Human Remains Found Were Those Of Aleah Beckerle
The Vanderburgh County Coroners and Evansville Police Department are investigating the discovery of human remains in a home on S. Bedford Ave. As part of the investigation an identification of the remains was made as Aleah Beckerle of Evansville. The investigation is ongoing and no additional autopsy information will be released at this time. The Evansville Police, when available, will provide updates concerning the investigation.
Aces trek to Iowa this weekendÂ
 A 10-game home stand will finish up on Wednesday as the University of Evansville softball team will play host to Kent State in a doubleheader at Cooper Stadium. Game one is set for 3 p.m. with the second contest to follow.
Evansville stands at 4-2 in the MVC following the series against Bradley. Morgan Florey batted .600 in the series with three RBIs and tossed 14 innings in the circle, posting a 1.50 ERA. She grabbed UE’s win in the series opener on Saturday as she allowed just two hits in seven innings. Brittany Hay had a team-high four runs batted in over the weekend and also drew three walks. The Aces made it on base 40.6% of the time versus the Braves.
On Sunday, Chandra Parr hit the 29th home run of her Purple Aces career. She is now just one from tying and two from breaking the program record, set by Krista Price. She played at UE from 2007 until 2010. She has batted .350 in conference play while posting a home run and four RBI.
Pitcher Morgan Florey went 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in 14 innings of action against Bradley. She also added 16 strikeouts and a pair of complete games. In the opener versus the Braves, Florey threw a 2-hit shutout while walking just one batter and striking out 8 in a 7-0 win. She has now thrown seven complete games in a row and has registered 127 strikeouts on the season. In three games last week, Florey batted .600 for the Purple Aces while getting on base 66.7% of the time and slugging .700.
Brittany Hay hit .375 for the Purple Aces in their series against the Braves. She registered a home run, four RBIs and scored four times. Saturday’s opener saw her go 2-3 with two RBIs, a walk and steal. Hay notched a home run in the second game of the doubleheader while scoring twice, batting in two runs and reaching via a walk. Though she did not get a hit in the final game of the weekend, Hay scored twice and earned a walk.
A nice weekend of play saw Tess Hupe bat .375 versus Bradley. Hupe recorded three hits in 8 at-bats while scoring four runs.
Kent State comes to town with a 10-15 mark and sit at 2-1 in Mid-American Conference play. The Golden Flashes play #9 Alabama tonight (March 28) before heading to Evansville. Bailey Brownfield leads the way for KSU with a .358 batting average while Maddy Grimm is next up at .314. In the circle, Ronnie Ladines has notched a 2.14 ERA.
Aces finish in 12th place
Maria Pickens and Kayla Katterhenry each fired off rounds under 80 as the University of Evansville women’s golf team earned a 12th place finish at the Little Rock/ASU Invitational at Maumelle Country Club.
Katterhenry was the top finisher for the Purple Aces, earning a tie for 13th with a final tally of 228. She completed Tuesday’s final round with a 3-over 75. Maria Pickens had her best round of the tournament, carding a 77 as she wrapped up the tournament with a 243. She finished in 48th place.
Next up was Maggie Camp. The senior posted an 87 in the final 18 holes to place 69th with a 256. Madison Chaney and Giulia Mallmann rounded out the top five for the Aces. Chaney notched a 93 on Tuesday to finish with a 259 while Mallmann’s last round was an 89. Her tournament total was a 261.
Lexie Sollman matched her second-round total on Tuesday, posting an 80 on her way to a 248. That put her in a tie for 58th. Carly Waggoner registered a 94 in the last trip around Maumelle Country Club and notched a 279 for the event.
Central Arkansas was the big winner in the tournament. An 897 saw UCA take the team championship by 15 strokes over Little Rock. UTEP and Toledo tied for third place with scores of 917. Ye Ji Lim of Central Arkansas was the medalist. Her final round tally of 77 saw her take the top spot with a 221, one stroke ahead of a second-place tie.
Evansville’s next tournament goes from April 9-10 in Terre Haute, Ind. as the Aces will take part in the Indiana State Invitational.
Yesterday evening at approximately 7:05, Trooper Ross Rafferty was patrolling Lynch Road near I-69 when he observed a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu traveling westbound at a high rate of speed. Rafferty activated his radar and clocked the vehicle at 88 mph. The vehicle was stopped on Green River Road south of Lynch Road. When Rafferty approached the driver he detected an odor of marijuana inside the vehicle. The driver was identified as Mason Hart, 19, of Newburgh. During a search of the vehicle Rafferty found 146 grams of marijuana, digital scales and $1,003 in currency. Hart was arrested and taken to the Vanderburgh County Jail where he was later released after posting bond.
Arrested and Charges:
1.Dealing Marijuana, Class 6 Felony
2.Possession of Marijuana, Class B Misdemeanor
3.Possession of Paraphernalia, Class C Misdemeanor
IS IT TRUE it seems as though VW Sports LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of VenueWorks that manages and owns a semi-professional hockey team known as the Evansville Thunderbolts has officially become the 100% owner of the team?  …the Thunderbolts practice and plays at the Ford Center?…we are told that in any real world scenario this would constitute a conflict of interest  since VenueWorks is hired by the City of Evansville to manage the Ford Center?
IS IT TRUE the Evansville Icemen started out playing at Swonder Ice Rink located on the former Roberts Stadium property? Â … they actually made the finals of their league in their last season there?
IS IT TRUEÂ were told that their are twice as many comps tickets given away for the Thunderbolts home games than paying customers? Â …at this point its obvious that Swonder would be a more cost effective place for the Thunderbolts to play?…it also looks like the semi-pro hockey fans of this community have seemly lost some interest in hockey since the IceMen left town? Â …it is a shame that it costed us $127 Million to find that out?
IS IT TRUE Evansville is and has always been a town that loves a good game of baseball?…the AAA franchise of the Minnesota Twins called the Evansville Triplets always sold plenty of tickets and put on a good show over at Bosse Field?…the children of Evansville could talk about how last year’s Triplets moved up to the big leagues after signing autographs here?…back when former Mayors Weinzapfel and Russ Lloyd Jr were locked in a competitive campaign, Weinzapfel derided Lloyd for being a fool for wanting to spend a paltry $20 Million on a downtown baseball stadium that was poised to host a AAA team affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers and owned by some retired major league players including Evansville native Don Mattingly?…the poetic justice of calling someone else’s $20 Million baseball stadium folly while plotting to build a $127 million dollar arena thats is causing a serious financial burden on River City for a good long time?
IS IT TRUE we are hearing that the cost of operating the Evansville Thunderbolts could possibly go up because of a contractural amendment between  VW Sports LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of VenueWorks and the City of Evansville? ..we wonder how much more than a million bucks will the City of Evansville are willing to lose for attempting to have a competitive Semi-Pro hockey team in the less than financially successful Ford Center? …please read tomorrows IS IT TRUE and you shall see what we are talking about?
IS IT TRUE that in 1950 a full 87% of the working age men in the United States had a job?…that number has been slowly dropping since then until the number today is only 67%?…that amounts to roughly 30 million able bodied men of prime working age who are electing not to participate in the American economy by working for a living?…every one of these people is a burden on either someone else or on the taxpayers?…the loss of working men in our society is at a crisis point?
FOOTNOTES: Todays “READERS POLL” question is: Do you feel comfortable with the fact that the owners of VenueWorks now has 100% controlling interest of the Thunderbolt Hockey team?
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Fate of Indiana Abortion Bill Uncertain
Two lawmakers in Indiana do not plan to act on the abortion bill authored by Ron Bacon. The measure addresses abortion reversal procedures. It requiring abortion providers to tell women considering drug-induced abortions that they can stop the…
BRIDGE TO NO AVAIL!
written by Daniel Barton Publisher of The New Harmony Gazette
Dear Harmonist Brothers and Sisters, Friends:
It was first reported in two of our local newspapers, The Posey County News and The Mt. Vernon Democrat, that things got pretty rowdy at the recent “Meet Your Representative†meeting or what was billed as the “Cracker Barrel Forum,†in Poseyville. Not that there’s anything wrong with some non-violent rowdiness in politics. The “people†still have a right to express their dissatisfaction with legislators as well as their satisfaction. However, we must all try to remember that everyone has a right to speak without being shouted down by other audience members. Mutual respect is the key! Here in New Harmony a rule that’s pretty much always followed by the audience in attendance.
What came to my attention in the press reports about the meeting were comments made by County Commissioner Carl Schmitz regarding our Harmony Way Bridge.
Commissioner Schmitz said that, “No one owns the bridge.†That statement is false! The fact is that the bridge is owned by the White County Bridge Commission. That is a long known fact. Commissioner Schmitz has no excuse for not knowing it. It’s very disappointing to hear that he made the remark.
His second remark was a little more encouraging, “Illinois doesn’t want it.†Something for which we should all be thankful. Illinois has had hundreds of public officials convicted of criminal offenses in the past fifty years. It is among the leading States in political corruption. More than 500 convictions since 1997. Indiana can clearly handle the problem of one bridge rehabilitation without involving Illinois, if necessary. Included in Illinois history is five Governors who have gone to prison, with one still serving his sentence. Instead of looking at our bridge as a liability maybe Commissioner Schmitz should begin looking at it as an asset to Posey County with the ability to bring in nearly a million dollars a year.
He followed that comment with a third facetious remark, “I wouldn’t drive over it on a four wheeler.†Back in July, I accompanied six other people on a stroll across our beautiful Harmony Way Bridge. Along for the walk was New Harmony Town Council President Alvin Blaylock, County Commissioner Jerry Walden, New Harmony Gazette writer, Ann Rains, New Harmony resident and Harmony Way Bridge activist and supporter, Lora Arneberg, U.S. Army Colonel Austin Elliott and Indiana Landmarks President, Marsh Davis. By the way, we all walked on the bridge at the same time. All the way across and back again, bouncing as we went. Not a ripple was felt by anyone on the trip. Maybe Commissioner Schmitz has underestimated the strength of this great structure or has never even been on it.
New Harmony Road Maintenance Supervisor Bobby Grider rides his bicycle back and forth over the Harmony Way Bridge every day from Illinois, where he lives, to Indiana, where he works.
No fear; huh Bobby?
Finally, Commissioner Schmitz’ most controversial statement was his interpretation of what it will cost to repair, rehabilitate and reopen our bridge. He said, “The cost to update the bridge is
$41 to 50 million dollars, and the County cannot afford that.†Now it may be that Commissioner Schmitz believes this piece of fiction has some truth, but most of us who have intently studied the engineering reports produced over the last five years find the comment laughable. Without documentary evidence of which engineering company developed the report that estimated these outrageous numbers that were quoted; they are just not believable. So I decided to follow up with Commissioner Schmitz. What follows is a transcription of our texting conversation on March 23 and 24th.
Dan Barton: Good day Commissioner Schmitz. On March 11th at a public meeting in Poseyville you stated that it would cost upwards of fifty million to reopen the Harmony Way Bridge. This is contrary to every report that I have ever read. It’s more than double the figure put out by Indiana to completely remove and replace the entire structure. More than two hundred times higher than the lowest estimates to reopen. Please provide me with provable documentation on how you came to your conclusion of fifty million. Respectfully. Dan Barton.
Commissioner Carl Schmitz: I have met with several State Officials and Il. (Illinois) Officials. In.(Indiana) says 20 plus million. Il.(Illinois) says that the cost will be over 45 million with costs over 50 million until it is completed. That is why they are not going to work on it for they will spend no money on S Il. (Southern Illinois) Take a boat ride to the Il.(Illinois) side and look at the last 1/3 of the bridge it was old and used when it was put up. It has holes in the floor and some of the steel is completely rusted out. I can not see shutting down our road department for 10 plus years to build one bridge. Look at the cost of the 3 bridges that we built recently have all cost over 1 million each are very small compared to this bridge.
Dan Barton: Thank you Commissioner Schmitz for your response regarding your statement about the cost of reopening the Harmony Way Bridge. Was the 40 to 50 million dollar cost you have stated as prohibitive costs the reason that you consistently voted NO for Posey County not taking title to the Harmony Way Bridge.
Commissioner Carl Schmitz: Yes, we cannot take on something that we can’t get usable or afford. We have many needs; hi speed internet, sewage, housing to get young people to come back and live in Posey County.
Dan Barton: Thanks again, Commissioner Schmitz, for your responses to my questions about the Harmony Way Bridge.
I have gotten responses from several New Harmony residents regarding your comments to me about the information that you received from Indiana and Illinois officials concerning their estimates to you about the cost of reopening the Harmony Way Bridge. In fact in my first text to you on this matter, I asked for something they are asking me about. Provable Documentation. Can you provide me with the engineers report that supports the 40 to 50 million dollars in costs to reopen the Harmony Way Bridge which you said State Officials claimed. I request a copy of that report from you to support the facts in the New Harmony Gazette story to follow. I would also like to have the names and contact information on the Indiana and Illinois Officials who gave this information on bridge reopening to you. Respectfully. Dan Barton. Publisher. The New Harmony Gazette.
Commissioner Carl Schmitz: I was at a meeting with Officials from both States at the Southern In(Indiana) highway office. I have it in file in the barn but can not get to it due to the fact that I had surgery last week. So it will be a couple of weeks before I can.
There is no reason to think that what Commissioner Schmitz says that he heard or saw relating to the fifty million dollars in costs to reopen the bridge is caused by a lapse of correct recall. He likely heard what he says he heard. What is in question however is the source of his comment. Who was it that proposed these costs and where is the certified engineer’s report that validates this statement?
None, not one, of the many engineering reports that I have reviewed concerning hands-on inspections of the Harmony Way Bridge, since it closed five years ago, even come close to Commissioner Schmitz’ figure of fifty million. That’s the reason I have asked him for the supporting documents. An engineer’s report will have a line by line cost estimate for each item of repair or replacement. We are not talking about razing and replacing the structure. Again, all of the reports I have personally reviewed say that the Harmony Way Bridge is repairable and can be salvaged for future use for far less than replacement of the bridge.
Will Commissioner Schmitz come up with the engineers report to prove his claim or will we all be left with his word alone?
As far as holes entirely through the roadbed; the stroll across the bridge in 2016 did not reveal any. Nor did any of the many photographs taken by bridge engineers over the last five years; that I have in my possession.
Commissioner Schmitz is not the only elected official to quote these very high and unsubstantiated repair and rehabilitation costs, his fellow County Commissioner Jim Alsop also quoted the same amounts at a New Harmony Kiwanis meeting in January 2015.
No doubt, there are many things that have to be taken care of by the County Commissioners, but what’s important here is the specific reason for Commissioner Schmitz voting “NO†for the County not taking title in 2015. Not the laundry list of items he mentions in his texts. They didn’t exist at that time. The specific reason, to which he admits to, was the $50 million dollars that he believed it would cost to restore or reopen the Harmony Way Bridge. Without the supporting engineers reports; that would be a highly inappropriate reason for a decision that adversely affected thousands of people in this part of Indiana and Illinois.
As far as the three items he lists, they also generate questions. Hi-Speed or Broadband internet is much more expensive than fixing up the bridge. One community in Utah was left with a debt of $185 million dollars and was still unsuccessful in operating the Government Owned Network that they tried to install. This wish is connected with the other two on his list; such as housing to attract young people to live in Posey County. Presumably to work at SABIC or Midwest Fertilizer. How is the County involved in young peoples housing you might want to ask? Tax abatements? Cheap mortgages? Public low income housing? Commissioner Schmitz is not clear!
And last but certainly not least, my community of New Harmony should be concerned about “sewage.†This topic has been brought to my attention several times since October 2016 by those in Posey County and Mt.Vernon, government. It seems that it’s connected with the “young peoples housing†and the “Hi-Speed Internet.†One big ball of wax. The catch is:
County Officials are aware that New Harmony has some excess capacity at their Sewage Treatment facility and they want to run all of the new sewers to that Plant. They don’t want to fix the bridge but they want to dump all of the millennial crap into New Harmony’s waste pool. And for what price? And what happens when that excess capacity is full to overflowing? What then? New waste pools for our Town? Who covers the sludge removal? Phosphorous treatment? How much capacity will they be allowed to take? How long is the lease contract? Ninety-nine years? Who paid the initial cost of the present facility? A lot of questions for Commissioner Schmitz! Certainly it will save the County and the Developers a lot of money. They will not have to build their own sewage plant.
I fear that the people of New Harmony are not going to wake up to this until their knee deep in….Shinola!
Indiana State Representative Wendy McNamara has also made similar claims about the imagined abject hopelessness of the Harmony Way Bridge; saying last September, that there were holes completely through the roadway and it was too costly to repair. In fact on Sept. 11, 2016 she said that she would send New Harmony Gazette writer Ann Rains photographs of the holes that she claims to have seen. So far no photographs have arrived. How about it Representative McNamara! Send those pictures to us!
I have personally tried to contact Representative McNamara and have had no luck reaching her. Only her office assistant, “Andrew.†I have asked Andrew if she uses email to communicate with the public, to which he answered “YESâ€. She has not responded to any of my emails or texts. Recently I left another message with Andrew to let her know that she is very difficult to reach and asked him to arrange a personal meeting with me. No luck. State Representative McNamara appears to be indisposed when it comes to New Harmony and the Harmony Way Bridge.
Heck! I only want copies of those photos showing holes in the roadway from underneath the bridge.
V.S. Engineers are on the Harmony Way Bridge even as we speak and it shouldn’t be too long before we get an update on the bridge’s current condition and the real cost of repairing and reopening it.
The New Harmony Gazette will keep you posted as this develops.
Just prior to giving the green light to go to press, The New Harmony Gazette received three photos by email of purported rust damage causing holes in the Iron substructure of the Harmony Way Bridge, from State Representative Wendy McNamara. These photos have now been forwarded by us to several Bridge Experts and Bridge Engineers in Indiana for further evaluation. At this time we do no know from looking at the photos, how large the holes are, where they are located on the bridge structure, what engineer’s report they were taken from, when they were taken and whether or not they weren’t part of an earlier repair project done on the bridge and may now be repaired. We can’t even be sure if they were taken on the Harmony Way Bridge. When these questions are answered the answers will be passed on to you, the public.
FOOTNOTES: The New Harmony Gazette is a monthly on-line and in print monthly publication reporting the happening of New Harmony proper. Â Daniel Barton is the Publisher of this extremely informative monthly newspaper.
City County Observer posted this article without bias, opinion or editing.
Ivy Tech Community College Evansville Nursing Program Ranked 2nd in the State
Ivy Tech Community College’s Evansville campus was recently ranked 2nd in Indiana as a best nursing program by registerednursing.org. The Associate in Nursing graduates from this campus over 2011-2014 scored an average of 97.17 when taking the RN licensing exam.
“We are so proud of the success of our students,†said Ivy Tech Evansville Chancellor Jonathan Weinzapfel. “The pass rates here in Evansville indicate the high quality of our programs and graduates, and the high demand for these graduates in area hospitals and other health-related facilities proves the success of the preparation our students receive.”
The 2nd place ranking is made by examining the NCLEX-RN licensing pass rates. According to registerednursing.org’s website, NCLEX-RN exam pass rates for all RN programs were collected for five years, 2011-2014, if available.
Once non-qualifying programs were filtered out, pass rates were analyzed and were averaged together and weighted by the recency of the exam.
If a school’s overall pass rate was the same as another school, additional characteristics were considered like the number of students taking the exam, and the number of years of exam data available.
At Ivy Tech, the Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) degree can be completed in two years once a student is admitted into the program. Individualized tutoring and mentoring is provided by Ivy Tech faculty, and graduates are consistently in high demand throughout the state. After completing their ASN, graduates are qualified to work in hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, home health care, physician offices, schools and health departments. Or, graduates who successfully pass the NCLEX-RN, may also continue their education by transferring to a four year university where they can enter BSN or MSN programs to earn bachelor’s or master’s degrees in nursing. Ivy Tech has over 20 transfer partner colleges and universities for its graduates to choose from.
Dean of Ivy Tech Evansville School of Nursing Gail Lindsay, said the faculty at Ivy Tech Evansville is unmatched in their dedication to the students. “Every day I see students and faculty who are working together to help the student be successful. Many of our students come to us with life challenges they are overcoming and still, they bring everything they have to the table and obviously, as the pass rates show, work to reach their end goal.â€
In Indiana, 55 schools were analyzed for all five years, with 20 being ranked. Only 8 other states in the nation had more schools ranked than in Indiana.
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Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.
