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200,000 New Voter Registrations – Yes!

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200,000 New Voter Registrations – Yes!
by Gail Riecken -City-County Observer Statehouse Editor
IDEA, the 138th Indiana Democratic Editorial Association meeting, was held this past weekend at French Lick. This is the State Democrat Party backdrop for its statewide meeting of party enthusiasts.
I asked Dave Crooks, former State Representative, why the political meetings at IDEA? I figured he should know. Crooks was one of the daring legislators to push through authorization of the casino at French Lick back in 2003. Originally called the “boat in the moat”, the casino today is one of the most attractive (gorgeous)and unique environments Indiana has to offer.
Dave responded. IDEA was first a gathering of “the Democratic-leaning newspapers. In the golden days of Newspapers, most communities had a Democratic and Republican-leaning newspaper in almost every community.” He added, “The State Party uses the tradition of their annual meeting to fire up the base before the home stretch of the elections.”
And, fired up it is this year. This was one of the best-attended IDEA’s.
I saw many locals including former Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, County Party Vice-Chair Genny Tenbarge, Chairs of the surrounding counties, our 8th District Chair Anthony Long, local member of State Central Committee Sherrianne Standley, Senator Joe Donnelly and his staff including Tony Goben, William Tanoos running for 8th District Congress, Edie Hardcastle for State Representative; and local candidates Allyson Clayborn and Jenni Ransom.
Jocelyn Whittaker, once an Evansville teacher running for State Auditor, was everywhere, as well as Jim Harper, candidate for Secretary of State.
The parties and caucuses went on and on. I don’t know how many caucuses there were, but you couldn’t attend all of them. The best party was the Orange County supper. Down home people, great food and one of my favorite retired State Reps.
The highlight for many of us was the sharing of statistics about voting. State Party Chair John Zody announced that from November 2016 through July 2018 there were 200,462 new registrations in Indiana. Of the new registrations, 60.46% were between the ages of 18-29.
No doubt young people are engaged. The big question is who they will support? One indication might be the 2016 youth vote where 55% of young people voted for Hillary Clinton.
But, will they vote? Looking at the 2008 election, 84% of those youth 18-29, who were registered to vote actually went to the polls!
Game on! The young people’s vote is out there. Candidates will have to learn why they vote and what they care about.
One thing is for sure. If a young person ends up being a Democrat and attends IDEA, odds are that person will remain Democrat.

Statewide Transition Plan For Home And Community Based-Services Settings Final Rule To The Centers For Medicare & Medicaid

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Public Comment for Indiana’s Statewide Transition Plan

In October 2018, the Indiana Family and Social Service Administration intends to submit a proposed revision of the Statewide Transition Plan for the Home and Community Based-Services Settings Final Rule to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. FSSA is seeking public comment on version eight of the STP. This revision includes updated timelines and additional detail on the heightened scrutiny process.

The public comment period will run from August 22, 2018, to September 21, 2018. All comments must be received during the comment period.

In response to the previous public comment, version eight is provided with redline corrections to assist in stakeholder review.  An electronic copy can be viewed by clicking here.  Copies of the updated Statewide Transition Plan will also be made available at your local Division of Family Resources and at the address listed below.

Written comments may be sent via email to HCBSrulecomments@fssa.in.gov or by mail to:

State of Indiana
Family and Social Services Administration
Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning
Attn: HCBS Final Rule – Joshua Bougie, senior manager, Program Development
402 W. Washington St., Rm. W374 MS-07
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2739

All comments will be tracked and summarized. The summary of comments as well as a summary of changes made in response to public comments will be added to the revised STP. The final STP will be posted on the Home and Community Based Services Final Rule Statewide Transition Plan webpage after it is submitted to CMS.

The Division of Aging is a program of the Indiana Family & Social Services Administration. If you have questions about Aging programs and services, visit us online at www.IN.gov/fssa/aging.

Donatos Pizza Coming to Evansville’s East Side

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Donatos Pizza Coming to Evansville’s East Side

AUGUST 23rd, 2018 TYRONE MORRIS EVANSVILLE, INDIANA

Donatos Pizza is looking to open in a strip mall in Evansville. Construction for this strip mall is expected to begin in 2019.

The location will be in a vacant building in the 700 block of South Green River Road. The building use to house a Chinese restaurant and a Shoney’s. Donatos will take up a third of the strip center.

Donatos Pizza has about 150 locations in seven states and has already opened a location in Owensboro in January 2017. They are based out of Columbus, Ohio.

Tri-State Pizza LLC will be operating the Evansville store, while also operating the Owensboro store.

They hope that the strip center will be up and running in early summer of 2019.

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Danville Attorney Suspended For 3 Years After 10 Rules Violations

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Katie Stancombe for www.theindianalawyer.com

A Danville attorney who committed 10 acts of misconduct – including neglecting clients, advertising misleading information, mismanaging a trust account, lying and failing to cooperate with a disciplinary investigation –has been suspended from the practice of law for three years.

In the first count filed against attorney Michael Jeffries, Jeffries paid Client 1 $3,000 in exchange for Client 1’s agreement not to file a lawsuit or disciplinary action against him. The agreement came after Jeffries failed to inform the client of the defendant’s financial status – which would affect the damages portion of the case – and after he dismissed the case without Client 1’s knowledge.

Jeffries did not inform Client 1 in writing of his right to seek independent counsel to determine whether the $3,000 transaction was in Client 1’s best interest.

Similarly, Count 2 found Jeffries failed to respond, update or provide any information to Clients 2 in their September 2015 breach of contract claim. Jeffries eventually informed Clients 2 their $1,000 retainer had been exhausted and there was an outstanding balance, and requested an additional $700 retainer for future work, which Clients 2 paid.

Several months later, Jeffries told Clients 2 he would e-file a complaint. However, the clerk did not accept the complaint for filing because Jeffries’ trust account had insufficient funds to cover the filing fee. Additionally, Jeffries failed to attend four meetings scheduled with Clients 2 to sign their lawsuit.

In October 2016, Jeffries’ legal assistant told the clients the lawsuit had not been filed and suggested they hire another attorney. When the wife requested a copy of their file and went to the office to review it, Jeffries’ grabbed the papers from her hand and told her that he would mail her the file.

Clients 2 fired him later that month and requested a full refund of $2,580. In reply, Jeffries wrote:

“My contract allows me 10 business days to return your file and bill. Iam glad I returned to my office as you were taking advantage of my new secretary. Good luck in your endouver. BE AVISED THAT THIS EMAIL NOTICE: DO NOT RETURN TO MY OFFICE-TREASPASSDON’T CALL OR EMAIL MY OFFICE HARASSSMENT AND IF I FIND SLANDER OR LIBEL I WILL TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION! That includes you your husband or any releative. YOU ARE ON NOTICE!!” (sic)

Clients 2 never received their complete file or the return of any unearned fees. Jeffries’ contended he was generous in not charging them for their numerous calls to his legal assistant.

Next, Count 3 found Jeffries lied on two websites he owned by advertising his solo firm was comprised of multiple lawyers. He also lied to the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission by claiming his web designer had locked him out of the sites and by claiming he had deactivated both sites.

On July 31, 2017, the commission sent Jeffries a subpoena duces tecum requesting a copy of the files for Client 1 and Clients 2. After he failed to respond, the commission filed a show causes petition, but Jeffries still did not comply.

Lastly, Count 4 found Jeffries mismanaged his trust account, with multiple multi-thousand-dollar transactions presented against insufficient funds. Jeffries used Square, Inc. to allow his clients to pay via credit card, but the Indiana Supreme Court found his use of that system failed to safeguard client funds.

On September 9, 2016, the Commission requested from Jeffries a schedule of client and non-client funds in his trust account, trust account journals of all receipts and disbursements, client ledgers and periodic monthly statements. Jeffries, however, claimed the motherboard on his computer “went out,” his “billing software was lost,” and without his “billing software records, the detailed accounting that was required of [him] was not possible.”

The commission then subpoenaed Jeffries’ trust account records and found from 2013 to 2016, he commingled either personal or business funds with the client funds in his trust account on several occasions.

The Supreme Court justices agreed with the commission that Jeffries’ conduct violated 10 professional conduct rules, including:

  • Rule of Professional Conduct 1.3
  • Rule 1.4(a)(3)
  • Rule 1.8(a)(2)
  • Rule 1.15(a)
  • Rule 3.2
  • Rule 7.1
  • Rule 8.1(b)
  • Rule 8.4(c)
  • Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 23(29)(a)(2)
  • Rule 23(29)(a)(5)

“Respondent’s dishonesty and neglect of clients’ cases are troubling,” the court wrote in a Tuesday per curiam opinion. “He has not accepted responsibility for his misconduct and elected not to participate in these proceedings.”

Thus, the court imposed a three-year suspension without automatic reinstatement, effective Aug. 21 Jeffries can petition for reinstatement at the end of the three years if he has paid the costs of the proceedings, fulfilled the duties of a suspended attorney and satisfied the requirements for reinstatement under Admission and Discipline Rule 23(18).

The costs of the proceeding are assessed against him. The case is In the Matter of Michael Jeffries, 18S-DI-94.

Bluegrass FWA Guided Canoe Paddle

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Bluegrass FWA
Guided Canoe Paddle
Saturday, August 25
9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Paddle with a guide through one of Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Area’s lakes. This designated waterfowl nesting area provides exciting wildlife viewing.All equipment is provided. For ages 7 and up.
$15 for WNS members, $20 for nonmembers

Pre-registration and payment are required two days prior to the trip. Our canoe trips sell out fast, so claim your spot soon!

University of Southern Indiana Athletic Communications

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USI tabbed sixth in GLVC preseason poll

The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team is projected to place sixth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2018 in a vote by the league’s 14 head coaches. USI, the all-time leader with 10 GLVC titles, is coming off a second-place finish in the 2017 league tournament and after finishing seventh in the conference’s regular season in 2017 after posting an 11-7-1 overall mark, 8-6-0 GLVC.

The Rockhurst University men’s soccer team is predicted to win the GLVC title for a third-straight year. The Hawks received eight first-place votes and 158 points in the preseason poll. The University of Indianapolis, last season’s GLVC champion, garnered second with 154 points and three first-place votes, while Maryville University picked up the final three first place votes and was third with 153 points. Bellarmine University and Lewis University rounded out the top five with 124 and 122 points, respectively.

The 2018 USI squad is comprised of 26 players – 17 returning players and redshirts and nine newcomers. The Eagles have one senior on the team this season, compared to nine a year ago.

The top returning scorer for USI is junior forward Eric Ramirez (Vincennes, Indiana), who battled through an injury-plagued season to record 16 points on six goals and four assists in 13 matches and earning second-team All-GLVC honors. Ramirez also tied for second with two game-winning goals.

Tying for second on the team in scoring was junior midfielder Sean Rickey (Columbia, Illinois) and sophomore defender Justin Raines (Bartlett, Tennessee) with 11 points each on five goals and one assist. Rickey led USI with three game-winning goals, while Raines tied with Ramirez for second with a pair of game-winners.

The 14 GLVC men’s soccer teams will compete in a 13-game round-robin schedule during the regular season with the top eight teams earning a berth to the GLVC Championship Tournament. The top four seeds will host quarterfinal matches on campus on October 28 with the four remaining teams heading to Woehrle Athletic Complex in Jeffersonville, Indiana, for the semifinals and final on November 2 and 4.

USI opens the 2018 regular season campaign on the road when the Eagles visits Kentucky Wesleyan College August 30 for a 7 p.m. showdown of cross-river rivals.

2018 Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll
1 Rockhurst 158 (8)
2 Indianapolis 154 (3)
3 Maryville 153 (3)
4 Bellarmine 124
5 Lewis 122
6 Southern Indiana 105
7 Drury   85
8 Illinois Springfield   81
9 Quincy   75
10 Missouri-St. Louis   70
11 Missouri S&T   68
12 Truman State   35
13 McKendree   28
14 William Jewell   16

If you would rather not receive future communications from University of Southern Indiana, let us know by clicking here.
University of Southern Indiana, 8600 University Boulevard, Evansville, IN 47712 United States

EVSC Completes Water Fixture Lead Testing

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The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation recently made the decision to participate in a voluntary state program to test water fixtures in all EVSC school buildings for lead levels. This voluntary program was offered to all Indiana public schools through the Indiana Finance Authority. The purpose of the testing was to identify water fixtures with lead content that exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s “action level” of 15 parts per billion (ppb).

“When this opportunity presented itself, we felt it was something we wanted to do to ensure our water fixtures are safe for students and staff,” said EVSC Superintendent David Smith.

All fixtures in all EVSC school buildings were tested through this program. This resulted in a total of 1,538 fixtures being tested. The results of the tests showed 96 percent of these fixtures fell within the safe lead level range, well below the EPA recommended action level. The remaining fixtures have been replaced, repaired or taken out of service. Once replaced/repaired, fixtures are retested to verify they remain below the EPA recommended level. It is important to note the action level of 15 ppb is not a measure of health effects, but rather serves as a signal to take steps to reduce lead in the water.

“We appreciate the opportunity to participate in this program and I would like to personally thank the EVSC Office of Facilities for working so closely with the Indiana Finance Authority to ensure all our fixtures are safe,” Smith said.

 

Commission to Combat Drug Abuse Meets in Indianapolis Thursday

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Indiana’s Commission to Combat Drug Abuse will meet Thursday at Indiana Government Center South. At the meeting, Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement Jim McClelland and other commission members will discuss Indiana’s drug epidemic.

WHAT: Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse

WHO:

  • Jim McClelland, Executive Director of Drug Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement
  • Members of the Commission to Combat Drug Abuse

WHEN:

10 a.m. ET

Thursday, August 23, 2018

WHERE:

Indiana Government Center South, Conference Room B

302 W. Washington Street

Indianapolis, IN 46204

AGENDA LINK: https://www.in.gov/recovery/files/08.23.2018_Meeting_Notice_Agenda.pdf

 

AG Curtis Hill wins multistate Obamacare tax lawsuit, recoups nearly $95 million for Hoosier taxpayers

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Attorney General Curtis Hill today praised a U.S. District Court decision ordering the Internal Revenue Service to repay Indiana and five other states more than $839 million because of an unlawful Obamacare tax on state Medicaid programs. Of that total, the court ordered that approximately $95 million should be returned to Indiana.

Indiana joined in a multistate lawsuit filed in October 2015 against the federal government over an Obama-era regulation. Under that rule, federal authorities threatened to withhold Medicaid funds unless state taxpayers paid a portion of the Health Insurance Providers Fee to help fund the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

“The feds wrongfully took Indiana’s money to fund Obamacare,” Attorney General Hill said. “Since the federal government cannot tax the states, we are pleased to return this illegally collected money to Hoosiers.”

The five other states that now can expect repayments from the IRS are Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Texas and Wisconsin.

Indiana, meanwhile, remains involved in efforts challenging the overall constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. (See July 27 release.)

 

Holly’s House to Celebrate Tenth Anniversary

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Holly’s House, a local child and adult victim advocacy center, will celebrate their Tenth Anniversary in September, 2018.

In 2005, Evansville Police Detective, Brian Turpin, began planning for a child advocacy center to serve victims of child abuse.  His goal was to develop a safe, confidential, and welcoming location for children to participate in the forensic interviews related to allegations of abuse. With the partnership of Holly Dunn Pendleton, Holly’s House mission was developed to serve both children and adult victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Between 2005-2008, Holly’s House was successfully incorporated and raised significant support to renovate their current building.  The agency opened on September 2, 2008, with one full-time staff member and one volunteer. During the first four months of operation, 31 Vanderburgh County victims received services.

Over the first two years, the agency realized that most of the children being interviewed were between the ages of six and twelve, leading the staff to investigate child abuse prevention programs for this age group.  Holly’s House started teaching the “Think First & Stay Safe” program in some Vanderburgh County elementary schools in 2010.

Today, Holly’s House has grown to serve victims in eleven southwest Indiana counties while the “Think First & Stay Safe” program is offered in five counties.  The agency has six full-time and four part-time employees.  On an annual basis, Holly’s House provides support for an average of 360 survivors of child abuse or other intimate crimes.  The prevention educators are scheduled to teach over 10,000 students in five counties the “Think First & Stay Safe” child abuse prevention program. All of the agency’s services are support through generous donations and grants.  There is no cost to the clients served or the schools participating in the prevention program.

During the past ten years, Holly’s House has gained Associate Status from the National Children’s Alliance and collaborated with the Evansville Police Department to host the Internet Crimes against Children investigation program, which is also affiliated with the FBI Internet Crimes Task Force and the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. The Evansville Police Department’s Sexual Violence and Domestic Violence detectives are housed at Holly’s House.

Holly’s House service model utilizes a multi-disciplinary team that consists of law enforcement (local, regional, state and federal), the Indiana Department of Child Services, and county prosecutors, to investigate these crimes.  The primary goal of this service model is to minimize the additional emotional trauma that victims experience during the investigation process.  Holly’s House also works with the Albion Fellows Bacon Center, the Lampion Center and area medical and mental health providers to ensure survivors receive supportive services as they heal both physically and emotionally.

The success of Holly’s House has been made possible by the leadership of the Board of Directors, the commitment of community leaders, and the support of countless individuals and local organizations.

For more information, please visit www.hollyshouse.org.

 

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