On June 13, just before 11:00 p.m., the Evansville Police Department was called to the area of U.S. Hwy 41 and Covert Ave. for a motor vehicle accident. The person who called dispatch also advised that someone in the accident had been shot multiple times.Â
 The first responding officers discovered an overturned vehicle on the north side of the roadway on Covert Ave. They discovered there were two gunshot victims that were inside the vehicle at the time of the accident. Both victims suffered gunshot wounds to their lower extremities.Â
 Officers immediately rendered aid to the victims by applying tourniquets until an ambulance could arrive and give further medical assistance. The victims were then transported to the hospital where they are expected to survive their injuries.Â
 After tracking down several leads, the detective office was able to obtain an arrest warrant for Paje Capone Diaz (22) for attempted murder in this case. The Evansville Viper Unit served the warrant on Diaz on June 14. He is currently placed at the Vanderburgh County Correction Center. Â
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IS IT TRUE the Civic Center will be re-opening to the public today?…restaurants are also able to now be 75% occupied and will be back to full occupancy on July 4?
IS IT TRUE we were told about a recent event that happened at the Eastside Target store?  …that a group of around 8 vigilantes on motorcycles stood on guard in front of  Eastside Target store to protect it from potential looters?  …that these gun gun-toting vigilantes told our “MOLE” that they were there to protect Target from possible “ANTIFA” protesters?  …it turned out that the Facebook post that a busload of “ANTIFA” sponsored protesters was on their way to the Eastside Target was false? …after a while, these the vigilantes peacefully drone off in the sunset?
IS IT TRUE that  State Senator. Mark Stoops, a Democrat from Bloomington, is stepping down? …that former congressional candidate Shelli Yoder won the Democratic primary over State Democratic Party Chairman John Zody and Trent Feuerbach?  …all we can say about this is “it looks like being a political party chairman has its disadvantages?
IS IT TRUE that Democratic turnout in last weeks Georgia’s primaries skyrocketed — with three times as many votes cast in the Senate primary as in 2016?  …with 91 percent of the vote counted in the Georgia primary nearly 960,000 voters had cast ballots compared to 310,000 who voted in the Georgia primary in 2016?  …that several political prognosticators are telling the national democratic party leaders that the large voter’s turnout that happened in Georgia may be repeated in every state in America in the upcoming November 2020 election?
IS IT TRUE that CCO reader Mark Chandler posted the following comment last week?  …he posted “When guns are outlawed only Outlaws will have guns†and holds true if the Police are disbanded?
IS IT TRUE that this was the fourth weekend in a row for local protests?….we encourage those who are peacefully expressing their 1st Amendment rights to please wear a mask and practice social distancing?
IS IT TRUE that last Friday the Trump administration finalized its rollback of protections against gender identity discrimination in health care regulated by Obamacare? … the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that it would recognize “sex discrimination according to the plain meaning of the word ‘sex’ as male or female and as determined by biology?”
IS IT TRUE that building projects that have been paid with public money it is a time-dishonored tradition for some of that money to go back to the politician’s re-election campaign coffers who made the contracts happen?
IS IT TRUE the North Main corridor master plan was designed to replace some street parking, provide an up-to-date bike trail, reduce crime and improve security in that area,  and bring economic development to that area? …it’s been about two years since this project was completed?  …we invite you to go to the North Main corridor area and see what kind of new retail businesses that this $14 million dollar public works project has attracted?  …we also invite you to tour the 500 to the 700 blocks of East Franklin and East Michigan streets and we bet that you will ask yourself why hasn’t the Department  Of Evansville Codes and Enforcement attempted to force the slum landlords to either bring these properties up to codes or demolish them?  …we also invite the officials from “KEEP EVANSVILLE  BEAUTIFUL” to take a tour of this area?  …we guarantee you that the officials from “KEEP EVANSVILLE BEAUTIFUL” will be appalled in what they see?
IS IT TRUE last year we posted that Deaconess Hospital-Evansville  and Henderson Community Methodist and Union County Hospitals formed a group called an “ACO?” …that “ACO” is where referrals are preferably kept within the group and only certain doctors at Deaconess and Methodist are invited to be a part of that group?  …during that time we wonder how the “ACO” referral agreement between Deaconess-Evansville and Henderson Community Methodist and Union County Hospital would work out? …that Deaconess Hospital-Evansville is now advertising on local TV that Henderson Community Methodist and Union County Hospitals are now affiliated with Deaconess Hospital-Evansville? …it looks like things went as planned?
IS IT TRUE that the Evansville city employee’s hospitalization fund has been insufficiently funded over several years? …the city’s hospitalization fund, from which city employee medical claims are paid, has had a negative balance of several millions of dollars over the last several years?  …we are now hearing that the city’s hospitalization fund has a $3 million dollar deficit in this budget year?
IS IT TRUE we are proud of the success of the Ivy Tech LPN Nursing students for posting a 100% pass rates for their LPN State tests in 2019? …we would like to congratulate Ivy Tech-Evansville Admininastors and the faculty members for preparing the LPN Nursing student for passing this extremely challenging test?
IS IT TRUE that the EPA has allowed the City of Evansville to pussyfoot around with the lead contamination issue in the Jimtown and Jacobsville areas for over 20 years? …the real tragedy is that lead poisoning can be treated, but any damage caused by contaminated lead cannot be reversed?
IS IT TRUE that Vanderburgh County Commissioner Ben Shoulders (District 1) has volunteered his time and money to help with the “Feed Evansville” group? Â …he also has personally sponsored several food trucks to provide food to the less fortunate and our front line heroes during the COVID-19 virus crisis?
IS IT TRUE that Vanderburgh County Coroner Steve Lockyear will be the only Democrat officeholder unopposed this fall? Â …the reason why he’s unopposed is that he’s doing an excellent job as the Vanderburgh County Coroner?
IS IT TRUEÂ to no one surprise Vanderburgh County Clerk Carla Hayden (R), Vanderburgh County Commissioner Cheryl Musgrave (R-District 3), and Vanderburgh County Deputy Treasurer Dottie Thomas (R) may all be running unopposed in the upcoming General election? …the local Democratic party has until the end of this month to find a candidate to run against Musgrave, Thomas, or Hayden? Â …our prediction is that they won’t?
IS IT TRUE we are extremely impressed with how EPD Sgt. Nick Winsett himself with the media?
IS IT TRUE when the people fear the Government we have Tyranny! Â When the Government fears the people we have Liberty?
IS IT TRUE our “READERS POLLS†are non-scientific but trendy?
Today’s “Readers Poll†question is: If the election for the President Of The United States were held today who would you vote for?
Please take time and read our articles entitled “STATEHOUSE FILES, LAW ENFORCEMENT, “READERS POLLâ€, BIRTHDAYS, HOT JOBSâ€, EDUCATION, OBITUARIES and “LOCAL SPORTSâ€.
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INDIANAPOLIS – America’s greatest writer said it best.
“The past is never dead,†the great Mississippi-born novelist William Faulkner wrote. “It isn’t even past.â€
John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com
We Americans now are having a painful national discussion about our history. We are face to face, once again, with the reality that the past is every bit as fundamental to this country’s life as the air we breathe and the ground upon which we walk.
This is particularly true of our great national catastrophe, the Civil War, which remains the bloodiest such conflict in human history.
The last shots in the declared Civil War may have been fired more than 150 years ago, but the fighting continued long after that.
Reconstruction.
Jim Crow.
Separate but equal.
Lynching.
Poll taxes.
Bus boycotts.
Sit-ins.
Freedom Rides.
Black Lives Matter.
We Americans struggle to come to terms with this history because this part of our past is not flattering. We are a nation founded on a shared, seeming proposition – that all human beings have an equal right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness – but we have betrayed that core conviction.
Again.
And again.
And again.
We argue now about the Confederate flag, Confederate monuments, and Confederate memorials.
NASCAR has dispensed with displaying the Confederate flag. Confederate monuments in Indianapolis and elsewhere have come down – some by official act and others because activists have torn them down.
A vigorous debate rages about whether military installations – Fort Bragg, etc. – should continue to be named after Confederate generals. The president of the United States says yes. Increasingly, though, the nation’s military leaders, senators, and representatives say no.
This is not an argument empty of meaning.
The dwindling band of the flag’s defenders says it is a symbol of the courage with which Confederate soldiers fought. That is worthy of tribute, they say.
Perhaps the Confederate troops fought bravely, but they did so in the service of the rankest and worst of causes. They styled themselves as sentinels of liberty, but the reason they made war on their own nation was to preserve the “right†to own and oppress other human beings.
It is important not just to understand that but also to acknowledge it.
Sanitizing that history – denying the great wrong the Confederacy represented – gives fresh life to enduring evils.
The most pernicious of these, of course, deals with the question of race. It is no wonder that slavery has been called America’s original sin, the offense that has marked and afflicted us throughout our often-tortured history. The most savage conflicts we Americans have had with each other have come over the issue of pigment.
Until we in some way atone for this nation’s original sin – until we begin, to use Martin Luther King’s elegant phrase, to judge people by “the content of their character†and not the color of their skin – we never will honor and fulfill our country’s great promise.
This refusal to see the Confederacy for what it was also has cost us in other ways.
Slavery was a crime against humanity but taking up arms against the duly elected and established the U.S. government was a crime against the nation.
It was treason.
That it was committed by many men – including those who have been honored with statues and other relics – who took sacred oaths to defend this nation, its Constitution and its people only compound the offense.
This notion that traitors somehow could consider themselves and be considered by others as patriots linger to this day, in destructive ways. It contributes to the odd belief that we Americans are somehow separate from the government that we established and that draws its authority from us.
And it has given rise to the childish notion that we do not have to abide by any law or electoral outcome with which we do not agree.
All these tensions have endured for the life of this nation and afflicted Americans of our grandparents’ grandparents’ grandparents’ generation – and even before.
They likely will continue to do so until we see our history, clear-eyed, and without sentimentality.
Because Faulkner was right.
The past is never past.
It isn’t even past.
FOOTNOTE: John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
The City-County Observer posted this article without bias, opinion, or editing.
We are excited and appreciative to reopen Tropicana Evansville Casino on Monday, June 15 at 10 AMÂ CT.
As we resume operations at our properties across the country, the health and safety of our team members and guests continue to be our number one priority.
We have been working very hard over the last couple of months to prepare for the reopening and we look forward to providing the outstanding service and experiences Tropicana Evansville is known for,†said Anthony Carano, President and Chief Operating Officer of Eldorado Resorts.
USI Grant Project Works To Combat Social Isolation, Strengthen Geriatrics Workforce
6/1/2020 | Mary Scheller
In an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus, many older adults are physically-distanced from their family and friends due to stay-at-home orders and public health recommendations. According to research conducted at Brigham Young University, lack of social connection heightens health risks as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. A grant-funded project at the University of Southern Indiana is pivoting during the COVID-19 pandemic to reach out to potentially isolated older adults in order to continue to provide care and to help stay connected throughout the pandemic.
The Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP), a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has focused on bridging the medical and social care provided to older adults through partnerships with Deaconess Clinic and with SWIRCA & More and Generations, two local Area Agencies on Aging (AAA).
As part of the GWEP, Ron Wells, a SWIRCA & More care coordinator, moved to an office at Deaconess Clinic in downtown Evansville in Fall 2019 to offer resources for clinic patients needing assistance in a variety of areas, including medications, food and activities of daily living.
When the pandemic hit and stay-at-home orders were enacted, many non-urgent physician appointments were canceled. GWEP grant funding allowed Wells to continue to work from home for several weeks where he made daily calls to reach over 500 SWIRCA & More Activity Center members to make sure they had food, cleaning supplies and medication, as well as to provide essential information about the current events occurring in the community.
“Our mission is to provide resources and services that allow individuals who are at risk to remain safely living in their homes,†said Jillian Hall, Director of Employee Relations & Special Projects at SWIRCA & More. “To this point, our partnership with USI through the GWEP grant has allowed us to reach a larger population of older adults who may have not been aware of the services SWIRCA & More offers.â€
Even though the pandemic forced SWIRCA & More to change its outreach tactics, the organization has remained laser-focused on helping the most vulnerable, especially those at risk of moving to a nursing home due to a lack of support in their homes.
“During the time he could not be there in person, Ron was able to provide much-needed help for our members,†said Hall. “Through the conversations, he is having with our members, he has found that some were food insecure and were not sure if they would have enough food to last them through the stay-at-home order. He was able to quickly arrange for SWIRCA to deliver boxes of donated food and household supplies that will last them at least two weeks, if not longer.â€
Hall added that, while having enough food and medications are of utmost importance during these uncertain times, one of the biggest needs for these at-risk individuals has been met with these daily phone calls from Wells. “He is providing the gift of making these older adults feel connected to our community by knowing that while they may be isolated in their homes, they are never alone,†she said.
This model of providing an Area Agency on Aging care coordinator within a primary care clinic will be replicated in year two of the GWEP with a collaboration with Generations, located in Vincennes, and Deaconess Clinic’s location in Petersburg, Indiana, according to the grant’s primary investigator, Dr. Katie Ehlman, USI Professor of Gerontology and new appointee to the Indiana Commission on Aging.
Ehlman said additional focus areas of the grant have been impacted due to the pandemic and that her team and community partners are collaborating to deliver outcomes in response to the changing environment.
Deaconess Family Medicine Residency Clinic: Dr. Lisa Phifer, Assistant Director of Deaconess Family Medicine Residency, has worked with the GWEP to develop a new rating system for medical residents to prioritize clinic patients at risk for social isolation, food insecurity or unsafe living environments. “Because of the pandemic, many older adults are reluctant to move to short-term or long-term care facilities because of visitor lockdowns and risk of COVID-19 infection,†said Phifer. “A lot of people are barely getting by at home, so we developed this tool for making referrals to the GWEP/SWIRCA care coordinator.â€
According to Phifer, medical residents will interview all patients age 60 and older to determine needs and make referrals to the SWIRCA care coordinator at the Deaconess downtown location. “We anticipate that a subset of referred patients will be connected with SWIRCA & More for ongoing services,†said Phifer.
Online Course Modules: Shortly after all University classes were moved to an online setting, the GWEP team developed a six-hour Advance Care Planning (ACP) module and a three-hour module on telehealth for USI courses, internships and clinicals to assist faculty members with relevant healthcare content for their online courses. The ACP module is also available upon request to other GWEPs and university faculty from across the United States.
Virtual Dementia Course: A two-day in-person dementia certification course, scheduled to take place in Evansville in late March with GWEP funding support, was successfully moved to a “live online†format via Zoom. Teepa Snow and her Positive Approach® to Care team led the training for 24 participants. One attendee commented to Snow, “Even though we are all practicing social distancing, your enthusiasm is contagious.â€
“These are just a few of the areas where we have had to make adjustments,†said Ehlman. “Our team continues to assess the environment to identify other grant areas to restructure and pivot. Now more than ever, we need to continue to provide services to older adults and their caregivers in our communities.â€
Before she sends her two children back to school next year, Sherry Holmes said she’d like to see every student and staff member in the state tested for COVID-19.
That seems unlikely as tests remain limited and targeted at those who are high risk or symptomatic. So Holmes said she will likely keep her kindergartner and third-grader home for a few weeks, at least until she can see what precautions their school is taking.
“For me as a parent, it’s scary just to think about,†she said.
Reopening school buildings is one of the last and trickiest steps in Gov. Eric Holcomb’s plan to lift statewide restrictions brought on by the coronavirus. The Indiana State Department of Health reports hundreds of new COVID-19 cases daily, and the return of thousands of children and educators to classrooms could further spread the virus.
Holmes and a vocal group of parents want schools to conduct regular coronavirus screenings for students and staff when they reopen after July 1. But working out logistics and cost will be a challenge for administrators.
Screening can include anything from taking everyone’s temperature to checking for a list of symptoms. For larger schools, trying to capture all students’ information before they walk in the door could cause a bottleneck near the entrances, which would make social distancing difficult. And many students who ride the bus to school will likely already have come into contact with classmates.
“That would be very time-consuming,†said Shandy Dearth, IUPUI director of undergraduate epidemiology education. “You’ve got the cost of thermometers and then there’s some question of how reliable that data is.â€
More definitive testing is likely out of reach for schools because it requires a medical professional to administer and receiving a positive or negative result typically takes days. Plus, experts say tests can create a false sense of security. A person could receive a negative result, then be exposed to the virus the next day and become positive, according to the state’s Joint Information Center.
Instead, it’s important to educate families on what symptoms to look for, Dearth said. Schools will likely rely on parents to determine if their child is sick, she said, just like during the typical flu or cold season. She said it’s the state’s responsibility to make sure parents have the time off work to keep children exhibiting symptoms at home.
“I don’t think we can rely solely on the school setting to monitor this,†she said.
But Tommy Reddicks, executive director of Paramount Schools of Excellence, said schools should do more than rely on parents. He is considering purchasing thermal imaging cameras for Paramount’s three Indianapolis charter schools, which he believes would give a more accurate reading than other hand-held thermometers. Each camera would cost around $1,000, he said.
“Yes, we want families to self-screen, absolutely but it can’t stop there,†Reddicks said. “For us to assume that [families] can be their own health specialists would be an assumption that could come back and really hurt our school culture.
“We want every screening tool we can get our hands on.â€
The approaches schools take will vary across districts. State Superintendent Jennifer McCormick has pointed schools toward local health departments to figure out what will work best for them. The state does not require schools to screen students and staff, but last week recommended at least asking families and employees to “self-screen†for symptoms.
Avon, Gary, and Lawrence Township schools declined to talk to Chalkbeat about screening, saying administrators are still putting together their plans.
Reddicks said he wished schools had received more precise direction from the state, rather than having to come up with their own plans.
“I’m not just frustrated, I’m flat-out mad,†he said. “This is such an important moment for the state and important moments for families and for kids. We shouldn’t be passing the buck of accountability, and I think that’s what’s happened from the top down.â€
School nurses will help screen on Paramount campuses and train teachers to spot coronavirus symptoms, he said. But not every school in Indiana has a dedicated full-time nurse, which could make it challenging to implement more than screening, said Indiana Association of School Nurses President Andrea Tanner.
“I think it’s critical right now for a school to have a nurse,†she said. “We are trying to figure out how to educate students in the middle of a health crisis, and to not have a dedicated health expert in your school, it has to be so difficult.â€
School nurses oversee health plans for students who need extra medication or monitoring for particular conditions. When schools reopen, the state recommends ramping up those plans. Tanner said school nurses can serve as a liaison to local health departments.
Having a nurse in every building is among the demands outlined in a report Holmes put together with 14 other parents, organized by the nonprofit Stand For Children. They are also advocating for increased cleaning, remote learning options, and improved communication between teachers and families, among other precautions.
“We need somebody that’s in a medical field at the school,†she said. “Our kids are our future. We’ve got to make sure that they have everything that they need.â€
In 1916, H. A. (“Harryâ€) Woods opened his first drug store in Evansville at Seventh and Main streets, where the Ford Center is now. He had recently moved to the city from Louisville, Kentucky. Before he retired decades later, Woods built a chain of at least thirteen pharmacies in the Tri-State.
In 1950, when this photo was taken, there were three stores on Main Street, one in the Hulman Building, one at 19 SE Fourth Street, as well as three other locations in Evansville. Woods’ habit of wearing a red hat, necktie, and socks inspired the name Red Necktie Room for the popular dining areas in his stores.
Woods was also a prominent civic leader and enthusiastic promoter of Evansville causes. In 1974, he sold his chain to the Haag Drug Company; he died four years later.
University of Evansville Announces Competition Winners
Posted: Â June 15, 2020
The University of Evansville today announced the winners of the 2020 Tri-State Truth, Meaning, and Value Essay Competition. Sponsored by the University’s Department of Philosophy and Religion, the annual competition asks area high school students to address fundamental human questions of immediate and pressing concern. This year, students were asked to consider the question, “What lessons should humanity learn from the 2020 coronavirus pandemic?†Essays were evaluated by a panel of faculty authors selected from the department and judged based on academic merit, creativity, and the expression of practical wisdom.
This year’s first-place winner was Skylar Young (10th Grade – South Spencer High School) for an essay on understanding and appreciating the value of meaningful human interaction both in crisis situations and in the general course of life.
The second-place winner was Aidan Kunst (12th Grade – Evansville Day School), who wrote on the value of kindness and the importance of understanding our true relationship with “mother nature.â€
Third place went to Natalie Page (10th Grade – North High School) for her essay on the value of collaboration and being prepared for the kinds of contingencies that come with something like a coronavirus pandemic.
Two honorable mentions were awarded to Ally Barnett (10th Grade – Reitz High School), who wrote on the need for equity in education, and Jalyn Smith (10th Grade – Edwards County High School), who noted that though normal may be defined differently by different groups, it may nonetheless be interrupted at any time across all groups.
Cash prizes were awarded to the top three essays along with the offer of a UE scholarship. The offer of a scholarship was also extended to those who received honorable mentions. The University congratulates these fine young students and expresses its gratitude to all the contestants for putting their minds to issues that affect us all.
The Annual Tri-State Truth, Meaning, and Value Essay Competition was conceived to promote local attention to matters requiring critical thinking in times of change and uncertainty and to engage in community outreach as part of the educational mission of the University of Evansville.
In 1950, when this photo was taken, there were three stores on Main Street, one in the Hulman Building, one at 19 SE Fourth Street, as well as three other locations in Evansville. Woods’ habit of wearing a red hat, necktie, and socks inspired the name Red Necktie Room for the popular dining areas in his stores.