Status Of Mediation Between The
City Of Evansville And Its Public Safety Units
By Chuck Knoll-President ofFraternal Order of Police, Lodge 73
Representatives of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 73 and Firefighters Local 357 concluded a mediation on June 8, 2017 in an attempt to resolve the outstanding issue on wage negotiations. Per the Court’s award of December 6, 2016, the parties were to negotiate an agreement, which would accommodate both the police officers and the firefighters in light of the substantial changes made to their health insurance coverage.
While the calculations made by the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 73 and Firefighters Local 357 show a much more dramatic cost increase than the City offered, both public safety units indicated to the City of Evansville, through the Mayor and his counsel, their willingness to accept the City’s cost figure as a wage increase, as called for in the Collective Bargaining Agreement and as ordered by the Court. Unfortunately, the Mayor refused to negotiate other than delivering one offer in a take–it-or-leave-it proposal rather than work with the mediator to negotiate a satisfactory resolution for all parties.
The pay for firefighters and police officers in the City of Evansville ranks a disappointing low for each unit of public safety officers. The Police Officers’ pay ranks Twenty-Eight out of all municipalities, despite being the third largest municipality in the State of Indiana. Pay for the Evansville police officers is in excess of $13,000.00 below the top pay of Hobart, Indiana. Firefighters pay ranks Twenty-Third out of the municipalities in the state as well. The firefighters pay is lower by more than $13,000.00 from the top pay in Indianapolis. Further, public safety officers in Evansville, Indiana face greater dangers with more shots fired and more homicides occurring on a daily basis. The City intentionally understaffed both the fire and police departments by anywhere from ten to twenty (10-20) employees over the past two (2) years. The City reallocated those funds, which would have been for public safety unit employees’ salaries, to fund a defunct hockey program, planning for penguins at Mesker Zoo, and funded other less essential operations for the City of Evansville.
Due to the failure to reach an agreement despite months of litigation, we are now asking for the public’s assistance and support in this serious matter. If you think your public safety officers deserve better from the current administration, and that the administration should focus on negotiating in good faith rather than refusing to negotiate at mediation despite a Court Order to do so, please let your voices be heard. The Mayor’s office can be reached at (812) 436-4962 or online at evansvillegov.org.
 The Frontier League Has Named Evansville Otters Pitcher Max Duval Pitcher Of The Week.
Pointstreak, the official statistical provider of the Frontier League and the Independent Professional Baseball Federation, chooses the weekly award.
Duval earned the third league honor for Evansville this season after right-handed pitcher Shane Weedman was selected Pitcher of the Week earlier this year after his no-hit performance against Southern Illinois on May 13 in a 4-0 win against the Miners.
Dane Phillips was selected as the Player of the Week June 12 after he batted .519 with 13 RBIs June 6-11.
In earning the weekly award, Duval made two starts on the mound last week and went seven innings in both games.
Last Tuesday, Duval took a no-hitter into the seventh against Gateway in the Otters 6-3 win over the Grizzlies. It was his fourth win of the season and he posted nine strikeouts.
Duval followed that performance up by throwing a complete-game in a seven-inning contest against Southern Illinois in game one of Sunday’s doubleheader.
In Evansville’s 10-1 triumph over the Miners, Duval gave up an earned run off three hits and struck out 10.
Duval, a San Luis Obispo, Calif. native, came to Evansville last season after spending time with the Schaumburg Boomers (2014-15) and Frontier Greys (2015).
He was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization midway through the 2016 season and he spent time with the Visalia Rawhide (A+), Kane County Cougars (A) and Hillsboro Hops (A-).
With the Otters, Duval is 9-3 with 109 strikeouts. This season, he is 5-2 after seven starts with a 2.94 ERA.
The Otters return to Bosse Field Friday for a three-game series against the Florence Freedom. Friday’s series opener at 6:35 p.m. is Edward Jones Night and will feature a postgame fireworks show. Saturday will be a doubleheader starting at 5:35 p.m., with two seven-inning games.
Tickets for both games are still available by visiting evansvilleotters.com or by calling 812-435-8686.
All three games will be streamed live on Otters Digital Network and over the air on 91.5 FM WUEV. Lucas Corley (play-by-play), Bill McKeon (analysis) and Preston Leinenbach will call the action.
The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions. Group packages and single game tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit evansvilleotters.com or call 812-435-8686.
Evansville’s Bamberger To Merge With Kentucky-Based Firm
IL for www.theindianalawyer.com
The nearly 60-year-old Evansville law firm Bamberger Foreman Oswald & Hahn LLP is merging with Lexington, Kentucky-based Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC. The two law firms will join forces Sept. 1 and have a total of 144 attorneys with offices in Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort, Kentucky, as well as Indianapolis and Evansville, Indiana, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The firm will operate as Stoll Keenon Ogeden.
The 10 attorneys at Bamberger’s Evansville office will relocate from the historic Hulman Building to the Old National Bank headquarters as part of the merger with SKO, according to a release from Stoll Keenon Ogden. The move will expand the river city office to 17 lawyers.
For SKO, the merger will double the number of attorneys licensed to practice in Indiana, broaden the legal capabilities of the Indiana practice and strength its presence in Evansville along with getting a foothold in Indianapolis.
Speaking on behalf of his Bamberger partners, attorney Christopher Wischer said the merger is the right move for the firm and its clients.
“This merger presents a unique opportunity to provide more services and deepen the level of experience we can offer our clients while expanding the geographic reach of both firms,†he said. “We could not be more excited about this affiliation.â€
Bamberger was founded in 1959 and opened an office in Indianapolis in 1998. SKO traces its roots to 1897 and is currently celebrating its 120th anniversary.
Gov. Eric Holcomb today ceremonially signed into law State Rep. Holli Sullivan’s (R-Evansville) legislation expanding Indiana’s pre-K pilot program.
House Enrolled Act 1004 expands the state’s pilot pre-K program, On My Way Pre-K, from five counties to 20. This measure will double the amount of low-income families who could benefit from the program. On My Way Pre-K was established in 2014 and currently serves nearly 2,300 students in Allen, Lake, Marion, Jackson and Vanderburgh counties.
“As a parent, I understand the need to equip our children with a solid educational foundation,†Sullivan said. “Providing more high-quality early education will give these very young at-risk students a strong framework to build on.â€
Sullivan, co-author of the bill, was unable to attend the ceremony because she is representing Indiana at the National Conference of State Legislatures annual Early Learning Fellows program in Omaha, Nebraska. She was recently recognized by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce as a Legislative Champion for her work on the new law.
Holcomb recently announced the 15 additional counties eligible to participate in On My Way Pre-K. Bartholomew, DeKalb, Delaware, Elkhart, Floyd, Grant, Harrison, Howard, Kosciusko, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe and Vigo counties can begin enrolling children in the program for the 2018-2019 school year.
On My Way Pre-K’s eligibility requirements and income threshold will remain the same at 127 percent of the federal poverty level. However, for the five original counties, if programs are at capacity, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration can raise the income eligibility to 185 percent of the federal poverty level to reach more low-income families in these higher cost-of-living communities. Even with these revised eligibility requirements, Sullivan said top priority will still be given to children who are most in need.
To find out more about Indiana’s early education programs and to learn about eligibility requirements, visit www.in.gov/fssa and click on Early Learning/Child Care.
Double Sentencing Enhancements Don’t Violate Precedent
Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled double enhancements that added 25 years to a man’s sentence did not violate precedent because each was given for a different offense.
Travis Lee Woodruff was convicted of Level 3 felony aggravated battery and Level 5 felony intimidation after he shot an acquaintance in the chest during a scuffle in a motel room.
Hendricks Superior Court sentenced Woodruff to 15 years for the aggravated battery conviction and two years for the intimidation conviction. Then the court enhanced the prison term by 15 years for being a habitual offender and by another 10 years for the use of a firearm. Woodruff received an aggregate sentence of 40 years.
On appeal, Woodruff pointed to Dye v. State, 972 N.E.2d 853 (Ind. 2012), aff’d on reh’g, 984 N.E.2d 625 (Ind. 2013) and argued the Indiana Supreme Court had ruled that double enhancements were impermissible.
The Court of Appeals held Woodruff was misinterpreting the ruling. In Dye, the Supreme Court vacated the double enhancement because the past felonious conduct used as the basis for first enhancement was part of the same “uninterrupted transaction†on which the second enhancement was based.
“In sum, there is no impermissible double enhancement here because only one type of repeat offender statute that enhanced Woodruff’s conviction was applied,†Judge Terry Crone wrote for the court. “Ultimately, Woodruff’s aggravated battery conviction resulted in a dual enhancement, not for the same prior crimes, but for committing aggravated battery with a firearm while being a habitual offender.â€
The appellate panel did remand with instructions that the trial court vacate the separate sentence on the habitual offender enhancement and attach the enhancement to Woodruff’s sentence for aggravated battery.
The case is Travis L. Woodruff v. State of Indiana, 32A01-1612-CR-2751.
The University of Southern Indiana Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that its student-athletes received a record total of 168 Academic All-Great Lakes Valley Conference awards for the 2016-17 year, topping last year’s record of 145.
In addition, seven USI programs were recognized by the GLVC with Team Academic All-GLVC honors. USI team award recipients are men’s soccer (3.454), women’s basketball (3.643), women’s cross country (3.500), women’s golf (3.463), women’s soccer (3.454), women’s tennis (3.641), and women’s track & field (3.423). USI’s seven team awards are tied for eleventh-most in the GLVC. Each of the 144 teams honored maintained a 3.30 GPA throughout the academic year.
Student-athletes earning four Academic All-GLVC awards include women’s basketball’s Kendyl Dearing (Huntingburg, Indiana); women’s cross country’s Alyssa Moore (New Albany, Indiana) and Cathryn Peter (Tell City, Indiana); women’s golf’s Kori Jacobsen (Bedford, Indiana) and Allison Koester (Wadesville, Indiana); women’s soccer’s Kaelin Martlock (Bay City, Michigan); women’s tennis’ Brenna Wu (Evansville, Indiana); and women’s track & field’s Crystal Blair (Bloomington, Indiana) and Cathryn Peter.
Women’s cross country/track & field senior Cathryn Peter earned her seventh and eighth Academic All-GLVC honors, while men’s cross country/track & field senior Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) and women’s cross country/track & field junior Kate Duty each earned their fifth and sixth Academic All-GLVC honors.
Of the 168 Academic All-GLVC Awards, 88 USI student-athletes are earning their first award, with 80 repeat honorees.
The Academic All-GLVC honor is bestowed upon student-athletes who meet a cumulative GPA of 3.30 over two semesters of an academic year at the institution. The GLVC recognizes each team from member institutions that have maintained a 3.30 grade point average for the academic year.
After 2,584 Academic All-GLVC honorees last year, the record was shattered once again this year with 2,974 honorees.
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Attorney General Curtis Hill today announced that the United States Supreme Court denied an organization’s request to have a lower court’s ruling reviewed. The decision not to review the lower court’s ruling puts to rest the legal challenge originally filed by Patriotic Veterans, Inc., in 2010.
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari, or discretionary review, of a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In January, the Seventh Circuit upheld Indiana’s anti-robocall law, which prohibits making pre-recorded message calls to peoples’ phones without their consent.
Patriotic Veterans, Inc., sought to carve out an exception to the robocall ban for political messages, arguing that the anti-robocall statute violated the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Campaigns and political groups are allowed to make traditional “live†calls, even to numbers registered on the Do Not Call list, as long as the calls are not sales calls. However, the law (Ind. Code 24-5-14) restricts the use of technology that automatically dials residential phone numbers and plays prerecorded messages with few exceptions.
Telephone privacy has been at the forefront of Hill’s dedication to protecting Indiana families. Hill commended Monday’s decision not to consider Patriotic Veterans, Inc., argument that the anti-robocall statute violates the First Amendment.
 “Every day, telemarketers seek to burden residences with automated, pre-recorded phone calls conveying unwanted messages. Simply put, without this law they would be a nuisance,†Hill said.
“The Seventh Circuit’s ruling upholding our law is vital to our continued efforts to protect the telephone privacy of Hoosiers across the state, and we are pleased with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision.â€
In 2016, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General received more than 15,000 complaints about unwanted calls, many of which were about robocalls. The penalty for violating the Indiana Auto Dialer law is up to $5,000 per call.
To block general telemarketing calls, sign up for the Do Not Call list at www.IndianaConsumer.com or by calling 1.888.834.9969.
Indiana residents who receive a political robocall or any other unwanted call can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com or calling 1.888.834.9969.
