INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said military service members, veterans and their families aren’t alone in the fight against financial fraud and scams.

Zoeller joined government agencies, advocacy organizations and private sector groups today to promote July 17 as the first annual Military Consumer Protection Day. This broad coalition is sharing tips and information about managing money, dealing with credit and debt, building savings, protecting personal information, recognizing identity theft and avoiding fraud.

“Scammers often target military service members because of their steady paychecks and mobile lifestyle,” Zoeller said. “Military Consumer Protection Day helps highlight the need for service members to learn how to spot a scam, understand their rights and use the free resources available to them.”

Zoeller said there are some important resources available to those in the military to help prevent financial harm including:

· Active-Duty Alerts: These alerts can be placed on a service member’s credit report to inform a business it is obtaining information from an individual away on active duty. The alert requires the business to first obtain permission from an authorized third party like a family member or friend before proceeding.

· Caps on interest bearing debt: Those on active duty may cap the interest rate on most outstanding loans at 6 percent under the provisions of the Service members Civil Relief Act. To have your interest rate reduced to 6 percent, you must write a letter to each creditor letting them know about your orders and your intent to invoke the 6 percent cap.

· Vehicle and property lease terminations: Deployed military members are able to legally terminate some vehicle and property leases. If you are currently leasing a vehicle or home/apartment and wish to terminate your lease, contact the leaseholder and inform them of your deployment.

· Foreclosure and eviction relief: Under the Service member Civil Relief Act and the National Mortgage Settlement, service members are granted special relief when facing foreclosure. For example, a person may be able to obtain a “stay” or temporarily delay in a foreclosure or other civil court proceeding if he or she is called up to active duty. In addition, service members have special eligibility for loss mitigation relief such as a modification of their loan or a short sale. Similarly, service members and their families who rent their home may obtain a temporary stay of eviction proceedings while the service member is on active duty.

Military service members can also visit www.IndianaConsumer.com/military/ or military.ncpw.gov for free resources including sample letters to creditors and leaseholders.

Zoeller recently helped launch a legal toolkit to assist state attorneys general in cracking down on those who prey upon military service members. Zoeller worked with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Consumer Protection Working Group of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force and attorneys general from Kentucky, Illinois and North Carolina to develop the toolkit. The kit outlines issues impacting the military community and how states’ consumer protection officials can effectively combat these types of financial predators and scammers.

The toolkit is intended to serve as a guide for relevant statutes and regulations, as well as a platform to discuss best practices and developing trends. Zoeller said his colleagues in offices of state attorneys general nationwide will be better equipped to navigate the diverse issues and complex laws concerning the military community.

This past week, I was extremely saddened to learn of the passing of Boonville’s own, Jim Miller. For the last 55 years, Jim served as the owner of Miller’s 5 & 10 Cent Store located on the historic Boonville Square.

Boonville has one of the few intact squares remaining in Indiana, and Jim’s store was a staple there. People from all over Warrick County would come to Boonville for the chance to shop at his store and experience an old-fashioned tradition. It allowed people to temporarily escape from the commonalities of our world today: big money retailers looking to get customers in and out as quickly as possible. For many, its presence took them back to their youth and reminded them of a quieter, simpler time.

His store always carried a special significance for me because I grew up in a corner grocery store. My grandparents owned the store and later, my parents bought it. I began working there when I was just 11 years old and while I did not carry on the tradition, when I opened my own medical supplies facility, I based it off of my experiences at the corner store.

It was important to me to draw people in without being a big dollar store. I wanted to find my own niche and offer the products that people want and need but that big stores do not want to carry. This is precisely the type of customer service that Jim has provided over the years.

When I look back on my first few months in Boonville, back in 1975, Jim was one of the first people that I met. Right away, I could tell that he was a very easy going, likeable person but at the time, I could not have imagined the impact he would have on my life.

If we’re lucky, we all have someone who serves as a mentor, pushing us to branch out and try new things. For me, Jim was one of those people. He had strong conservative values and was very community oriented. As a new member of the community, he took a special interest in introducing me to people around town. He also played an integral role in getting me involved in the local Jaycees, a leadership training and civic organization for young adults.

In that respect, Jim helped to shape me and encourage my passion for civic engagement, something which led me to where I am today. While I am unsure of what Jim’s passing means for the future of his store, one thing is for sure: he was an icon in Boonville, and he will be greatly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him. He offered an unparalleled commitment to the betterment of our community whether it was through personalized service and a smiling face at the cash register or through his participation in organizations like the Boonville Elks Lodge.

As I reminisce, I know that I am just one of many people who have special memories of Jim, and I hope that we can all learn one last lesson from him; that lesson being that sometimes, we just need to slow things down a little. Despite our hectic lives, I hope that we remember the things that we learned from his example and continue to give back to our community in his memory.

Sincerely,

State Representative

Ron Bacon

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Mayor Winnecke will attend the “Summer of Swimming” free aquatic aerobics session at Lorraine Pool, 2399 Adams Ave., from 9-11 a.m. This will be the second of three free pool exercise programs sponsored by the Mayor’s Energize Evansville Fitness in the Park initiative. The final session of the summer will be at Rochelle-Landers Pool, 701 Lincoln Ave., on Saturday, August 17, from 9-11 a.m.

Mayor Winnecke will be the guest speaker at the annual Vanderburgh County Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The relay begins at 6 p.m. at the Metro Sports Center, 5820 Metro Ave., and continues until 6 a.m. Sunday. Activities include a cake walk, tug of war contests, a scavenger hunt, corn hole tournament, a luminaire ceremony and much more.

Magpie is a bashful, but sweet 4-year-old black Lab/retriever mix. She was unwanted by her previous owners, and since she never received much attention, she’s a little shy with strange people and situations. Once she warms up to you, she is gentle and loving! Magpie walks very nicely on a leash, too! She’s a little skittish when it comes to roughhousing and playing, though, so a home without rambunctious young children would be best for her. Her adoption fee is $100, which includes her spay surgery, vaccinations, microchip, and a bag of food.

Students in kindergarten through grade 12 and their families interested in enrolling in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation’s Virtual Academy are invited to attend one of several enrollment meetings scheduled later this month. Students, along with a parent or guardian, who have already signed up for online courses are asked to attend one of the meetings, as well.

At the meetings, students and families will learn more about the EVSC Virtual Academy, receive notebooks, review the content of the courses in which they are enrolled and receive instruction expectations.

Meeting dates for students interested or already in enrolled in grade 9 – 12 courses are:

· Tuesday, July 23, 2013 – 10 – 11:30 a.m.

· Wednesday, July 24, 2013 – 12:30 – 2 p.m.

· Wednesday, July 31, 2013 – 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Families who have children enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade courses or families who are interested in learning more are invited to attend a meeting on Tuesday, July 30, from
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

All meetings will be at the Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center, located at 1901 Lynch Road.

The EVSC Virtual Academy offers full- and part-time online instruction for students in grades 9 – 12 and full-time enrollment for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The online curriculum is taught and facilitated by licensed EVSC teachers. The high school curriculum includes required and elective courses and numerous Advanced Placement courses. Students enrolled in online courses have regular contact with teachers to ensure they are progressing successfully.

For more information, individuals can contact Janet Leistner, director of EVSC Virtual Academy, at 435-0939 or visit www.evscschools.com/evscva.

AG concludes inspection tour of river, meets with local conservation groups

NEW HARMONY, Ind. – To raise awareness about the risk that invasive fish pose to the Wabash River ecosystem and native fish, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller today concluded his four-day tour and inspection by boat of the Wabash River where he met with local conservation groups to listen to concerns and share information about the Asian carp’s spread into Indiana waterways.

Today, the final day of his Wabash River tour, Zoeller stopped in New Harmony and discussed Asian carp encroachment with local residents, groups and officials. Earlier in the week, Zoeller was joined on the tour by John Goss, director of the federal government’s Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, part of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

“We all want to protect the Great Lakes from future problems with Asian carp but need to recognize the current environmental problems currently being caused by this invasive species. I appreciate Director Goss – a Hoosier himself – and our federal partners for their help in the effort to protect and preserve the quality of our rivers and streams for those of us who enjoy fishing, boating and recreation along the Wabash River,” Zoeller said today in New Harmony in Posey County.

Launching on Monday from Wabash, Ind., Zoeller and Goss traveled on a borrowed speedboat downriver to Peru, Ind., and discussed the invasive fish with members of the Wabash River Heritage Corridor Commission, before Goss disembarked. Zoeller then proceeded though Logansport, Lafayette, Clinton, Terre Haute, Merom and Vincennes, traveling most of the way by boat, finally arriving at New Harmony, which is a distance of approximately 334 river miles from the launch point.

The non-native Asian carp, including silver carp and bighead carp, have spread northward up the Mississippi River since they were inadvertently released from fish hatcheries in the South in the 1970s. Two populations of Asian carp are known to inhabit segments of the Wabash River. If the voracious carp become more widely established in Indiana waterways and the Great Lakes and compete for plankton, they could disrupt the food chain and displace native fish species, and that could harm the recreational and commercial fishing industries. The largest of the Asian carp can grow to four feet long and 90 pounds, and the silver carp’s characteristic of jumping out of the water in large numbers at the sound of passing outboard motors can potentially injure boaters. Zoeller observed Asian carp jumping from the water Tuesday near Lafayette, Ind.

In February 2010, Attorney General Zoeller, representing Indiana, filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in the State of Michigan’s legal dispute with the State of Illinois over Asian carp control methods. The brief urged the Court to exercise its original jurisdiction in the case, but ultimately the nation’s highest court declined to hear the dispute. To prevent the spread of the carp into Lake Michigan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers currently operates electric barriers in waterways outside Chicago, and a chain-link fence was installed across Eagle Marsh near Fort Wayne to prevent the invasive fish from spreading through Maumee River tributaries into Lake Erie.

In light of ongoing discussion in Illinois and other Great Lakes states about a proposal to separate Lake Michigan from Chicago waterways to halt the northward advance of the fish, Zoeller said he wants to ensure that the concerns of Hoosier stakeholders – particularly those in affected communities on the banks of the Wabash – are heard by the federal government and that Indiana does not face an unfair cost burden in the process.

“We are concerned about the costs to Indiana of controlling this aquatic pest whose spread was not caused by the citizens of Indiana,” Zoeller said.

Zoeller chose the City of Wabash as the launching point of his river tour Monday to highlight the river’s economic and cultural importance to local communities and also note the role of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office by statute in bringing certain environmental litigation on the State’s behalf and in legally representing state agencies such as the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and Department of Natural Resources. For example, the Attorney General’s Office recently assisted the City of Wabash by obtaining a search warrant for a 20-acre former industrial site where potentially hazardous substances were located, and information gathered in the warrant search will be useful in directing a cleanup of the site.

A volunteer provided the use of his Zodiac boat and piloting it down the Wabash during the river tour that concluded near the New Harmony Inn. (Not all the trip was by water, the boat had to be hauled out and towed to a few locations due to water level.) Water quality was another focus of the river inspection tour. Zoeller noted a program operated with the assistance of volunteers, Hoosier Riverwatch, allows the public to monitor river water quality and pollution sources and report issues with the Wabash River to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management or IDEM at http://www.hoosierriverwatch.com/.
NOTE: Photos and video of Asian carp can be downloaded from the multimedia page of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee of the White House Council of Environmental Quality, at this link: http://www.asiancarp.us/multimedia.htm#photos