Intoxicated Motorist Strikes a Sheriff’s Office Cruiser
- An intoxicated motorist was arrested Friday evening after crashing his vehicle into the back of a Sheriff’s Office cruiser.
On Friday, March 23, 2018 at approximately 9:56 PM a Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office deputy notified central dispatch that his cruiser had been struck at W. Lloyd Expressway (State Road 62) and Schutte Road. The deputy had been facing west on SR 62 waiting for the green turn arrow to travel south onto Schutte Road when he was struck from behind by a black 2015 Chrysler 200 sedan.
The driver of the Chrysler identified himself as Mr. Eric Ramirez Avila. Mr. Avila indicated that he had not been paying attention prior to the crash. When asked to exit the vehicle, Mr. Avila staggered as he walked and leaned against his vehicle for balance. He admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages before driving and was asked to submit to standardized field sobriety testing. Mr. Avila declined to participate in any testing and indicated that he would fail.
Mr. Avila was arrested for Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated and transported to the Vanderburgh County Jail. Mr. Avila was released on bond the next day and is due in court for an initial appearance on Monday, March 26, 2018.
ARRESTED:
Eric Ramirez Avila (pictured above), 23, of Washington, IN. Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated as a Class A Misdemeanor with Test Refusal, Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated as a Class C Misdemeanor
Presumption of Innocence Notice: The fact that a person has been arrested or charged with a crime is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
IS IT TRUE MARCH 26, 2018
We hope that today’s “IS IT TRUEâ€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?
IS IT TRUE we wonder if the City Of Evansville Water and Sewer Department has collected any money from the $750,00 plus water and sewer bill owed to them by the owners of the McCurdy? …if they don’t make any payments soon we expect the city will file a lien against the McCurdy property concerning this bill?
IS IT TRUEÂ we hear that At-Large Councilmen and Finance Chairmen Jonathan Weaver is irritated because members of Mayor Lloyd Winnecke’s administration didn’t inform City Council that ECHO Housing Corporation was being investigated for misuse of agency funds before City Council voted on appropriating the $466,000 of federal funds for that non-profit organization? …City Council voted on this appropriations just two days before Executive Director Stephanie TenBarge’s was fired from ECHO Housing because she allegedly misused the nonprofit’s agency funds? …we like to inform Mr. Weaver that isn’t the first time that members of the Winnecke administration has given misinformation to members of City Council concerning budgetary matters and we predict that it won’t be the last?
IS IT TRUE we are extremely pleased that the Evansville Police Department has finally decided to open an investigation into the allegations of misuse ECHO Housing funds? …we are surprised to hear that the ECHO Board of Directors attempted to stop a criminal investigation of this not-for-profit corporation by the Evansville Police Department? …we are also very disappointed that the Mayor of Evansville and the Vanderburgh Prosecutors office has remained silent concerning the allegations of misuse of ECHO Housing funds?
IS IT TRUE we commend City Councilmen 5th Ward Justin Elpers (R) and At-large member Jonathon Weaver (D) for writing a proposed City Ordinance regarding CITY OF EVANSVILLE funds allocated to ECHO HOUSING CORP?  … this proposed ordinance is asking the Evansville Common Council to enact rules requiring that all City funds allocated to ECHO be withheld for further payment until ECHO provides the City with certain assurances?  …all we can say is give them hell Elpers and Weaver?
IS IT TRUE we are pleased that the ECHO Housing Corp. attorney Scott Wylie and the Director of the City’s Department of Metropolitan Development, Kelly Course have publicly stopped commenting about the former ECHO Housing Executive Director alledging taking agency funds for personal use?
IS IT TRUE when the EHCO Housing Corporation filed a formal grant application request with the City of Evansville earlier this year the application listed that the Board of Director members of the Echo Housing Corporation? …the names listed were: Roy Dane Chandler of Banterra Bank-Evansville, Reverend Gerald Arnold, President of the local NAACP and Tom Moore, Director of the Vectren Foundation? …the application also listed the former Executive Director of ECHO Housing, Stephanie TenBarge as the board secretary?  …if this information provides on the grant application is incorrect we would like to know so we can make a correction concerning the current ECHO Housing Board members?
IS IT TRUE we been told that members of the not-for-profit ECHO Housing Corporation Board of Director still feel that they are exempt from handing over financial information to members of the Evansville Police Department so they can do a criminal investigation? ..we find it entertaining that members of the board feel that they are exempt from a criminal investigation because ECHO Housing is a not-for-profit corporation?
IS IT TRUE we heard that the three (3) finalists for the Evansville/Vanderburgh Visitors and Convention Bureau Director job are from out-of-town?  …we cant understand why an organization like the Evansville/Vanderburgh Visitors and Convention Bureau couldn’t promote from within?  …we know at least one employee of the Vistors and Convention Bureau was extremely qualified for this position? …she is a long time employee of the Evansville /Vanderburgh Visitors and Convention Bureau and has been an excellent employee? …she grew up in the hospitality industry and her dad is well known and highly respected guru of the hospitality industry? …the next time we hear that someone from the Evansville Visitors and Convention Bureau say hire and buy local all we are going to say is practiced what you preach?
IS IT TRUE about three weeks ago TV Channel 25 Eyewitness News reported on the suspension of the Evansville Philharmonic’s Executive Director? Â … that officials within this not-for-profit organization remain silent as to the status of the suspended employee? …we hear that many friends of the suspended Executive Director are expecting an update from TV Channel 25 explaining why the not-for-profit Philharmonic’s suspended him? …we hear that this is a developing story?
Todays “Readers Poll” question is: Do you feel its time that the Feds come in and impound the financial records of the Evansville ECHO Housing Corporation?
Please take time and read our articles entitled “Statehouse Files, Channel 44 News, Law Enforcement, Readers Poll, Birthdays, Hot Jobs and “Local Sports.” You now are able to subscribe to get the CCO daily.
If you would like to advertise on the CCO please contact us CityCountyObserver@live.com.
Commentary: A State That Works, A Government That Doesn’t
By John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.comÂ
INDIANAPOLIS – Our leaders like to proclaim Indiana “a state that works.â€
They festooned websites, social media, roadside billboards, advertisements and mass mailings with that message. They wanted to use the campaign to attract new business and investment to the state.
There’s some truth to the advertising.
Indiana’s people do work, perhaps even harder than they have in years past. The state is close to achieving what economists call full employment, meaning that most unemployment can be attributed to relocations, changes in family status or other factors that aren’t tied to the availability of work.
That said, many Hoosiers now find themselves laboring for more hours or at more jobs simply to maintain their standards of living. Labor and employment statistics show that bottom of the middle-class is under tremendous pressure – and is, in fact, in danger of sliding into poverty.
So, Indiana’s citizens are working.
That’s why it’s such a pity that the state’s government isn’t working.
The fact that Gov. Eric Holcomb finds it necessary to call the Indiana General Assembly back for a special session for no other reason than that the state’s lawmakers cannot read either calendars or clocks is but the latest example of our government’s dysfunction.
Hoosiers – understandably – are upset, even enraged, that the state’s lawmakers will come back to Indianapolis in May at a cost of $30,000 per day to do work legislators could have completed in March if they possessed the time management skills of the average third-grader. That the issues prompting the governor – upgraded school security and regulation of driverless cars – to reconvene the assembly at such expense weren’t exactly legislative heavy lifting adds insult to injury.
But the problem goes deeper than having legislative leaders sleep through math class and personal responsibility training.
At least one of the roles of a legislative body in a civilized, self-governing society involves resolving differences. The founders saw legislatures as mechanisms through which enlightened interests could be balanced and, thus, tensions alleviate.
Our legislature doesn’t do that.
Instead, our lawmakers often exacerbate differences and elevate disputes or quarrels into full-fledged battles.
We have seen as much with the way the legislature has pitted Hoosier against Hoosier in all-out conflicts over a right-to-work law, a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions and a misnamed religious freedom restoration act.
Instead of figuring out ways for Hoosiers with different views to live and work together, our lawmakers too often have opted to pit us against each other.
The why of that is not hard to determine.
It involves another thorny issue, one our legislators have done their best to avoid confronting.
Gerrymandering.
Somewhere between 55 and 60 percent of the state’s voters generally cast their ballots for Republican candidates for the state legislature. Because Republicans have gerrymandered legislative districts so surgically, though, that translates into a House of Representatives that is more than 70 percent GOP and a Senate that has 80 percent Republicans.
(Please do not think I’m blaming Republicans alone for this. Democrats would do the same thing if they could. This is why politicians should not be entrusted with certain tasks, such as doing basic math and practicing clock management.)
The result of this disproportionate representation is that we have lawmakers who feel they aren’t accountable in any way to citizens. They feel like they only need to listen to or talk with people who already agree with them, which is why they so often become captives of special interests.
The legislature could have dealt with this problem this past session by passing redistricting reform.
Or the session before that.
Or the session before that.
But doing so would have involved work. It would have meant listening to competing ideas, balancing varied interests and seeking out common ground.
You know, the kind of stuff lawmakers are supposed to do.
We don’t do that here in Indiana.
You see, we’re a state where the government doesn’t work.
And, because of that, the people do work, harder than they should have to.
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.
SPOTLIGHT: MEET AMY WORD-SMITH
The City-County Observer applauds the efforts of Amy Word-Smith professional, political and philanthropic contributions in the Tri-State Area.
Amy Word-Smith probably needs no introduction. For those who enjoy Evansville nightlife, she’s instantly recognizable as the face of Lamasco Bar & Grill and Dapper Pig Restaurant very popular Westside and Haynie’s Corner establishments.
Lamasco Bar & Grill is known for booking some of the best local and regional bands around to the tune of over 200 shows a year.  The Dapper Pig is extremely well known for its delicious food prepared from scratch.
Amy is well known as the driving force behind the Franklin Street Events Association. Her tireless promotion of that two-mile stretch of road has resulted in the rejuvenation of area businesses and community spirit.
Amy is all too aware that you can’t have one without the other. And now she’s setting her sights on historic Haynie’s Corner in downtown Evansville, bound by creating a new, vibrant restaurant called the Dapper Pig.
The City County Observer gives five (5) cheers to Amy Word-Smith for being an outstanding corporate citizen and an outstanding community cheerleader.
Copyright 2015 City-County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
University of Evansville Orchestra to Present Faculty Soloists
The University of Evansville Orchestra will present an all-Beethoven concert on Tuesday, April 3, at 7:30 pm. The concert will be held at Victory Theatre, located at 600 Main St, Evansville, Indiana. The concert is free and open to the public.
UE faculty soloists Robert Anemone, violin, Kirsten Jermé, cello, and Garnet Ungar, piano, will join the orchestra in the rarely-heard Triple Concerto, following a performance of the Coriolan Overture. The concert will be conducted by UE assistant professor/director of orchestral activities Chun-Ming Chen.
Following the concert, the orchestra will embark on a four-concert tour of high schools in Tennessee.
For more information, please call 812-488-2881 or e-mail cc319@evansville.edu.
HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
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UE softball sweeps doubleheader over UNI
Eryn Gould, Brittany Hay and Morgan Florey were the stars of the day, pacing the University of Evansville softball team to a doubleheader sweep of UNI on Sunday at Cooper Stadium. Evansville won both games by a final of 6-2.
Gould notched six hits in seven at-bats while scoring five runs for the Purple Aces (9-18, 2-3 MVC) while Hay hit a 3-run home run in game two that broke a scoreless tie. Florey threw a total of 11 innings on the day, allowing just seven hits and one earned run.
“This was a good series for us, I am really proud of the girls for keeping their focus through all of the weather that we had this weekend,†UE head coach Mat Mundell said. “Our offense played great, even our outs were hard hit balls. We got runners on and were able to get them in. Defensively, we played great and Morgan and Ashleigh did a nice job of keeping UNI’s hitters off balance in the circle.â€
Today’s sweep gave UE its first series win over the Panthers since 2013. In the previous 11 games against UNI entering the day, the Aces were 2-9.
UNI recorded three hits in the first inning, but Aces starter Morgan Florey was able to limit the damage to just one run, which came on a Courtney Krodinger single.
In the bottom of the inning, UE was able to plate two runs. Eryn Gould led off with a double before advancing to third on a Brittany Hay groundout. Next up was Lindsay Renneisen, who delivered a triple to right center field to score Gould. Renneisen gave the Aces the lead, scoring when Florey reached on an error.
Evansville threatened in the second, loading the bases with no outs, but UNI’s Brooke Craig forced a double play that helped her get out of the frame unscathed. UE was able to push a run through in the third when Florey crossed home plate on UNI’s second error of the day. The top half of the fourth saw UNI get that run right back with an unearned run.
For the third time, the Aces added a run on the scoreboard. Gould notched her second hit of the day and came home on a UNI error that came on a Renneisen hit. Evansville picked up some more breathing room in the sixth when Elyse Hickey delivered a 2-RBI double with the bases loaded to make it a 6-2 game.
Florey picked up her fifth win of the season. She gave up three hits in the first, but did not allow a single one for the remainder of the contest. Gould was a perfect 3-3 with three runs scored and a walk while Renneisen notched a pair of hits.
Just as they did in game one, the Panthers grabbed an early lead in the first frame of the second contest, but Evansville followed suit as Eryn Gould led the bottom of the first off with her third home run of the season to knot the score at 1-1. Renneisen would later score on a wild pitch to give the Aces their first lead. Jaclyn Spencer notched an RBI single in the third, which tied the game at 2-2.
Things would remain that way until the fifth frame when Brittany Hay delivered her team-leading fifth home run of the season. Bailee Porter and Eryn Gould scored on the play. Some insurance was added in the sixth as Bailee Bostic singled through the right side to bring home pinch runner Mea Adams to make it the final of 6-2. Florey picked up her second win of the day while Gould posted three more hits.
A trip to Loyola awaits the Purple Aces next weekend as UE faces the Ramblers in Chicago.