Evansville Police have arrested JILES THOMAS on obstruction of justice and dealing marijuana charges following a shooting investigation on Friday night.
Police were called to the area of Riverside and Boeke around 8:30pm for a reported shooting. Officers arrived and found a 14 year old male with a gunshot wound to his upper body. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment and is expected to survive.
Thomas left the area, but was located near Vann and Pollack a short time later.
According to Thomas, the 14 year of contacted him about purchasing marijuana. A time and place was agree upon and the two met to conduct a drug deal. Thomas said another male was with the 14 year old when he arrived. Thomas told investigators that during the deal, the juvenile pointed a gun at him and tried to rob him. Thomas told police he was armed with a handgun and fired one time at the juvenile. Thomas then left the scene.
Police were able to view the communications between the juvenile and Thomas that corroborated his account. Police also recovered a replica firearm near the scene of the shooting that was possibly used by the juvenile during the incident.
Thomas has not told investigators where he disposed of the gun he used in the shooting. Police recovered marijuana during their investigation.
The juvenile refused to cooperate with investigators.
Although the shooting happened during the commission of a separate crime, police believe the shooting was in self defense.
Thomas in in the Vanderburgh County Jail on Obstruction of Justice (Level 6 Felony) and Dealing Marijuana ( Class A Misdemeanor).
The juvenile has not been charged with a crime at this time. The investigation into his actions is on-going.
Advisory: Illinois man arrested on drug dealing & obstruction of justice charges following Friday night shooting investigation
Champagne Problems in rematch with Pinch Hit in Groupie Doll
“READERS FORUM” AUGUST 12, 2018
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?
Todays“Readers Poll†question is: Do you feel that the IU Medical school will have a major economic impact on downtown Evansville?
Please take time and read our articles entitled “STATEHOUSE Files, CHANNEL 44 NEWS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, READERS POLL, BIRTHDAYS, HOT JOBS†and “LOCAL SPORTSâ€.  You now are able to subscribe to get the CCO daily.
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Commentary: Columbine And The World We Have Made
By John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.comÂ
LITTLETON, Colorado – The words carved into the stone of the wall at the Columbine Memorial say so much:
“It brought the nation to its knees, but now that we’ve gotten back up how have thing changed; what have we learned?â€
I’m at the memorial early in the morning, before the workday has begun.
Set in a circle with the words of the survivors set in stone and the stories of the fallen in bronze, the memorial is in a lovely spot, upon a small rise, tucked between a park, the school’s athletic fields and the school building where horror once stalked. Mountains loom in the distance. The fresh morning sun makes the earth tones of the memorial’s brick and bronze almost glow.
It has been almost 20 years since two troubled students armed with an arsenal opened fire in the cafeteria, library, hallways, and classrooms of Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. They murdered 13 people and injured 24 others before they killed themselves.
Columbine shocked the nation, in part because the school and the community seemed so ordinary.
“I don’t think our school was any different than any other high school in America,†one student remembrance set in the wall says.
That’s why it hit so hard.
If something like this could happen at Columbine High School, it could happen anywhere.
And it has.
In Newtown, Connecticut.
Parkland, Florida.
Santa Fe, Texas.
Noblesville, Indiana.
To name just a few.
Through meticulous reporting, The Washington Post has documented that more than 215,000 American students have experienced a school shooting since Columbine. Nearly a quarter-million young people have experienced what the students at Columbine did. They’ve known the terror of fearing for their lives and, in all too many cases, they’ve learned to grieve for friends and classmates who have fallen.
“A kid my age isn’t supposed to go to that many funerals,†says another student statement embedded in the wall.
As I move through the memorial, two women walk by on a nearby trail. A couple of bike riders stop at the memorial’s entrance to take sips of water. From the athletic fields a few hundred yards away, I can hear young people shouting encouragement and instruction to each other.
Life goes on.
But for the 13 people whose stories are told here in bronze, life didn’t.
It stopped.
The remembrances cast in metal by parents and other family members are wrenching. In some, the anger at the injustice of a child’s death still seethes. In others, the grief has settled into something as lasting as the rock that makes up the memorial.
This hurt won’t go away.
The most moving parts of the remembrances are the simple glimpses of young people discovering themselves, discovering the world around them, finding their place in this life. They were kids, sometimes confused, sometimes assured, but on their way.
If they’d lived, they’d be in their 30s now, many of them likely married with children of their own.
But they didn’t live.
Their stories stopped with a bullet.
We have had many national conversations about tragedies such as Columbine in the days and years since those two troubled students brought hell to an ordinary high school.
Something, though, always stops the discussion.
It’s easy and perhaps comforting to blame the National Rifle Association, the gun lobby and a corrupt political system for preventing us from moving forward, for trapping us in tragedy after tragedy after tragedy.
But the reality is that we could force the conversation, we could make our schools and our streets safer for our young people if we pushed and worked hard enough.
But we haven’t.
“What have we learned?†the words on the wall ask.
As I walk from the memorial back to my car, I pass the members of the Columbine High School cheerleading squad on their way back from early morning practice in the athletic fields nearby.
As they walk by the entrance to the memorial, they don’t glance over. They don’t stop their quiet chatter.
None of these students was alive when the gunshots rang out in the school they attend.
For them, that tragedy is history, a piece of the landscape they walk by every day.
Just another part of the world we have made.
FOOTNOTE: John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism, host of “No Limits†WFYI 90.1 Indianapolis and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
This article was posted by the City-County Observer without opinion, bias or editing.
Holcomb Shares School Safety Report, Recommendations And Next StepsÂ
Gov. Eric J. Holcomb today released the report detailing the school safety recommendations compiled by a working group formed by Indiana Department of Homeland Security Director Bryan Langley, in conjunction with David Woodward, the Indiana Department of Education’s Director of School Building Physical Security and Safety.
Gov. Holcomb directed several next steps regarding the 18 recommendations in the report:
The Indiana State Budget Agency will direct an effort to identify costs associated with the recommendations and how they might be funded, whether through existing programs or other local, state or federal sources. The governor will use the information as he determines his 2019 legislative and administrative priorities
- The Department of Homeland Security will initiate efforts to create an Indiana School Safety Hub to put state resources in one easy to use online location for schools and parents (recommendation #7)
- The Integrated Public Safety Commission will develop a self-evaluation tool to maximize the effectiveness of each school’s communications systems and activities (recommendation #8)
- The Indiana State Police will set up and develop an anonymous tip line (recommendation #10)
- The state fire marshal has already developed guidance for schools on unplanned fire alarms and the Indiana Department of Education is assisting with distribution to all schools (recommendation #11). A link to the guidance may be found at: https://www.in.gov/dhs/unplannedfirealarms.htm
“Ensuring every one of our students has a safe place to learn and grow is of the utmost importance,†Gov. Holcomb said. “This assessment is an important step toward helping our schools be better prepared for the unknown.â€
The recommendations are organized into three categories in the report:
Enhanced mental health services
- Safety equipment, technology, tools and training
- Policy or legislative considerations regarding school safety
A team of state leaders and subject matter experts from across the state conducted in-person and phone interviews, online surveys, and community forums to gather feedback. More than 400 responses were collected from school administrators, educators, first responders, public safety officials and others. And while the group learned that the needs of school districts can vary widely, the three categories of recommendations became clear once feedback was reviewed.
“To remain a national leader in school safety, Indiana must address gaps in areas that go beyond hardening our buildings and training to respond to incidents,†the group said in its report, saying that more access to mental health services and better information sharing emerged as consistent themes.
Among other recommendations the report cites are:
- Enhancing and expanding mental health services
- Increasing funding flexibility for local law enforcement presence in schools
- Identifying and implementing a universal mental health screening tool for schools to use
- Requiring active shooter drills in every school
- Creating funding flexibility for school safety grants
Last month, the governor announced the state would make handheld metal detectors available at no cost to traditional public, charter and private schools that request them. The 3,231 metal detectors requested by 369 school entities in this first round are expected to arrive at schools later this month. Schools that are interested, but did not place an order, will have another opportunity to do so later this fall.
Among actions signed into law by Gov. Holcomb in 2018:
Made $35 million in low-interest loans available to schools to increase school safety through the Indiana Common School Fund. Applications may be found on the Indiana Department of Homeland Security website at www.in.gov/dhs/securedschoolsafety/commonschoolfund.htm
- Provided an additional $5 million to support school safety grants recently approved through IDHS
- Dedicated $1 million to support a full audit of school safety plans around the state
In June, Indiana Department of Homeland Security received 390 applications from school corporations for school safety grants. Because of the additional $5 million allocated by the General Assembly during this legislative session, all schools that met grant requirements were approved and will be funded. Those funds, more than $14 million in total, will be put to use for school resource officers, safety equipment and threat assessments. Learn more about the grants at http://www.in.gov/dhs/securedschoolsafety.htm.
Sober or Get Pulled Over’ Campaign Kicks Off in Evansville
Sober or Get Pulled Over’ Campaign Kicks Off in Evansville
AUGUST 10TH, 2018 
TYRONE MORRIS EVANSVILLE, INDIANA
During the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign drivers will see more sobriety checkpoints on the streets than normal. Local authorities say sobriety checkpoints work because they act as a deterrent.
Lt. Noah Robinson says, “We know from studies that have been done that sobriety checkpoints and the publication thereof does have an immediate impact in the production in the impaired driving arrests, but it’s kind of hard to prove a negative. We know that every drunk driver we take off the road is potentially a life saved or multiple lives saved.â€
Law enforcement officials say with the number of alternative ride options driving drunk in inexcusable.
The campaign has been around for nearly 20 years and runs from now through Labor Day September 3rd.
Alcohol Code Revision Meeting Turns To Training Of Local Enforcement Boards
Alcohol Code Revision Meeting Turns To Training Of Local Enforcement Boards
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS — One of the first Alcohol Code Revision Commission meetings under new Chairman Bill Davis ended with worries that local boards of the state’s Alcohol and Tobacco Commission are not being trained properly.
After two hours of discussion on the meeting’s scheduled items Friday, a line-up that included finding an appropriate process for alcohol permits placed into escrow and analyzing the risks of over-consumption under current law, the conversation took a sudden turn.
Guy Townsend, a now retired state prosecuting attorney, probation officer and publisher, read a brief statement that accused the revision board members of ignoring critical oversights in local ATC boards.
He alleged multiple violations of a ruling in the ATC’s code that mandates the agency provide training to all of its local board members within 180 days of their appointment.
Townsend said he had consulted with sources across multiple counties and learned that some excise officers were unaware of the training requirement.
“It appears, therefore, at least for some local boards, that the boards that have the responsibility of making the most basic and most important decisions regarding alcohol sales in this state, specifically the decision about who gets and keeps a license to sell alcohol, that some of these boards are completely clueless about what they’re supposed to be doing,†Townsend said from his seat in the chamber of the Indiana House of Representatives.
“My question is, if the state alcohol and tobacco commission substantially blows off an explicit requirement of the existing laws, why are we wasting our time trying to revise those laws?â€
Terry Bauer, a member of the revision commission who spent decades as a state excise officer, then asked ATC Chairman David Cook, who was present in the audience, to provide answers.
“It’s my understanding that, I think this was pointed out by one of the commission members, that the ATC has actively tried to correct this oversight and has taken measures to require training,†Bauer said.
Cook said he recently rewrote the agency’s training manual himself for use by local board members. The documents have since been posted online, he said, where board members must verify that they have read the requirement.
Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, asked Cook if a Gov. Mike Pence-era restriction that only allows state agencies to alter their rules in the event of an emergency impeded training regulations.
“As far as we know, Gov. Pence’s order on rule-making has not been relaxed,†Cook said. “We are hampered by not having rule-making authority.â€
Cook added that only one rule has been added since he entered office in 2015.
But Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, suggested that the commission consider the ATC’s potential lack of funding and resources as a potential obstacle to them following through with rule changes.
Smaltz said about $5.5 million of the annual ATC budget is allocated to permitting fees, while $1.6 million is reserved for “administration and enforcement.†The lawmaker said raising taxes to provide additional financing to the agency is not necessary.
“I’m not advocating that at all,†Smaltz said. “What I’m saying is that the problem is we’re not letting enough funds that are coming into the agency stay there so they can hire the staff they need.â€
The alcohol code revision commission will meet again Aug. 31. Members said they will continue to discuss how to best empower the ATC in the future.
FOOTNOTE: Â Erica Irish is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Holcomb Visits Successful Earn and Learn Opportunities for Hoosiers
Gov. Eric J. Holcomb made five stops on a tour this week highlighting “Earn and Learn†opportunities and Next Level Jobs across Indiana. Stops included Trilogy Healthcare’s Springhurst Health Campus, Gaylor Electric, Ivy Tech Madison, Madison Correctional Facility and Commodore Manufacturing at Perry Central Schools.
While there, Gov. Holcomb toured the facilities and participated in roundtable discussions facilitated by Secretary of Career Connections and Talent Blair Milo to hear firsthand from the schools, employers, students and local leaders about how they are partnering to create work-based learning opportunities for Hoosiers in their communities. While on the road, the governor learned first-hand how work-based learning is an essential pathway for Hoosiers to gain skills needed for high-demand, high-wage careers.
On Friday, Perry Central High School students discuss with Gov. Holcomb, Blair Milo, Secretary of Career Connections and Talent, and Executive Director of the Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship Darrel Zeck the various products they make for local business partners Jasper Engines and Waupaca Foundry.
Gov. Holcomb talks with high school senior Quinton Farris Thursday about the welding certification he earned through Ivy Tech Community College Madison and Madison Consolidated High School.
At Trilogy Health Services in Greenfield, Gov. Holcomb, Danny Lopez, Chairman of the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, Blair Milo, Secretary of Career Connections and Talent, Fred Payne, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Darrel Zeck, Executive Director of the Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship participate in a roundtable discussion Wednesday with employees, higher education and business leaders.
Gov. Holcomb shakes the hands of graduates at Madison Correctional Facilities Manufacturing Certification Graduation Ceremony on Thursday.
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At Gaylor Electric in Noblesville Wednesday, Gov. Holcomb, U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks and other state and local leaders discuss how educator and employer partnerships help students and businesses flourish.
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