http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx
IS IT TRUE OCTOBER 19, 2017
We hope that todays “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?â€
IS IT TRUE that the truth is finally being leaked out by the powers that be about just how expensive it is about to be to live in Evansville, Indiana?…an official for the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility actually admitted that a customer will be paying about $300 more in 2017 that they did in 2016 for the exact same service?…that corresponds to a 26% price increase in a single year and another 16% increase is coming next year?…water rate increases are on tap for 2019, 2020, and 2021 as well which will have Evansville well on the way to having the highest water bills with respect to the average wage in the United States?…the necessary action of replacing some of the 600 miles of decrepit water pipes that are made of cast iron and are over 90 years old is what makes these exorbitant price increases necessary?
IS IT TRUE that this is not as a result of fixing the BILLION DOLLAR SEWER problems?…this is just about replacing pipes that should have been replaced when the baby boomers were teenagers?…by the time the BILLION DOLLAR SEWER issues are all corrected the average water and sewer bill in Evansville will land somewhere north of $250 per month?…coupling that with Vectren bills that are the highest in the state with respect to the average wage, any money that may be saved by having affordable housing will be eaten up by the cost of utilities?…that when the utility bills for a modest home average $1,000 per month that is about what it cost to make a payment on a $250,000 house?…between these highly inflated utility bills and the runaway costs of health insurance and deductibles which now averages over $20,000 per year for a family of four that doesn’t get a subsidy, economic life in Evansville, Indiana, USA is getting out of hand?
IS IT TRUE that all of these runaway costs are a direct result of decades of elected officials failing to provide adequate stewardship over the infrastructure of Vanderburgh County and the City of Evansville?…we take this opportunity to remind you that the taxpayers of Vanderburgh County will be hit with a 20% increase in local income taxes to go along with that 26% increase in water and sewer bills, and another Vectren rate increase?…this all happened in a year that the average wage increase is closer to 2.5%?…as a late great professor from the University of Evansville once said, “come the revolution all of this $%#!  will cease? the obsession with fun and games is what has led the sheep to this unsustainable abyss?
IS IT TRUE we are hearing that the unnamed Evansville City Council member who requested that the Evansville City Controller, Russ Lloyd Jr provide him with an accounting  breakdown of Invoices and Unrecorded Liabilities for 2015, 2016 and 2017 is really causing the Winnecke administration a great deal of stress?  …the unnamed Evansville City Council member requested information that had to do with: 1) Account Payable Open Items Reports for 2015-2017. 2) Accrued Compensation Hours for Police and Fire Employees as of Aug 16-18, 2017. 3) Accounting Notes reports for 12/31/2016 and for the City of Evansville and other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) as prescribed by GASB 45 actuarial calculation of retired employees health insurance liability. 4) Also provided to city officials were the accounting notes for the City of Evansville concerning the (PERF) Public Employees Retirement Fund of which Evansville participates in?  …we are told that the unnamed City Council member is thinking about giving copies of these reports to the general public?
IS IT TRUE  that the highly respected fiscal conservative Richard Clements is now the Vice President of Commercial Lending for the Evansville State Bank?  …if Vanderburh County  GOP chairman Wayne Parke would had supported Mr. Clements for the Evansville City Council he won’t be having the problem with the “Tax and Spend” City Councilman Dan McGinn (I)?  …in case you may have forgotten Mr. Clements was a key player in helping to defeat the City/County consolidation effort?
IS IT TRUE Channel 25 News reported during their 10:00 P M news cast last night that 1st Ward Evansville City Councilman Dan McGinn resigned from the local Republican party? Â …they also did a quick interview with local GOP Chairman Wayne Parke concerning this issue? Â …we would like to respectfully point out to the people at Channel 25 News department that this subject was reported in the City County Observer on October 14, 2017?
IS IT TRUE we are told if Mayor Winnecke isn’t happy with the way that local GOP Chairman Wayne Parke has handled the Dan McGiin issue he has no authority to replace Mr. Parke as Chairman?
IS IT TRUE we would like to thank Vanderburgh Chief Deputy County Prosecuting Attorney Gary James Schutte II for doing one heck of a job for the citizens of Vanderburgh County? Â …Vanderburgh County Prosecuting Attorney Nick Hermann should be very thankful that Mr. Schutte is around to watch his blind side?
IS IT TRUE since the son of the former United States Congressman John Hostettler, Matt Hosettler announced that he shall be running for to soon to be vacated State House of Representative seat presently held by Thomas Washburne his campaign has really begun to take off?  …its now obvious that the President of the Vanderburgh County Commission, Bruce Ungethiem is now facing the biggest challenge in his political career when he takes on Matt Hostetter in the District 64 State Representative Republican primary?
IS IT TRUE that the Vanderburgh County Council passed a “Wheel Tax” by a 5-2 vote? … that many area conservatives now considered them to be “Tax And Spend” liberal?  …Democrats Mike Goebel and Stephanie Terry voted against the tax increase?  …we thought that Democrats were considered to be “Tax And Spend” liberals?
Todays READERS POLL question is: Do you feel that the taxpayers of Vanderburgh County are finally getting tired of the “Tax And Spend” attitude of our local elected officials?
Please take time and read our newest feature articles entitled “LAW ENFORCEMENT, READERS POLL, BIRTHDAYS, HOT JOBS†and “LOCAL SPORTS†posted in our sections.  You now are able to subscribe to get the CCO daily.
If you would like to advertise in the CCO please contact us City-County Observer@live.com.
EDITOR’S FOOTNOTE:  Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City County Observer or our advertisers
Application Period For Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program Announced
Channel 44 News: Application Period For Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program Announced
OCTOBER 18TH, 2017Â 
TYRONE MORRISÂ KENTUCKY
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has opened the application period for the Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program.
Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles says he is proud to have made that announcement as more than 3,200 acres of hemp were grown this year, the most ever under the Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program.
Industrial hemp is one of several alternative crops that have made its way into Kentucky’s agricultural economy in recent years.
In 2017, Kentucky’s farmers planted 3,200 acres of hemp, up from 2,350 acres in 2016, 922 acres in 2015, and 33 acres in 2014, the first year of the program.
Grower applications must be postmarked or received by 4:30 p.m., November 15th. Processor/Handler applications are preferred by November 15th with a final deadline of June 1st.
Applications can be downloaded from the KDA website. To download applications, click here.
Justices Affirm Evansville SWAT Drug Arrest That Split COA
Dave Stafford fr www.theindianalawyer.com
The Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously affirmed drug convictions against an Evansville man who challenged a “military-style†SWAT team raid on his house that turned up cocaine, marijuana and prescription painkillers. The convictions previously were reversed in a divided opinion of the Indiana Court of Appeals that was vacated when justices granted transfer.
Mario Watkins was convicted of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance as a lesser-included Class A misdemeanor, possession of cocaine as a Level 6 felony, possession of a schedule IV controlled substance as a lesser-included Class A misdemeanor, possession of marijuana as a lesser-included Class B misdemeanor, and maintaining a common nuisance as a Level 6 felony.
He was charged after Evansville police acted on a tip from a longtime informant that there were drugs and a gun in Watkins’ house. Police got a search warrant, staked out and observed the house, and developed a plan to execute the warrant. They raided the house in multiple directions using a battering ram and a “flash-bang†grenade that was deployed in a room where only a nine-month-old boy was laying under a blanket in a playpen.
A majority of a Court of Appeals panel found the search unreasonable under Litchfield v. State, 824 N.E.2d 356. The majority opinion written by Judge Elaine Brown held that law enforcement needs for a military-style assault in this case were low and the degree of intrusion unreasonably high.
But justices aligned with the COA dissent of Judge Melissa May in affirming the trial court.
“We hold that the totality-of-the-circumstances Litchfield test — a test applied hundreds of times in our courts — remains well-suited to assess reasonableness under Article 1, Section 11. See Simons v. Simons, 566 N.E.2d 551, 557 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991) (“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!â€). Applying that test here, we find that the search warrant execution was not unreasonable,†Chief Justice Loretta Rush wrote for the court.
Under these circumstances, police noticed activity at the house consistent with drug dealing, they corroborated the informant’s tip, and they had reason to believe executing the warrant could be dangerous. The court also held that while the degree of intrusion was high, police carefully tailored their tactics.
However, the court rejected the state’s argument that “the courts should not second-guess officers,†as Rush wrote in Mario Watkins v. State of Indiana, 82S01-1704-CR-191.
“The Litchfield test continues to serve us well, so we decline the State’s invitation to replace it with an unprecedented ‘no reasonable officer’ test for search warrant executions,” Rush wrote. “Under the totality of the circumstances, the search warrant execution at Watkins’s house did not violate Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. And the search warrant affidavit survives our deferential Fourth Amendment review because it provided a substantial basis for the probable cause finding. We therefore affirm the trial court.â€
The court also cautioned that police use of “flash-bang†grenades that have drawn rebukes from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, including a judgment against Evansville police in a prior case, could spoil an investigation.
“(F) lash-bang grenades should be the exception in search warrant executions. Their extraordinary degree of intrusion will in many cases make a search constitutionally unreasonable,†Rush wrote. “And we have serious concerns about officers here setting off a flash-bang grenade when the only person in the room was a nine-month-old. Ultimately though, this search warrant execution — under Litchfield’s totality-of-the-circumstances test — did not violate our Constitution’s search-and-seizure protections.â€
St. Vincent Evansville Birth Announcements for week of October 18, 2017
JoAnna and Matthew Przymus, Fort Branch, IN, daughter, Lenora Jo, Oct. 9
Christine and Chase Emge, Evansville, daughter, Emmalyn Rae, Oct. 10
Jennifer Robinson, Owensville, IN, daughter, Willow Christine, Oct. 10
Melanie Moore and Jeremny Crane, Mount Carmel, IN, daughter, Jessie Raye, Oct. 10
Shannon Jarnagin and Zachary Williams, Chandler, IN, son, Ozzy Zachariah John, Oct. 10
Ann and Christopher Cunningham, Newburgh, son, Albert Dwayne, Oct. 11
Billie and Matthew Walker, Evansville, son, Warren Robert, Oct. 11
Shawna Franks and Derek Smith, Evansville, daughter, Penny Lane, Oct. 11
Shawna Franks and Derek Smith, Evansville, daughter, Emmory Nicole, Oct. 11
Alyssa Belwood and Tyler Huggins, Evansville, son, Kaedyn Scott, Oct. 12
Amy and John Hayden, Owensboro, KY, daughter, Hope Isabella, Oct. 13
Amy and John Hayden, Owensboro, KY, son, Austin Keith, Oct. 13
Erin and Matt Schriefer, Evansville, daughter, Emily Carmen, Oct. 13
Maria Mendizabal and Shawn Hawkins, Evansville, son, Oliver Shawn, Oct. 13
Shannon and Mark Clayton, Evansville, son, Jack Anthony, Oct. 13
Andrea and Alexander Narang, Newburgh, daughter, Amelia Jean, Oct. 14
Courtney Long and Christopher Risley, Freelandville, IN, son, Cohen Todd, Oct. 15
Working Together Awards And Reception!
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Stockwell Students to Participate in Earthquake Preparedness Event
Today,9 students at Stockwell Elementary School will participate in the Indiana Geological Survey’s Quake Cottage program. The Quake Cottage mimics the shaking experienced during earthquakes that have magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 7.0. It allows students to learn about the science of earthquakes as well as how to take steps to protect themselves for an earthquake. The event is part of the Great American Shakeout taking place worldwide tomorrow that encourages individuals to practice earthquake safety.
Governor Holcomb’s Public Schedule for October 19
Thursday, October 19, 2017: Indiana State Police 77th Recruit Graduation
WHO:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gov. Holcomb
Various state and local officials
WHAT:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Indiana State Police 77th Recruit Graduation
WHEN:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 5 p.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 19
WHERE:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Indiana Statehouse Atrium
200 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Â
Thursday, October 19, 2017: Mary Tucker Jasper Speaker Series
WHO:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gov. Holcomb
WHAT:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Mary Tucker Jasper Speaker Series
WHEN:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7 p.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 19
WHERE:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The Conrad
50 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
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