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IS IT TRUE February 13, 2015 (Updated)

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IS IT TRUE that the City of South Bend, Indiana is doing something with borrowed money that is so insane that it makes Evansville look like a Fountain of Knowledge?…we know that is hard to do but this one makes a $10 Million dog park and an $18 Million ballfield complex look frugal and wise?…the City of South Bend is borrowing $25 Million to spend to turn 4 one way streets into two way streets?…once upon a time these were two way streets and good money was spent to turn them into one way streets to stimulate the economy and bring prosperity to local commerce in South Bend?…this time around the reverse is being done to stimulate the economy and bring prosperity to South Bend’s downtown?…this is so incredibly stupid that it should be included in a comedy act?…the only thing Evansville has done to compare with this insanity was a couple of years ago when the direction of Main Street’s one way traffic was changed from east to west to west to east?…that was a $4 Million exercise in futility that was supposed to help the downtown merchants immensely by changing the direction of traffic flow?…Main Street was at one time a two way street, that was changed into a no-way street walkway at a price, which was changed into a one way street at a price, which was changed into the other way street for $4 Million all in the name of a prosperous economy?…we can guess what will be proposed next?…that will be a two-way street at a high price which will magically rain hundred dollar bills on the old downtown area of Evansville?…the is precedent for making such an insane capital expenditure up north in South Bend, Indiana?…this is one case where monkey-see-monkey-do will make any and all supporters look more like Curious George than Albert Einstein?

IS IT TRUE the State of Indiana House Committee has actually given a green light to land based casinos?…of course this like other logical legislation with have to make it through the illogical legislative process known as the government of Indiana?…allowing land based casinos, after the nonsensical digging of a retention pond and deeming it to be a river in French Lick so a casino could pass muster only makes good sense?…it makes more sense because the retention basin nowadays does not retain any water at all?…sometimes one just has to shake one’s head in amazement at the lack of logic exhibited by elected bodies?…while they are hopefully coming to their senses in Indianapolis and giving land based casinos the thumbs up, maybe they will tack on a package store on Sundays provision so people can sit in their rooms and enjoy a beer bought from a local merchant across the street?…sometimes the clock on the courthouse wall really does seem more like a Koo-Koo Clock than it should?

IS IT TRUE three thugs broke into a residence on Morton Avenue just after midnight on Wednesday and demanded money from the resident?…fortunately the victim was not harmed but the mental anguish of having one’s home invaded will remain for many years?…this kind of news, while explaining the harsh reality of life in South Evansville is not the sort of thing that will attract businesses or model citizens to call Evansville home?…it was once asked in a seminar on building attractive cities “what am I homesick for when I am away from home”?…the answer would not include things like robbings, shootings, sewage in the street, dilapidated sidewalks, potholes, and foul smells?…this writers answer to that question would be my kids, some friends, and Turoni’s pizza?

IS IT TRUE according to Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Lockyear the pedestrian struck on Upper Mt. Vernon Road in the early morning hours day before yesterday has died? …Darrell Asbridge, age 58, died at Deaconess Hospital? … an autopsy is scheduled for Saturday at the Vanderburgh County Coroners Office. …the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances surrounding the victim being struck?

IS IT TRUE there was a heated argument at the most recent Labor Council meeting? …the majority of Labor Council membership wanted to invite all primary candidates to come and make presentations so the Labor Council could do political endorsements? … that the “Union Boss” Jack McNeely stated he didn’t see any reason to have any primary presentations by candidates? …when “Union Boss” Jack McNeely views was voted down he blew up and told the membership he is now an Independent? …all we can say about this is “WOW”?

 

Please take time and vote in todays “Readers Poll”
Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Governor Pence Stresses Need for Collaboration with Indiana Department of Education to Shorten 2015 ISTEP Test

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Names Second Consultant to Make Recommendations

Indianapolis – In a press conference today, Governor Mike Pence stressed the need for collaboration with the Indiana Department of Education to shorten the 2015 ISTEP test. The Indiana Department of Education is solely responsible for administering and shortening the ISTEP test

“Because of the cooperation we’re announcing today, I am confident that in short order, we will have substantive recommendations that will inform the State Board of Education and give the Indiana Department of Education options to significantly reduce the length of this test,” said the Governor. “I believe with the cooperation that we now have in place, we can significantly shorten this test and lessen the burden it was poised to place on Hoosier kids, on families, and on our teachers.”

Earlier today, the Governor spoke with Superintendent Ritz who informed him that the Indiana Department of Education would release all requested information by the end of today to the consultants brought on by the Governor to evaluate and recommend ways to shorten the test while still preserving the integrity of the test and the state’s A-F school grades. The Department of Education also agreed to allow the consultants to work directly with CTB McGraw Hill, the vendor for the test, to efficiently address its length. The consultants are expected to provide preliminary recommendations as early as this Friday to be discussed at the State Board of Education meeting that day.

The Governor also announced today a second consultant, Bill Auty, would join Edward Roeber in providing recommendations on ways to shorten the test. The maximum cost of Auty’s contract, like Roeber’s, is $22,000. Auty has more than two decades of experience as an administrator of assessment at the district and state level in Oregon. Plus, he brings added experience serving as the former Assistant Superintendent of the Oregon Department of Education. Currently, Auty works to consult with states and other clients, such as the U.S. Department of Education, Pearson Consulting, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress Governing Board, in providing assessment and accountability systems.

 

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx

EPD Activity Report

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

EPD Activity Report

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

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SPONSORED BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY IVAN ARNAEZ.
 DON’T GO TO COURT ALONE. CALL IVAN ARNAEZ @ 812-424-6671.

Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Andrew Ward      Dealing in Synthetic Drug or Synthetic Drug Lookalike Substance-Level 6 Felony

Theft-Level 6 Felony

Possession of Marijuana-Class A Misdemeanor

Possession of Paraphernalia-Class A Misdemeanor

Possession of Controlled Substance-Class A Misdemeanors (Two Counts)

James Brune          Operating a Vehicle as an Habitual Traffic Violator-Level 6 Felony

Derrick Collins     Theft-Level 6 Felony

For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Kyle Phernetton at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at kphernetton@vanderburghgov.org

County Commissioners Executive Session Notice

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The Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners will meet in Executive Session on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 4:00 pm. in room 305 of the Civic Center Complex, 1 NW MLK Jr. Blvd. Evansville, IN, to discuss pending and litigation as permitted by IC 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(2)(B) and for the purpose of receiving information concerning a County employee’s alleged misconduct pursuant to I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(6)(A).

THE RISE OF THE CHARLATANS

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Nate Beeler / Columbus Dispatch

By Tina Dupuy

At the birth of every conspiracy theory is the question, “Who profits?”

In the dark reaches of anonymous Internet forums, the answer is always Big Government, Big Pharma, Big Farm-a and occasionally Satan, aliens, the Illuminati, the Knights Templar, or the Pentavirate—some omnipotent all-powerful force that enviously pulls off vast nefarious synchronization perfectly.

And this assumption of divine coordination—an attempt to make sense of a chaotic indifferent world—is very bipartisan. It’s not just one party taking to the Internet or broadcast television to wrap themselves in cozy half-baked hyperbole—denying science and doubling down on baloney—it’s at the far reaches of both sides of the spectrum.

Republicans will tend to see the threat as anti-Christian or Big Government tyranny (Sharia law and “gubmint coming fir yer guns”). Democrats tend to see the threat as anti-alternative medicine and anti-nature (i.e., animal protein causes cancer and there are chemicals in everything!).

Distrust, disinformation and a wide range of discussion boards have primed the American public for leaders who can give them reassurance. Figureheads who can tell them what they need to know, what no one else will tell them, what some don’t want them to know. You know, the “truth.”

So in this land of the emboldened science illiterate, I pose the question, “Who profits?”

The answer? Charlatans. Pseudoscience salesmen. Quacks and swindlers ready to feed off human misery with overly simplistic (and probably expensive) solutions.

The herbal supplements market, for example, is a $100 billion business globally. A study released this week from the New York State attorney general’s office found major retailers like Target, Walmart, GNC and Walgreens are selling what for all intents and purposes is snake oil. Herbal supplements with fillers in lieu of herbs. An entire aisle of the placebo effect estimated in the billions.

But if you think Big Pharma is trying to scam you, it’s priceless.

The History Channel, a joint venture between Hearst and Disney, has fed into this fevered fetish with their programming: “Ancient Aliens,” “UFO Hunters,” “Decoded,” “The Bible Code,” “Cities of the Underworld,” “Mystery Quest,” “Nostradamus Effect,” “Armageddon.” We effectively have an ahistorical History Channel.

This is something no one else will tell you … unless you turn on Disney-owned cable television.

Speaking of television charlatans—”Dr.” Oz. Not only has he let psychics come on his show to chat with the dead, he’s a proponent of the widely debunked “detox” craze and was recently called out by Congress for hawking fake weight loss pills on his show. Quacks like a duck, must be a quack.

But like “Dr.” Oz, “Dr.” Rand Paul also gains from his fans’ beliefs rooted in junk science and disproved claims. Paul caused a stir this week by parroting the universally (and frequently) debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. He’s also involved with a phony science organization called the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. “Its periodical, Journal of the American Physicians and Surgeons, has published reports suggesting a link between abortions and higher rates of breast cancer,” reports The New York Times. “A tie rejected by an expert panel of the National Cancer Institute. Another report contended that illegal immigrants brought disease into this country and benefited if their babies were born with disabilities.”

This is a doctors’ association? First do no harm…unless they’re illegals.

Then private-jet-baller, Governor Chris Christie, hoping to split the anti-vax vote opted to feed into people’s fears too. “Parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well, so that’s the balance that the government has to decide,” he said to a reporter this week. Christie is suddenly and shockingly pro-choice when it comes to public health. Unlike when he was pro-mandatory quarantine…like in October.

Charlatans are indicative of simple economics: supply and demand. As long as we demand manure, someone will step up to shovel it. And business appears to be good.

© Copyright 2015 TinaDupuy.com, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.Tina Dupuy is a nationally syndicated op-ed columnist, investigative journalist, award-winning writer, stand-up comic, on-air commentator and wedge issue fan.

Please take time and vote in todays “Readers Poll”
Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Panel issues 3 opinions on interplay between T.R. 15(C) and 17(F)

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Jennifer Nelson for www.therindianalawyer.com

While the three judges on the Indiana Court of Appeals panel agreed summary judgment was proper for an Indianapolis attorney being sued for defamation and other claims because the statute of limitations had expired, each judge interpreted the interplay between Trial Rules 15(C) and 17(F) differently.

Jeffrey and Cynthia Miller appealed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Ice Miller LLP partner Kristine C. Danz, who practices under the name Kristine M. Camron, in Jeffrey M. Miller and Cynthia S. Miller v. Kristine C. Danz, 49A05-1401-PL-45. Jeffrey Miller, the former president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Central Indiana and president of a separate foundation that supports JACI, sued Danz and many others after the city of Indianapolis decided not to offer him a job in the mayor’s office. Danz, whose husband served as a board chairman for JACI, told her that JACI was going to be audited because of concerns that money designated for a culinary school at JACI was not properly managed. Miller was still with JACI and the foundation when the school was announced, but funding was later stopped over those concerns.

In January or February 2010, Danz told colleague Sarah Cotterill about her husband’s comments because she knew that Miller was up for a position in the mayor’s office and the city may want to inquire further into the matter before hiring him. Cotterill is married to Chris Cotterill, who at the time was Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s chief of staff. Sarah Cotterill passed along Danz’s comments to her husband, who eventually informed Miller that the city would not be offering him the job.

The Millers filed their complaint on March 31, 2010. They filed several amended complaints, including one filed within the two-year statute of limitations naming “John Doe #8,” a partner at Ice Miller, as a defendant. A year later, in February 2013, the Millers filed a fifth amended complaint naming Danz after deposing Sarah Cotterill.

Danz argued that the statute of limitations had expired regarding the claims filed by the Millers against her, and the trial court agreed. The case required the Court of Appeals to look at how T.R. 17(F) and 15(C) interact.

“The purpose of the doctrine of relation back under current T.R. 15(C) is to strike the proper balance between the basic goal of the Trial Rules to promote decisions on the merits and the policies underlying statutes of limitation, the most significant of which are to provide fairness and finality to defendants. Thus, while T.R. 17(F) liberally allows amendments to pleadings in cases where a previously unknown party was named, T.R.15(C) seeks to ensure that the now-named defendants ‘receive notice of claims within a reasonable time, and thus are not impaired in their defense by evidence that is lost or diminished in its clarity because of the undue passage of time.’ It is T.R. 15(C) that serves to achieve the goals of finality and fairness to defendants,” Judge Ezra Friedlander wrote in the lead opinion.

Judge Melissa May concurred in a separate opinion, writing that T.R. 15(C) doesn’t apply in this case, and that the judgment may be affirmed by the proper application of T.R. 17(F) alone.

“[A]dding a party because there has been a mistake about who should be the proper defendant, is governed by T.R. 15(C). That is not the same situation as giving a name to a previously-unidentified party who is already a ‘John Doe’ defendant. T.R. 17(F) applies when ‘the name or existence of a party is unknown,’ and provides ‘his name may be inserted by amendment at any time.’ Correcting a mistake is not the same as learning an unknown party’s name,” May wrote.

In her concurring opinion, Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik wrote that the lower court should be affirmed because the evidence shows the Millers knew Danz was John Doe #8 as early as March 2010, before they filed their first complaint.

“Our trial rules aim to strike a balance between promoting decisions on the merits and providing closure, finality, and fairness to defendants. I believe that both interests are served by reading a due-diligence requirement into Rule 17(F), recognizing that Rule 15(C) operates as check on Rule 17(F), and acknowledging that lack of knowledge as to a defendant’s identity may constitute a mistake for purposes of Rule 15(C),” Vaidik wrote.

IS IT TRUE February 12, 2015

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IS IT TRUE the suicide numbers for Vanderburgh County are out for 2014 and the news is not as good as was expected from the two months that we went without a single suicide?…there were exactly 50 suicides in Vanderburgh County last year which equates to 27 suicides for every 100,000 members of the population?…the only way to get an appreciation for this number is to compare it to other places?…at a rate of 27 per 100,000, if Vanderburgh County were a country it would have the 3rd highest suicide rate in the world?…the only countries that commit suicide at a higher rate are Lithuania at 31 per 100,000 and South Korea at 28 per 100,000?…this data on countries is taken from the World Health Organization?…as a general guideline the suicide rate for the United States as a whole has been around 11 per 100,000 per year for many years with Indiana and the surrounding counties all falling into that general range?…the lowest rates of suicide by country are Greece, Mexico, and Italy all which have rates that are less than 5 suicides per 100,000 per year?…that this is not the highest number of suicides that have ever happened in Vanderburgh County either with 54 in 2010 equating to a suicide rate of 30 per 100,000 launching Vanderburgh County to a close second behind Lithuania for suicides?…there is no apparent reason for this as Evansville is not particularly different from other Midwestern cities that were built on manufacturing and suffer from outsourcing and infrastructure decay?…the only city in America with a higher suicide rate is Las Vegas which has a rate of 34.5 per 100,000?…the only other city even close to Vanderburgh County is Tucson, AZ at 26 per 100,000?

IS IT TRUE the Indiana House of Representatives Public Policy Committee has approved a resolution to allow package stores to sell alcohol on Indiana on Sundays?…of course this will have to go through the full legislative process to become law and this has not been something that has been possible in the past?…to ban alcohol sales in stores on Sunday and allow it to be sold by the drink in restaurants makes no sense at all because patrons of restaurants have to drive home?…it is archaic laws like this one and the one about no gambling on dry land that continue to make Indiana look like it is governed by the Temperance League refugees from the 1920’s?

IS IT TRUE going back to the suicide statistics, it is also true that if Vanderburgh County were a state it would rank #1 in suicide with a rate that is 24% higher than the #2 State of Alaska that comes in at 21.8 suicides per 100,000 people?…Vanderburgh County has not always had a high rate of suicide?…a study that covered the years from 1979 – 2006 spanning 28 years showed Vanderburgh County ranking #880 among American counties with a suicide rate of 14.4 per 100,000?…the real questions that should be asked are what changed so dramatically to cause Vanderburgh County to go from a place with a slightly above average suicide rate to leading the pack since the turn of the century?

IS IT TRUE your chances of hitting the jackpot and taking home the entire Powerball winnings are extremely small – one in 175 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association?…the odds that you’ll take home a smaller prize of $1 million (one in 5 million) or even $100 (one in 12,000)?…if this is not enough to convince you not to indulge in this fool’s fantasy, here’s the math — from real mathematicians:

“If you just want a positive expected rate of return, then our results … say to avoid Mega Millions and Powerball,” wrote two Emory University professors, Aaron Abrams and Skip Garibaldi. Their 2010 paper “Finding Good Bets in the Lottery, and Why You Shouldn’t Take Them” was published by The Mathematical Association of America.

It’s more likely, for example, that you will die in a lightning strike (one in 136,000), or on board a plane (one in 8,000).

It’s far more likely that you’ll crushed by an asteroid that falls out of the sky (one in 700,000)

It’s also more likely that a high school football player will play professionally (one in 1 million).

And it’s far more likely that you’ll be attacked by a shark (1 in 12 million).

There’s nothing wrong with dreaming — about quitting your job or that private island.

But chances are, you’re not going to win.

The Powerball is jackpot is up to $500 million as of Wednesday morning.

The take-home cash value is estimated at about $337.8 million.

Please take time and vote in todays “Readers Poll”
Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Arrest Made in Pedestrian Crash

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On Wednesday at approximately 2:52 AM the Sheriff’s Office responded to a crash involving a white Toyota Camry and a pedestrian. Sheriff’s deputies found a pedestrian, who was later identified as Mr. Darrell Asbridge, lying in the roadway unconscious.

The Sheriff’s Office spoke to the driver of the vehicle, who explained that he had been drinking at a local bar and then gave a friend a ride home when the crash occurred. Mr. Dant indicated that he had been traveling west on Upper Mount Vernon Road when he struck a pedestrian, who was reportedly walking westbound. Mr. Dant explained that he stopped his vehicle and immediately called 911.

The investigating deputy noticed signs of impairment when speaking to Mr. Dant. In accordance with state statute, Mr. Dant was asked to submit to a chemical test for intoxication. Mr. Dant consented to testing and a blood sample was collected at Deaconess Hospital. Preliminary testing indicated that Mr. Dant’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was over two and a half times the legal limit of .08. A blood sample will be sent to the Indiana State Department of Toxicology for confirmatory testing.

Mr. Asbridge was severely injured and is currently undergoing treatment at Deaconess Hospital. The investigation is ongoing as detectives reconstruct the crash scene and gather additional evidence.

Arrested:

Connor Bryant Dant (pictured above), 29, of Evansville. Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated Causing Serious Injury as a Level 5 Felony

Injured:

Darrell Wayne Asbridge, 56, of Evansville.

 

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