Governor Mike Pence will offer remarks to students and faculty during Ivy Tech Community College Day at the Statehouse. Details below.
Wednesday, February 10:
11:30 a.m. EST – Governor Pence to offer remarks during Ivy Tech Community College Day
*Media are welcome to attend.
Statehouse, North Atrium – 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN
St. Mary’s Senior Connection will hold a Welcome to Medicare seminar Tuesday, February 23rd, at 4:00 p.m. at 951 S. Hebron Ave., Suite C (between Bellemeade and Washington Ave.) adjacent to the Senior Connection Office.
When individuals and their families are new to the federal Medicare program, it can be confusing and frustrating at first glance. This program will help you better understand the many different parts of Medicare and what your options are when you enroll.
This is an informational program only. No specific plans or companies will be discussed. The seminar will be presented by Gina Downs, Director of St. Mary’s Senior Connection. It is free but registration is required. Call St. Mary’s Senior Connection at 812-473-7271 or toll free at 800-258-7610 for reservations and directions.
Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com
The owner of a piece of southern Indiana property who could not reach his land because neighbors would not permit him to drive across their properties has lost his attempt to get to a main road.
Robert Hoyt owns a 40-acre lot in a heavily forested region south of Bloomington. His land is hemmed in by neighbors and has no link to the West Burma Road.
In attempting to gain access, he filed suit in state court in 2001. Seven years later, the case was moved to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, where the court ruled for the defendants. Hoyt then appealed to the 7th Circuit in 2012 which held oral arguments in late 2015. He argued he should be able to use roads that connect his property to the West Burma Road.
Judge Richard Posner described the case as “overly complicated, overly litigated†and “a legal monstrosity.†The jurist also disdained how long this lawsuit has taken to wind through the courts.
In the 7th Circuit opinion, Posner admonished, “The duration of this litigation is inexplicable and inexcusable – for it’s actually a pretty simple case!â€
Hoyt asserted he should have access to a road used by the U.S. Forest Service as well as to a shorter road, dubbed the Strip.
Specifically, Hoyt argued he had a prescriptive easement to a private road in the Forest Service’s lot. However, the 7th Circuit noted Hoyt offered no evidence that the road was used continuously by his property’s previous owner which is required for an easement by possession rather than by purchase.
Separately, Hoyt contended he has access to the Strip because an heir to one of the neighboring plots quitclaimed the road to him. Other neighbors disputed that, maintaining the 1965 deed conveyed only an easement which was then sold to the Forest Service in 1967 so there was nothing left for the heir to quitclaim to Hoyt.
The 7th Circuit found that for much of the time the Strip was not a road but just a piece of land on which a gravel road was eventually built. The panel noted since the road did not exist, Hoyt would have needed an easement that would have expressly permitted him to build a road on another person’s property.
“And that’s it for Hoyt,†Posner concluded in Robert F. Hoyt v. Michael L. Benham, et al., 12-1581. “… So plainly there is no public road between Hoyt’s lot and the West Burma Road in the southern lot, and equally plainly he has no right to insist on free passage from his lot to the public road over the string of roads discussed in this opinion.â€
Eagles Return To PAC
University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball returns to the Physical Activities Center Thursday at 5:15 p.m., when it hosts Maryville University, and Saturday at 1 p.m., when it hosts the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Thursday’s game is USI’s Heart Awareness Night, sponsored by Deaconess Hospital; while Saturday’s game is Homecoming and the Screaming Eagles’ annual Play4Kay game. USI fans are encouraged to wear red on Thursday and pink on Saturday.
USI (10-11, 3-10 GLVC) enters the week trying to stop a 10-game losing streak, its longest skid since losing 12 straight games during the 1991-92 season. The Eagles have struggled from three-point range in the last 10 games, having shot just 25.0 percent (36-144) from behind the arc. Additionally, opponents are averaging 7.7 made three-pointers per game and have connected on at least nine three-pointers in six of the last 10 games.
Despite the losing streak, the Eagles still find themselves with the opportunity to gain ground in the race for a Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament berth and a first-round home game.
USI is two games behind Rockhurst University, William Jewell College, and McKendree University for the No. 8 seed, which earns a first-round home game.
Junior forward Hannah Wascher (Rantoul, Illinois) leads the Eagles with 14.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, while junior guardTanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) is contributing 12.3 points and 3.3 assists per contest. Sophomore guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) is chipping in 11.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per outing.
Standing in the way of the Eagles’ quest for a GLVC Tournament berth and a first-round home game is Maryville and Missouri-St. Louis.
Maryville (10-10, 4-9 GLVC) enters Thursday’s game with the Eagles following a 60-47 victory over McKendree University this past Saturday. Senior center Alex Hillyer had 19 points to lead the Saints, while junior forward Alex Wolf contributed 12 rebounds.
Hillyer is averaging 16.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game to lead the Saints, while Wolf is contributing 9.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest. Sophomore guard Ali Ringering is chipping in 12.8 points per appearance.
USI defeated Maryville, 82-66, a year ago and leads the all-time series, 4-1. The Eagles are 31-10 all-time against Missouri-St. Louis after defeating the Tritons 59-48 during the regular season and 77-65 in the quarterfinals of the GLVC Tournament.
The Tritons (9-12, 4-9 GLVC), who visit Bellarmine University Thursday, are coming off a 61-53 victory over the University of Illinois Springfield and have won two straight games.
Senior forward Kelly Kunkel leads the Tritons with 12.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while sophomore forward/center Jordan Fletcher is adding 10.8 points and a team-best 5.9 rebounds per contest.
The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office announces passing of K-9 Ajax (pronounced “eye-axe”). Ajax was was placed in service in 2004 and was retired in 2013. A Sable German Shepherd imported from the Czech Republic, Ajax racked up some impressive numbers during his career. Ajax apprehended dozens of felons and located thousands of grams of narcotics during the nine years he spent assigned to his handler, Sgt. Robert Clark.
Sheriff Dave Wedding stated, “We accept that these dogs will only be with us for a short time, which doesn’t make losing one any easier. Back in the 1990’s I considered my K-9 to be a true partner, we were two parts of the same team. I know Sgt. Rob Clark felt the same way about Ajax.”
The Sheriff’s Office thanks Ajax for his years of faithful service to the Sheriff’s Office and to the citizens of Vanderburgh County.
Reggie Walton, the former director of the Indy Land Bank, was sentenced Monday to nine years in federal prison for his role in a scheme in which he received kickbacks for fraudulently directing the sale of abandoned or tax-delinquent properties.
U.S. District Judge William Lawrence also imposed a $250,000 fine on Walton, 32, who was found guilty by a jury last year on eight felony charges including wire fraud and bribery.
“The citizens of Indianapolis deserve better from their public officials,†said U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler in a statement. “Betraying the public’s trust and wasting tax dollars is a crime we take very seriously.â€
The sentencing comes after a federal corruption probe involving the city’s land bank, which managed the disposition of tax-delinquent, abandoned properties. Federal prosecutors charged five men, including two city employees, who used their government positions to transfer promising properties in exchange for cash.
David Johnson, executive director of the Indiana Minority AIDS Coalition, was also found guilty on five counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering during last year’s trial. He was sentenced in December to five years in prison. Three other co-defendants agreed to plea deals before trial.
Much of the federal government’s case relied on Walton’s own words as he discussed business moves with his partners in phone calls the government was secretly monitoring. The government also taped conversations between Walton and an undercover FBI agent wearing a wire and posing as an out-of-state businessman.
The purpose of the Indy Land Bank was to acquire abandoned and tax delinquent properties and return them to an economically viable use. The agency sold properties to not-for-profit and for-profit real estate developers. For-profit investors were required to pay at least the appraised value of the property. Not-for-profit purchasers, however, could bypass the auction process and buy real estate for a price between $1,000 and $2,500 per parcel, regardless of the appraised value of the property.
Prosecutors said Walton accepted bribes to arrange sales to not-for-profit organizations that would then sell the properties to for-profit businesses. After these “pass-through†transactions had taken place, Walton and Johnson would receive kickback payments from the not-for-profit organizations from the proceeds of the property sales.
Walton, a Purdue University engineering graduate who joined the city in 2008 after a layoff from Pepper Construction, had said on the stand during his trial that in retrospect, his side business—conducted with cash and without using his name on any documents—looked bad. But he had insisted his position managing the Land Bank did not give him an unfair edge buying and flipping Land Bank properties because the Metropolitan Development Commission eventually had to sign off on the land transfers.
Walton admitted, however, that he never disclosed he would personally profit from those transfers. The not-for-profit Renew Indianapolis now handles the former Indy Land Bank’s duties.
State Auditor Crouch Announces Launch of 21st Century Government Transparency Tour
State Auditor Suzanne Crouch will hold a press conference in Evansville to announce the launch of the 21st Century Government Transparency tour which will seek the public’s input and participation on ways the Auditor’s office can improve Indiana’s Transparency Portal.
What: Press conference announcing 21st Century Government Transparency Tour
When:Â Wednesday, February 10 at 12:30 p.m. CT
Where: Southwest Indiana Chamber – 4th Floor Lobby
318 Main Street, Suite 401
Evansville, IN 47708
Mosby Declares Granting Public 3 Minutes To Speak Is Merely A Favor That Could Be RescindedÂ
We looked in on Monday night’s City Council meeting, expecting a very routine meeting. When we had last checked the agenda, it appeared that there were no issues of consequence to be discussed. That turned out not to be the case. After the meeting, we came away from our television sets not knowing whether to laugh, cry, or look for another city to move to.
It became clear early that the sole function of the majority of the Councilors is to be present in order to compose a quorum and to respond with “aye†when their name is called by City Clerk Laura Windhorst. Most of the action was handled by Councilors McGinn, Mercer, Weaver, and Hargis, presided over by Missy Mosby.
The un-funny “funny business†began with the appearance before Council of John Graybill, who was apparently placed on the agenda after the deadline, which is noon on the Wednesday before the Monday meeting. Mr. Graybill’s name may be familiar to some of our readers, from the rather spirited discussion that took place on CCO of what investigators say was the arson at Inland Marina. Mr. Graybill has apparently been grinding an ax for a number of years with Ron and Gail Riecken and their family over having his boat “evicted†from their marina.  He now has shown up at City Council proposing a series of ordinances governing the operation of privately owned marinas, some of which would be expensive and appear unneeded according to the two current members of the Marina who appeared to speak in favor of not changing ordinances concerning the safety of the operation of the facility.
The City-County Observer is not taking sides in the matter of Mr. Graybill’s plan.  We were surprised when Mr. Graybill was given ten minutes to present his suggested ordinances, but the two gentlemen who appeared to refute Mr. Graybill’s proposal were limited to only three minutes. We were taken aback when Ms. Mosby announced that it had “been reported†that she had “put in†the Graybill ordinance proposal, but she denied having done so. We are not aware of such a report, but will surely explore the possibility now.
She then went on to remind the public that the Council does not “have†to hear them at all, and that the three minutes they are granting was merely a favor that could be rescinded at any time. Unlike Ms. Mosby, we believe that it is in the public interest to respect the right of the free speech in all matters of government.
We were also amazed that when a lady rose to ask a question about whether or not allegations in the Courier and Press by Editor Tim Ethridge concerning the behavior of Councilman Jonathon Weaver were true, Ms. Mosby broke in before the woman could finish her question, stating that the Council did not have time to deal with “slander.†The questioner replied that she was asking that Mr. Weaver confirm or deny the allegations, and Ms. Mosby asked the lawyer for Council his advice. He advised that no answer be given, and Weaver complied.
The Evansville City Council did strike one more blow against transparency and accountability during last nights meeting, that Ms. Mosby brought up. She suggested that verbatim minutes no longer be kept by the City Clerk, but only that “summaries†of meetings be written by employees in that office. Mosby assured the Council that it is an antiquated practice and not necessary since digitized recordings of the meetings are available to the public. Councilman McGinn actually questioned whether or not a vote was even needed, telling Mrs. Windhorst that “You got elected, you can do whatever you want.† We realize that McGinn no longer practices law, but we wonder if he truly believes that being elected to an office allows the officeholder to do whatever they wish. We do not believe that, and neither should any public servant. Whether they are elected or appointed, they owe their jobs to the taxpayers. We, the people do not believe that any “mandate†our current officials claim overrides their obligation to fair, open hearings of both sides of issues that come before them, nor does it make them above the law.
Todays “Readers Poll” question is “You Agee with Missy Mosby That Granting The Public 3 Minutes To Speech Is Merely A Favor”?
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