“READERS FORUM” MARCH 7, 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?
WHATâ€S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?
Todays “Readers Poll†question is: How would your rate Vice President Mike Pence performance so far?
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.
.If you would like to advertise on the CCO please contact us at City-County Observer@live.com
FOOTNOTE:  Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer or our advertisers.â€READERS FORUMâ€Â
Indiana’s Burgeoning Hemp Industry Could Expand If New Rules Become Law
Indiana’s Burgeoning Hemp Industry Could Expand If New Rules Become Law
By Erica Irish
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS — The House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee unanimously approved a bill Thursday that could widen opportunities for hemp farming in Indiana.
The expansion is made possible by Senate Bill 516, authored by Republican Sens. Randy Head of Logansport, Blake Doriot of Syracuse and Chip Perfect of Lawrenceburg. Rep. Sean Eberhart, R-Shelbyville, sponsored it in the House.
Overall, SB 516 will create a hemp regulatory commission to work with the Indiana seed commissioner in approving licenses for farmers who wish to grow and profit from hemp. The crop is part of the cannabis family but lacks the high-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana plants.
Purdue University, until now, was one of the only groups granted permission to grow hemp in Indiana. But changes introduced through the federal Farm Bill of 2018Â have widened the field, permitting private farmers to work with the plant by removing it from the national list of controlled substances. Marijuana remains a controlled substance.
SB 516 did change in the final committee hearing after the members approved an amendment that tweaked several provisions around field inspections, among other fixes.
Under the amendment, growers who violate hemp regulations will face a civil penalty instead of the misdemeanor charge originally listed in SB 516. In this case, violators would lose their license and pay up to a $10,000 fine. The amendment will also allow law enforcement to inspect future hemp fields with aerial drones, prohibit local officials from regulating hemp production and more.
“This is a fluid process,†said Rep. Brad Barrett, R-Richmond. “We’ve got a starting point here that will allow the crop to get in the ground.â€
FOOTNOTE: Erica Irish is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Dr. Rochon Invested As USI President, Speaks On Gratitude And On Collaboration
Click here for a full web gallery of images from the Inauguration Ceremony
In his inaugural address as president of the University of Southern Indiana, Ronald S. Rochon charged the students in attendance with one very specific task: find someone who is different from them and get to know them.
“I want better for our children. I want better for your children,†said Rochon. “In order for us to do that, we have to come together. We have to break bread, we have to listen to stories and share love with one another.â€
In his remarks, Rochon expressed deep gratitude to family members, mentors and to the legacy and influence of the leaders who have contributed to the establishment of USI and its growth over the past 54 years. In reflection upon his place as the first African American to hold the position of president at USI, Rochon drew upon the history of the Evansville area as a stopover on the Underground Railroad to express how people of different races and upbringings can come together and fight to not only better their own lives, but the lives of future generations.
“It’s not about me. It’s about men, woman and children who came before us; who had this vision to develop a community that would embrace one another, that would uplift one another, that would do something amazingly special to serve other people.â€
Rochon’s address followed his official investiture as president of the University. Leading the investiture was Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcombe, accompanied by W. Harold Calloway, chair of the USI Board of Trustees; H. Ray Hoops, USI president emeritus; and Linda L. M. Bennett, USI president emerita.
“Your service to USI has already had such a tremendous impact and positive influence on this University,†said Holcombe in remarks preceding the investiture. “We are relying on USI to address our workforce and education needs of the future, so we can continue to all together take our state to the next level. I have no doubt – zero – that under Dr. Rochon’s leadership, USI will do just that.â€
The inauguration ceremony was held in the newly-opened Screaming Eagles Arena in front of hundreds of University dignitaries, alumni class representatives, local faith and legal leaders, representatives of USI’s student organizations and thousands of USI students, faculty, staff and community members in attendance to support Rochon and celebrate the University. In addition to Holcombe, Rochon was congratulated by Evansville mayor Lloyd Winnecke and personal mentors Muriel A. Howard, president emerita of Buffalo State College, and Maj. Gen (R) Barrye L. Price.
Mixed with remarks from the platform party were rousing performances from two award-winning choirs, the Tuskeegee University Golden Voices, representing Rochon’s undergraduate alma mater, and the USI Chamber Choir. The two groups musically punctuated Rochon’s charge to students by combining for a performance of Glenn Burleigh’s “Order My Steps†that brought the entire crowd to its feet in rousing ovation.
“When we talk about issues of diversity and collaboration,†remarked Rochon, “these students? They’re showing us how it’s done.â€
COMMENTARY: HOME AND HOPE
Senator Braun’s Weekly Update: March 31 – April 5
SENATOR BRAUN’S WEEKLY UPDATE
March 31 – April 5
With March’s Jobs Report showing the longest streak of consecutive American jobs growth on record due to President Trump’s pro-business tax cuts and regulatory agenda, this week Senator Braun continued the fight to bring Hoosiers another big win:Â lowering prescription drug prices.Â
Senator Braun joined Bloomberg Markets: Balance of Power with David Westin to discuss the status of his plan to lower prescription drug costs through transparency and the state of the battle over healthcare in Washington.Â
Senator Braun joined Abigail Robertson of CBN News to discuss the GOP’s path to repealing and replacing Obamacare, as well as how to get the healthcare industry onboard through price transparency to avoid government-run insurance for all.
Fox 55 WFFTÂ in Fort Wayne investigated how the pharmaceutical industry in Indiana is responding to Senator Braun’s prescription drug price plan in a story on Wednesday.
WLKY Louisville‘s Mark Vanderhoff caught up with Senator Braun at Meyer Distributing in his hometown of Jasper to discuss what taking on the insurance industry in his business taught him about taking on healthcare in Congress.
“Braun said he has told medical industry officials they could end up with a universal Medicare program favored by many Democrats if they don’t improve pricing and transparency.
‘I tell ’em all the time: Get with it. We shouldn’t need to be legislating you into better performance. Start fixing some of this stuff yourself or you’re going to be in business with one partner – the federal government,’ he said.
By way of example, Braun noted that a prescription for a certain drug costs $10 at one provider in his hometown of Jasper and $34.50 at another.
‘There is nothing like that throughout the rest of our economy where there is that much difference for the same thing,’Â he said.”
Full story by Brian Francisco
Senator Braun joined the Pat Miller program with guest host Marlin Stutzman on WOWO Fort Wayne to discuss the fight for healthcare reform in Washington.
BILL GAITHER AND THE GAITHER VOCAL BAND ARE COMING TO VICTORY THEAT
Gaither continues to be delighted by audiences’ response to the concerts, now more than 40 years after he quit his day job as a teacher: “I’ve always said it all starts with a great song, and we are fortunate that each concert includes great songs that have stood the test of time. With all the musical choices that are available now, there is still a special place for the joy and optimism that reside in Gospel music. Good news never gets old.â€
Named ASCAP’s Songwriters of the Century, Bill and Gloria Gaither have written more than 700 popular gospel songs throughout their multi-decade career, including favorite standards “He Touched Me,†Because He Lives,†and “There’s Just Something About That Name.†Since 1992, when Gaither began recording the celebrated Homecoming series of DVDs and CDs, most every volume has gone gold or platinum with sales totaling approximately 100 million volumes. The programs appear regularly on television networks around the world.
This event with the Gaither Vocal Band at the Victory Theatre in Evansville, IN, begins at 7:00pm and will celebrate timeless themes of faith, unity and eternal hope through a variety of music the whole family will enjoy. Complete information, including ticket pricing and group ticket information, is available by visiting www.victorytheatre.comwww.gaither.com or www.premierproductions.com.
USDA Census of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will release the 2017 Census of Agriculture results on Thursday, April 11, at noon ET. The full Census report will include millions of data points, including number of farms, land in farms, total value of production, demographics, and more at the national, state, and county levels.
The report, along with a number of related publications, video presentations, and searchable data query interfaces, will be available on the NASS website at www.nass.usda.gov. Available now in preparation for data release are three videos featuring NASS subject matter experts explaining the importance of the Census, what’s new in this Census, and how to find Census data.
“We are excited to share the new Census of Agriculture data next week,†said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “The Census data will help inform decisions about ag education, research, farm programs, rural development, and much more over the next several years. Conducting the Census is part of USDA’s commitment to you.â€
This Census report will include new information on military service, food marketing practices, and on-farm decision-making. These additions help better capture the roles and contributions of beginning farmers, women farmers, and others involved in running a farm enterprise. Data from this census as well as previous ones are easily searchable on the new online Census Data Query Tool. To address questions about the 2017 Census of Agriculture data, NASS will host a live Twitter (@usda_nass) Ask the Census Experts Stat Chat on Friday, April 12, at 1:00pm ET.
At the same time that the 2017 Census of Agriculture data is released for the 50 states, NASS is collecting Census data in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The agency is also in the last few weeks of data collection for two Census of Agriculture Special Studies – the 2018 Census of Aquaculture and the 2018 Irrigation and Water Management Survey. These and other products, such as state, county, and congressional district profiles, will be released throughout the year.
The first Census of Agriculture was conducted in 1840 in conjunction with the decennial Census. After 1920, it was conducted every four to five years. By 1982, it was regularly conducted once every five years as it still is today, mailed to every known farm and ranch in the United States.
NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.
Raising awareness, providing support & ending abuse by Wendy McNamara