“READERS FORUM” AUGUST 20, 2019
We hope that today’s “READERS FORUMâ€Â will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way.
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?
Todays “Readers Poll’ question is: DO You feel that the City of Evansville is facing serious financial problems?
If you would like to advertise in the CCO please contact us at City-County Observer@live.com
Footnote: City-County Observer Comment Policy. Be kind to people. Personal attacks or harassment will not be tolerated and shall be removed from our site.
We understand that sometimes people don’t always agree and discussions may become a little heated.  The use of offensive language and insults against commenters shall not be tolerated and will be removed from our site.
Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer, our media partners or advertise.
Indiana County, City &Â MSA Employment Report
INDIANAPOLIS (August 19, 2019) – Links to July 2019 employment data for Indiana counties, cities and MSA’s are listed below:
Employment Report (LAUS)
Labor Force Estimates for U.S., Indiana, MSAs, Counties, Cities
Ranking of Indiana Counties by Unemployment Rate
Indiana County Map with Unemployment Rates
Jobs Report (CES)
Seasonally-Adjusted Employment Table for Indiana
Non-Seasonally-Adjusted Employment Table for Indiana
Detailed Employment Listing – Statewide & MSAs
EDITOR’S NOTE: Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), sub-state level data are not seasonally adjusted due to sampling size. For example, over the course of a year, the size of the labor force, employment and unemployment levels, and other measures of labor market undergo fluctuations due to seasonal events including changes in weather, harvests, major holidays, and school schedules. Therefore, for more accurate comparisons, data should be compared to the same month from prior years, not the previous month, as to better account for non-economic factors.
The August 2019 Indiana Employment Report will be released on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern) and the August 2019 Indiana County, City and MSA Employment Report will be released on Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, at 12:00 p.m. (Eastern).
Kevin R. Koch, President & CEO, Koch Enterprises Is The “Living Outside The Box” Series Speaker
“Living Outside The Box” Speakers Series Is Sponsored By The City-County Observer
Steve Hammer the Chairman of the “Living Outside The Box” speaker series announced that this event will be held on Wednesday, August 2st in the private banquet room at Biaggi restaurant starting at noon and is booked to capacity.
Mr. Hammer also stated that “this lunch started out as an invitation-only event. But it got out of control when we started to receive many requests from interested people that wanted to attend this worthy community function”. “We originally planned to invite 40 guests `to this event but it quickly multiplies to 60 plus guests. Â Even more amazing is we now have a waiting list of people who want to attend the next “Living Outside The Box” speakers series event scheduled for September 2019″.
Steve Hammer announced that Kevin R. Koch, President & CEO, Koch Enterprises, Inc.will be our guest speaker for the August 21st event.
Kevin Koch is President and Chief Executive Officer of Koch Enterprises, Inc. (KEI) located in Evansville, Indiana. Koch Enterprises is a holding company that operates seven distinct businesses and employs approximately 2,800 team members. Prior to being named president, he served in various capacities within the Koch Enterprises’ family of companies beginning in 1999. These roles included president and Chief Executive Officer of Brake Supply Company and several management positions at Gibbs Die Casting Corporation based in Henderson, Kentucky.
Before joining Koch Enterprises, he gained experience at Electronic Data Systems, Ford Motor Company and Westinghouse (now Siemens) in engineering, purchasing, and marketing.
Kevin currently serves on for-profit company boards including Koch Enterprises and its subsidiaries and Jasper Engines and Transmissions.
Kevin has served on many community boards including the Catholic Foundation and Tri-State World Trade Network. Kevin is the past chair of the United Way campaign of SW Indiana. He currently serves on boards of the EDC of SW Indiana, Koch Foundation, Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville, Evansville Regional Business Committee, Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches, St. Benedicts Cathedral School and University of Evansville Board of Trustees. He is currently a member of YPO Bluegrass.
Kevin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Indiana University.
Kevin married to Margaret Koch and they have two wonderful and busy daughters who are 11 and 9 years old. They both attend St. Bens Catholic school.Â
Event Chairman Steve Hammer stated “that our monthly speaker series will focus on homegrown businesses successes and challenges. Mr. Hammer says; “Living Outside The Box” speakers series will feature unique and insightful stories of success and perseverance from prominent business leaders that tend to fly under the public radar.”
City-County Observer Publisher, Ron Cosby also added; “We understand that there are a lot of successful entrepreneurs who, because of economic, technological, or political challenges, have experienced a negative impact on their businesses.”   “We are going to actively search for local business people who went through economic adversity due to bureaucratic restrictions, governmental intervention, or increased competition, but had the good business sense to “Living Outside The Box” to allow their products or services to continue to thrive. We also hope that this will turn out to be a great resource for locally owned and developing businesses.”
For additional information concerning our next ‘Living Outside The Box” speaker event please contract Steve Hammer by calling him at 812-589-3802.
FOOTNOTE: Get your own copy of “Living Outside the Box” by Joe Jack Wallace please click the link below.
BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS MEETING AGENDA
BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERSÂ REGULAR MEETING IN THEÂ KEVIN WINTERNHEIMER CHAMBERSÂ IN-ROOM 301, CIVIC CENTER COMPLEX ONÂ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2019Â At 12:00 NOON
 AGENDA
   CALL TO ORDER
   MEETING MEMORANDUM Â
   CONSENT AGENDA                        Â
 Request Re: Approve and Execute Right of Way Agreement with Evansville City Engineer at Price Park for Covert Avenue Project. –Holtz
Request Re: Approve and Execute Agreement for Umpire Services with Valencia Redding- Holtz
          OLD BUSINESS Â
      N/A
  NEW BUSINESS Â
     Â
Request Re: Public Hearing on the Award of a Public-Private Agreement for the Penguins of Patagonia- Dirck Stahl
Request Re: Any Other Business the Board Wishes to Consider and Public Comments
  REPORTS
Brian Holtz- Executive Director
           Â
  ACCEPTANCE OF PAYROLL AND VENDOR CLAIMS
Â
 ADJOURN
This Week at USI First Week Of Classes!
Classes Start Today
Fall 2019 Semester Begins
The University of Southern Indiana fall 2019 semester begins on Monday, August 19.
Events Happening Through Wednesday, August 21
USI Welcome Week 2019
The University of Southern Indiana will continue its Welcome Week with events on campus for new and returning students, faculty and staff. A full schedule of Welcome Week activities is available on the USI website at USI.edu/welcomeweek.
STUDENT EVENTS
A collection of events on campus and in the community sponsored by USI student organizations can be found on the USI events calendar by clicking here.
Registration closes Tuesday, October 15; Race is Saturday, November 2
Registration now open for the 18th annual Norwegian Foot March
The 18th annual Norwegian Foot March, an intense mental and physical challenge, will take participants 18.6 miles through the rolling hills of Evansville’s west side. Carrying a 25-pound rucksack, participants will begin and end on the USI campus, working to make it back to the finish line generally in under four and a half hours depending on age and gender. ROTC cadets, soldiers, and veterans, as well as civilians, may register individually or as part of a four-member team.
Registration can be completed online or by calling USI Outreach and Engagement at 812-464-1989. Early registration is recommended, as the event sells out quickly. ROTC cadets from any school can register for $25 and all other participants can register for $45.
Registration will close on October 15 or when the event is full at 500 participants. More Information
Community Development Block Grants Open For Applications
The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs is announcing that the second round of Community Development Block Grants for 2019 is open.Â
The following programs are accepting applications this round:Â
The instructions and other materials can be found at www.in.gov/ocra/cdbg. Proposals and applications will be completed and submitted via the new Indiana Electronic Grants Management System, which can be accessed at https://indianaegms.force.com/Grants. Only a certified Grant Administrator in good standing is able to start and submit an application. However, community members and key stakeholders can access the application to make edits in the system. Training on the new Indiana Electronic Grants Management System will completed by the end of August.
Round two proposals are due on Friday, October 4 at 4:00 p.m., ET. Final applications are due on Friday, November 22 at 4:00 p.m. ET with awards announced on January 9, 2020.Â
Funding for all of the CDBG programs comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is administered by OCRA. The state of Indiana distributes CDBG funds to rural communities to assist units of local government with various community projects such as improving infrastructure, downtown revitalization, public facilities improvements, and economic development.Â
THE MUSIC OF RANDY TRAVIS WILL BE AT VICTORY THEATRE OCTOBER 17, 2019
THE MUSIC OF RANDY TRAVIS
WITH THE ORIGINAL R.T. BAND – FEATURING GUEST VOCALIST JAMES DUPRÉ
VICTORY THEATRE – OCTOBER 17
TICKETS GO ON SALE FRIDAY, AUGUST 23 – 10 AM
Evansville, IN– Victory Theatre is excited to add The Music of Randy Travis to their fall lineup. This will be the first time Randy Travis and his band has toured in 5 1â„2 years. The Music of Randy Travis will have the original Randy Travis band and feature guest vocalist James Dupré who will perform all sixteen #1 Randy Travis hits and include a special appearance with Randy Travis, himself.
About Randy Travis
Very few figures in Country Music stand out as signposts along the way, the trendsetters who fearlessly predict and influence the future of the genre. Randy Travis is one of these performers and his impact still reverberates in the modern-vs.-traditional ebb and flow of popular trends.
Blessed with a voice straight from the church altar, Travis immediately reminded fans of Country Music’s roots when his songs came to popular attention for the first time in the mid- 1980s after years of rejection. A soothing salve in the aftermath of “Urban Cowboy,†Travis’ voice helped launch the corrective Neotraditionalist movement with the heartfelt country and gospel songs that sounded so earnest and honest because it turned out the North Carolina- the born singer had lived those hard times and sometimes found the redemption he sang about.
Born Randy Traywick on May 4, 1959, in Marshville, N.C., Travis grew up on a rural farm and began performing as a child with his brother Ricky as The Traywick Brothers. Travis often clashed with his father and dropped out of school, getting into scrapes with the law that continued until he won a Country Music singing contest at a club in Charlotte.
Travis moved to Nashville in 1982 to pursue a recording deal. He was hired at The Nashville Palace to sing and cook. After initial failures in North Carolina and Nashville – Travis says he was turned down by every label in town at least once for being too Country – the singer recorded Live at The Nashville Palace and he got a deal with Warner Bros. Records where he was championed and signed by Martha Sharp.
Travis’ first single, “On the Other Hand,†barely registered on the charts in 1985, but the next, “1982,†rose to the Top10. Warner Bros. re-released “On the Other Hand†and it quickly became Travis’ first No. 1 single, beginning a run of 10out of 12 chart-toppers. The subsequent album Storms of Life was the first of six straight Platinum certifications for sales in excess of 1 million units and announced Travis as an exciting new voice. He would win the Horizon Award for best new artist at that year’s CMA Awards.
“Forever and Ever, Amen,†the first single from his 1987 album Always & Forever, also went to No. 1 and helped Travis score the first of seven career Grammy Awards. Always & Forever also took Album of the Year at the 1987 CMA Awards and Travis also won Male Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year.
With his next four albums – Old 8×10, No Holdin’ Back, Heroes & Friends, and High Lonesome –Travis would go on to have 16 No. 1 songs, charting more than 50, and selling more than 24 million albums. The singer pursued an acting career in the 1990s and scored several major motion picture and television roles, including “The Rainmaker†with Matt Damon and a run of several “Touched By an Angel†episodes.
Travis turned primarily to gospel music around the turn of the century, giving his career an unexpected boost with the release of iconic single “Three Wooden Crosses†in 2002. The song went to No. 1 on the Country and Christian charts and was the 2003 CMA Awards Song of the Year. Travis earned eight Platinum certifications and four Gold records in his career and is one of Country’s top-selling artists.
The 56-year-old singer’s public performance career was put on hold in 2013 when Travis, who was then living in Texas, suffered a stroke as a result of a viral infection in his heart. With doctors telling the family that hope was virtually lost, he has fought back harder than ever and is now able to walk. His speech and singing continue to improve with hopes of being back in front of his loyal fans one day soon.
He is currently living on his ranch in Texas with his wife Mary Davis-Travis, where he continues physical rehabilitation and has been making special appearances around the country. In May of 2019, Randy released his memoir, “Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith and Braving the Storms of Life” with Ken Abraham. The long-awaited, deeply personal story of one of American music’s greatest icons, a remarkable tale of the utmost heights of fame and success, the deepest lows of life’s sorrows, and a miraculous return from the brink of death—told as only Randy Travis can.
