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HEALTH DEPARTMENT UPDATES STATEWIDE COVID-19 CASE COUNTS
Former Otter Sagara named co-pitching coach for the Texas Rangers
Former Evansville Otters pitcher and pitching coach Brendan Sagara has been named as a co-pitching coach for the Texas Rangers at the Major League level.
 Sagara played for the Otters in 1999, appearing in four games while accumulating a 1.69 ERA. In his 5 1/3 innings on the mound, he struck out four batters, allowed eight hits and surrendered one earned run.
 The Wahiawa, Hawaii native later served as Evansville’s pitching coach in 2008 under manager Jason Verdugo and also served as acting manager briefly during that same season when Verdugo was ill.
 Under his leadership in 2008, the Otters pitching staff finished with a 4.78 team ERA with 661 strikeouts and 355 walks. Evansville native Adam Rogers started 20 games for the Otters that season, finishing 8-7 with a 4.19 ERA.
 “I really enjoyed my time there as a player,” Sagara said. “I have always maintained a strong affinity for the city and its people. Evansville is truly one of the special places in professional baseball.”
 Sagara was scheduled to be the pitching coach for the Nashville Sounds in 2020 before the MiLB season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He ended up coaching at the Rangers’ alternate training site this year.
In 2018, Sagara was named the minor league pitching coordinator for the Chicago Cubs organization. He also worked in player development with the Miami Marlins organization before that.
 He was also an associate scout for the New York Mets from 2006-09 and a part-time scout for the Atlanta Braves from 2010-11. He was the pitching coach for five other Frontier League teams including; Dubois County (2001-02), Kenosha (2003), Springfield/Ozark (2004), Windy City (2007) and Southern Illinois (2009).
 “I’m very excited about the promotion (with the Rangers),” Sagara said. “I would not be where I am now without the Frontier League.”
The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions.
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COVID-19 testing at CK Newsome extended through November
The Reopen Evansville Task Force announced another extension of COVID-19 testing at C.K. Newsome Center.
Testing at the site — which is administered by OptumServe — will be extended through November, and is available for those that live and work in the Evansville region.
Operations will continue Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Registration is required. Those needing a test can register at lhi.care/covidtesting or call 888-634-1116.
Testing is free to all and no medical insurance is necessary. However, residents with existing insurance are asked to provide that information during the scheduling process.
The site was made possible through a collaboration between Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, the Vanderburgh County Health Department and the Indiana State Department of Health.
Gov. Holcomb to Provide Updates in the Fight Against COVID-19
Gov. Eric J. Holcomb and state leaders will host a virtual media briefing to provide updates on COVID-19 and its impact on Indiana.
WHO:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gov. Holcomb
State Health Commissioner Kristina Box, M.D., FACOG
Indiana National Guard Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Dale Lyles
WHEN:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, October 28
Guidelines For Trick Or Treating 2020 By Health Department
The Vanderburgh and Warrick County Health Departments have provided residents of Evansville, Vanderburgh County, and Warrick County with recommendations that will help keep children and families safe during this Halloween. Â
We know that increased risk of spreading COVID-19 occurs through personal contact between individuals who aren’t social distanced of six feet or more, and when people don’t utilize face coverings. The attached recommendations, if followed, should allow children and families to reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19, and to be safer during the Halloween holiday.
Guidelines for Trick or Treating 2020
- It is recommended that everyone participating in any event wear a face mask that covers the nose and mouth. Costume masks are not a substitute for a cloth mask.
- It is recommended that parents who are accompanying children carry hand sanitizer and use it before allowing children to remove their masks or touch their faces at the end of the event. Frequent use is also recommended when possible.
- Those who are considered high risk due to age or health conditions are encouraged not to participate in events.
- Those residents who are not comfortable participating in the event are encouraged NOT to turn on their outside/porch light thus indicating they do not wish to participate.
- Those persons who are Trick or Treating are encouraged to only visit those homes with outside/porch lights on indicating that they are participating in the event.
- Social distancing is recommended except for those members of the same household who may travel as a group.
- If you are handing out candy it is encouraged that you limit your contact as much as possible and that you use hand sanitizer and/or wash your hands between contact with others. It is recommended that facial coverings be worn while handing out treats.Â
- If you are handing out candy or any other food items, please use only “pre-packaged†food from a manufacturer. (No homemade items please)
- When handing out candy or food items please place the items into the child’s bag or container, do not let the children grab their own treats.Â
- Additional guidance and recommendations can be seen on the attached documents from the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH).
EPA Recognizes Lead Poisoning Prevention Week 2020
“Lead poisoning is one of the most preventable health tragedies for children in this country, and the EPA under President Trump is committed to eliminating lead exposure across this nation,†said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “In 2020 EPA has awarded or announced nearly $49 million to remove lead in drinking water in schools and day cares, announced a final rule to cut the level of lead in new plumbing material, and proposed a rule to cut lead dust levels on windowsills and floors. Just last week, EPA selected 10 projects to receive funding under the WIIN Act’s Reduction in Lead Exposure via Drinking Water grant program, including selecting seven grantees to receive $22.8 million to reduce lead in schools and child care facilities.â€
Under the Trump Administration’s December 2018 Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts (Action Plan), EPA committed to aggressively addressing lead issues by working with communities and partners to identify and eliminate lead exposure across the nation, especially for children who are the most vulnerable. For more information on the Action Plan, visit: https://www.epa.gov/lead/federal-action-plan-reduce-childhood-lead-exposure.
Through cross-governmental collaborations, public partnerships, rulemaking processes, enforcement actions, and targeted outreach, EPA has made tremendous gains to reduce lead exposure and associated harms throughout Fiscal Year 2020. Visit: https://www.epa.gov/leadactionplanimplementation to view EPA’s progress in implementing the Action Plan and stories of on-the-ground work being conducted nationwide. Below are a few notable highlights of EPA accomplishments to raise awareness of and reduce exposure to lead:
DECEMBER 2019
- EPA researchers co-led a cross-agency workshop on progress to “support and conduct critical research to inform efforts to reduce lead exposures and related health risks,†Goal 4 of the Action Plan. The workshop convened federal partners, including EPA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), who continue to work together to better protect children. Presentations featured EPA research in support of the updated Dust Lead Hazard Standard, Dust Lead Clearance Standard, Lead-Free Rule, and the Lead and Copper Rule. The workshop furthered cross-federal agency collaborations, for example, adding HUD’s Deteriorating Paint Index to EPA’s approaches used to map, target, and reduce children’s exposure to lead.
FEBRUARY 2020
- Announced the availability of $39.9 million to reduce lead in drinking water under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act. For more information, visit: https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/wiin-grant-reduction-lead-exposure-drinking-water-under-sdwa-section-1459b.
MARCH 2020
- Announced the Availability of $26 million to states for the Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water grant program under the WIIN Act. For more information on WIIN grants, visit: https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/wiin-grant-reduction-lead-exposure-drinking-water-under-sdwa-section-1459b. For more information on the Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water grant, visit: https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/wiin-grant-lead-testing-school-and-child-care-program-drinking-water.
JUNE 2020
- Released a proposal to reduce the clearance levels for lead in dust on floors and windowsills after lead removal activities. The proposed, tighter standards would increase the effectiveness of work done to remove lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 homes and childcare facilities, known as abatement, and lower the risk of lead exposure by ensuring that lead-based paint hazards are effectively and permanently eliminated following completion of the work. For more information, visit: https://www.epa.gov/lead/hazard-standards-and-clearance-levels-lead-paint-dust-and-soil-tscasections-402-and-403.
JULY 2020
- Announced a final rule to reduce lead in plumbing materials used in public water systems, homes, schools, and other facilities. The Use of Lead-Free Pipes, Fittings, Fixtures, Solder, and Flux for Drinking Water final rule significantly limits the lead content allowed in plumbing materials used in new construction and in the replacement of existing plumbing from 8% to 0.25% in accordance with the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act of 2011. For more information, visit: https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/use-lead-free-pipes-fittings-fixtures-solder-and-flux-drinking-water.
- Announced the availability of more than $4 million to tribal consortia for the Tribal Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program under the WIIN Act. For more information on WIIN grants, visit: https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/wiingrant-reduction-lead-exposure-drinking-water-under-sdwa-section-1459b. For more information on Tribal Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water, visit: https://www.epa.gov/tribaldrinkingwater/wiin-act-section-2107-lead-testing-school-and-child-care-program-drinking-water.
OCTOBER 2020
- Released the Lead Awareness in Indian Country: Keeping our Children Healthy! curriculum, a robust set of educational tools that provide practical, on-the-ground, community-based resources to reduce childhood lead exposure. This series of four modules provides lesson plans, worksheets, key messages, presentation slides, and kids’ activity sheets that tribes and community leaders can use to improve public awareness of the dangers associated with lead exposure and promote preventative actions to reduce childhood lead exposure. To view the curriculum, visit https://www.epa.gov/lead.
- EPA announced projects that were selected to receive nearly $40 million in grant funding under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN). These first-ever selections under the WIIN Act’s Reduction in Lead Exposure via Drinking Water grant will be used to assist disadvantaged communities and schools with removing sources of lead in drinking water. The selected grantees will conduct projects that will reduce lead exposure in drinking water by replacing thousands of lead service lines and removing potential sources of lead in hundreds of schools and childcare facilities across the United States. For more information visit: https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/wiin-grant-reduction-lead-exposure-drinking-water.
EPA continues to reduce exposures from lead in soils through removal, remedial, and corrective actions at contaminated sites. In fiscal year 2020, EPA completed 56 Superfund cleanup actions at sites where lead is a contaminant of concern. 21 of these actions were at remedial sites and 35 were under the removal program.
Tri-State Food Bank and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Collaborate to Provide Food for Better Health
Tri-State Food Bank and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Collaborate to Provide Food for Better Health
Tri-State Food Bank and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Anthem) will announce Anthem’s three-year support of the food bank that will help the food bank provide nearly 500,000 meals to an estimated 15,000 households in the Tri-State area.
WHERE: 14 East Iowa St.in Evansville, IN 47711
WHEN: Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 8:45 am Central News Conference/Media Availability of Tri-State Food Bank and Anthem Executives zt9:00am Central – Distribution begins.
WHO: Tri-State Food Bank, Glenn Roberts, Executive Director Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Neil Steffens, President of Anthem’s Medicare Central Region
Ivy Tech Community College Hosting Virtual College 101
Ivy Tech Community College Hosting Virtual College 101
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Ivy Tech Community College will host a Virtual College 101 event Thursday, November 5 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. During the event, participants will learn more about what Ivy Tech offers, including numerous associate degree and short-term certificate programs, as well as transfer options.
Interested participants must RSVP at www/Ivytech.edu/college 101. During the appointment, participants will learn about programs in areas where employers are hiring such as Healthcare, IT, Supply Chain, Business, and Advanced Manufacturing as well as transfer options such as Transfer as a Junior and Guaranteed Admissions.
Ivy Tech offers a high-value education at the lowest cost in Indiana, with scholarships and financial aid available. Whether prospective students are interested in learning more about a certificate to join the workforce quickly, an associate degree, or credits that easily transfer to four-year universities, education is within their reach. Ivy Tech students can find support through tutoring, advising and additional support services.
WEINZAPFEL CALLS FOR LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA TO SUPPORT CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS, PUBLIC EDUCATION
WEINZAPFEL CALLS FOR LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA TO SUPPORT CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS, PUBLIC EDUCATION
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – To better fund public education and improve the state’s criminal justice system, today Democratic nominee for Attorney General, Jonathan Weinzapfel, called for the legalization and regulation of marijuana for adults in Indiana.
Indiana is one of just 23 states where possession of even small amounts of cannabis could lead to jail time and it’s one of 17 states that prohibit its medicinal use. Indiana’s neighbors, Illinois and Michigan, have already legalized recreational usage and Ohio now permits medical marijuana.
“As Indiana works to come out of this pandemic stronger than before, legalizing cannabis for adults just makes sense,†said Weinzapfel. “Not only will it help bring in much-needed tax dollars, but it will also relieve unnecessary burdens on police and the court system while reducing jail overcrowding across the state. This will allow law enforcement agencies to focus on serious crimes and keeping our communities safe.
†In contrast to Weinzapfel’s position, his opponent, former Congressman Todd Rokita, supports locking Hoosiers up for possession of marijuana and opposes its medicinal use.
Since their laws went into effect, Michigan has already collected more than $35 million in new tax revenues from the sale of marijuana, while Illinois has collected more than $100 million. The Tax Foundation, an independent tax policy nonprofit, estimates that Indiana could generate upwards of $171 million annually from legalization.
“As Attorney General, I would work with the Indiana General Assembly to create a well-regulated system and advocate that tax dollar generated from the sale of recreational cannabis be directed towards public schools and giving teachers a raise,†said Weinzapfel, a former state legislator. “I also would push for a portion of those new dollars to be invested in supporting and improving public safety.
†Specifically, Weinzapfel, a former Mayor and the only candidate to lead a police department, is also calling for the following reforms:
◠Providing Body Cameras to Every Police Officer. Under Weinzapfel’s leadership as Mayor, Evansville became one of the state’s first cities to purchase body cameras for its police force. As Attorney General, Weinzapfel will work with the General Assembly to purchase body cameras for every police officer in Indiana.
â— Create State Use of Force Guidelines. As Attorney General, Weinzapfel will support efforts to ban the use of chokeholds and will work to establish common-sense use-of-force guidelines that under-resourced local law enforcement agencies can look to for guidance.
◠Protect Police Departments and Communities from Problem Officers. The overwhelming majority of officers are dedicated public servants and deserve the trust of the communities they serve. In an effort to keep officers who can’t follow standard operating procedures from moving from one department to the next, Weinzapfel will work with law enforcement agencies to develop a new protocol that would allow departments to know if an applicant has a history of complaints or disciplinary actions.
â— Improve Training for Law Enforcement. As Attorney General, Weinzapfel will advocate for increased funding for training of public safety officers, including de-escalation of violence techniques and awareness of signs of mental illness, and will support efforts to fund much-needed upgrades to the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Academy.
◠Create Drug Courts in Every County. To better address the state’s opioid epidemic, Weinzapfel will advocate for the creation of drug courts in every Indiana county. Approximately 55 circuits, superior, county, and city courts already exist. The courts focus on treatment and rehabilitation and keep non-violent offenders out of already overcrowded jails. With the COVID-19 pandemic leading to an increase in opioid use across the nation, Indiana must be prepared to proactively address this growing crisis.
◠Reduce Indiana’s Recidivism Rate. As a former Chancellor at Ivy Tech, Weinzapfel will use his higher education experience to help tackle Indiana’s recidivism epidemic. Currently, about 40 percent of incarcerated Hoosiers return to prison within three years. Those who participated in work release or education programs are nearly 40 percent less likely to return than those who do not. As Attorney General, Weinzapfel will assemble leaders from the state’s colleges and universities, state government, the business community, law enforcement and criminal justice advocates, as well as the non-profit sector, to develop a plan to bring more opportunities to those in prison so they are released with skills and job opportunities, thereby reducing the state’s high rate of reincarceration.
â— Create a Statewide Criminal Justice Roundtable. As Mayor, Weinzapfel created community roundtables to discuss important topics, including education and accessibility issues. As Attorney General, Weinzapfel will form a statewide roundtable on criminal justice reform to generate meaningful ideas and offer input to his office, the Indiana General Assembly, and the public on criminal justice challenges facing the state.
â— Use the Opioid Settlement Wisely. As Attorney General, Weinzapfel would be a leading voice in the multistate lawsuit with opioid manufacturers. Through the settlement agreement, Weinzapfel will work to ensure those dollars are spent on providing drug addiction rehabilitation services, combatting future drug abuse throughout the state, and funding mental health counseling and treatment.
“I look forward to working with leaders of both parties to advance this plan and better fund education and public safety,†said Weinzapfel. “We cannot remain stuck in the past, while the states around us are moving ahead. We can create a safe, well-regulated system here that will benefit our children, families, and communities for years to come. I’m committed to doing that as Indiana’s next Attorney General.
†Jonathan Weinzapfel was elected mayor of Evansville in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. After his two terms as mayor, Weinzapfel served as chancellor of the Ivy Tech Evansville campus from 2014-2019. He also served in the Indiana General Assembly as a state representative from 1999-2003. He currently works as a partner at the law firm of Jones Wallace in Evansville. Jonathan and his wife Patricia reside in Evansville and have three children.
For more information on Jonathan or his campaign for Indiana Attorney General, please visit www.WeinzapfelforAG.com. To schedule an interview, email media@weinzapfelforAG.com.