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IS IT TRUE JUNE 26 , 2015

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IS IT TRUE this week 2 reporters from the Courier and Press unexpectedly showed up at the home of Pastor Steve Ary to ask him questions concerning his recent appearance at City Council? …the Courier and Press reporters wanted to know who styled the 16 questions concerning the embattled Downtown Convention Hotel project? …that Pastor Ary protected his source concerning who styled the 16 questions for him? …we expect nothing less for a Pastor to protect conversations he has with members of his “flock”?

IS IT TRUE we hear that the exit from the City of Evansville employment has begun? …that Tony Kirkland is leaving his Administrative position with METS and shall be taking a position with Governor Pence?  …we wonder which local Democrat the Mayor will appoint to this vacant political patronage position?

IS IT TRUE there is an interesting rumor is going around the Evansville Police Department that Chief Billy Bolin will be appointed as the next Police Chief if Gail Riecken is elected Mayor? … the answer to this rumor is “NO WAY”?

IS IT TRUE we are amazed that the Mayor Chief of Staff Steve Schaefer has been in almost every meeting pertaining to planning of the proposed Downtown Convention Hotel for the last several years and remembers nothing about what has been decided about this project?  … he would have been more respectable and honest to the taxpayers if only he would had just said that he wasn’t at liberty to speak on that subject at this time?  …it’s becoming  obvious  that the Mayor Chief of Staff Steve Schaefer is becoming a major political liability for Mayor Winnecke each passing day?

IS IT TRUE earlier this week Governor Pence came to town to celebrate the start of Fisher Dynamics production plant?  …we were surprised that Mayor Winnecke didn’t try to upstage the Governor by  taking credit for bringing Fisher Dynamics to Evansville in the announcement ?  …we would like to give full credit to Governor Pence for encouraging Fisher Dynamics to locate in Evansville?

IS IT TRUE we are also pleased to hear that Governor Pence will not comply with the impending Federal plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants unless major improvement are made in the  proposed law?

IS IT TRUE that the Shriners were going to cancel the Blue Angels Air show during this Shrinerfest because a $50,000 short fall?  … that we would like to thank the Vectren Foundation for it’s $50,000 donation which made the Blue Angel’s event possible?  … the funding source from Vectren came from the shareholder’s fund and not the ratepayers?

IS IT TRUE that Vectren President Brad Ellsworth contacted the Vectren Foundation about the funding part of the Shriner’s shortfall?  …we would like to thank the Vectren Foundation,  shareholders and Senior Management of Vectren for making  this outstanding community event possible?

Please take time and vote in today’s “Readers Poll”. Also we just posted the current City County Observer TRI-STATE VOICES TV show for you’re viewing pleasure. Don’t miss reading today’s Feature article because it’s always an interesting read. Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Governor Pence Ceremonially Signs Water Industry-Related Bills

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Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence today ceremonially signed six water industry-related bills at the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) Indiana Chapter Water Summit in Indianapolis.

 

“Water resources are a vital component of our future economic success,” said Governor Pence. “The bills I ceremonially signed today aim to protect water quality, incentivize water and wastewater infrastructure modernization, and improve water resource management—issues important to economic development and improving the quality of life here in Indiana. I applaud the work of members of our Indiana General Assembly in bringing these bills to my desk for signature.”

 

The six bills the governor ceremonially signed include HEA 1185, synthetic plastic microbeads, SEA 177, water and wastewater infrastructure costs, SEA 312, tank reporting and water threat minimization, SEA 474, analysis of water utility planning and needs, SEA 516, utility infrastructure improvements, and HEA 1319, acquisition of distressed utilities.

 

The Governor was joined by Rep. Patrick Bauer (D-South Bend), Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso), Rep. Eric Koch (R-Bedford), Sen. Jim Merritt (R-Indianapolis), Rep. Heath VanNatter (R-Kokomo), and Rep. Greg Beumer (R-Modoc).

 

Governor Pence Says Supreme Court Decision “Profoundly Disappointing”

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Calls Ruling “Display of Judicial Activism…and a Detriment to Millions of Hoosiers”

 

Indianapolis – Following the Supreme Court of the United States’ ruling on King v. Burwell, Governor Mike Pence issued the following statement.

 

“The Supreme Court’s ruling in King v. Burwell is profoundly disappointing to me and every Hoosier who had hoped this ruling would give our nation the opportunity to start over on health care reform.

 

“Today’s display of judicial activism by the Supreme Court upholds this deeply flawed law to the detriment of millions of Hoosiers who will continue to be subject to the mandates and taxes in Obamacare.

 

“ObamaCare must be repealed and states must be given the flexibility to craft market-based solutions focused on lowering the cost of health care rather than growing the size of government.

 

“It now falls to the American people to elect new leadership in Washington, D.C. so we can repeal ObamaCare and start over with health care reform based on personal responsibility and consumer choice rather than government mandates and taxes. Indiana will continue to be a leading voice in advancing those principles in the national debate.”

Governor Pence Appears on FOX NEWS’ Your World and WOWO’s Pat Miller Show to Discuss the Supreme Court’s ObamaCare Ruling

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Indianapolis, IN—Governor Mike Pence appeared on FOX NEWS’ Your World with Neil Cavuto and WOWO’s Pat Miller Show this afternoon to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on ObamaCare.  Excerpts of both interviews are below:

 

FOXNEWS’ Your World with Neil Cavuto

 

On the Court’s justification for its ruling:

 

“The Court had a real opportunity here to lift the individual and business mandates and it failed. I know the President said that ObamaCare is here to stay but look, ObamaCare is a bad idea poorly implemented and the American people know it.”
On Indiana’s HIP 2.0 plan:

 

“The fundamental flaw with ObamaCare here is that it orders the American people to buy health insurance whether they want it or need it or not. It taxes and penalizes people who don’t do that. That’s not how we lower the cost of health care in America. The way we do that, the way – we’re frankly on the leading edge of this in Medicaid reform here in Indiana, as you know – is through consumer-driven health care. Empower individuals with market-based solutions, consumer choice, patient-centered health care…State based reform, state based innovation, is a key to restoring the full prosperity of this nation.”

 

WOWO’s Pat Miller Show

 

On how the Court’s ruling will affect Hoosiers:

 

“I am profoundly disappointed that the Supreme Court ruled the way they did in this case, and this was a display of judicial activism by the Supreme Court that went beyond the plain language of this deeply flawed law in a manner that now will serve to the detriment of millions of Hoosiers who are continuing to have to be subject to the mandates and taxes in Obamacare…People should be reminded that the premiums in Indiana, since Obamacare took effect, have gone up by more than 50 percent.”

 

On HIP 2.0:

 

“We have a program that is consumer-driven healthcare, that requires individuals to make a monthly payment to get healthcare coverage,. They have an incentive to be in preventative medicine, that’s the kind of Medicaid reform that Paul Ryan and others of us were talking about for years.”

 

“I’m incredibly proud that Indiana is advancing the most innovative Medicaid reform in the 50 year history of Medicaid, and it’s working. People are literally lining up for the opportunity to pay for their own health insurance, take greater ownership of their own healthcare. We are helping people at or near the poverty level in ways that no state has ever done before based on individual choice and respecting the desire of every individual to take greater ownership of their healthcare.”

 

IS IT TRUE JUNE 26, 2015

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IS IT TRUE we hear that the mass exit from the City of Evansville employment has begun? …that Tony Kirkland is leaving his Administrative position with METS and shall be taking a position with Governor Pence? …we wonder which local Democrat will the Mayor appoint to this vacant political patronage position?
IS IT TRUE there is an interesting rumor going around the Evansville Police Department that Chief Billy Bolin will be appointed as the next Police Chief if Gail Riecken is elected Mayor? … the answer to this rumor is “NO WAY”?
IS IT TRUE we are amazed that the Mayor Chief of Staff Steve Schaefer has sit in almost every meeting pertaining to planning of the proposed Downtown Convention Hotel for the last several years and remembers nothing about what has been decided about this project? … he would have been more respectable and honest to the taxpayers if only he would had just said that he wasn’t at liberty to speak on that subject at this time? …it’s becoming obvious that the Mayor Chief of Staff Steve Schaefer is becoming a major political liability for Mayor Winnecke each passing day?
IS IT TRUE earlier this week Governor Pence came to town to celebrate the start of Fisher Dynamics production plant? …we were surprised that Mayor Winnecke did not try to upstage the Governor by taking credit for bringing Fisher Dynamics to Evansville in the announcement? …we would like to give full credit to Governor Pence for encouraging Fisher Dynamics to Evansville?
IS IT TRUE we are also pleased to hear that Governor Pence will not comply with the impending Federal plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants unless major improvement are made in the proposed law?
IS IT TRUE that the Shriners were going to cancel the Blue Angels Air show during this Shrinerfest because a $50,000 short fall? … that we would like to thank the Vectren Foundation for it’s $50,000 donation which made the Blue Angel’s event possible? … the funding source from Vectren came from the shareholder’s fund and not the ratepayers?
IS IT TRUE that Vectren President Brad Ellsworth contacted the Vectren Foundation about the funding part of the Shriner’s shortfall? …we would like to thank the Vectren Foundation, shareholders and Senior Management of Vectren for making this outstanding community event possible?

PROFILE ON MICHELLE MERCER CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE CANDIDATE

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Michelle Mercer is a Republican Candidate for City Council at Large. One asset that may distinguish Mercer from other candidates is that she brings the advantage of a varied career background. Her career experience includes business, healthcare and higher education. Mercer spent several years in higher education in Student Affairs with Indiana University. She worked numerous years as a Registered Nurse. Mercer worked for a large international corporate pharmaceutical company. Possibly most important to City Council, Mercer has worked for two locally owned Evansville small businesses, where she experiences daily the challenges faced by our local Evansville small business owners. Currently, Mercer works as a Manager and Recruiter for Medical Staffing Solutions, an Evansville locally woman owned small business. Medical Staffing Solutions is a recruitment firm that does nationwide and local contracts. As a manager and recruiter, Mercer is involved in hiring, employee counseling, project management, marketing and recruitment. Additionally, Mercer owns her own developing small business as a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant.

Mercer grew up making trips to Evansville where her parents and grandparents were born and raised. In 1996, Mercer chose to make Evansville her home, where she immediately fell in love with the community. Since making Evansville her home in 1996, Mercer has a long standing history of community service here. For many years, Mercer has served on the Right to Life Board of Southwest IN where the organization has kept abortion clinics out of Evansville. Mercer served on the Pigeon Creek Greenway advisory Board and saw expansion of our Greenway. As the Vanderburgh County Council’s appointment to the Evansville Museum Board of Trustees, Mercer has been involved in the new expansion of the Museum. As a Trustee, Mercer serves on the Museum’s Strategic Planning Committee where they are working with city leaders to make the museum and Evansville’s downtown a destination for the Tri-State.

Mercer frequently volunteers and often serves as team captain for the mayor’s monthly trash cleanups. She participates in Energize Evansville and has contributed to several of the city’s Leadership Evansville VOICE sessions. Several times per week, you can often find Mercer walking with friends and picking up trash for exercise and to beautify our downtown.

Mercer believes job creation and development of our downtown is key for Evansville’s prosperity. Additionally, Mercer believes quality of life issues in Evansville are important such as public safety and maintaining our parks. Mercer wants Evansville to be a city where new businesses will want to relocate and make it easier for existing businesses to expand.

Park Board Agenda

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BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS

REGULAR MEETING

KEVIN WINTERNHEIMER CHAMBERS

ROOM 301, CIVIC CENTER COMPLEX

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2015

12:00 NOON

AGENDA

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. MINUTESJune 3, & 17, 2015

3. CONSENT AGENDA

             a.   Request Re:  Approve and Execute Park Use Application with the YMCA for Usage of

                   Garvin Park & the Greenway for 15 K Road Race September 5, 2015. – Hayes

             b.   Request Re:  Approve and Execute Park Use Application with the YMCA for Usage of

                   Bayard Park, Garvin Park & the Greenway for Half Marathon Road Race on October 3, 2015.

                   – Hayes

4.         OLD BUSINESS

             a.   Request Re:  Approve and Execute Agreement with GenPro Energy Solutions for Greenway

                   Solar Lighting. – Johnson

             b.   Request Re:  Approve and Execute Agreement with Morley and Associates for Greenway

                   Slide Remediation. – Johnson

5.         NEW BUSINESS

            a.   Request Re:  Any Other Business the Board Wishes to Consider and Public Comments.

6.        REPORTS

           a.   Denise Johnson, Executive Director

7.        ACCEPTANCE OF PAYROLL AND VENDOR CLAIMS

 

8.        ADJOURN

Daily Off Topic Forum June 26, 2015

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ST. MARY’S TRAUMA SERVICES TO PARTICIPATE IN STATEWIDE TRAUMA LISTENING TOUR – PUBLIC INVITED

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From June through August, the Indiana State Department of Health will hold a statewide Trauma Tour. Division of Trauma and Injury Prevention staff, along with local stakeholders, will hold open house style meetings in all 10 Indiana public health preparedness districts for Hoosiers to learn more about trauma, how state and local agencies currently respond to trauma and how a trauma system could help the state. Most importantly, the goal is to gather person al stories of how trauma has affected those in Indiana.

The ISDH has identified District 10 (Knox, Daviess, Martin, Gibson, Pike, Dubois, Crawford, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer and Perry counties) as a leader in the development of an organized regional trauma system plan.  Evansville is the first stop in this statewide tour. The St. Mary’s Trauma education team will participate with other health providers at the vendor fair. Congressman Larry Bucshon will be attending as well.

This event is Tuesday, June 30, from 2-5 p.m. at the Southern Indiana Career & Technical Center, 1901 Lynch Road, Evansville, IN. It is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but anyone can sign up at: http://www.in.gov/isdh/26642.htm.

Traumatic injury is the No. 1 killer of Hoosiers under the age of 45; the same is true across the country and worldwide. Injury is the fifth most common killer of Hoosiers of all ages. Traumatic injuries kill young people in the prime of their lives, impacting society as a whole in health costs, lost productivity and emotional distress.

 

Judges deny sentence modifications, but for different reasons

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Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com

A panel on the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded Thursday that neither of two men who petitioned in late 2013 to have their 1997 sentences modified are entitled to a modification, but the judges’ reasoning for the denials differed.

Dennis and Raymond Johnson were convicted in 1997 of felony murder and carrying a handgun without a license, and each was sentenced to 55 years. In 2013, the men requested re-entry court evaluations, which the trial court treated as sentence modifications. At a hearing in August 2014, the trial court denied their motions because the prosecutor did not consent to the modifications, which is required based on the statute in effect at the time they were sentenced. Beginning July 1, 2014, the prosecutorial consent requirement was removed, and a savings clause was added saying the new statute did not apply to crimes or sentences prior to July 1.

In a 35-page opinion that included a lengthy concurrence from Judge L. Mark Bailey, the court affirmed the denial of the Johnsons’ request for sentence modification.  Both the majority and Bailey looked at the legislative history of the statute and past cases dealing with sentence modification, including several recently decided by the COA.

“Because the 2014 amendment to Indiana Code section 35-38-1-17 was neither remedial nor procedural, and because the savings clause evinces the intent of the legislature to apply the new criminal code only prospectively, the 2014 version of the sentence modification statute does not apply to the Johnsons. Therefore, the trial court properly determined that, in the absence of prosecutorial consent, it had no authority to modify the Johnsons’ sentences,” Judge Margret Robb wrote in the majority opinion.

She wrote in a footnote that although the statute has again been amended to include people sentenced before July 1, 2014, it is not applicable in the Johnsons’ case since the amended statute did not become effective until May 5, 2015.

“I would hold that the revised statute applies to all petitions filed on or after July 1, 2014, regardless of the petitioner’s conviction or sentencing date. Here, the Johnsons filed their petitions before the effective date of the statute, and thus the trial court did not err in applying the prior version of the statute and denying their petitions for lack of prosecutorial consent,” Bailey wrote.

He also dismissed the argument that allowing anyone to now be able to modify their sentence would flood the courts because the statute limits the number of times a person may file a sentence-modification petition.

The combined cases are Dennis Johnson, Raymond Johnson v. State of Indiana, 48A05-1408-CR-390.

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