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Robert John Wiggins

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Obituary for Robert John Wiggins

Ziemer Funeral Home

Robert John Wiggers, 97, passed away Monday, May 20, 2019 at St. Vincent Hospital. He was born January 8, 1922, to the late Jacob and Mabel (Simpson) Wiggers.
Robert served in the United States Army 101st Airborne during WWII. He was a member of Christ Church UCC. He received his undergraduate degree at Evansville College and earned his master’s degree from Indiana University. He taught at Stanley Hall, Educational TV, and Bosse High School. He retired from teaching history with the EVSC in 1985. Robert enjoyed traveling around the world with his wife Bea, and proudly participated in the Honor Flight in 2017. He was known for his sense of humor and kindness.
Robert is survived by daughters, Ann (Rod) Penfield, and Jane (Gary) Myrick; son, Tom (Jan) Wiggers; grandchildren, Andy, Jessica, Alex, Allison, and Austyn. 2 great grandchildren; nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Bea, and sister, Helen Kerr.
Visitation will be held Friday, June 21, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. with services to follow at 4:00 p.m. at Ziemer Funeral Home East Chapel, 800 S. Hebron Ave., Evansville. A memorial service will held at 4:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Reverend Mark Sirnic will officiate.
Memorial contributions may be made to Christ Church UCC, 3601 Washington Ave., Evansville, IN 47714, or Honor Flight of Southern Indiana, PO Box 8234, Evansville, IN 47716.
Condolences may be made online at www.ziemerfuneralhome.com

Lawsuit: School’s Transgender Policy Violated Teacher’s Religious Beliefs

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Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawayer.com

A Brownsburg music teacher who claims he lost his job because he refused to address transgender students by the first names of their choice has filed a federal lawsuit against the Brownsburg Community School Corporation for violating his First Amendment religious freedom and free speech rights.

John Kluge was hired as a music and orchestra teacher by the school corporation in August 2014. He says he met all the school’s performance expectations and received positive evaluations but was wrongly terminated in May 2018 after he refused to go against his sincerely held religious beliefs and abide by the school’s transgender policy.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday on Kluge’s behalf by the Indiana Family Institute, claims the school corporation violated Kluge’s free exercise of religion and freedom of speech under the First Amendment as well as his right to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment.

In addition, the lawsuit asserts Kluge’s right to free exercise of religion under the Indiana Constitution was also violated.

“Defendants’ transgender policies and related practices do not serve any government interests of sufficient magnitude to override Kluge’s right to live according to the dictates of his faith and according to his own conscience,” the complaint states.

Kluge is seeking an injunction prohibiting Brownsburg schools from enforcing the policies and practices that violate employees’ religious beliefs. He is also asking for back pay and the value of benefits along with compensatory and punitive damages.

According to the 25-page complaint, BCSC changed its policy in early 2017, allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice while teachers were instructed to use the transgender students’ preferred names.

Kluge describes himself as a “professing evangelical Christian” who strives to live daily by his faith. He believes God created mankind as either male or female and that gender is fixed from the moment of conception and cannot be changed regardless of an individual’s feelings or desires.

The complaint states BCSC superintendent James Snapp told Kluge to use the transgender names or lose his job. Kluge was then accused of misconduct and suspended.

In July of 2017, Kluge reached an agreement with Snapp where his religious beliefs would be accommodated by allowing him to address all the students by their last names only. However, at the end of 2017, the school principal, Bret Daghe, told Kluge he should resign because the accommodation was creating tension. In February 2018, the religious accommodation was withdrawn, the lawsuit says, because the school claimed the students were offended at the use of last names.

Kluge explained to the school that he believes “encouraging students to present themselves as the opposite sex by calling them an opposite-sex first name is sinful.” In the complaint, he asserts the school corporation could not identify any undue hardship caused by the accommodation but “simply desired to promote and accommodate transgender beliefs over sincerely-held religious beliefs.”

After submitting his resignation at the end of April 2018, Kluge tried to rescind it but the school ignored the rescission and accepted the resignation. Immediately, Kluge was locked out of the school buildings and the school’s intranet, and his job was posted as vacant.

“The Defendants’ removal of the successful ‘last-names only’ accommodation based on the complaints of students — who suspected he was using last names to avoid transgender names, and wanted Kluge to capitulate — does not amount to undue hardship, but is an impermissible ‘heckler’s veto,’” the complaint states.

The lawsuit, John M. Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corporation, et al., 1:19-cv-2462, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Indianapolis attorneys Michael Cork, Roscoe Stovall, Jr., and Kevin Green are representing Kluge. Brownsburg schools have not yet replied to the suit.

EPD REPORT

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EPD REPORT

RICHARD ALLEN WHITE SR.

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Boonville, IN. – Richard Allen White Sr., 84, of Boonville, Indiana passed away on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at his home surrounded by his family.
Richard was born on June 19, 1934 in Washington, Indiana to the late Roy Preston and Margaret Ellen (Alsman) White.
He was a Master Mason and member of the Lynnville Masonic Lodge # 396, Order of the Eastern Star, 32 degree of the Scottish Rites, and a long-time member of the Hadi Shriners. He and his wife, Ruby attended Lighthouse General Baptist Church in Boonville. He loved Camping, fishing, mushroom hunting, yard work, and was proficient in carpentry.
He is preceded in death by his parents; grandchildren, Steven White, Randy White, Paul Asher; sisters, Agnes Lamb and Margaret K. Young.
Richard is survived by his wife of 67 years, Ruby White of Boonville, IN; children, Richard Allen White Jr. and his wife, Sheri of Chandler, IN; Cindy Marshall and her husband, Rodney of Boonville, IN; Sondra Orth and her husband, Steve of Boonville, IN; Teresa Matthews of Boonville, IN; grandchildren; Andrea Retter and her husband, Derrick of Boonville, IN; Clint Matthews of Evansville, IN; Tracy Dixon; great-grandchildren, Katelynn Williams, Kaleb Retter, several other great-grandchildren; siblings, Norma Cronin, Laura Clemons (Larry); Judy Meiners (Don); Janet Covington (Danny); several nieces and nephews.
Services will be 10 A.M. on Saturday, June 22, 2019 at Koehler Funeral Home in Boonville, Indiana with Pastor Steven Spinks officiating. Burial will be at Mt. Zion Cemetery in Lynnville, Indiana.
Visitation will be from 4 P.M. until 8 P.M. on Friday, June 21, 2019 at the funeral home with a Masonic Service to be held at 7 P.M. by the Lynnville Masonic Lodge #396.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
The family would like to give a special thank you to Southern Care Hospice and to Josh Jones for the loving care a support.

To send flowers to the family of Richard Allen White, please visit Tribute Store.

Otters’ comeback bid halted by rain

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 Trailing 4-0 heading into the sixth inning, the Evansville Otters were able to cut the deficit in half before the skies opened up with rain, forcing Wednesday’s game at Washington to be called in the sixth inning and giving the Washington Wild Things a 4-2 win. 
 

The win for Washington evens the series, forcing a rubber match Thursday from Washington, Pa.

 A four-run third inning for the Wild Things proved to be the difference in Wednesday’s middle game.

 Despite the Otters getting the first hit of the game, their offense was shut down a majority of the game, as they only had two hits through five innings.

 After 2.5 scoreless innings, one of the better offenses in the Frontier League unleashed its power as the Wild Things sent eight men to the plate, scoring four runs.

 Cameron Baranek led off with a single, and Chase Slone reached on an error by J.J. Gould.

 After Otters starting pitcher Tyler Vail fielded a ground ball and ran over to first to beat out Ryan Cox, leadoff hitter Blake Adams launched a three-run homer to right field to put the first runs of the game on the board. It would be Adam’s fourth home run on the season and eighth RBI.

 Shane Hughes, the next batter, hit a single to keep the hit parade going for Washington.

 After Vail struck out Mikael Mogues for the second out, Hector Roa hit an RBI double deep to left centerfield, a rocket that went nearly 400 feet to the wall to give the Wild Things a commanding 4-0 lead.

 The Otters’ bats woke up in the top of the sixth.

 Entering the inning with only two hits to show for the Otters, second baseman David Cronin led off the inning with an infield single, beating out the throw from Slone at shortstop.

 Keith Grieshaber popped up to Slone for the first out, but still left a baserunner on with Ryan Long at the plate.

 Long was Tuesday’s hero with a go-ahead three-run homer. On Wednesday, he was able to get the Otters on the board with a two-run blast over the fence in right field. That would cut the Wild Things lead in half, making the score 4-2.

 Mother Nature intervened after Dakota Phillips roped a double down the right-field line, as the Otters were starting a two-out rally.  

 After 30 minutes, the umpires officially called the game with the final score at 4-2.

 Michael Austin was credited with the win, improving his record to 3-4 on the season. He went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts.  

 Vail was given the loss, tossing five innings, surrendering four runs – two earned – on five hits with two strikeouts. His ERA improved to 4.77, despite his 1-3 record. 

 

Child Pornographer Arrested for Third Time in Four Days

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The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office has arrested an Evansville man for the third time since June 14th on charges related to child pornography. On June 14, William Ray Martin was arrested on twenty counts of Possession of Child Pornography as a Level Five felony following an examination of his cell phone seized during the execution of a search warrant. Martin posted a $500 bond on the 15th and was released.

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Martin’s place of employment on June 15th and several electronic devices were seized. A preliminary forensic examination of the devices revealed the existence of child pornography and with the assistance of the Warrick County Prosecutor’s Office and the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office, Martin was arrested that evening on one count of Possession of Child Pornography and was held in Warrick County on a $500,000 cash/$5,000,000 surety bond.

Yesterday, as the forensic examination of the more than 1,400 videos and 4,000 images found in the items seized in Vanderburgh County progressed, videos of two different juveniles known to be under the age of 18 at the time of the recording were discovered. The videos were of each juvenile individually and were not pornographic in nature. There were multiple videos of each and it was apparent that they were taken without their consent or knowledge. These videos were taken in the bathroom of Martin’s residence.

Yesterday, Martin’s bond was reduced to $5,000 and after posting bond, deputies assigned to the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Martin on two Counts of felony Voyeurism and transported him to the Vanderburgh County Jail. He will be held without bond pending a court appearance.

Arrested (imaged above): William Ray Martin, 45, Evansville

Presumption of Innocence Notice:The fact that a person has been arrested or charged with a crime is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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https://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/jail-recent-booking-records.aspx

“READERS FORUM” JUNE 20, 2019

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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.

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?

Todays “Readers Poll’ question is: Do you feel that Ellis Park is ready to compete with Tropicana-Evansville since they sold to new investors?

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 advertisers.
“

Teamsters Local 215 Members Employed By Irving Materials Incorporated (IMI) Evansville Went On Strike

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On Monday, June 3, Teamsters Local 215 members employed by Irving Materials Incorporated (IMI) Evansville went on strike. The strike is an unfair labor practices strike. The pickets were extended to IMI Ft. Branch on June 4, and Teamster members there have been honoring the picket lines.

Accordingly to Teamsters 215 President Chuck Whobrey “this strike was totally avoidable. Teamsters 215 members have only wanted to maintain the insurance plan (Central States TeamCare) that they have had for many years, and also to get appropriate wage increases. IMI Teamsters currently make $19.48 per hour. That is $1.60 per hour behind Teamsters employed by Concrete Supply. Teamsters at Concrete Supply have the same insurance plan IMI Teamsters are fighting to maintain. Under the company’s proposal IMI Teamsters would lose dental insurance, life insurance and retiree’s insurance. Teamster members worked without a contract for over two months in an effort to reach an agreement without going on strike. Finally, after some of the things the company did in negotiations, the local union filed unfair labor practice charges and the strike commenced a few days later. Those charges are currently under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 25”.

Mr. Whobrey also stated that “IMI as a company has benefited immensely over the years because of the Teamsters who work there. On repeated occasions IMI has been awarded contracts because their employees are represented by Teamsters Local 215. The most recent example of this happening was theCostco warehouse construction project on Evansville’s east side. The concrete work on that project was originally awarded to a non-union company. Due to the work of the Teamsters Local Union, that award was reversed and awarded to IMI. The thanks Teamster members got for this is to have the company try to take away their insurance. There are many other examples of work that IMI was awarded because of them being a unionized company. IMI needs to stop attacking the very employees that make them a profitable company”.

FOOTNOTE: This article was posted by the City-County Observer without opinon  bias or editing.

Commentary: With Sarah Sanders’ Departure, The Media Office Has Officially Closed

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Commentary: With Sarah Sanders’ Departure, The Media Office Has Officially Closed

June 19, 2019  

By Michael Leppert
MichaelLeppert.com

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is leaving her job as White House press secretary at the end of the month.

What will President Donald Trump do without his top spokesperson? Will White House press briefings end without her?

That was a trick question. Press briefings already have ended. Arguably, they ended in a traditional sense so long ago, we have already gotten used to simply knowing less about what is happening with the daily grind of the administration. Even the president’s public schedule is an almost daily laugher. For example, the president has not had any documentable activity on his schedule before 11:00 AM since his departure from Ireland on June 7.

Whoops, let me correct that. He did leave to play golf before 11:00 last Saturday and Sunday. Otherwise, his mornings are occupied by “In-House Pool Call Time.” Americans have learned what that means: watching television and tweeting about it.

This week was a banner one for the White House messaging team. On Tuesday, Trump responded to reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had executed his own half brother for being an informant to the CIA. The American president said: “I wouldn’t let that happen under my auspices.” Putting aside Trump’s odd use of the word “auspices,” it certainly appeared that he was committing to Kim that he would not allow the CIA to spy on North Korea.

It’s the kind of comment a spokesperson would normally need to explain, walk back or spin. Of course, “normal” certainly is not what it used to be.

Trump’s best strategy for saying something as outrageous as siding with one of our nation’s most dangerous national security threats over our own top intelligence agency is to say something else that may be even more incredible.

On Wednesday, the American president said in a video interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, that he may not contact the FBI if a foreign power attempted to give him dirt on a political opponent. FBI director Chris Wray, testified to Congress just last month as to how that contact should be made. Trump first said “there isn’t anything wrong with listening,” to such information from a foreign power, and then went on to say in response to Wray that “the FBI director is wrong.”

To recap this episode, America has been listening to Trump repeat the phrase “no collusion” incessantly for the last two years.  The Mueller investigation on that very behavior concluded in March. The U.S. House of Representatives is considering impeaching Trump for his behavior related directly to it. And now he is announcing his openness to collude, violate his constitutional oath and break clear and indisputable campaign finance laws.

Whew!

These are the kinds of comments that could cause a spokesperson’s head to explode. They are indefensible on an epic scale. So, how does the Trump team respond to the barrage of questions and condemnations of his words? The spokespeople are silent, and the president tweets out his expected doubling down on why his whims are right and our rule of law is wrong.

Republicans in Washington are cringing. They should be. Like Sanders, virtually the entire group of GOP members of congress have also become spokespeople for Trump over the last two years. When the president says outlandish things like he has this week the party formerly known as the Grand Old Party now behaves as if they must go along with it.

They can’t just quit like Sanders has.

Wait a minute: yes, they can!

There will be life after Trump in American politics. I enthusiastically look forward to reacquainting myself with the politicians who have fallen in line with Trump’s madness. Will they pretend they didn’t? Will they return to conservative or, dare I say, American values?

Whatever his followers choose in the future, life after Trump will be equally fascinating to me. But for Sanders, her exit from her job at the end of June also appears to be her beginning. Suggestions that she return to Arkansas and prepare for a 2022 gubernatorial run were raised on Thursday. I assume a platform in that campaign will sound like a combination of her two dads: Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, and her soon to be workplace one.

When asked if she regretted not having more press conferences, Sanders said no, and that she still believes they have been the most accessible White House ever. Anderson Cooper of CNN responded to that Thursday night with, “She may be leaving, but she’s still lying.”

Thank you for your service, Sarah. Good luck, and Godspeed.

FOOTNOTE: Michael Leppert is a public and governmental affairs consultant in Indianapolis and writes his thoughts about politics, government and anything else that strikes him at MichaelLeppert.com

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