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Board of School Trustees of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Meeting
 The Board of School Trustees of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation will meet in executive session at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, November 30, 2020, at the EVSC Administration Building, 951 Walnut, IN 47713, Evansville, IN.
The session will be conducted according to Senate Enrolled Act 313, Section 1, I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1, as amended. The purpose of the meeting is for discussion of the assessment, design, and implementation of school safety and security measures, plans, and systems (3Â
HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
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weinzapfel
As for the curious entry of Local Union Boss Mr. Jack McNeely into the inside world of Democratic candidates for Mayor of Evansville, we can only ask why? Is it because Mayor Weinzapfel appointed him to the Board of Directors of the City of Evansville’s Public Works Department with an annual stipend of $3,199.00? Is it because as was reported today that many of the $525,000 dollars in Mayor Weinzapfel’s war chest came from the brotherhood of unions? Is it because he believes that Rick Davis is going to exercise independent judgment as the Mayor of Evansville that is less controllable? We at the CCO are confused by Mr. McNeely’s position as both the Mayor and Treasurer Davis seem to be equal supporters of local collective bargaining units. In every poll that has been running this week Rick Davis has been selected over Mayor Weinzapfel. It is highly probable that Mr. Davis will become the Democratic candidate for Mayor of Evansville. The City County Observer questions the wisdom of Mr. McNeely’s irrational response to a man who has a very legitimate chance to be the next Mayor of Evansville. Perhaps a Republican candidate will emerge that Mr. McNeely is more comfortable with than he is with Mr. Davis as his criticisms were quite severe.
Journalism depends on consistent and reliable sources such as the City County Observer’s Mole #3 who says that if Rick Davis stays in the race for Mayor of Evansville that Jonathon Weinzapfel will not announce his candidacy for that office. He will be more likely to enter the private sector or run for higher office. Mole #3 (Nostradamus of local politics) furthermore predicts that the Democratic primary for Mayor of Evansville will pit Rick Davis against County Commissioner Troy Tornatta, who is currently in a political dog fight to keep his office as the Democratic incumbent against Marsha Abell. That is a story for another day.
The chain of events that led to Mr. Davis’s announcement if nothing else certainly put the Democratic Party leadership, union leadership, and Mayor Weinzapfel on the defensive. Quite frankly, the Mayor and his supporters are acting more like challengers than an incumbent. All of this is coming from a person who has never publicly expressed an interest in running for Mayor of Evansville again. Mayor Weinzapfel has recently had his eye on the offices of Governor or Lt. Governor in Indianapolis as his next objective. The City County Observer is confused over why such an over the top reaction came from the Mayor’s supporters. We are also confused on the Mayor’s silence on the issue while his known supporters are rattling their sabers.
The City County Observer is beginning to finally see some change coming to Evansville. Those changes are within the Democratic Party and they have been needed for decades. It appears as though the torch that should have been passed to a new generation of progressive thinkers long ago is not being passed at all. That torch is either being forcefully taken from the dying hands of an aging machine or maybe that machine just misplaced its torch and the Kennedy Club with Rick Davis as a leader has retrieved it to carry it to higher place. That higher place will hopefully be a place without an entitlement mentality of office holders and is devoid of political patronage positions that are used to keep the herd inside the fences.
Mr. Davis has certainly not been welcomed with the open arms of Central Committee of the Democratic Party. He has however excited the silent majority of Vanderburgh County Democrats who are rallying around his candidacy. That excitement is being expressed from the from halls of the Civic Center to the boothless street of the Fall Festival and like it or not Mayor Weinzapfel and his political operatives are going to have to accept that Rick Davis is a power to be reckoned with.
In conclusion this editorial should be interpreted as a political endorsement. We endorse freedom of speech, freedom of choice, and the right to choose. Rick Davis and any other aspiring candidate for public office has the constitutional right to choose when, where, and how to enter a race without getting permission from any incumbent, party chairman, political action committee, major contributors, or union bosses before doing so. It is up to the candidates to choose when to run and the people to choose their elected officials by having free elections. We say Run Rick Run, Run Troy Run, Run McGinn Run, Run Lloyd Run, Run Winnecke Run, and for that matter Run Jonathon Run. Thanks to the founding fathers of the United States of America that the final decision is still in the hands of the voting citizens.
Eagles grounded in opener by Hawks
25th-ranked University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball rallied from a 21-point deficit, but it was not enough as it fell to Rockhurst University, 81-70, Friday afternoon at Screaming Eagles Arena. USI starts the season 0-1, while Rockhurst begins 1-0.
The Screaming Eagles spotted the Hawks large leads in the opening 15 minutes of the game, falling behind 11-0 in the first two minutes and trailed by as many as 21 points, 38-17, before 14 minutes were gone in the half. USI junior guard Jelani Simmons sparked a 26-7 surge for USI in the final six minutes before halftime by scoring 15 of his 21 first half points to drag the Eagles to within two by the intermission, 45-43.
In the second half, the Eagles added to the rally from the end of the opening stanza (30-9) when sophomore guard Chance Coyle knotted up the score, 47-47, with a pair of free throws with 18:48 left. The Hawks quickly regained the lead, re-extending the margin to seven points, 56-49, with 14:34 remaining and never looked back.
Rockhurst pushed the lead to as many as 13 points in the final eight minutes, 68-55, before closing out its 81-70 victory. USI shrunk the deficit to seven points twice in the last five minutes, but could not get over the top in experiencing the loss.
Simmons finished his explosive USI debut by adding five second-half points and finished with a game-high 26. The junior guard was eight-of-19 from the field, six-of-12 from beyond the arc, and four-of-six from the stripe.
Senior forwards Josh Price and Emmanuel Little followed with 15 points each. Price, who also capped off a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds, was six-of-17 from the field and three-of-four from the line, while Little was five-of-15 from the field, one-of-two from long range, and four-of-seven from the free throw line.
USI continues its season-opening five-game homestand Sunday when it hosts William Jewell College at 3:15 p.m. The Cardinals, who opens their schedule tonight when it visits the University of Indianapolis, was 10-18 overall a year ago, placing 14th in the GLVC with a 5-15 league mark.
The Eagles lead the all-time series with the Cardinals, 7-1, after winning the only match-up a year ago, 76-60, in Liberty, Missouri. Senior guard Mateo Rivera led the way with 14 points in the victory.
UPDATES: STATEWIDE COVID-19 CASE COUNTS IS A WHOOPING 324,537
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Deceptive Mailings Suggest Recipients Have Won Impressive Prizes
Attorney General Curtis Hill is warning Hoosiers to beware of advertising pitches that mislead consumers into thinking they have won significant prizes. This tactic is often employed to lure people to locations where they are subjected to used-car sales pitches.
Despite successful legal actions taken previously by the Office of the Attorney General against this tactic, advertising firms and auto dealerships continue to put it into practice.
Recently, the Office of the Attorney General filed two complaints against auto prize mailing promoters engaging in this conduct — one in Bartholomew County in south-central Indiana and one in Lake County in northwestern Indiana.
- In Bartholomew County, Budget Direct Mail Promotions LLC (BDM) and Heritage Automotive Sales LLC designed and ran a promotion for a sales event at Heritage Automotive. BDM and Heritage Automotive are owned by the same individual. The Attorney General’s complaint alleges BDM sent mailings to 40,000 Indiana recipients that included game pieces indicating that each recipient had won one of six specified prizes: $10,000, $5,000, $1,000, $500, a 55-inch flat-screen TV or a Yamaha ATV.
- When 142 recipients took their mailings to Heritage Automotive’s sales event to claim their prizes, each recipient was instead subjected to a sales pitch soliciting the purchase of a vehicle. The recipients were finally informed they had not won any of the six prizes prominently represented on the mailing. Each recipient instead received a $5 gift card to either Kroger or Walmart. The mailings also failed to include proper disclosures required by Indiana law
- In Lake County, the Attorney General’s complaint alleges Rush Hour Events LLC promoted and ran a sales event on behalf of an Indiana vehicle dealership.To promote the sales event, Rush Hour Events sent promotional mailings to 33,325 Indiana recipients. Each mailing created the impression that the recipient had won a significant prize. The recipients of the mailings were directed to the dealership to claim their prizes. Once lured to the dealership, 116 recipients were subjected to a sales pitch urging the purchase of a vehicle. The recipients of the mailings were eventually awarded their “prize†— a cheap “smart watch.†The mailings also failed to include proper disclosures as required by Indiana law.
“Most car dealers in Indiana are good, honest, hard-working professionals,†Attorney General Hill said. “Unfortunately, every industry has its share of individuals who seem bent on skirting the law in order to maximize profits.â€
He urged Hoosiers to be vigilant.
“When it comes to these advertising schemes that promise great prizes just for showing up, we encourage consumers to remember the old maxim that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,†Attorney General Hill said. “As we work to enforce the law and impose penalties against anyone violating the rules, we also advise Hoosiers to take steps to avoid becoming victims in the first place.â€
Attorney General Hill offered consumers these three tips regarding prize mailings:
- Be skeptical. It is highly unlikely you won any significant prize. Even if your mailing contains a game piece showing you won a significant prize, it is likely that every mailing sent contained an identical “winning†game piece. Checking the fine print on the mailing will likely reveal that the odds of winning a significant prize is one in tens of thousands.
- If you wish to see whether you have won a prize, be prepared to handle a sales presentation for a new vehicle. The mailing was sent to get you into the dealership to sell you a vehicle. If you’re not in the market for a vehicle, inform the salesperson of this fact and request your prize. Be prepared to say no and walk away if the salesperson continues to push a sale.Â
- If you do end up deciding to purchase a vehicle at such a sales event, take your time and check various resources such as vehicle history reports and the Attorney General’s “Purchasing a Vehicle†fact sheet. The salesperson will likely push you to buy immediately, but doing your due diligence on a used vehicle purchase is almost always the better option.
Anyone who believes they have been the victim of a scam or targeted by scammers should file a complaint with the Office of Attorney General at indianaconsumer.com or by calling 1-800-382-5516.
World of imagination Awaits Visitors At Eiteljorg’s Jingle Rails, Even During Pandemic
World of imagination Awaits Visitors At Eiteljorg’s Jingle Rails, Even During Pandemic
By Taylor WootenÂ
TheStatehouseFile.comÂ
INDIANAPOLIS — The nine trains featured at Eiteljorg Museum’s Jingle Rails exhibition chug on in spite of COVID-19 that continues to spread across the state.
The annual exhibit is entering its 11th year with some big changes, including reserved time slots for all visitors, a one-way, socially-distanced path, and Plexiglass shields separating people. The trains and their all-natural settings will be available to view through Jan. 18 in 15-minute visits.
Jingle Rails: The Great Western Adventure showcases the G-scale model trains as they whirl past familiar landmarks both in nearby downtown Indianapolis and in the western United States. The attraction, created by Applied Imagination in Alexandria, Kentucky, is meant to remind visitors of past family vacations or feel the joy of traveling, said Bryan Corbin, public relations manager of the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art.
The scenery is crafted from all-natural materials such as bark, tree roots, pinecones, acorns, seed pods and honeycomb. The trains run on 1,200 feet of track for seven hours a day, except for Sunday when they run for five. The hardworking miniature trains require frequent maintenance by a team of knowledgeable volunteers.
Mike Davis is one of these volunteers and has been for the last eight years. He said his love of trains began when he was young but was more recently rekindled.
“I grew up in that generation where, your Christmas at about seven or eight years old, you got a model train and it stayed a big part of your life until about the time you get your driver’s license,†Davis said. “The trains go back in a box at mom and dad’s house and they stay there, and mine did for about 40 years. And then we took them out, and that was just kind of like opening Pandora’s box.â€
Davis said he enjoys pointing out very small details that the artists from Applied Imagination included in the piece, like tiny cooking fires in areas depicting Native American life.
The trains go through a lot of wear and tear, Davis said, because the models aren’t meant to be moving for several hours a day. There are also larger incidents on occasion.
“I came in and I heard a mother say, ‘Oh Billy, don’t do that,’†Davis said. “And I looked and the train was going through the covered bridge. I didn’t see anything wrong.â€
Davis said the child had detached the caboose from the rest of the train while it was going through the covered bridge, and he didn’t notice until the front end of the train collided with the caboose in the tunnel.
Often, visitors return to see the exhibit for many years and notice the changes made, Davis said. For example, this year a display of Mesa Verde National Park will be lit up along with several hot air balloons constructed from leaves.
“I’ve seen every year for eight years that I’ve been here,†Davis said. “And of course, the kids are growing now. Some older adults come back in year after year, and they can always pick up on the things that are new this year.â€
Applied Imagination touts 16 similar displays in libraries, museums and other locations across the US.
Tickets for the event are free for members, $15 for adults, $8 for ages 5 to 17, and free for children ages 4 and under and can be purchased here. Everyone, members included, needs to schedule a time to see the trains.
Jingle Rail tickets are timed at 15-minute intervals to limit the exhibit to no more than 16 visitors because of COVID-19 distancing restrictions. If there are fewer than 16 people in the exhibitor no one in line, visitors may linger longer than 15 minutes. Jingle Rails tickets also provide admission to the rest of the Eiteljorg Museum and there is no time limit to tour the exhibits.
FOOTNOTE: Taylor Wooten is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
