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HEALTH DEPARTMENT UPDATES STATEWIDE COVID-19 CASE COUNTS
Gov. Holcomb to Provide Updates in the Fight Against COVID-19
Gov. Eric J. Holcomb and State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box will host a virtual media briefing to provide updates on COVID-19 and its impact on Indiana.
WHO:Â Â Gov. Holcomb
State Health Commissioner Kristina Box, MD, FACOG
Chief Medical Officer Lindsay Weaver, M.D., FACEP
Kevin Brinegar, president and CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce
Brian Burton, president and CEO of the Indiana Manufacturers Association
WHEN:Â 2:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, December 9
Facebook: https://facebook.com/govholcomb/live
YouTube: https://youtube.com/govholcomb
Phillip Smith Appointed EPD Assistant Chief
Mayor Lloyd Winnecke and Chief of Police Billy Bolin are pleased to announce their choice to fill the upcoming vacancy for the Assistant Chief of Police position. The upcoming vacancy comes with the retirement of current Assistant Chief of Police, Chris Pugh.Â
Officer Philip Smith will begin his tenure as Assistant Chief beginning January 1st, 2021.Â
After graduating from the University of Southern Indiana, Officer Smith worked on behalf of Evansville youth as an after-school programs coordinator and college readiness student support advisor for the EVSC. It was during his time with the EVSC, where Officer Smith began building relationships with several Evansville Police Officers. Ultimately, those relationships led to a life altering career change.Â
Officer Smith joined the Evansville Police Department on January 28, 2013 and began his training at the Southwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, where his peers selected him as the President of Class 13-12. After completing his training, Officer Smith served as a Motor Patrol Officer. In January of 2017, Officer Smith was chosen to serve as the EPD Special Projects Coordinator. In this role, Officer Smith has led the department’s social media presence and community engagement efforts. In addition to his regular duties, Officer Smith has played an active role in the EPD recruitment efforts by attending job fairs, hosting job shadow students, and participating in the applicant interview boards.Â
Officer Smith is a familiar face at community events such as Family Day in the Park, the Dust Bowl Basketball Tournament, the Evansville Rescue Mission Gobbler Gathering, Latino Advisory Board meetings, National Night Out, Fiesta Evansville, and the HOLA Latino Festival. In keeping with his EVSC roots, Officer Smith can be found at back-to-school supply giveaways and at the Glenwood Leadership Academy’s Affordable Christmas shop. Officer Smith has participated in several community conversations addressing education equity and equality. Officer Smith also helps coordinate, and coaches in the EPD Choose Not to Lose summer basketball league. In addition to organizing the EPD Coffee with a Cop sessions, Officer Smith is a national instructor for the Coffee with a Cop program.  Â
Officer Smith is an Associate Member of the International Associations of Chiefs of Police. Officer Smith was a co-presenter on the topics of community collaboration and crisis management at the IACP Public Information Officer Mid-Year and IACP International Conferences in 2019, where he taught police chiefs from all over the world. Officer Smith currently serves as the IACP Public Information Section Midwest Regional Vice Chairman which requires him to oversee partnerships with agencies in seven states to help establish best policies and practices for agency transparency and community engagement.
Officer Smith is a Board Member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Indiana, Leadership Everyone, and the Youth Care Center. He previously served on the Board for the EPD Foundation and was the Public Relations Co-Chair for the Mickey’s Kingdom Community Playground project. Officer Smith is a founding member of the Cops Connecting with Kids program and currently serves as the President of their Board of Directors.Â
Officer Smith has been recognized for his work in the community, both locally and nationally. He is the recipient of the 2019 Leadership Everyone Individual Achievement Award and the 2019 Human Relations Commission Sue Woodson Community Relations Award. In November, Officer Smith accepted the 2020 United States Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing in the category of Innovations in Community Policing.Â
Soon to be Assistant Chief of Police Philip Smith resides in Evansville with his wife and two kids.
“IS IT TRUE” DECEMBER 9, 2020
We hope that today’s “IS IT TRUEâ€Â will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way.
City-County Observer Comment Policy: Be kind to people. No personal attacks or harassment will be tolerated and will be removed from our site.â€
We understand that sometimes people don’t always agree and discussions may become a little heated. The use of offensive language and/or insults against commenters will not be tolerated and will be removed from our site.
IS IT TRUEÂ we predict that 2022 will be an interesting year in local politics?…with numerous up and down-ballot seats up for grabs, we predict that the 2022 midterm elections will be a record-setting voting event?
IS IT TRUE that a good friend of ours has been eating brain sandwiches all of his adult life but is now worrying about what the COVID -19 virus is made of?
IS IT TRUE we find it interesting that a locally elected official doesn’t attend an officially advertise City Council meeting because of a concern about the COVID-19 virus but he did attend a political fundraising event on his behalf that evening?
IS IT TRUE the Evansville Courier and Press reported that at Monday’s evening Evansville City Council meeting that fiscal conservative Justin Elpers said: “that the city’s health insurance plan is supposed to be self-funded by employee copays and deductibles, but what we have seen over the last five years is that the self-funded plan is not self-funded”. That’s why we see the imbalance.†is spot on?
IS IT TRUE that it was also reported in the Evansville Courier and Press that 1st Ward City Councilman Ben Trockman said, “I would ask the Mayor or Deputy Mayor to spend some time with the council in the new year to (address) the city’s health insurance plan issue†is kicking the political can down the road?  …Mr. Trockman would have been spot on if he would have made the motion to immediately put the city’s health care insurance plan out for a formal bid in the private sector?
IS IT TRUE we commend local attorney and education advocate Charles Berger for being the first person ever to publically ask questions about the Temporary Loan Warrant Resolution proposed by the EVSC Supertintent, Dr. David Smith.
IS IT TRUE after reviewing the EVSC Temporary Loan Resolution several times it’s now obvious that this resolution was drafted in order to help tie over the EVSC just in case their revenues don’t arrive as expected?
IS IT TRUEÂ we are told that the EVSC officials have authority under the Temempory Loan Resolution to draw down up to $43.5 million dollars in loans to help defray current operating expenses?
IS IT TRUEÂ we have been told during a recent EVSC school board meeting Dr. David Smith stated that the Temempory Loan interest rate would be around 1.5%? Â …that the EVSC officials also agreed to pay up to 4.5% interest penalties for any late loan payments?
IS IT TRUE we wonder if any of the EVSC school board members or any of the members of the EVSC Administration would sign a personal loan agreement without knowing the exact interest rate of the loan?
IS IT TRUE we are now told that the practice of EVSC Administration applying for and receiving a Temporary Loan Warrant may have been going on for many years? …we look forward to the Superintendent  Of Schools, Dr. David Smith making a public statement clarifying the number of years that the school system has participated in making Temporary Loans?  …we wonder if any of the Temporary Loan money was ever used to fund any capital projects?
IS IT TRUEÂ last week one of our most conservative posters recommended that members of the EVSC School Board make a motion that the top EVSC administrator’s salary is cut 15% in order to balance the budget? Â …he also stated that he would like for members of the part-time School Board to also withdraw from receiving the school system paid health care insurance in order to help cut the budget?
IS IT TRUE throughout this year we have posted several comments that EPD officer Phillip Smith is doing a credible job? …it looks like several other people feel the same because it was just announced that EPD Officer Phillip Smith is now the Assistant Chief of the EPD?
IS IT TRUE we ask our “Prayer Warriors” to pray for our good friend and community activist Brenda Bergwitz who has been diagnosed with having Stage 3 cancer?
IS IT TRUE that three years ago our publisher experienced unexpected post-surgery complications from his spine surgery? …he “coded” three times before the medical team at Vanderbilt was able to bring him back to life and stabilize him? Â …after spending 9 days in a medically induced coma he miraculously started to function on his own? Â …last week he went under the knife at St. Vincent/Ascension-Evansville for another complicated spine surgery and things went very well for him? Â …thanks are in order to Steve Hammer for helping Ron to negotiate some of his physiological challenges right after surgery?…we also thank the “Prayer Warriors” for their divine intervention on Ron’s behalf?
IS IT TRUE we are told that several Vanderburgh County political movers and shakers are hoping that County Commission President Jeff Hatfield will serve another year in that position because he not only has good business skills but is easy to work with?
IS IT TRUE that the plans to distribute the complimentary printed edition of the City-County Observer in an orderely and calculated manner is really moving in the right direction? Â …sometime in the very near future we wil be announcing the permanant locations for you to pick up copiess of the printed edition of the CCO? Â …once we announce our pickup locations throughout Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties you will quiclly realize that we took the extra step to made the CCO convenient for you to pick up? Â …our papers shall be distributed in professionally design newspaper racks?
IS IT TRUE that the City-County Observer “Galloping Gourmet” Dr. Dan Adams is sharing his monster 12 20 Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Cookie recipe in our December-2020 printed newspaper?
IS IT TRUE that Kalah Hirsch, Records Specialist, and Asst. IDACS Coordinator for the Evansville Police Department is doing a credible job in providing us with the daily EPD Activity Report in a timely manner?
IS IT TRUEÂ we are please in the way that the good folks at local TV Channel 14 are providing the masses with up-to-date local news, weather, and sports? Â …we are so impressed by the way they are providing current and accurate news that we have included Channel 14 TV in our 2021 advertising budget?
IS IT TRUE when the people fear the Government we have Tyranny! Â When the Government fears the people we have Liberty!
Todays ‘Readers Poll†question is: Are you pleased with the way that Vanderburgh County Health Department is handling the COVID-19 virus dilemma?
Please take time and read our newest feature articles entitled “OBITUARIES, LEFT JAB, AND RIGHT JAB,  BIRTHDAYS, AND HOT JOBS†posted in our sections.
 Oh, you now are able to subscribe to the CCO on a daily basis at no cost.
If you would like to advertise in the CCO please contact us City-County Observer@live.com.
Ivy Tech Community College New Hires
Ivy Tech Community College Evansville Has Several New Hires This Semester. They include:
 Jordan Niemeier is now an Accounts Receivable Cashier at Ivy Tech Community College. She holds a bachelor’s degree from USI in political science and history.
Emma Shafer is now Assistant Director of Development for the Ivy Tech Foundation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from USI. Shafer previously worked for the EVSC Foundation as an intern. She is involved in the Girl Scouts, is a marching band instructor and is a member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority.
Cindy Schaefer is now Associate Professor/Certified Nursing Assisting Instructor at Ivy Tech Community College. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Evansville. Schaefer also earned a Ph.D. in nursing from Duquesne University. Shafer previously worked for the University of Evansville as a professor of nursing. She is involved in the Community First Health Fair, Catalyst Food Pantry, FIMR, and Sigma Theta Tau.
Erin Duff is now a member of the nursing faculty at Ivy Tech Community College. She holds an Associate of Science degree in nursing from Ivy Tech and a Master’s of Science degree in nursing from Western Governor’s University. Duff previously worked as a Trauma ICU nurse, a behavioral health nurse, and an adjunct faculty member.
Indiana Department of Transportation Award $101 million through Community Crossings
Governor Eric J. Holcomb and Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe McGuinness today announced 241 Indiana cities, towns, and counties received a combined $101 million in state matching funds for local road projects through Community Crossings, a component of the Governor’s Next Level Roads program.
“As we navigate through the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re as committed as ever to improving and building our state’s infrastructure. I’m incredibly pleased that we’re able to fund all of the high-priority local road projects submitted in this round. Taking care of our local roads is key to making sure our communities remain attractive places to grow businesses and create careers.â€
The Community Crossings Initiative has provided more than $830 million in state matching funds for construction projects. In response to revenue uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, INDOT moved this call for projects, originally scheduled for July, to September. The $101 million award is funded by the balance available in the state’s local road and bridge matching grant fund at the end of the 2020 fiscal year as well as revenue collected so far in the 2021 fiscal year.
“This is a tremendous win for our local partners,â€Â INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness said. “Our continued partnership with Hoosier communities will deliver more high priority local road projects in the coming year, many of which have been in planning for months or even years and wouldn’t be able to move forward now without the state’s funding commitment.â€
To qualify for funding, local governments must provide local matching funds, 50 percent for larger communities or 25 percent for smaller communities, from a funding source approved for road and bridge construction. They must also submit an INDOT-approved asset management plan for maintaining existing roads and bridges. State law requires annually that 50 percent of the available matching funds be awarded to communities within counties with a population of 50,000 or fewer. State lawmakers identified long-term funding for Community Crossings as part of House Enrolled Act 1002, passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Holcomb in April 2017.
The list of all communities receiving matching funds in the 2020 summer/fall call for projects is online at www.in.gov/indot/communitycrossings.
Settlement With Company That Stranded Residents Of Indianapolis Mobile Home Park
Attorney General Curtis Hill announced today that he has finalized a settlement with a company whose actions in 2019 forced multiple residents out of their mobile homes with no way to legally move their homes because they were never given titles.
Under a consent agreement approved Dec. 3, Blue Lake Inc. — the former owner-operator of the I-70 Mobile Home Park in Indianapolis — is prohibited from failing to deliver titles in violation of the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act and from taking assets from a senior consumer in violation of the Senior Consumer Protection Act. The agreement also contains a suspended judgment in the amount of $29,000.
“With this settlement, we have concluded a case in which we obtained a measure of justice for dozens of our fellow Hoosiers who were left in a frightening predicament through no fault of their own,†Attorney General Hill said. “Consumer protection has been a priority throughout the course of my administration, and it has been an honor to help people during their times of need.â€
In the fall of 2019, the Office of the Attorney General learned of the I-70 Mobile Home Park’s imminent closure. Multiple consumers contacted the office to report they were unable to move their mobile homes from the park because they had never received titles from Blue Lake Inc. after purchasing the homes from the company.
Upon investigating, the Office of the Attorney General learned that dozens of consumers were affected by Blue Lake Inc.’s failure to provide titles to mobile homes purchased by consumers. This made the consumers legally unable to move their own homes and forced to abandon them in light of the park’s closure.
In October 2019, the Office of the Attorney General filed a civil action and sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to keep the park open in order to allow residents to obtain their titles if possible, have more time to secure new housing, and to obtain consumer restitution payments.
Those 2019 actions were successful on all counts. Residents received over $50,000 in consumer restitution payments and had until February of this year to move out before the park permanently closed.
Once the park closed, the Office of the Attorney General worked to obtain final resolution of this matter, which has occurred with the consent agreement filed Dec. 3. Under the agreement, Blue Lake Inc. admits to no violation of laws.
Commentary: Live By The Trump, Die By The Trump
Commentary: Live By The Trump, Die By The Trump
By John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – They use the same words.
Every time.
Whenever I get an email or note from a Donald Trump supporter arguing that the president couldn’t possibly have lost the 2020 election because, they say, “Joe Biden barely even campaigned.â€
Their complaint misses the mark on at least two counts.
The first is the least important. The contention that Biden beat Trump “without ever leaving his basement†– another favorite phrase – doesn’t exactly reflect well on their candidate.
Arguing that their guy got beat by someone who didn’t have to work all that hard to administer the beating is less than a sterling endorsement of the president’s strengths as a campaigner.
But that’s not the Trump supporters’ biggest misunderstanding regarding why their candidate lost this time around.
In one important way, it didn’t matter who ran against Donald Trump this year or what sort of campaign that person ran.
That’s because, as he does with all things, the president made this race all about him. He turned the 2020 presidential election into a contest not between competing visions for the country and its future but into something singular and far more personal.
A referendum on Donald Trump.
He made it into an up-or-down vote not just on whether he was a good president, but whether he was someone with whom Americans wanted to spend another four years.
And he lost.
Big.
Joe Biden was almost irrelevant to that debate. All Biden had to do was be friendly and inoffensive and say, “I’m not Donald Trump.â€
That alone likely gained him about 60 million of the record 81 million popular votes Biden captured.
I’ve been covering politics for 40 years. In that time, I’ve never seen a political phenomenon like Donald Trump.
No one else has been able to dominate the national discussion the way he does. His basic assessment of himself – that he’s a ratings magnet for television and great copy for newspapers and magazines – is on the mark, as far it goes.
His supporters follow his every move, their attention bordering on idolatry. They don’t admire him. They worship him.
His detractors watch him with the same sort of transfixed and horrified fascination inspired by gruesome wrecks on the highway. They hate themselves for being so absorbed by him, but they can’t help themselves.
This rare gift of the president’s has allowed him to survive political crises that would have felled any other political figure. His ability to divert the nation’s attention from, say, a pristine recording of him boasting about sexually assaulting women or proof that he encouraged a foreign leader to falsely smear a political opponent would have been deadly to even the most popular of his predecessors in the Oval Office.
The ancient Greeks, though, had a belief that applies to this president and this time. They thought that a person’s greatest strength was also that person’s greatest weakness.
Trump’s singular knack for draining all the oxygen out of the room – for making sure that every eye was always turned, whether in adoration or disgust, toward him – forced Americans to make a choice.
They needed to decide if they wanted to spend another four years of having Donald Trump demanding their attention – getting into their faces – every second of every minute of every hour of every day, all the time, without break or end.
A fair number of Americans – just over 74 million – said that was all right with them.
But even more – a little more than 81 million – decided they’d had enough of Donald Trump. They wanted some peace and quiet and an end to the circus on a rollercoaster that has been the Trump presidency.
Maybe the reason Joe Biden didn’t run an aggressive, vigorous campaign is that he didn’t have to.
Given that Donald Trump was busy beating himself, the basement was as good a place as any for Biden to watch the show.
FOOTNOTE: John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
The City-County Observer posted this article without opinion, bias or editing.
Indiana Announces Third Round Of COVID-19 Response Grants
The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) today announced the third phase of COVID-19 Response Program is now open for applications.
“The COVID-19 Response Program is more critical than ever, not only because it helps local communities that are working to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, but also because it helps communities prepare for future transitions on their own terms,†Crouch said. “With additional federal funding, we were able to provide an additional round of this valued program.â€
Beginning in April, OCRA began addressing COVID-19 impact on Indiana communities. It has since awarded 112 grants to 62 communities, totaling more than $20.9 million through the COVID-19 Response Program.
For this round, eligible applicants include non-entitlement and entitlement local units of government and can apply for up to $250,000. The eligible activities include mental health services, childcare services, public WiFi locations, food pantry or bank services, subsidence payment programs, or grants or loans to businesses to retain low-to-moderate (LMI) jobs. Phase 3 is a competitive process and communities that received an award in either previous phase may apply again.
“Based on additional research and community feedback, OCRA was able to open this round to municipalities of all sizes,†said Denny Spinner, Executive Director of OCRA. “Our main goal is to continue to address COVID-19 and remind communities that we are in this together.â€
Proposals are being accepted until 11:59 p.m. ET Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. However, applicants are encouraged to submit by 4 p.m. ET as there will be no technical support available after that time. Proposal submission will be collected via the electronic Grants Management System. Applications are due by Friday, Feb. 26, 2021 with funding awards being announced on Thursday, April 1, 2021.
In March, Governor Eric Holcomb issued Executive Order 20-05 that allowed OCRA to redirect Community Development Block Grant funds to assist with COVID-19 needs, based on guidance from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
An informational webinar will be held Wednesday, Dec. 9 that further explains this phase of the program. More information can be found at in.gov/ocra/3010.htm or communities may contact the respective OCRA Community Liaison.