Because of adverse weather, Ellis Park has canceled today’s remaining races, the fourth through ninth, to take every precaution for the safety of jockeys and horses.
The track remains open for simulcast wagering and gambling on the Historical Horse Racing terminals.
Those with reserved seats can contact Ellis Park’s admissions or group sales offices to reschedule for any remaining day of the meet at no cost.
Divided COA Upholds Multiple ‘Serious Violent Felon’ Firearm Convictions
Olivia  Covington for www.theindianalawyer.com
An Indiana trial court did not err in convicting a man on multiple counts of being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm because existing Indiana case law allows multiple SVF convictions for each firearm that is possessed, a divided Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
In Arrion Walton v. State of Indiana, 79A04-1604-CR-768, Arrion Walton sold drugs to a confidential informant with the Tippecanoe County Drug Task Force on five separate occasions. Then, police conducted searches on two apartments Walton was renting in the same building and found cocaine and multiple handguns.
Walton was then charged with five counts of dealing in cocaine related to the five controlled buys, as well as the lesser-included offense of possession of cocaine. Walton was charged with six additional counts related to the search of his apartments, including felony dealing in cocaine – possession with intent to deliver, felony possession of cocaine and two counts unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, among other counts. Walton was also accused of being a habitual offender based on prior convictions.
After being found guilty as charged, Walton was sentenced to 34 years for the convictions related to the controlled buys and 30 years for those related to the searches, for an aggregate of 64 years. Walton appealed, arguing that his two serious violent felon convictions violate double jeopardy protections under Article 1, Section 14 of the Indiana Constitution.
But in a Friday opinion, Indiana Court of Appeals Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik, writing for the majority, pointed out one of Walton’s SVF convictions was based on the handguns found in the upstairs apartment, while the other was based on the handgun found downstairs. Thus, his double jeopardy claim fails, Vaidik wrote, relying on the case of Taylor v. State, 929 N.E.2d 912 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010).
However, in a dissenting opinion, Judge Mark Bailey wrote the SVF statute, Indiana Code 35-47-4-5, is ambiguous in that it does not expressly say whether separate convictions for possession of each firearm is permitted. Thus, Bailey said he would interpret the statute so that the phrase “possesses a firearm†means that the possession of multiple firearms amounts to one offense.
“Here…the legislature did not provide for elevation of the instant offense based on the quantity of firearms in possession, just as the legislature did not elevate the offense of underage possession of alcohol based on the quantity possessed,†Bailey wrote. “Yet, just because the legislature created an elevation framework for certain offenses and not for other offenses, it does not necessarily follow that, here, the legislature intended to create a distinct punishable offense for each item of contraband.â€
Vaidik, however, rejected the notion that Taylor was wrongly decided and instead wrote that if the General Assembly “had intended to allow only a single possession conviction regardless of the number of firearms possessed, it could have used the phrases ‘possesses one or more firearms’ or ‘possesses any firearm.’â€
The majority then went on the find, sua sponte, that Walton’s convictions of dealing in cocaine with intent to deliver and possession of cocaine cannot both stand because “a defendant cannot be convicted on two counts of drug possession based on two quantities of drugs simultaneously possessed in two closely related locations.†Thus, the majority remanded the case to the trial court to vacate the possession conviction.
Further, the majority agreed that running Walton’s sentences related to the controlled buys and apartment searches consecutively is inappropriate, as the additional drug-related convictions are supported by evidence from the controlled buys. Thus, the majority remanded the case for the imposition of a 42-year sentence – 34 years on a Level 2 felony dealing count and eight years on the SVF counts, with all other sentences running concurrently.
Bailey wrote in his dissent that he would instruct the trial court to vacate the lesser-included offenses due to errors, but agreed the drug-related sentences should run concurrently. However, Bailey also wrote he would defer to the trial court to determine resentencing.
  In response to new federally mandated rules on natural gas storage field safety, Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana – South (Vectren) has filed a plan with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to enact enhanced safety measures needed for compliant operation of the three storage fields in its Vectren South territory in southwestern Indiana.
“Vectren has always been highly focused upon safety and reliability of our energy systems, and today’s filing is to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to enhance the safety systems of our natural gas storage fields to ensure compliance with new federal regulations,†said Brad Ellsworth, president of Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana – South.
To ensure that natural gas is available to all of our customers, even during periods of peak demand, Vectren has developed storage reservoirs that are unique underground warehouses which provide a ready supply of gas in times of peak demand. Storage reservoirs permit pipelines to operate at or near their design capacity throughout the year. During summer months, when pipeline capacity exceeds customer demand, natural gas is injected into the storage fields. During the winter months, when customer demand exceeds pipeline capacity, gas is withdrawn from storage facilities. Vectren’s storage fields are located in Knox, Posey and Warrick counties.
Under the terms of the Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) rule, Vectren has developed a formal storage field integrity management program, which includes the updating of environmental protocols, enhanced storage field training and operator qualification programs and ongoing assessment of the condition of its storage assets. This $14 million program, if approved by the IURC, should have minimal bill impact to customers, approximately $0.80 per month, and will likely become effective in the summer of 2018. In the past, system modifications mandated by PHMSA as well as other Federal mandates, have been recovered through regulatory recovery mechanisms established by Indiana Senate Bill 251.
Even with this small incremental increase, natural gas bills continue to be significantly less compared to historic highs experienced prior to 2010 thanks to low, stable natural gas prices. Last year, the average annual gas bill was around $540. In the late 2000s, for example, customers saw annual bills that totaled nearly $1,000. As a reminder, Vectren South has among the lowest natural gas rates in the state. As of January 2017, Vectren South was in position #17 out of 18 companies; with #18 being the lowest natural gas company.
“A plan to comply with the new rule must be in place by January of 2018,†continued Ellsworth. “Due to the current safety plans already in place Vectren’s compliance with the new rule will be able to be achieved in an affordable manner for customers.â€
The modern conception is very different. Government has become Big Brother. Its function has become to protect the citizen, not merely from his fellows, but from himself, whether he wants to be protected or not. Government is not simply an umpire but an active participant, entering into every nook and cranny of social and economic activity. All this, in order to promote the high-minded goals of “fairness,†“justice,†“equality.â€
Does this not constitute progress? A move toward a more humane society? Quite the contrary. When “fairness†replaces “freedom,†all our liberties are in danger. In Walden, Thoreau says: “If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.†That is the way I feel when I hear my “servants†in Washington assuring me of the “fairness†of their edicts.
There is no objective standard of “fairness.†“Fairness†is strictly in the eye of the beholder. If speech must be fair, then it cannot also be free; someone must decide what is fair. A radio station is not free to transmit unfair speech as judged by the bureaucrats at the Federal Communications Commission. If the printed press were subject to a comparable “fairness doctrine,†it would have to be controlled by a government bureau and our vaunted free press would soon become a historical curiosity.
What is true for speech where the conflict is perhaps clearest is equally true for every other area. To a producer or seller, a “fair†price is a high price. To the buyer or consumer, a “fair†price is a low price. How is the conflict to be adjudicated? By competition in a free market? Or by government bureaucrats in a “fair†market?
Businessmen who sing the glories of free enterprise and then demand “fair†competition are enemies, not friends, of free markets. To them, “fair†competition is a euphemism for a price-fixing agreement. They are exemplifying Adam Smith’s remark that “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.†For consumers, the more “unfair†the competition, the better. That assures lowest prices and highest quality.
Is then the search for “fairness†all a mistake? Not at all. There is a real role for fairness, but that role is in constructing general rules and adjudicating disputes about the rules, not in determining the outcome of our separate activities. That is the sense in which we speak of a “fair†game and “fair†umpire. If we applied the present doctrine of “fairness†to a football game, the referee would be required after each play to move the ball backward or forward enough to make sure that the game ended in a draw!
Our Founding Fathers designed a fair Constitution to protect human freedom. In Thomas Jefferson’s ringing phrases from the Declaration of Independence, “Governments are instituted among Men … to secure … certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.â€
This piece originally appeared in the July 4, 1977 issue of Newsweek and was reprinted in Bright Promises, Dismal Performances: An Economist’s Protest, a collection of his articles. Copyright 1983 by Thomas Horton and Daughters, 26662 South New Town Drive, Sun Lakes, AZ 85224. Reprinted by permission.
Adding blinkers, filly earned first win day before co-owner Bert Klein died.
‘She just didn’t pan out early on, but she’s coming into her own,’ Cox says
Owner Richard Klein and trainer Brad Cox are swinging for the fences with Pinch Hit in the $100,000 Groupie Doll Stakes on Aug. 13 at Ellis Park.
The 3-year-old filly comes in off two impressive allowance victories, by a gritty nose at Churchill Downs and then by six lengths at Ellis Park at the Grade 3 Groupie Doll’s mile distance.
Pinch Hit is one of several fillies who aren’t stakes-winners but come into the Groupie Doll in great form. Pinch Hit has run very well since blinkers were added four races back, when after two double-digit drubbings in maiden races, she was dropped in for a $40,000 maiden-claiming race and promptly won. That was followed by a narrow defeat in a $50,000 claiming race, which was followed by her two victories.
“She’ll get some weight and she’s training well,†Klein said. “She likes that track. We’re taking a shot. What if she wakes up and wins it? Maybe our horse is just getting confidence and who knows how good she could be?â€
There could be more than blinkers at play with Pinch Hit.
Cox really liked the filly even before she ran, predicting to Klein that Pinch Hit would be their horse for Churchill Downs’ Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes on Derby weekend and saying, “She shows me everything.â€
But after she was second last fall in her first start, Pinch Hit whiffed in losing by 13 and10 lengths in New Orleans. “We all got kind of down on her, and Brad said, ‘She trains too good in the morning to do this,’†Klein said.
Still, he thought it might be time to sell Pinch Hit’s dam, the multiple stakes-winner Change Up.
“We were thinking Change Up was going to be one of our better broodmares, and she really hadn’t developed into a good one for us. I asked Fred Mitchell, ‘Is it time I get rid of her?’†he said of the owner of Clarkland Farm, where Klein has his family’s broodmares. He said, ‘We should probably a look at that. She’s well-bred and she’s getting older. Just go ahead and move her out.’ That was our plan.â€
Change Up still could be sold. But not Pinch Hit.
The day after her first win March 23  at Arkansas’ Oaklawn Park, Klein’s father died. Bert Klein was a prominent Louisville banker, businessman and philanthropist who had enjoyed great success in owning and breeding horses with his late wife, Elaine, and Richard.
“It was the last race my father was alive for when we ran a horse,†Klein said. “He was at the Episcopal Home in Louisville. After the horse won, I went over there and said, ‘Dad, we just had a horse win.’ He said, ‘Who?’ I told him. He said, ‘Where?’ I said Oaklawn. He said, ‘What was the purse?’ and I told him. He knew within $5,000 what we had earned on the year without paying attention to it that much. He said, ‘Richard, keep up the good work, and don’t get out of the horse business.’â€
Klein called Oaklawn asking that the track immediately overnight Pinch Hit’s winner’s circle photo.
“My father dies the next day,†Klein said. “In his casket, in his left arm — like with my mother — is our lime green silks, so they can still be part of the racing with me. Underneath his right arm is the picture of this horse winning. It was his last horse that won, and I wanted him to be a part of it.â€
Pinch Hit ran back April 23, losing by a neck. It was Richard Klein’s birthday. When the filly won by a nose May 27 at 19-1 after a race-long battle, it was the birthday of his mother, who died in 2013 after a long battle with breast cancer.
“I’m not a spiritual person, but I’m starting to believe this stuff,†Richard said. “They were up there watching this horse run, and they willed her home. Now, I had somebody call me after the Ellis race,  wanting to buy the horse. I don’t know  what they were going to offer me. I told them the story and said, ‘Could you sell this horse?’ They said, ‘Nope.’ I said, ‘She’s going to be a part of my broodmare band if she doesn’t win another race, because my father is watching over this one horse.’â€
Pinch Hit beat older fillies in her last start and will face them again in the Groupie Doll.
“She kind of figured out what it’s all about to win a race,†Cox said by phone from Saratoga. “She’s a filly we liked all along last fall and thought she had a big future. She just didn’t pan out early on, but she’s coming into her own. I thought it was a really nice field against older horses at Ellis, and she did it the right way. So we’re giving her another shot. This is a big step, there aren’t a lot of options out there for her right now, so we’re giving her the opportunity and see if she can make the most of it.â€
Cox also will run one of the Groupie Doll favorites in the Tiger Moth, who is graded-stakes placed and in her last start won Indiana Grand’s Marie Hulman George Stakes. “She couldn’t be doing any better,†he said. “She’s trained really well ever since the Indiana race, so we’re really excited about her.â€
Meet-leading rider Corey Lanerie will be aboard Tiger Moth, with Pinch Hit’s rider to be determined Jon Court, up for her last two victories, is riding She Mabee Wild in the Groupie Doll.
(Photo below: Pinch Hit won an Ellis Park allowance race by six lengths under Jon Court on July 16. Credit: Coady Photography)
Upcoming promotions
Friday: Meet the Announcer – Sign up for a chance to meet announcer Jimmy McNerney and hang out in his booth while he calls a race. Contact Brianna Vitt at bvitt@ellisparkracing.com for more information or to sign up.
Saturdays: “Making of a Racehorse: Let’s Get Started” – The weekly fan-education program returns every Saturday through August with the goal of showing the public what goes on in the mornings to get horses ready for the afternoon. The free, family-friendly event begins at 7:30 a.m. Central by the starting gate positioned for schooling in the mile chute, with plenty of parking in the south end of the lot. Learn how horses are taught to break from the gate, with kids getting the chance to stand in the gate. From there we go to the backside for a visit with a changing menu of horsemen and racing officials. Sponsored by Ellis Park and the Kentucky HBPA. Contact Jennie Rees at tracksidejennie@gmail.com for more information.
“Inside Track with Joey K. and Jimmy Mac” — Join analyst Joe Kristufek and announcer Jimmy McNerney every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Central in the clubhouse’s second-floor Gardenia Room as they handicap the afternoon’s races. Free with programs, coffee and donuts available to participants.
Junior Jockey Club — Kids between 5 and 12 can sign up to be the week’s designated Junior Jockey, serving one race as the honorary paddock judge and telling the jockeys “Riders up!” and watching a race from the winner’s circle. Contact Brianna Vitt at bvitt@ellisparkracing.com for more information or to sign up.
Saturday, Aug. 12 only: Ladies Day — Free admission in the Gardenia Room, where women can check out cool stuff from area boutiques and get a chance to win a Michael Kors purse.
Sundays: Value Day —Â Every Sunday enjoy substantial savings on draft beer ($2 for 16 ounces), hotdogs and 12-ounce Coke products ($1.25) and chips and peanuts ($1).
Kids on the Track:Â Kids 12 and under square off in heats by age group for foot races on the racetrack, the winners getting a pair of jockey goggles and all the fame they can stand. Simply meet in the winner’s circle after the last race every Sunday during the live meet.
Aug. 20 live-money Bluegrass Tournament: Ellis Park is back with a handicapping tournament, this a live-money event presented by AmWager. Entry fee is $500 ($200 to prize money and $300 bankroll), betting minimum of $20 on each of 10 races from Ellis Park’s card and optional races to be announced. Top four finishers get trip to 2018 National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas, plus hotel and airfare up to $500. Top 10 finishers earn prize money. Register at www.amwager.com/bluegrasstournament.
The Evansville Otters fell behind by eight runs, battled to within one, but came up short in a 13-12 loss to the River City Rascals.
Evansville (39-31) scored seven unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
River City (39-34) used an eight-run fourth inning to spring out to the lead.
The Rascals jumped on the board early in the second inning.
Mike Jurgella scored the first run after two consecutive passed balls advanced him from second to home,
A Clint Freeman RBI groundout scored Braxton Martinez, and a Brandon Thomas RBI double brought in Paul Kronenfeld to make it 3-0.
In the top of the fourth inning, the Otters took the lead thanks to two-run home runs from Jeff Gardner and John Schultz making it 4-3.
Gardner continues to pace the league with 19 home runs this season.
In the bottom of the inning, the Rascals retook the lead on a two-run shot from Mike Jurgella to make it 5-4.
The Otters tied the game in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI single from Dane Phillips to bring home Ryan Long.
The River City Rascals answered big.
A sacrifice fly from Thomas brought in Kronenfeld to start the scoring.
A Jason Merjano RBI double then plated Freeman for the second run of the side.
The Rascals leading hitter, Josh Silver, came up with a two-RBI single to score both Morales and Merjano making it 9-5.
Jurgella came up big again for the Rascals with an RBI double to score Silver, and Martinez followed with an RBI single to score Jurgella.
A Kronenfeld RBI double brought home the final run of the fourth inning with Martinez crossing the plate and giving River City a 13-5 advantage.
Evansville got two runs back in the seventh inning as a light rain began at CarShield Field.
An RBI single from Kolten Yamaguchi brought Schultz across the plate.
Chris Riopedre followed suit with an RBI double to score Luke Lowery making It 13-7.
Yamaguchi was thrown out at the plate to end the frame.
In the eighth, the Otters offense exploded.
Zach Welz reached on a throwing error by Johnny Morales that allowed both Ryan Long and Dane Phillips to score.
John Schultz then delivered his second home run of the game, a three run home run to make it 13-12.
Evansville had runners on first and second with two outs, but Lowery was picked off at second to end the threat.
The Otters threatened again in the top of the ninth with Ryan Long reaching first base to start the inning with a hit-by-pitch.
However, an Allen fly out and strikeouts from Phillips and Gardner ended the game.
Trevor Walch struggled in his first start after being signed earlier today.
The veteran went just 3 and 1/3 innings giving up nine runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out just three in a loss.
Blaise Whitman also gave up four runs on four hits while not recording an out before the back end of the bullpen came up big.
Trent Lunsford, Andrew Utterback, and Randy McCurry combined to give up just two hits over the last 4 and 2/3 innings.
Zeb Sneed earned the win for the Rascals and Cody Mincey picked up the save.
Evansville and River City will return to action tomorrow evening at 4:05 p.m. at CarShield Field.
Fans can listen on 91.5 WUEV with Lucas Corley providing play-by-play coverage.
Evansville returns home to Bosse Field on Aug. 8 to open a series against the Florence Freedom, the first game of a six-game homestand.
Tickets for August home games are still available by going to evansvilleotters.com or calling 812-435-8686.
APPARENTLY, TRUMP IS A WINNER SURROUNDED BY LOSERS
Raging Moderate by Will Durst
Donald Trump is a winner. Just ask him. After all, he won the presidential election. They don’t get much bigger than that. And winners find it distasteful to hang with losers. And that is exactly what someone filled his staff with. Big-time losers. Which is why they are getting replaced faster than lead changes in a NASCAR race with staggered starts and the cars outfitted with 12-ounce gas tanks.
The Republican Senate similarly failed the president in their gazillionth attempt to undo ObamaCare. And although he can’t fire them, he did intimidate and insult and threaten members of his own party through a series of devastating tweets. You could say, his adept contempt for their inept attempt was to a major extent not exempt of torment. But you probably won’t.
After kicking around the idea of how to replace ObamaCare for 7 years, Republicans found themselves bereft of ideas and unraveled to where their mantra of “Repeal and Replace†shrank to a faint echo of “Repeal Now and Then Maybe Replace with Something Else Later On. Maybe Not.†With the emphasis on the “not.â€
In a rare televised 2 a.m. vote the GOP Senate proved unable to convince three of their own to vote on something called the “Skinny Repeal.†And it all crashed down to the Senate floor with a thud that could have stirred Everett Dirksen out of his slumbering repose.
The Skinny Repeal was a last ditch effort after the Fat Repeal was discarded for lacking public support. Neither did the Plump, Portly, Rotund or Tubby Repeal display much appeal amongst people destined to lose coverage. And nobody ever talks about the Pudgy or Obese Repeals, which were mothballed without ever seeing the light of day, presumably gathering dust in Senator Ted Cruz’s closet.
The most dramatic moment in the demise of the Skinny Repeal was not the final count, 51 nays to 49 yeas, but the way it went down. Senator John McCain strode briskly forward and cast a decisive thumbs- down, mercifully sending a sleepy Vice President Mike Pence home, who was only hanging around to break a tie. Way past his bedtime.
Not surprisingly, McCain’s motivation is now being questioned. Is this a return to his normal irascible renegade self, or is he purposely sticking it to a President he sees as morally vacant, or after being diagnosed with brain cancer, did he find it repugnant to leave a publicly paid hospital stay in his home state of Arizona, to fly on the taxpayer’s dime to throw millions off health care so rich people could have more money? He’s not talking.
Since the Skinny Repeal failed, Senator Mitch McConnell reportedly has scuttled attempts to fashion a Scrawny Repeal much less a Slender, Gaunt, Malnourished, Emaciated or Anorexic Repeal. And the Cadaverous Repeal is dead on arrival. The upshot being, the Majority Leader might be forced to actually compromise with Democrats. His worst nightmare come true. Then, next week, locusts.
President Trump immediately tweeted his preferred remedy is to let ObamaCare implode. Because having a leader willing sacrifice constituents to prove a point is one sure way to Make America Great Again. And Donald Trump will continue to be a winner. Perhaps the only one.
AUGUST 4TH, 2017Â 
 TYRONE MORRIS EVANSVILLE, INDIANA  Â
It featured two keynote speakers who touched on various aspects of Suicide. Frank Campbell and Megan Chesin were present at the seminar. Dr. Chesin presented evidence-based practices on how to help prevent people from taking their lives.
Indiana has a higher suicide rate than the national average. In Vanderburgh Co. alone, 36 people have committed suicide this year.
The Tri-State Mental Health Community has several area resources including a suicide hotline. The hotline is available 24 hours a day.
Also, in September, the Suicide Prevention Coalition will be hosting a ‘Lifesavers Walk’. That will be at Evansville State Hospitl on Saturday, September 9th.
