May and June might be the peak tornado months in Indiana, but this summer, our severe weather threat has come from something other than tornadoes. After record breaking months of rain, destructive floods have caused widespread damage. Although recently, many Hoosiers have been able to breathe a sigh of relief, as summer continues and eventually turns into fall, our threat however is far from over. These dangerous weather patterns can happen at any time, day or night, and being prepared is the greatest defense we have.
Floods are actually the most common natural disaster in the U.S. While some take weeks to develop, others occur with very little notice. Before a flood occurs, one of the first things you should check – if you have one – is your home’s sump pump. Ensuring that the sump pump is working and has a battery-operated backup system can help prevent flooding in the lowest level of your home. Clearing debris from gutters and downspouts will also provide an extra layer of protection.
In addition, it is important to develop a family emergency plan and put together a disaster preparedness kit. These steps are a key part of preparing for any natural or manmade disaster – not just storms or flooding. The cornerstone of any safety plan is that it includes all the members in your family and ensures that everyone is on the same page about what they should do, where they should meet and who they should call in the event of an emergency.
This is important not only for households, but also schools, businesses and other places around the community. Last year, when Boonville High School was hit by a strong storm, they put their emergency plan into action, and the several hundred students who were there participating in after school activities were able to assemble in the designated safe areas without any injuries.
Making a disaster kit is another simple but very effective way to help keep you and your family safe. These kits should be stored in a waterproof, easy to carry container, bearing in mind that it could take up to three days to receive emergency assistance. Knowing that, your kit should include one gallon of water per person per day, a three day supply of non-perishable food items, first aid supplies, such as a thermometer, antibiotic ointment and Band-Aids, as well as other items, like a can opener, utensils and matches.
Finally, one thing that I have always stressed is the value of a weather radio. My wife Karen and I have relied on one for years, particularly at night when the worst tornadoes often occur. Weather radios can be used, even when the power is out, to receive warnings 24 hours a day, seven days a week; but don’t forget to keep extra batteries in your disaster kit!
A little bit of planning and preparation can help minimize the number of weather-related deaths and injuries and can help Hoosiers get back on their feet more quickly when disaster inevitably strikes. Chances are, you may have already adopted some of these safety tips, but part of being prepared is also sharing this message with others.
Do you know which neighbors have small children or other special needs family members who might need extra help during a natural disaster? I hope that you will consider those around you and share these tips – and even some of your own – with friends, neighbors and loved ones. We may not be able to control Mother Nature, but we can control our preparedness. To review these tips and more, please visit in.gov/dhs/3163.htm.
Pence: “If the final rule is not significantly improved…Indiana will not complyâ€
***State Will Challenge Legality of Rule***
Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issuing its final regulations limiting carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. Known as the Clean Power Plan, the regulations impose a carbon dioxide emissions reduction requirement on each state.
“When it comes to energy policy, this Administration continues to place its environmental agenda ahead of the interests of Hoosier ratepayers, jobs and the economy. Here in Indiana, homeowners and businesses rely on coal-burning power plants for low-cost, reliable energy. Yet little to no consideration was given to states like ours throughout the development of the EPA’s final rule and that is simply not acceptable.
“Throughout this process, Indiana has called time and again for these ill-conceived rules to be withdrawn, and I informed the Administration that unless the final rule was demonstrably and significantly improved, Indiana would not comply. In the days ahead, my Administration will carefully review the final rule to determine if the Obama Administration was listening.
“If the final rule is not significantly improved, then Hoosiers can be assured that on behalf of families, businesses and other ratepayers, Indiana will not comply.
“Indiana will also continue to vigorously challenge the legality of this rule in the federal courts. Far too much is at stake for jobs and the economy in Indiana for us to do anything less.â€
On June 24, 2015, Governor Pence sent President Obama a letter informing the President that Indiana would not comply with the Clean Power Plan unless the final rule was “demonstrably and significantly improved†from the proposed rule. Governor Pence had previously written to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy on December 1, 2014 describing the proposed rules as “ill-conceived and poorly constructed.â€Â In both letters, Governor Pence called for the withdrawal of the rules.
Evansville, IN. – Beginning August 12 and continuing until September 9, the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility will temporarily change the disinfectant used in the water treatment process. EWSU will be using free chlorine rather than chloramines during this time period.
What is Chloramine?
Chloramine is a disinfectant used in drinking water to remove bacteria and viruses that can make you sick. It is made up of chlorine and ammonia. EWSU has used chloramines as the disinfectant in its water treatment process since 1999.
What is Free Chlorine?
Free chlorine is a slightly stronger disinfectant than chloramines, and may be used to remove more resistant bacteria and viruses that may be found in the water distribution system.
Why would the Evansville Water & Sewer Utility Convert from Chloramines to Free Chlorine?
This brief, scheduled change in disinfectant is a standard water treatment practice to keep water mains clean and free of potentially harmful bacteria throughout the year.
State drinking water guidelines recommend that utilities using chloramines periodically switch to free chlorine for a period of time. The temporary use of chlorine will ensure that a high level of disinfection is maintained throughout the network of water mains and pipes that deliver your drinking water.
Free chlorine is a more aggressive disinfectant than chloramines, and this temporary change in the water treatment process denies bacteria the ability to form resistance to the usual disinfection treatment process.
Switching to free chlorine is a proactive step to ensure that we maintain optimal levels of disinfection in the water distribution system.
As always, the drinking water will be regularly monitored to ensure that the water delivered meets, or is better than, federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards.
Why Does EWSU Use Chloramines Most of the Year?
While chlorine is an effective disinfectant, using chlorine alone creates byproducts, which are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We can drastically and cost-effectively reduce byproduct levels through the use of chloramines.
Chloramine is a better long-term choice because it produces lower levels of disinfectant byproducts like trihalomethanes, improves the smell and odor of water (compared to chlorine), and lasts longer in the distribution system to prevent bacterial growth.
Will I Notice a Difference in My Water?
Possibly, some customers may notice a slight change in the taste or smell of their tap water. Free chlorine may have a bit of a chemical odor or smell slightly like water in a swimming pool. Each individual customer has his or her own sensitivity level to the taste and/or odor of free chlorine. Many detect no change at all. The mild chlorine taste and smell is normal and poses no health risk.
Are Free Chlorine and Chloraminated Water Safe?
Yes, both forms of chlorine are effective and safe for people and animals for drinking, cooking and bathing, as well as watering the garden, and for all other common uses. However, precautions must be taken to remove or neutralize chloramines and free chlorine during the kidney dialysis process, in the preparation of water for fish tanks and ponds, and for businesses requiring highly processed water. A de-chlorination procedure optimized for chloramine removal will work equally well with free chlorine.
People and businesses that normally take special precautions to remove chloramines from tap water, such as dialysis centers, medical facilities and aquatic pet owners, should continue to take the same precautions during the temporary switch from chloramines to free chlorine.
Most customers will not need to take any precautions as the water remains safe to drink and is treated according to both state and federal standards.
EWSU is committed to providing high-quality water and related services that meet all regulatory drinking water standards in a manner that prevents pollution, enhances the environment, and promotes sustainability. If you need further information regarding this change, please contact the Utility at (812) 428-0568. Â
Dave Stafford for wwwtheindianalawyer.com
Evansville police “committed too many mistakes to pass the test of reasonableness†in a bungled home search and are not shielded from a federal excessive force lawsuit, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
An armored phalanx of SWAT officers raided the home that 68-year-old Louise Milan shared with her two daughters. Officers investigating anonymous online threats against police began their search by smashing a window and the glass storm door – the front door was open – then lobbing flash bang grenades inside.
The 7th Circuit also noted a racial element in allowing Milan’s suit against the Evansville Police Department to move forward. Judges called events related to the bungled raid “almost inconceivable,†“dangerous†and “disturbing.â€
The opinion affirmed denial of summary judgment for the police department on Milan’s excessive force claim, upholding a ruling by Judge William T. Lawrence of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Evansville Division.
Milan’s home was searched a day after authorities became aware of threats made against police through an unsecured Wi-Fi network in Milan’s home.
The heavily armed 11-member SWAT team, followed by a local TV news crew, descended on Louise Milan’s home with a search warrant in June 2012. “Police decided to search the Milan house – and in a violent manner,†Judge Richard Posner wrote for the panel in a scathing eight-page opinion in Louise Milan v. Billy Bolin, in his individual capacity as Evansville Police Department Chief, et al., 15-1207.
“The members of the SWAT team rushed to the front door of the house, knocked, and without allowing a reasonable time — more than a few seconds — for a response … broke open the front door and a nearby window, and through these openings hurled two ‘flash bang’ grenades. … The police call them ‘distraction devices,’ an absurd euphemism; we called them ‘bombs’ in Estate of Escobedo v. Bender, 600 F.3d 770, 784–85 (7th Cir. 2010), and United States v. Jones, 214 F.3d 836, 837–38 (7th Cir. 2000)
Before the search of Milan’s home, which yielded no sign of criminal activity or male suspects, police had observed Derrick Murray sitting on a porch a few doors down. Murray previously had been convicted of intimidation for threatening police, and he ultimately pleaded guilty to posting the threats in the instant case.
After police searched Milan’s home, “It took them only a day to discover that it was indeed (Murray),†Posner wrote. “The police neglect of Murray is almost incomprehensible. His past made him a prime suspect. A day of investigating him would have nailed him, as we know because a day of investigating — the day after the violent search of the home — did nail him. …
“It took them only a day to discover that it was indeed he who was responsible — he had used Mrs. Milan’s open network to threaten the police. But rather than give him the SWAT-team treatment, the police politely requested that he come to police headquarters, which he did, where he was arrested without incident. … The police department’s kid-gloves treatment of Murray is in startling contrast to their flash-bang assault on Mrs. Milan’s home,†the panel noted.
“The district judge’s denial of the defendants’ motion for summary judgment appears eminently reasonable when one puts together the flash bangs, the skimpy basis for the search and its prematurity — the failure to check whether the (WiFi) network was open and the failure to conduct a more extensive investigation before deciding that flash bangs were appropriate means of initiating the search. … The failure to discover that the network was Mrs. Milan’s was a failure of responsible police practice,†Posner wrote.
During the course of the search, police handcuffed Milan and her 18-year-old daughter; Milan’s other daughter was not home at the time of the search. All of this was recorded on officers’ helmet-cam video, and scenes from the search were shown on local TV news. The panel was troubled by the images.
“The members of the team are seen on the tapes impressively clad in body armor and big helmets and carrying formidable rifles pointed forward. It would take a brave criminal to try to fight it out with them, and of course there was no criminal in the house and little reason to expect one to be there,†Posner wrote.
“The handcuffing of the daughter, looking indeed much younger than her 18 years, is shown on the helmet video along with the rest of the search, and she is so small, frail, utterly harmless looking, and completely unresisting that the sight of her being led away in handcuffs is disturbing. All that the SWAT officer had to do was take her by the hand and lead her out of the house, which was rapidly filling with smoke from the flash bangs; there was no conceivable reason to handcuff her.
“From what we can observe on the videos, all the members of the SWAT team were white, Mrs. Milan and her daughter black; the broadcasting of the videotape cannot have helped race relations in Evansville,†Posner wrote.
The panel also cited its previous Estate of Escobedo decision that cautioned against the use of flash bang devices, which can be lethal if a person is directly struck by one. In this case, the police defendants’ argument that they are shielded by qualified immunity falls short, the panel held.
“Precipitate use of flash bangs to launch a search has troubled us before, leading us to declare that ‘the use of a flash bang grenade is reasonable only when there is a dangerous suspect and a dangerous entry point for the police, when the police have checked to see if innocent individuals are around before deploying the device, when the police have visually inspected the area where the device will be used and when the police carry a fire extinguisher,’†Posner wrote.
“The police in this case flunked the test just quoted. True, they’d brought a fire extinguisher with them — but, as if in tribute to Mack Sennett’s Keystone Kops, they left it in their armored SWAT vehicle.â€
Where Did The $ Go by George Lumley
Money appropriated for demolitions is not going toward demolitions based on information provided by the City/County building commissioner Ron Bean and City Controller Russell Lloyd. Where did the money go, why is it so hard to find out, and can we believe what we are told?
A lack of information almost prevented me from writing this article. I still have a lack of information; however, the search and request for information is very slow and because time is of the essence, with the city budget season here, I will present this now, and just plan to add to it around Christmas if I get additionally requested information from the City by then. I may be waiting until hell freezes over. Yes I know, if I was just nicer and more willing to collaborate with them (join them) they would be more cooperative. For me collaborate is too much like coagulate. Plans with good ideas that could flow get collaborated with everyone or compromised down to the same ole same ole going nowhere coagulation.
The City’s coagulated demolition history is hard to understand. For last year’s 2014 budget the city’s nine member Council appropriated money for demolitions but the Building Commission did not spend it. Well it appears not on demolitions anyway.
First let’s look at the money not being spent. The 2014 yearend financial statement shows that $786,000 was budgeted for “demolitionâ€. That should take out a lot of houses. At about $5,000 each you would think close to 150 houses.  But surprisingly the City did not spend all of the money set aside. According to the same yearend financial statement the city only spent $550,000 on demolition. So the city did not spend $236,000 that they could have and said they would. This is actually the Building Commissioner not spending the allocation the Council says that he can or is recommending that he does spend. That sounds good you say, he is saving us money. Well if you like Evansville having more than 2000 blighted houses that are rotting and promoting neighborhood decay you might like saving that money. But if you are like most residents or If you happen to live next to one of these zombie houses like the burnt out shell at 2831 Egmont (burned in December 2012) you might be upset knowing that a nine member council authorized funding that could have taken out that house but one Building Commissioner just didn’t care enough to spend the money. The $236,000 not spent could have taken out 40 more houses last year and that forty a year missed each year is one reason why we have such a big problem today.
Now let’s look a little closer at the demolitions we did get. Exactly what did we get for our actual $550,000 spent?  A formal request for a listing of all the demolitions and cost for 2014 and the first six months of 2015, several weeks back, resulted in the Building Commission providing such. According to the official information provided for 2014: 62 homes were taken out at a cost of $346,000. That’s a little more per home than my $5’000 estimate, but I see some were over $10,000 with one costing 14,750. But wait a minute, those 62 properties only total $346,000. We budgeted for $786,000.
What went wrong with the program for 2014? It does not look good that we the public were promised $786,000 in demolition but ended up with less than half of that. Maybe the rumor that the city is out of cash is true. Maybe the Building Inspectors did not see more than 62 houses that needed demolished. Maybe this program is just being overlooked by the current administration because Hotels are much more exciting than abandoned houses.
How about that 2014 money that was spent from this appropriation (riverboat demolitions) but did not go for demolition. I am sure it did not just disappear; however, something is wrong with this picture where $786,000 was budgeted for demolition, $550,000 was spent for demolition, but the demolitions only cost $346,000. What happened to $216,000 ($550,000 spent – $346,000 actual cost)? Did this go for operating expenses that are supposed to be under another appropriation for such or maybe this is where the $120,000 that the DMD director claimed was spent on mowing the 120 land banked Brownfields Corp properties is buried. I had hoped to tell you where this went but after waiting for an answer and even a formal request for the records, all that I have from the city is a couple of written response letters that state they may have records responsive to my request and they will look for them.
Maybe 2015 is going better. I visited the Controller’s office and spoke with the Controller Russell Lloyd about the 2015 expenditures from the Demolition fund. Even though we were into the 3rd week of the seventh month Mr. Lloyd said he couldn’t provide the first six month expenditure amount. He was very nice and personable indicating that the books were not closed out but he planned to do that Monday. I wondered in my mind why cash basis books would need to be close out to tell me how much had been spent but I left with the understanding that he was closing the books on Monday and I could return for the information on Tuesday.  Well on Tuesday I returned and was informed at the front desk that there were a lot of official requests ahead of mine and it would take some time to process them. More than a week later all that I have is one of those letters that says they may have information and they will look for it.
What do we know about the 2015 demolition account? The nine member City Council funded demolitions in the budget at $500,000. The Building Commissioner (officially) shows 24 demolitions to date at a cost of $148,000. Ok that’s $500,000 with 30% spent for half the year leaving 70% or $352,000 for the rest of the year. But wait, with all the news about demolitions the City clearly stated that they had to “come up with funds†for the highly publicized W Maryland demolition. If they don’t have those funds available for demolitions, what happened to them? What did they spend the $352,000 ($500,000 – $148,000 spent) earmarked for demolition on?
The city is going to announce a new plan for demolition with a huge requested appropriation for the Evansville Brownfields Corp (Brownfields) to become a Land Bank. This is the Brownfields that already has City Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD) in trouble with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) people for land banking properties with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. DMD says we are currently “in compliance†according to HUD. How can this be when the Brownfields did not dispose of the properties per the agreement between DMD and HUD. How were those funds spent and where do we stand? This sounds like another chapter in the same old book. We don’t need more chapters in the same book titled “Brownfields Corp Secret Dealsâ€. Please ask you officials to start a new book on blight. Let’s look at the real numbers in public. What are we spending on demolitions, what are we spending on maintaining land banked properties owned by the cities Brownfield Corp, why combine the demolitions, land banking, and tax sale into one secret behind closed doors Brownfields Corp, why did the cities stimulus grant only accomplish half of the forecast, what are the other initiatives to fight blight that need consideration and funding? Ask for and insist on transparency and control while we work on improving the blight situation.
by George Lumley
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. New addition to the CCO is the Cause of Death reports generated by the Vanderburgh County Health Department.
Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Though Felicia be but little, she is fierce! This tiny female Scottish terrier/Jack Russell mix is very energetic, and cannot go home with kids (or grandkids!) under 12. She needs a dog-experienced household where she can learn to be beta, not alpha. Her $120 adoption fee includes her spay, microchip, vaccines, & more! Visit www.vhslifesaver.org or call (812) 426-2563 for adoption information!
As a member and leadership of City Council, I have reached the conclusion that Chief Bolin’s actions or lack of proper investigatory procedures has dealt serious consequences to the taxpayers’ of our community.  Not only the tort claim issue and legal expense associated with the court action but a more hideous aspect, now the world knows that our City must totally disregard the civil rights of individuals, their inherit rights under the 4th amendment and knowing that one can’t live peacefully in their homes without the treat of undo and irresponsible actions of their police department, especially the elderly . . my Lord, Ms Milan is an elderly lady and the child was of tender years . .the two sectors of our society that depends on law enforcement to provide and defend their rights and safety, but as the Seventh Circuit clearly demonstrated in their review, our EPD failed miserably.  I have reviewed the video tape not only the immediate action of our EPD but the preamble to the event which confounds understanding . . the moments just prior to the invasion, the participates appear to be in a festive mood which is concerning and troubling.  Why are they festive? Well, the culture of festivity must  lay on the threshold of our leadership which is Chief Bolin and ultimately our Mayor.
Consequently, in order to restore faith and confidence in our police department and support the rank and file, Chief Bolin must step down immediately and if our Mayor refuses to ask for his resignation, this is paramount of condoning the lack of leadership of Chief Bolin . . .this is regrettable but necessary to restore the confidence that our EPF once processed.
John E. Friend
VP of the Common Council of Evansville, IN
