|
Dear Ann Landers: I am a 34-year-old single physician who never has been married or even come close. The truth is I never found anyone I truly wanted to be with — until last year. Sound good? Well, wait. The woman I have fallen in love with is a very youthful 53-year-old — and she is married. I do not want to jeopardize her marriage by having an affair, but I do want a friendship with her. We talk on the phone two or three times a week, but she must call me from work to avoid arousing suspicion at home. I cannot call her house and ask her to have lunch with me or go to a movie. Is there any proper, non-threatening way I could have a close relationship with this woman without upsetting her family? Am I better off just leaving her alone? I’m afraid I never will meet anyone else whose company I enjoy so much. Please give me some guidance. — A Smitten M.D. in N.C. Dear N.C. Doc: Stop playing with dynamite before you blow up the woman’s marriage and your medical practice, as well. Surely there is a single woman in North Carolina who would be an appropriate companion with romantic possibilities. Let your friends know you are interested, and put yourself out there. If you need an incentive, think about how your life would be enriched with a couple of children. That should do it. Dear Ann Landers: My husband and I have been married for 12 years and are unable to have children. A year ago, my niece, “Nicole,” became pregnant by her boyfriend, who then left her. She was 18. He was 20.When her boyfriend walked out, my husband and I offered to adopt the baby. Nicole said she wanted to put the experience behind her and agreed to the adoption. The papers were signed. We live in another city, so we invited Nicole to move in with us until the baby was born. I accompanied her to the obstetrician during her pregnancy, and my husband and I were with her when she gave birth to her son. Two days ago, Nicole’s mother (my sister) called to say Nicole wants the baby back. It seems she and the ex-boyfriend have settled their differences and are going to be married. My sister matter-of-factly described the breakup as a “misunderstanding” and said the kids want to raise their son. Ann, there are no words to describe how we feel. We want to retain custody of our son, but we don’t want to put him through a long and protracted custody battle. Do you have any advice? We are — Living a Nightmare in New York State Dear N.Y.: Check with a lawyer, and learn what your chances are of winning custody. If it is likely that you will lose the child, give him up willingly and avoid an ugly court fight that could drag on for years and create wounds that may never heal. I wish you luck. Lonesome? Take charge of your life and turn it around. Write to receive Ann Landers’ booklet “How To Make Friends and Stop Being Lonely.” Send a self-addressed, long, business-sized envelope and a check or money order for $4.25 (this includes postage and handling) to: Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. To find out more about Ann Landers and read her past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. ANN LANDERS (R) COPYRIGHT 2015 CREATORS.COM |
Classic Ann Landers
First Security Bank opens second Lexington, KY
On January 2, 2015, First Security Bank opened its second Lexington, Kentucky location. Located at 345 Ruccio Way, it will be more commonly known as the Bank’s Wellington Banking Center. The Owensboro, Kentucky based bank first expanded its service into the Lexington market in March 2012, opening its Hamburg Banking Center at 2352 Sir Barton Way. Since that time, First Security Bank’s assets in the Lexington area have substantially exceeded expectations, which developed the need for an additional location.
The southwest Lexington location is a former bank branch located at the corner of West Reynolds Road and Ruccio Way. It is situated in the front of the Meijer’s shopping center, three blocks west of Nicholasville Road and the Fayette Mall.
The Wellington banking center plans on hiring several new employees and will be under the direction of Sr. Vice President and Lexington Market Executive, Lance Lawrence.
“Being part of First Security Bank’s entry into the Lexington market has been one of my proudest professional accomplishments. We have been able to exceed projections by assembling a team of experienced banking professionals that not only excel in growing customer relationships, but also work well with one another in a team-oriented work environment. I am excited about our continued growth as we open another Lexington location,†says Lawrence.
First Security Bank is a $535 million asset bank with 11 banking centers in Owensboro, Bowling Green, Franklin and Lexington, Kentucky, as well as Evansville and Newburgh, Indiana. Focusing on relationship banking and the ability to make decisions locally, First Security Bank creates value through unparalleled service.
The bank specializes in personalized customer service with excellent products like high interest checking, mobile banking, remote deposit capture, and very attractive terms on loans.
AG Zoeller, state legislators to tackle rise in e-cigarette use among youth
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and state legislators unveiled a comprehensive legislative proposal aimed at curbing the growing use of e-cigarettes by Indiana’s youth.
According to a recent study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014 was the first year that more teens smoked e-cigarettes than traditional cigarettes, with 16 percent of high school students reporting regular use of the electronic nicotine product.
E-cigarettes are different from traditional cigarettes in that they do not burn tobacco. Instead, the product uses a battery to heat and vaporize highly addictive liquid nicotine derived from tobacco, which is then inhaled or “vaped.â€Â These liquid containers are disposable and come in more than 7,000 flavors, including those appealing to children such as bubble gum and gummy bears.
Because these products are new, largely unregulated and widely sold, Zoeller said they are being aggressively marketed to youth. He noted e-cigarettes have the innocuous appearance of a keychain or pen and the device can be used to inhale not only nicotine, but any number of drugs. There are reports of e-cigarettes being used to inhale liquid THC – the intoxicating substance found in marijuana – as well as synthetic drugs and other illegal substances.
“E-cigarettes have emerged as the latest drug-delivery device, and I only expect their use among teens to rise as users experiment with ‘vaping’ other dangerous or illegal substances,†Zoeller said. “These products can be cheap, easy to get and effectively disguise drug use because ‘vaping’ produces no smoke or smell. My goal is to get ahead of the curve unlike what happened with traditional tobacco products, and implement tools to reduce access to youth before we see more kids addicted to nicotine.â€
The proposed legislation would include the following provisions:
- Requiring “vape shops†that sell e-cigarettes to be licensed, giving the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission more authority to cite for violations of law, including selling the products to minors.
- Taxing e-cigarettes similarly to traditional tobacco products so that they are less appealing to price-conscious youth.
- Including e-cigarettes in Indiana’s statewide smoking ban.
- Requiring that e-liquid containers be sold in child-resistant packaging to discourage accidental, potentially fatal poisoning through children consuming the liquid.
According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, in 2012 centers nationwide received 460 calls regarding e-liquid exposure. In 2013, that number jumped to 1,542, and as of August 2014 the number was 2,724.
State Representative Ed Clere, R-New Albany, and State Representative Charlie Brown, D-Gary, plan to author and co-author the legislation on a bipartisan basis during the 2015 legislative session, which begins on Jan. 6. State Senator Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, will sponsor the legislation in the Senate.
“E-cigarettes are a rapidly growing threat to public health, and this legislation addresses several major concerns. In addition to regulating the packaging, sale and use of e-cigarettes, it taxes them and devotes the revenue to tobacco prevention and cessation, which has been badly underfunded and must be a high priority if we are to be successful in improving Indiana’s overall health,†Rep. Clere said.
“It is essential that we provide safeguards to protect Hoosiers, especially children,†Rep. Brown said. “It is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to minors, but we know that is happening. Just because e-cigarettes don’t contain tobacco doesn’t mean they are not harmful. The vaporized liquid nicotine is still highly addictive. If that wasn’t bad enough, the New York Times found that the e-cigarette industry in Shenzhen, China, where 90 percent of the e-cigarettes are manufactured, has serious problems with quality control, so people inhaling the nicotine vapors are also frequently inhaling heavy metals and carcinogens. We need to take action on these devices as soon as possible.â€
Representatives from several public health organizations also showed support for the legislation by attending the announcement, including Tobacco Free Indiana, the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Indiana, Mental Health America Indiana, the American Association of Pediatrics and the IU Poison Center.
“We are pleased to see Indiana taking steps to ensure these unregulated and highly addictive products aren’t readily available to children. A primary concern with these products is the increase in youth use. Policies that can deter youth from starting to use these products that could lead them to a path of addiction need to be supported,†Tobacco Free Indiana spokesperson Brianna Herndon said.
In 2014, Zoeller was nominated to serve as a board member of the national public health foundation Legacy, which aims to end tobacco use and teen smoking in the U.S.
“The state attorneys general have long served a role in protecting consumers when it comes to smoking and the risks to public health that nicotine products cause,†Zoeller said. “I am committed to reenergizing that role through my work on the Legacy Board and as the consumer-protection advocate within state government. Some of the health risks of e-cigarettes already are known and further study might discover others, and until all the medical risks are fully understood we need to do more to protect Indiana’s youth before they get hooked on this new insidious method of nicotine delivery.â€
Zoeller has been active as co-chair of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Tobacco Committee in calling on the federal government to regulate e-cigarettes like they do traditional tobacco products. More information on this initiative can be found here:Â http://bit.ly/1A0C1n0.
Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records
EPD Activity Report
Click to see Mayor Winnecke’s Campaign Financial Report
Now Open: St. Mary’s Urgent Care BoonvilleÂ
It was built around the goal of providing the most personalized care possible and offers family medical care from Pediatric to Geriatric. The building has the same unique look of St. Mary’s Epworth Crossing, thanks to a generous gift of $200,000 from the St. Mary’s Warrick Hospital Foundation, which merged with the St. Mary’s Medical Center Foundation in October 2014 to become the St. Mary’s Health Foundation.
Services include:
*On-site digital X-ray
*School and sport physicals
*Treatment of acute injuries, illnesses and minor emergencies
*Occupational medicine services
*Immunizations
*Allergy injections
*Flu vaccines
*Physicians board-certified in family medicine and internal medicine
*And more
Register for Art Noir Today!
| Artist Diane Albin to Jury Annual Exhibit, Art Noir |
| The Arts Council is pleased to present the annual exhibit Art Noir, a black and white juried exhibit. The Arts Council will be accepting artist registrations through January 27th. Art Noir will open with a reception on February 13th from 5-7pm, and will run through March 13th at the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana’s Bower-Suhrheinrich Foundation Gallery, located at 318 Main Street in downtown Evansville. This year’s juror is Diane Albin from Owensboro, KY. View the juror’s work at www.behance.net/dalbin. The exhibit calendar and award information is listed below. For more information and to view the full prospectus, please visit artswin.org.
Exhibit Calendar: Registration Deadline: January 27th Artwork Drop-off: February 6th Juried: February 9th Artist Notification Email: February 10th Non-accepted Pick-up: February 11th Opening Reception: February 13, 5-7pm Exhibit Closes: March 13th Artwork Pick-up: March 13th *All dates work within the Gallery’s regularly scheduled hours (10am-4pm), with the exception of the opening reception on February 13th (5-7pm).
Awards: Best of Show: $300 1st Place- $200 2nd Place- $150 3rd Place- $50
Juror:Â Dianne Albin, Owensboro, KYÂ www.behance.net/dalbin “We are constantly changed by life, and as an artist I am challenged not only to respond to what is most obvious, but also to those deeper, richer aspects that most define what it means to be human.” |
A Summary of Indiana’s Budget Process
As an engineer, I enjoy analyzing data and looking for innovative solutions. That is one reason I was pleased to be assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee which is tasked with reviewing our state’s finances and funding our constituents’ priorities while remaining fiscally responsible. Education, economic development and transportation infrastructure are a few of this session’s priorities, but the most important priority is to pass an honestly balanced budget without increasing taxes on hardworking Hoosiers. By continuing to live within our means, we will secure our economy for future generations.
I hold a strong core belief that the government is designed to serve the people and that the more active citizens are in their government, the better it functions. To this end, I constantly strive to inform individuals of what their government is doing and how. I hope this summary of Indiana’s budget process will encourage more public involvement in this version of Indiana’s biennial budget.
Crafting and passing the biennial budget typically takes the entire session and is the last bill we vote on. However, the budgetary process actually began a year ago when state agencies submitted their funding requests to the State Budget Agency. This agency is responsible for reviewing each submission to ensure that each proposal is an effective and appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. The agency then passes the reviewed requests on to the Budget Committee which is comprised of four legislators: one Democrat and one Republican from the House and Senate as well as the Budget Agency Director.
The Budget Committee compiles and considers information from public hearings, funding requests and revenue forecasts, which provide an economic outlook for the state, and creates an itemized budget proposal. The proposal then goes to the governor for review. Once approved, the governor’s Office of Management and Budget will present the proposal to the General Assembly, which occurred last week.
At this point, House Speaker Brian Bosma will assign the proposal a bill number, traditionally House Bill 1001. House Bill 1001 then goes to the Ways and Means Committee for review. As a member of this committee, my colleagues and I will listen to hours of testimony from state agencies, public colleges and the public on various proposed aspects of the budget. This provides us the chance to ask questions on why an agency or organization has allotted funds for specific line items. I encourage everyone to watch these committee meetings live at iga.in.gov. After receiving this testimony, we will meticulously review and potentially amend the budget bill, line by line.
Once a final version of the budget passes out of Ways and Means it goes to the House floor where every legislator then has the opportunity to offer amendments. After all amendments have been made, the budget will be voted on in its entirety and passed along to the Senate where a similar process takes place. After both the House and Senate approve the same version of the bill, the budget becomes final.
It is a privilege to serve on Ways and Means and to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent in a responsible manner that best benefits Hoosiers. I will continue to work for our community, and I welcome your input throughout the coming months. Please contact my office by phone at 317-232-9671 or by email at h78@iga.in.gov with your comments and concerns on the budget bill or any other matter.
IS IT TRUE January 26, 2015
IS IT TRUE it is of some significance that one of the largest contributors to the Winnecke Campaign during 2014 when their was no election was the appointed City Attorney Ted Ziemer?…billing Ted, as some of our readers call him added over $10,000 to the coffers of his contractual employer?…that is a pretty darn good return on investment for Mr. Ziemer, as it is typical for the City of Evansville to run a legal tab of over a million bucks a year?…in all fairness this happens everywhere, but it is an absolutely disgusting fact of American politics that contributions grease the skids for contracts?…every dollar that is rebated to a politician by a contractor that has benefited or expects to benefit from their guy winning is a dollar “SNEGALLY Taken” from the funds to repair the roads, fix the sewers, make the sidewalks ADA compliant, or cleaning the teeth of the indigent?…the whole time honored process stink and both parties promote it?…there needs to be a better way to fund campaigns than doing so by political patronage kick backs on public contracts that really rob the taxpayer to pay cronies?
IS IT TRUE we are surprised to hear that the Mayors and his Chief of Staff had a telephone conference last week with HCW concerning the proposed Downtown Hotel plans? …We are stunned to hear that the President of the Evansville City Council wasn’t invited to participate in this extremely important telephone conference since the Mayors Chief of Staff pledged to do so at the last City Council meeting?
IS IT TRUE we have all been put on notice that Mayor Winnecke is once again going to update us on the status of the downgrading of the hotel in an attempt to get the project going with the money that is available?…considering the accuracy of previous updates if the Mayor says the sky is blue we had better verify it ourselves before we believe a word?…we await the next photo op and newsworthy blurbs more jaded than before? Â …we hope the Mayor will bring a copy of the officially signed “Hotel Franchise Agreement” between HCW and Hilton Corporation at todays City Council meeting since the taxpayers have so far paid $77,000 towards acquiring this agreement?
IS IT TRUE the new year has brought with it some unwelcome and unexpected negative economic news with layoffs accelerating in the oil business, financial institutions, and closer to home in the agricultural equipment business?…the layoff announcements that are close to home are the 1,410 layoffs that were just announced at the John Deere company in Illinois?…as has been typical in the last several years the outcomes are getting difficult to predict using official economical metrics?…the most recent new unemployment claims were higher than expected in a country that has been treated to falling official unemployment rates?
IS IT TRUE Friday’s annual report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that union membership fell to 11.1% of US workers from 11.3% in the previous year?…nearly half of all American union workers now work for government which has 35.7% of its employees in a union?…private businesses now only have 6.6% of their workers represented by unions and with the expiration of some contracts in the newly right to work Michigan that number is poised to fall even further?…the story behind the numbers seems to be that given a choice, many union members prefer not to pay for the privilege of union membership?…Indiana, which recently became a right to work state bucked the trend gaining some 50,000 union members which translated into a growth from 9.3% to 10.7% over the same period?
IS IT TRUE some Evansville thieves sunk to a new low recently in robbing and vandalizing a house of worship?…the church robbed was the Harvest House Church that was broken into, had some expensive musical instruments taken, and some vandalizing done?…we recognize this is an incident that does not reflect on the entire community but it really does speak to the degradation of respect for personal property that Evansville and the entire country seem to have drifted into?…the fact that it was a church that was robbed is a bit more insulting but at the end of the day it is knowing that we are living among people who would rob a church that makes life feel just a little bit less secure?…this particular crime is reminiscent of an old movie where some kids stole from the poor box in a church to bet on the races?
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.