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Washing machines can’t save your life

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Rick Peltier

My world came crashing down on me the weekend before Thanksgiving. My wife and I were washing clothes and the unthinkable happened — our washing machine stopped working during mid-wash. Can you believe that!? Luckily, we were done washing our clothes and just had some blankets in there, but “oh, the humanity!”

“Why does this happen to me?” I cried out. “I don’t have any luck,” I added. This tirade went on for about five to ten more minutes and then I came to my senses.

The 30,000 children we treat at St. Mary’s every year aren’t worried about a broken washing machine. In fact, that’s the least of their worries and certainly the least of their parents’ worries.

Most of these children are seeking help — help to learn how to do simple things we all take for granted every day, like chewing and swallowing food. The talented staff in our Pediatric Feeding Clinic, one of only three of its kind in the entire nation, helps children learn how to eat every day. Washing machines can’t do that.

The skilled and caring psychologists at the St. Mary’s Center for Children see kids every day with autism spectrum disorder, behavioral disorders and feeding disorders. The last time I checked, a washing machine can’t help with this either.

The St. Mary’s Mobile Dental Clinic for Kids serves 3,800 children every year and for most of these kiddos, it’s the first time they’ve ever seen a dentist. Our gifted Pediatric Dentists and Dental Hygienists take a mouth full of decayed teeth and transform it into a pearly-white smile. I don’t think a washing machine can fill a cavity or extract a tooth.

Frustration turned into embarrassment, as I quickly realized I was complaining about nothing. My wife and I have a healthy 20-month-old little girl who feeds herself at every meal and doesn’t need assistance eating. We’re able to afford the food and clothing we need to survive. And, we have a roof over our heads every night we go to bed.

We also found a good deal on a new washing machine, but that just doesn’t seem to matter much anymore.

I know what’s important in life, but I’m only human. And, as imperfect humans, we all tend to worry about meaningless things every day. This won’t be the last time I get upset over something that means so little in the grand scheme of life. But, I know what truly matters. And, I know you all do, too.

So, as we open presents under our Christmas trees this year and watch the joy and excitement on our children’s faces when they un-wrap a new Wii, an iPad or an iPhone, please remember the children and families who can’t afford to celebrate Christmas. Please remember the kids spending Christmas in the hospital fighting for their lives. Please remember the families we serve every day who can’t afford to pay for their

healthcare. And, please remember to count your Blessings, as I have learned, once again, this year.

Washing machines come and go. Washing machines can be replaced. True family and friends are forever. And, if you have that, then I think you’re pretty lucky.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! God Bless,

Rick Peltier
Director of Foundation Operations
St. Mary’s Medical Center and St. Mary’s Warrick Hospital

Local apartment complex brings Christmas to children at St. Mary’s

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Abbey Court Apartments in Evansville partnered with the St. Mary’s Medical Center Foundation and the St. Mary’s Center for Children to help brighten the spirits of local children this holiday season.

Abbey Court Apartments and their parent corporation, Samaritan Companies in Indianapolis, conduct a toy drive every year and generously give the donated toys to a local non-profit organization during Christmas time. On Monday, December 9th, Santa Claus, along with elves from Abbey Court and Samaritan Companies, delivered these toys to children receiving care at St. Mary’s Center for Children.

Abbey Court Apartments and Samaritan Companies collected $7,500 worth of toys, which included legos, Barbies and stockings full of more toys and candy. They also gave the kids sports jerseys, pillows and blankets. And, there was Yoo-hoo, water and Christmas cookies for everyone to enjoy after sitting on Santa’s lap.

“We love doing this for the kids,” said Teresa Sturdivant, Regional Director of Samaritan Companies. “I love to see the smiles on their faces. That’s what makes this toy drive worth it each and every year.”

“911 Gives Hope always does such a great job of distributing toys to kids who are hospitalized during the Christmas season,” said Rick Peltier, Director of St. Mary’s Foundation Operations. “This year, thanks to the generosity of Abbey Court and Samaritan Companies, we were also able to donate toys to kids who visit us on an outpatient basis.”

Abbey Court and Samaritan Companies also delivered toys to children on St. Mary’s Pediatric Unit and dropped off toys at the Ronald McDonald House and Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center in Evansville.

More public schools graded As, fewer get Fs

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By Lesley Weidenbener
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – More Indiana public schools received As this year and fewer received Fs under grades the Indiana State Board of Education approved Friday after months of political wrangling over the system.

2013 A-F grades graphic - imageAmong the Fs was a charter school that received a controversial A rating last year after former State Superintendent Tony Bennett ordered changes to the formula. School officials on Friday blamed ISTEP problems for the grade change.

Christel House Academy in Indianapolis is among 106 public schools in Indiana that received failing grades under the system, which has been roundly criticized by educators and lawmakers alike. That’s a drop from 136 public school Fs issued last year.

The grading formula is set to change next year – with more emphasis put on individual student growth rather than overall achievement – although policymakers haven’t finished working on the new criteria.

For now, though, the State Board of Education was stuck approving grades under the old formula, which also produced 805 As, 382 Bs, 332 Cs and 195 Ds among public schools.

Last year, only 671 public schools received As, according to the Department of Education.

State Superintendent Glenda Ritz said Friday that many public schools had big changes in their grades - some better, some worse - and that's a fault with the current A-F grading model. Photo by Lesley Weidenbener, TheStatehouseFile.com

State Superintendent Glenda Ritz said Friday that many public schools had big changes in their grades – some better, some worse – and that’s a fault with the current A-F grading model. Photo by Lesley Weidenbener, TheStatehouseFile.com

“Though this current model for calculating school accountability grades will be changing, the data does show that some great learning is occurring in our schools, and I want to congratulate our students for their successes,” sate Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz said in a statement about the grades.

Only board member Andrea Neal voted against the grade placements. She said the formula applies a one-size-fits-all system that fails to encourage schools to offer a well-rounded education to all students.

“To get an A, schools know what they have to do,” which involves focusing on reading, math and standardized testing, Neal said. “In some cases, this is happening to the exclusion of all else,” including the arts.

The board also approved grade placements for private schools. When those grades are added, the total number of schools receiving As increases to 938. The total number of all schools with Bs is 451, the number with Cs is 372, with Ds is 209 and Fs is 112, according to the Department of Education.

Many schools saw their grades change – some for the better and others for worse. Wood Memorial Junior High in Gibson County moved from an F last year to a B this year, while just down the road, Princeton Middle School moved from a D to an A. Two Mississinewa schools also moved from Ds to As as did Knightstown Elementary in Henry County. There were dozens of other examples.

But the Indiana Math & Science Academy dropped from a B to an F and the Padua Academy dropped from an A to an F.

Ritz said such dramatic changes in grades expose one of the problems with the current A-F grading system. She said because the grades are based on a four-point scale, small changes in scores or graduation rates can make big differences in the final categories.

The new system – to be implemented with next year’s grades – is to be based on a 100-point scale, which Ritz said should better represent how a school is actually doing year to year.

“A good system will show that you have a school improving or you have a school not improving – but not extremes like you’re seeing in the current model,” Ritz said.

At Christel House – which had received As for years and which Bennett had lauded as an example of a successful charter school – the grade plummeted largely due to lower ISTEP scores, said Daniel Altman, a spokesman for the Department of Education.

The school blamed the poor scores on problems with the ISTEP test last spring. Server failures at the company that administers the online testing program led many students to be kicked out of the system in the middle of the exams.

Christel House officials said 270 of its 294 students were prevented from successfully completing the online test.

“We appealed our grade based on the tremendously disruptive ISTEP+ testing problems that occurred with the online test.  We believe these disruptions fatally flawed the results,” said Christel House Academy Principal Carey Dahncke.  “We believe this inaccurately represents the performance of our students and teachers.”

An independent study found that, overall, the ISTEP results were valid, although some individual scores were nullified. DOE officials said they received a number of appeals based on ISTEP tests but did not grant any of them.

Christel House is under special scrutiny because last year it was set to receive a C under the grading formula. But emails uncovered during the summer by the Associated Press showed that Bennett asked for changes in the grading formula that benefitted Christel House and more than a hundred other schools. The changes raised the Christel House grade to an A.

The revelations about Bennett’s actions led him to resign from his post as the education chief in Florida, where the Republican moved after he was defeated in his reelection bid by Ritz. Later, a bipartisan study found that the changes made by Bennett were “plausible.”

The Board of Education approved the grades Friday after brief discussions and questions, without any of the rancor that has marked recent meetings.

Board members – who have all been appointed by Republican governors – have been critical of Ritz and the Department of Education she oversees for failing to get information to schools and the final grades finished more quickly.

Ritz has blamed the ISTEP problems for some of the problems. But at the request of skeptical board members, the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency ran the data through the grading formula as well to serve as a check against the DOE results.

DOE officials on Friday said the results were the same in most cases. Where problems cropped up, LSA and DOE officials were able to work out the differences.

Still, board member Dan Elsener said that next year, education officials should strive to finish the appeals process more quickly so that schools know before the board votes what the final grades will be.

Lesley Weidenbener is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

EVSC Schools in Need of Dramatic Improvement Just to Attain Mediocrity

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Dunce

The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. received nine failing school accountability grades from the Indiana Department of Education, compared to the 15 “Fs” the district received the previous school year. Five EVSC schools were awarded “A” grades. Eight schools received “Bs,” nine “Cs” and four “Ds.” When taking these grades and calculating the GPA (grade point average) for the EVSC the GPA computes to an academic probation level of 1.88

The EVSC schools that got an A were Cynthia Heights Elementary, Highland Elementary, Oak Hill School, Scott School and Tekoppel Elementary.

EVSC’s Glenwood Leadership Academy, which could be in danger of state takeover and was also expected to be a topic of discussion at the board meeting, received its seventh ‘F” in a row proving once and for all that naming a failing school after an elite prep school does not make it an elite prep school.

Other EVSC schools that received failing grades were the Academy for Innovative Studies, Caze Elementary, Dexter Elementary, Evans School, Lincoln School, Lodge Community School, McGary Middle School and Washington Middle School.

The Catholic schools fared much better with both Memorial and Mater Dei getting A’s to lead the diocese schools to a composite GPA of 3.38

Warrick County did even better with a grade card loaded with A’s and a composite score of 3.68

It seemed like the further one got from downtown Evansville the better the scores got with both the EVSC and the other metro area counties culminating in the North Posey District seeing every school get an A for a perfect 4.0.

In the world of private and magnet schools Signature School that is a perennial top ten program in the country, Evansville Christian School, and Evansville Day School all received an A. The Joshua Academy was the lone exception scoring a D.

The other takeaway is that the spending per pupil in the EVSC is significantly higher than it is in any of the other programs proving again that you can’t fix education problems by throwing money at a failing system.

Overall with scores like this the EVSC seems to need to wear a dunce cap while standing in the corner waiting for a good old fashioned spanking. The truly disgusting part of the EVSC’s 1.88 grade is the positive spin that is put onto what is clearly a system that needs to improve to even call itself mediocre. The EVSC like many of the local government entities and affiliates will continue to fail as long as unacceptable performance is celebrated publicly. IS IT TRUE it is time for the EVSC to take a trip to the woodshed.

Newburgh ordinance allows it to block town from providing sewer service

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by Jennifer Nelson  Newburgh_NY_sealDecember 23 , 2013

The Indiana Court of Appeals Monday decided that the town of Newburgh was statutorily authorized to pass an ordinance prohibiting others from providing new sewer services to customers within four miles of its corporate boundaries.

The town of Chandler sued Newburgh in Warrick Superior Court in April 2012, trying to get the judge to say Newburgh’s ordinance couldn’t prohibit Chandler from providing new sewer services in an overlapping area. For years the two towns have been providing sewer services within the four-mile rings outside their boundaries, which somewhat overlap. In 2007, Newburgh, pursuant to I.C. 36-9-2-16, -17 and -18, passed the ordinance that gave it an exclusive license to furnish sewer service in the regulated territory.

A developer wanted to build in the regulated territory and got estimates from Newburgh and Chandler on sewer services for the subdivision. The developer chose Chandler because Newburgh’s estimate was much higher. Newburgh then sued the developer for violating its ordinance.

Chandler passed a similar ordinance six weeks after Newburgh. The trial court denied summary judgment for either town.

In Town of Newburgh v. Town of Chandler, 87A01-1305-CT-203, the appellate judges ruled in favor of Newburgh, pointing out that it was the first to pass the ordinance. Courts have long used a first-in-time rule, in the absence of other legislative direction, to resolve disputes when two municipalities possess concurrent and complete jurisdiction of a subject matter.

The statutes in question give municipalities several powers, including the ability to prohibit the furnishing of sewer services within four miles of their boundaries. In order to do so, the municipality must pass an ordinance, which Newburgh did in April 2007.

Chandler put forth several arguments as to why it should prevail, but the appellate court relied on the first-in-time rule.

Senior Judge Randall Shepard noted that Chandler and two amici curiae, the Warrick County Commissioners and the City of Boonville, may have a valid argument that Newburgh’s ordinance will chill economic development. The parties claim Newburgh only enforces the ordinance when significant sewer fees are expected, making developers hesitant to invest in projects in Newburgh’s extraterritorial areas because they worry they will be sued if they choose a cheaper sewer provider.

“Resolution of disputes like the one before us by a commission in the executive branch could likely produce more effective and efficient results. The creation of such mechanisms, however, is in the domain of the legislature and not the courts,” he wrote.

EPD Activity REPORT 12.23.2013

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EPD PATCH 2012

EPD Activity REPORT 12.23.2013

St. Mary’s Associates bid grateful and tearful farewell to their leader

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The St. Mary’s Manor Auditorium was full of both somber and celebration on Tuesday, December 17th. St. Mary’s Associates held a Retirement Reception for Tim Flesch, who is stepping down as President of St. Mary’s Health in January 2014.

Associates created a good-bye video and a musical tribute to honor Tim’s successful career at St. Mary’s, which began in 1999 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He has served as St. Mary’s President and Chief Executive Officer since May of 2005.

Special guest Mayor Lloyd Winnecke read a proclamation declaring Tuesday, December 17th, 2013 as “Timothy A. Flesch Day” in Evansville.

Tim also paid tribute to Sister Jane Burger, a Daughter of Charity and former Senior Vice President of St. Mary’s Mission Integration, who was reassigned by the Daughters this past June.

Tim led St. Mary’s to several milestones during his Presidency. St. Mary’s became the first verified Level II Adult and Pediatric Trauma Centers in Evansville and still remains the only Level II Pediatric Trauma Center in this region. St. Mary’s nurses achieved Magnet status, the gold standard of nursing care, which is earned by only 7% of all hospitals in the nation. Tim oversaw the growth of St. Mary’s Physician Network and helped dramatically improve St. Mary’s patient care scores. St. Mary’s Center for Advanced Medicine was also constructed soon after he became President and CEO and St. Mary’s Epworth Crossing is set to open in February 2014.

Evansville-native Keith Jewell is succeeding Tim as President of St. Mary’s Health.

The St. Mary’s Medical Center Foundation would like to thank Tim for his leadership and we wish him a relaxing and well-deserved retirement!

The Arts Council announces first 2014 BSF Gallery Exhibit, Art Noir

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artscouncil  The Arts Council is excited to kick-off 2014 with Art Noir, a black and white juried exhibit. This year’s Art Noir exhibit has been opened to include all media, and will be showing January 16th through February 6th 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 local photographer and designer, Fred Reaves. Reaves owns and operates Image One Photo & Design and Image One Fai (Fine Art Images) in Henderson, KY. Reaves, an award winning commercial photographer and graphic designer has been working professionally for 37 years with a primary focus on architectural and industrial photography and graphic design. Client lists include such internationally based companies as Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Peabody Coal, SGS Inc., Whirlpool Corporation, Earnest Sewn Jeans, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Jofco, Kimball International, The Christian Church of Kentucky, Atlas Van Lines, Agrotain International, and Maker’s Mark Distillery.

Reaves, is a graduate of the Murray State University Department of Art and Design with a degree in photography and graphic design. As an accomplished fine arts photographer his work can be found in galleries and museum shops as well as in private and corporate collections both nationally and internationally. He has taught numerous photographic workshops for high school aged photographers as well as Advanced Studio Lighting Techniques and Intermediate Photography classes in the Visual Communications Dept. at Ivy Tech State College in Indiana. For more information about this year’s juror, visit www.fredreaves.com.  The exhibit calendar and award information is listed below. For more information about Art Noir, visit artswin.org.

Exhibit Calendar:

Artist Registration Deadline – Jan. 6, by 4pm

Artist Works Received – Jan. 14, by 4pm

Artist Notification Email – Jan. 15, by 4pm

Artist Non-accepted Pick-up – Jan. 16, by 4pm

Public Art Noir Reception – Jan. 24, 5-7pm

Artist Displayed Work Pick-up – Feb. 6, by 4pm

 

Awards: 

Best of Show – $300

1st Place – $200

2nd Place – $100

3rd Place – $50

Hoosiers students give back: Part 2 of 2

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Last week, I highlighted some of the ways students in Posey and Vanderburgh Counties were giving back this holiday season at the high school and middle school levels. This week, I would like to recognize the students in our younger grades that have been working very hard to make sure everyone has a brighter holiday.

West Terrace Elementary school in Evansville has been continuing their Angel Fund program, which they do every year. This program includes families adopting other families who need a little extra help this season. Students and parents either make monetary donations or buy for children under the age of 18. The school then helps out wherever they are needed and strive to make sure every child has a gift on Christmas.  Meanwhile, Marrs Elementary saw a need around Thanksgiving and worked to collect canned food items for the Posey County food bank. Afterwards, they began to look around to find what the other needs were in the community. The Student Council has been volunteering with other groups in the community at the soup kitchens at the local United Methodist church.

It’s always great to see kids give back, but I think what is even more special is kids coming up with their own ideas and seeing those ideas through to the end. Saint Matthew Elementary School in Mount Vernon let the students decide every year what they are going to do around the holiday season to help out their community. This year, students held a toy drive and brought in new toys, books or stuffed animals to benefit the Posey County gift assistance program. The toy drive has been a competition with two grades working together as a team with awards given to those who collect the most items.  Students at St. Philip have been Christmas caroling at local nursing homes, and everyone at the school in Kindergarten through eighth grade wrote Christmas cards to send servicemen and women for the Holiday for Hero’s campaign.

At Farmersville Elementary School the Student Council has been encouraging students to bring in canned food items, boxed goods and have come up with another unique idea. Students are being encouraged to bring in socks for the school’s “Socks for Seniors” program. All the new socks that are brought in will go the area nursing homes residents for Christmas.

Students in Posey and Vanderburgh Counties realize what Christmas is all about and have set a great example for us to follow. There is something special knowing in a small way you were able to help make someone’s Christmas special.  If you would like to help out any of these schools in their efforts, please call the schools main office. From my family to yours, have a joyous holiday season and a very Merry Christmas!

IS IT TRUE December 24, 2013

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Santa Clause and his Reindeer
Santa Clause and his Reindeer

IS IT TRUE we open today’s column by wishing each and every one of our readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year?…we also wish our readership and the world at large a Happy Hannakah, Happy Kwanza, and a personal winter greeting of whatever each and every person celebrates a good wish for their own personal holiday?…we even offer the non-believers among us a hearty Heathen’s Greetings?…we prefer to be as politically incorrect as possible by calling each and every holiday by name and wishing all of our readers a great day on each of them?

IS IT TRUE we are watching with careful consideration the Republicans who are expressing a formal interest in the Indiana House of Representatives seat being vacated by Susanne Crouch to accept the State Auditor’s role in the Pence Administration?…there are some characteristics that the CCO would like to see in the next representative and among those traits are honesty, a life of not being adulterated by politics, and most importantly the ability to engage in cognizant thought processes that stand for something?…what we do not want to see is a person that is another tired old retread that has not earned an honest dollar from private enterprise in recent history?…we are sure there are several tired old political patronage types who will lobby for this appointment but we encourage the powers in charge of this decision to avoid lifetime politicians like the plague?…that actually goes for all political offices in 2014?

IS IT TRUE the Obama administration has now issued a formal, public document clarifying the following as its official positions:
1) That being subjected to the disruptive and costly effects of Obamacare constitutes suffering a “hardship.”
2) That an Obamacare-imposed hardship is sufficient grounds for claiming an exemption from Obamacare.
3) That individuals who suffer the hardship of losing their previous, “substandard” insurance, will be granted relief by being allowed to purchase replacement insurance that is “substandard.”
IS IT TRUE these implicit admissions are stunning, to say the least?…given that this is part of the administration’s larger effort to suppress the rising tide of negative Obamacare stories simply makes the admissions even more flabbergasting?…the administration has now reached the point where its defense of its signature, revolutionary health-reform law is basically: “We’re replacing your substandard coverage with our substandard coverage?”…that just yesterday it was decided to extend the time that people can sign up that has been the target that moved 3 times to Christmas Eve?

IS IT TRUE we above all wish safety and happiness for our readers on this wonderful day and will come back swinging tomorrow?…the CCO says Merry Christmas to all?

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