Home Blog Page 4543

Adopt A Pet

0

Cassie is an 11-year-old female tuxedo cat. Her biggest quirk is that she can be very shy. She spent some time in foster care with an experienced VHS volunteer learning to warm up. Now she’s doing better, and in fact that volunteer visits her often and you might catch them snuggling together in the lobby reading a book! Cassie’s adoption fee is only $30, or free for any senior citizen 70+ through the VHS Senior Pets program. Contact Vanderburgh Humane at (812) 426-2563 for details!

Torres Retires In Wake Of Fourth Broken Neck

0
 Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017 — Having returned from four broken necks to compete at a top level, Ellis Park and Indiana Grand regular Francisco Torres said Saturday morning that he is retiring from the saddle after 32 years to pursue another career in horse racing.
The catalyst came Nov. 23 — a month after Torres’ return from fractured and dislocated cervical vertebrae and a fractured tailbone — when his Thanksgiving Day Handicap mount suffered a catastrophic leg fracture in mid-stretch. While Torres was able to pull the horse up, he still came off and sustained body soreness, though returning to ride the rest of the long holiday weekend.
“It’s time for me to walk away, and I literally mean walk away,” the 48-year-old Torres, who has four children and four grandchildren, said by phone while driving from Indiana to New Orleans with fiancee Joy Haddock. “I don’t want to be rolled around in a wheelchair for the rest of my life or dead. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career, and it’s time to go on with the second chapter of my life.”
Torres, the leading rider at Ellis Park in 1997, long has been a fan favorite at Ellis Park and Indiana Grand, known for his interaction with fans. Among his 3,194 career victories include taking Ellis’ Grade 3 Gardenia (now known as the Groupie Doll) with Lines of Beauty in 1999 and in 1992 with Bungalow).
Torres, whose first broken neck came in 1991, retires with purse earnings of $68,844,983 in North America, not counting a stint riding in Saudi Arabia. His 21 graded-stakes wins include Turfway Park’s $600,000, Grade 2 Spiral Stakes with Globalize in 2000 and the last coming in Churchill Downs’ Grade 3 Louisville Handicap aboard Bullards Alley in 2016.
During a career that started in 1986, Torres also won riding titles at Arlington Park (2012), Hawthorne Race Course (2012), Turfway Park (1999) and at the now-defunct Balmoral racetrack. He rode twice in the Kentucky Derby, as well as in the Preakness Stakes and Breeders’ Cup. He also played jockey Braulio Baeza in the ESPN movie “Ruffian” in 2007.
Torres says his immediate hope is to become a jockey agent, lining up the mounts for and working with what he would like to be an apprentice whom he can mentor. Living in Louisville, Torres said he’d like to stay on his circuit of New Orleans’ Fair Grounds in the winter and rest of year at Kentucky tracks and Indiana Grand.
“I think I can help someone, if I can get a young rider that I can teach as we go along,” he said.
Torres — who always took time to interact with the public —also wants at some point to attend stewards school to get accredited as a racing official. Born in Mexico and raised Chicago, Torres quit school more than 30 years ago to become a jockey but now is close to completing his GED. That’s a goal he made while mending from his latest broken neck and something he wants after years of stressing to his kids and grandkids the importance of education.
The jockey sustained his last broken neck in a spill at the Fair Grounds last March 30. The damaged vertebrae were repaired with eight screws and a titanium plate, and Torres returned on Oct. 24 at Indiana Grand to win his first race back. But when the jockey’s mount, Mesoma, suffered a catastrophic leg fracture in midstretch of the Fair Grounds’ Thanksgiving Day Handicap, Torres says he began rethinking the wisdom of continuing as a jockey. Even so, he rode the remainder of the holiday weekend, including earning his 28th victory in his brief comeback, before taking time off to reflect.
Torres’ neck is fused from his C2 through C7 vertebrae from his various surgeries. While he had no neurological damage and received medical clearance to ride, he acknowledged that his surgeon, Dr. Abhishek Kumar, advised against resuming his dangerous profession.
“They suggested I didn’t return to ride, just because my shot of being paralyzed (in another mishap) was extremely high,” Torres said. “But I wasn’t ready. My heart was still in it. Seventy-five percent of the people didn’t think I’d come back, and the other 25 percent didn’t believe I could come back. I told Joy I still wanted it. When you have a bad spill, it can be another two years or a year down the road before you endure another one. Mine came sooner than I expected. It came on Thanksgiving Day. The next couple of horses I rode, it was in my mind, ‘What if the next horse breaks its leg and I’m not as fortunate?’ I’d pushed the envelope already too many times. Four broken necks, and that’s just the worst of my injuries.
“I realized that I’ve got grandkids, kids, Joy. I’ve got people depending on me. I’ve got a lot to live for, and a lot to give back. The industry has been great to me and my career. I’ve been through, done things, that a lot of riders wished they could do. I believe it was God’s way, telling me, ‘I’ve given you a wonderful career. Time to move on.’ I’ve been at this 35 years. It’s time to give back. I’m going to try to move on with my life on the racetrack. Because it is my life.”
Haddock, who has been to countless hospitals and doctor appointments with Torres over the years, is thrilled with decision.
“I guess God let Cisco go out there again because in his heart wasn’t done,” she said. “If he hadn’t, he would always be thinking, ‘I should have given it another shot.’ It’s just so amazing to me how Cisco had no second thoughts at all about going back to riding, when his kids and I tried every which way to get him to not go back. I finally said, ‘It’s not up to us. You have made up your mind.’ So all we could do then was to support him. We would just pray and pray that God would take care of him.
“It’s really weird how God works. Now Cisco sees it the way the rest of us do: by God’s grace he didn’t get injured.”

Police Merit Commission 12-11-17 Meeting Agenda

0

EVANSVILLE POLICE MERIT COMMISSION

MEETING AGENDA

Monday, December 11, 2017

2:00 p.m.  Room 307, Civic Center Complex

  1. EXECUTIVE SESSION:
  1. An executive session and a closed hearing will be held prior to the open session.
  1. The executive session and hearing are closed as provided by:
  1. I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(5): To receive information about and interview prospective employees.
  2. I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(6)(A): With respect to any individual over whom the governing body has jurisdiction to receive information concerning the individual’s alleged misconduct.
  3. I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(9): To discuss a job performance evaluation of individual employees.  This subdivision does not apply to a discussion of the salary, compensation, or benefits of employees during a budget process.
  1. OPEN SESSION:
  1. CALL TO ORDER
  1. ACKNOWLEDGE GUESTS
  1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
    1. November 13, 2017  (Hegeman, Cook, and Scott)
  1. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS
  1. PROBATIONARY OFFICER UPDATE:
    1. Sergeant Steve Kleeman – 15 officers in field training
  1. COMMISSION ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS:
    1. Establish meeting dates and times for 2018.
  1. NEW DISCIPLINARY MATTERS:
    1. 17-PO-18 – Officer Raymond Holden, Badge Number 1335 – 3 day suspension.  No appeal filed.
    2. 17-PO-19 – Officer Joshua Doane, Badge Number 1349 – Written Reprimand. No appeal filed.
  1. REMINDERS:  The scheduled meeting for Monday, December 25th is cancelled for the holiday.  The next scheduled meeting will be Monday, January 8, 2018, with the Executive Session beginning at 2:00pm.

 

  1. ADJOURNMENT

Eagles Set Top Five Marks At UIndy

0

University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field opened their indoor season Friday night at the UIndy Winter Break Meet in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Despite finishing in sixth out of six runners, freshman Andrew Pierce (Muncie, Indiana) ran the second fastest 60-meter dash in school history in a time of 7.20 seconds. He also finished 11th in the 200-meters.

Two more sprinters moved into the top five of the USI record books with sophomore sprinter Calvin Sander(Jasper, Indiana) running the 200-meters in 23.59 seconds and freshman Dallace Jones (Indianapolis, Indiana) running the 400-meters in 52.38 seconds.

The Screaming Eagles were strong in the middle distance events, placing three runners in the top 10 of the 600-meters and finishing third in the 4×400 relay. Junior Almustapha Silvester (Indianapolis, Indiana) finished second, freshman Arie Macias (Godfrey, Illinois) fourth, and sophomore Demontrae Lapsley(Indianapolis, Indiana) seventh. The three teamed up with Jones for the relay.

In the field, senior Daniel Gibson (Normal, Illinois) placed fifth in the pole vault and 11th in the shot put.

USI’s distance runners did not compete at the event.

USI hits the track after the holiday break January 13 for the Gene Edmonds Open in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Rep. Messer Issues Statement on Spending Bill

0

U.S. Rep. Luke Messer (IN-06) issued the following statement today after voting for a spending resolution, which will fund the government through Dec. 22.

“I am no fan of this type of short-term continuing resolution, but the White House asked for my support and I was glad to give it,” Messer said. “Their hope is this continuing resolution will provide time for a path forward to fund our military and border security in a responsible manner.”

Men’s Basketball Holds Off Canisius, 65-58

0

Aces Improve To 8-2 On The Season 

Four days after setting his career mark with 25 points, sophomore Dru Smith poured in 17 to lead the University of Evansville men’s basketball team to a 65-58 win over Canisius on Saturday at the Ford Center.

Another great all-around effort saw Smith go 8-9 from the free throw line for UE (8-2) while posing six assists.  Blake Simmons finished with 12 points, four assists and three rebounds.  Dainius Chatkevicius led all players with nine rebounds and also had seven points.

“I was pleased with the result today,” UE head coach Marty Simmons said.  “Our guys really hung in there and showed real resilience and toughness and made enough plays to get the job done.”

Evansville shot 52.1% on the game while holding Canisius to 37.7%.  The Golden Griffins were just 6-of-33 from outside and were 6/9 from the line.  UE hit 22 free throws in 28 attempts.

“To me, this game was decided at the free throw line,” Blake Simmons said.  “We did a good job of not sending them to the line in the first half, but in the second half, we fouled a little too much.  John and K.J. knocking their free throws down were clutch.”

John Hall, who scored six points and had four rebounds hit two free throws in the final minute of the win.  He said that the team was prepared to defend the outside shot against the Golden Griffins.

“All week, the coaches said they were going to shoot plenty of 3’s no matter what part of the floor they were on,” he explained.  “Our defense held them in check.”

Jermaine Crumpton posted a team-high 14 points to lead the Golden Griffins (4-6) while Isaiah Reese notched 13.

Smith led everyone with 10 points in the first half, but it was Canisius who got on the board first.  The Golden Griffins scored the first four points of the game to take an early lead.  The Aces came back with six in a row before a pair of triples put Canisius back in front by a 10-6 margin at the 12 minute mark.

Marty Hill’s bucket ended the drought and sent UE on a 10-0 run that gave them a 16-10 advantage.  Five Aces found their way into the scorebook on the run.  Two free throws from Smith gave UE its largest lead at 21-12 with 6:11 on the clock.  Canisius rallied with a run of their own, scoring seven in a row to get back with a pair at 21-19, but the Aces found their groove in the final minute.  An 8-2 run to end the half set the lead at 31-23 going into halftime.

In the opening possession of the second half, Smith struck again.  The first 3-pointer of the day for the Purple Aces gave them the first double-digit advantage of the game at 34-23.  That was the first of seven in a row for UE to open up the second half and take a 38-23 lead.  Daniels Chatkevicius and Blake Simmons also had baskets in the run.

Isaiah Reese responded for Canisius, knocking down a pair of triples to spearhead a 9-0 run to get them back within six points with 15:14 left in the game.  Evansville was able to push lead back up to 10, but the Golden Griffins never gave up.  Trailing 52-43, they notched the next four to cut the deficit to five points.

A Chatkevicius free throw ended the stretch with under four minutes remaining, but a basket from Jermaine Crumpton on the ensuing possession made it a 53-49 game, the closest Canisius had been in the second half.  Crumpton added a free throw on the next trip down the floor to cut the UE lead to three, 53-50.

Smith played a pivotal role in putting a stop to the rally.  With just over two minutes on the clock, he knocked down both ends of a one-and-one to help the Aces regain a 2-possession lead.  After a Canisius miss, Evan Kuhlman connected on two more from the line as the lead was pushed to 57-50.

In a game that featured several runs by both squads, Canisius had one more push left.  Back-to-back field goals got them right back in the game at 57-54 with 1:24 left.  After Smith knocked down two more free throws, Crumpton struck again for the Griffs.  His second from long range made it even closer – 59-57.

From that point on, the Aces put the game on ice, going 6-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to clinch the 65-58 victory.

Two home games are up for the Aces next weekend, starting on Saturday when the squad welcomes Austin Peay for a 3 p.m. game.  On Sunday, UE takes on Midway in another 3 p.m. tilt at the Ford Center.

 

Two-Year-Old Princess Nyeela Carter And Seven-Month-Old Prince Nolan Carter Are Put To Rest Today

0
Funeral services were held today for two children who were killed in a deadly crash in Evansville. Two-year-old Princess Nyeela Carter and seven-month-old Prince Nolan Carter services were held today at Memorial Baptist Church.
Musical selection was by Gina Moore, Memorial Praise Team provided those in attendance with upbuilding gospel songs, and a moving eulogy by giving by Pastor Adrian M. Brooks Sr.
On November 29th, 26-year-old Fredrick McFarland was involved in a police pursuit when he slammed into a car that Princess and Prince were inside of, killing both children.
Their parents, Janae Carter and Terrence Barker, sustained injuries in the collision. Barker is still in critical condition.
McFarland was also injured in the crash and remains in the hospital.

The two children leave behind their parents, grandma Sara and Papa Dwayne Johnson and grandparents Kent Carter and Timothy and Geneva G. Hicks Barker, aunts and uncles, and their extended family.

Both toddlers were buried at Oak Hill Cemetery earlier this afternoon following an emotional grave side services.  Osborne Funeral Home was in charge of all arrangements. Boone Funeral provided the carriage to transport the toddlers to their final resting place.

New Owners Hope To Open Vacant Alhambra Theater As Entertainment Space

0

DECEMBER 8TH, 2017 Jeff Goldberg JEFF GOLDBERG EVANSVILLE, INDIANA

 Opened in 1913, the Alhambra Theater is a beautiful piece of the resurgent Haynie’s Corner Arts District. The façade has been kept up over the years as multiple organizations have attempted to revive the historic theater, but yet no one has been able to renovate the theater space which was closed in 1956.

A new pair of owners feel like they have the stuff to restore the glory the Alhambra Theater, and at least one of them has the history to back that up. Ken Haynie III and Aaron Kendall announced Friday that they have taken over ownership from the Arts Council of Southwest Indiana. At least one of the pair of FC Tucker realtors should sound familiar. Ken Haynie’s great-great grandfather is George Haynie – the namesake of Haynie’s Corner.

The Alhambra theater has seen better days. The inside is simply just a shell, without much to speak of. The new owners are working with a couple of design teams to create an entertainment space, instead of a theater. Ken says he imagines the space as a perfect place for anything from a wedding ceremony to a business meeting.

The project will take some time. Haynie says everything on the inside will need to be redone. And while the pair promise to move quickly on renovations, they do plan on doing their due diligence and won’t rush through the process.

Jeff Goldberg

Jeff Goldberg

Comments

Aces Return To Meeks To Battle Morehead State

0

Following a three-game road trip, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team returns to Meeks Family Fieldhouse for a matchup with Morehead State at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

Fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to Sunday’s game for the Aces’ Teddy Bear Toss. Those who bring a stuffed animal will receive $3 tickets to the game and have the opportunity to toss the teddy bears at halftime of the game with the fan whose toss comes the closest winning a Purple Aces prize pack. All teddy bears donated during the event will be donated to The Arc of Evansville Child Life Center and hand-delivered to children at the center by the women’s basketball team. The Child Life Center (CLC) provides high-quality programs in an inclusive environment for children ages six weeks to six years, both with and without disabilities, by nurturing their social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth.

The Purple Aces are coming off a 100-62 loss on the road at No. 20 Kentucky on Tuesday night. In the first quarter, the Wildcats sprinted out to a 19-0 advantage before graduate guard Hannah Noe knocked-down a triple to put the Aces on the board. Following the opening period, Evansville rebounded in the second and third quarters, out-scoring Kentucky in the third frame, 22-20. Noe led the Aces with 23 points, her third 20+ point outing in the first seven games of her Evansville career.

Noe has impressed early in her Aces’ career, leading the MVC in scoring average (18.9 ppg), three-pointers made per game (4.00), total three-pointers made (28), and three-point attempts (63). Inside the arc, the Aces are getting it done from the charity stripe, as well, shooting 77.9% from the line, the top percentage in the MVC and 11th-best in the nation.

Morehead State enters Sunday’s showdown with a 6-3 overall record, currently boasting a four-game winning streak. Sunday’s meeting the fourth all-time contest between the two sides with Evansville earning victories in all three previous matchups. The last time UE and Morehead State met was on November 19, 2007 when the Aces captured a 78-67 win over the Eagles in Morehead, Kentucky. In that game, the Aces’ Courtney Felke broke the program record for three-pointers in a single game by knocking down eight against the Eagles. MSU represents the fourth of five teams Evansville will face this season from the Ohio Valley Conference with the Aces holding a 1-2 record against the OVC in 2017.

Sunday will be a homecoming of sorts for Morehead State assistant coach Todd Mitmesser who spent three seasons as an assistant with the Purple Aces from 2005 to 2008, including being on the staff when Evansville captured the 2007-08 MVC Championship.

EPD ACTIVITY REPORT

0

EPD REPORT

1...4,5424,5434,544...7,298Page 4,543 of 7,298