“READERS FORUM” JUNE 28, 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 newly approved “Sports Book” betting in Indiana are going to hurt the Kentucky Casinos?
If you would like to advertise in the CCO please contact us at City-County Observer@live.com
Gov. Holcomb Makes Appointments to Higher Education Boards and Commissions
Ball State University Board of Trustees
The Governor made two new appointments to the board:
- Rebeca Mena (Muncie), a junior majoring in chemistry and Spanish at Ball State University, will join as the student member of the board and will serve until June 30, 2021.
- Henry O. Hall (Fort Wayne), president of Skytech Products Group, will join as an alumni member of the board and will serve until Dec. 31, 2022.
Indiana Commission for Higher Education
The Governor made one new appointment to the board:
- Dr. Trent Engberts (Evansville), associate professor at the University of Southern Indiana, will join as the faculty member of the commission and will serve until June 30, 2021.
 The Governor also made three reappointments to the board, who will serve until June 30, 2023:
- Mike Alley (Indianapolis), chairman and owner of Patriot Investments, LLC, will continue his service on the commission.
- Michael “Jud†Fisher (Muncie), president and COO of Ball Brothers Foundation, will continue his service on the commission.
- Alfonso Vidal (Newburgh), president of Vidal Plastics, will continue his service on the commission.
 Indiana State University Board of Trustees
The Governor made two new appointments to the board:
- Casey J. Phillips (Greenfield), a junior majoring in supply chain management and marketing at Indiana State University, will join as the student member of the board and will serve until June 30, 2021.
- Robert E. Casey, Jr. (Indianapolis), chief security officer with Eli Lilly & Company, will join as an alumni member of the board and will serve until June 30, 2023.
 The Governor also made two reappointments to the board, who will serve until June 30, 2023:
- Kathy Cabello (Indianapolis), owner of Cabello Associates, will continue her service on the board.
- Kimberly O. Smith (Indianapolis), president and CEO of Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, will continue her service on the board.
Indiana University Board of Trustees
The Governor made one new appointment to the board:
- Molly C. Connor (Columbus), a second year law student at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, will join as the student member of the board and will serve until June 30, 2021.
 The Governor also made three reappointments to the board, who will serve until June 30, 2022:
- William “Quinn†Buckner (Bloomington), vice president of communications for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, will continue his service on the board.
- James T. Morris (Indianapolis), vice chairman of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, will continue his service on the board.
- Melanie Hart Walker (Bloomington), CEO of TASUS Corporation, will continue her service on the board.
Ivy Tech University State Board of Trustees
The Governor made five reappointments to the board, who will serve until June 30, 2022:
- Terry W. Anker (Carmel), chairman of The Anker Consulting Group, Inc., will continue his service on the board.
- Michael Dora (Rushville), state director of rural development for the USDA, will continue his service on the board.
- Larry Garatoni (Mishawaka), CEO of HQ Investments, will continue his service on the board.
- Paula Hughes-Schuh (Fort Wayne), CEO of YWCA Northeast Indiana, will continue her service on the board.
- Steve Schreckengast (Lafayette), president of Citation Homes, Inc., will continue his service on the board.
 Purdue University Board of Trustees
The Governor made one new appointment to the board:
- Noah M. Scott (Leesburg), a junior majoring in industrial engineering technology and organizational leadership at Purdue University, will join as the student member of the board and will serve until July 1, 2021.
The Governor also made two reappointments to the board, who will serve until July 1, 2022:
- Lawrence “Sonny†Beck (Atlanta), CEO of Beck’s Superior Hybrids, Inc., will continue his service on the board.
- Don Thompson (Chicago, Illinois), CEO of Cleveland Avenue, will continue his service on the board.
University of Southern Indiana Board of Trustees
The Governor made two new appointments to the board:
- Josi Barscz (Huntington), a sophomore majoring in biochemistry at the University of Southern Indiana, will join as the student member of the board and will serve until June 30, 2021.
- Christina Ryan (Newburgh), CEO of The Women’s Hospital, Deaconess Health System, Inc., will join the board and will serve until June 30, 2023.
The Governor also made one reappointment to the board, who will serve until June 30, 2023:
- Jeffrey L. Knight (Evansville), executive vice president and chief legal counsel for Old National Bancorp, will continue his service on the board.
New Law Bars Animal Abusers From Owning Pets
New Law Bars Animal Abusers From Owning Pets
By Lacey Watt
TheStateHouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS—Eeyore was a malnourished pit bull terrier mix with a heart condition when a stranger dropped him off at IndyHumane in November 2018.
The only information IndyHumane staff had was that the scruffy, half-starved animal had been found with no collar or chip to determine where he belonged. He appeared as though he had been scavenging for food on his own for some time.
After surgery at Purdue University to fix his heart condition and regular meals to help him put on 20 pounds, Eeyore today is a playful, goofy 3-year-old.
Eeyore is the kind of animal lawmakers had in mind when they enacted legislation in the 2019 session to make sure abusers don’t get a chance to abuse again. Senate Enrolled Act 474 states that a person convicted of animal abuse may not own, harbor or train a companion animal during the probation and parole period.
“In most cases animals can’t protect themselves,†said Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, author of SEA 474. He doesn’t have a pet himself but appreciates the impact animals can have on people’s lives.
Alting wrote SEA 474 after he was approached by Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington and others with concerns about the cases of animal abuse they were seeing. Harrington had prosecuted about a half dozen cases over the past three years of dogs and cats being shot, burned and mistreated in other ways.
“If you are convicted of a crime with a vehicle, what happens to your license,†Harrington said. That license is revoked, and a person convicted of mistreating an animal should lose the right to own another one, he added.
From 2014 to 2017, 45 people were convicted and sentenced for animal cruelty as a Level 6 felony. Out of the 45 convicted, 80 percent were place of probation for an average of 326 days. In the past law, there was nothing that prevented abusers from owning animals again.
Cheri Storms, executive director of Spay-Neuter Services of Indiana, agrees with the intent of the new law.
Storms, who has been working in the animal welfare field for 12 years, recalled one particularly awful case when a rescue team brought a badly burned cat to her facility. They had named the cat Phoenix and treated him for his injuries, but the animal eventually died.
Storms said that this case was beyond anything she had heard, and felt that lawmakers should hear of it, too, in order to make needed changes to the law.
“I felt sick,†Storms said of her experience describing the abuse to lawmakers during the last session. “It was nerve-wracking, but worth it.â€
Storms said her hope is that with the passage of SEA 474 people will stop and think before abusing an animal. If they do, they will be punished.
“Part of our work is to make sure they have a good life,†Storms said of the animals she helps.
At IndyHumane, where Eeyore found new life, officials try to make sure prospective pet owners are properly screened before being allowed to adopt. When adopting, a person must sit down with a counselor to discuss why they want a pet.
Kirsten VantWoud, IndyHumane’s chief operating officer, explained that they hold interviews to make sure they match with pets to owners that will last a lifetime. As far as knowing if someone has a history of animal abuse, it’s harder to tell.
“We ask some leading questions. We ask about pet history, so certainly if some said they had 12 animals and they just don’t have them anymore, that would concern us,†VantWoud said.
At IndyHumane’s facility in northwest Indianapolis, cage after cage and room after room are filled with dogs and cats, some of which have been abused, waiting for someone to look in their direction and take them to a new home. IndyHumane has 235 animals currently waiting to be adopted, with 182 animals in foster homes or at two offsite adoption locations, Pet Supplies Plus in Whitestown and the Nine Lives Cat Café in Fountain Square.
Freddie, a 2-year-old cat, is one of the lucky ones. He ended up at IndyHumane when he was found with a broken jaw, but after surgery is now recovering. Â Freddie, like Eeyore, has found his forever home.
Editor’s note: This is a story in an occasional series about the impact of legislation passed in the 2019 session of the Indiana General Assembly.
Lacey Watt is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
SEN. MIKE BRAUN: In Case You Missed It
As Dems debate, let’s remember that Trump has already remade judiciary for decades to come
Senator Mike Braun
Fox News
June 26, 2019
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/sen-mike-braun-democrats-debate-trump-judiciary
As Democrats descend on Miami for their first presidential debate, it’s a good time to reflect on the fact that President Trump has kept his promise to nominate great conservative judges, with the Senate approving 125 judges since Trump took office — including 40 since I’ve been in the U.S. Senate.
Shortly after assuming his duties at the White House, Trump hit a home-run by selecting conservative Neil Gorsuch to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Justice Gorsuch has been a steadfast defender of the Constitution over the last two years. It’s also great to have a voice on the court who comes from Middle America instead of the East Coast, like nearly all of our other Supreme Court justices.
A year later, Trump nominated the conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The night of his nomination, Senator Elizabeth Warren was already on the steps of the Supreme Court opposing this highly qualified nominee.
As time passed, Democrats— including my opponent, Democratic former Sen. Joe Donnelly — lined up to smear Kavanaugh, but unlike any president before him, Trump stood by his nominee when the going got tough, which sent a bolt of energy to my campaign in Indiana.
As I sprinted down the homestretch of my campaign, Hoosiers were proud that I had the courage to support a nominee who was falsely accused of wrongdoing and promised to interpret the Constitution as it was written instead of legislating from the bench.
On the circuit court level, President Trump has appointed nearly one-third of the judges on the Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits. Additionally, the infamous liberal Ninth Circuit is slowly returning to sanity. President Trump has nominated enough judges that almost half of that court will faithfully interpret the Constitution.
In terms of district courts, the Senate has approved 82 district judges — including 29 since I’ve taken office. I’m incredibly proud to have supported the confirmation of fellow Hoosier Holly A. Brady from Fort Wayne to serve as a United States district judge for the Northern District of Indiana.
For an entrepreneur who has spent his entire career creating jobs, I can assure you that leaving my business to help President Trump confirm conservative judges is well worth my decision to run for office and a great use of the Senate’s time, given how dysfunctional Washington can be.
Finally, for viewers who tune in to the first Democrat debate, it shouldn’t be lost on them that President Trump has already remade the judiciary, moving our country away from activist judges and toward individuals who will uphold the Constitution. It’s another important reason to re-elect President Trump and maintain our Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.
“LEFT JAB AND RIGHT JAB†JUNE 28, 2019
“LEFT JAB AND RIGHT JABâ€
“Right Jab And Left Jab†was created because we have two commenters that post on a daily basis either in our “IS IT TRUE†or “Readers Forum†columns concerning National or International issues.
Joe Biden and Ronald Reagan’s comments are mostly about issues of national interest.  The majority of our “IS IT TRUE†columns are about local or state issues, so we have decided to give Mr. Biden and Mr. Reagan exclusive access to our newly created “LEFT 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 “RIGHT JABâ€Â several times a week.  Oh, “Left Jab†is a liberal view and the “Right Jab is representative of the more conservative views. Also, any reader who would like to react to the written comments of the two gentlemen is free to do so.
FOOTNOTE: Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer or our advertisers.
Lt. Governor Crouch: Public schedule for June 28
 Below is Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch’s public schedule for June 28, 2019.
Friday, June 28
What: Crouch meets with DOR summer interns
Host: Indiana Department of Revenue
When: 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., ET
Where: Indiana Statehouse, Room 333, 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204
Friday, June 28
What: Crouch visits Monumental Marketplace
Host: Indiana Grown
When: 11:00 a.m. – Noon, ET
Where: Monument Circle, Indianapolis, IN 46204
HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
