We hope that today’s “IS IT TRUEâ€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.
IS IT TRUEÂ the next several days we will be reminiscing about the things that the City-County Observer wrote about over the years? Â …we will start out with the first story that was exposed where Joe Wallace was approached by the City-County Observer Publisher to fess up to something that had happened at GAGE under his watch?…the “SNEGAL” (Sneaky But Legal) action we refer to as the contract between GAGE and former Director of the Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development Tom Barnett to supplement his income?
IS IT TRUE back in those days the City of Evansville was limited in what department heads could earn and the limit was not sufficient to attract Mr. Barnett away from Paducah, Kentucky a town that is smaller than Henderson?…Mr. Barnett actually had an offer in hand from a town of 2,000 people in Florida that was over 30% higher than what the maximum pay could be in Evansville? …former Mayor Weinzapfel hatched an idea to pay Mr. Barnett the maximum the City allowed and to supplement that with a $41,000 contract between GAGE and Barnett even though he wasn’t an employee of GAGE? …Weinzapfel himself signed the contractual agreement with Mr. Barnett as he was the Chairman of the GAGE Board of Directors at the time? …Mr. Wallace declined to sign the contract because Mr. Barnett wasn’t an employee of GAGE?…later on Joe Wallace indeed fessed up to what his Chairman had done and wrote an article for the CCO that became the first of many? …much to our surprise was that the area mainstream media picked up on this story?
IS IT TRUE another situation that arose with the old Executive Inn was covered by the CCO with Joe Wallace’s help and the article was called “The Executive Inn Dilemmaâ€?…the dilemma came up when some people were considering using the old steel framework for a new downtown hotel?…it was discovered by a structural engineering team that the building’s frame was not strong enough to use double pane windows and was thus useless for anything but scrap metal?…about that time there was an earthquake in Haiti and our old friend John Kish–who was the project manager for the Ford Center arena project–justified tearing down the Executive Inn by pointing out the damages from the Haiti earthquake as Evansville’s fate if the Executive Inn was allowed to stand?…what was amazing was that our elected officials and members of the local mainstream media believed Mr. Kish’s earthquake analogy and thus the old Executive Inn was dismantled for scrap?
IS IT TRUE that we also reported the comical error about a multidirectional bridge to nowhere spanning MLK Blvd.? …that bridge eventually added $3 million to the cost of the Ford Center project?…many people were mystified about how anyone with good sense could have overlooked the need for a walk bridge between the Ford Center and Old National Events Plaza?  …at that point “Ready, Fire, Aim” was created by the CCO and later that phrase was used by Mayoral candidate Rick Davis in an attempt to remove the Democrat Cabal from power?
IS IT TRUE that the Vanderburgh Democrat Party has had a difficult time recovering from the debacles of the election of 2011 including Floatgate, TurnCoatGate, failing to pay the rent on the headquarters, and stiffing the Bauer Haus for a big chicken dinner for the party faithful?
IS IT TRUE that several years ago the Evansville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau was outed by the CCO for spending an excessive amount of our tax dollars on a Christmas Dinner at Biaggi’s where 5 bottles of Opus One wine were consumed along with many double shots of top-shelf liquor?…the CCO had the receipts from the party where well over several hundred dollars per person was squandered on a fun evening and published it?…the dinner receipt came to the CCO from a mainstream media source whose boss seemingly felt that this event wasn’t newsworthy?  …that our mainstream media source thought it was newsworthy and gift wrapped the story for the CCO to publish? …the mainstream media also printed this story that caused the total revamping of the management structure of the Evansville CVB?
IS IT TRUE we wish that our locally elected officials, business leaders of this region, patriots and Veterans groups would feel similar about the Veterans Memorial Coliseum as they do the LST?  …its time that the citizens of this community demand that the Veterans Memorial Coliseum receive the same media attention and financial support as the LST does? …its time that the community brings back the “Veterans Memorial Colosseum”  to its original grandeur?
IS IT TRUE that the Evansville city employees 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 will not be an issue in the proposed 2020 City budget? …all we can say is “very interesting?”
IS IT TRUE that the EPA has allowed the City of Evansville to pussyfoot around with the lead contamination issue in the Jacobsville area for over 20 years? …the real tragedy is that lead poisoning can be treated, but any damage caused by contaminated lead cannot be reversed? …we hope that before the City builds the new $28 million dollar Aqua Center at Garvin Park they will do extensive testing of possible lead contamination and toxic cleaning chemicals issues in the Garvin Park?
IS IT TRUEÂ during the next several days there will be a few more of these posts about looking back on the accomplishments of this column as we decide what to do about the future of “IS IT TRUE”?…we would appreciate any feedback, encouragement, or recommendations that any of our readers will offer?
IS IT TRUE we encourage you to encourage your family members, friends, and business associates to read the City-County Observer? Â …make sure you tell them that the CCO is complimentary and other online publications charge? …If you would like to advertise on the CCO please contact us at City-County Observer@live.com
Todays“Readers Poll†question is: Do you feel that Mayor Winnecke has earned a third term?
Please go to our link of our media partner Channel 44 News located in the upper right-hand corner of the City-County Observer so you can get the up-to-date news, weather, and sports.
We are pleased to provide obituaries from several area funeral homes at no costs.  Over the next several weeks we shall be adding additional obituaries from other local funeral homes.  Please scroll down the paper and you shall see a listing of them.
FOOTNOTE:  Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer or our advertisers.
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Indiana – We’ve all heard about it before; the Move Over Law. In 1999 Indiana was the first State in the nation to pass such a law requiring motorists to move to an adjacent traffic lane, or reduce speed by 10 mph below the posted speed limit if unable to change lanes safely when driving by a stationary police, fire or ambulance emergency vehicle stopped along the side of the road.  Over the years Indiana’s law has expanded to include stationary recovery, utility service, solid waste haulers, road, street highway maintenance vehicles, as well as a stationary survey or construction vehicles when displaying alternately flashing amber lights.
