(EVANSVILLE, IN) – A meeting was held today in the office of Mayor Lloyd Winnecke to discuss school safety issues in light of the tragic school shooting Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
Mayor Winnecke and EVSC School Superintendent Dr. David Smith talked by phone Monday and agreed to organize the meeting quickly to ensure the continued safety of our students. The meeting included representatives from the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, Evansville Catholic Diocese, Evansville Day School, Evansville Christian School, Evansville Lutheran School, Joshua Academy, Signature School, the Evansville Police Department, Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office and Central Dispatch.
The roundtable discussion resulted in three immediate action steps.
1) Local officials will begin the process of sharing uniform security procedures with the goal of forming a uniform emergency protocol to aid law enforcement in emergency situations.
2) All school buildings and facilities will undergo a safety reassessment.
3) Funding will be sought to further enhance security measures in all Evansville and Vanderburgh County schools.
The group also agreed to expand the discussion to include emergency dispatchers, Emergency Medical Services personnel, and representatives from the University of Evansville, University of Southern Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College.
Conversations about enhanced school safety will continue over the holidays with specific groups of individuals, and the group as a whole will meet again in January.

Evansville, IN – Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, December 18, 2012.

Curtis Broshears Operating a Motor Vehicle After Forfeiture of License for Life – Class C
Felony

Anthony Burris Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon – Class B
Felony
Possession of Methamphetamine – Class D Felony
Receiving Stolen Property –Class D Felony (Six Counts)

Eric Canary Possession of Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Possession of Paraphernalia – Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Driving While Suspended – Class A Misdemeanor

Michael Conner, Jr. Possession of Methamphetamine – Class C Felony
Possession of Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Resisting Law Enforcement – Class A Misdemeanor
Possession of Paraphernalia – Class D Felony

Frankie Coulter, Jr. Operating a Vehicle as an Habitual Traffic Violator – Class D Felony

Nathan Crowley, III Dealing in Methamphetamine –Class B Felony

Jeremy Glover Possession of Methamphetamine – Class D Felony
Possession of a Controlled Substance – Class D Felony
Possession of Paraphernalia – Class A Misdemeanor
(Habitual Substance Offender Enhancement)

Gerald Harrison Battery by Bodily Waste – Class D Felony
Battery Resulting in Bodily Injury – Class D Felony
Public Intoxication – Class B Misdemeanor

Jacob Hornbrook Possession of Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)

Shayne Hurt Possession of Methamphetamine – Class D Felony
Possession of Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor

Kathie Jarvis Dealing in Methamphetamine – Class B Felony
Maintaining a Common Nuisance – Class D Felony

Ismael Jimenez-Cantoran Operating a Vehicle with a BAC of .08 or More – Class C Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated – Class C Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Operating a Motor Vehicle Without Ever Receiving a License – Class C
Misdemeanor

Mandy McRoy Assisting a Criminal – Class D Felony

Emma Nelson Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person with a
Passenger Less Than 18 Years of Age – Class D Felony

Jeffrey Osborne, Jr. Dealing in Methamphetamine – Class B Felony
Resisting Law Enforcement – Class D Felony
Resisting Law Enforcement – Class A Misdemeanor

Douglas Pleiss Dealing in Methamphetamine – Class B Felony
Maintaining a Common Nuisance – Class D Felony
(Habitual Offender Enhancement)

Valerie Ricketts Dealing in Methamphetamine – Class B Felony

Heather Scott Possession of a Controlled Substance – Class D Felony
Possession of Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor
Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person – Class A
Misdemeanor

Timothy Shadrick Resisting Law Enforcement – Class D Felony

Kevin Townsend, Sr. Battery by Means of a Deadly Weapon – Class C Felony
Criminal Confinement – Class C Felony
Interference with the Reporting of a Crime – Class A Misdemeanor
(Habitual Offender Enhancement)

Chad Wilcox Operating a Vehicle with a BAC of .15 or More – Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated – Class C Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Operating a Motor Vehicle as an Habitual Traffic Violator – Class D
Felony

James Wilson Assisting a Criminal – Class D Felony
Possession of Methamphetamine – Class D Felony
Possession of Paraphernalia – Class A Misdemeanor

For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Carly Settles at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at csettles@vanderburghgov.org.

Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
SENTENCE CHART

Class Range
Murder 45-65 Years
Class A Felony 20-50 Years
Class B Felony 6-20 Years
Class C Felony 2-8 Years
Class D Felony ½ – 3 Years
Class A Misdemeanor 0-1 Year
Class B Misdemeanor 0-180 Days

Evansville, IN – December 18, 2012, Henry Lee Newton, age 37, was sentenced by Judge Kelly Fink at 2:00 p.m. today to 65 years after being found guilty on November 15 of Burglary Resulting in Bodily Injury – Class A Felony. Newton was sentenced to 35 years for the Class A Felony with an additional 30 years added to the sentence for his guilty plea as an Habitual Offender. Newton was also sentenced to 12 years for Robbery Resulting in Bodily Injury – Class B Felony and 2 years for Theft – Class D Felony. Newton will serve each of these sentences concurrently in the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Newton also awaits trial on another case where he is being charged with Burglary – Class B Felony and Theft – Class D Felony. The trial is set for April 3, 2012 at 8:00 a.m.

For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Carly Settles, director of public relations at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at csettles@vanderburghgov.org

Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
SENTENCE CHART

Class Range
Murder 45-65 Years
Class A Felony 20-50 Years
Class B Felony 6-20 Years
Class C Felony 2-8 Years
Class D Felony ½ – 3 Years
Class A Misdemeanor 0-1 Year
Class B Misdemeanor 0-180 Days
Class C Misdemeanor 0-60 Days

Evansville, Indiana – The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra Board of Directors has renewed the contract of its music director and conductor, Alfred Savia. The three-year contract will begin next season, the 2013-2014 season, which also marks Maestro Savia’s 25th season with the EPO. This contract will take the EPO through 2015-2016, its 81st season.

After the contract was signed, Philharmonic Board President, Christopher Wolking commented, “The Board of Directors of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra is delighted that Maestro Savia will be our music director and conductor through the 2015-16 season. We are truly fortunate to have had him this long. A quality music director combined with our talented musicians has created a great artistic product of which we are all very proud.”

Savia had the following to say regarding the new contract: “When I first began as the Philharmonic’s Music Director in the 1989-90 season, I could not have imagined a tenure of this length. It is only possible because of the incredible musicians of the Orchestra, who keep playing better year after year. I am also so fortunate to have an organization with a huge breadth of constituencies including our Board and administrative staff, Youth Orchestras, Chorus, and three volunteer organizations, all of whom I interact with quite regularly. I am looking forward to even bigger and better things from this wonderful Orchestra in the next three years and to begin with my 25th Anniversary season in 2013-14, for which big plans are already under way!”

About the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra:
The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra is the largest non-profit arts institution in the Tri-State area. Throughout its 78 year history, the Philharmonic has been committed to providing high-quality music education, outreach and entertainment programs for the entire Tri-State.

The Philharmonic is currently in the midst of its 2012-2013 “Passport to Passion” season. The Philharmonic performs concerts from September through May, including a 6-concert Classics Series, 5-concert Pops Series, six educational Young People’s Concerts, Handel’s Messiah by Candlelight, and Tchaikovksy’s The Nutcracker in collaboration with Evansville Ballet. For more information, visit www.evansvillephilharmonic.org.

Evansville, IN – Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Monday, December 17, 2012.

Tori Price Operating a Vehicle with a BAC of .08 Or More – Class C Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Operating a Vehicle as an Habitual Traffic Violator – Class D Felony

Brandon Robertson Possession of a Controlled – Class D Felony
Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person – Class A
Misdemeanor

Michael Thomas, Jr. Possession of Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)

For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Carly Settles at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at csettles@vanderburghgov.org.

Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
SENTENCE CHART

Class Range
Murder 45-65 Years
Class A Felony 20-50 Years
Class B Felony 6-20 Years
Class C Felony 2-8 Years
Class D Felony ½ – 3 Years
Class A Misdemeanor 0-1 Year
Class B Misdemeanor 0-180 Days
Class C Misdemeanor 0-60 Days

INDIANAPOLIS (December 15, 2012) – Governor Mitch Daniels today challenged the graduating class of Indiana University to continually step out of their societal comfort zones to avoid insulating themselves from the less fortunate.

“It’s at times of discomfort that we encounter the new and are taught and challenged and stretched by it. Each of your new commencements, and perhaps especially the toughest of them, will be the times through which you grow the most,” Daniels said.

The governor also urged the graduates that “when your success enables you to assist those less fortunate, as I trust you will do, don’t stop at writing a check. Do it face to face, for your own good as much as those you are helping. And if it’s a little uncomfortable at first, well, that was the idea.”

The full text of the governor’s speech is included below:

Indiana University Commencement

Remarks by Governor Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.
December 15, 2012
Assembly Hall, Bloomington, IN

The first thing you need to know is, I gave President McRobbie a chance to get out of this. I mean, there is no shortage of more interesting speakers he could have invited. Then I went and took a next job at a different university, and not just any university, and so, I thought it might be, well, as the Daniels girls would say, “a bit awkward”.

But in a display of the personal graciousness that is among his hallmarks, and, as I see it, a gesture of the spirit of collaboration that is growing between this great school and its northern cousin, Dr. McRobbie said, no, come on ahead. For his kindness and yours, many thanks.

It’s worth noting on these occasions that we label them “commencement” ceremonies. Not “completion” or “culmination” or “climax” ceremonies, but commencements, and to commence, of course, is not to finish but rather to begin. Today we do celebrate what you outstanding students have completed, but much more so the new lives and adventures you are about to begin.

If you’re a little scared, get used to it, because this is not your last commencement. It’s the first of a series that, for folks your age in this era of life science miracles, will probably extend for six or eight or, who knows, ten decades. Why, even I, at my near-geriatric stage of life, am about to commence to something entirely new. I promise you I’m at least as scared as you are.

That’s only natural. Every commencement means leaving behind the familiar and entering – it will often feel like plunging – into the unknown. A new job, a new city, maybe a new continent, parenthood for sure – each will take you from a comfort zone to a zone of distinct discomfort. I’m here to argue that’s a good thing, something not to dread but to look forward to.

It’s at times of discomfort that we encounter the new and are taught and challenged and stretched by it. Each of your new commencements, and perhaps especially the toughest of them, will be the times through which you grow the most.

College is often the ultimate comfort zone, and now you have to leave it for someplace strange and very different. As you do, let me start you with a word of reassurance, coupled with a caution.

When this event concludes, you will commence membership in a highly important society, and I don’t mean the IU Alumni Association. You are now members of the new American elite. It’s a little bigger than the so-called 1%, but it’s a special, privileged class by any definition.

Unlike elites of the past, it’s not based on an aristocratic name, or inherited wealth, or membership in the political party of a communist or otherwise totalitarian state. The elite of our day is a knowledge elite, comprising those like you who have acquired the skills, knowledge, or at least the credentials of what we call higher education.

In all of history, the marketplace has never conferred so high a premium on cognitive skills, that is, on brains and smarts, as it does today. The data tell us that, on average, you will earn more money, work in safer occupations, and live longer and healthier lives than those without the kind of degrees you are about to receive.

Statistically, you are far more likely to take the actions that produce success in modern life. For instance, you are more likely to practice prudent preventive health. You are far more likely to get married and stay that way, most of you to spouses of similar academic background. That in turn means your children will have greatly increased chances of success themselves.

That’s not to say that your success will come easily. You are more likely to exhibit the qualities of hard work and industriousness that correlate closely with prosperity and leadership. Scholars have found that the factor most directly associated with human fulfillment and happiness is not money or material things but rather what they term “earned success”. That means tangible accomplishment based on personal effort, the kind that generates genuine self-respect. As a group, you are far more likely to achieve it than those outside the knowledge elite.

All these facts are matters of averages and probabilities, not sure things. Your diploma today will not come with a warranty or money-back guarantee inside. (Will it, Michael?) But, odds are, after the inevitable scariness of the first of your series of new lives, you will find yourself in a place of relative security and comfort.

Relative, that is, to that large number of our fellow citizens who will not be joining you in this new elite, and it is about them that I ask you to think for a minute this morning.

Whatever career or geographic or lifestyle changes lie ahead, life will invite you to stay nestled snugly inside one ongoing comfort zone. Unless you take conscious steps to escape it, you may spend your entire adulthood there. I’m talking about the increasing tendency of our new knowledge elite to congregate together, cozily insulated from contact with those less fortunate. Professionally, socially, residentially, and most important attitudinally, today’s new upper class is separating from those different from themselves.

In the most important book of your graduation year, Charles Murray catalogs the ways in which this is occurring. To avoid being misunderstood or misrepresented, his research deals solely with white America. It presents a troubling picture of a society that is, as the book’s title says, “coming apart”. As Murray puts it, “We need to worry about what happens when exceptionally able students hang out only with each other.” And, he goes on, “It is not a problem if truck drivers cannot empathize with the problems of Yale professors. It is a problem if Yale professors, or producers of network news programs, or CEOs of great corporations or presidential advisers cannot empathize with the priorities of truck drivers.”

In this audience are many future leaders of the sort he is describing. You are destined to take up positions of influence in the America to come. What will you do to make sure you are not mentally and emotionally distant from people who do not live near you, work where you do, send their kids to the same schools, and consequently do not look at life in the same way you do?

For the last decade, as a hired hand of the people of this state, I have had literally tens of thousands of personal encounters with Hoosiers of all kinds. The nature of the work naturally brought on many of these experiences, but I also have made it my goal to maximize them, any way I can. I have traveled constantly, to our inner cities and most remote rural spaces and to all the small and mid-sized towns in between, seeking out ordinary citizens and giving them a chance to speak directly, through me, to their government. I’ve ridden motorcycles with a lot of folks you won’t find on this campus or any other.

Most usefully, I have spent all my travel nights not in motels but in Hoosier homes. A few days ago I did so for the 125th and presumably final time, on a dairy farm near the northeastern town of Stroh. You all know Stroh. It’s near Valentine. Not far from Plato. OK, think Ft. Wayne.

Those 125 overnights have been fun. I’ve slept in guest rooms, spare rooms, lots of kids rooms, and sometimes just the living room couch. I’ve gotten lost on morning runs, been bitten by the family dog, and taken a bath when I couldn’t figure out the basement shower. I’ve made lots of new friends. But most of all I’ve learned, in those last couple hours before lights out, about the dreams, problems, and often the fears of folks very different from me and from each other.

You won’t all be lucky enough to be able to mooch on the hospitality of strangers the way a governor can. But I hope you will remember to find some way, some new zone– a bowling league, an ethnic club, a church across town, something–to connect with people unlike yourself and your fellow graduates. When your success enables you to assist those less fortunate, as I trust you will do, don’t stop at writing a check. Do it face to face, for your own good as much as those you are helping.

And if it’s a little uncomfortable at first, well, that was the idea.

The last and most dangerous comfort zone to guard against is the one inside your head. It’s the zone of certitude, the smug or maybe just unthinking confidence that you and those around you have all the answers.

Here, too, today’s world will invite you to isolate yourself, to stay in the zone. It’s never been easier. You can watch only cable news channels that select the stories that seem right to you. You can settle in to the chat rooms or internet sites where everyone agrees with the obvious superiority of your point of view.

Supposedly, college has taught you to resist this temptation, to think critically and to stay open to opinions contrary to your own. I hope that’s so. Did you learn to be suspicious about things that “everyone agrees with?” Did you tune up your b.s. detectors? (That stands for “bogus statistics” but they can help you guard against indoctrination, too.) Did you learn that someone’s disagreement with your ideas is not a character flaw or a cause for personal animosity?

Most important, did you learn, as Ben Franklin urged, “to doubt just a bit your own infallibility?” The simple wisdom of Lord Keynes when he said “When I find I’m wrong, I change my mind. What do you do?”

I have never found “oops” a hard word to say. Someone who never finds an occasion to use it either never tried anything bold or risky, and therefore never made a big mistake, or never considered that someone else might have a better argument. I suggest keeping “oops” in your vocabulary. Take it into that most important discomfort zone, the one where you reexamine your own convictions regularly, in the light of changing facts and new circumstances.

On behalf of the taxpayers of this state, who have co-invested with you and your families in the excellent education IU provides, thank you. Our nation, and this state in particular, needs more college graduates and the abilities they contribute to our collective betterment. So you have already performed a first act of civic leadership by earning the degree you’ll collect in a few minutes.

Now please earn it over and over, in all the future commencements ahead, by seeking out and relishing new zones of discomfort where the greatest satisfaction, achievement, and contributions to the common good await you.

Congratulations and may God speed.

WHITING, Ind., Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — As the classic holiday song goes,
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” Or is it? A new survey reveals
that some aspects of the holiday season can be irk-inducing. The survey,
conducted by coupon site CouponCabin.com, reveals people’s biggest holiday pet
peeves, with traffic congestion and crowding topping the list. This survey was
conducted online nationwide by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin.com
from November 30th – December 4th, 2012, among 2,691 U.S. adults aged 18 and
older.

While traffic congestion and crowding are the top holiday pet peeves for 52
percent of U.S. adults, a variety of other holiday happenings made the list:

– How early the holiday decorations, sales and store displays start – 46
percent
– All anyone thinks about is gifts, not the spirit of the holidays – 42
percent
– People who cut in line – 35 percent
– Travel prices being too high – 28 percent
– Too much holiday music on radio stations or in stores – 23 percent
– Pressure to give gifts to more people than I really want to – 22 percent
– When people leave their Christmas tree/lights up until late winter
(February or March) – 16 percent
– People who double dip at holiday parties – 12 percent
– Stores that don’t give out boxes – 10 percent
– Family members or friends who don’t bring anything when I’m hosting a
party – 6 percent
– Other – 6 percent
While the holiday season’s pressures can frazzle many people, others stay
festive no matter what. The majority (89 percent) report they have holiday pet
peeves, but more than one-in-ten (11 percent) said they don’t have any.

“The holidays are typically the busiest time of year for many people, leaving
them prone to burnout and frustration,” said Jackie Warrick, President at
CouponCabin.com. “Make sure to carve out time in your day to take care of your
own needs, as well as reflect on what the true meaning of the holidays are to
you.”

Whether it’s a pet peeve or a frustration, when asked what is their least
favorite part of the holiday season, a random sampling of U.S. adults surveyed
said the following:

– Thanksgiving being forgotten.
– Added pressure at work to cram everything in and get everything done
before the end of the year, right when you want to relax and focus on
the season.
– Burnout! By the time Christmas is here I’m ready for it to be over.
– Taking down the Christmas tree and putting away all the decorations.
– Annoying TV commercials, like the one with the car wrapped in a giant
bow as a gift.
– Everyone feels the need to be artificially friendly.
– Hangovers.
– So many parties and demands on my time then in January, things are dead.
– Spending money on gifts that should really be used for bills or savings.
– The frenzy to purchase the latest electronic gadget.
– Weight gain caused by the vast amounts of food and snacks that we buy,
make or are surrounded by.
– Having to go to office parties.
– Using my credit card when I prefer to pay cash for items and usually
charge some gifts during this time.
– All the same songs are overplayed.
– The political debates my family gets into after we’ve all had too much
eggnog.
– Putting the lights on my house.
– Realizing how fast another year went by and that my children have gotten
old enough that the Christmas “magic” is no longer there.
– Saying goodbye to friends and relatives.

http://www.couponcabin.com/press-releases/

Survey Methodology:
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive
on behalf of Coupon Cabin from November 30th – December 4th, 2012, among 2,691
adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability
sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be
calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables,
please contact Allison Kaplan, akaplan@couponcabin.com.

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