Attorney General Curtis Hill and staff.
Press conference announcing action regarding opioid misuse.
10 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018.
Office of the Attorney General, Room 219, Indiana Statehouse, Indianapolis.
As a courtesy, please email Deputy Communications Director Bill McCleery at bill.mccleery@atg.in.gov if you plan to attend the press conference. Thank you.
The Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office and the Evansville Police Department are investigating the death of Odie R. Carrier Jr., age 65, of Evansville. Odie Carrier died at St. Vincent’s Hospital on 11-12-2018 at 21:15 hrs. where he was being treated after having been shot on 11-08-2018. The shooting took place in his residence.  An autopsy is scheduled for 17:30 hrs today. The investigation is ongoing and arrests have been made by the Evansville Police Department. They can provide details as to any additional charges being filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutors Office.
HomicideÂ
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?Â
WHATS ON YOUR MIND TODAY?
Todays“Readers Poll†question is: How do you rate the overall performance of Governor Eric Holcomb?
If you would like to advertise on the CCO please contact us City-CountyObserver@live.com
NOVEMBER 13TH, 2018 
JOYLYN BUKOVAC EVANSVILLE, INDIANA
A recent survey found nonprofits in the tri-state are at risk of not being able to make it in the long term. Welborn Baptist Foundation released that information after surveying 160 nonprofit leaders in the greater Evansville area.
Nonprofit officials say they are important to the community, nonprofits contribute to the economy and help Hoosiers in a variety of ways. Although, the survey found a majority of nonprofits have limited resources, putting them at risk of not being able to last.
Welborn Baptist Foundation’s survey did find ways to strengthen the nonprofit sector. They encourage area organizations to increase collaboration, get more sources of funding, and form a strong board to directors. Officials say this is an important conversation to have because they view these results as a call to action.
“Nonprofits are often at risk because they are operating with small staffs, small numbers of staff. They have small budgets, and they need the community to come alongside them to understand them and support them while investing in them,†says Candice Perry, Nonprofit Excellence Officer for Welborn Baptist Foundation.
Perry says there’s a need for volunteers, funders, and donors.
To see the results of this survey, you can visit the Welborn Baptist Foundation website at www.welbornfdn.org.
Staff Report
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS—Republicans will maintain their supermajority status in the Indiana General Assembly after votes were finally tallied in Porter County were state Rep. Ed Soliday, of Valparaiso, defeated his Democratic challenger.
The final count showed Soliday edging out Democrat Frank Szczepanski by just under 2,000 votes and giving House Republicans 67 seats, leaving Democrats with 33.
“By voting to maintain our supermajorities in the General Assembly, Hoosiers have made it clear that Indiana is on the right track, and that we must continue this momentum,†said Republican Party Chair Kyle Hupfer in a news release after the Porter County votes were announced Friday.
In the Senate, Republicans maintain a comfortable majority, controlling 40 out of 50 seats. They lost one seat when Democrat J.D. Ford defeated Carmel Republican Mike Delph, who had been a vocal opponent of hate crime legislation that would have provided LGBTQ protections. Ford is the first openly gay person to be elected to the General Assembly.
A supermajority means that Republicans can have a quorum to conduct business without Democrats.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans formally elected state Sen. Rodric Bray of Martinsville as the president pro tempore in their first caucus meeting following Tuesday’s election. He had been elected to that position last summer after former President Pro Temper David Long, R-Fort Wayne, resigned but it wasn’t finalized until after Tuesday’s election.
After assuming the leadership role, Bray named Sen. Mark Messmer of Jasper as majority floor leader. Senate Republicans also elected Sen. Jim Merritt of Indianapolis as the majority caucus chair.
The Senate’s 10 Democrats will have an opportunity to weigh in on Bray’s selection as president pro tempore when the legislature meets on Nov. 20, Organization Day.
Also, Bray named the chairs of the standing committees for the 2019-2020 sessions, which includes replacing the longtime chair of the Education and Career Development Committee, Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, with Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Centerville.
Kruse, in a statement, said he was voluntarily stepping down from the committee post to spend more time with his wife and family.
“This role has been rewarding, but it has also been demanding on my family and me,†Kruse said. “While I’ve chosen to step down as Chair to spend more time with my wife and family, I believe Sen. Raatz will serve this committee well, as he strongly cares about Indiana students and the quality of their education.â€
FOOTNOTE: TheStatehouseFile.com is a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
NOVEMBER 12TH, 2018 MITCH ANGLE INDIANA
In the telephone survey of 604 adult Hoosiers, when asked how worried they were about a school shooting, 20% of Hoosiers said they were “very worried†and another 36% said they were “somewhat worried†for a total of 56%.
“There have been a number of tragic incidents nationwide, including the one in Noblesville in May, so it’s not surprising that people would be concerned,†said Charles Taylor, managing director of the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State, which conducts the annual public opinion survey. “The level of concern was somewhat higher in urban areas, where 62 percent were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ worried, than in rural or suburban areas.
Support for the two remaining measures was not as widespread. Only 36 percent of Hoosiers thought that banning assault-style weapons would be ‘very effective;’ only 30 percent rated arming teachers and school officials as ‘very effective.’
“We also asked the survey respondents their opinion about the likely effectiveness of a number of potential school safety measures. Preventing people with mental illness from purchasing guns was rated as ‘very effective,’ by 61% of Hoosiers. Improving mental health screening and treatment was second with 58%. Placing metal detectors was third with 47%.â€
Complete results of the Hoosier Survey will be released November 13th.
As a member of the Global Entrepreneurship Network supporting Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) November 12 – 18, the University of Southern Indiana’s Romain College of Business is sponsoring the SCORE Google Tour. The event is free and open to USI students, faculty, staff and the community.
The Google Tour: “Reach Customers Online with Google,†will be held in the Business and Engineering Center Atrium from 1 to 3 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, November 28. There is no charge to attend the event, but seating is limited. A register is available online at USI.edu/business.
If you are starting a business or already have a business, come to join Erin Bemis from Google to learn about best practices for:
Bemis is a speaker for Google’s Get Your Business Online program. Her goal is that participants will leave the workshop with simple, easy tips to immediately improve their marketing program for their business.
Learn how customers find your business online and how to promote your online presence using search engine optimization (SEO) and online advertising. Bemis will also introduce tools geared toward helping you run your business online, including Google Analytics and Trends.
“Bringing the Google tour to the USI campus is part of the Romain College of Business ongoing entrepreneurial initiative focused on entrepreneurial: education, engagement and outcomes for our region,†said Bryan Bourdeau, instructor in entrepreneurship.
Global Entrepreneurship Week is a celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. During one week each November, GEW inspires people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators.
For more information, please contact Bryan Bourdeau at bbourdeau@usi.edu.
