2016: WHAT TO EXPECT
Raging Moderate by Will Durst
It’s hard to believe, but we’re on the brink of another presidential election year. Let us pray. Every quadrennial, the American political process plays out as a big-top carnival sideshow featuring moral contortionists, ethical geeks and fat sweaty white guys teetering on slack media wires.
Fortunately, we Americans have become as resilient to this format as fourth-generation cockroaches are to watered-down insecticide. To show how familiar, we here at Durstco have compiled a political forecast of what to expect over the coming year. Clip and save. All dates are approximate. Your mileage may differ.
FEBRUARY 1, 2016: The results of the Iowa Caucuses are dismissed by non-winning candidates as an irrational political stunt, much like a game of musical chairs without the music. And no chairs.
FEBRUARY 9, 2016: Some type of victory in the New Hampshire primary, moral or otherwise, is claimed by no fewer than seven candidates.
MARCH 1, 2016: Super Tuesday. So called for the quantity of primaries, not the quality.
MARCH 11, 2016: A rumor about a low-polling politico having an affair with an aide is revealed to be a last-ditch cynical attempt to humanize him.
MARCH 20, 2016: A flag factory in New Jersey bans all photo-ops by Presidential aspirants in an attempt to get some work done.
APRIL 16, 2016: Ronald Reagan is reported to be in a Swiss spa getting transfusions of Keith Richards’ blood. “Draft Reagan†groups spring up in thirty-seven states.
APRIL 29, 2016: A New York Times poll says 40 percent of the American public sees a need for a third party.
APRIL 30, 2016: Ben Carson announces he will run as a third party candidate.
APRIL 31, 2016: A USA Today poll says 43 percent of the American public sees a need for a fourth party.
JULY 18, 2016: In Cleveland, the Republican National Convention outlines a platform that proposes hunting the homeless for food.
JULY 22, 2016: After the Republican National Convention, the conservative wing accuses the nominee of selling out the party. Cleveland cab drivers express disgust.
JULY 25, 2016: In Philadelphia, the Democrats float a platform that endorses good and condemns bad.
JULY 26, 2016: Due to pressure from large donors, the platform is watered down.
JULY 30, 2016: After the Democratic National Convention, the liberal wing accuses the nominee of selling out the party. Philadelphia Uber drivers express dismay.
AUGUST, 2016: Absolutely nothing happens in August and it is reported upon at great length.
OCTOBER 4, 2016: The Vice Presidential debate is beaten in the ratings by a Weather Channel special on topsoil. Two days later, the DEA rules it illegal to stream a recording of it while driving.
OCTOBER 19, 2016: No Presidential candidate personally appears at the final debate. Instead, spin-doctors give detailed answers as to how the candidates would have responded if particular questions were asked in a certain way.
NOVEMBER 8, 2016: In a concerted effort not to encourage these hypocritical tools, the public stays away from the polls in record numbers.
NOVEMBER 9, 2016: The losing party’s Vice Presidential nominee calls the election an aberration and fires an opening shot kicking off the 2020 campaign. The collective national groan registers a 4.2 on the Richter scale.
BSens Recall Greenham, IceMen Sign Defenseman Joseph
Bengtsberg activated from Injured Reserve, will dress in Quad City tonight.
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The Evansville IceMen, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, and Head Coach Al Sims announced Wednesday that the AHL’s Binghamton Senators have recalled goaltender Scott Greenham for the second time this season. The IceMen also activated goalie Christoffer Bengtsberg from Injured Reserve.
This comes one day after Evansville signed defenseman Chris Joseph Tuesday to bolster a depleted corps on the blue line. The Levittown, NY native suited up in 20 games this season for the Huntsville Havoc of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL).
Greenham returns to Binghamton, where he spent nearly a month from November 16-December 10. The Ottawa, ON native appeared in two games for the BSens during his AHL stint, and stopped 20 of 25 shots in 61 minutes of action.
He will return to Binghamton indefinitely, after goaltender Matt O’Connor suffered an injury in the BSens 2-1 shootout win Tuesday against Lehigh Valley. Greenham posted a record of 4-3-1-0 in eight games with the IceMen, with a goals-against average of 2.88 and a 91.1 save percentage.
Bengtsberg had been on Injured Reserve since November 16, after suffering a lower body injury in Evansville’s 4-2 loss November 15 at Wheeling. The Stockholm, Sweden native started seven consecutive games from November 1-15, and posted a 2-4-0-0 record in that span. He has a 2.48 goal-against average and 91.4 save percentage in his first season of pro hockey in North America.
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Aces open MVC slate at home on Wednesday
Evansville hosts Indiana State at the Ford Center
  The University of Evansville men’s basketball team opens up Missouri Valley Conference play in a big way, hosting Indiana State in the league opener on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. inside the Ford Center.
Wednesday’s game against the Sycamores will be “West Side Night with the Aces†as fans can pick up vouchers to purchase $5 tickets to the game at several locations throughout the west side of Evansville. The game will also promote awareness of Logan’s Promise at the Ford Center.
For the second year in a row, Evansville went through non-conference play with just two losses, finishing up at 11-2. The much-awaited MVC schedule will begin on December 30 with a visit to the Ford Center by Indiana State. That game will be followed by a pair of tough road tests at Missouri State and Wichita State. UE is a perfect 7-0 at home for the first time since 2008-09 when the Aces won their first 10 games at Roberts Stadium.
Evansville is an unbelievable 16-2 in its last 18 games, dating back to the beginning of the CIT Championship run in March. The run is UE’s top streak since 1988-89 when the Purple Aces went 21-2 from December of ‘88 through February of ’89. UE has gone 11-2 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 1987-88 and 88-89 campaigns. After beginning at 14-2 in 87-88, UE went on to play in the NIT; a season later, the Aces were 11-2 en route to a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Reigning MVC Player of the Week Egidijus Mockevicius has moved to the top of the national lead in rebounding with 13.9 per game. In just 24 minutes of play last week against Alabama A&M, Mockevicius posted his 11th double-double in 13 games with 19 points and 18 rebounds.
D.J. Balentine continues to be the nation’s leading active scorer with 2,048 points. He is the only player in the NCAA, regardless of division, to stand with 2,000 points or more. Balentine recorded 19 points against the Bulldogs last Tuesday and remains atop the conference.
Jaylon Brown set his career high for the second time in three games, posting 19 points in the win over Alabama A&M as he hit 7 of his 9 attempts.  Over his last seven games, Brown has knocked down 30 of his 49 attempts, 61.2%. Since scoring four points in the opener against SEMO, Brown has registered six points or more every time out, including eight double-figure outings.
Indiana State begins league play with an even 6-6 record after defeating Ball State on December 22 by a final of 73-61. Devonte Brown leads the Sycamores with 14.1 points per game and has taken a team-high 140 shots. Brenton Scott is just behind him with 13.4 PPG and was the top scorer in the win over the Cardinals, tallying 19 points. Khristian Smith sits at 11.4 points and is the top rebounder on the squad, checking in at 6.2 per game.
City County Observer New Social Events Editor, Life-style Lil
One of the changes here at City-County Observer for 2016 is that our readers will be hearing from our new Social Events Editor, Life-style Lil on a weekly basis. Our lady-about-town will be here with ideas about where to go and things to do in the Evansville area and offer fun ideas to our readers!
If you want to help someone you know celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or other event let Lil tell our readers about it. If you belong to an organization or church that is putting on a fundraiser or special event, tell Lil about it.
She will help publicize your event at no cost! Just send her an email at lifestylelil@outlook.com and be sure to include the “Five Wsâ€: Who, What, When, Where, and Why!
Two Teams of EVSC Students Win WNIN Shorts by High Schoolers 2015
“The Art of Modern Farming,†a film by Bosse High School students Flora Perkins, Duvonya Milan, and Branden Travino; and “The Princess Poetry,†a film by Audrey Walters from New Tech Institute and Grace Loveless from FJ Reitz High School, have been selected as the winners of the WNIN short film competition SXHS 2015 (Shorts by High Schoolers). A total of seven teams made it to the finals.
Members of the two teams will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship and their produced videos will air on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. on WNIN.
The contest was designed to promote the visual arts in Evansville and surrounding areas and to equip high school students with skills to prepare them for a career in filmmaking or the visual arts.
Split COA finds attorney did not provide adequate counsel
Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com
Two typewritten letters and handwritten notes between a now-deceased defense attorney and a former prosecutor have divided the Indiana Court of Appeals over whether a plea agreement had actually been negotiated.
Derrell Woods convinced the Court of Appeals majority that the prosecutor offered to reduce his offense in exchange for a guilty plea but his defense counsel did not tell him about it. Also, the panel found that if Woods had known about the offer, he would have accepted.
Woods, who was 15 at the time of the offense in 2003, is currently serving a 45-year aggregate sentence after being convicted of Class A felony robbery with serious bodily injury. He claimed the prosecutor had proposed dismissing the Class A felony robbery charge and a carjacking charge in exchange for his plea to Class B felony robbery, Class D felony auto theft and Class D felony possession of cocaine with sentencing left to the trial court’s discretion.
During the post-conviction relief hearing, Woods submitted two letters dated June 23, 2003, that outline the plea offer. One letter includes handwritten notes, some illegible by the defense attorney, Brent Zook, while the other letter is clean and signed by the prosecutor John Maciejczyk.
In rejecting Woods’ petition for relief, the lower court described the first letter as non-discernable hearsay. The Court of Appeals agreed with the analysis of the first letter but noted the second letter is clear and supports Woods’ assertion that Zook did not alert his client to the prosecutor’s offer.
Pointing to Lafler v. Cooper, 132 S. Ct. 1376 (2012), Judge Edward Najam wrote for the majority, “…here Woods’ testimony that Zook did not extend the plea offer to him, absent any evidence to the contrary, is sufficient to prove prejudice. Indeed, Woods’ testimony in support of the post-conviction petition correlates with both his initial confession to police and his theory at trial that he was guilty of Class B, not Class A, felony robbery.â€
However, Judge Melissa May dissented, arguing Woods did not overcome the presumption that counsel provided adequate service. She disputed that the evidence shows Zook did not communicate the plea offer to Woods.
“…even presuming there was a valid plea offer from Class B felony robbery, the only evidence that Zook did not communicate such offer to Woods came from the testimony of Woods himself,†May wrote. “The post-conviction court was not required to believe Woods’ testimony about that fact, even if his testimony was ‘undisputed.’â€
The Court of Appeals reversed the denial of Woods’ amended petition for post-conviction relief in Derrell Woods v. State of Indiana, 20A03-1506-PC-688. It remanded with instructions to proceed as if Woods had just received the plea offer. If Woods accepts the offer but the trial court rejects it, then Woods should have a new trial.
The City of Evansville Environmental Protection Agency Fireworks and Your Health
As New Year’s Eve approaches, it will be time again for some of our friends and neighbors to bring out the fireworks in celebration. It is important to remember that while fireworks are great fun for some, they can be an aggravation to others and possibly pose a health threat to those with certain diseases and respiratory issues.
Smoke of all kinds is made of both coarse and fine particles. Fine particulates, or PM2.5, are tiny particles about 1/30th the diameter of a human hair. During and for a few hours after fireworks are lit, air quality monitors in the area may detect a spike in particulate levels. This smoke from fireworks may be a health hazard to you or your neighbor.
People most sensitive to smoke are children, the elderly, and people with heart or respiratory conditions. Short-term exposure to smoke can aggravate lung disease, trigger asthma attacks, and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections.
To minimize the impacts from fireworks smoke, sensitive individuals should reduce or eliminate their use of personal fireworks which concentrate smoke at ground level. Although the large aerial displays at community events produce more smoke, these fireworks are launched at greater heights, so the smoke is able to dissipate more before reaching people at ground level.
If you are very sensitive to smoke, enjoy the fireworks from a distance or even stay inside and watch from the window.
It is also important to be aware that the fireworks you use can affect those around you. The smoke may cause breathing issues for neighbors, the debris could create a fire hazard to neighboring properties, and the noise could be bothersome to those nearby.
Within the city of Evansville, some personal fireworks are allowed for use on New Year’s Eve between the hours of 10:00 a.m. on December 31st until 1:00 a.m. on January 1st. For more information on the rules for personal fireworks in Evansville, please visit www.evansville.in.gov or www.codepublishing.com/in/evansville  (Chapter 9.10.020).
Thank you and have a safe, healthy, and happy holiday!