Early this morning around 2:30 a.m., the Evansville Police Department was called to 720 SE 8th St., at the Marathon Gas Station, for a robbery in progress.Â
 After arriving at the gas station the victim informed officers that an unknown male approached her in the parking lot, pointed a gun at her and then demanded money, along with the keys to her car. The victim described the male as between 5’6 and 5’10 in height and weighing around 150 pounds. She also thought he was between 16 and 20 years old.Â
 The suspect fled the gas station lot in the victim’s 2008 Ford Taurus. The victim described her vehicle as having Kentucky license plates, having 4 doors and a yellow sticker on the windshield. She also advised that the car had chrome mirrors, door handles and wheels, with black plastic rain guards.
 Anyone who has information about this robbery, or might have located this vehicle, is asked to contact the Evansville Police Department’s Detective Office at 812-436-7979, or contact the WeTip Line at 1-800-78-Crime.
Letter to the Editor of The City-County Observer Concerning Sheriff David Wedding
Sheriff Wedding,
Your decision to change political parties is your decision.
It’s your rationale I question. You served as Deputy Sheriff eight years under Democrat Brad Ellsworth and are in your sixth year as a Democratic Sheriff.
Nationally, we are being pulled apart. Broad stroke statements from both parties continue to create an environment of divisiveness. Instead of conversations that promote understanding, citizens and events are being labeled, categorized. We are being pushed into “either-orâ€-â€black or whiteâ€,-“with me or against me†categories, while people’s belief systems are complex and come in many shades of grey. Not all police, blacks, browns, whites, Republicans, Democrats, Independents are defined by one assigned title. Even Christians, Jews and other religions aren’t the same around the world. And yet, broad statements cast individuals into “labels†not defining complex individuals with personal beliefs. Labels provoke strong emotional responses-good, bad, fear, love, hatred. Divisiveness fragments relationships between friends, families and neighbors already stressed by social distancing.
I am a Democrat and not even one of your definitions represents my belief system. I am not a wild-eyed leftist radical. I have voted for both parties dependent on the qualifications of the candidates. I proudly fly the American flag. I am a church-going Christian. I believe in peaceful protests, not riots. I support the police and the military.
Our democracy is precious. It can’t be carved up by simply red or blue or any other label. We, as common humanity, can’t allow that. We, as free Americans, can’t accept that.
Barbara Borries
Evansville, Ind
FOOTNOTE: This letter was sent to us by Barbara Borries on September 211, 2020. Â This was printed without bias or editing.
INDIANAPOLIS—As Indiana becomes one of only four states requiring an excuse for absentee voting, a federal appeals court is being urged to order the state to allow all Hoosiers to vote in the Nov. 3 general election by absentee ballot without an excuse because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A group of Indiana voters and the organization, Indiana Vote By Mail, filed a brief Wednesday with the 7th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to overturn a lower court ruling that denied their motion for an injunction to allow no-excuse mail-in voting.
A worker at the Johnson County courthouse reviews an absentee ballot application. So far, there have been more than 240,000 requests for mail-in absentee ballots in Indiana. Photo by Taylor Wooten, TheStatehouseFile.com.
“Everybody needs an option,†said Barbara Tully, president of Indiana Vote By Mail. “Vote by mail is a great equalizer.â€
To get an absentee ballot in Indiana, voters must have one of 11 listed excuses in the application, including being over 65 years of age or out of the county on the date of the election. Fear of COVID-19, which has killed more than 3,200 Hoosiers and sickened more than 100,000 as it continues to spread, is not one of them.
“We seem intent in Indiana to make it harder for people to vote,†Tully said.
Vote By Mail and other voters initially filed a lawsuit in federal court in August saying Indiana’s law violates the 26thAmendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, and asked for an injunction that would force state officials to allow no-excuse absentee voting.
A federal judge denied the motion and the organization appealed to the 7th Circuit. Hill responded to their appeal on behalf of Indiana on Sept. 10, urging the appellate court to uphold the lower court ruling and now Vote By Mail’s attorneys have filed an answer to Hill.
Attorneys for Vote By Mail argue that Indiana is still in a public health emergency and going to the polls in-person puts lives at risk. Allowing those over 65 to vote by mail while not extending the same right to younger voters is a violation of the 26th Amendment.
They also dispute Hill’s argument that to rule in favor of Vote By Mail would require striking down the provision in Indiana’s absentee voting law allowing persons over age 65 to obtain an absentee ballot.
“This argument is astonishing. Particularly during a pandemic, in which in-person voting poses serious risks to all voters, this Court not only can but should issue a preliminary injunction allowing all Indiana voters the choice to vote by mail—just as Defendants concluded the Indiana Election Code permitted for the June primary,†the appeal says.
During his virtual press conference Wednesday on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Eric Holcomb said that voters have plenty of options to vote safely in the general election. He added that changes to the state’s absentee voting law should be made by the legislature.
Gov. Eric Holcomb during a June COVID-19 update. TheStatehouseFile.com
“The bottom line is, it is safe to vote in-person for up to 28 days prior to the election,†Holcomb said, citing the Oct. 6 opening date for early voting.
Hill, in his defense of Indiana’s voting procedures, argued that Indiana’s use of early voting and absentee voting for the elderly and sick is sufficient during the pandemic. Changing the law two months before the election is too drastic and could cause chaos, he added.
The Indiana Election Commission voted in March to allow mail-in voting without an excuse for the June 2 primary. In response to why this cannot be replicated, Holcomb said that this decision was made due to restrictions on travel that were in place at the time.
The deadline to register to vote for the general election is Oct. 5. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 22 and can be accessed on the Indiana Voter Registration website.
Taylor Wooten is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
The Southwest Indiana Chamber will host the Annual Meeting & Dinner from 5pm to 8pm at the Ford Center on Thursday, September 24.
Annual Meeting & Dinner signifies the change in board leadership. We celebrate successes of the past year, Annual Meeting & Dinner signifies the change in board leadership. We celebrate successes of the past year, look ahead to a new year and honor local business and their leaders. At this signature event, awards are presented to the most outstanding businesses and individuals of the year including Business of the Year and Distinguished Business Person of the Year. Nominations are open now thru August 19, 2020. This event attracts Chamber Members, elected and appointed officials, key community leaders and our strategic partners. This event is the largest Chamber networking event of the year. Our Keynote Speaker this year is Battalion Chief David Morkal a 30 year veteran with the FDNY and University of Evansville alum. In the spirit or our speaker, we will promoting and awarding the charity 911 Gives Hope. #BuildingResilience
Chamber events manager, Karen Robinson, and the staff of the Ford Center are taking all precautions necessary as guided by the CDC for a safe and comfortable event. A virtual option has been made available with lunch delivery.
Gold Sponsors: Concept Sound & Light, Vectren. Silver Sponsors: Berry Global, BKD CPA’s & Advisors, Fifth Third Bank, Old National Bank, and Townsquare Media. Signature Series Sponsor: Atlas. Live Streaming Sponsor: Astrazeneca.
The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind motorists to exercise caution on our county roadways as fall harvest season gets underway. “Our local farmers will be moving farm implements and other agricultural machinery along county roadways in order to access farm fields,†said Sheriff Dave Wedding. “Motorists should be prepared for machinery to enter a field from the roadway or exit a field onto the roadway.”
Machinery that travels under 25 miles per hour is required to display a slow moving vehicle emblem (see Indiana Code 9-21-9). “Crashes can occur when a motorist fails to recognize that the machinery they are approaching is moving at a significantly slower speed than normal traffic,†said Sheriff Wedding. “The risk of making this miscalculation increases at night. Don’t attempt to pass slow moving farm equipment unless it is safe and legal to do so.â€
This is the first fall season in Vanderburgh County since Off-Road Vehicles became legal to operate on many county roadways. County residents may wish to familiarize themselves with the new ordinance and be prepared for increased Off-Road Vehicle traffic.
October and November is breeding season for the white-tailed deer. Once corn starts being harvested, deer will lose their cover and begin moving across roadways frequently. Last year there were 196 crashes in Vanderburgh County that involved deer and 6 of those crashes resulted in injury. 76 of last year’s crashes that involved deer occurred in October and November alone.
“Traffic typically increases on our rural roadways during the fall, especially in areas known for agricultural tourism,†said Sheriff Wedding. Motorists are advised to slow down and watch for increased traffic in the area of Mayse Farm Market on N. Saint Joseph Avenue, Goebel Farms on W. Boonville-New Harmony Road and Farm 57 on Kansas Road.â€
“With motorists and farmers sharing the responsibility of keeping our roadways safe this fall, there is no reason to expect anything less than a successful harvest,” said Sheriff Wedding.
Fall Harvest Safety Tips:
Exercise caution and patience when approaching farm machinery.
Farm machinery may enter the roadway at any time, so slow down if you see equipment traveling towards or adjacent to a roadway.
Do not pass farm machinery unless it is safe and legal to do so.
Farm machinery is typically not equipped with turn signals, so watch for unanticipated left turns and increase your following distance at night.
Be aware of increased traffic at agricultural tourism locations.
Watch for off-road vechicles, which are more likely to make unexpected movements.
Watch for deer! If you spot one, then expect more to cross.
In response to plans that would terminate essential faculty and slash millions of dollars from key University of Evansville academic programs, a diverse group of UE faculty has joined the American Association of University Professors and launched a campaign named Save UE!
Shortly before classes began, UE President Christopher M. Pietruskiewicz told faculty about the planned cuts, the exact details of which still are being determined. Save UE has two goals. The first is to inform students, parents, alumni, staff, emeriti faculty, board members, and community members of the impact such cuts would have on the academic quality of a school recently named one of the top five Regional Universities in the Midwest by US News and World Report. The second goal of the campaign is to give faculty members a voice in shaping the cuts. This would allow them to work to minimize the impact of those cuts on students and the overall academic quality of the university.
Repeated requests from faculty for a seat at the table have gone unmet, and this has caused the majority of UE’s faculty to join the AAUP. UE’s administration has said it intends to conduct its cuts with no significant involvement from faculty and has also refused to share any data or criteria for making these cuts with faculty members. Cuts will be made by the end of the Fall 2020 semester.
The SAVE UE campaign is directed at the university’s administration and demands the following:
• The implementation of AAUP best practices for shared governance
• The following of AAUP guidelines for changes that alter or remove academic programs and
faculty positions
• The presence of elected faculty members in all groups and committees related to the program
evaluation process
• The sharing of program data between the administration and the faculty
• The use of criteria to which the faculty and the administration both assent within the program
Combined graduate, undergraduate enrollment sees 2.1% decline from Fall 2019
The University of Southern Indiana set a record for graduate enrollment for the fifth consecutive year, with 1,766 students enrolled in masters and doctoral programs for the Fall 2020 Semester.
Graduate enrollment at USI rose 14.9% over Fall 2019 and has risen 21.9% over the past two years. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) Program, housed within the Romain College of Business, continues to fuel this growth; more than 1,000 students are currently pursuing their MBA at USI, either in a traditional program or in an accelerated, online-only program.
“The sustained growth we are seeing in professional programs with adult learners shows USI’s commitment to diversifying educational offerings that are both of high value and of academic excellence,†said Ronald S. Rochon, USI President. “That commitment extends to our students of all walks of life and, as we navigate a new reality shaped in part by COVID-19, we are eager to adapt that experience to benefit each student as an individual.â€
In total, enrollment at the University of Southern Indiana for the Fall 2020 Semester is 10,204*. This combines graduate, undergraduate and dual credit students, including an estimated 1,699* dual credit students participating in USI’s College Achievement Program in 27 high schools across Indiana.
Joint graduate and undergraduate enrollment totaling 8,505 is down 2.1% compared to the Fall 2019 Semester. The Class of 2024 features 1,286 new first-time students with an incoming GPA (grade point average) of 3.48, a new record for USI, as well as 451 new transfer students. Overall undergraduate enrollment is 6,739.
“We have balanced the strong student desire for an on-campus learning experience with protecting the health and safety of our entire population through a blend of in-person, hybrid and online-only courses,†said Dr. Mohammed Khayum, Provost. “Although subject to change, physical distancing, face coverings and cleaning protocols are currently allowing approximately 64% of our classes to be offered either in-person or in a hybrid format.â€
Students at USI represent 91 Indiana counties, 43 states and 48 countries. In-state students comprise 80% of the student body, with out-of-state and international students making up the remaining 20%. Minority and international students comprise a record 15.6% of the student population, despite a decrease in the population of international students attributed to travel restrictions in place due to the pandemic.
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