FOOTNOTE: EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.
Gov. Holcomb, IDHS announce next round of personal protective equipment for volunteer fire stations across Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS – Governor Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security today announced a $10 million state investment in new personal protective equipment (PPE). This new equipment will allow volunteer firefighters across Indiana to better serve their communities.
Most Indiana communities are served by volunteer fire departments, and many operate on shoestring budgets and with dilapidated equipment. Some wear protective gear and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) that may be more than a decade old.
Through Gov. Holcomb’s 2023 Next Level Agenda, $17.7 million was allocated to firefighters through PPE and new training facilities for volunteer stations across Indiana. This investment marks the first time the Indiana General Assembly has dedicated funds specifically to firefighters. The only other funding source for firefighters is the tax revenue from the sale of fireworks in Indiana.
“While most people run from dangerous situations, firefighters run toward them to serve their community,” said Gov. Holcomb. “This investment is long overdue in our state. Nothing could be more important than for these brave men and women to be both properly suited and trained. It’s how we can best serve them as they serve us.”
The $10 million will purchase 940 complete sets of PPE and SCBA, benefiting 66 fire departments across every Indiana fire district. The selection process addressed the poorest volunteer departments first and those with the oldest equipment. The attached map outlines the areas where the equipment will be delivered.
“I travel extensively across the state, and I’m shocked sometimes at the rags that some of these men and women are wearing on fire scenes. They run into burning buildings and are supposed to feel protected,” said Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones. “The volunteer fire service is the backbone of Indiana fire protection. This investment is long overdue, and we will be working hard to find additional funding to enhance safety even more in the years to come.”
The funds are administered by the Indiana Fire and Public Safety Academy, led by the Indiana State Fire Marshal and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. The vendor, MES Inc., will work directly with individual firefighters to measure and fit the equipment before delivery.
IDHS accepted submissions for several months in 2023 to determine the highest need departments. The application process is now closed.
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USI Baseball loses close one with WKU
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball lost hard fought game with Western Kentucky University, 2-1, Tuesday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 15-22, while WKU goes to 26-12.
The Screaming Eagles’ offense was stymied for the first seven innings, while WKU built a 2-0 lead on just two hits. The Hilltopper runs came courtesy of a home run in the second inning and a bases-loaded hit batter in in the fifth.
USI stayed in the game with good pitching from six different pitchers which blanked the Hilltoppers for seven of the nine frames and struck out eight hitters. USI junior right-hander Tyler Hutson (Villa Hills, Kentucky) (0-4) started and took the loss for the Eagles, going two innings and allowing the second inning home run.
The Eagles made a run at WKU in the eighth inning, cutting the deficit to 2-1. USI junior third baseman Ricardo Van Grieken (Venezuela) reached on an error and would score from first on a two-out double by senior designated hitter Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas), who also took third on a second WKU error in the inning before being stranded to end the frame.
After a USI held the Hilltoppers in the top of the ninth, USI went three-up and three-down as WKU closed out the 2-1 final.
USI junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux City, Iowa) led the Eagles at the plate with a three-for-four performance and was the only Eagle to have multiple hits. Thompson-Allen has a team-high 18 multi-hit games this season.
Up Next for the Eagles:
The Eagles continue the five-game homestand this weekend (April 19-20) with a three-game OVC series versus the University of Tennessee at Martin. The first pitch Friday is set for 6 p.m. before continuing Saturday at 3 p.m. and concluding Sunday at 1 p.m.
This weekend is USI Faculty/Staff Appreciation Weekend. USI faculty, staff, and their families will be admitted free to any game this weekend. USI employees need to bring a valid University faculty/staff ID to the entrance of the USI Baseball Field for the free entry.
In addition to USI Faculty Appreciation Weekend, Friday is West Side Nut Club Night at the USI Baseball Field.
The Skyhawks of UT Martin are 13-23 overall and 5-7 in the OVC after losing two of three at home to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Eagles lead the all-time series with UTM, 7-5, despite losing two of three in their first season in the OVC last year.
BASEBALL ACES WIN FIFTH-STRAIGHT WITH 5-4 WIN AT INDIANA
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – University of Evansville pitchers Kevin Reed, Drew Fieger and Max Hansmann combined to silence the Indiana baseball team on Tuesday evening, and graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger drove in three runs as the visiting Purple Aces knocked off the host Hoosiers, 5-4, at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, Indiana to pick up its fifth-straight victory.
“What a tremendous job today by our pitching staff,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “They really stepped up and earned us this victory tonight.
“I thought that Kevin Reed was outstanding today. He was able to do a good job of keeping IU off-balance all night long, and he made some big pitches when he needed to. I also thought that Drew Fieger did a great job of coming in to get the ball to Max Hansmann, who really was dialed in tonight.”
Indiana struck first against Reed with back-to-back doubles in the second inning, but UE quickly responded to tie the game in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Shallenberger. Shallenberger then gave UE the lead for good in the fourth inning, with a two-run single to push the advantage to 3-1. Senior designated hitter Kip Fougerousse would add another run in the fourth inning on an RBI ground out, before senior shortstop Simon Scherry launched a solo home run into the IU bullpen in left field in the fifth inning to build a 5-1 lead.
The Hoosiers would take advantage of a UE error in the fifth inning to plate a pair of runs off of Reed and cut the advantage to 5-3, but the freshman earned the victory by scattering three runs (two earned) on six hits in 5.0 innings of work while striking out three.
Fieger would take over the sixth inning and worked a perfect sixth with a pair of strikeouts, before IU would scratch across a run in the seventh inning to trim the UE lead to 5-4. That’s when Hansmann took over, retiring all six men he faced over the final two innings to earn his second save of the season.
With the victory, Evansville improves to 19-17 overall and the Purple Aces have now won nine of its last 10 games overall. Indiana, meanwhile, falls to 20-17 overall with the loss. The Purple Aces will continue on the road this weekend, as UE will travel to Peoria, Illinois to battle the Bradley Braves in a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series. The series begins Friday night at 6 p.m. in a game that can be heard live on 107.1 FM-WJPS and seen live on ESPN+.
Women’s Golf Concludes Season at OVC Championship
TUNICA, Miss.- University of Southern Indiana Women’s Golf team concluded their season with an eighth-place tie at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship in Tunica, Mississippi. The event was held over three days at the Tunica National Golf Course.
The championships are a culmination of the entire season for all nine OVC teams fighting for first place. The format included five golfers per team with the winner being awarded to the lowest team score after three rounds of play. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock hoisted the OVC Championship trophy.
Round One
The Screaming Eagles came out slow with an opening-round score of 346 on Sunday. Senior Halle Gutwein (DeMotte, Indiana) led the Eagles shooting an 82 (+10) for the round.
Round Two
USI improved throughout the tournament dropping nine strokes to their score in round two at 337. Gutwein’s consistent play led to an 82 (+10), but the biggest improvement came from junior Baileigh Schneider (Huntingburg, Indiana) who dropped her score by 10 strokes at 84 (+12) for the round.
Round Three
Round three saw the biggest jump in the tournament shooting a team score of 323, which marked a 23-stroke improvement from round one. Three Eagles shaved multiple strokes shooting below an 82 (+10). Senior Katelyn Sayyalinh (Rockford, Illinois) shot an 81 (+9), while freshman Alexis Wymer (Bridgeport, Illinois) and Gutwein both shot 80 (+8).
The Eagles had three seniors Haylee Exline (Poseyville, Indiana), Gutwein, and Sayyahlinh all playing pivotal roles in their time at USI.
Exline was sidelined this season with an injury but was a force for the Eagles in 2022-23. The Oakland City University transfer made an immediate impact in her junior season with a team-low 83.09 strokes per round after eight tournaments and owned the lowest 18-hole round of 73 at the OVC championship.
Gutwein is a four-year Eagle who has been through the GLVC and OVC era at USI. She has nabbed all-academic honors in both conferences. In 2021-2022, Gutwin posted her personal best strokes per round of 82.95. In 2023-24, she led the Eagles in three tournaments including the OVC championship.
Sayyalinh is also a four-year Eagle who has played at both levels. She made an immediate impact ranking second on the team in 2021-22 with an average strokes per round score of 81.8. In her sophomore campaign, she captured a GLVC Player of the Week honor along with an 80.24 strokes per round average. Sayyalinh won her first tournament at the Ohio Valley University Shiner’s Hospital Shootout after a season-best 36-hole performance of 156. She led the team in three different tournaments in the 2023-24 season.
Leaderboard:
| 1 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock |
| 2 | Morehead State University |
| 3 | Tennessee Tech University |
| 4 | Western Illinois Univesity |
| 5 | Lindenwood University |
| 6 | Chicago State University |
| 7 | Tennessee State University |
| T8 | University of Southern Indiana |
| T8 | Eastern Illinois University |
Rokita leads a multistate inquiry into financial company’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party
Attorney General Todd Rokita leads a multistate inquiry into financial company’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party
(Webull Financial LLC may have exposed customers’ data to CCP)
Attorney General Todd Rokita is leading a multistate inquiry into whether a Chinese-owned financial company — Webull Financial LLC — may have exposed clients’ personal information to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Hoosiers and the rest of the American public deserve to know more about Webull’s ownership and connections to the CCP,” Attorney General Rokita said. “As Indiana’s Attorney General, I have pledged since Day One to hold China accountable, and we are making good on that commitment.”
On behalf of Hoosiers, Attorney General Rokita previously brought a complaint against Chinese-owned social media company TikTok for allegedly violating data privacy laws and deceiving app users into believing their information is protected when that data is subject to Chinese law and may be intercepted by the CCP.
On March 13, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which would ban TikTok from operating in the U.S. unless it separates from its Chinese owner, ByteDance. The Act is now working its way through the Senate.
“Webull’s data protection practices and representations also warrant serious scrutiny,” Attorney General Rokita said. “In fact, Webull appears to collect more personally identifiable information and sensitive financial data from U.S. customers than TikTok.”
The company is a U.S.-registered broker-dealer that allows customers to trade U.S. stocks, options, and certain cryptocurrencies. Webull is owned by Hunan Fumi Information Technology Co., a Chinese company, and it appears to conduct substantial operations for its U.S. business using personnel and resources located directly in the People’s Republic of China.
In a letter to Webull’s CEO, Attorney General Rokita and the other attorneys general request answers from the company to 11 questions to shed more light on its data protection practices on behalf of customers.
Gov. Holcomb, IDHS announce next round of personal protective equipment for volunteer fire stations across Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS – Governor Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security today announced a $10 million state investment in new personal protective equipment (PPE). This new equipment will allow volunteer firefighters across Indiana to better serve their communities.
Most Indiana communities are served by volunteer fire departments, and many operate on shoestring budgets and with dilapidated equipment. Some wear protective gear and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) that may be more than a decade old.
Through Gov. Holcomb’s 2023 Next Level Agenda, $17.7 million was allocated to firefighters through PPE and new training facilities for volunteer stations across Indiana. This investment marks the first time the Indiana General Assembly has dedicated funds specifically to firefighters. The only other funding source for firefighters is the tax revenue from the sale of fireworks in Indiana.
“While most people run from dangerous situations, firefighters run toward them to serve their community,” said Gov. Holcomb. “This investment is long overdue in our state. Nothing could be more important than for these brave men and women to be both properly suited and trained. It’s how we can best serve them as they serve us.”
The $10 million will purchase 940 complete sets of PPE and SCBA, benefiting 66 fire departments across every Indiana fire district. The selection process addressed the poorest volunteer departments first and those with the oldest equipment. The attached map outlines the areas where the equipment will be delivered.
“I travel extensively across the state, and I’m shocked sometimes at the rags that some of these men and women are wearing on fire scenes. They run into burning buildings and are supposed to feel protected,” said Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones. “The volunteer fire service is the backbone of Indiana fire protection. This investment is long overdue, and we will be working hard to find additional funding to enhance safety even more in the years to come.”
The funds are administered by the Indiana Fire and Public Safety Academy, led by the Indiana State Fire Marshal and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. The vendor, MES Inc., will work directly with individual firefighters to measure and fit the equipment before delivery.
IDHS accepted submissions for several months in 2023 to determine the highest need departments. The application process is now closed.