Firefighter Matt Garnett, a department veteran just shy of 10 years, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant this morning in a brief ceremony at EFD headquarters. Garnett’s badge was presented by Fire Chief Mike Connelly who then followed up with a congratulatory handshake for the new Lieutenant.

Matt has been active in Firefighter’s Local 357, is a member of their PAC Committee and co-chaired last year’s EFD Fall Festival committee. Matt is also on the Board of Directors for 911 Gives Hope. He has been assigned toQuint 16 since November 2004.

Lieutenant Garnett’s new assignment will be on one of EFD’s newest truck, Engine 4.

The City County Observer has been advised that Karen Ragland the candidate for District 1 school board seat is a teacher at JOSHUA ACADEMY, INC. an Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Charter School. As is codified in the two Indiana Codes below as a certified teacher and an employee of a charter school under contract to the EVSC make her ineligible to serve on the school board.

It would appear she can run for the office but if she is elected she would have to quit her teaching job prior to being seated on the school board. As Mrs. Ragland is currently on the school board that presents a problem similar in nature to the election and service of Bix Branson who is geographically ineligible to hold the seat that he has served in for nearly four years.

At this point 2 of the members of the Vanderburgh County School Board are technically not eligible to serve.

There is a challenge to Mrs. Ragland’s candidacy filed today and is linked below.

School Board Challenge

Applicable Laws

IC 20-26-4-11
Ineligibility of teachers and noncertificated employees
Sec. 11. In addition to any other eligibility requirements for members of the governing body of a school corporation as set forth in law, an individual who is employed as a teacher or as a noncertificated employee (as defined in IC 20-29-2-11) of the school corporation may not be a member of the governing body of the school corporation.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.10.
IC 20-29-2-4
“Certificated employee”

Sec. 4. “Certificated employee” means a person:
(1) whose contract with the school corporation requires that the person hold a license or permit from the division of professional standards of the department under IC 20-28; or
(2) who is employed as a teacher by a charter school established under IC 20-24.
As added by P.L.1-2005, SEC.13. Amended by P.L.1-2007, SEC.145.

In March, the Wall Street Journal reported :

General Motors Co. will idle production of its Chevrolet Volt battery-powered car for five weeks beginning this month because of slow sales amid an effort to boost the vehicle’s consumer appeal.

Launched last year with great fanfare, the Volt has had a rocky start as sales stalled, and the car became a lightning rod for critics of the Obama administration’s auto-industry bailout and support for alternative energy.

GM said around 1,300 workers at the Hamtramck, Mich., factory where the Volt is built will be out of work between March 19 and April 23, a spokesman said. The plant had just resumed production on Feb. 6 after a prolonged holiday shutdown.

Mark Reuss, GM’s North American chief, said in an interview the auto maker remains committed to the Volt and is taking a number of steps to improve lagging sales. GM will launch a new national ad campaign this month that features Volt owners praising the car. It also recently dropped the monthly cost of leasing the vehicles to $350 from $399 for a 36-month lease.

But a few short months later, GM is idling the plant yet again. That’s hardly a surprise. GM, under pressure from the Obama administration, had a target of selling 45,000 Volts this year. Actual sales? Around 10,600 sales through July. This was – triple the 2,870 sold in 2011, but only because California gave the car an artificial boost by allowing lone Volt drivers on the car pool lanes.

But what is GM planning to do when the plant is idled? Retooling it to manufacture cars that people actually want and can afford – even without the $7,500 subsidy that the $40,000 Volt gets. Reports Reuters:

GM…will continue to “match supply with demand” for both the Volt and the Chevrolet Malibu sedan that is also made at the plant. The automaker declined to specify how long the plant will be closed.

During the shutdown, GM will do some retooling and other work to prepare for production early next year of the 2014 Chevrolet Impala sedan. The plant will begin building preproduction prototypes of the redesigned Impala this fall.

Welcome to President Obama’s green economy where products that sell can’t be made – and the ones that are made, don’t sell.

EVANSVILLE, IN – Mayor Lloyd Winnecke commended city and county emergency personnel for their swift response to a three-alarm fire Sunday afternoon at Grandview Towers that resulted in one death and the evacuation of all 170 apartments in the building.

Central Dispatch received the first report of a fire at Grandview Towers at 5:42 p.m. Sunday and immediately alerted emergency personnel. The first fire units arrived at 1000 Fulton Parkway at
5:46 p.m. and were quickly joined by units from the Evansville Police Department and a car from the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office.

Within 30 minutes, buses from the Metropolitan Evansville Transit System (METS) and representatives from the American Red Cross were on the scene providing assistance and transporting residents to restrooms at the METS bus terminal and later to an emergency shelter at Red Cross headquarters.

“First, I would like to offer my condolences to the family of Gwendolyn Hunt who did not survive the accidental fire,” Mayor Winnecke said. “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our first responders and the American Red Cross for their quick response to blaze. Firefighters arrived on the scene within minutes, preventing the fire from causing greater damage, and the professionalism of all involved helped to bring calm to a chaotic situation.”

Bonnie Poag had just left her mother’s apartment on the 10th floor at Grandview Towers when she received a call about the fire. Poag returned to the apartments to find her mother outside. Poag called the Mayor’s Office Monday morning to thank firefighters and Evansville police for getting her mother out of the building safely and going back inside to retrieve her medications.

GOP Breakfast Announcement:

Starting this September, we will be implementing some changes to our monthly breakfast meetings:

LOCATION – we will be meeting at the Sirloin Stockade, 4610 Bellemeade Ave, Evansville, just west of Green River Road. Enter through the front (south) entrance. Parking is available on both sides of and in front of the building.

COST – in order to defray the cost of the space and the food, we will be charging a $10/person breakfast fee. You will pay at the door (cash or check) and will be given a food ticket. When the breakfast line opens, you will hand your ticket to the attendant at the line, and you will be free to go through the buffet. Drinks (coffee, juice, etc.) are free and unlimited.

RESERVATIONS – because we will be the only group in the restaurant, the cooks need to know how many people are attending as far in advance as possible. Therefore, we are asking that if you are planning to attend, you RSVP at least 3 days prior to the breakfast. For instance, if the breakfast is on the 15th, you would RSVP by the 12th. You can RSVP by calling party HQ at 812-425-8207, or by emailing Ian (ianhauer@gmail.com), Mary Jo (beamerjo59@gmail.com), or the party (vandygop@gmail.com).

We will continue to hold our breakfasts on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Our next breakfast is Saturday, September 15th at 8:00am. Doors will open at 7:30am. Our speakers will be Congressman Larry Bucshon and coroner candidate Gary Gulledge.

On May 20, 2012, a new Hyacinth macaw chick hatched at Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden. Both protective parents watched as their chick emerged from the nest box for the public to see in early August. This new addition to the Zoo’s collection is the second chick hatched by this pair of parents at Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden. In the wild, Hyacinth macaws can be found in the forests of Central South America. Visitors are able to view the Hyacinth macaw chick in the Zoo’s Discovery Center. This largest member of the macaw family is considered an endangered species, largely due to their popularity as pets. This species of macaw is protected by the Brazilian government, where the macaw is found in the wild, and is listed as Appendix 1 of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). A CITES listing restricts the ability for individuals to sell this species internationally thus protecting the species in its home of Brazil. In 2011, only two Hyacinth macaw chick hatchings were reported in zoos; one in France and one in Indianapolis.

On Thursday August 23rd, 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio delivered a message in support of freedom of speech, issuing a permanent injunction against the University of Cincinnati’s unconstitutional policy. Interestingly, this ruling came a single day after UC President Gregory H. Williams suddenly resigned, giving no explanation other than a reference to “personal reasons” for his abrupt departure.

UC was given notice that their policies had jumped the constitutional shark on many occasions. After all, The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) first warned UC about its policy being unconstitutional back in 2007. The now struck down policy had been in place for many years before that? Thursday’s injunction prevents UC from limiting student speech in outdoor areas unless the restriction is “narrowly tailored to serve a compelling University interest.”

Link to Federal Court Injunction:

Final Judgment of Permanent Injunction U of Cincinnati