Ziemer Society’s Family Fun at Friedman – June 16
A HOMELAND SECURITY ANNOUNCEMENT THAT FLEW UNDER THE RADAR
by Joe Guzzardi
Federal agencies that deal with immigration love to deliver bad news late on Friday afternoon. Better yet to obscure the disappointing announcement is when the Friday falls on a three-day national holiday weekend. So, on this year’s Memorial Day getaway Friday Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, hoping that the fewest possible people would be paying attention, announced that DHS was, once again, caving into big business interests. DHS will issue an additional 15,000 H-2–visas during fiscal year 2018; the new round of visas is on top of the existing 66,000 allocation.
According to the Office of Public Affairs press release, DHS made its decision after consulting with Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, members of Congress and business owners. Noticeably missing from the roundtable of purported experts was a representative from the many not working.
One of the most predictable false claims the immigration expansion lobby, that includes businesses, makes is that owners will be forced to shut down or, in DHS lingo, are “at risk of failing,†unless a new cheap labor infusion happens soon. But business’ looming bankruptcy meme is so tedious that few Americans outside of Congress buy into it.
Last summer provided multiple examples of how, when an H-2–visa shortage was anticipated, Maine employers sought out locals. Among those Maine businesses that raised wages to attract Americans were restaurants, hotels and bicycle repair shops – nonessential industries that don’t have to depend on visas to satisfy their labor requirements. On Martha’s Vineyard, a New England tourist haven, small businesses also hiked their pay scales to attract Americans.
Ample evidence culled from federal data proves that no national labor market shortages exists, especially in the job categories that H-2–employers insist overseas workers must fill. In its detailed 2017 study, the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute found that in the top ten H-2–occupations, shortages if any occurred only in isolated markets. The top ten occupations are: landscaping workers, forestry, housekeeping, amusement parks, meat, poultry and fish cutting, construction, waiters, cooks, production workers, and non-farm animal caretakers.
EPI, through its wage analysis, provided further proof that the H-2–depresses earnings. From 2004 to 2016, wages in the top H-2–categories grew less than an average of one-half of one percent in nine of the 10 most petitioned occupations. During the same 12-year period, unemployment rates in the ten professions remained at relatively high rates.
Beyond employers’ craven H-2–misuse, the American Civil Liberties Union linked the visa to abuse, trafficking and inhumane working conditions, each a criminal violation.
DHS’ decision to expand the employment pool by 15,000 ignores and defies tight labor markets’ inherent value to U.S. workers. Around 43 million Americans live below the poverty line and need the jobs employers give to low-skilled visa holders. Employers’ first move should be to recruit from among those 43 million, and raise wages as necessary until Americans fill the vacant jobs. Moreover, instead of approving more H-2–employment-based visas, many of which go to non-essential landscaping and resort jobs, Congress should protect the most vulnerable Americans.
Casual observers may ask what the big deal is about another 15,000 employment-based visas. But they miss the point. Each employment visa denies an opportunity to, or displaces, an existing U.S. worker, untenable in today’s soft labor market. Economists know that the lasting solution to true labor shortages is to pay more.
HOR JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
Southwest Indiana Chamber ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP CHANGES
the Southwest Indiana Chamber announced two key leadership changes in naming Tim Hayden as vice president and chief operating officer and Ellen Knapp as vice president and chief financial officer effective May 31, 2018. The organizational changes position the chamber for continued growth and set forth a succession planning strategy ensuring the Chamber’s next generation of leadership has broad experience within the organization.
Hayden is the current chief communications and engagement officer for the Chamber where he has served for the past year in addition to serving as the interim president and CEO upon Christy Gillenwater’s resignation in September 2017. His promotion to COO will expand his responsibilities to include membership investments, strategic direction of the Chamber’s marketing and communications initiatives, and all internal operations of the organization. Â
Knapp has served as COO since 2005. Her move to CFO will see her manage the organization’s financial performance, serve as the human resources and contracting officer, and assume primary responsibility for audit coordination. Â
“Today’s announcement reflects our desire to ensure we effectively utilize and further develop our organization’s talent,†said Jim Sandgren, board chair of the Southwest Indiana Chamber. “Tim has proven that he has the insight and skills to move the Chamber – and our regional business community – forward. His business acumen and credibility have greatly benefited the organization over the past year and make him the perfect choice for this role. Ellen’s expertise and strategic perspective have helped guide the Chamber for more than a decade. As our new CFO, we will continue to benefit from her broad accounting experience, and we know she will continue to be an integral part of the organization’s future success.â€
Hayden joined the Southwest Indiana Chamber in May 2017 as the director of marketing and communications. Tim’s time with the Chamber was preceded by a 27-year career with the Evansville Courier & Press, where he served in various senior management roles including the director of operations and vice president of sales. Tim holds undergraduate degrees in art/graphic design and accounting, both from the University of Southern Indiana, and is currently enrolled in the MBA program at USI. Tim was born and raised in Southwest Indiana and has been married to his wife Kirsten for 20 years. They have two children, Hailey and Harrison. Â
Knapp has been a non-profit accountant for nearly 40 years. She holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Southern Indiana and is active in the Association of Chambers of Commerce Executives as well as the Indiana Chamber Executive Association where she regularly presents. Knapp has been married to Steve Knapp for 36 years and has two grown sons; David resides in Washington D.C. and Joshua resides in Salt Lake City. Â
“It was an extraordinary experience to take the helm of a team that was performing at the highest level for the benefit of our members – and that performance was a direct reflection of the efforts of Tim and Ellen,†said Tara Barney, president and CEO of the Chamber. “I’m fortunate to work with such dedicated colleagues and look forward to the coming years as we move our Chamber forward together.â€
CHINS adjudication reversed; children not seriously endangered
Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s adjudication of children in need of services, finding the mother’s struggle for stable housing and her positive drug tests did not meet the Indiana Supreme Court’s standard that the children were seriously endangered.
The Indiana Department of Child Services investigated the family after receiving a report of the children being present during a domestic dispute and living in a house with drugs. DCS workers learned the mother, who told them she was an attorney, knew marijuana plants were in the home. DCS also noted the condition of house was “terrible,†with no drinking water and an inoperable toilet. Also, two of the children were having to sleep on uninflated air mattresses.
While DCS was assessing the family, the mother and children moved into the home of the father’s mother. However, when the DCS worker attempted to put a safety plan in place to protect the children from domestic violence, the mother became angry. Then DCS offered resources like food stamps but the mother said she didn’t need those things because she was an attorney.
A short time later, the mother and her children moved back into their trailer which on a second visit, DCS found had been cleaned. But the mother then failed two drug tests, testing positive for marijuana.
Lake Superior Court authorized services for the mother and adjudicated the children to be CHINS.
The Court of Appeals reversed, ruling DCS did not meet its burden of demonstrating the mother’s actions or inactions seriously endangered her children.
The unanimous panel noted DCS filed the CHINS petition when mother was struggling to find a place to live and was a victim of domestic violence. However, she has since found housing and filed a protective order against the father.
In addition, DCS did not present any evidence that the children were endangered by the presence of marijuana or their mother’s use of the drug.
“We acknowledge that the ‘CHINS statues do not require the juvenile court and DCS to wait until a child is physically or emotionally harmed to intervene,’†Judge Edward Najam, Jr., wrote, quoting from the state’s brief. “But the CHINS finding must be based on facts. And it was DCS’s burden to prove that Mother’s actions or inactions have seriously endangered the Children. Here, DCS did not present any evidence that the Children’s physical or mental conditions were seriously impaired or endangered as a result of Mother’s actions or inactions.â€
USI Chamber Choir wins its second Mayo International Choral Festival Championship
As part of its 2018 Ireland concert tour, the University of Southern Indiana Chamber Choir received first place in the Mayo International Choral Festival Premiere Competition in Ballina, Ballintubber and Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland.
The choir, under the direction of Daniel Craig, associate professor of music, competed in the festival’s Sacred Music and Four-Part Choirs competition. They placed runner-up in the Sacred Music competition and won First Place in the Four-Part Competition. This win qualified the ensemble to compete in the premier competition where they won first place overall out of the 38 choirs participating. Judges for the competition included choir directors for the BBC, National Chamber Choir of Ireland, World Music Games and universities in Ireland and Norway.
Their program of music included works from Monteverdi, Gallus, Rachmaninov, as well as modern American composers and music in the Irish language arranged by Craig.
This is the second time that the USI Chamber Choir has won the premier competition in this festival and only the second time for them to compete at this level. They previously competed in the festival in 2016, and participated in the Universitas Cantat festival in Poznan, Poland in 2017.
Prior to the festival, the choir performed a concert in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare to benefit the Stella Maris Adult Day Care, and ended their tour with a luncheon recital in Dublin’s prestigious Christ Church Cathedral.
Bill Davis replaces Beverly Gard as head of alcohol commission
By Emily Ketterer and Brynna Sentel
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS — As former leader of the Alcohol Code Revision Commission, Beverly Gard was open to discuss cold beer sales, a controversial topic addressed by the General Assembly this past year.
But Gard expects the direction of the committee to change under the leadership of its new chair, former Rep. Bill Davis.
Davis, a former Republican representative from Portland, Indiana, was named leader of the commission by House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, Wednesday. Davis will lead the commission this summer for the second half of its two-year study.
Davis is known to traditionally oppose the expansion of alcohol laws, previously turning down hearings and voting against Sunday alcohol sales in 2012 and 2013 as the chair of the House Public Policy Committee.
“Rep. Davis was fine legislator, well respected, but he had a lot of control over alcohol issues for the three years he was chairman of the Public Policy Committee in the House,†Gard said.
Gard said that last year, Bosma and President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, wanted someone with an open mind to lead the commission charged with making recommendations about reforming the state’s alcohol laws. She had no previous experience with alcohol laws and had not been on a committee dealing with the topic in the past.
“With this appointment, I don’t think that’s what you have,†Gard said. “This seems to be a total 180-degree turn on what they wanted in leadership.â€
Bosma said in a statement that Davis’s background in private and public sectors will help him lead the commission.
“During Bill’s service to the General Assembly, especially as chair of the Public Policy Committee, he always demonstrated strong leadership skills, integrity and the right temperament when handed tough issues,†Bosma said.
Bosma, in the news release, offered no reason why he was replacing Gard. The veteran lawmaker was also unavailable for an interview Wednesday.
Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, a member of the commission, said she was surprised to see this change in leadership.

Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, is a member of the Alcohol Code Revision Commission Photo by Emily Ketterer, TheStatehouseFile.com
“I thought that Sen. Gard did an outstanding job and was fair. She was even-handed and she helped us move through the agenda,†Austin said. “I have worked with soon-to-be chairman Davis. He was Public Policy Chair, and I believe he will be equally as fair.â€
The committee last year recommended that alcohol be sold on Sundays and that passed the General Assembly this year. The members also debated but did not resolve the issue of whether convenience stores would be allowed to sell cold six-packs of beer.
Gard said she would be surprised if the topic of cold beer sales came up in during the commission this summer.
“The legislative council set out the parameters they wanted the commission to look at, and that certainly wasn’t one of them,†Gard said.
Austin views cold beer sales as “unfinished business from last year,†even though it is currently not on the agenda.
“Because we were in a short legislative session, I can see why some folks maybe were reluctant to put too many alcohol issues out there at once,†Austin said.
The cold beer debate began last year when two Ricker’s convenience stores began selling cold beer through a loophole under a restaurant permit. That loophole was closed this year and only package liquor stores in Indiana can sell cold six-packs.
Owner Jay Ricker said he is going into this new leadership with an open mind and he hopes Davis will listen to the public’s wishes.
“It’s the biggest topic in my mind and in the average Indiana voter’s mind as to what needs to be changed,†Ricker said. “But obviously the other side is fighting tooth and toenail,the liquor lobby, against this change.â€
Emily Ketterer and Brynna Sentel are reporters for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Series finale against Freedom postponed
Thursday’s series finale between the Florence Freedom and the Evansville Otters has been postponed due to inclement weather and wet field conditions.
With the postponement, the game will be made up when the Freedom visit Bosse Field in August. The date for the game during the series in August is still being determined. The Otters host Florence August 10-12 as part of a six-game homestand.
Fans with General Admission tickets for tonight’s postponed game will be able to use them at a future 2018 game in General Admission seating. Those with field box seats will need to call 812-435-8686 or visit the Bosse Field box office to check for availability for the same seats or select different seats.
The Otters will travel to Southern Illinois to take on the Miners in a three-game series starting Friday at 7:05 p.m.
Series coverage will be available on WUEV 91.5 FM for all three games with Sam Jellinek (play-by-play) on the call.
Fans can also follow Otters social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for game updates throughout the day.
Evansville will return home next Tuesday to open a three-game set against the Gateway Grizzlies. Tuesday will be a $2 Tuesday with $2 General Admission tickets and $2 popcorn, Wednesday is Deaconess Hospital Strike Out Stroke Night, and Thursday will be a Thirsty Thursday with special price drafts presented by Working Distributors.
Stellar pitching leads Evansville to doubleheader sweep of Florence
The Otters took game one of the doubleheader thanks to a combined shutout.
Evansville jumped out to an early lead when Manny Cruz singled home Ryan Long in the first inning to put the Otters up 1-0.
In the fifth, Jeff Gardner put the Otters up by two when he singled to right, scoring Pedro Barrios from second.
Mitchell Aker struck out the side in the seventh to secure the win as well as his sixth save of the season.
Sean Adler got the win, his first, after throwing two innings of scoreless relief.
Otters starter Patrick McGuff left in the fifth as he threw four innings, while giving up no runs and striking out four before exiting.
Cody Gray is the hard luck loser for the Freedom as he pitched all six innings, giving two runs, and striking out four.
Gardner went 1 for 3 offensively in game one, finishing with an RBI.
In game two pitching was again stellar for Evansville.
Through four innings there was no score but the Otters pounced for three in the fifth to take the lead.
Long brought home a run with a sacrifice fly before Cruz doubled to left-center to score the second run of the inning. Carlos Castro then roped a single to left to score Cruz from second and put the Otters up 3-0.
The Freedom loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs, but could only muster one run on a sacrifice fly from Austin Wobrock.
Aker again shut the door for the Otters as he collected his seventh save of the season.
Randy Wynne was stellar for the Otters as he picks up his second win of the season. Wynne worked 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball and struck out six batters.
Marty Anderson is dealt the loss for Florence. Anderson pitched five innings, allowing all three runs, conceding four hits and three walks while punching out seven.
Cruz went 1 for 2 with a run and RBI in the game two victory.
For the final game of the series on Thursday, the Otters will turn to right hander Tyler Vail. Vail will be making his fourth start of the season. On the campaign, Vail is 0-1 with an 8.40 ERA and 22 strikeouts against just two walks in 15 innings.
Starting for Florence will be righty Steve Hagen. Hagen is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in three starts this season. Hagen has punched out 20 batters in 18 innings while walking seven and allowing 10 hits.
Coverage of the series will be provided on both WUEV 91.5 FM as well as the Otters Digital Network presented by Kruckemeyer and Cohn. Sam Jellinek (play-by-play) and Bill Mckeon (analyst) will be on the call.
Fans can also follow Otters social media on