Right Jab And Middle Jab And Left Jab†August 16, 2020
Right Jab And Middle Jab And Left Jab†August 16, 2020
The majority of our “IS IT TRUE†columns are about local or state issues, so we have decided to give our more opinionated readers exclusive access to our newly created “LEFT JAB and Middle Jab and RIGHT JAB† column. They now have this post to exclusively discuss national or world issues that they feel passionate about.
We shall be posting the “LEFT JAB†AND “MIDDLE JAB†AND “RIGHT JABâ€Â several times a week.  Oh, “LEFT JAB†is a liberal view, “MIDDLE JAB†is the libertarian view and the “RIGHT JAB is representative of the more conservative views. Also, any reader who would like to react to the written comments in this column is free to do so.
ADOPT A PET
Guy Fleegman is a 3-month-old male kitten from the “Galaxy Quest†litter! He can be adopted by himself, or with any of his remaining Galaxy Quest siblings. Kitten adoption fees are $60 and include first vaccines & deworming, spay/neuter, microchips, and more. Call/email VHS or apply online at www.vhslifesaver.org to inquire!
THE JOYS OF AUGUST By Jim Redwine
Gavel Gamut
By Jim Redwine
www.jamesmredwine.com
(Week of 17 August 2020)
THE JOYS OF AUGUST
I got up at 5 a.m. this morning and smiled at that teenager who had to threaten himself to get out of bed for a 6:00 a.m. two-a-day football practice a few years ago. Ah, the joy of putting on cold, smelly, sweaty pads from the previous day’s 6:00 p.m. practice and stumbling over to the field to be greeted by Draculas disguised as coaches. “Hurry up! Git with it! We’re burning daylight here and it is already nearing 90 degrees.†This was the refrain from the Knute Rockne wannabes who had a vision of our high school team being immortalized in the pantheon of pigskin glory.
Actually, my senior year at Pawhuska Oklahoma High School our coaches devised three August weeks of three-a-day practices: full contact pads from 6:00-8:00 a.m. then skull practice from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. followed by limited contact and play drills from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Out of an overdose of humanity they only required wind sprints at the end of the evening session.
These pleasant memories arose early this morning after I heard that numerous colleges and several major conferences such as the Big Ten and Pac-12 had cancelled their 2020 football seasons due to ’Ole 19. My first selfish thought was why hadn’t that happened before my fellow galley slaves and I had to crawl out of bed before the sun got up. My next selfish thought was I sure hope the whole country’s football season is not lost. Peg and I are rabid fans of high school and college football, not so much pro. We have spent hundreds of enjoyable hours in front of a big screen TV sipping beverages and eating guacamole as we watch young men risk their bodies and psyches for our entertainment. And the best part for me is, no wind sprints. Getting out of bed at 5:00 a.m. does not cause the angst it did when I was sixteen but I am fairly sure my attempt at running forty yards now would not be pretty.
Our son and two of our grandsons played high school football but they have matriculated onto other pursuits. Still, we enjoy watching and cheering on other young athletes who have shown the character to endure the month of August and drill sergeants passing for coaches. Of course, each school and each parent and each athlete must have the right to decide these issues for themselves. And if Peg and I have to forego a season of football we completely understand and support whatever decisions others make. After all, for us it’s entertainment. For others it could be something else.Â
Regardless, at least now when 5:00 a.m. rolls around and I am lying there wide awake I know all that awaits me is a cup of coffee. And instead of putting up with coaches who make Captain Ahab look saintly all I have to put up with are the prattling heads of cable news.
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For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.jamesmredwine.com
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HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
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AG Curtis Hill calls on Gov. Holcomb and legislative leaders to hold special session focused on COVID-19
Attorney General Curtis Hill today sent a letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb and leaders of the Indiana General Assembly calling for a special legislative session focused on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In a republican form of government, we do not govern by executive decree,†Attorney General Hill writes in the letter. “We govern by legislation, enforcement, and adjudication carried out by separately elected (and appointed) officials. The Indiana Constitution so divides government functions to prevent concentration of power and to facilitate public debate.â€
The emergency used to justify hurried executive actions has now become a long-term issue that deserves the attention of the people’s representatives, Attorney General Hill adds.
“To be sure,†he writes, “COVID-19 remains a pandemic and a serious public health threat that all should take seriously, including wearing masks and practicing social distancing. But it has been such for nearly six months, which is enough time to re-engage ordinary mechanisms of republican government.â€
Governance by executive decree has sent inconsistent and confusing messages to Hoosiers statewide, Attorney General Hill adds.
“Candidly,†he writes, “while Hoosiers at first mostly obeyed the Governor’s emergency orders, as those orders have endured, overreached, mutated, or proven impracticable, many citizens have begun to lose respect for them.â€
Among those deserving clearer guidance, Attorney General Hill adds, are Hoosier parents, teachers and schoolchildren.
“The start of a new school year has crystallized the sense of insecurity and general weariness arising from governance by shifting executive decrees,†he writes. “To educate children, our public schools require clarity, consistency and affirmation of a constitutional process governing both finances and operations.â€
The state’s co-equal branches of government must engage with one another for the sake of all Hoosiers, Attorney General Hill states.
“Press conferences from the Governor saying one thing, and letters from lawmakers saying another — neither of which has any legal force — produce only more uncertainty and anxiety for schools, students, parents and citizens about what the consequences might be in a few months of the decisions they make today,†he writes.
A special session, he adds, “is the only way to provide the full measure of constitutional government to which Hoosiers are entitled, ensure consistency in the law governing individual conduct and the operation of public functions, afford certainty in public funding for education and other important government missions, and, critically, restore public confidence in governmental leadership and constitutional governance.â€
VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES
 Below are the felony cases to be filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office today.
Tarra Beth Eagleson: Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony), Residential entry (Level 6 Felony), Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony)
Jacob Steven Wilkinson: Battery resulting in moderate bodily injury (Level 6 Felony), Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony), Possession of marijuana (Class B misdemeanor)
Richard D. Wilford: Strangulation (Level 6 Felony), Criminal confinement (Level 6 Felony), Intimidation (Level 6 Felony), Domestic battery (Class A misdemeanor)
Jeffrey Allen Graman: Intimidation (Level 6 Felony), Battery against a public safety official (Level 6 Felony), Resisting law enforcement (Class A misdemeanor), Interference with custody (Class B misdemeanor)
Arthur Bradley Jr.: Strangulation (Level 6 Felony), Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony), Intimidation (Level 6 Felony)
Willie Lee Carter: Dealing in methamphetamine (Level 2 Felony), Operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the blood (Class C misdemeanor)
Billy Ray Dillon Miles: Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 4 Felony), Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 5 Felony), Operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the blood (Level 6 Felony)
Kavylier Ann Coomes: Intimidation (Level 6 Felony), Criminal mischief (Class B misdemeanor)
Scott W. Becker: Possession of methamphetamine (Level 6 Felony)
Amanda Roxbury: Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 6 Felony), Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 6 Felony)
Mark Alan Coleman: Domestic battery (Level 5 Felony)
Knaujha Keshay Phifer: Auto theft (Level 6 Felony), Driving while suspended (A infraction)
Brandi Nichcole Wooten: Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony)
Brittany Ann Marie Molina: Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony)
Missouri Valley Conference Fall Sports Update
Based on continuing uncertainty around the ability to play full-season league schedules safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the lack of a fall NCAA championship opportunity, the Missouri Valley Conference has announced the postponement of Conference schedules and championships in MVC-sponsored fall sports.
The decision impacts MVC sports that compete in their championship seasons in the fall (men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball).  The Conference will continue to evaluate options for conducting MVC competition in these sports and potentially participating in NCAA championships during the spring of 2021.
Plans for MVC-sponsored winter (men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track & field; women’s swimming and diving) and spring sports (baseball, softball, women’s tennis; men’s and women’s golf; and men’s and women’s outdoor track & field) are not impacted at this time.
The University of Evansville, in following the lead of the majority of conferences and universities around the country, is suspending all fall competition which includes the aforementioned men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country, as well as men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s swimming/diving, and the non-traditional fall competitions for baseball and softball.
During the fall months, MVC student-athletes in all sports, including those at the University of Evansville, will be allowed to participate in athletically-related activities (e.g., nonconference competition, practices, strength and conditioning sessions, team meetings) consistent with institutional policies, public health guidelines and NCAA and Conference regulations.
The MVC COVID-19 Working Group consisting of athletics administrators, faculty athletics representatives, sports medicine personnel and student-athletes will continue to monitor the national and local landscapes and work diligently to develop protocols for a safe return to MVC regular-season and championship competition by the Conference’s student-athletes.
Statement from University of Evansville Director of Athletics Mark Spencer“The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, officials and other members of the UE and Missouri Valley communities guided this difficult decision made by the MVC President’s Council and will remain the primary consideration in our decision making as we move forward.  There is nothing more that we want than for our fall sport student-athletes who are affected by these decisions to have the opportunity to compete during the spring semester, and we will strongly advocate for that opportunity both within the MVC and nationally.â€
HEALTH DEPARTMENT UPDATES STATEWIDE COVID-19 CASE COUNTS
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) today announced that 1,079 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at ISDH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private laboratories. That brings to 78,632 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s dashboard.
A total of 2,906 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of eight over the previous day following corrections to the previous day’s total. Another 207 probable deaths have been reported based on clinical diagnoses in patients for whom no positive test is on record. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days.
As of today, nearly 33 percent of ICU beds and nearly 80 percent of ventilators are available across the state.
To date, 886,489 tests for unique individuals have been reported to ISDH, up from 877,970 on Thursday.
To find testing sites around the state, visit www.coronavirus.in.gov and click on the COVID-19 testing information link
Gas Station Robberies
 On August 13 around 8:00 p.m. the Evansville Police Department (E.P.D.) was called to The Kwik Stop Gas Station, located at 4301 Pollack Ave., for a holdup in progress. When officers arrived they spoke to the clerk who told them that a male wearing a mask entered the store displaying a rifle. The offender went behind the counter, pointed the rifle at the clerk, and ordered him to open the register. He then took the money and some cigarettes before fleeing to an awaiting getaway vehicle.Â
 On August 14 around 2:30 a.m. officers were called to The Circle K Gas Station, located at 2400 E. Riverside Dr., for another holdup in progress. The clerk advised authorities that a male, displaying a rifle, came into the store demanding the cash register to be opened and fled the scene with money and cigarettes. The clerk gave a very similar description of the suspect as the clerk did from the earlier robbery.Â
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 In the second robbery the video was able to be obtained by E.P.D.’s Crime Scene Unit and some still pictures of the suspect as well as the getaway vehicle have been included.Â
 If anyone has any information on either of these robberies they are asked to call the E.P.D.’s Detective Office at 812-436-7981, 812-436-4012, or the main line at 812-436-7979.Â