Indianapolis – Vice President-elect Governor Mike Pence and First Lady Karen Pence today issued the following statement:

“Thanksgiving is a special time for families across Indiana, ours included. Like you, the Pences will find ourselves seated at the dinner table this Thanksgiving with our hearts grateful for all the blessings bestowed upon us. This last year has brought about new opportunities and some challenges, but through it all, we are most thankful to Him for family, friendship and good health.

“As each of us take time to count our blessings, let us take a moment to give thanks for those who spend time away from hearth and home on Thanksgiving on our behalf. To the men and women of our Armed Forces, who stand post at home and abroad, we remain ever grateful to you and your families for the sacrifices you make. To our law enforcement community and first responders, many of whom will have a late dinner this Thanksgiving as you stand watch over our communities, thank you.

“Thanksgiving is the start of our favorite time of year. The holidays bring families together and serve as a reminder about all that is truly important in life. Yet too many of our neighbors struggle with the burdens of a heavy heart this time of year. A personal struggle or loss of a loved one hits home this time of year, so we would encourage everyone to consider how we might reach out to a neighbor. A warm meal and a kind conversation extended to someone in need is really what Thanksgiving is all about.

“So from our home to yours, we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”

WHATS ON YOUR MIND TODAY?

Todays “READERS POLL” question is:  Do you feel its time for Mayor Winnecke to make a public statement concerning the Zoning Appeals Board rejection of an upscale Restaurant-Bar on West Franklin Street?

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Regional administrator Antonio Riley met with business and community leaders to go over details on the city’s designation, which is guaranteed for 10 years. They went over the next steps for moving the project forward, which riley says involves everyone working together toward the same goal.

Riley says, “It says a lot when you see that collaboration in action right? And then you go and say, now we believe that through this effort, we can bring even more focused, targeted vision to that collaboration, and that stood out for Evansville.”

Riley also spoke at the Rotary Club of Evansville’s lunch meeting at Tropicana Evansville.

VA Worker’s Protective Order Against Marine Reversed

Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com

A woman who worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs who obtained a protective order against a patient after he left four notes on her car didn’t prove that the Marine had stalked her and threatened her safety, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

C.R. worked at the VA in South Bend and over the course of seven months, found four notes on her car. The court record doesn’t specify what the notes said, but C.R. testified during the protective order hearing that they talked about her physical attributes and creeped her out. She was able to determine that C.V. left the notes after matching up patient appointment dates and knowing that the author was a Marine.

VA Police spoke to C.V. and told him to stop leaving the notes, which he did. C.R. did not press criminal charges, but filed for a protective order. She represented herself and was unable to lay a proper foundation for the admission of the notes or surveillance video. The trial court did, however, grant the protective order, finding she had shown by a preponderance of the evidence that C.V. had stalked her and that he represented a “credible threat” to her safety.

C.V. appealed the May 2016 order, arguing that C.R. failed to present sufficient evidence to support the issuance of the protective order. The Court of Appeals agreed and reversed. Judge Rudolph Pyle cited Maurer v. Cobb-Maurer, 994 N.E.2d 753, 757 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013) in his opinion, in which the appeals court held a man did not stalk his ex-wife because his wife did not produce specific information about the number of emails he sent or any evidence she asked him to stop contacting her.

Pyle noted that C.V.’s contact with C.R. was relatively vague and not constant, and that C.R. did not produce any evidence that she asked C.V. to stop sending her the notes or that he persisted after she asked him to stop.

Pyle also wrote that the nature of C.V.’s contact appeared to be relatively non-threatening – he left her notes in a public place and the dates happened to coincide with his treatment at the VA.

“These factors might not be dispositive under different circumstances. However, because there was no evidence that the contents of the notes were threatening, we cannot conclude that there was sufficient evidence that a reasonable person would have felt terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened by C.V.’s acts under these circumstances.”