SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.Â
DON’T GOÂ TO COURT ALONE. CALLÂ IVAN ARNAEZÂ @ 812-424-6671.
Evansville man dies from injuries sustained during accidental shooting
SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.Â
DON’T GOÂ TO COURT ALONE. CALLÂ IVAN ARNAEZÂ @ 812-424-6671.
At approximately 2:00 Saturday morning, Evansville Police and medical crews were called to 528 S Linwood for a reported shooting. Officers located an 18 year old victim at the scene.
Investigators determined a 15 year old was in possession of a handgun in the home and was handling it in a reckless manner. Investigators believe the gun discharged while the juvenile was handling it. The bullet penetrated a wall and struck the victim, who was in another area of the house. The victim was transported to a local hospital where he later died.
The juvenile was placed at the Youth Care Center on the following charges:
Reckless Homicide, Involuntary Manslaughter, Criminal Recklessness, and Possession of a Handgun without a Permit.
The name of the victim will be released by the Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office following the notification of his family.
Investigators determined a 15 year old was in possession of a handgun in the home and was handling it in a reckless manner. Investigators believe the gun discharged while the juvenile was handling it. The bullet penetrated a wall and struck the victim, who was in another area of the house. The victim was transported to a local hospital where he later died.
The juvenile was placed at the Youth Care Center on the following charges:
Reckless Homicide, Involuntary Manslaughter, Criminal Recklessness, and Possession of a Handgun without a Permit.
The name of the victim will be released by the Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office following the notification of his family.
EVSC Selects Middle School Honors Band and Orchestra Members
After two days of auditions, 74 EVSC middle school band students and 56 orchestra students were selected to participate in the EVSC’s Middle School Honors Band and Middle School Honors Orchestra, respectively. Each student who auditioned for the honors band or orchestra was asked to prepare two pieces of music and perform their selections in front of EVSC instrumental music teachers.
As members of the honors band or orchestra, students will meet once a week and some Saturdays for 12 to 15 weeks. In December and January, the groups will perform multiple concerts throughout Evansville.
Governor Pence Statement on Passing of Former Representative Bill Crawford
Governor Mike Pence today issued the following the statement regarding the passing of former State Representative Bill Crawford:
“Bill Crawford served as a member of the Indiana General Assembly with distinction. For four decades, his leadership brought about extraordinary accomplishments such as the Second Chance Act, the Minority Teacher’s Scholarship Fund and so many others.
“A veteran of the United States Navy and the first African American lawmaker to serve as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Bill Crawford was a true public servant dedicated to improving the lives of Hoosiers. I recently had the privilege of recognizing the Chairman’s contributions to our communities by awarding him the Reverend Charles Williams Community Service Award.
“As we mourn the passing of this beloved Hoosier, let us keep his wife Bernice and the entire Crawford family in our thoughts and prayers.â€
Governor Pence to Walk in Circle City Classic Parade
Governor Mike Pence will walk in the Circle City Classic Parade, where he will be joined by Youth Achievers in Government from Avondale Meadows YMCA. There, they will promote the new Healthy Indiana Plan, HIP 2.0. Details below.
Saturday, September 26:
10:00 a.m. EDT – Governor Pence to walk in the Circle City Classic Parade
*Media are welcome to attend.
Parade begins at North & Pennsylvania Streets in downtown Indianapolis, IN
Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Indiana Nativity display
Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com
A federal judge has granted the motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought last year challenging a Nativity scene erected annually outside the Franklin County courthouse.
Since 2010, the nativity scene has depicted with life-size figures the birth of Jesus Christ. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana brought the suit on behalf of the nationwide nonprofit Freedom From Religious Foundation Inc. and two Franklin County residents, challenging the constitutionality of the display. As a result of the lawsuit, the county board of commissioners enacted an ordinance in January regarding the grounds surrounding the courthouse that provides a new policy with a content- and viewpoint-neutral permit approval process and size restrictions of the displays, among other regulations.
The county, represented by the Thomas More Society, asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit as moot. The plaintiffs withdrew their request for injunction relief in December and filed an amended complaint January 6 seeking prospective relief and a request for nominal damages.
“Due to the enactment of Ordinance 2015-02, the Court cannot draw a reasonable inference that Franklin County could be liable for any misconduct alleged in FFRF’s Amended Complaint. Although FFRF reserves the right to challenge any and all future displays on the Courthouse lawn through separate litigation, this present litigation does not establish a claim for which the pleader, FFRF, may be entitled to prospective relief. Because there is no actual injury that can be redressed, FFRF’s requests for injunctive relief, costs and attorney’s fees, and awards for other ‘proper’ relief cannot be awarded because they are no longer plausible,†Judge Tanya Walton Pratt wrote in her Wednesday decision.
The plaintiffs continued with their lawsuit for nominal damages, without the corresponding request for prospective relief. Whether a claim exclusively for nominal damages presents a live controversy has presented a split among the various federal Circuit courts, Pratt noted.
“The Court finds that FFRF’s legally cognizable interest of eliminating constitutional violations of the Establishment Clause no longer exists. Accordingly, FFRF cannot use nominal damages to compensate for past wrongs such as the acts being alleged in FFRF’s Amended Complaint. By allowing FFRF to proceed to determine the constitutionality of a policy that has been voluntarily amended to cease illegal conduct, in hope of receiving $1.00, vindicates no rights and is not a task of the federal courts. Therefore, under the law in the Seventh Circuit and facts of this case, a claim for nominal damages alone is not sufficient enough to maintain federal court jurisdiction in a case that is otherwise moot,†Pratt wrote.
Rep. McNamara presents Sagamore of the Wabash to Jon Carl
State Representative Wendy McNamara (R-Mount Vernon) presented the Sagamore of the Wabash award to Jon Carl, a U.S. history teacher at F.J. Reitz High School in Evansville. The award is one of the highest honors the Governor of Indiana can bestow and is presented to those who have rendered distinguished service to the state.
“Jon’s passion for transforming the way students learn speaks volumes about his dedication and commitment to his community and the future of Evansville,†Rep. McNamara said. “His innovative ways to engage students in his classroom are an inspiration to all educators.â€
Carl recognized a lack of student interest and involvement by young people in the local historic community. Seeking to address the issue, he created a class that motivates students to become real local historians and feel the history, his life motto. By integrating technology and bringing the historic community into the classroom, he created a learning pathway for students to become a part of the history they were studying.
Over the course of his 20-year teaching career, he has created hundreds of student historians. With the technological and historical research skills necessary for success in the 21st century, they are preserving and publicizing local and national history.
2015 Fraternal Order of Police PAC Endorsements
The Evansville Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 73 announced today it’s 2015 City Election endorsements. The FOP Political Action Committee (PAC) interviewed candidates during the month of August and held a candidate night at the FOP Lodge on September 16th. Based upon the interviews, and the feedback from our membership that attended the candidate night, the FOP PAC committee has chosen to endorse the following candidates:
Mayor – Lloyd Winnecke
City Clerk – Laura Brown Windhorst
City Council Ward 1 – Dan McGinn
City Council Ward 2 – Missy Mosby
City Council Ward 3 – Anna Hargis
City Council Ward 4 – Henrietta Jenkins
City Council Ward 5 – Tom Shoulders
City Council Ward 6 – Jim Brinkmeyer
City Council At Large: Dr. H. Dan Adams
Jonathon Weaver
Michelle Mercer
The Evansville Fraternal Order of Police Lodge is looking forward to working with these candidates in 2016 and beyond. This is a very talented group and brings a fresh face to the Evansville City Council. The FOP urges everyone to register and get out and vote in the 2015 City Election. The future of this city is looking bright and electing the above candidates will ensure that bright future.
Michael Sides
President FOP Lodge 73
Please take time and vote in today’s “Readers Poll”. Don’t miss reading today’s Feature articles because they are always an interesting read. Please scroll at the bottom of our paper so you can enjoy our creative political cartoons. Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without our permission
EPA Update on Recent Volkswagen Announcement
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a letter sent to vehicle manufacturers notifying them that the agency is adding to its confirmatory testing additional evaluations designed to look for potential defeat devices.
View the letter here: Â http://www3.epa.gov/otaq/cert/violations.htm
Last Friday, EPA sent a Notice of Violation of the Clean Air Act to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. alleging that four-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars from model years 2009-2015 include software that circumvents EPA emissions standards.
These cars contain software that turns off emissions controls when driving normally, and turns them on when the car is undergoing an emission test. Known as a “defeat device,†this design feature results in the cars emitting up to 40 times the amount of NOx emissions that the standards allow. NOx standards are in place to ensure public health is protected.
EPA’s notice of violation, along with an In-Use Compliance Letter that the California Air Resources Board issued, provide information and details relating to the VW violations: