News Advisory – Lorraine Pool Temporarily Closed for Repairs
Lorraine Pool is closed today and tomorrow (June 5 & 6) due to a broken controller that is being replaced. The controller keeps the chemical levels in the pool adjusted properly. Swim team practice has been moved to Anthony Oates, 2599 Sunburst Blvd., today and tomorrow. The repair will not affect swim lessons, which starts next week.
IS IT TRUE June 5, 2013
IS IT TRUE Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke recently met with City Council President Connie Robinson to brief her on the Administration’s work to make final changes to the Johnson Controls contract?…the Mayor and the City had to respond to new knowledge brought to light private sector businesses who came forward with various Network Communications options in lieu of the City building and owning a Fiber Optic Ring Network?…Mayor Winnecke seeking to better understand these options and gain an unbiased perspective convened a group of local CIOs to discuss these alternative solutions?…solutions that would meet the Utility’s needs for the Automated Meter Reading Infrastructure were identified and discussed plus the CIO’s suggested the Administration consider other options in the future to meet the City’s Network Communication needs?…by seeking the council of the private sector it is possible that Mayor Winnecke will be deciding to change part of the course defined by former Mayor Weinzapfel in his last minute spending spree and forget about the redundancy of a City Owned Fiber Optic Ring Network.
IS IT TRUE the Mole Nation tells the CCO that Johnson Controls has agreed to remove the fiber optic ring network from the Weinzapfel contract?…removing this unnecessary hardware will save the taxpayers of Evansville about $6.4M from the Weinzapfel contract on top of the other things removed that saved $4 Million after the IURC shot it down as not providing enough margin?…the fiber optic network will be replaced with a private sector solution, which will create significantly greater savings that the public option was alleged to have saved?…it is the intent of the Winnecke Administration to announce these supposedly final changes this week and seek approval of a revised bond resolution by the Utility Board on June 11th and file a bond ordinance with City Council for 1st reading on June 24th?… at the July 8th meeting, Winnecke and friends will present and answer questions on the final contract and bond ordinance?…true to form the Winnecke Administration is planning to arrange meetings with Council members on an individual basis to answer questions and twist some arms?…we really wish these discussions would be held in a public forum so the people of this town do not get yet another closed door deal shoved down their throats?
IS IT TRUE it is somewhat encouraging to see that some level of due diligence is working down at the Civic Center?…this due diligence is being led by Budget Chairman Councilman John Friend with his opposition and questioning of what former Mayor Weinzapfel tried to deal from the bottom of the deck on his way out of office?…this unnecessary contract has now shrunk by $10.5 Million which is a step in the right direction?…it is still appropriate to question the need to replace all of those water meters that are attached to aging and dilapidated pipes?…it would be more prudent to replace 5% of the meters per year along with 5% of the rotten old pipes per year for the next 20 years along with the sewer repairs so at least in 20 years we can say that Evansville has a functional and maintainable water and sewer system for the first time ever?…there is still some more carving to do on this contract and we are counting on our City Council to do their job and keep Mayor Winnecke’s feet to the fire before selling any bonds or cutting any checks?…we have hope that this project that started out as a boondoggle of cronyism may just work out well for the people of Evansville if and only if the financial diligence is maintained?
IS IT TRUE that Mole #33 tells us that GAGE will be adding a seat on its board of directors for a member of the Evansville City Council?…the Mayor of Evansville has always been on this board with the executive committee formed of 3 elected officials, 3 private business people, and one member from USI?…this addition to the GAGE board tips the balance of power to politicians?…this is not a trivial issue?…we are betting that Councilman John Friend may just end up with this appointment?…we wonder if Councilman Friend would have gone along with former Mayor and GAGE Board Chairman Weinzapfel’s scheme to pay former DMD Director Tom Barnett a supplement to his salary through a phantom contract with GAGE?…financial due diligence can help any organization that is dependent on the taxpayers to survive?
IS IT TRUE that USI is raising its tuition by $551 (9%) at a time that salaries are frozen and jobs for graduates are hard to find?…given the state of the economy and the difficulty that graduates are having finding any employment at all much less a job that can support college loans, we find this move to be self serving and usury?…the trustees of USI will be voting on this June 11th and the CCO encourages them to hold the line on tuition until an increase in the value of a diploma can justify the tuition increase?…a time when the value of a formal education is being questioned is no time to raise the price on a USI degree which is not well recognized outside of a few counties anyway?
Sen. Becker: Gov. Pence Signs Bill Giving Hoosiers
STATEHOUSE (June 4, 2013) — Legislation sponsored by State Sen. Vaneta Becker (R- Evansville) to allow Hoosiers more direct access to needed physical therapy services was signed into law today by Gov. Mike Pence.
House Enrolled Act 1034 eliminates the requirement that patients obtain a general physician or chiropractor referral in order to be treated by a physical therapist for 24 days or less. If treatment goes beyond 24 calendar days, then the patient must seek a referral. Becker said this policy enables Indiana residents to play a more active role in their health-care decisions, and will save both time and money.
“I have spent more than 20 years working to open up access to physical therapy services for Hoosiers. Today’s initiative will benefit both patients and the health-care industry by removing an unnecessary barrier to care,†Becker said. “Patients will be spending less time waiting for referrals and more time healing.â€
HEA 1034 takes effect July 1, 2013
On Tuesday, June 04, 2013 at approximately 3:00 am, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to 3300 block of Bexley Court in reference to subjects breaking into cars. The reporter stated he woke up and looked outside. He observed several individuals rummaging through his wife’s car which was parked on the street.
The reporter responding deputy sheriffs that he gave chase to the subjects, following them north through the neighborhood but lost sight of them by some wooded area. However, one of the suspects had dropped his wallet with his identification inside. After checking several locations, the deputies were able to locate all three juveniles involved and transported them to the command post for interviews along with their parents. The involved juveniles are all fifteen years old.
During the course of the interviews, the juveniles admitted to entering several, unlocked vehicles in the surrounding area and stealing cash, electronics, and other items of value. At this time, deputies are following up on other calls related to this incident and the investigation is still on-going.
If anyone living in the Melody Hills area discovers items missing from their vehicles, they should contact the Sheriff’s Office at 812-421-6201.
For the next two weeks, 29 area students will get an up close and personal look at the field of medicine at the 23rd annual Deaconess/EVSC Health Science Institute (HIS). Students participating in HSI will live on the campus of Deaconess Hospital for the two-week camp that started Sunday and will hear from more than 100 health professionals, participate in 12 different clinical rotations and explore Deaconess facilities, local universities, Purdue University and Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.
Highlights for this year’s camp will include:
· Wednesday, June 5, 12:30 p.m., Deaconess Main Campus – students participate in triage training
· Wednesday, June 5, 6 p.m., Deaconess Gateway Campus – Students dressed in scrubs will operate daVinci surgical robot.
· Sunday, June 9, 6:30 p.m., Deaconess Main Campus – Local anesthesiologist will bring machines for students to experiment with.
· Tuesday, June 11, 3:30 p.m., Deaconess Main Campus – Local cardiothoracic surgeon will lead students through heart dissections.
· Wednesday, June 12, 2 p.m., Deaconess Main Campus – students will make splints and casts for each other.
Since the program’s inception in 1991, more than 500 students have participated, many of whom are now serving in the healthcare field as physicians, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, respiratory therapists and others.
Let’s Get Crazy Tour
Friday, November 8 @ 7:00pm
Seats are $39.50 and $29.50.
Tickets go on-sale Tuesday, June 21st at 10:00am.
Tickets available at The Centre Box Office, Ticketmaster online or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS
THE CENTRE
Dancing with Our Stars – June 8
Tri-State Business Expo – July 11
PEF/EVSC Summer Musical “Beauty and the Beast” – July 11-14
J&J Ventures Dart & Pool Tournament – Aug. 2-4
100 Men Who Cook – Aug. 24
Ghost Brothers of Darkland County – Oct. 17 @ 7:30pm
Disney Live! Three Classic Fairy Tales – Oct. 27 @ 12:00pm & 3:00pm
CMT On Tour: Hunter Hayes Let’s Be Crazy Tour – Nov. 8 @ 7:00pm
CENTRE’D ON KIDS 2014
Junie B. Jones – Feb. 5 @ 9:00am & 12:00pm
The Monster Who Ate My Peas – March 17 @ 9:00am & 12:00pm
Are You My Mother? – Apr. 22 @ 9:00am & 12:00pm
BROADWAY AT THE CENTRE 2013-2014
Elvis Lives! – Oct. 19 @ 7:30pm
Mamma Mia! – December 13 @ 7:30pm
Straight No Chaser – December 20 @ 7:30pm
Hello Dolly! starring Sally Struthers – January 12 @ 7:00pm
Bring It On: The Musical – February 9 @ 7:00pm
Hair – March 10 @ 7:30pm
Million Dollar Quartet – March 26 @ 7:30pm
Visit www.smgevansville.com for more information.
State’s mortgage servicing abuse payments total $26.3 million
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced today that checks will be sent out next week to eligible Indiana borrowers who are part of the National Mortgage Settlement.
Eligible borrowers had their mortgage serviced by one of the settlement’s five participating mortgage servicers, lost their home to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011, and submitted a valid claim form. Eligible Hoosiers can expect a check for about $1,480 which will be dropped in the mail between Monday, June 10 and Monday, June 17.
The participating servicers include Ally (formerly GMAC), Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Zoeller said 18,448 checks totaling $26.3 million will be sent to Indiana consumers, and about 55.9 percent of eligible borrowers submitted a claim – which is comparable to the national response rate of 55 percent.
“These payments are meant to help compensate borrowers for mortgage servicing abuse,” Zoeller said. “The National Mortgage Settlement payments and the new mortgage servicing standards under the review of a national monitor will help ensure the public is protected from similar errors in the future.â€
Zoeller said the payment does not limit a borrower from seeking relief through a separate lawsuit or other claims.
Nationally, the settlement administrator will mail valid claim payments to 962,278 loan records totaling $1.5 billion from June 10 through June 17.
In February 2012, 49 state attorneys general and the federal government announced the historic joint state-federal National Mortgage Settlement with the country’s five largest mortgage servicers. Preliminary data shows that, so far, the servicers have provided more than $50 billion in direct settlement relief to borrowers nationwide, much more than originally expected.
A relatively small number of borrowers will not receive a check in the initial mailing or will receive a split payment.
•Some borrowers will receive a check for less than the approximate $1,480 payment in situations where borrowers are divorced or separated and no longer live at the same address. The full per-loan amount will be paid on these loans, but the payment will be evenly split between the borrowers.
•A small number of borrowers who submitted a claim form but do not have a valid Social Security number on file will be delayed in receiving their payments while tax-related issues are addressed.
•Two servicers recently provided information on an additional 31,000 borrowers, and thus they could not be included in this distribution. Later this summer, these consumers will receive a notice and will have the opportunity to submit a payment application.
Every borrower who filed a claim will receive a letter regarding their outcome. Borrowers with questions about their National Mortgage Settlement payment should call the settlement administrator at 1-866-430-8358.
Indiana’s overall share of the settlement was about $145 million. Of that, approximately $100 million was used as direct assistance to Indiana borrowers who lost their homes due to foreclosure, or to distressed borrowers who seek to refinance and save their homes. The Indiana Attorney General’s Office received $43.8 million, with $28.8 million of that dedicated by the Legislature to the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the rest committed to the Consumer Protection Division and its Homeowner Protection Unit (HPU) and other efforts to prevent foreclosure.
“Indiana’s Legislature wisely channeled the settlement funds my office received into a fund to assist low-income homeowners who were most at-risk to be foreclosed upon and also the most likely to have difficulty paying their energy bills,” Zoeller said.
National Mortgage Settlement, Independent Foreclosure Review payments are separate
The IFR settlement is unrelated and separate from the National Mortgage Settlement and does not include the same governmental agencies. The IFR payments began in mid-April of 2013, and the OCC announced that final payments will be mailed in mid-July. For more information on the OCC Independent Foreclosure Review settlement, go to www.OCC.gov and click on Independent Foreclosure Review.
Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Monday, June 03, 2013.
Larry Anderson Intimidation-Class D Felony
Adrien Horne Residential Entry-Class D Felony
Resisting Law Enforcement-Class A Misdemeanors (Two Counts)
False Informing-Class B Misdemeanor
Quinton Jennings Burglary Resulting in Bodily Injury-Class A Felony
Intimidation-Class C Felony
Battery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury-Class C Felony
Attempted Obstruction of Justice-Class D Felony
Impersonation of a Public Servant-Class D Felony
Lonnie Rowley Operating a Vehicle as an Habitual Traffic Violator-Class D
Felony
Amanda Walker Burglary-Class B Felony
Intimidation-Class C Felony
Attempted Obstruction of Justice-Class D Felony
Lloyd Williams Theft-Class D Felony
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 considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
IS IT TRUE June 4, 2013
IS IT TRUE it seems as though the urban surveillance vehicles that the Evansville Police Department purchased to keep an eye on crime are doing their job quite well?…these former armored cash delivery vehicles were the subject of some joking during the campaign that was for the most part well intentioned?…for those with a thick skin the caricature of then candidate Winnecke riding a tank should have been seen as the cartoon that it was meant to be?…the naysayers on the effectiveness of placing these vehicles in high crime areas as a deterrent should eat their words now as the very presence of these urban assault vehicles have established a record for keeping crime to near zero in their immediate vicinity?…at $10 each plus $10,000 to rig them up to do surveillance this have been a bargain and we should be ordering about a hundred more of them?…the real test would be in placing many of these things block by block to see if crime is really stopped or just moved a block or two away?…thus far they are working but crime is not statistically much different so the crimes are just being moved?…this purchase was a good decision made by Mayor Winnecke and Police Chief Billy Bolin?
IS IT TRUE that there has been an absolute mess of uncertainty and incompetence in the administration of the ISTEP tests this year?…it has been such a carnival of errors that school corporations across the state are seizing on the opportunity to preemptively dispute the results of the tests?…we bet that if the results show improvement that the school administrators will cease their dispute and embrace the results?…if they show static or falling results of course the school administrators will keep up the drum beat to ignore the test results due to incompetence?…if there is one thing that can be learned from this fiasco it is that to manage the ISTEP one must pass the ISTEP?
IS IT TRUE that this week has brought a relatively rare phenomena to Evansville in the number of dead bodies that have been discovered in homes?…no one at the CCO can remember the last time a dead body was simply discovered and this week there were 3 found?…there does not seem to be foul play involved so maybe this is just the beginning of a trend in a world that is increasingly disconnected on a day to day basis?
IS IT TRUE that turning to our nation the scandal of selective enforcement continues to get worse over at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)?…reports are starting to surface that state the “low level†rouge employees who were set up to take the blame are not only angry but they are starting to sing?…the recently fired Director of the IRS has already been exposed for flat out lying to Congress, another high ranking IRS official (Lois Lerner) asserted innocence and then took the fifth, and it is now obvious this selective scrutiny was widespread and systematic?…some of the “low level†scapegoats are now flipping and telling reporters that the orders to harass conservatives groups and particularly financial supporters of Republican candidates CAME FROM WASHINGTON DC?…no one has pointed the finger at President Obama yet and maybe he really knew nothing about it but he did create the atmosphere that promoted going after enemies with wise little quips?…in public speeches President Obama did indeed joke about using the IRS to badger his enemies and even advocated jokingly to take a gun to a knife fight?…this is all funny until his starry eyed underlings start to take him seriously and selectively enforce rules and regulations?
IS IT TRUE that the banana republic nature of what has happened at the IRS is a serious threat to our nation’s ability to maintain the public trust?…the same goes on the violation of the 1st amendment rights of what are now multiple reporters from big news organizations?…in any sane organization public or private heads would roll over this comedy of arrogance?…sanity can no longer be expected from our federal government?
