We hope that today’s “READERS FORUM” 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.

HERE’S WHAT ON OUR MIND TODAY

Earlier this week the newly hired media relations person for the Evansville Water And Sewer Department, Ella Johnson-Watson issued an “Water Boil Advisory” news-release to select members of the media.  This  “Water Boil Order Advisory” covered parts of the Green River Road and Lynch Road area.  Is also covered parts of the Warrick County area. if you would like to see detailed information or a map of the effected areas we are sorry we can’t help you because the CCO didn’t receive  a copy of the “Water Boil Advisory” news-release from Ella Jonhson-Watson for us to post.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the water main breaks result in more than dirt and discoloration in your tap water.  Water from broken lines may contain dangerous contamination even if it looks clear, .that possible problems found in water following water main breaks include microbial contaminants, pathogens capable of causing disease outbreaks and gastroenteritis disorders, unsafe chemicals and E coli.

The “Water Boil Advisory” area serves several medical facilities, dental offices, schools, senior citizens facilities, numerous businesses, major shopping centers, restaurants and in highly populated neighborhoods.  We are thankful that so far no-one has contracted a serious illness from our water source before or during the time of the water main line breakage in the East Lincoln Avenue area of Evansville.

We hope that the next time a water main breaks happens within the service area of the Evansville Water And Sewer Department thier public relation gal will send news-releases to all members of the area media.

We can guarantee this will be the last time that the CCO and their readers will be snubbed or discriminated against by any official of the Evansville Water And Sewer Department.

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?

Todays “Readers Poll’ question is: Would you support a newly published non-partisan newspaper that is printed 3 days a week?

By Victoria Ratliff
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS—State Rep. Ron Bacon and his wife, Karen, were at a dance when a fellow student collapsed in front of them..

Ron Bacon is a  Respiratory Therapist knew what to do. He and  a good friend and nurse Jessica Schnur performed CPR for the next 14 minutes while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. The patient survived.

Other victims of a sudden cardiac event often aren’t as lucky. Bystanders, friends or family who call 9-1-1as lucky. Bystanders, friends or family who call 9-1-1 either do not know CPR, or in the state of shock, forget what to do. They often rely on the help of 9-1-1 operators to guide them through CPR.

But their 9-1-1 operator might not how to perform CPR either.

That’s changing because of a law that passed the General Assembly in the 2019 session requiring all 9-1-1 operators across Indiana to be certified in Telephone CPR (T-CPR).

Bacon, a Republican from Chandler, wrote the legislation after the American Heart Association reached out to get his help to add the training requirement.

House Enrolled Act 1342 not only requires the training for new and existing operators, but they must renew their skills every two years.

Bacon said through his time as a respiratory therapist and in his personal life he has seen how CPR can save lives.

“CPR is important to me because it’s been a part of my career,” he said.

Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the legislation on April 18. Current 9-1-1 operators must complete the training by July 1, 2020, and new employees will go through training during their first few weeks of employment.

Danielle Patterson, government relations director for the American Heart Association, said the bill will significantly increase the chances of surviving cardiac arrest.

In many rural areas, where ambulances can take upwards of 15 minutes to arrive, every minute can make the difference between life and death. Patterson noted that there are urban areas across the state that also lack good ambulances services.

Patterson told the House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee, where the bill was being heard in February, of the importance of the CPR training. She testified that for every minute a cardiac arrest patient goes without CPR, their survival rate decreases by 10 percent.

“Our goal is to strengthen the system of care that’s already in place,” she said.

If an ambulance takes 10 minutes to arrive at the scene, as it does in many areas of Indiana, the patients’ chances of survival diminishes.

Chris McNamara of Indianapolis told the same committee that her husband, Shawn, might not be alive if the 9-1-1 operator hadn’t been able to walk her through performing CPR. Her husband went into ventricular fibrillation, also known as the ‘widow-maker’ because of its low survival rate, while at home in 2016.

“The doctor said that CPR saved Shawn’s life,” she said. Fewer than 10% of patients who go into ventricular fibrillation with treatment such as CPR will survive. Without treatment, the survival rate is only 5%.

Shawn not only lived, but because of the 9-1-1 operator’s ability to direct McNamara, he suffered no brain damage and only needed two weeks of physical therapy after coming out of his induced coma.

9-1-1 operators in Hamilton County already receive instruction on how to administer CPR by telephone as part of their Emergency Medical Dispatch training, said Jeff Schemmer, executive director of the county’s Public Safety Communications.

In EMD, 9-1-1 operators are trained on several medical scenarios where they will have to guide a person on the other end of the line through a potentially life-saving procedure before medics arrive. Another one is how to deliver a baby.

“Hamilton County has been participating in EMD for at least 20 years,” he said.

Although the changes won’t be drastic for Hamilton County and other counties like it, Schemmer thinks that having it as a requirement will still be beneficial.

Footnote: Victoria Ratliff is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

Editor’s Note: This is the first in an occasional series about the impact of legislation passed in the 2019 session of the Indiana General Assembly.

Katie Stancombe for www.theindianalawyer.com

The Indiana Court of Appeals has remanded a case after finding no clarification from the trial court as to whether Marion County Community Corrections was intended to evaluate a man on a sliding scale of fees for his home detention costs.

During a sentencing hearing, Lawrence Amick was sentenced to 730 days in community corrections for both of his Level 6 felonies auto theft and forgery, to be served concurrently.

Per Amick’s request, the Marion Superior Court ordered the Marion County Community Corrections to evaluate Amick for sliding scale fees for the cost of his home detention. The court’s sentencing order totaled Amick’s court costs and fees at $285.

A memo filed by the MCCC stated Amick owed it $3,680. It also requested that the bond amount filed with the Marion County Clerk’s Office be transferred to the MCCC to apply toward the outstanding balance of program costs associated with the services provided to Amick, which the trial court approved.

Amick appealed, arguing the trial court abused its discretion in entering the community corrections fees based on a sliding scale. He specifically contended the abuse occurred when the trial court ordered the MCCC to evaluate Amick for sliding scale fees for the cost of home detention, asserting that the trial court holds the discretion to impose fees.

Although it argued Amick invited any error when he specifically requested the trial court impose the fees on a sliding scale, the state admitted it was unknown on appeal what the trial court was referring to based on the record. Thus, the Indiana Court of Appeals remanded the case.

“In reply, Amick asserts that no error was invited and that he is arguing that the court abused its discretion when it granted MCCC authority to determine what the sliding scale would be without first petitioning the court and receiving approval for the estimated costs,” Judge Elaine Brown wrote for the court.

“The record does not include the ‘sliding scale’ or state who established it or who administers it. We have no way of knowing whether the trial court intended to delegate any statutory responsibility to MCCC or whether the fees requested by MCCC and entered by the trial court were consistent with the sliding scale,” Brown continued.

Thus, the case was remanded for the trial court to clarify its intent regarding the fee and for further proceedings consistent with the opinion in Lawrence Amick v. State of Indiana, 19A-CR-27.

WHEELER SCHOOL

BY PAT SIDES

Wheeler School, seen here from the intersection of Fourth and Mulberry streets, was the first schoolhouse to be built in Evansville after state legislation created a public school system.

Built in 1855, Wheeler was originally called The Public School before it underwent several name changes: Upper School (1859), Canal Street School (1875), Mulberry Street School (1910), and Wheeler School (1915). The final name honored Horatio Q. Wheeler, who served as the city’s first school superintendent from 1853 to 1865.

Wheeler School expanded several times, but after the city’s population began to shift from downtown, enrollment declined. It finally closed in 1972 and was razed two years later.

Today the site is a parking lot for a downtown hospital.