Pet of the Week
Libby is a 10 month old, tan, Shepherd Mix female. She is spayed and housetrained. Libby is very social, affectionate, and playful girl. “Visit www.vhslifesaver.org or call (812) 426-2563 for details!â€
VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES
Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, October 07, 2014
Misty Fuller        Operating a Vehicle as an Habitual Traffic Violator-Level 6 Felony
Kevin Joest               Theft-Level 6 Felony
Terri Newman            Theft-Level 6 Felony
Stacy True                     Dealing in Methamphetamine-Level 5 Felony
Maintaining a Common Nuisance-Level 6 Felony
Possession of Paraphernalia-Level 6 Felony
Possession of Marijuana-Class A Misdemeanor
Shawn Underwood    Dealing in Methamphetamine-Level 2 Felony
Andrew Ware               Theft-Level 6 Felony
Antwan Stallworth       Dealing in Methamphetamine-Level 5 Felony
Maintaining a Common Nuisance-Level 6 Felony
Possession of Marijuana-Class B Misdemenaor
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
Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
Local Leaders Chosen to Present at National Summit
Organized by the University Economic Development Association
Evansville, Ind. (October 8, 2014) – Local academia and economic leaders from the University of Southern Indiana, The Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville and Grow Southwest Indiana Workforce presented last week at the UEDA’s (University Economic Development Association) Annual Summit in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The team presented on the topic of Leading Regional Transformation through Innovation.
The UEDA’s Annual Summit is organized each year for Universities to convene and share best practices, success stories and lessons learned with economic development professionals from centers, organizations, colleges and universities nationwide.
Local leaders were chosen to present at the Annual Summit because of their ongoing efforts to link innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce development and civic collaboration along the I69 regional corridor.
“The collaboration between academia, government, economic development organizations, and business and industry that is the foundation of the I69 Innovation Corridor initiative is helping to focus our resources on efforts that have the greatest potential for long-term, transformational economic impact,†stated Deborah Dewey, President of the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville.
The University of Southern Indiana (USI), is the lead convener in a regional initiative to drive transformational change in Southwest Indiana. This initiative is centered on the recent construction of a segment of Interstate 69 and aims to foster the establishment of an Innovation Corridor from Evansville to Crane in Southwest Indiana. The vision is to develop a culture and environment that uses innovation to transform and sustain the dynamism of the regional economy. A consortium of over 200 stakeholders has been engaged in developing strategies to increase the region’s innovation index by 20% by 2025.
“The presentation by the University of Southern Indiana, Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville and Indiana WorkOne Southwest was emblematic of the theme of this year’s UEDA Summit – Higher Education as a Catalyst for Economic Development: Innovation+Inspiration+Impact,†reported UEDA President Mike Dozier, Fresno State. “The collaboration between the university and the community was an inspiration to the UEDA members and serves as a best practice for others to emulate.â€
Attendees from peer institutions nationwide heard highlights of the innovative programs and events such as the creation of Co-Working Space, the Technology Commercialization Academy, Tech on Tap Meet-ups, Start-Up Weekend Evansville and the upcoming Tour of Opportunity (October 18), where companies within the region will showcase their operations to the public.
“It was an honor to present our ongoing innovation work in regional economic development to a national audience. Our collaborative efforts in innovating our region along the I-69 Corridor will have a positive impact on developing, recruiting and retaining top talent in our region,†said Mark Bernhard, USI’s associate provost for Outreach and Engagement, and chair of the I-69 Innovation Corridor Executive Committee.
Local leaders Represented at the Annual Summit
- ï‚· Â Dr. Mark Bernhard, Associate Provost for Outreach & Engagement, University of Southern Indiana
- ï‚· Â Debbie Dewey, President, Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville
- ï‚· Â Jim Heck, Executive Director, Grow Southwest Indiana Workforce
- ï‚· Â Dr. Mohammed Khayum, Dean, Romain College of Business, University of Southern
Indiana
- ï‚· Â Dr. Scott Gordon, Dean, Pott College of Science, Engineering & Education, University of
Southern Indiana
- ï‚· Â Daniela Vidal, Director, Center for Applied Research & Economic Development,
University of Southern Indiana
- ï‚· Â Michael Thissen, University of Southern Indiana (moderator)
 BAT TESTS POSITIVE FOR RABIES
A bat found in Evansville has tested positive for rabies at the Indiana State Department of Health. This is a reminder to residents that rabies continues to exist in the wildlife population in Vanderburgh County.
As rabies is a fatal illness in humans, residents are advised not to handle wild animals.  Any dead or injured wild animal should be reported immediately to the City of Evansville’s Animal Care and Control Department at 435-6015.
Dog and ferret owners should check with their veterinarian at this time to determine if the animal has a valid rabies vaccine. If these animals do not have a current vaccination, they should be vaccinated without delay.
E-mail:Â Â health@vanderburghcounty.in.gov
Web page:Â Â www.vanderburghcounty.in.gov/health
Winter natural gas prices are same or lower than last year
By Andi TenBarge
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Hoosiers in Central and parts of Southern Indiana could be seeing flat or slightly lower heating bills than last winter according to projections released Tuesday by Vectren Energy and Citizens Energy Group.
Both companies said that – when normalized for weather – prices for the five-month heating season should be similar to last year.
Last winter, customers saw an increase in heating costs due to the harsh winter conditions.
“The abundant supply of natural gas in the U.S. is keeping the price of this clean-burning fuel stable,†said Carey Lykins, president of Citizens Energy Group, which serves customers in Indianapolis. “Natural gas prices are about 25 percent lower than they were in 2008.â€
Natural gas bills are based on wholesale fuel prices plus delivery and administrative rates approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. Utility companies pass along increases and decreases in wholesale gas prices to customers.
Citizen customers should expect to pay about $607 from November through March with typical usage, as opposed to last winter when bills averaged $680.
Vectren customers in the company’s northern territory – which includes Central Indiana and Southern Indiana north of Louisville – can expect an average bill of $550 per month with normal usage. Last year’s cold winter left customers with average bills totaling $615 over five months.
“While Vectren has always used normal weather to project year-over-year winter bill comparisons, the bitter temperatures experienced in the winter months of last year were anything but normal, nearly 20 percent colder than normal in fact,†said Mike Roeder, president of Vectren North. “Although the market points to continued low, stable natural gas pricing for years to come, customers should still implement energy efficiency measures and find ways to use less natural gas to lower bills even further.â€
Hannah Troyer is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
USI’s Flowers on the Lake to honor victims of domestic violence
Flower petals will float atop the waters of Reflection Lake on the University of Southern Indiana campus Thursday, October 16. The flowers will be released to honor victims and survivors of domestic violence as part of the nationally recognized event, Flowers on the Lake. The USI community, as well as the general public are invited to participate.
This is the second year that the USI Sexual Assault and Gender Violence Prevention Group has organized and held the event on the USI campus. They received the help of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice (SAC) Club, along with community collaborator Albion Fellows Bacon Center. Along with the SAC Club, student members of the Psychology Club and the Student Government Association will speak about the victims whose lives have been lost in Indiana due to intimate partner homicide. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. and groups will meet in front of the Liberal Arts Center to hear the speakers.
Using state statistics, a bell rings out for each person who has died in Indiana due to domestic violence. “It’s very powerful when you’re standing there and you keep hearing those bell messages and you know that each one of those represents a life that was lost this year in our area,†said Dr. Melinda Roberts, assistant professor of criminal justice and SAC Club advisor. Guests will be handed resource pamphlets shaped as cones holding flower petals. After a moment of silence, they will be led to Reflection Lake to scatter the petals across the water in memory of the victims and in honor of survivors.
In conjunction with the Flowers on the Lake event, there will be life-size silhouettes in various locations across campus representing real victims in Indiana. This project, entitled Silent Witness (also nationally recognized), involves research by SAC students to create badges that tell that individual’s story. Along with adult silhouettes there will be child-sized silhouettes representing youth who have been victimized.
“With the SAC Club community activities, students get to inspire hope in ending violence and they help victims and their families heal,†said Roberts.
The event is free of charge and open to the public. Participants should meet at 4:30 p.m. in front of the Liberal Arts Center. For more information contact Dr. Melinda Roberts at mrroberts1@usi.edu or 812-461-5475.
Millions of dollars are waiting to be claimed
STATEHOUSE – Last year, Hoosiers across the state claimed more than $60 million in unclaimed property.
I hope you will take advantage of the fast and free database search at http://indianaunclaimed.gov and check to see if you have any assets waiting to be claimed. At this website, you’ll even find an app available for iPhone and Android devices.
You can also call toll-free 1-800-447-5598 to see if you find a match.
If your search returns no match when you try, don’t give up. New property is added to the database regularly, so return frequently and search again.
Please forward this email to anyone you feel may share an interest in this information.
HINTS FOR UNCLAIMED PROPERTY SEARCHES
Search your maiden name and nicknames.
Look up common misspellings of your name.
Check the names of your deceased relatives.
Commentary: Running for office, running from responsibility
INDIANAPOLIS – The members of Congress are back in their districts and states this month, running hard for re-election.
Half a world away, there’s a problem those members are concerned about. A jihadist group labeled the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – sometimes also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – has been killing hostages from Western Europe and the United States in gruesome fashion.
The ISIL killers behead their victims and video-record the atrocities as a sick way of trying to score propaganda points. They have named as their next victim a young Hoosier, Abdul-Rahman Kassig, who seems to be an exceedingly decent young man. Born Peter Kassig, he converted to Islam and, after a tour of duty in the Army, he went to Syria on a humanitarian mission because he wanted to help people.
We know the members of Congress are concerned about the fate of Kassig and others who might be beheaded because our elected representatives say so.
Loudly and often.
They denounce ISIL as a collection of inhuman brutes. And they implore President Barack Obama to make the ISIL killers go away.
What the members of Congress don’t do is anything but talk about these brutalities. They could have taken a vote to declare war on ISIL – or even just to use force – but they chose not to.
Their reasons for doing so were cynical.
Democrats and progressives know their supporters don’t like wars in general, so they’re happy to let a lame-duck president who won’t ever have to face the voters again take the heat for any bombing raids to combat ISIL. By not taking action in regard to ISIL, Democrats avoid the dilemma of choosing between undercutting a president from their own party and alienating their own voters just days before the polls open.
Republicans and conservatives don’t want to do anything because they know they have President Obama in a box. If he doesn’t respond forcefully to ISIL, they can accuse him of being weak. If he does, they can say he’s dragged the country into another war.
Much of this is just about preserving the illusion that sustains both political parties – that there can be decisions without costs.
I’ve been covering politics for more than 30 years. There’s not much about the posturing that is part of campaigning that surprises me. The journalist who is offended easily doesn’t last long in the business.
But there’s something about this ISIL-avoidance political strategy that bothers me.
Some of it may be that the high school young Kassig attended – North Central High School in Indianapolis – is not far from where I live. My daughter competed in swim meets there. My son played football games on the North Central field.
It’s not hard for me to imagine what Kassig’s parents must be going through right now.
Maybe it’s also because determining whether we go to war is supposed to be Congress’ job, not the president’s.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution says Congress has the power “To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.â€
The founders gave that authority to Congress, not the president, because the members of Congress – particularly those in the House of Representatives – are supposed to be the ones closest to the people.
The founders wanted to create a system of accountability, a system that our elected representatives now want to evade.
The founders wanted to force the public officials who have to make the difficult decision to go to war face the voters soon after the decision was made. And they wanted citizens to grapple with what may be the most important decision a nation has to make.
The founders wanted the people to hold Congress accountable as elected representatives and they wanted Congress to hold the rest of us accountable for meeting our duties as citizens.
Yes, the members of Congress are running for re-election now.
They’re also running away from responsibility.
And we are helping them do so.
John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism, host of “No Limits†WFYI 90.1 Indianapolis and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website published by Franklin College journalism students.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE CANDIDATE TONY GOBEN ATTACKS McNAMARA POLITICAL DONATIONS
Dear Voters
During the Indiana legislative session, the amount of work to accomplish in such short time is staggering and the decisions made hold enormous influence over the entire State of Indiana. Yet, the men and women who make these decisions are paid a fairly modest salary. A freshman Representative in the Indiana legislature makes only $22,616 per year! So why should our Representative, Wendy McNamara, need to raise more than $500,000 in campaign funds from the Republican Party, Special Interest groups, and big business? That type of big money support coming into a State House District election is absurd. That’s more than 14 times the median household income in Vanderburgh County and beyond 11 times more than the median household income in Posey County. That’s enough money to pay tuition for 18 students to attend USI for four years! I don’t believe Wendy McNamara’s loyalties are with the working men and women of southwestern Indiana, but instead with her Party and the suits and ties of Indianapolis.
The Republican Party has bought Representative Wendy McNamara. Financial support from the Indiana Republican Party and its satellite committees add up to over $200,000 of her campaign funding. This makes it somewhat easier to understand why a lifelong educator, working for the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation as Director of Early College High School would be so quick to vote against support for public schools. Instead, she voted in favor of ex-State Superintendent, Tony Bennett’s, charter school legislation as well as expansion of the state voucher program. Both of these programs directly and negatively affect the very institution she is currently employed by.
Big money coming from the Party also explains why Wendy McNamara has yet to speak out against Governor Mike Pence’s request to all state universities to abstain from spending two percent of this year’s annual budgets. This, added to the two percent of total budget Pence asked state universities to keep from spending last year, equates to more than $50 million dollars for higher education blocked by the Governor and our Representative. Wendy McNamara is the EVSC’s lead individual responsible for planning and preparing our area high school students for higher education, yet as your Representative she has done nothing to denounce the Governor’s plan to cut into the already suffering budgets of the very institutions she prepares her students for.
According to Ballotpedia our Representative Wendy McNamara has received over $115,000 from Special Interest groups across the state in her campaign for Indiana House District 76. Most of this money comes from northern Indiana where she is from and these groups range from the Aiming Higher PAC to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. With political and economic groups such as these donating large sums of financial backing to our Representative, she should be able to work with these groups to rally economic growth in our region. Instead, she has no track record of bringing any form of economic boost to southwest Indiana whether it be creating jobs or increasing wages for our work force. In fact, she voted against higher wages for our labor force, our teachers, and our public workers all while the median household income in her district falls well below the Indiana average and she has done nothing to better the economic well-being of the middle and lower class whom she represents. What Wendy McNamara has done with that money is turn her back on her those who elected her, those she works for, and all hard working men and women in her district.
Now is the time to make a substantive change in Indianapolis. Now is the time to have the residents of District 76 voices heard. Now is the time to bring common sense back to the Legislature. Now is the time for Hoosier values in the Capitol!
Sincerely,
Tony Goben District 76 State Representative Candidate
THIS LETTER WAS POSTED BY CITY COUNTY OBSERVER WITHOUT OPINON, BIAS OR EDITING.