Our next Regional Eclipse Stakeholder meeting will be Thursday, March 21 at 10 AM.
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Looking to secure your view of the upcoming solar eclipse? Look no further!Solar eclipse glasses are available for purchase at Explore Evansville’s office, conveniently located at 20 NW Third Street, Suite 410. But that’s not all – you can also find glasses at various other local businesses throughout the area. For a list of local businesses, be sure to visit our website, EvansvilleEclipse2024.com. |
LEAP into the Eclipse!
EPA finalizes stronger safety standards to protect at-risk communities from chemical accidents
WASHINGTON –  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing finalized amendments to the Risk Management Program to further protect at-risk communities from chemical accidents, especially those located near facilities in industry sectors with high accident rates. The “Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention Rule†includes EPA’s most protective safety provisions for chemical facilities in history, requiring stronger measures for prevention, preparedness, and public transparency. The rule protects the health and safety of all communities by requiring industry to prevent accidental releases of dangerous chemicals that could otherwise cause deaths and injuries, damage property and the environment, or require surrounding communities to evacuate or shelter-in-place.
“Many communities that are vulnerable to chemical accidents are in overburdened and underserved areas of the country,†said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This final rule is a critical piece of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advancing environmental justice by putting in place stronger safety requirements for industrial facilities and new measures to protect communities from harm.â€
The final rule includes revisions to improve chemical process safety, to assist in planning, preparing for, and responding to accidents, and to increase public awareness of chemical hazards at regulated sources. The rule requires regulated facilities to perform a safer technologies and alternatives analysis, and in some cases, facilities will be required to implement reliable safeguard measures as practicable. This new requirement is expected to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents.
For example, in 2019, an explosion and fire at the TPC Group in Port Neches, Texas, resulted in the largest number of evacuees in history (50,000 people), as well as $153 million in offsite property damage. Had the provisions being finalized today been in effect prior to the TPC Group accident, the facility would have been required to perform a safer technologies and alternatives analysis and implement at least one safeguard measure, which may have mitigated or prevented the accident from occurring.
The final rule covers all 11,740 regulated RMP facilities across the country and contains more rigorous requirements for a subgroup of facilities that are more accident-prone and pose the greatest risk to communities. EPA estimates that accidental releases from RMP facilities cost society more than $540 million each year. There are approximately 131 million people living within three miles of RMP facilities, of which approximately 20 million identify as Black or African American, 32 million identify as Hispanic or Latino, and 44 million earn less than or equal to twice the poverty level.
The rule also includes provisions such as empowering workers in safety decisions and increasing access to RMP facility information for communities living and working in the surrounding areas. To further enhance public transparency, in the coming months, EPA is working toward making RMP information available on the agency’s website.
EPA incorporated robust stakeholder input and coordinated with other federal chemical safety and security agencies during the rulemaking process that were vital in developing a comprehensive proposal and effective final rule to further protect at-risk communities from chemical accidents. Final amendments to the rule include:
- Requiring a safer technologies and alternatives analysis, and in some cases, implementation of reliable safeguard measures for certain facilities in industry sectors with high accident rates.
- Advancing employee participation, training, and opportunities for employee decision-making in facility accident prevention, for example:
- Reiterating the allowance of a partial or complete process shutdown in the event of a potential catastrophic release.
- Implementing a process to allow employees and their representatives to anonymously report specific unaddressed hazards.
- Requiring third-party compliance audits and root cause analysis incident investigation for facilities that have had a prior accident.
- Enhancing facility planning and preparedness efforts to strengthen emergency response by ensuring chemical release information is timely shared with local responders and a community notification system is in place to warn the community of any impending release.
- Emphasizing the requirement for regulated facilities to evaluate risks of natural hazards and climate change, including any associated loss of power.
- Increasing transparency by providing access to RMP facility information for communities nearby.
Ivy Tech Announces Two New Campus Board of Trustees
Evansville, IN – Two local leaders have been named members of Ivy Tech Community College’s Campus Board of Trustees.
Roland Shelton, chief strategic business partnership officer and executive vice president for Old National Bank; and David Smith, superintendent of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, are now serving their first three-year term on the board, representing the areas of commerce and education, respectively.
“Behind every successful organization stand dedicated board members whose commitment, time, and resources propel our mission forward,” said Ivy Tech Chancellor Daniela Vidal. “We are deeply appreciative of the support of our Campus Board of Trustees and their contributions to Ivy Tech.”
Roland Shelton
Shelton has served previously as the vice chairman of the Board for the Ivy Tech Foundation, and he also serves on the Deaconess Hospital Foundation Board. He is a member of the Kentucky Wesleyan University Board of Trustees and serves on the State of Indiana Workforce Development Board. Prior to joining Old National in 2017, he was senior vice president of constituent relations at Indiana State University. He also worked at Park University as the associate vice president for advancement, superintendent/business manager at General Motors, and district sales manager for Campbell Soup Company.
Shelton earned a bachelor’s degree in business/corporate communications from Western Kentucky University.
David Smith 
Smith oversees the work of 40 schools and the instruction of more than 21,000 students in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation. He has served in the EVSC since 1982 in a wide range of roles, including instrumental music teacher, principal, director of principal support, deputy chief of staff, and assistant superintendent for business and human resources. Serving in diverse roles in the third largest school district in the state of Indiana has provided him with a strong working knowledge of all areas of the school corporation.
Smith holds the degree of Doctor of Education from Oakland City University, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from the University of Evansville. He also has a degree in secondary administration and supervision as well as an Education Specialist degree from Indiana State University. In 2011 he received his second master’s degree, earning a Master of Business in Operational Excellence, with a Lean Six Sigma black belt certification from The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business.
Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners March 5, 2024
Drainage Board Immediately Following
DRAFT AGENDA
Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners
March 5, 2024 – 3:00 p.m.
Room 301, Civic Center Complex
1. Call to Order
2. Attendance
3. Pledge of Allegiance
4. Action Items
A. Sheriff
1. Request to Close County Offices on April 8, 2024, for Total Solar Eclipse
B. Engineer
1. Agreement with Lochmueller Group, Inc. for Abbreviated Engineering
Assessment for Hogue Road Bridge #860 over Carpentier Creek
C. Interlocal Agreement with Evansville Land Bank Corp.
D. Agreement between Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, Veterans Council, Board of
Commissioners, and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
E. Service Agreement: Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (E-REP)
F. Amendment to Old Courthouse Lease Agreement – 911 Gives Hope, Inc.
5. Department Head Reports
6. New Business
7. Old Business
8. Consent Items
A. Approval of February 20th Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes
B. Employment Changes
C. Auditor
1. Claims Voucher Reports
i. February 19, 2024 – February 23, 2024
ii. February 26, 2024 – March 1, 2024
D. Engineer
1. Report and Claims
E. Treasurer
1. January 2024 Innkeeper’s Tax Report
F. Veterans Memorial Coliseum
1. Waste Management Special Waste Profile
G. Veterans Services
1. Travel Request
H. The Arc of Evansville
1. January 2024 Dashboard
I. Letter from Mayor of Evansville – Notice of Intent to Renew Land Bank Agreement
9. Public Comment
10. 2024 Road Hearing
11. Adjournment
USI makes late run, comes up short against NKU
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Tennis (1-7) dropped its sixth-straight match after a tight 4-3 loss to Northern Kentucky University (5-5) Sunday afternoon at Wesselman Park. Despite both sides being in the Horizon League, this match was a non-conference dual with each team being in different divisions.
Doubles:Â The Screaming Eagles fell short in doubles play to lose the doubles point.
Singles: USI suffered a slow start at numbers one, five, and six to hand NKU the match victory. Even after suffering a loss to the Norse, three Eagles secured wins to make it a close race. Sophomore Axel Sabourin (Marseille, France) ignited USI’s run with a 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 victory at number two. Sophomore Mathys Bove (Lyon, France) followed up at the three spot with a tight 7-6, 2-6, 1-0 win before junior Quinten Gillespie (Whiteland, Indiana) capped off the afternoon with a long 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 decision in the four hole.a
UE women’s basketball overpowered by BelmontÂ
The Purple Aces outmatched the Bruins at the free throw line for 81.8%
NASHVILLE – In the final road game of the season, the University of Evansville women’s basketball team couldn’t find its way past the Belmont Bruins in the 80-55 loss.
The Purple Aces struggled to contain the Bruins offense on Sunday afternoon in their final road match-up of the 2023-2024 season. Two players for UE ended the game in double figures as forward Maggie Hartwig led the team with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Nevaeh Thomas was the other Evansville player with double figures while also drawing a team-high eight fouls.
The Aces got off to a quick start at Curb Event Center, leading early on a second-chance layup from Hartwig. Belmont responded with a seven-point run that was ended by guard Kynidi Mason Striverson’s first three of the afternoon. The teams traded buckets over the next three minutes. Thomas ended the back-and-forth pace with a three-point play to tie the game. But the Bruins ended the quarter on a seven-point run to retake the lead.
It took UE almost two minutes to find the basket in the second quarter as Belmont grew its lead to double digits. Evansville got the deficit back down into single digits on a five-point run midway through the second. But the Bruins responded with a brief run to regrow the lead. Mason Striverson hit another three with a little over two minutes left in the half making it a 10-point game. But the Aces wouldn’t score the rest of the half, heading into the locker room down by 16.
The teams traded shots to begin the second half until Belmont had an eight-point run over three minutes. Both squads struggled to make shots in the final seven minutes of the third quarter. UE had three points over the final three minutes while the Bruins had just two. Evansville headed into the final 10 minutes in Nashville trailing by 22.
The Aces had their best offensive quarter of the game in the fourth, adding 20 points over 10 minutes. Hartwig took over the game for UE with seven points in the first three minutes of the quarter while Evansville had its largest run of the game with six points. Â But Belmont responded with a three-point run followed by an eight-point run for a 27-point lead. The Aces chipped away at the lead over the final four minutes, but eventually fell to the Bruins 80-55.
While Hartwig led UE in both scoring and rebounding, Mason Striverson came an assist shy of a career game. The sophomore guard added eight assists in Nashville while Thomas led the team with three steals. Thomas also recorded Evansville’s lone block of the game.
The Aces will wrap up the 2023-24 season at home with their two final games in Meeks Family Fieldhouse. UE will first welcome the regular season champions Drake to Evansville on Thursday night. Tip-off for the Aces against the Bulldogs is set for 6 p.m. on March 7.
Bruins defeat Aces in regular season finale
Hughes leads Evansville with 15 points
 NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Finishing the day shooting an even 50% from the field, Belmont defeated the University of Evansville men’s basketball team by a final score of 83-66 on Sunday afternoon in the Curb Event Center.
Three Purple Aces reached double figures with Josh Hughes pacing the team with 15 points. He connected on six of his 11 attempts including three triples. Kenny Strawbridge Jr. was just behind with 14 points while Cam Haffner finished with 10. Hughes and Strawbridge led the Purple Aces with eight rebounds apiece. Five Bruins scored in double digits with Ja’Kobi Gillespie recording a game-high 18 points.
“We were able to mix some different groups and show a few different schemes today and gave ourselves a chance to compete. I thought we started very well, especially on the defensive side,†UE head coach David Ragland said. “Belmont is a great team and we knew they would come back. They punched us in the mouth a little bit but our guys never gave up and kept fighting.â€
Josh Hughes had it going in the early moments, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers to give the Purple Aces a 6-0 lead. Defensively, UE held the Bruins to a 0-for-4 start from the field with Kenny Strawbridge Jr. connecting on a layup to solidify an 8-0 lead before the first media timeout of the game.
After getting on the board, Belmont scored seven in a row to cut their deficit to 8-7 at the 14:10 mark. Evansville continued to set the pace as a layup from Antonio Thomas pushed the lead to 12-7 before his first 3-point make of the game pushed the lead to 17-9 just past the midway point of the half.
Belmont stormed back to tie the score with an 8-0 stretch inside of the 8-minute mark before Gage Bobe hit from downtown to put the lead right back in the Aces hands. A 9-0 run by the Bruins saw them take their first lead of the day at 26-20 as the period entered its final five minutes. Their largest advantage came after a three in the final seconds of the half that made it a 38-26 game at the break.
Out of the half, the Bruins scored 15 of the first 19 points to open a 53-30 lead. With 10:30 left in the game, their lead reached 26 points at 67-41. Evansville continued to play hard, posting the next seven tallies as Hughes knocked down another triple. Things continued to hover around 20 points with the Aces getting within 17 and Belmont pushing the lead to 22 in the final three minutes.
In the end, the final deficit finished at 17 as Belmont took the game by a final of 83-66. BU shot 50% on the day with the Aces finishing at 36.2%.
Arch Madness will begin on Thursday with the Aces entering as the #10 seed and facing the #7 seed Illinois State in St. Louis. Tip is set for 6 p.m.
Evansville Announces OVC Men’s and Women’s Conference Tournament
For the seventh-straight year, Evansville will host the OVC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships presented by United Fidelity Bank, March 6-9 at the Ford Center. The region will punch the first tickets to the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
 Who: Evansville Mayor, Stephanie Terry
           OVC Commissioner, Beth DeBauche
What: Press Conference
  Date:
Tuesday, March 5th
 Time:
10:30 am CDT
Interviews available after
Location:
The Ford Center (Lobby)
