Aces welcome Indiana State on Wednesday

01/16/2018

In-state rival Indiana State marks the next opponent as the University of Evansville menâ€™s basketball team returns home to face the Sycamores on Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside the Ford Center.

UE fell to 12-7 overall and 2-4 in the Valley with an 81-65 setback at Drake on Saturday.Â The Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back in the win.Â Ryan Taylor led the way with 28 points on an efficient 9-of-15 shooting effort.

Fans will have the opportunity to buy a Mystery Bag at tomorrowâ€™s game. Bags cost $5 each.

Each bag will include a random Aces t-shirt, and one of the following prizes:

-Purple Aces fidget spinner

-2 wristbands to a home baseball or softball game

-2 tickets to a future MBB home game

-2 all-session passes to Arch Madness

The bags will be available for purchase in the Ford Center lobby starting at 6pm until halftime.

Ryan Taylor has played all 80 minutes over UEâ€™s last two games and his work paid off at Drake with 28 points in an accurate 9-of-15 shooting effort.Â He has scored at least 11 points in all 12 of his games this season and is averaging 21.1 PPG on the season and 20.5 in the Valley.

The MVC leader in assists and steals continued to add to those numbers on Saturday at Drake as he finished with 14 points, four helpers and three swipes.Â Smith is 17th in the nation with 2.4 steals per game and is 65th in the NCAA with 5.0 assists.Â In his seven games since the Dec. 5 win at Bowling Green, Smith is averaging 15.7 points, 4.7 assists, 3.4 steals and 3.1 rebounds.Â Smith went a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line on his way to 15 points as the Aces defeated Missouri State last week.

Sophomore K.J. Riley has had a solid season for UE, but has flourished in conference play.Â Â Averaging 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game overall, Riley has seen that output rise to 9.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in league play.Â He has hit double figures in four out of six MVC contests while his 74 free throw makes and 99 free throw attempts rank in the top 105 nationally.

Indiana State makes its annual trek to the Ford Center with an 8-10 mark and an even 3-3 record through its first six league games.Â Jordan Barnes leads the Sycamores with 17.2 points per game and a total of 72 assists; he has connected on 70 3-pointers.Â Next up is Brenton Scott, who has posted 14.6 PPG;in eight games against Evansville, Scott has posted an average of 15.8 points per game, including 24 points in Terre Haute in 2016.

Investigation Into Police Action Shooting Continues

01/16/2018

Evansville Police continue to investigate a police action shooting that happened on Monday night.

Police were called to 114 S. Grand around 5:15 pm for a complaint of a man who had assaulted a resident and was refusing to leave the home.
Two uniformed officers arrived and were directed to the kitchen where they began talking to the suspect.

The suspect was uncooperative and would not follow instructions. During the encounter, the suspect punched one of the officers in the face and knocked him to the ground. During the ensuing struggle, the suspect attempted to disarm the officer. A second officer fired her handgun to stop the suspect’s attack and prevent him from disarming her partner. The suspect stopped his attack after he was shot.

He remained uncooperative as the officers tried to handcuff him. After a brief struggle, the officers were able to gain control of the suspect and get him into handcuffs. They called for medical crews and began medical aid.

The suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment and remains under police guard.
As per standard EPD policy, the involved officers were placed on three days paid administrative leave. They have given initial statements will provide additional statements per department policy.

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

01/16/2018

Below are the felony cases to be filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutorâ€™s Office today.

Heather Marie Dixon: Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 5 Felony), Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 6 Felony), Possession of paraphernalia (Class C misdemeanor)

Antonio Joseph Aiello: Sexual battery

Jonel Urian Hughes: Robbery resulting in bodily injury (Level 3 Felony)

Thomas Michael Brown: Strangulation (Level 6 Felony), Domestic battery (Class A misdemeanor)

Christopher M. Wall: Battery resulting in bodily injury to a person less than 14 years of age (Level 5 Felony), Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony), Possession of marijuana (Class B misdemeanor)

Lindsey Marie Kirby: Possession of a narcotic drug (Level 6 Felony), Unlawful possession of syringe (Level 6 Felony), Possession of paraphernalia (Class C misdemeanor)

Victoria Lynn Liggett:Â Conspiracy Dealing in methamphetamine (Level 3 Felony), Neglect of a dependent (Level 6 Felony), Possession of marijuana (Class A misdemeanor)

Ian John Connelly:Â Conspiracy Dealing in methamphetamine (Level 3 Felony), Dealing in methamphetamine (Level 4 Felony)

Robert Justin Dillard:Â Conspiracy Dealing in methamphetamine (Level 3 Felony), Dealing in methamphetamine (Level 3 Felony), Dealing in methamphetamine (Level 3 Felony), Neglect of a dependent (Level 6 Felony), Possession of marijuana (Class A misdemeanor)

Davidson, Seniors Lead Eagles To 67-59 Win Over Knights

01/16/2018

University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball used second-half runs of 10-0 and 16-2 to pull away from host Bellarmine University and earn a 67-59 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory Monday evening at Knights Hall.

The No. 18/22 Screaming Eagles (13-2, 5-1 GLVC), which trailed by as much as seven points early in the opening period, found themselves in a 37-37 tie with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter. Two minutes later, USI led 47-37 thanks to a 10-0 run that was propelled by the Eagles’ senior class of forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois), guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) and Randa Harshbarger (Philo, Illinois).

After a Bellarmine (8-8, 3-4 GLVC) run cut the Eagles’ advantage to three points late in the third frame, junior guard Alex Davidson (Salem, Indiana) drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to give USI a 50-44 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.

Davidson’s trifecta started a 16-2 run that left USI comfortably in front, 63-46, with less than six minutes to play in the contest. Davidson, who finished with a career-high 16 points, had 14 points in the second half and 11 in the 16-2 run that made the difference in the contest.

Grooms had 21 points and seven rebounds to lead the Eagles, while Dahlstrom chipped in 16 points and 15 rebounds. Harshbarger added eight points, eight assists and four steals.

Senior guard Raven Merriweather had 22 points to lead the Knights, who outscored USI 13-4 in the final five minutes of the game.

USI returns to action Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when it hosts Missouri University S&T at the Physical Activities Center.

EPD ACTIVITY REPORT

01/16/2018

EPD REPORT

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

01/16/2018

http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx

IS IT TRUE JANUARY 16, 2018

01/16/2018

We hope that today’s â€œIS IT TRUEâ€Â will provokeÂ 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 here is theÂ link to theÂ Indiana State Boards Of Accounts audit for the City Of Evansville for 2016? Â …here’s a copy of the auditÂ reports?

IS IT TRUE that the Indiana State Board of Accounts has finally issued the results of the annual audit of the financial statements of the City of Evansville and the results are nothing to stir any civic pride?…for starters the audit expresses an ADVERSE OPINION with respect to GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Practices)?…this ADVERSE OPINION is an annually recurring thing with the City of Evansville that has been going on so long that it is evident that the people in charge of accounting do not care about generally accepted accounting principles?…let us be clear that this is not something that deserves respect or praise?…this is a badge of either incompetence, laziness, or both?

IS IT TRUE and ADVERSE OPINION with respect to GAAP is not the worse thing in the 2016 audit?…during the year there were eleven (11) different accounts that were overdrawn at one time or another and 2016 ended with six (6) accounts overdrawn by a total of $6.4 million?…the account ending the year with the highest overdrawn balance was the Employees Hospitalization Insurance account that ended the year in the red by $5 Million after having a high overdraft of $7.5 Million during 2016?…the parking garage account ended the year overdrawn by $189,000?…the Rental House Inspection account eded the year in the red by $5,000?…the Victory Theater account ended the year with a negative balance of $226,000?…the Golf Course Fund was $704,000 under the water at the end of 2016?…the Sports Account rounded out the overdrawn accounts by $340,000?

IS IT TRUE during 2016 the General Fund that covers employee salaries was overdrawn by a maximum of $15.7 Million?…we do not know when that was during the year?…the Park’s and Recreation fund was overdrawn by $2 Million at some point in 2016?…the reality is that the City of Evansville is robbing Peter to pay Paul on a recurring basis all year long every year in modern history?

IS IT TRUE every year the State Board of Accounts issues an ADVERSE OPINION regarding GAAP and admits that the City of Evansville needs to manage their cash better so that the shuffling of funds through a host of accounts will not be necessary, yet the bad practices continue?

IS IT TRUE that the most interesting opinions issued are with respect to the sports accounts that are all called out for having insufficient revenue to cover expenses? …Golf was signaled out for being a declining sport and the Sports Account was also fingered for continual decline of revenue?…the reality is that all of these fun and games things are bleeding Evansville to death and there is no end in sight?

IS IT TRUEÂ the debt load of the City of Evansville is now $631,607,501?…that the annual payments on this debt amount to $33 Million?…that excludes the Ford Center debt which is included in the City expenses as an annual lease payment since the Evansville Redevelopment Commission owns the Ford Center and the City has used a lease to funnel the payments to the ERC?…we wonder how much another debt is masked in the “SENEGAL”Â (legal but sneaky) way?

IS IT TRUE that the City Of Evansville received a cash advancement of $25 million dollars from Tropicana? …on December 28, 2015, the City Of Evansville received a $12.5 million dollar advancement from Tropicana? Â …about two (2) years later the City of Evansville got the remaining $12.5 million dollar cash advancement from Tropicana? …the City of Evansville has agreed to repay back TropicanaÂ this cash advancement over aÂ 10 year period? …that Tropicana annual riverboat fund payment to the City of Evansville will be reduced by $2.5 million dollars per year for the next 10 years in order to repay the $25 million back?

IS IT TRUE it looks like the City Of Evansville also has a habit of getting millions of dollar advancements from the Evansville Water and Sewer Utilities Department?

IS IT TRUE we couldn’t find any reference in this State audit to how much did the City of Evansville pay to help subsidize the Evansville Thunderbolts hockey team?

IS IT TRUE we wonder why the City Council Finance Chairmen Dan McGinn (I) didn’t show up to the State Board of Accounts exit conference to hear the audit findings?

IS IT TRUE that some people wonder why City Council didn’t select a Democrat to be the new City Council attorney? Â …we have been told the reason why is that the current City Council attorney is doing a very good job in advising members of City Council in a nonpartisan manner?

Todays “Readers Poll” question is: Do you feel thatÂ the City Controller should have made the results of the Indiana State Board of Accounts 2016 audit of the City of Evansville public?

Please take time and read our articles entitled â€œSTATEHOUSE FILES, CHANNEL 44 NEWS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, READERS POLL, BIRTHDAYS, HOT JOBSâ€ and â€œLOCAL SPORTSâ€. Â You now are able to subscribe to get the CCO daily.

If you would like to advertise on the CCO please contact us City-County Observer@live.com.

EDITORâ€™S FOOTNOTE: Â Any readers comments posted in thisÂ columnÂ do not represent the views orÂ opinions of the City-County Observer or our advertisers

NFWL/NRA SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS FOR 2017

01/16/2018

NFWL/NRA SCHOLARSHIP WINNERSÂ

For 20 years now, the National Foundation for Women Legislators &Â the National Rifle Association have joined forces for the Annual Bill of Rights Essay Scholarship Contest; which provides six female high school juniors or seniors a $3,000 college scholarship, an all-expense-paid trip to NFWLâ€™s Annual Conference, and an award that will be presented at the event.

Congrats To The 2017 Scholarship Winners:

Anne CrabillÂ of Chapel Hill, North Carolina (mentored by North Carolina Representative Rosa Gill)

Jessica GoldschlagerÂ of Magnolia, Delaware (mentored by Delaware Representative Andria Bennett)

Margaret KleimanÂ of Hutchinson, Minnesota (mentored by Minnesota Representative Sandra Masin)

Madeline PeltzerÂ of Laveen, Arizona (mentored by Arizona Senator Nancy Barto)

Faith VanVleetÂ of Spring, Texas (mentored by Wisconsin Representative Kathy Bernier)

Abby WeiderholdÂ of Pottsville, Pennsylvania (mentored by New Jersey Assemblywoman-elect Serena DiMaso)

Click hereÂ to viewÂ the 2017 award-winning essays.

THE NEW-HARMONY GAZETTE. OPEN LETTER TO THE PUBLIC

01/16/2018

WHY I OPPOSE THE CHANGE IN CHAPTER 17 OF THE TOWN ORDINANCE

by: Dan Barton, Publisher, of The New Harmony Gazette

January 14, 2018

It has been speculated by some in New Harmony that as publisher of the New Harmony Gazette, my opposition to the new amendment to Chapter 17 of the Town Ordinance is entirely personal. Nothing could be further from the truth. Certainly the new amendment does adversely effect my property at 505 Main Street, the same as it does all other property in the Business Historic District. However, even if I did not own the building, I would still be opposed to this onerous law and itâ€™s accompanying extreme penalties. I will explain why.

I have always passionately supported and sometimes opposed other ideas proposed by Council people. In the past I have written on such issues as; how to best reopen the Harmony Way Bridge, the tactics and purposes proposed by WMI for the re-use of the New Harmony School, or whether the course taken by our Town Council regarding the use of the old fairground property was or was not in the best interest of our town. My concern is always the same; what is good for New Harmony, both economically and politically.

Over the last six months I have written ongoing critiques about the New Harmony Plan Commissionâ€™s proposal to change Chapter 17 of the Town Ordinance. An ordinance that would deny certain property rights to New Harmonyâ€™s Commercial property owners in the Business Historic District, now and in the future. As this is being written it awaits a vote by the Town Council. I am still opposed to its passage. Why is this bad law?

One of the Plan Commissionâ€™s supposed rationales has been based on a comparison of two unrelated elements of zoning regulation. They pit the principals of a business moving into a residential community versus a residence moving into the business community. We all must know that residential communities are concerned about businesses opening in their neighborhoods for very basic and long established reasons. There are concerns about possible air and water pollution, noise, increased traffic, parking, garbage, trash, and large numbers of customers traveling through the residential area to get to the businesses. The things that threaten the health, happiness and property values of those who must live and raise their families in those neighborhoods. There are, at this writing, far more businesses operating in the residential community than residents living in the Business Historic District. If any community is under threat it is not the Business Historic District but the residential district.

What are the reasons that have been sited by the supporters of this amendment for not allowing residential use in storefronts? From a historical viewpoint there have been none given. The reasons that have been offered have been vague. The prime example brought up over and over has been: because residents get the right to keep businesses in check through the use of a Variance Appeal Board. But, they say, businesses are denied that same right for keeping

residents out of the Business District. This is a form of a misplaced doctrine of egalitarianism, meant to be applied to human equality with respect to social and political civil rights, not business versus residential zones. Certainly the argument is not valid for the regulation of business versus residential property rights. A fallacious argument!

Zoning laws were never meant to equalize the two elements of business versus residential rights. In other words, the rationale of the Chapter 17 amendment supporters is, â€œNo Rationale.â€ Whimsy!

Zoning laws are government regulated restrictions on how a particular piece of land can be used. The zones can be of any type, including housing, financial and industry. These laws are a partial attempt to solve a real problem. If people buy a house in a residential area, they do not want a loud or polluting factory or business to be opened next door to them. The problem is not the creation of the factory so much as it is the damage it does to the home owners. A house becomes unsalable and unusable if the sound, smell, or air quality around it is suddenly changed. This same reasoning does not apply to residents in a business district.

Zoning laws are not necessary for residences moving into the business area. The reasons suggested by supporters of the Chapter 17 amendment arenâ€™t the same reasons as for residential zone restrictions. One imaginary issue that has been conjured up by the amendment supporters is that the business district could be taken over by residences. They believe that even one retail storefront converted to residential use could cause other businesses to suffer by losing customers. This fanciful image just hasnâ€™t met the litmus test of time.

Historically, in 200 years it has never happened. Itâ€™s not happening presently, nor has it been proven that it will happen in the foreseeable future. A point of fact regarding that fear; during the Plan Commission sessions from June to the present, no one ever factually demonstrated that the very few examples of the residential use of storefronts, two that were brought to the publicâ€™s attention, ever caused any disruption or loss of business to any retailer in the Business Historic District. The two isolated incidents, both legal, were the only two occurrences mentioned by the Commission in the entire history of New Harmony. Are there people lining up at the gates of New Harmony waiting to get in and spend thousands of dollars to convert storefronts into residences? You have two out of twenty-five business properties in use as a residence in the Business Historic District, according to Commission Chair Flanders.

Instead of focusing on the real issues that may be causing business losses in New Harmony, the closing of the Harmony Way Bridge, which caused a loss of 300,000 vehicles a year driving into or through our community, and the issue of too many part-time second-hand retail shops. They are caught up in a delusion of false fear. Theyâ€™ve caught that most dangerous of all diseases, â€œChicken Little Syndrome.â€

We donâ€™t really know what the condition of New Harmonyâ€™s businesses are. No one has been keeping or has ever developed a method of recording New Harmonyâ€™s Gross Domestic Product, the true measure of a communityâ€™s business health. Both Moodyâ€™s and The Posey County Economic Development Partnership have released the GDP numbers for 2010 to 2016 changes for Indiana, but nothing for New Harmony can be gleaned from those numbers. Interestingly, these GDP reports show Posey County with an increase in GDP of 19.5% from 2010 to 2016, 15.7% for Indiana, 16.9% for the U.S. and a dismal 9.5% for SW Indiana. So! Posey County, it

would seem, is flying. How about New Harmony? What do we really know? I asked Lynn Clark, President of the New Harmony Business Associates at the November Plan Commission meeting if anyone that she knew keeps a GDP on New Harmony, like they do on Posey County. Her answer: â€œI have no idea!â€

The new zoning law requiring the prohibition of first floor use of commercial property as a residence in the Business Historic District is totally unnecessary. It is a heavy-handed remedy for a problem that doesn’t exist. Zoning laws are a method of increasing power in the hands of bureaucrats. They are a direct violation of property rights. This one more than any I have ever seen or heard.

It is through the use of force, heavy fines and imprisonment, that the supporters of this change in Chapter 17, can specify how people can or cannot use their property. Having a residence in the Business Historic District does not in any way disrupt the business of its commercial neighbors. In fact, in some cases, it has been argued, it would enhance business in the district by increasing itâ€™s resident population.

I specifically asked Plan Commission Chair Flanders in the August meeting to explain to me which business or businesses were most adversely affected by the Goshâ€™s allowing their granddaughter to use the first floor of their commercial building on Main Street as her residence. Flandersâ€™ answer: â€œI donâ€™t know that there was any!â€ So here we have proof that the complaint that the use of commercial property for residence is an invalid complaint.

This Re-Zoning is unnecessarily arbitrary. It is non-objective arbitrary power held in the hands of a few. Eventually the power gets abused. The abuse occurs through bureaucrats deciding that they can better our lives through their own attempts at amateur urban planning. They zone and re-zone and violate the Rights of citizens, disrupting the lives of anyone who doesn’t fit into their scheme.

Citizens Rights are tightly bound into the concept of Property Rights. Property Rights were on the minds of our Nationâ€™s founders when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and declared that â€œWe the Peopleâ€ had a Right to the â€œPursuit of Happiness.â€ The Right to own and use our property as we saw fit, so long as it did not infringe on the Rights of our fellow citizens. There has not been any objective proof offered by the Plan Commission or its supporters that any personâ€™s Rights have been violated in New Harmony by the use of first floor storefronts for residential purposes, not since the inception of our town.

I have personally fought to keep this new ordinance change measure from becoming law. I do not believe that any American Right should be given up voluntarily without questioning the basis for the change or not having indisputable proof of its necessity. Though it may seem to be just a small Right, it is small as a small cog in the much larger clockwork of our Liberty is small. This amendment is bad law and a poor choice for the Town of New Harmony. Too many of our fellow citizens have given too much in our country to protect our Rights, just for us to acquiesce to the passage of bad laws, such as this one.

This law leaves itself open to political abuse. I was reading an article by writer Alan Ehrenhalt recently concerning the abuse of zoning laws. In the article Ehrenhalt describes his meeting with a county supervisor in Tucson, Arizona. Ehrenhaldt said, â€œMany years ago, I spent a morning in the Pima County Courthouse in Tucson, Arizona, talking politics with Conrad Joyner,

one of the County Supervisors. Joyner was running for Congress. I asked him if he expected to have any trouble raising money for his campaign. Joyner looked at me as if I had been born yesterday. â€œAre you kidding?â€ he said. â€œWith all the zoning cases Iâ€™ve got coming up on the County Board? â€œ Zoning laws are rife with abuse and should be avoided whenever possible. Use nuisance laws if necessary or establish guidelines inside the Business Association, but avoid unnecessary zoning laws.

Once again, I urge the New Harmony Town Council to reject the change in the current Chapter 17 Ordinances. Letâ€™s not go down this path!

FOOTNOTE: This letter is posted by the City County Observer without bias, opinion or editing.

AG Curtis Hill Announces Expansion Of Human Trafficking Investigations Unit

01/16/2018

As the nation marks Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill today announced the expansion of the Office of the Indiana Attorney General Investigations Division’s Human Trafficking Investigations Unit (HTIU).

The HTIU works to:

raise public awareness of human trafficking;
educate Hoosiers on how to address human trafficking in local communities;
collaborate with schools, teachers and students to spread knowledge of at-risk factors and recruitment techniques â€“ and how to report warning signs;
alert employers and businesses in industries prone to human trafficking to the signs and effects of this crime; and
work with county prosecutors and law enforcement at all levels — local, state and federal — to fight these crimes affecting communities statewide.

The Attorney General is assigning additional investigators and attorneys to this unit who possess extensive law enforcement experience. They include former police officers and prosecutors, all of whom who will provide educational, investigative and prosecution support to private and public agencies throughout Indiana. Beyond catching and prosecuting criminals, the unit also aims to prevent the occurrence of further human trafficking activity and the suffering it brings to individuals and communities.

â€œThe predators engaging in this deplorable criminal activity need to know they will be sought out, captured and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,â€ said Attorney General Hill. “Victims trapped in this illegal enterprise who are desperate for a better way of life need to know there is help and hope.â€

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center can be reached at 1-888-373-7888. The organization listsÂ tips on its website intended to help citizens recognize possible warning signs of human trafficking so they can notify authorities anytime they believe they have spotted victims in need of aid.

Human trafficking — whether labor trafficking or sex trafficking — is one of the largest and fastest-growing criminal industries in the world, just behind the drug trade. In the United States, statistics suggest 71 percent of labor trafficking victims entered the United States on lawful visas. Further, 83 percent of sex trafficking victims are U.S. citizens. Both forms of human trafficking recruit from marginalized groups: labor trafficking from immigrant populations and sex trafficking from women and children. The typical age of children pulled into commercial sex is as young as 12 to 14. Research indicates that individuals who have been previously traumatized as children or adults are at an increased risk for re-victimization, exploitation and other manipulation.

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