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? WHATS ON YOUR MIND TODAY?Â
WHATS ON YOUR MIND TODAY?
Todays“Readers Poll†question is:  Do you feel that the City of Evansville is having serious cash flow problems?
If you would like to advertise on the CCO please contact us City-CountyObserver@live.com
Life Chain Is Sunday, October 7
On Sunday afternoon, October 7, Right to Life of Southwest Indiana will host the annual Life Chain. Life Chain is a silent prayer vigil to protect life and oppose abortion. The Life Chain supporters will gather at Brinker’s Jewelers parking lot at the corner of Green River and the Lloyd Expressway for free refreshments and pick up signs beginning at 1 p.m. The silent prayer vigil is from 1:30-2:30 p.m. All those who support Life are invited to stand on Green River Road sidewalks beginning at the Lloyd Expressway and going south to Lincoln Avenue.
This is the 31st year of the public witness on behalf of rejected Preborn Children, and Life Chain will fill the sidewalks in over 1,500 cities and towns in the U.S. and Canada. It is an opportunity for people to unite in prayer and to stand up for the rights of the unborn. They will stand in honor of the more than 60 million children whose lives have been lost to abortion in our country since 1973. Every year young moms report choosing life for their unborn children over abortion after reading the signs and seeing the people praying at the Life Chain.
According to Mary Ellen Van Dyke, Executive Director of Right to Life of Southwest Indiana, “Supporters of unborn babies and their moms will stand together respectfully and prayerfully to honor the sanctity of life. This year with all the attacks against the sanctity of human life, conscience, and religious freedom, many prayers are needed.
â€Supporters Of Life Will Hold Signs That Say:
ABORTION KILLS CHILDREN
JESUS FORGIVES AND HEALS
ADOPTION: THE LOVING OPTION
LORD, FORGIVE US AND OUR NATION
ABORTION HURTS WOMEN
PRAY TO END ABORTION
LIFE—THE FIRST INALIENABLE RIGHT
DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD
The Life Chain follows a strict Code of Conduct, is peaceful, and family members, young and old are invited to attend. Everyone who believes in the protection of unborn children and their mothers is welcome to participate.
Right to Life of Southwest Indiana with 50,000 supporters protects life. We exist to protect the right to life of innocent human life from fertilization to natural death.
DCS Officials Update Committee On Progress of Changes To Organization
By Dionte Coleman
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Department of Child Services reported back to the Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary Wednesday about the organization’s charges stemming from the recent annual child fatality report.
The report found that in 2016 abuse and neglect claimed the lives of 59 children in Indiana – most of which were under the age of 3.
The DCS last met with the committee on Sept. 19 to discuss how the agency will implement those changes recommended by an outside agency earlier this year.
Associate Director Todd Meyer said the changes are best for Indiana.
They include creating categories of case managers.
“Ideally, the department wants to have case managers that are doing just the necessities, the investigations. Then we would have case managers that are doing the actual casework. Working with the family and children,†Meyer said during committee testimony.
Meyer said most of the responsibilities across the state are shared among caseworkers. Some do the investigations and are actively working with the families to find the resources needed for the child.
The issue with that is the case managers often are overextended because they have many different open assessments on which they’re working.
Meyer proposed that each family case manager should have no more than 13 cases at one time, provided the person isn’t working on an overly complicated case.
“If there is a really complicated case that a family case manager is working, that needs to be factored into the overall number of cases he or she may be working,†he said.
Meyer said DCS is working on having a 1:5 ratio of supervisors to case managers to have proper management of the cases.
Along with addressing the proper management of cases, Meyer also discussed the response time. The agency recommends that the on-sight assessment of a child in danger is started immediately but must take place within four hours.
“There was the discussion about this issue at our last meeting together, and we’ve been looking at that,†Meyer said. “We’ve studied what some other states are doing. While their statues may end with a period there, their internal policies break it down much more thoroughly.â€
While the language of the committee’s final recommendation still has yet to be finalized, committee members and DCS representatives both agreed that slight changes concerning reduction in response time to new cases will allow the report to be moved for a final vote.
FOOTNOTE: Dionte Coleman is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Making learning fun and engaging is paramount in the EVSC which is why the district is hosting an Options Fair for area eighth graders and their families to learn more about the innovative options available in the EVSC. The EVSC Options Fair is scheduled for Wednesday, October 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center, 1901 Lynch Road.
Enrollment for high school begins in November and the fair will give students and families a better understanding of the options that are available to them in which they can enroll. Informational booths will be set up and students will be able to speak with teachers and current students in a variety of programs.
The EVSC’s innovative options include five half-day programs: International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme; Randall T. Shepard Leadership & Law Academy; Medical Professions Academy (MPA); Early College High School; JROTC as well as the Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center. Other options include New Tech Institute and EVSC Virtual Academy.
Students who participate in one of the half-day innovative programs can still maintain their allegiance to their home high school and participate in athletics and other extra-curricular activities at their home school.
In addition to informational booths, each program will conduct two, 20-minute presentations. Presentations will be made at the following times:Â
International Baccalaureate Degree Programme (IB): 5:35 p.m. and 6:35 p.m.
EVSC Virtual Academy: 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.
Randall T. Shepard Leadership and Law Academy: 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.
Medical Professions Academy: 5:35 p.m. and 6:35 p.m.
Early College High School: 5:55 p.m. and 6:55 p.m.
JORTC: 6:15 p.m. and 6:55 p.m.
Southern Indiana Career and Technical Education Center: 5:55 p.m. and 6:35 p.m.
New Tech Institute: 5:55 p.m. and 6:55 p.m.
Program information:
International Baccalaureate: Housed at Bosse High School, EVSC’s IB program is one of only 22 in the state. It is a comprehensive liberal arts program that includes a rigorous college preparatory experience. To learn more, visit www.evscschools.com/ib.
Shepard Academy: Housed at Harrison High School, Shepard Academy is for students interested in leadership, law and social justice. The Academy is named after the former Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard who takes an active role in the program. To learn more, visit www.evscschools.com/shepard.
Medical Professions Academy: MPA gives students the skills necessary for future medical professions. Housed at Central High School, MPA features hands-on learning, internships and shadowing experiences. To learn more, visit www.evscschools.com/mpa.
Early College High School: Early College students can earn up to an associate’s degree while simultaneously earning a high school diploma. Classes are on the campus of Ivy Tech Community College. To learn more, visit www.evscschools.com/earlycollege.
New Tech Institute: New Tech Institute is a stand-alone, full-day high school. It is one of only 180 new tech schools in the United States and one of the elite schools to receive the “Exemplary Demonstration Site†designation from the New Tech Network. It also is a STEM certified school by the Indiana Department of Education. To learn more, visit www.evscschools.com/newtech.
EVSC Virtual Academy: EVSC Virtual Academy is open to students from kindergarten through grade 12. In the upper grades, students often take supplementary courses for credit advancement and schedules conflicts. To learn more, visit www.evscschools.com/evscva.
JROTC: EVSC’s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, housed at Harrison High School, is rated as a “gold star unit†by the U.S. Army, the highest honor that can be awarded to a JROTC program. To learn more, visit www.evscschools.com/jrotc.
Southern Indiana Career & Technical Center: SICTC is a half-day program open to juniors and seniors. It is rated among the top five career and tech schools in the nation and serves approximately 900 students from five area counties. It also is distinguished as a STEM certified school and has received the State Award of Excellence twice. To learn more, visit www.evscschools.com/sictc.
For additional information on any of the EVSC’s innovative programs, visit www.evscschools.com and look for Innovative School Programs under the Academics and Programs tab.
Katie Stancombe for www.theindianalawyer.com
A new poll of Indiana State Bar Association members strongly supports keeping two state appellate judges on the bench, but Hoosiers will have the final say on their retention this November.
Compiled responses from the ISBA 2018 judicial retention poll found that more than 90 percent of survey voters favor retaining Indiana Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey G. Slaughter. Likewise, 89 percent favor retaining Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Robert R. Altice Jr.
Just 9.65 percent voted against retaining Slaughter, and 10.33 percent opposed retaining Altice.
Votes were cast by 968 ISBA members through an electronic survey from Sept. 13-Sept. 30.
“While not a scientific poll, our members responded to a survey and indicated by large percentages their favorable support to retain both jurists,†said Andi M. Metzel, Indiana
State Bar Association President. “As a conveyor of information to educate the profession and the public, ISBA shares these results before Hoosier voters head to the polls and vote yes or no to retention.â€
Indiana voters will have a chance to vote yes or no on retaining the judges during the November 2018 general election.
Both Slaughter and Altice were appointed to the appellate benches through Indiana’s merit selection process, which has been used to choose and retain appellate judges for more than 40 years. Then-Gov. Mike Pence appointed Slaughter to the high court in 2016 and appointed Altice to the lower appellate court in 2015.
Once appointed, a judge must stand for retention at the first statewide general election after serving for two full years. If retained, the judge is then on the retention ballot every 10 years.
Saturday, October 13th at 10 am and 1 pm, there will be tours both inside Reitz High School of unique historic features, and outside of FJ Reitz and along Reitz Hill Neighborhood.
The indoor tour is at 10 am and the neighborhood tour is at 1 pm. This will provide some historical background of the hill as a geological and urban development feature.
Meet at the school’s main entrance for both. No Reservations required donations accepted but the tours are free
|
The University of Southern Indiana men’s and women’s soccer teams will host Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament opening round matches Sunday at Strassweg Field. The women’s team, the tri-GLVC regular season champion and third seed in the tournament, is set to host sixth-seeded Maryville University at noon, while the men’s squad, the GLVC regular season champion and top seed, will host eighth seeded Rockhurst University at 2:30 p.m.
The USI soccer teams also are hosting GLVC first round games at home together for the first time in the history of the programs. USI’s women’s team finished the regular season with an 11-5-2 overall mark and 9-3-1 GLVC record, while the men’s team was 13-2-1, 11-1-1 GLVC.
Ticket prices for the GLVC Tournament first round matches are $5 for adults, $3 for children, and $10 for families. Live coverage of the USI’s first round matches can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
The men’s and women’s soccer semifinals and the championship games of the GLVC Tournament are slated to be played November 2 and 4 at the Woehrle Athletic Complex in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
USI’s half of the women’s bracket includes second-seeded McKendree (13-3-1, 9-3-1 GLVC) versus seventh-seeded Rockhurst University (9-7-1, 8-5 GLVC) in Lebanon, Illinois, in the first round. The opposite side of bracket includes matches featuring top-seeded Truman State University (13-3-1, 9-3-1 GLVC) versus eighth-seeded Lewis University (9-6-2, 8-5-0 GLVC) in Kirksville, Missouri, and fourth-seeded Quincy University (10-5-2, 8-4-1 GLVC) versus fifth-seeded Bellarmine University (9-5-3, 7-3-3 GLVC) in Quincy, Illinois.
The Eagles’ half of the men’s tournament bracket has fourth-seeded Maryville (9-4-3, 8-3-2 GLVC) hosting fifth-seeded University of Indianapolis (12-4-1, 8-4-1 GLVC) in St. Louis, Missouri. The men’s opposite bracket features second-seeded Bellarmine (10-5-1, 9-3-1 GLVC) hosting seventh-seeded Quincy (8-8-2, 7-4-2 GLVC) in Louisville, Kentucky, while third-seeded University of Illinois Springfield (9-5-3, 8-3-2 GLVC) takes on sixth-seeded McKendree (10-5-1, 8-4-1 GLVC) in Springfield, Illinois.
