Jax – Jax has become a favorite at the VHS for his playful and charismatic nature! He is a young black cat, full of energy and love to give. His mother brought him to someone’s home and he was born under their window. She knew he would be safe, and he is the last of all of his siblings to be adopted. He has done well around other cats and children, and would be the perfect addition to your family! Jax’s adoption fee is $30, which includes his neuter surgery, age-appropriate vaccines, a nationally-registered microchip, a bag of food, and more.

http://www.vhslifesaver.org

Moody’s Investors Service has reaffirmed the “A1” bond rating on the City of Evansville’s Sewage Works Revenue Bonds. The bonds represent $57.7 million of outstanding “Moody’s rated” debt related to city sewage projects.
In a report released by Moody’s stated: “The affirmation reflects the utility system’s stable financial position with adequate debt service coverage, a history of regular rate increases and a diversified customer base,” with a good mix of residential and commercial customers.
The report described the Utility as a “large system that serves a strong local economy” and said the debt service is “adequate and expected to increase in the near term.” Difficulty implementing new financial software was listed as a challenge. However, Moody’s noted that the city was able to reconcile the accounts, and the Utility system “has exhibited stable financial performance.”
Moody’s stated the Utility also has a sizable customer base. Analysts recognized Evansville as a regional economic hub diverse customer base includes manufacturing, higher education, medical facilities and gaming.
“The City has been experiencing some growth in the manufacturing sector, with expansions planned at Berry Plastics and Toyota,” the report stated. “The City’s growth in the Downtown area is expected to continue as well, with an upscale hotel expected to be built near the Ford Arena and the convention center.”

Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, in partnership with the Mayor’s No Meth Task Force and WTVW/Local 7, will present the live town hall broadcast “The Meth Next Door” this Sunday, March 17, from 7 to 8 p.m. The broadcast will focus on the impact that the illegal drug has on our community and how we can combat this serious risk to our health, safety and economy. The program will feature expert panelists discussing the issue before a live audience and live questions and comments from the public.

North and Reitz high schools’ yearbooks and newspapers received accolades recently from two distinguished organizations. Both schools received awards from the University of Southern Indiana’s High School Media Day and from the Southern Illinois School Press Association (SISPA).

USI’s High School Media Day is sponsored by USI and the Scripps Howard Center for Media Studies and includes workshops and contests on the USI campus.

At the competition, North High School’s yearbook received a second place award for best coverage and a third place award for best student life section.

In addition, Reitz High School’s yearbook, Reflections, received the following awards:
•1st place – Best advertising section
•3rd place – Best yearbook coverage
•3rd place – Best community section
•3rd place – Best page design

The Mirror, Reitz’s school newspaper, also received honors from USI. The Mirror received a third place in Best of Show. Individual awards were submitted separately for judging in 12 different categories.

Works from the 2012-2013 Mirror that were entered into individual contests and received awards were:
•1st place Best feature Story – Caitlin Cannon
•1st place Best Sports photo – Baylee Miller
•1st place- Best editorial – Zoe Grabow
•2nd place Best feature story – Maddie Bogan
•2nd place Best News Photo – Lindsey Williams
•3rd place Best Sports photo – Maddy Harmon
•3rd place Best Overall Newspaper

Southern Illinois School Press Association Conference Awards

Both schools also competed in the Southern Illinois School Press Association Conference Awards. North’s yearbook received a second place in photography at the conference and Reitz’s newspaper, The Mirror, was awarded a Blue Banner which denotes overall excellence and is based on a judging of the entire newspaper. This is the fourth straight Blue Banner award for the newspaper and the fifth out of eight years. It also is the 10th award for John Wells, advisor at Reitz High School.

Works from the 2012-2013 Mirror that were entered into individual contests and received awards were:

· 2nd Place – Lauren Schellenberg for Sports Story – “Utilizing teamwork and fresh faces”

· 2nd Place – Josselinne Torres for Computer-Produced Graphics – “Don’t Text and Drive”

· 3rd Place – Haley Ruckman for Sports Story – “Wrestlers prepared to hit mats with tough pre-season schedule”

· 3rd Place – Baylee Miller for Photography w/ Caption – “Wrestling”

· Honorable Mention – Taylor Bogard for Sports Column – “The importance of ritual and superstitions”

· Honorable Mention – Maddie Bogan for Humorous Column – “Senioritis”

· Honorable Mention – Maddie Bogan for News Story – “Students pursue early graduation”

· Honorable Mention – Jessica Lynch for News Story – “PTA clothing band gets a surprise gift”

· Honorable Mention – Chloe Hollen for Feature Story – “Animals in the science department”

· Honorable Mention – Katie Healy for Sports Story – “Football team makes it to regionals”

In addition, the 2012 Reflections yearbook received a Golden Dozen award. This marks the seventh Golden Dozen award given to Reitz’s yearbook in the past eight years and the sixth in a row. Entries for the Golden Dozen award were sent from schools from Evansville to St. Louis and Paducah, Ky., to Springfield, Ill.

The Reflections received the following awards from the 2012 yearbook:

· 1st Place – Copywriting

· 1st Place – Advertising Section

· 1st Place – Overall Layout

· 2nd Place – Overall Coverage

· 3rd Place – Overall Graphics

· Honorable Mention – Cover Design

Work from Reitz’s 2013 yearbook, currently in production, was singled out for the following awards:

· 1st Place – Angela Merritt for Yearbook Sports Photography

· 2nd Place – Sarah TenBarge for Yearbook Feature Photography

· 3rd Place – Sports Layouts

The Southern Illinois School Press Association is sponsored by Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. Each year, for the past 63 years, the two organizations host the winter conference, offering yearbook and newspaper contests, workshops, and on-site competitions.

Two students from Central High School will represent the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation at this year’s DECA International Career Development Conference April 23 – 28 in Anaheim, Calif. Kimber Dugger and Jodi Ganapathy competed in the financial literacy promotion project at the state competition last week and earned first place and the opportunity to advance. The team will compete against other students from the United States, Guam Puerto Rico and Canada at the international competition.

Students qualify by advancing through a series of competitions at the district and state levels. At each level of competition, students were required to take a 100-question test covering basic business, marketing, economics, and specialized area concepts. In addition, they participated in role playing and case study situations in front of judges.

The International Career Development Conference is attended by approximately 14,000 members, advisors, business people and alumni every year. Top competitors in each event category are recognized for their outstanding achievements and earn scholarship money as well as cash prizes.

Other students who received awards at the state level, but will not attend the international conference include:

· Ashleigh Carroll, Courtney Frank and Gretl Schuerger, all from Central, who earned an honorable mention in Community Service Project

· Taylor Cravens, Kendra Gerst and Alex Harger, all from North, who placed as finalists in the Entrepreneurship Written Project

· Evonna Tramill, from Bosse, who placed third in Marketing Management

· Brandon Medcalf and Brandon Schu, from Central, who placed 4th overall in Sports & Entertainment Promotion Plan

DECA, An Association of Marketing Students, is a 60 year-old co-curricular club that assists students in preparing for future careers in marketing, management and entrepreneurship.