leave with plenty of time to reach their destination safely. “Whether you’re driving cross-country or across the street, it is essential that both drivers and passengers wear a seat belt, no matter the type of vehicle,” said Jim Bryan, ICJI’s Traffic Safety Director. “This Thanksgiving, and every day of the year, remember to buckle up.”
Motorists are encouraged to call 911 if they encounter an impaired or unsafe driver on the road.
USI Southwestern Indiana STEM Resource Center celebrates 15-year anniversary
This year marks the 15th anniversary for the Southwestern Indiana Stem Resource Center’s (SwiSTEM) Equipment Lending Service at the University of Southern Indiana. The Equipment Lending Service is a free service that provides educators with a cost-effective solution to accessing high-quality STEM resources. These resources are designed to enhance STEM education by making cutting-edge STEM educational tools readily available to schools throughout the Tri-state region, helping schools offer enriching learning experiences without the financial burden.
The service features an online catalog that enables teachers to seamlessly borrow and integrate these resources into their classrooms. Those resources are then delivered to the teacher’s classrooms along with instructional materials. The first delivery was made in October of 2009. That year, 1,230 pieces of equipment were delivered to area schools—3,617 were loaned last academic year. Since 2009, the Equipment Lending Center has loaned over 40,000 items to Tri-state educators.
“The Equipment Lending service elevated the lab experiences that I can provide my students with by giving me access to science lab equipment and materials that strengthen my lessons and are always accompanied by easy-to-use instructions and worksheets,” says Katie Bretz, teacher at Boonville Middle School. “What was once a video clip is now a hands-on learning activity for my students.”
The Equipment Lending Service has resources available to help teach life science, physical science, engineering, chemistry, coding, mathematics, earth and space science topics. Resources available are suitable for pre-K through 12th grade students. For example, chemistry resources include general chemistry model sets, mini centrifuges, metric measuring kits, spectrophotometers and more.
Additionally, SwISTEM offers ongoing support to ensure educators can effectively utilize the equipment. Since its inception in September of 2009, SwISTEM has continuously updated and expanded its inventory to meet the needs of teachers as the educational landscape has evolved. At the recommendation of area teachers, this expansion has included more equipment designed to teach STEM content at the elementary and even pre-school levels. Moreover, the SwISTEM Resource Center has diligently worked to align lessons to the new Indiana Academic Standards.
“The SwISTEM Equipment Lending Service is all about making top-tier STEM education accessible to all. By offering free access to advanced learning tools, we empower educators and students to innovate and excel in the classroom,” says Allison Grabert, Director of the SwiSTEM Resource Center. “This initiative reflects USI’s deep commitment to strengthening the Southwest Indiana community through education and outreach.”
The SwiSTEM Equipment Lending service is free and available to anyone who teaches pre-K through 12th grade in southwest Indiana, Henderson County, Kentucky, and White, Wabash, Edwards and Gallatin Counties in Illinois.
Those interested in learning more about becoming a patron of the SwISTEM Equipment Lending Service can visit USI.edu/stem, or contact Paige Walling, SwISTEM Circulation Supervisor, at pdwalling@usi.edu.
Orr Fellowship, Kelley School of Business Indianapolis Partner to Expedite Orr Fellow Pathway to Kelley Evening MBA program
Orr Fellowship, Kelley School of Business Indianapolis Partner to Expedite Orr Fellow Pathway to Kelley Evening MBA program
Partnership includes a $2,000 scholarship for Orr Fellows and the acceptance of six credit hours towards the Evening MBA degree
Orr Fellowship, an early career development program for versatile high-achievers and future-focused businesses in Indiana, announced today a partnership with Kelley School of Business Indianapolis that will give Orr Fellowship alumni an expedited pathway into the Kelley Evening MBA program.
The Kelley Evening MBA is the leading part-time MBA in Indiana and is ranked number 13 in the country.
Orr Fellowship recruits, assesses and matches university graduates with high-agency roles in growing Indiana businesses. Together, Orr Fellowship and partner companies give graduates the professional development resources and support network they need to accelerate their careers. The program currently operates two chapters, one in Indianapolis and one in Evansville, Indiana.
“This partnership provides an invaluable opportunity for Orr Fellows to advance their careers and serve the talent pipeline that our region needs,” said IU Indianapolis Chancellor Latha Ramchand. “Through this program, we bring together two well-known brands – the Kelley School of Business and Orr Fellowship – in a way that graduates the leaders of tomorrow.”
As part of the Orr Fellowship partnership, the Kelley Evening MBA program offers the following benefits:
- An expedited application process into the Kelley Evening MBA program that recognizes the value and experience of the Orr Fellowship.
- A scholarship for Orr Fellows in the amount of $2,000.
- The acceptance of six credit hours towards the Evening MBA degree, reducing the credit hour requirement from 54 to 48 credit hours.
- Students will receive credit towards the career coaching (X551) and leadership (Z532) courses and three credits towards an elective.
- Evening MBA faculty/staff will be a resource for the Fellows’ leadership groups.
These benefits are available to all Orr Fellowship alumni who have completed the two-year program within five years of enrolling in the Evening MBA. Current fellows may apply to the Evening MBA program but must complete the Fellowship prior to beginning MBA coursework.
“Our program and curriculum nurture Orr Fellows to transform into adaptive, impactful and responsive leaders,” said Steven Emch, President of Orr Fellowship. “By partnering with the prestigious Kelley Evening MBA program, we are furthering our mission of developing the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs who will positively impact the state of Indiana and the communities Orr Fellows live and work in well into the future.”
The Kelley Evening MBA program brings students into the program twice per year, once in mid-August and once in early November. Admission deadlines for those entry points are in June and October, respectively.
Otters reveal branding for 30th Season
The Otters came to Evansville in 1995, relocating from Lancaster, Ohio, where they took the field as the Lancaster Scouts in 1993 and 1994. The Scouts were one of the league’s original members in the 1993 season.
The Otters took to Bosse Field in Evansville for the first time on June 15, 1995, just two days shy of the 80th anniversary of Bosse Field’s inaugural game back in 1915. From there, the Otters have gone on to win 1,315 games, the most by a single club in Frontier League history.
While 2025 marks the 31st year since the team moved to Evansville, because of the cancelled 2020 season due to COVID-19, the Otters are looking forward to celebrating 2025 as the 30th season in team history.
The Evansville Otters are excited to welcome fans back to Bosse Field in 2025 for the 30th season of Otters baseball! More information on the upcoming season schedule is available here.
MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ is a superficial curtain call for this spin-off trilogy
‘Venom: The Last Dance’ is a superficial curtain call for this spin-off trilogy
If “Venom: The Last Dance” is actually the last adventure for Eddie Brock and Venom, I’m concerned about who will take the helm to continue this wide open story. Because by the end of this film, I still couldn’t tell you who the majority of the featured characters are or why I should care.
Venom and Eddie (Tom Hardy) are closer than ever and back to their familiar antics. In fact, as the sappy montage at the end shows, this film included a lot of the same old stuff. You’ll see Eddie fearfully soaring through the air, Venom biting heads off, even a forced reunion with a beloved character from a past film. It feels like a tired, obligatory reach for the trilogy’s end.
The conjoined pair are on the run from terrifying killing machines sent by the creator of symbiotes—the dark God of the abyss, Knull. They’re being hunted because when a symbiote saves the life of its host—as Venom did for Eddie—a codex is created, and that codex is the key that will free the peeved Knull from his imprisonment.
That detail is made clear, but minimal character development of others, choppy editing, and shots lingering too long for no reason leave the film feeling otherwise disjointed.
There’s a lull in the middle of the film, when the pace essentially comes to a halt, but the ending picks up with some thrilling action and surprising heart, though it does little to invest the audience in the apparent continuation of the story.
The cast is full of wonderful actors, and the top five on the bill are Europeans giving their best American impressions. Hardy is a special talent, but Juno Temple as Dr. Teddy Paine feels miscast with an awkward American accent, and nothing about her performance portraying a convincing doctor (though I love that her “Ted Lasso” alum Cristo Fernández plays a bartender in the film).
Supervillian Knull is played by Andy Serkis—because obviously, he plays just about every motion capture character—and in the seconds we see him he’s teased to be a chilling, epic villain we won’t forget, only to be painfully underused and irrelevant. Perhaps he’ll be more important in future projects, but against who? Which antihero will he go up against?
While No. 1 at the box office, the film’s $51 million in North American theaters was the worst opening weekend of all of the “Venom” trilogy releases, which are widely considered tops among Sony’s Spider-Man Universe spinoffs.
However, if options to carry the torch aren’t Hardy but the other survivors of “Venom: The Last Dance,” I worry about future productions dropping to “Morbius” or “Madame Web” level.
Only time will tell if the universe evolves into something that pleasantly surprises or if the last dance was merely a handoff to a sequel no one asked for.
2.5/5
Scott McDaniel is an assistant professor of journalism at Franklin College. He lives in Bargersville with his wife and three kids.I
University of Evansville Theatre Presents JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN
EVANSVILLE, IND. (11/13/2024) The University of Evansville (UE) Theatre continues its Fall 2024 season with Kimberly Belflower’s JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN. This production opens at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21, in the May Studio Theatre. Additional performances are at 7:30 p.m., on Nov. 22 and 23, and 2:00 p.m., on Nov. 23 and 24.
From the pen of an important new voice in the American Theatre, a rural high school in Georgia provides the backdrop for a visceral and evocative coming-of-age story told through the lens of a dynamic group of teens studying Arthur Miller’s classic, The Crucible. A bitingly funny comedy about the deadly serious matters of patriarchy and power, this script is brought to life by pop music, rage, and the genuine authenticity of its characters discovering their own agency and authority.
JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN is directed by Evelyn Hipp, a senior theatre studies major, from Nolensville, Tn.. Taako Solorzano, a senior design and technology major from Las Vegas, Nev., is the scenic designer; Lauren Shinoski, a senior design and technology major from Grain Valley, Mo., is the costume designer; Jon Roth, a junior design and technology major from Brookfield, Wis., is the lighting designer; Cooper Sanders, a junior performance major from Jeffersonville, Ind., serves as the sound designer; Benjamin Lodge, a sophomore performance major from Overland Park, Kan., is the dramaturg; Matthew Manders, a sophomore performance major from Houston, Texas, is the projection designer; Mel Denison, a sophomore stage management major from Gainesville, Texas, is the stage manager, and scene shop manager, Cody Kane, serves as the technical director.
The cast features Rylie Sudduth, a sophomore performance major from Versailles, Ky., as Bailey Gallagher; James Scott, a junior performance major from Sugar Hill, Ga., as Carter Smith; Delaney Ross, a senior performance major from Keller, Texas, as Shelby Holcomb; Andrea Vargas, a junior performance major from Missouri City, Texas, as Raelynn Nyx; Gage Dragoo, a first-year performance major from Frisco, Texas, as Lee Turner; Ashly Chalico, a senior performance major from Magnolia Texas, as Beth Powel; Jamy Lentz, a sophomore performance major from Denton, Texas, as Ivy Watkins; Brynna Waters, a senior performance major from Brownsburg, Ind., as Nell Shaw; Ethan Henry, a junior performance major from Salina, Kan., as Mason Adams. The ensemble includes: Mason Norton, a junior performance major from Bremen, Ind.; Luis Alejandro Gonzalez, a first-year performance from Midland, Texas; and Stella Clark-Kaczmarek, a first-year performance major from Omaha, Neb.
Seating is limited, and tickets are $20 for general admission and $18 for senior adults, UE employees, and non-UE students. UE students may obtain one free student rush ticket beginning at 12:00 p.m. on the day of the performance they wish to attend. Tickets may be purchased online at theatre.evansville.edu or by calling the ticket office at 812.488.2031, Monday through Friday, 12:00 pm to 5:00 p.m.
GAVEL GAMUT: A TURN FROM THE RIGHT TO THE RIGHT
A TURN FROM THE RIGHT TO THE RIGHT
By Jim Redwine
NOVEMBER 16, 2024
According to CNN this morning, 13 November 2024, President-Elect Trump will nominate former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister, Mike Huckabee, to be United States Ambassador to Israel. Mr. Huckabee was quoted this morning as denying the existence of a Palestinian people, referring to Palestine as Canaan and Palestinians as Canaanites. As the Republican Party will almost certainly have the majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in 2025, Mr. Huckabee will likely be confirmed.
United States foreign policy in the Middle East will likely continue to be one of aggressive support for Israel, as it has been since Israel was created out of Palestine in 1948. But, it may turn from a philosophical position to a dynamic one. From a war more of words and increasing military materiel backing to one that shifts from old people making threats and spending our national treasure to our young people bleeding and dying. We have recently traveled this one-way road in Viet Nam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan and the Iraq War. Now is the time to change both our direction and our moral position.
For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.jamesmredwine.com
Vincennes University to host Women of the White Buffalo Film and Discussion
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the media, public, VU students, VU staff and faculty are invited to attend the Vincennes University Women of the White Buffalo Film and Discussion.
The event is hosted by the VU Humanities Film and Lecture Series, VU Office of Global Diversity and Inclusion and Wabash Valley Progressives.
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024
6-8 p.m. (ET)
Vincennes University
Shircliff Humanities Center Auditorium
130 E. Harrison St.
Vincennes, Ind.
47591
EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
FOOTNOTE: EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.