SWIRCA’s Annual Auction
On Saturday, February 27, all of our supporters are invited to join us in the Activity Center for an exciting night of tailgate activities and competitive bidding. Come dressed in your most spirited outfit, sample beer from local breweries, and play cornhole, all while bidding on fantastic silent and live auction items.
Tickets will be $30. To purchase tickets, visit  www.swirca.org/auction or stop by our office at 16 W. Virginia St.Â
ADOPT A PET
This handsome guy is even more handsome than his namesake! He’s 5 years old. His $30 adoption fee includes his microchip, neuter, & vaccines. Visit www.vhslifesaver.org or call (812) 426-2563 to save a life!
Screening of Documentary on Health Care Planned at UE on February 25
The documentary, Fix It: Healthcare at the Tipping Points, will be shown Thursday, February 25, at 7:00 p.m., in Room 162, Schroeder School of Business Building on the University of Evansville campus. The screening will be followed by an open discussion. The event, which is free and open to the public, is being co-sponsored by UE’s Department of Philosophy and Religion, UE College Democrats, Tri-State Jobs with Justice and the Southwest Indiana Chapter of Hoosiers for a Common Sense Health.
Despite the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the skyrocketing costs of health care to both individuals and businesses continue to rise at a significantly higher rate than the cost of living as well as growth in the GDP. That places a debilitating strain on the economy, not to mention the nation’s health. Can this level of increasing costs be sustained, while still moving toward universal coverage? What can be done about it? This documentary and open discussion will address these questions.
For more information, contact Dick Connolly, UE professor emeritus, at 812-479-1298 or at dc25@evansville.edu.
The Governor’s Week in Photos – A Tribute to the late Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb
1) Honoring former Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb //Â A bust of former Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb rests in the rotunda of the Indiana Statehouse to memorialize his life and legacy.
Â
Â
2) Honoring former Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb // The Military Department of Indiana Ceremonial Unit Funeral Cortège departs the Indiana War Memorial for the Indiana Statehouse carrying Governor Whitcomb’s casket, joined by the Indiana National Guard’s 38th Infantry Division Band and Indiana State Police.
3) Honoring former Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb // The funeral cortège pauses on Monument Circle for a military flyover in honor of Indiana’s 43rd governor, Edgar D. Whitcomb.
 Â
4) Honoring former Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb // Governor Mike Pence and First Lady Karen Pence share a moment with former Governor Whitcomb’s wife, Evelyn Whitcomb, in the Governor’s Office before a memorial service in former Governor Whitcomb’s honor is held in the Statehouse rotunda.
5) Honoring former Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb //Â Hoosiers gather in the rotunda of the Indiana Statehouse for a memorial service to honor the life and legacy of former Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb.
6) Honoring former Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb //Â The Indiana National Guard performs a 19-round howitzer salute on the south Statehouse lawn in honor of former Governor Whitcomb.
7) Honoring former Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb // The Indiana National Guard Ceremonial Team folds the American flag atop former Governor Whitcomb’s casket in the Statehouse rotunda.
Â
8) Honoring former Governor Edgar Whitcomb // The Adjutant General, Major General Corey Carr, presents the American flag that rested atop the casket to former Governor Whitcomb’s wife, Evelyn Whitcomb.
ST. MARY’S SPONSORS ASTHMA CAMP FOR KIDS
St. Mary’s Health is pleased to announce that it will once again sponsor Camp Nota-Gona-Wheeze, an asthma camp for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. The free camp will host 50 students and will run Monday, March 21st through Thursday, March 24th from 8:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at Delaware School in Evansville. Drop off time begins at 7:30 a.m.
According to the American Lung Association, asthma is one of the most common chronic disorders among children, affecting more than 7 million children across the country. It is also one of the leading causes of school absenteeism and the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15.
Camp Nota-Gona-Wheeze, now in its 11th year, provides asthma education in a fun and interactive environment. Campers will learn to identify triggers for asthma attacks and tools to help avoid those triggers. They’ll also learn about their medications, how they work, and why it’s important to take them as prescribed by their doctors. In addition, campers will have the chance to share their asthma story and meet other children their age who are also coping with the condition.
Each day will have its own unique activity. On Wednesday morning there will be a “Caregivers Camp†educational session for parents and other caregivers of children with asthma. Thursday will feature a trip to USI, where the kids will swim in the university’s pool and make water bottle rockets for launching.
Camp Nota-Gona-Wheeze is made possible through the collaboration of several community businesses and agencies, including the EVSC and USI. St. Mary’s Health funds the camp.
Camp counselors are nursing students and respiratory therapy students, who will all be under the supervision of a USI nursing instructor. A pediatric nurse practitioner, members of the Vanderburgh County 4-H Center, and volunteers from other area agencies will help make the week a success.
Due to limited availability, sign up is recommended on or before March 18. For more information on the camp, please call 812-435-8279.
First Security Inc. Announces the Hiring of Scott Powell as Chief Credit Officer
Owensboro, Kentucky – First Security Inc., the bank holding company for First Security Bank, Inc., announced the hiring of Scott Powell as Senior Vice President, Chief Credit Officer of First Security Bank, Inc.
“I am extremely excited to announce that Scott will join the First Security team. He has a vast amount of experience that will be of great benefit in helping lead First Security,“ stated Michael F. Beckwith, President and CEO of First Security.
Prior to joining First Security, Scott was most recently the Deputy Chief Credit Officer at FSG Bank, a division of Atlantic Capital Bank, a $2.6 billion bank. He has also held various positions at Wells Fargo Bank, Integra Bank and CNB Bancshares. His ability to manage teams, influence processes and provide leadership to commercial bankers will be a great addition to First Security.
“It’s not just Scott’s experience with developing the right loan disciplines and process that excites me, but also his enthusiasm and broader banking knowledge which will make him a key part of the senior leadership team that will collaborate to create an exciting future for First Security,†stated Mr. Beckwith.
First Security, Inc. is a $600 million asset one-bank holding company with offices in Owensboro, Bowling Green, Franklin, and Lexington, Kentucky as well as Evansville and Newburgh, Indiana. The Company is traded over the counter, ticker symbol FIIT.
BREAKING NEWS: GEORGE LUMLEY REQUESTS FOR PAST EVANSVILLE BROWNFIELDS CORP. AUDITS DENIED
BREAKING NEWS
GEORGE LUMLEYS REQUESTS FOR PAST Â BROWNFIELDS CORP. AUDITS DENIED
We just received to e-mail exchange from George Lumley concerning his requests for copies of past Evansville Brownfield Corp audits.  Mr. Lumley’s correspondence between him and Brownfield Corp. attorney Nick Cirignano speaks for itself.
We post the attached e-mail exchange between Mr. Lumley and Attorney Nick Cirignano  for your review and comments.
Starting next week the City County Observer shall be contacting the Division of the Office of the Special Inspector General For The Troubled Asset Relief Program are and ask that they begin a special investigations on Evansville Brownfield Corp soon as possible.
Enough is enough. Â Evansville Brownfield financial operations solely depends on taxpayers money (Federal-State and local). Â The taxpayers of this community deserves to know how their hard earned tax dollars are being spent.
We are extremely disappointed in the main stream media for not getting involved in this issue of “transparency and “public access”.
Below is the correspondence between Lumley and Evansville Brownfield Corp Attorney
George Lumley Add to contacts 8:03 AM Keep this message at the top of your inbox
To: ‘Nick Cirignano’ Cc: ‘Coures, Kelley’, ‘Rusk, Carolyn’
george.f.lumley@gmail.com
Mr. Cirignano
I will try to summarize here the information that I would like to provide directly to your auditors. Although your organization claims to be public (when they speak to the public) it operates like a private club and claims to be a private club when addressing individuals like me. From looking at the information that I have found to exist in the public domain it appears that your organization has spent Federal Funds Inappropriately. I do not know how long you have been involved with EBC. You current Board Members may not be aware of past activities or obligations.
When I search the public domain I find only one audit filed and made public in the history of the EBC. This audit was for the year 2009 and I find no more even though it appears there would be an audit requirement.
When I look at the transactions that I find in the public domain I question the handling of the federal funds entrusted to the EBC. It appears that purchases, dispositions and program income may not follow federal guidelines.
For instance: It appears a financial institution had 3 houses they acquired through foreclosure. One house had a negative value. The financial institution packaged the Negatively valued property with two others and sold the package for $13,500. A few months later the Buyer sells the negative value house to the EBC for about $40,000. Then the negative valued property is demolished and cleaned up at the publics expense. Something is wrong with this picture. If your private EBC club was doing this with their money I would not be concerned. It appears they used federal dollars for this purpose. This questionable purchase is not an isolated instance.
Questions also exist on disposition of property purchased with federal funds. For example a house purchased for $20,000 was transferred for $-0- to someone to repair. How does the fair market value of a property change from $20,000 to $-0- in a matter of month. It would appear that EBC paid $20,000 over fair market value or sold the property for $20,000 under fair market value. Another house purchased for $80,000 sold for $5,000. Not only homes were purchased. A business was purchased for $190,000 and sold for $15,000.
I suspect the EBC had obligations for dispensing program income that may not have been followed. For example: The EBC/DMD purchased a property for $350,000. They made an estimated $60,000 in improvements and then sold the property for $15,000. Along with the sale there was also a gift of $100,000 to be applied toward development cost. This represents a total cash outlay of $495,000. From the information I find in the public domain EBC get all its funding from governmental grants or program income for those grants.
I suspect I have information pertinent to the audit of the EBC.
Sincerely,
George Lumley
From: Nick Cirignano [mailto:ncirignano@zsws.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2016 11:22 AM
To: George Lumley <george.f.lumley@gmail.com>
Cc: Coures, Kelley <kcoures@evansville.in.gov>; Rusk, Carolyn <crusk@evansville.in.gov>
Subject: RE: Brownfields audit
Mr. Lumley,
You have properly summarized our official position. You may feel free to forward to me any information you feel is relevant for our auditors.
Regards,
NICK J. CIRIGNANO
cid:image001.jpg@01CF2C84.85ABAE80
20 NW FIRST STREET 9TH FLOOR | PO BOX 916
EVANSVILLE INDIANA 47706 0916
PHONE (812) 424-7575 | FAX (812) 421-5089 | ZSWS.COM
___________________________________________________
From: George Lumley [mailto:george.f.lumley@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2016 10:49 AM
To: ‘Nick Cirignano’
Cc: ‘Coures, Kelley’; ‘Rusk, Carolyn’
Subject: RE: Brownfields audit
Mr. Cirignano,
Do you need more time to decide if you have an obligation to provide the information I requested or is the official response from your organization that you are private and have no obligation to the public to disclose your personal business?
Please take note that I feel that I have information that in my opinion would impact the financial reporting obligation of the EBC. Please notify your auditors.
Thanks You
George Lumley
From: Nick Cirignano [mailto:ncirignano@zsws.com]
Sent: Monday, February 08, 2016 9:27 AM
To: George Lumley
Cc: Coures, Kelley; Rusk, Carolyn
Subject: RE: Brownfields audit
Mr. Lumley,
I’m not sure that I understand your request below. If I understand correctly, it would be quite unusual for a third party to independently provide information to a certified public accountant contracted to perform audit services for a private non-profit entity. Please explain why this would be appropriate.
Regards,
NICK J. CIRIGNANO
cid:image001.jpg@01CF2C84.85ABAE80
20 NW FIRST STREET 9TH FLOOR | PO BOX 916
EVANSVILLE INDIANA 47706 0916
PHONE (812) 424-7575 | FAX (812) 421-5089 | ZSWS.COM
___________________________________________________
From: George Lumley [mailto:george.f.lumley@gmail.com]Â
Sent: Monday, February 08, 2016 9:10 AM
To: Coures, Kelley; ‘Rusk, Carolyn’
Cc: Brad Ellsworth; Constance Robinson; luke.yaeger@evansvillecommercebank.com; sschuler@vpsarch.com; Joshua Armstrong; kevinaxsom@fcte.com; ‘Nick Cirignano’
Subject: Brownfields audit
Dear Mr. Coures and Ms. Rusk
I attended an open meeting of the Evansville Brownfields Corp. Inc.(EBC), a corporation operating under IRS Code Section 501c, and it appears that you two would be the ones to address this inquiry. If you are not the ones to represent EBC on this matter please direct me to the responsible individual.
During this meeting it was mentioned that an audit of the organization was being conducted. I have information regarding EBC funding sources and disposition of those funds that I would like to provide directly to the “auditorsâ€.
Please provide me the contact information of the agencies or firms performing any pending audit of the EBC.
Sincerely,
George Lumley
Evansville In 47711
Head-On Crash on I-69 Kills Three
Pike County – Last night at approximately 9:43, Trooper Hunter Manning witnessed a head-on crash on I-69 near the 49 mile-marker involving three vehicles.
At approximately 9:30 p.m., Trooper Manning was parked on I-69 southbound at the 42 mile-marker when a motorist stopped to inform him a motorist driving a Chevrolet Tahoe was driving northbound in the southbound lanes. Trooper Manning immediately proceeded northbound and located the vehicle traveling north in the southbound lanes near the 48.5 mile-marker. Trooper Manning drove into the median in an attempt to get the wrong way driver’s attention. The driver of the Tahoe then entered the median and made a U-turn into the northbound lanes and proceeded south. Trooper Manning then entered into the southbound lanes still attempting to get the driver’s attention. Moments later the vehicle struck two vehicles in the northbound lanes near the 49 mile-marker.
Preliminary investigation revealed Brian Paquette, 48, of Newport News, VA, was driving his 1995 Chevrolet Tahoe southbound in the northbound passing lane. Stephanie Molinet, 22, of Elberfeld, was driving her 2014 Ford Focus northbound in the passing lane when the two vehicles struck head-on. The impact caused Paquette’s vehicle to rotate clockwise and into the path of a 2011 GMC Terrain that was traveling northbound in the driving lane. The driver of the GMC was pronounced dead at the scene. A female passenger was taken to Deaconess Hospital where she is currently being treated for non-life threatening injuries. Their identities will be released later today after their family have been notified. Autumn Kapperman, 21, of Boonville, was a front seat passenger in Molinet’s vehicle. Kapperman was pronounced dead at the scene. She was also five-months pregnant. Molinet was taken to Deaconess Hospital where she died early Saturday morning from her injuries. Paquette was also transported to Deaconess Hospital where he is currently being treated for non-life threatening injuries. All three vehicles were totaled. The northbound lanes of I-69 were closed for approximately three-hours while troopers investigated the crash.
This is an on-going investigation.
Deceased:
• 44-year-old male (Waiting for Family to be Notified)
• Stephanie Molinet, 22, Elberfeld, IN
• Autumn Kapperman, 21, Boonville, IN
Injured:
• 46-year-old female (Waiting for Family to be Notified)
• Brian L. Paquette, 48, Newport News, VA