“IS IT TRUE” FEBRUARY 4, 2019
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 TRUE that last week the Vanderburgh County Democrat Party held a big-ticket political fundraiser that was a sellout? ….that County Commissioners Ben Shoulders and Jeff Hatfield co-hosted this extremely successful “Political Fundraiser ” to help raise money for the candidates running in the upcoming city election?  …it looks like the Vanderburgh Democratic party of the past is back with new vigor and vitality?… County Commissioners Ben Shoulders and Jeff Hatfield did a masterful job in their Co-Masters of Ceremonies duties?  …we were told that this event raised a ton of money for those that are seeking for a seat on City Council?
IS IT TRUE that several current City Council and candidates for the Evansville Council were introduced to those attending the ‘Democratic party “Political Fundraiser”? …everyone that was introduced to the crowd received a warm round of applause except for Councilwomen Connie Robinson?  …when Mrs. Robinson was introduced those in the attendance gave her an arousing standing ovation for her 24 years of service to the people of this community?  …we are told when Connie Robinson retires from City Council she will immediately start saving souls with her newly ordained minister husband?
IS IT TRUE we are told that tonights Haynes Corners Arts District Board of Directors meeting should be extremely interesting? Â …tonight’s Haynie Corner Arts District (HCAD) Board Meeting will be at 6:30 pm and will be held at the Evansville Brewhouse? Â …this meeting is opened to the public?
IS IT TRUE that based on the number of black tire marks on the curbs on North Main Street the city should encourage a new tire business to locate there?
IS IT TRUEÂ that one of our staff members overheard a comment made by a high ranking official with the Winnecke Administration say “that the census numbers don’t support building a new grocery store in the North Main Street area”?
IS IT TRUE that opening night for the AMAZONIA at Mesker Park Zoo will be held on February 9th, 2019? Â …we are told that the Orchids shall be in full bloom?
IS IT TRUE we wonder why the former Piegon Township Trustee signed a 10-year lease on the office building that currently houses the Trustees office?  …we hope that this new lease contract will require the landlord to do some extensive renovations on this very old building? …also hope that the landlord will be required to bring this building in compliance with all local and State building codes and handicap ordinances?
IS IT TRUE that sometimes when hard times come knocking small businesses and even large ones have to economize and cut back on some expenses?…last week the Ford Center that has advertised with the City-County Observer for nearly 4 years decided to cancel their ad?…no reason was given to us for their for this action?
IS IT TRUE that everyone is aware of the paltry attendance at Evansville Thunderbolts hockey games, and the excessively priced maintenance and utility costs associated with the sole source contract with Dave Rector and the Vanderburgh County Building Authority, one could easily surmise that there could be possibility of a cash flow problem “Down on Main Street”?
IS IT TRUE that the Business Development Officer of the Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union Tim Ethridge is doing an outstanding job in promoting this excellent corporate citizen?
Todays“Readers Poll†question is: Are you excited about the diverse group of individuals running for a seat on the 2019 City Council?
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FOOTNOTE: Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer or our advertisers.
VANDERBURGH COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING
AGENDA of VANDERBURGH COUNTY COUNCIL
FEBRUARY 6, 2019 3:30 P.M. in ROOM 301
- OPENING OF MEETING
- ATTENDANCE ROLL CALL
- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
- INVOCATION
- APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
- (A) Â Personnel & Finance December 19, 2018
- (B) Â County Council January 2, 2019
- PERSONNEL REQUESTS:
(A) CLERK
1. Request to fill vacancy for Small Claims Clerk
(B) ASSESSOR
1. Request to fill vacancy for Residential Real Estate Deputy
(C) COOP EXTENSION
1. Request to change PT Summer Assistants to three and increase pay rate
(D) PROSECUTOR IV-D
1. Request to fill vacancy for two Enforcement Officers
(E) PROSECUTOR ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES
1. Request to create and hire Part-time Investigator position
- (F) Â HEALTH DEPARTMENT – SAFETY PIN
- Request to increase base salary for Community Health Workers
- Request to change title & salary for Licensed Clinical Social Worker and fill a vacancy
- Request to increase base salary for Data Coordinator
- Request to increase base salary for Public Health Nurse
- (G) Â HEALTH DEPARTMENT
- Request to increase base salaries for the following positions:
- Director of Clinical & Outreach Division
- Registered Nurse
- TB Clinic Nurse
- Supervisor Child Health Conference
- Public Health Nurse (3)
- S.T.D. Clinic Nurse
- Clinic Nurse
- Project Director
- Request to delete one Public Health Nurse
- Request to fill vacancy for Part-time Administrative Aide
- Request to increase base salaries for the following positions:
- APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE:
- (A) Â LEGAL AID (C)
- (B) Â COMMISSIONERS – LIT
- REPEAL: (A)
- TRANSFERS: (A)
- OLD BUSINESS: (A)
- NEW BUSINESS: (A)
- AMENDMENTS TO SALARY ORDINANCE:
- (A) Â CLERK (E)
- (B) Â ASSESSOR (F)
- (C) Â COOP EXTENSION (G)
- (D) Â PROSECUTOR IV-D (H)
LITTER CLEAN UP
- PUBLIC COMMENT
- REMINDER NEXT MEETING DATE/TIME:
February 27, 2019 @ 3:30 p.m.
15. ADJOURNMENT
Red denotes Personnel and Finance meeting
Blue denotes County Council meeting
PERSONNEL AND FINANCE MEETING JANUARY 30, 2019
3:30 P.M.
ROOM 301
HEALTH DEPARTMENT (2) LITTER CLEAN UP PROSECUTOR APS
HEALTH DEPT – SAFETY PIN
Scams to Look Out for in Southern Indiana
Scams to Look Out for in Southern Indiana
FEBRUARY 3RD, 2019 
AMANDA PORTER INDIANA
The most recent hoax targeting the Tri-State involves jury duty. A jury summons will only come through the mail, not over the phone.
It doesn’t stop there.
The Better Business Bureau says residents in the Southern District of Indiana are being targeted by phone. The scammers give information about an outstanding debt which seems convincing. They’re then told they can avoid arrest by paying through a debit, or gift card.
Tax time also brings out the scammers.
The Federal Trade Commission is warning folks to keep an eye on who gets access to their social security numbers. Unless it’s “your known†and trusted tax preparer, never give that information out by phone. In many of these calls, the scammers tell the victim their social security number was stolen or was used in a crime. They threaten to revoke the number if you don’t comply. Simply hang up the phone, and do not give any personal information. Remember, the Social Security Administration will never call asking for your social security number over the phone.
Another scam involves the sweetest of days in the month. Valentines Day scammers are preparing to pull on heartstrings.
The Better Business Bureau says romance scams prey on people looking to make a connection with others. They say the emotional harm to the victim can be more painful than the monetary loss. Usually, the scam takes form as an online relationship, or even through an app. The fraudster is said to learn about the victim through interactions on their public profiles before getting comfortable enough to ask for money.
Scams can be dangerous so remember; do not give money to someone you have never met, and don’t give any personal information out over the phone.
EPA Signs MOU with The Water Research Foundation Advancing Nutrient Management Efforts
Trump Administration’s commitment to protecting America’s waters through smart partnerships and market-based approaches, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Water Research Foundation (WRF) to accelerate progress on reducing excess nutrients in the nation’s waterways.
“EPA believes that if we can empower farmers with proven market-based and watershed-centered technologies and approaches they need to better manage nutrients from livestock manure, we can accelerate meaningful progress on the country’s longstanding excess nutrients challenge,†said EPA Office of Water Assistant Administrator David Ross. “EPA is pleased to partner with The Water Research Foundation to advance nutrient recovery science and innovation, support on-farm demonstrations and installations, and help make the connections needed across the nutrient value chain to maximize environmental and economic results.â€
The MOU builds on successes achieved through the Nutrient Recycling Challenge, a competition launched by EPA with WRF and others to develop affordable technologies to recycle nutrients from livestock manure. Through the new MOU, EPA and WRF will collaborate with the agricultural community to build capacity and awareness of programs and tools that support watershed and market-based approaches to nutrient management. To accomplish these goals, the MOU aims to:
Facilitate greater collaborations between the regulated water community, technology developers and providers, and agricultural producers;
Match innovative manure and nutrient management technologies with on-farm testing sites, funders for technology demonstrations, and third-party evaluators;
Enable producer-to-producer information exchange regarding technology performance; and
Develop and disseminate information on specific topic areas related to manure management and resource recovery and reuse.
“Excess nutrients in our waterways continue to be one of the most pressing water quality issues in the U.S.,â€Â said Robert C. Renner, CEO of The Water Research Foundation. “WRF is pleased to work with EPA and take a collaborative, science-based approach to identifying and demonstrating promising solutions.â€
Under the Trump Administration, EPA has made tackling nutrient issues in water resources across the country a key water priority. In December 2018, EPA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a letter to state co-regulators encouraging increased engagement and a reinvigoration of state, tribal, and federal efforts to reduce excess nutrients in waterways, with a focus on market-based and other collaborative approaches.
Addressing excess nutrients in the nation’s waterways also is a key priority of a larger interagency effort to better coordinate and focus federal resources on some of the nation’s most challenging water resource concerns.
To view the MOU, visit:Â https://www.epa.gov/npdes/animal-feeding-operations-afos#technology
Is This 2019 or 1919?
Is This 2019 or 1919?
by Gail Riecken CCO Statehouse Editor
What is wrong with this picture? Does Indiana continue to be ranked high in infant mortality?  7th in the Nation. And, Indiana’s maternal mortality rate is twice the national average– over 40 percent!
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/health-of-women-and-children/measure/maternal_mortality/state/IN
How far have we really come from the early days of public health nursing? It doesn’t look like we have progressed much in the field of maternal and child health.
However, I see hope in our State Senate.
SB 278 Â provides immunity and expanded authority to certain persons in infant mortality teams so they can gather better information and plan better programs to counter infant mortality. Vanderburgh Co continues to reduce our mortality rate (11% to 7%) Â Testimony from a Vanderburgh team member says this bill will help team members working with neighboring counties. This bill should become State law with no problem.
Curbing Infant and maternal mortality is about collecting good information, finding good health practices to combat the problems and getting that information to young girls and women.
So, when a bill comes about like SB 352, it should pass easily. But….
SB 352, a bill that allows medical personnel to treat a pregnant patient or patient in labor under 16 without parent consent, fails to pass the Senate by one vote.
Mary Beth Schneider, Statehouse File (January 31), in her article notes that twenty percent of underage teens are having babies. She quotes Senator Jean Leising:
“If it is normal labor, under the law right now (physicians) can’t do anything but catch the babyâ€,†Senator Leising said. “ Think about that 16 – year – old with 18-hour labor in an emergency room with no parent, no guardian and nothing to ease those contractions.â€
SB 352 failed but deserves another vote. If one Senator who voted against SB352 ( Bassler, Ford Jon, Houchin, Messmer, Tomes in our extended area) would change their vote, this could be brought back Tuesday the 5th for another vote. Â That is the last day.
I’ve walked in three Women’s Marches in the last three years and I am proud of the issues the Marches represent. But sadly,  I’ve never have seen a sign that says “Stop Mothers Dying!†Or “Help Save Our Babies After-Birth!â€.
Maybe looking ahead toward 2020, the 100th anniversary of the year of women’s right to vote, we can include maternal and infant mortality in the Women’s Marches agendas and continue progressive discussions, like these in the State Senate.
Jewish Author To Tell His Story About His Childhood And The Holocaust
Fred Gross, author of “One Step Ahead of Hitler: A Jewish Child’s Journey through France,†will speak at Ivy Tech Community College Evansville Campus on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 9 a.m. in Vectren Auditorium, Room 147.
The event is sponsored by The Committee to Promote Respect in Schools (Cypress) and Ivy Tech’s Diversity and Inclusion Council. It is free and open to the public.
In this presentation at Ivy Tech, he will tell his family’s story that began in 1940 when German bombs fell on Antwerp, Belgium, and lasted until the war ended. The Gross family hid from Nazi troops as they ran for thousands of miles across Europe. His book is a memoir of collected stories sparked by his interviews with his mother and two older brothers.
Gross, born in Belgium in 1936, was a reporter for many years for the New Haven, Conn., Journal-Courier. For the past 30 years, he has worked in public relations in education – and shared his story with audiences across the country. He now resides in Louisville, Ky.
Applications Now Being Accepted for K-12 Student and Teacher Awards
Applications are now being accepted for the President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) and The Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators Award (PIAEE).
Applications are due March 8, 2019.
EPA is seeking PEYA and PIAEE awards applications that highlight environmental stewardship in a variety of areas, including the following: environmental sustainability: a healthy school environment including projects that reduce food waste in school cafeterias; environmentally friendly agriculture practices; reducing human contributions to ocean litter and how to prevent it; school gardens; recycling; or using STEM to teach environmental education.
The PEYA program recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship projects by K-12 youth, promoting awareness of our nation’s natural resources and encouraging positive community involvement.
PEYA is an annual award administered by the Office of Environmental Education at EPA. Since 1971, EPA has recognized young people for protecting our nation’s air, water, land, and ecology. Each year the PEYA program honors a wide variety of projects developed by young individuals, school classes (kindergarten through high school), summer camps, public interest groups, and youth organizations to promote environmental awareness. Through environmental education and stewardship activities, students develop the critical thinking skills experience to make informed decisions and take responsible actions to address difficult environmental issues.
EPA will select up to two winners in each of EPA’s 10 Regions – one regional winner for Grades K-5 and one regional winner for Grades 6-12. Winners of this year’s awards will be invited to a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in mid-2019, and have their project mentioned on EPA’s website.
All student projects must be sponsored by at least one adult over the age of 21. The application and eligibility information are available at:Â https://www.epa.gov/education/presidents-environmental-youth-award.
For more information, please contact PEYA@epa.gov.
The PIAEE is an annual award program administered by the Office of Environmental Education at EPA. Since 1971, the EPA has recognized exceptional K-12 teachers employing innovative, interactive approaches to environmental education. It is one of the most important ways EPA and the Administration demonstrate commitment to environmental stewardship efforts created and conducted by our nation’s teachers.
PIAEE awardees will receive an award of up to $2,500 to be used to further the recipient’s professional development in environmental education. The teacher’s local education agency will also receive an award of up to $2,500 to fund environmental educational activities and programs (and not for construction costs, general expenses, salaries, bonuses, or other administrative expenses).
EPA will select up to two winners in each of EPA’s 10 Regions.
For information on recent winners, visit:Â https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-honors-award-winning-environmental-education-teachers-and-students
Details regarding application requirements and descriptions of winning projects since 2002 can be found at:Â https://www.epa.gov/education/presidential-innovation-award-environmental-educators
For more information, please contact:Â PIAEE@epa.gov.
NEW EVENT TO HONOR PEOPLE AFFECTED BY ALL CANCERS
On April 6, 2019 Friedman Park in Newburgh will come alive with a celebration and race to support Chemo Buddies.
HOPEFESTÂ and the HOPE RUN 5KÂ is a day for our community to come together and celebrate everyone affected by all cancers. The daylong event is intended to bring hope to cancer survivors, patients and all of the people who provide care and support for cancer survivors.
Activities include a Survivor’s Parade, Live Music, Food Trucks, a large children’s play area, an online silent auction, a one mile walk/run sponsored by Student Buddies, and a timed 5K Hope Race!
Chemo Buddies is also hosting a Vendor Village with all kinds of products and crafts for sale.
There are more than 100 identified cancers, each with its own colored ribbon. Lavender is the ribbon color for all cancers.
Chemo Buddies is a local 501 c 3 with volunteers serving patients in all of the Evansville, Henderson, and Newburgh chemo infusion centers. Chemo Buddies interact with over 200 patients each day in our community.
Proceeds from HOPEFESTÂ will support Chemo Buddies, a local non profit.