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Baseball looking to gain momentum going into final conference series

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 The University of Evansville baseball team can finish anywhere from third to seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, but head coach Wes Carroll and his Purple Aces team will be more concerned about picking up momentum this week at Indiana State going into next week’s conference tournament.

“We need to get back to playing Evansville baseball,” Carroll said. “Hopefully, we can play our style of baseball this weekend and get some confidence and momentum going into next week. I think that will be crucial for us.”

The Aces (26-23, 8-10), who started off the MVC season with four consecutive series victories have dropped from second in the standings down to fifth after falling in back-to-back series against Dallas Baptist and Southern Illinois. This weekend marks another chance to move back up into the top half of the conference as the Aces will be taking on the second-place Sycamores (32-18, 11-7).

Both ISU and SIU own 11-7 league marks entering the final week, which is 2.5 games off the pace of conference leading DBU (34-16, 13-4 MVC). SIU will be squaring off with fourth-place Bradley (24-19, 8-9 MVC), while both Wichita State (19-33, 8-10 MVC) and Illinois State (17-32, 7-10 MVC) check in just behind the Aces at sixth and seventh in the standings. Preseason conference favorite Missouri State (30-19, 4-13 MVC) sits in eighth place.

If the Aces are to be successful next week, Carroll believes that the process will need to start this weekend, beginning with an Aces offense that managed just five runs over three games last week against SIU.

“We need to get back to being a scrappy kind of offensive club at the top of the line-up,” Carroll explained. “Our on-base percentage hasn’t been great these last two weeks, so we need to focus on getting on base, and then having the guys in the middle of the line-up step up and drive in the runs. We haven’t been able to get those big innings, and that will be really important for us these next two weeks.”

UE’s offense has been one of the biggest bright spots in 2016, but with the loss of power hitter Jonathan Ramon, other hitters will be expected to step up and fill his shoes. Ramon, a senior, became the first UE hitter in over six years to hit double-digit home runs earlier this season, but he’s in line to miss the rest of the year due to injury. However, despite this loss, UE may still be able to replace his production in aggregate as every player with an at-bat this season has recorded a home run.  Korbin Williams, who joined Ramon with 10 homers earlier this month, leads the pack, and Trey Hair isn’t far behind him with eight round-trippers to go along with a team-best .351 batting average.

In all, four Aces players own .300 or better averages, but no one has touched the success of Boomer Synek in league play. A senior out of Northbrook, Ill., the catcher is hitting .394 in MVC games with a .469 on-base mark. Fellow senior Josh Jyawook has been impressive as well, hitting .373 with a team-best 13 runs batted in.

Meanwhile, the Aces will once again turn to Patrick Schnieders and Alex Weigand on the mound. The duo has started in every MVC series so far this season, but they’ve only recorded a winning decision twice as the UE bullpen has combined to pick up the other five victories. The duo is slated to pitch on Thursday and Friday, respectively, and Saturday’s starter for the regular season finale has not yet been determined.

First pitch at Bob Warn Field is slated for 5:30 p.m. Central.

NOTES: UE has homered 47 times this season, which is the most since leaving the park 53 times in 2010 … This weekend will mark the 100th, 101st and 102nd meetings between ISU and UE since the Aces started playing at the Division I level in 1978 … In those games, UE is 42-57 … The Aces have won each of the past three season series with the Sycamores … The first two meetings between the schools came in 1946 … The first UE win in the series was a 9-0 decision in 1948 … The first DI showdowns came in the form of a two-game split in 1978 … UE is 221-158 against Indiana schools since 1978.

 

US backs Syrian refugees against Pence at 7th Circuit

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Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com

The Department of Justice is urging the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to affirm an Indianapolis district court judge’s ruling that blocked Gov. Mike Pence’s directive to suspend federal aid to Syrian refugees resettled in Indiana.

“The United States is filing this amicus brief in support of the federal government’s interest in ensuring that the refugee program is operated free of discrimination and, more generally, that recipients of federal funds do not engage in prohibited discrimination,” the department wrote in a friend-of-the-court brief filed Monday.

Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Indiana ruled in March that Pence’s directive “clearly discriminates”  against refugees from the war-torn country. Pratt also granted a preliminary injunction blocking suspension of aid, ruling plaintiff Exodus Refugee Immigration was likely to prevail on the merits of the suit.  She also wrote in her order that withholding federal grant money from the aid group “in no way furthers the state’s asserted interest in the safety of Indiana residents.”

Exodus sued Pence in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. The suit claimed Pence’s directive last year to suspend certain federal aid for Syrian refugees in the wake of the November terror attacks in Paris was discriminatory and that he was exempted by federal law from taking such actions. Pence in court filings raised doubts about the screening process for refugees and argued as governor he was responsible for the safety of residents. The Justice Department also filed a brief in support of Exodus before the District Court.

Pence appealed Pratt’s ruling, but failed to persuade the judge to lift the injunction. At the 7th Circuit, the state argues it has legitimate public safety concerns in seeking temporary and partial suspension of grant payments to Exodus. It also says the federal government has not provided Indiana with sufficient information about the vetting process used to screen war refugees from Syria before Exodus relocated them to Indiana.

The DOJ argues Pence’s actions violate the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Refugee Act of 1980. It says Indiana’s participation in the federal Refugee Social Services Program prohibit interference with funds meant to assist resettlement of vetted refugees. “The United States supports the district court’s conclusion that Indiana has no authority to refuse assistance to refugees based on their country of origin,” the brief says.

“(A) blanket refusal to provide services to Syrian refugees, including refugees who already reside in Indiana, is by no means narrowly tailored to advance the State’s asserted purpose,” the federal government argues. “The federal government has exclusive authority to determine which refugees will be admitted to the United States, and States have no authority to discriminate against those refugees based on their country of origin.”

Indiana is one of several states whose governors issued similar policy statements aiming to block the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the wake of the Paris attacks, but Pratt’s ruling was the first addressing such court challenges. Texas has sued the federal government and has filed an amicus brief in support of Indiana in its appeal against Exodus.

“The resettlement of refugees is, by design, to be a cooperative process, involving significant information sharing,” Texas argues in its brief filed last month. “The district court’s order … is devoid of both historical context and an understanding of the rights the States have in resettlement. … (L)ying at the heart of the extant dispute is the federal government’s unwillingness to comply with the consultation and collaboration requirements of the Refugee Act.”

Meanwhile, the American Jewish Conference also has filed an amicus brief in this case in support of affirming Pratt’s ruling. The AJC argues Pence’s action directly conflicts with federal law.

Adam Lurie of the Washington law firm Linklaters LLP is among the drafters of the group’s brief. He said in a statement, “Especially given the challenges that Jewish refugees have historically faced, AJC has long championed fair U.S. immigration and refugee policies. AJC is therefore proud to stand with these Syrian refugees who the federal government has screened and found do not pose a security threat, and argues in its amicus brief that Indiana’s attempt to exclude only Syrian – but no other — refugees violates the U.S. Constitution.’”

Briefing in the case is scheduled to continue until at least mid-June.

Adopt A Pet

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Meet the Vanderburgh Humane Society’s longest feline resident. Alice is 2 years old and has been waiting on a home for more than three months. She’s a tortoiseshell with lots of personality from whiskers to toes! She goes home spayed, vaccinated, microchipped, and FeLV/FIV tested for only $30. Call (812) 426-2563 or visit www.vhslifesaver.org for adoption details!

 

AG Zoeller To Testify Before U.S. Senate Committee On Stopping Robocalls

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Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller to Testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation  Wednesday, May 18, 10 AM ET in the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in the Russell Senate Office Building, Room 253, Washington, DC

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller will testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on protecting consumers from unwanted calls, scams and robocalls, and the impact of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Along with other state attorneys general, Zoeller has been urging this committee since February to pass the HANGUP Act, which would repeal a recent amendment to the TCPA allowing debt collection robocalls to peoples’ cell phones if the debt is owned or guaranteed by the United States.

A livestream of the committee will be available on www.commerce.senate.gov. More information about the committee hearing can be found here. 

USI T&F earns seven All-Region awards

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University of Southern Indiana Men’s and Women’s Track & Field garnered seven U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association All-Midwest Region honors Wednesday.

Sophomore Emily Roberts (Fredericktown, Ohio) and senior Johnnie Guy (Palmyra, Indiana) both earned All-Midwest Region accolades in the 5,000 meters as well as the 10,000 meters. Guy was one of four USI men’s competitors to earn All-Region honors as senior Tyler Pence (Springfield, Illinois) and junior Josh Guy (Palmyra, Indiana) collected honors in the 10,000 meters while junior Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) earned the award in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

The top five individuals in each event from each region earned the All-Region distinction, in addition to each of the members of the regions’ top three relay teams.

Roberts ranks first in the region in the 10,000 meters and second in the 5,000 meters, while Johnnie Guy is first in the region in both the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters. Broughton ranks second, regionally, in the steeplechase, while Pence and Josh Guy rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 10,000 meters.

USI is sending seven competitors to the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships May 26-28 in Bradenton, Florida. Roberts is slated to compete in both the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters, while seniors Jamie Adkins (Owensboro, Kentucky) and Jessica Reeves (Midland, Michigan) earned bids in the women’s 10,000 meters.

Johnnie Guy and Pence are slated to compete in both the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters on the men’s side, while Broughton and Josh Guy are slated to compete in the steeplechase and the 10,000 meters, respectively.

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

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 Below is a list of the felony cases filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office today.

Amber Lynn Gaff Operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator, Level 6 felony

Steven Ray Scarbrough Burglary, Level 4 felony

Theft, Level 6 felony

Resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor

 Amanda Leigh Flemmon Battery against a public safety official, Level 6 felony

Jamialia Otanri Dashi Lewis Theft, Level 6 felony

Javier Sntino Cuellar Battery against a public safety official, Level 6 felony

Resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor

Criminal trespass, Class A misdemeanor

Demanzio Lamont Morris Moss Dealing in cocaine, Level 4 felony

Dealing in cocaine, Level 5 felony

Shawn Lee Welder Operating a vehicle while intoxicated, Level 6 felony

Leaving the scene of an accident, Class B misdemeanor

Michael Joseph Milburn Possession of methamphetamine, Level 6 felony

Possession of paraphernalia, Class C misdemeanor

Driving while suspended, Class A infraction

James Edward Reed Dealing in a synthetic drug or synthetic drug look-alike substance, Level 6 felony

Theft, Level 6 felony

Driving while suspended, Class A misdemeanor

Donald Clevlous Boyd Jr. Burglary, Level 4 felony

Attempted theft, Class A misdemeanor

Resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor

Sylvester Van Johnson Residential entry, Level 6 felony

Battery resulting in bodily injury, Class A misdemeanor

Teena Renee Bartlett Burglary, Level 5 felony

Theft, Class A misdemeanor

Intimidation, Class A misdemeanor

Deserae Nicole Gonzalez-Coomes Burglary, Level 4 felony

Theft, Level 6 felony

Resisting law enforcement, Level 6 felony

Auto theft, Level 6 felony

Nathan Dale McGill Unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, Level 4 felony

Possession of methamphetamine, Level 5 felony

Resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor

Andrea Alex Brown Theft, Level 6 felony

Counterfeiting, Level 6 felony

Forgery, Level 6 felony

David Santiago Aiding, inducing or causing robbery, Level 5 felony

Aiding, inducing or causing theft, Level 6 felony

Roger Dale Douglas Burglary, Level 4 felony

Theft, Level 6 felony

Resisting law enforcement, Level 6 felony

Auto theft, Level 6 felony

Resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor

Ronald Lee Heck Intimidation, Level 6 felony

Criminal trespass, Level 6 felony

Public intoxication, Class B misdemeanor

Marquan Govontee Hayes Resisting law enforcement, Level 5 felony

Causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated, Level 6 felony

Failure to remain at the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury, Level 6 felony

Resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor

Robert Allen Patton Operating a vehicle while intoxicated, Level 6 felony

Carter Opens NCAA II Championships with 79

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University of Southern Indiana Women’s Golf senior Anastasia Carter (Granger, Indiana) sits in a tie for 56th-place after the opening round of the NCAA Division II National Championships. The event is being held at the par 72, CommonGround Golf Course.

Paired with Rachel Gray of Concordia University, St. Paul and Sterling Hawkins of Academy of Art University, Carter began the tournament on the front nine.  Despite two bogies in her first three holes, Carter was able to rattle off three-straight pars. With her second bogey-par-bogey sequence of the front, Carter recorded a 40 (+4) in her opening nine.

Courtesy of a double-bogey on the par-five 11th, Carter dropped to six over for her round through 11 holes. Carter rebounded for six straight pars on holes 12-17 before ending her opening round with a bogey on 18.

Leading the field is Mailen Domecq Chantry of Nova Southeastern University who carded a three-under 69, while Brinn Fariss of Dallas Baptist University and Marisa Toivonen Augustana University are tied for second after first round scores of 70. Vilde Eriksen of St. Leo University and Lexie Toth of Rollins College finished with scores of 71 to round out the top-five.

Leading the 12 teams competing are Nova Southeaster and Rollins College in a tie for first with scores of 290 in round one. Dallas Baptist is third, three-strokes off the pace set by the leaders.

Carter will begin the second round of the event at 9:50 a.m. local time/10:50 a.m. central time on the 10th-hole with the same pairings as round one.

Live stats for the event can be found at http://bit.ly/1quGs80.

 

AG Zoeller testifies before U.S. Senate Committee on stopping robocalls, protecting Hoosier privacy

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller today testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on protecting consumers from unwanted calls, scams and robocalls, and the impact of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Zoeller has been urging this committee for several months to pass the ‘‘Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone calls (HANGUP) Act of 2015,” which would repeal a recent amendment to the TCPA allowing debt collection robocalls to peoples’ cell phones if the debt is owned or guaranteed by the United States. Prior to the amendment, the TCPA prohibited all robocalls to cell phones.

In February, Zoeller and 24 other state attorneys general called on the Committee to defend the telephone privacy rights of citizens and keep the ban on robocalls to cell phones intact.

“By carving out this exception, Congress has legitimized robocalls and opened citizens up to a barrage of unwanted or misplaced calls,” Zoeller said in his testimony. “Debt collection robocalls are aggressive, relentless and often inaccurate. Of the nearly 700 debt collection complaints my office received last year, about 90 percent were because the caller was harassing the wrong person. Not to mention, the vast majority of robocallers are scam artists. Legitimizing some types of robocalls adds confusion and creates more opportunity for fraud.”

The Senate Committee convened to discuss the impact of the 25-year-old TCPA on business and consumers. Among other telephone privacy protections, the TCPA requires solicitors to maintain a “Do Not Call” list. Indiana operates its own Do Not Call list at the state level.

Unwanted calls and robocalls are by far the most common complaint received by the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, with more than 14,000 complaints received last year at a rate of nearly 50 complaints per day. The YouMail National Robocall Index estimates that 2.5 billion robocalls were made in the U.S. in the month of March alone. The index reports that sixteen of the top twenty robocallers were debt collectors.

As Indiana’s top consumer protection advocate, Zoeller focused on the importance of ensuring federal changes and loopholes do not undermine tough state laws.

“My attorney general colleagues and I work aggressively in our states to stop unwanted, harassing calls to peoples’ landlines and cell phones,” Zoeller said in his testimony. “Our citizens continue to file complaints that they greatly object to these calls and I urge Congress to stop allowing loopholes that weaken state efforts to serve and protect consumers.”

Zoeller also urged the Senate Committee not to water down enforcement mechanisms that hold Do Not Call violators accountable for illegally harassing consumers and give individual citizens legal tools to take action against companies and individuals who violate their telephone privacy rights.

Zoeller reminded Indiana residents to sign up for Indiana’s Do Not Call list, which helps to deter unwanted sales calls and text messages, by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com or calling 1.888.834.9969.

People who are registered on the Do Not Call list and receive an unwanted call can file a complaint by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com or calling 1.888.834.9969.

Annual Honoring Women Veterans Conference at UE Set for June 18

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The seventh annual Honoring Women Veterans Conference at the University of Evansville is Saturday, June 18, 8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m., in Eykamp Hall in UE’s Ridgway University Center. This free event is a day of education, fun, and camaraderie for women who have served and currently serve in the United States military. The deadline for women veterans and current service members to register for the event is June 1.

The day’s activities include facials, manicures, massages, and more, as well as sessions on military benefits, networking, and career information. Participants can meet fellow veterans of all ages and from all branches of the service. In the past, attendees have ranged in age from 20 to 105 years old, and traveled from as far away as Oklahoma and Washington, DC, to attend.

Betty Moseley Brown, associate director for the Center for Women Veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs and Marine Corps veteran, will be the guest speaker. Brown is a dynamic speaker who has been instrumental in promoting awareness of the contributions made by women who served in the military through multiple department-wide efforts, such as VA’s Her Story campaign and the Face Behind the File: Women at War DVD.

Brown has held several positions at the VA, including veterans benefits counselor, women veterans coordinator, veterans benefits administration, compensation and pension service and later for the associate deputy under secretary for policy and program management. She was the VBS’s first outreach coordinator, coordinating outreach activities of five major programs and providing veterans and their dependents with information on benefits and services administered by VA. She serves as the national president of the Women Marines Association, a non-profit charitable organization composed of women who have served or are serving honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps regular or reserve components.

UE is proud to host this event and to celebrate the dedicated women who have served our country. The University has received numerous recognitions for being military and veteran friendly including U.S. News & World Report as a top Midwestern university and eighth for Best for Veterans. UE has also received recognition from Military Friendly Schools, Military Times, U.S. Veterans Magazine, and Military Advanced Education.

Women veterans and current service members may register online for the event at www.evansville.edu/veteransaffairs or by calling the Vet Center at 812-473-5993 or UE coordinator of veteran affairs Cherie Leonhardt at 812-488-2141.

EVSC to Offer Free Summer Lunches for Kids

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More than 16,000 students eat school lunches every day in the EVSC. And now, those students, their families and anyone in the community, have the option of eating breakfast and/or lunch throughout the summer at 10 EVSC schools -  Caze, Cedar Hall, Dexter, Evans, Glenwood, Lincoln, Lodge, McGary, Washington and Tekoppel. Lunches will be free to those 18 and younger and only $3 for individuals over 18.

The EVSC is able to offer the summer lunches as part of the United States Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

School sites, dates and times for the summer lunch program include:

Caze Elementary School May 25 – July 1 12 – 1 p.m.
Cedar Hall Community School May 25 – July 1 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Dexter Elementary School May 25 – July 1 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Evans School May 25 – July 1 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Glenwood Leadership Academy May 25 – July 1 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Lincoln School
Breakfast and lunch

Lunch only

 May 25 – June 24

 
June 27 – July 26

 9:15 – 10 a.m.

11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

 

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lodge Community School May 25 – July 1 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
McGary Middle School
Breakfast & lunch		 May 25 – June 24 9 – 9:30 a.m.
12 – 1 p.m.
Tekoppel Elementary School May 25 – July 1 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Washington Middle School
Breakfast only		 May 25 – June 24 7:45 – 8:15 a.m.

 

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