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EPA and Peace Corps Recognize Decade of Partnership in Celebration of EPA’s 50th Anniversary
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Peace Corps commemorated 10 years of a successful, multi-faceted relationship to support global environmental initiatives. This relationship is one of several that EPA is highlighting as part of the agency’s 50th Anniversary focus on partnerships throughout the month of June.
EPA is one of the largest employers of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) in the federal government, second only to Peace Corps itself, and has partnered with Peace Corps since 2010 to expand the agency’s environmental protection efforts around the world. Currently, the agency has approximately 600 RPCVs on staff at Headquarters and across its 10 regions.
“I am proud to celebrate the productive working relationship between EPA and Peace Corps. The skills, perspective, and spirit of service that Returned Peace Corps Volunteers bring to the agency has helped EPA achieve its mission,â€Â said Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “EPA looks forward to many more years of successful collaboration with Peace Corps, creating and maintaining a safer, healthier environment both at home and abroad.â€
“EPA has long partnered with the Peace Corps to enhance the environmental work our Volunteers do in partnership with communities around the world,â€Â says Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen. “I am not surprised that so many returned Volunteers pursue careers at the EPA when they return from service. It is my hope that both agencies continue their unique and important partnership for many more years to come.â€
EPA is committed to providing opportunities for RPCVs to transition seamlessly from international to public service. In order to facilitate this, EPA and Peace Corps maintain a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was most recently renewed in August 2016. The MOU is managed by EPA’s Office of International and Tribal Affairs.
As detailed in the MOU, EPA provides technical input on Peace Corps’ training materials and environmental programs, such as handbooks on clean cookstoves, environmental education, pesticides, solid waste, and mercury use in small-scale mining, among others. While serving their nation abroad, Peace Corps Volunteers become involved in ongoing EPA programs by attending EPA workshops and sharing information with local groups in their host countries. The EPA and Peace Corps cooperative has helped strengthen environmental protection efforts in international communities of shared concern, such as in Jamaica, Panama, Costa Rica, Uganda, Kenya, Burkina Faso and Morocco.
In Jamaica, EPA joined stakeholders together with Peace Corps Jamaica and the Sandals Foundation to implement a Trash Free Waters project to reduce marine litter and improve solid waste management practices. As a result, EPA helped the Sandals Foundation establish a program for better waste collection and separation. Additional stories about the impact of EPA and Peace Corps projects, authored by RPCVs who are EPA staff, can be viewed on the EPA blog.
Most recently, EPA partnered with Peace Corps to support RPCVs evacuated from their duty stations due to Covid-19. Over 350 Returning Peace Corps Volunteers participated in a webinar in which EPA staff showcased opportunities at the agency and described how to apply. RPCVs on EPA staff spoke about how their experiences with Peace Corps prepared them for a career with EPA. Through these efforts, EPA was able to fill over 35 positions and provide RPCVs the opportunity to move from unexpected evacuation to a stable and fulfilling career serving the American public and the environment.
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HEALTH DEPARTMENT UPDATES STATEWIDE COVID-19 CASE COUNTS
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) today announced that 411 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 42,061 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total.
Intensive care unit and ventilator capacity remain steady. As of today, nearly 37 percent of ICU beds and nearly 82 percent of ventilators are available.
A total of 2,346 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 19 over the previous day. Another 190 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.
To date, 401,802 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 392,887 on Friday.
Any Hoosier seeking COVID-testing can obtain it through one of the state-sponsored OptumServe sites, regardless of whether they are at high risk or have symptoms. To find testing locations around the state, visit www.coronavirus.in.gov and click on the COVID-19 testing information link. More than 200 locations are available around the state.
Western Ribeye & Ribs Announces Permanent Closing
Owners David and Dan Nix announced today the permanent closing of Western Ribeye & Ribs. An official statement says:
“For 45 years, it has been our family’s privilege and honor to serve your family.Â
It took a pandemic to force us to close our doors.Â
As of June 20, 2020, we will no longer be open for business.Â
You will be missed.â€
At this time, David and Dan Nix are not available for further comment.
Prestigious Mira Award Presented to Indiana Department of Correction
Prestigious Mira Award Presented to
Indiana Department of Correction
Indianapolis, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) was honored with a Mira Award, presented by TechPoint at the 21st annual awards event held virtually across the state and the nation.
As noted by TechPoint, a total of 15 award winners and honorees were chosen from the 129 outstanding people, places companies, and products that were selected as nominees for their achievements during the 2019 calendar year. Forty-eight independent, volunteer judges spent more than 850 total hours evaluating applications, interviewing nominees, and selecting this year’s winners. Judges included company founders, CEOs and presidents, CTOs, CIOs, and other subject matter experts.
The Community Impact award presented to the department of correction recognized the life-changing impact of The Last Mile (TLM) computer coding program has had on incarcerated persons working to learn valuable skills to better their opportunity for employment after incarceration. This unique life-altering program is now offered to qualifying offenders at five different correctional facilities across Indiana, inclusive of the Indiana Women’s Prison as well as the Putnamville, Rockville, Plainfield and Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facilities.
Since the Mira Award event was virtual, Anna Rauh, with TechPointe and pictured center, made an in-person delivery of the award to IDOC employees Talesa Howell, far left, and Dave Bursten. Not available for the photo were co-winners Jennifer Browning, also employed with the IDOC and Jennifer Fleming, with the Indiana State Department of Health. |
Leadership at the IDOC sought to be a nominee for the Community Impact Mira Award by competing in a rigorous nomination process that began in December of 2019. Each nominated organization was required to make an in-person presentation to see if they’d make the final cut to be a selected nominee for one of 15 awards being presented. The IDOC was ultimately selected as one of 12 Community Impact nominees based on the strength of the presentation prepared and delivered by three graduates of The Last Mile program at the Indiana Women’s Prison. Jennifer Browning, Jennifer Fleming, and Tales Howell made a knock-out presentation that brought tears to the eyes of the judges. Now, today, Jennifer Browning and Teresa Howell are part of the IDOC family of employees and Jennifer Fleming is employed with the Indiana State Department of Health. Teresa Howell’s story is presently feature on The Last Mile website.
You can read the full story about the IDOC TechPoint Mira Award on this section of the TechPoint website.
Visit the IDOC YouTube channel to see the virtual moment when the Community Impact award winner was announced.
About the Mira Award Name
The Mira Awards are named after the first of the brilliant variable stars to be discovered – the Mira Star. It is also the Latin root meaning “worthy of admiration, wonderful, marvelous.†The awards represent the best of tech in Indiana each year.
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GOP AG Candidates Make Their Pleas
GOP AG Candidates Make Their Pleas
By Taylor Dixon
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS— The four Republican candidates running for Indiana Attorney General laid out their views Thursday in the first-ever virtual GOP state convention.
Incumbent Curtis Hill spoke just days after his 30-day suspension from practicing law ended. Hill had been accused in 2019 of groping a female lawmaker and three legislative staff members, one of them a Republican, at a party in March 2018.
Many Indiana elected officials, including Hills’s fellow Republican, Gov. Eric Holcomb, had asked Hill to step down. Several investigations followed. Ultimately, the Indiana Supreme Court suspended Hill and said he had engaged in “criminal conduct.â€
Hill is running for a second term. He faces three other candidates: former U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Indiana, Decatur County Prosecutor Nate Harter, and attorney John Westercamp.
Hill talked about his continued efforts to restrict abortion, protect the Second Amendment, and preserve religious freedom. He cited the record 1.6 million votes he received four years ago.
“I’m not perfect. No one is. But like President Trump I have faced accusations and investigations designed to destroy me politically,†Hill said.
Rokita also said he was anti-abortion, pro-gun rights, for religious freedom, and in favor of cutting taxes. Rokita called out Hill for not owning up to his actions and for wasting his budget on things such as cars, furniture, and chandeliers.
Harter promised to protect Hoosiers. He said he would go to court for Indiana and make the tough, right choices, no matter the political risks. He also spoke about running his team as efficiently as possible.
Westercamp talked about his real-world, broad-based experience that would lead Hoosiers in the right direction. He also said he was going to fight for the private sector, preserve the right to life, and reduce taxpayers’ burden by limiting office expenses.
“As long as my lungs have breath, as long as my bones have strength, and as long as my heart beats I will defend and advance Indiana’s public pro-life policies,†Westercamp said.
Holcomb cited the 100,000 new jobs and decreased unemployment shown in the last four years. He also spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic and said Indiana had addressed the health crisis well.
State GOP Chairman Kyle Hupfer closed by describing the changes delegates will see when they vote for the four attorney general nominees.
Ballots will be sent out to delegates June 22 and are due via mail no later than 5 p.m. July 9. Delegates will use a ranking system for voting, with the delegates choosing their first, second, third, and fourth preferences.
The first candidate who claims more than 50 percent of the first-place votes wins. If that doesn’t happen in the first or second round, the last-place finisher is eliminated from the competition.
FOOTNOTE: Â Taylor Dixon is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Yesteryear: 527 Main Street By Pat Sides
This imposing building stood at the corner of Sixth and Main streets for nine decades. In its earlier years, it housed Bacon’s department store until 1936, the year this photo is dated. Later that year, the F. W. Woolworth Company, Bacon’s neighbor, moved into the more spacious quarters, where it stayed until 1990.
The building was erected in 1901 on the ruins of a store that had been destroyed by fire. Another fire in 1972 slightly damaged the building, but Woolworth’s re-opened on the site, operating until a major conflagration in 1990 inflicted heavier damage.
The ruins were finally razed two years later, around the time the once-popular old Woolworth chain decided to shut down across the nation. The site is now occupied by a new science center serving Signature School students.