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EDITORIAL: OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW

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As we stand at the cusp of 2015 and 2016, the City-County Observer staff wants to take the opportunity to wish our readers and elected and appointed officials  a wonderful and Happy New Year.

We also are looking back at a volatile year in City government in 2015, and are expecting the coming year to be one in which the Mayor and our new City Council will largely be on the same page.

At first glance all of that common ground sounds like a positive for Evansville and its citizens, but we wonder if a lack of well-reasoned dissent might not be just as harmful for our future as the over-the-top, constant scuffling of 2015. As the year ground to a close, we saw some embarrassingly petty behavior coming from our appointed and elected leaders that culminated in taking grants away from some very worthly non-profit organizations. Even the extreme tactics of the outgoing City Council to get the 2016 budget to pass was not without value, though. The eyes of the public were opened to a number of agencies that receive tax dollars that they had been unaware of. While we see a good many non-profit agencies that do an excellent job of serving the public good that lost needed funding, we also learned of a number of less-than-worthy causes that we believe do not deserve public funding. Hopefully, we will see some of the funding for non-profits be restored, but we want to see it done with careful consideration both to the functions of the agencies and the wishes of the public.

We are not without concern about some of the issues that were raised in 2015 being swept under the rug without looking at both sides of the question, because the majority of the Council only saw one side of it.

We feel that he close out of the 2015 audit deserves real scrutiny instead of a quick determination that all is well and we should move along, as there is nothing to see. We believe that former Councilman Friend raised doubts that deserve to be addressed, and we hope the newly elected City Council President, Missy Mosby will lead a thorough and transparent investigation of the true situation of last year City audit when its made public later this month.

Another issue that we expect is a “done deal” by our new Council, the Brownfields land bank, deserves more public input and exploration.

The use of the $25 million dollar rent advance from Tropicana is something that we hope will get “due diligence”  from the Mayor and City Council how to invest it wisely.

We believe that common agreement  between the Mayor and City Council is a good thing, but we also think that agreement reached as a compromise between various opinions is often the best.  We hope our new Council members  will consider it their duty to examine their decisions in the light of public opinion and input, regardless of their own views.

The City-County Observer will be here to continue to offer a forum for differing viewpoints on government issues, and we urge our readers to continue to voice their opinions. It’s now more important than ever before.

All of that being said, we wish the 2016 City Council and Mayor Winnecke, along with all of the people of Evansville the absolute best in the coming year!

January 3, 2016- MIDDLE CLASS

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Mockevicius notches 1,000th rebound in Aces win

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Evansville defeats Missouri State, 76-59

  Senior Egidijus Mockevicius became just the third player in program history and the 14th player in the Missouri Valley Conference record books to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds as the Purple Aces men’s basketball team picked up a 76-59 win over Missouri State on Saturday at JQH Arena.

 

“In the second half, we did what we needed to do to get the win.  We have a lot of room for improvement to get where we need to be,” head coach Marty Simmons said.  “Everyone knows where we go on Wednesday and we just have to get better before heading to Wichita.”

 

Mockevicius tied his career mark with 21 rebounds and finished the day with an even 1,000 caroms.  He also added 21 points on an unbelievable 6-of-7 shooting day.  D.J. Balentine had a stellar day with 19 points while Adam Wing finished the game with 15.

 

The Aces (13-2, 2-0 MVC) put the first points on the board, leading 2-0, but the Bears were helped by a Chris Kendrix triple as they took a 9-6 lead.  Evansville fought back with 9-0 stretch as Mislav Brzoja nailed a triple and Mockevicius added three more points to give UE a 15-9 lead.  With UE continuing to lead at 17-11, the Bears (4-10, 0-2 MVC) went on a 16-2 run to take their largest lead at 27-19 on a Jarred Dixon layup.

 

Mockevicius ended a UE scoring drought that spanned over six minutes with his fourth bucket of the game with three minutes remaining and Adam Wing wrapped up the period with a triple to send UE to the locker room trailing by just three, 30-27.  Turnovers plagued the Aces in the 1st as they committed 11.  UE still finished the period shooting 45.5%.

 

Just as they did in the Valley opener against Indiana State, the Aces came out with a renewed energy in the second half.  Jaylon Brown scored five points in the opening minutes of the final stanza to tie it up at 32-32.  A Balentine free throw and dunk helped UE cap off a 14-6 run to open up the half, but the Bears came back within one at 41-40.

 

Evansville continued to crank on offense as a pair of Mockevicius free throws gave the Aces a 43-40 advantage.  With 10:32 left, a pair of free throws brought MSU back within one at 44-43 before the game-changing run came.  Evansville scored 20 points in a row to go up 64-43.  Over the course of that run, Mockevicius recorded the 1,000th rebound of his career.

 

That was the difference in the game as Evansville was able to finish off the 76-59 victory to move to 2-0 in league play and 13-2 overall.

 

The Bears were led by a 16-point effort from Chris Kendrix.  He hit a pair of triples and six of his seven free throws.  Dequon Miller was next up for MSU with 14 tallies.  Mockevicius’ effort of 21 rebounds helped UE finish with a 37-28 lead on the boards.  UE also shot 54.8% on the day while holding the Bears to 37.5%.

 

UE continues on the road on Wednesday evening with a trip to preseason conference favorite Wichita State.  The Aces and Shockers will face off at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6 on ESPN3.

 

Daily Off Topic Forum January 3, 2016

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Trucker’s widow entitled to prejudgment interest, COA decides

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Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com

The widow of a truck driver killed in an accident is entitled to collect more than $622,000 in prejudgment interest on a $6 million verdict, but is otherwise barred from an award of attorney fees, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled on rehearing Thursday.

The panel in Hoker Trucking, LLC and Linda L. Phillips v. Pamela K. Robbins, as Adminstratrix of the Estate of Mike Douglas Robbins, Deceased, 89A01-1411-CT-468, recognized a misinterpretation in its prior ruling.

“In our original opinion, we concluded that based on SCI Propane v. Frederick, 39 N.E.3d 675 (Ind. 2015), ‘Robbins, as the surviving spouse, was not entitled to recover attorneys’ fees and prejudgment interest as compensable damages’ under the general wrongful death statute,” Judge Patricia Riley wrote for the panel.

“Robbins has now filed a petition for rehearing in which she contends that the prejudgment interest was not awarded on the attorneys’ fees, as we alluded to in our opinion, but on the $6,000,000.00 jury verdict. As such, she asserts SCI Propane is not applicable, and instead we should have followed the directives of the prejudgment interest statute, I.C. Ch. 34-51-4, which notes in section 1 that prejudgment interest ‘applies to any civil action arising out of tortious conduct.’  We agree. Thus, we grant rehearing for the limited purpose of addressing the prejudgment interest award; in all other respects, we affirm our original opinion.”

Adopt A Pet

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Midnight is a 6-month-old male black kitten! He is curious and loves people. His siblings Turtle, Moonshine, and Wiggles are up for adoption, too! His $30 fee includes his neuter, microchip, vaccines, and more. Call (812) 426-2563 or visit www.vhslifesaver.org for adoption details!

 

AGENDA OF NEXT VANDERBURGH COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

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AGENDA

Vanderburgh County

Board of Commissioners

January 5, 2016

4:00 pm, Room 301

  1. Call to Order
  2. Attendance
  3. Pledge of Allegiance
  4. Invocation
  5. Election of Officers
  6. Action Items
  1. County Treasurer: Board of Finance
  2. Contracts, Agreements and Leases
    1. County Treasurer: Tax Statement Print and Mail Contract with The Master’s Touch, LLC
    2. Juvenile Court: Independent Services Agreement with Brian Oberst
    3. Community Corrections: 2016-2017 Grant Application Letter of Support
    4. Treatment Court:
      1. Contract with Brian Deardurff
      2. Contract with Regene Newman
    5. Commissioners:
      1. 2016 County Attorney Contract
      2. METS USI Transportation Contract with the City of Evansville 2016
      3. METS Elderly and Disabled Transportation Services between the City of Evansville and Vanderburgh County 2016
  1. Department Head Reports
  2. New Business
  3. Old Business
  4. Public Comment
  5. Consent Items
    • Approval of December 22, 2015 Meeting Minutes
    • Employment Changes
    • Superintendent of County Buildings:
      1. JE Shekell Proposal No. 155-2908 for OCH Boiler-Chiller Repairs
      2. JE Shekell Proposal No. 155-2896 for OCH Boiler-Chiller Repairs
      3. JE Shekell Proposal No. 155-2897 for OCH Boiler-Chiller Repairs
      4. JE Shekell Proposal No. 155-2898 for OCH Boiler-Chiller Repairs
      5. December 2015 Department Head Report
  • County Auditor:
      1. Approval of December 2015 A/P Vouchers
      2. Two Barrett Law Lien Releases for Bohannon Estates Barrett Law Project
      3. Vacation Rollover Request
  • Engineering: Department Head Report
  • Weights and Measure: Monthly Report
  • Rezoning:
      1. First Reading of Rezoning Ordinance VC-1-2016

Petitioner: Kasson Properties, LLC

Address: 4001 Big Cynthiana Road

Request: Change from Ag to C-4 with UDC

      1. Final Reading of Rezoning Ordinance VC-12-2015 as Amended

Petitioner: Charles & Carolyn Ann Farney

Address: 728 E. Baseline Road

Request: Change from Ag to R-4 with Amended UDC

  1. Adjournment

COA: Doctor Had Duty To Nurse Practitioner’s Patient Who Died

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Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com

An Indiana doctor who entered into an agreement with a nurse practitioner to review her prescription practices had a duty to one of the nurse practitioner’s patients, who later died in part because of medicines prescribed to him.

Robert A.J. Ratts was treated by nurse practitioner Dena Barger, who owns her own medical practice. Pursuant to a collaborative practice agreement with Dr. John Collip, he was to oversee her prescriptive authority and review at least 5 percent of her charts on a weekly basis to evaluate her prescriptive practices. Indiana law requires a licensed physician to oversee an NP who prescribes legend drugs.

Ratts, a high-risk patient, was prescribed multiple medications by Barger, including Lortab, methadone, Wellbutrin, lithium and Xanax. He died in March 2009, and an autopsy revealed the cause of death was acute bronchopneumonia complicating mixed-drug interaction.

Collip never treated or saw Ratts in any capacity and never reviewed any of his medical records before his death or the lawsuit filed by Ratts’ mother, Vickie. In fact, he admitted that he never reviewed any of Barger’s charts on a weekly basis. Collip also has CPAs with 11 or 12 other NPs and also was working 90 hours per week as a family practice physician.

Vickie Ratts argued that Collip owed a duty to Ratts as a matter of law. The trial court granted summary judgment to her on that issue, which the Court of Appeals affirmed on interlocutory appeal in John Collip, M.D. v. Vickie Ratts on behalf of Robert A.J. Ratts, deceased, and Little Creek Family Health Center, LLP, 49A05-1501-CT-1.

The judges found all three of the Webb v. Jarvis factors weigh strongly in favor of the imposition of duty and held as a matter of law that a physician who enters into a CPA with a nurse practitioner has a duty of reasonable care to the NP’s patients in fulfilling his or her obligations under the CPA. The appellate court also found Collip had a duty under Section 324A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts.

“We again note that this holding does not render Dr. Collip the guarantor of Barger’s medical practices; instead, it merely requires him to fulfill his duty of reasonable care in complying with the CPA,” Judge John Baker wrote. “We express no opinion as to the remaining elements Mother must prove to prevail on her complaint, as those must be considered by a factfinder.”

IceMen Host Missouri and Wichita

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Missouri (25-3-0-1) vs. IceMen (12-15-2-0)             Wichita (7-20-1-3) vs. IceMen (12-15-2-0)

Saturday, January 2nd – 7:15pm CST                                                                    Sunday, January 3rd – 5:15pm CST

Ford Center – Evansville, IN                                                                                                 Ford Center – Evansville, IN

Union Night                                                                                                                                              Subway Family Night

 

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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