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Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Reports
IS IT TRUE May 29, 2014

IS IT TRUE that it was announced yesterday that WIKY has been acquired and will now be owned by a Wisconsin based company?…the TV stations of Evansville are all now owned by a Texas based media conglomerate?…the Courier and Press has been owned for many years by a Cincinnati based media company called Scripps Howard that owns cable TV brands and newspapers across America?…all of the local radio stations with the exception of the University of Evansville’s WUEV have been acquired over the last 10 or so years?…there is now only ONE MEDIA OUTLET THAT IS LOCALLY OWNED AND THAT OUTLET IS CALLED THE CITY COUNTY OBSERVER?…when you place an ad here the money stays here?…when you place an ad with any other media outlet from TV to radio to the CP, the profits go to their owners who are all located elsewhere?…the same goes for everything about these outlets?…if you support small local business then please tell your friends and family about the CCO and encourage the places you shop to spend some of their advertising budget here?
IS IT TRUE there have been very recent reports of random violence in and near downtown Evansville with rocks or other objects being thrown at both public and private property doing minor but expensive damage?…it is summer and school is out and kids (especially teenagers) need some activities to burn off their excess energy?…the school schedules are published at least a year in advance so there is no secret about when the 20,000 students in our midst will be unleashed from their daily studies?…the planning at the City of Evansville is so uninformed or unconcerned with the final school bell of the year that the CITY POOLS ARE NOT YET OPENED?…we went through this same kind of nonsense last summer with the pools closing 2 weeks before school started?…there is no justification for such mismanagement other than a documented case that shows we are too broke to open the pools?…wouldn’t that be ironic for an administration that is “fighting like the dickens” for a $10 Million dog park and skateboard park to be too broke to operate the pools it already has?…this is just another example of what is increasingly looking like a local government run by the rules of cognitive dissonance?
IS IT TRUE with the revelation that Councilman John Friend has decided not to make a run for Mayor of Evansville in 2015 there is a group of people who are discussion the possibility of drafting Rick Davis to come back into the public arena and give it another try?…as we learned in 2011 Mr. Davis runs pretty strong against any anointed machine candidate in a Democrat primary and could probably secure the party nomination again in 2015?…that would set up an epic battle for the pinky-shake Democrats who went behind closed doors to agree to make Lloyd Winnecke the Mayor of Evansville?…if this rematch is what the 2015 mayoral race looks like it will be the 3rd and 4th Wards that will determine the next Mayor of Evansville?…it will be interesting to see if the DEMOCRAT PINKY SHAKE COALITION can throw another election to a Republican candidate?
IS IT TRUE that as we reported last night there is a legitimate legal interpretation to state law that prohibits the Evansville City Council from having a CLOSED DOOR MEETING to discipline one of their own?…any such meeting has to be OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and then it is all gloves off?…in a public meeting the circular firing squad can do a number on each other with words all they want but it will be attended by the public and recorded for future reference?…we shall see just how brave the bullies will be with the cameras rolling and when facing concerned members of the public?…one would think there would be sufficient legal knowledge in Evansville so that CLOSED DOOR MEETINGS are at least legal when they are held?…the machine mantra is and has always been, “when someone opposes us, take them behind closed doors and make them an offer they can’t refuse”?…perhaps those days are waning?
Commentary: Maya Angelou, a voice for the ages
By John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Even through the phone, Maya Angelou’s voice flowed like honey dripping from a hive.
Rich, melodic, authoritative without sounding authoritarian, hers was a voice not to be trifled with. It was a voice that commanded – no, compelled – attention.
John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com
John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com
Angelou had called me because of a mix-up. This was 20 years ago, a heady time for her. Her reading of “On the Pulse of Morning,†a popular but less than critically acclaimed poem written specifically for President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration, had made her a national, even an international, icon.
One of the organizers of Indiana Black Expo said Angelou had made a commitment to appear at the event and had offered me an interview with her.
Commentary button in JPG – no shadowIn preparation, I reread her memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings†and read all five of her subsequent volumes of autobiography, as well as much of her poetry. Then the word came that Angelou wouldn’t be coming – and she said that she never had made the commitment to come in the first place.
I did a story on the dispute for the newspaper for which I worked and figured that was that. Then the phone rang, and a young woman identifying herself as Angelou’s assistant asked if I would be willing to speak with “Ms. Angelou.â€
Moments later, that voice filled the line. Angelou insisted that she never would betray a commitment “because that would affect my reputation.â€
In truth, Angelou had a reputation for breaking such commitments. Not long before the screw-up in Indianapolis, she had told a college out west that she was too sick to deliver a commencement address but showed up on Arsenio Hall’s show the night she was supposed to arrive on campus.
For that reason, I tended to believe the event’s organizer, who worked hard at avoiding a fight with her.
“I’m not dumb enough to tell people Maya Angelou would be coming if she hadn’t told me she would,†he said. “But I’m also not dumb enough to get into a public argument with a national treasure.â€
Smart man.
When Angelou and I talked on the phone, I quickly moved past the dispute to ask her about larger questions of truth. As had others who had read her autobiographical series of books, I’d noticed internal contradictions and probed about that.
She answered as an artist would. She wrote not in search of facts, but of truth. She wanted to convey how something felt, what lingered in her memory and what marks the moments of her life left upon her heart.
Angelou’s voice conveyed her message with at least as much power as her words did. I remember thinking at the time that this was what God would sound like if the deity chose to speak in the voice of a woman.
Maya Angelou died May 28. She was 86.
She’d traveled far in those 86 years. Born Marguerite Annie Johnson, she clawed her way from early poverty through a childhood rape and assorted other personal traumas to speak from the inaugural stage – to speak, literally, as the voice of America. She went from working in her early years at a brothel to dying in an 18-room home in North Carolina, one of several large residences she owned.
Along the way, she became the voice of many Americans who felt disparaged, dispossessed or ignored. She gave voice to their demands for respect, recognition and attention.
I met Maya Angelou a while after we talked by phone. In person, she was impressive, too – tall, graceful (she’d worked as a dancer), with a queenly bearing. We chatted briefly about the phone conversation we’d shared and she moved on.
But a queen is not a god. And I was struck at the time by the way even her regal bearing and powerful personal presence paled in comparison with the force her voice conveyed. Stripped of distractions, that voice seemed like it could move nations and alter destinies.
Maya Angelou’s voice, I thought at the time, belonged to the ages.
Now it truly does.
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 powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Donnelly: Military suicide prevention plan is headed to full Senate
By Paige Clark
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly says his proposal to prevent military suicide has a better chance of passage because it has been added to a larger federal defense bill.
Parents of Jacob Sexton, Barb and Jeff, attended U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly’s press conference about his new military suicide prevention proposal Wednesday at the Indiana War Memorial.
Photo by Paige Clark, TheStatehouseFile.com.
Jeff and Barb Sexton, whose son Jacob committed suicide, attended U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly’s press conference about his new military suicide prevention proposal Wednesday at the Indiana War Memorial.
The defense bill has passed the last 52 years and Donnelly is confident it will pass for a 53rd time this year – that’s important because the Senate Armed Services Committee voted last week to put Donnelly’s proposal into the Fiscal Year 2015 spending bill.
The proposed Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act of 2014 is named after Indiana National Guardsman Jacob Sexton, who took his own life while home on a 15-day leave from Afghanistan.
“His father said he was a great young man but he occasionally ended up with his truck in a farm field just like any other Indiana boy,†Donnelly said. Members of the military “are just like us.â€
Donnelly introduced a similar bill in 2013.
The new legislation provides solutions for military men and women from all branches of service. The bill requires all active, reserve, and Guard service members to undergo person-to-person mental health assessments.
Sexton was on suicide watch after his first deployment, but the problem wasn’t put in his records in fear it would affect a promotion. On his second tour, no one knew about Sexton’s previous mental state.
U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly spoke at the Indiana War Memorial Wednesday about his suicide prevention proposal.
Photo by Paige Clark, TheStatehouseFile.com.
U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly spoke at the Indiana War Memorial Wednesday about his suicide prevention proposal.
Donnelly emphasized that under his proposal, service members’ privacy would be protected and said he wants soldiers to realize that seeking help is a sign of strength rather than weakness.
“We don’t ever want anyone thinking that the positive step will affect your career,†Donnelly said. “These assessments should never be held against anybody.â€
Donnelly said the military needs a “bottom up approach†to curb the suicide rate – trained commanders that know their men and women and know when something is off.
It was estimated that more than 470 service members took their own lives in 2013.
With suicide rates climbing particularly in the National Guard, the bill would help establish a working group from the Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services. The group would review practices and make suggestions on how to improve mental health services in the National Guard.
“This is for all of our serviceman,†Donnelly said. “This is the beginning of a very long road because our men and women are coming home where they should be.â€
The bill now moves to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.
Paige Clark is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Indiana’s refusal to comply with federal rape law could cost the state cash
By Paige Clark
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana risks losing 5 percent of federal grants for corrections because state officials refuse to comply with the federal rape law.
Gov. Mike Pence wrote a letter on May 15 informing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that Indiana won’t try to comply with the Prison Rape Elimination Act – passed with bipartisan support by congress in 2003.
The governors of Texas, Idaho, Arizona and Utah also wrote letters of non-compliance on May 15 – the day states had to inform the Department of Justice that their states had either met the standards or were actively working towards that goal.
On June 20, 2012 the Department of Justice created standards for four types of facilities – juvenile, adult prisons and jails, lockups, and community confinement facilities. The standards focused on preventing, detecting, and responding to sexual abuse behind bars.
Pence’s press secretary referred questions to Indiana Department of Correction officials, who did not respond to several messages for comment.
But in his letter, Pence said that “a number of PREA guidelines conflict with other federal regulations, as well as state laws and other nationally recognized detention standards,†but did not list any specific violations.
Under the standards, each detention facility needs to be audited to certify it is following procedure. Also, an audit must be performed once every three years.
According to the letter, Pence said, “There has been no opportunity to audit all of Indiana’s 25 facilities, and 115 lockups, so it is not possible to report accurately the extent to which Indiana has achieved compliance.†He said there are not enough certified auditors nationwide to audit a small number of facilities in the “short timeframe.â€
Pence also said to comply, Indiana would have to hire additional staff and install new equipment and resources, which “would require a redirection of millions of tax dollars currently supporting other critical needs for Indiana.â€
But federal officials say the law is important. “Eliminating prison rape is a priority of the U.S. Department of Justice because we believe that sexual abuse is a crime, and should not be the punishment for a crime,†the agency said in a February letter to governors.
The law allows federal officials to withhold 5 percent of three grants from states that don’t comply. State officials did not return calls seeking information about how much money Indiana could lose if it doesn’t meet the requirements.
Paige Clark is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
NEW PR/MEDIA RELATIONS COORDINATOR
St. Mary’s Health is pleased to announce Randy Capehart is the new PR/Media Relations Coordinator. He replaces Laura Forbes, who is now closer to her family (and the Colts) in Indianapolis. She is now at a PR firm there.
Capehart is the former Assignment Editor at 14News. He started there as a news Photographer in 2008. Prior to that, he was a news Photographer at Fox7, a board op/DJ at WCJT/WSJD, as well as a DJ at WIBI in Illinois.
A native of Princeton, Indiana, Capehart is married and has two children. He lives in his hometown.
His responsibilities will include updating patient conditions for media, sending press releases for upcoming St. Mary’s events and coordinating story coverage as well as updating social media sites. His office phone is 812.485.4044 and cell is 812.454.3348. If you need immediate assistance please call the cell and texting is always an option.
Redefined Summer Reading Program starts soon
Spark a Reaction at the library this summer during the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library’s Summer Reading Program. Entry cards will be available at any EVPL location beginning June 2. The program will end July 28. All ages are invited to participate for a chance to win prizes.
Customers will find a revamped program this year, with an easier, quicker format and more ways to earn prize entries. Entry cards, called SPARK cards, are modeled after Bingo cards. Each square will contain an activity, like read a book, attend a library program, read a magazine, visit a library location, and others. Participants will mark the boxes as they complete the activity, and they will be entered to win a prize when a row is completed. Bonus entries will be awarded for completing an entire card.
Adults will have the chance to win cash prizes, teens can win cash and gift cards, and prizes for kids include interactive toys and passes to local attractions.
In 2013, nearly 10,000 people participated in the EVPL’s Summer Reading Program.
Thank you to the Public Library Friends, this year’s program sponsor.
To learn more about the Summer Reading Program, visit any Library location, call (812) 428-8200, or visit evpl.org/srp.
Canine companions bring touch of home to the workplace
Dave Stafford forwww.theindianalawyer.com       Â
Siegfried isn’t just attorney Michael Sutherlin’s 4-year-old Doberman. He’s also a trusted aide who’s never far from the lawyer’s side at home or at his Indianapolis office.
“I just like having dogs around. They sort of calm you down, and they pay attention to you when you’re making the best argument you’ve ever made,†Sutherlin said.

Sutherlin isn’t alone in favoring four-legged friends at work, and multiple studies show pets in the workplace reduce stress and appear to improve job satisfaction. But not every office allows pets, and some people may view legal beagles as less than professional.
But Robert E. Grant doesn’t see it that way. As chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Indiana, he’s been bringing Chloe to his Fort Wayne office for about six years, after adopting her from a shelter when she was 2 years old.
“Everything you read in the press in regard to published studies is true,†Grant said, noting benefits beyond stress reduction, including improved morale and increased productivity. “When Chloe isn’t here, the office is not as happy a place.â€
Chloe, a border collie-Newfoundland mix, changed things for the better, Grant said. “What I ended up doing, I spend the lunch hour, the noon hour, walking her. Previously, I spent it working at my desk. … Coming from someone who didn’t exercise at all, that was quite a change, and I consider it beneficial.â€

Grant’s office doesn’t get a lot of traffic, but he said Chloe even changed that a bit. “I’m amazed at the number of people who stop by to see Chloe. Nobody stops by to see me,†Grant quipped.
Bays Family Law attorneys Donna Bays and daughter Jennifer Bays Beinart say bringing their pets to work at their Zionsville office is good practice not just for them, but also for clients. Bays gave her daughter a rat terrier named Gideon as a law school graduation present, and Bays later adopted Mordecai, a bichon frise. Both are now regulars at the office.
“Our dogs are an integral part of our law firm, and we
wouldn’t have it any other way,†Bays Beinart said.
Bays said she always checks with clients to ask if they have any discomfort around dogs. She said the only people who’ve had objections are dog owners themselves worried that their pets might react negatively to the scent of another dog.

Mordecai seems to have remarkable empathy, Bays explained. “What’s amazing is, he can tell when people are getting emotional just ahead of the actual emotion.†she said. At the office, Mordecai usually makes himself at home in his doggie bed, but when he senses an emotional response, he approaches the person, raises his front paws on the edge of their seat and leans in to offer comfort.
“Frankly, it’s very calming to have this little loving animal right there as people are having to tell things that are frightening or embarrassing,†she said. “We’re divorce lawyers who do lots of child custody cases, so emotion is the norm.â€
The positive difference dogs can make for children is something Lake Superior Juvenile Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. took to heart when he was appointed to the court last year. He wanted a therapy dog that could help bridge the gap between the court and youths in the county juvenile detention center, said Mark Price, chief deputy in Stefaniak’s court.
Flying W Farms in Piketon, Ohio, donated an American mastiff pup, Moxie, who’s been coming to court every day and is being trained as a therapy dog.

Price said either he or Stefaniak walk Moxie through the detention center daily, and getting to spend time with her is a reward for juveniles. “We bring the dog and have the kids get a chance to interact with something other than walls and cell doors,†Price said.
“Moxie’s with the judge 24/7. She lives with him, comes to work, goes to community events – she’s at work just like the rest of us,†he said.
Moxie’s training will last until she’s about 2 years old, but Price said there are some things that seem to come naturally. “They’re called gentle giants and their demeanor is just amazing,†Price said of the breed. When Moxie is full grown, she may tip the scales at 140 to 160 pounds, but American mastiffs are reputed to be among the most therapeutic breeds for children.
“They seem to know when kids are needing attention,†Price said. “They seem to know when kids are in distress.†Indianapolis constitutional law attorney Rich Waples practices in a home office where his dog Bo and cat Pepper have run of the place. It usually isn’t a problem, though he has had the occasional client with allergies to cats. When that’s an issue, he keeps the cat out of the office or meets those clients at another location.

“Most people love the dog and cat. They’re very good-natured animals,†Waples said. How people respond to the animals can be useful, too, he said, because it can lend insight into someone’s personality.
Many lawyers who bring their pets to work, like Waples, have the benefit of a home office, or they’re the boss and can make the rules. When Jennifer Irons opened her own general practice last November in Cedar Lake after working 11 years in private practice and as a deputy prosecutor, she said being able to bring her goldendoodle Emma to work was one of the best parts.
“It makes my day much happier to have her curled up by my feet,†Irons said. Emma makes rounds to Irons’ associate and office manager, too, “so they also get to benefit from having a little attention throughout the day.â€

Clients sometimes can be nervous or intimidated walking into an attorney’s office, Irons said, but Emma puts them at ease. “I can see people relax and immediately respond to her. It often sets a comfortable tone for the client meeting.â€
Brownsburg attorney Sarah Heck has taken Tanner, a pit bull mix, to work for the past couple of years. “I feel lucky to have the sort of job where I can do this,†she said.
Tanner can be a little eager to greet, so Heck keeps a pet gate on her office door when visitors come. “Most of my clients think it’s great, and many want to meet him,†she said.
James E. Gentry Jr. represents clients in Indiana and Kentucky and works from his main office in Evansville and a home office in Dixon, Ky. Though he said about 80 percent of his caseload is in Indiana, his 4-year-old boxer mix Bay Bay makes a persuasive case for him to work from the home office, especially on cold and rainy days.
Bay Bay gives a little low throat groan when visitors are arriving, Gentry said. “For me, it’s a nice ‘Hey, someone’s coming’ warning.
“Many of my Kentucky clients are farmers and other rural folks, and they always love seeing Bay Bay. Actually, when I opened my Dixon office in 2012, many people knew BayBay’s name before mine,†he said.
“She has been and remains quite the popular local celebrity on the courthouse square,†Gentry said.•
EVANSVILLE CITY COUNCIL NOTICE OF EXECUTIVE SESSION TO OUST STEPHANIE BRINKERHOFF-RILEY LEGALITY QUESTIONED
The Executive session to oust Evansville City Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley  is being question by media law attorney and Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt concerning the open meetings statute  used by the City of Evansville Council is opened to interpretation.  Also the attorney for the Hoosier State Press Association  has a similar interpretation of the closed Executive session to oust Ms. Riley from her Vice Chairman position on the Evansville City Council. Â
This is a developing story please stay turned.
BELOW IS THE PROPOSED AGENDA TO OUST COUNCILWOMAN Â RILEY FROM HER VICE CHAIRMAN POSITION ON CITY COUNCIL.
The City Council will hold an Executive Session on Thursday, May 29, 2014, at 12:10 p.m. in Room 301 of the Civic Center Complex, 1 NW Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Evansville, Indiana.
This Executive Session will be held for discussion of a member’s alleged misconduct pursuant to Indiana Code 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(6)(A).
EVANSVILLE CITY COUNCIL NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING
The City Council will hold a Special Meeting on Thursday, May 29, 2014 immediately following the Executive Session in Room 301 of the Civic Center Complex, 1 NW Martin Luther King Jr.
Blvd., Evansville, Indiana to discuss the position of the City Council Vice President.
EVANSVILLE CITY COUNCIL NOTICE OF REGULAR MEETING
There will not be a City Council meeting on Monday, June 2, 2014.
The next City Council meeting will be Monday, June 9, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 301 of the Civic Center Complex, 1 NW Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Evansville, Indiana. Committee Meetings will begin at 5:15 p.m.
For further information, please call 812-436-4993.