St. Mary’s Medical Center Free Family Fun Night –

Free Family Fun Night is made possible with support from St. Mary’s Medical Center. The public is admitted FREE six times per year. The focus for 2013 is “Building Healthy Kids” and a new theme will be explored on each of the six free nights. Last admission to the museum is 7:30 p.m. The dates and themes for Free Family Fun Night are as follows:

February 7, Children’s Dental Health
April 4, Stress Awareness
June 6, Safety (i.e. bicycle safety, sun safety, seat belts)
August 1, Children’s eye health
October 3, Children’s Environmental Health
December 5, Germs! Disease Prevention (Handwashing awareness & Vitamin D)

www.cmoekids.com

The University of Evansville will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 21 with a daylong series of events – including a re-enactment of the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., the William G. and Rose M. Mays Martin Luther King Jr. Lectureship, and a viewing of the 57th presidential inauguration.

The day’s schedule of events is as follows. All events are free and open to the public.

10:30 a.m.: Viewing of the 57th presidential inauguration, Bernhardt Atrium, Schroeder Family School of Business Administration Building. For only the second time in history, the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the public presidential inauguration fall on the same day. The inauguration ceremony for President Barack Obama will be shown on the main screen in the Bernhardt Atrium.

Noon-1 p.m.: Excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic speeches will air on the University of Evansville’s radio station, 91.5 WUEV.

1 p.m.: Walk for Justice, leaves from the Bernhardt Atrium, Schroeder Family School of Business Administration Building. This year marks the University of Evansville’s 25th annual re-enactment of the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, and 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the original march. The route will cut through the middle of campus then follow Walnut Street, Alvord Boulevard, and Lincoln Avenue back to campus.

7 p.m.: William G. and Rose M. Mays Martin Luther King Jr. Lectureship, Eykamp Hall (Room 251), Ridgway University Center. Through the generosity of William G. and Rose M. Mays, this lectureship funds the annual keynote speaker during the University of Evansville’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.

This year’s lecture features the Honorable Timothy C. Evans, chief judge of the Cook County (Illinois) Circuit Court, one of the largest unified court systems in the world. Only the fourth person to serve as chief judge of the Cook County Circuit Court, Evans also is the first African American to serve in the position.

During his 10 years as chief judge, Evans has brought sweeping reforms to the court that are both innovative and compassionate. Among his efforts are changes to the bail setting process, the creation of court-wide divisions dedicated to hearing only domestic violence matters and elder law matters, and the expansion of problem solving courts dedicated to mental health treatment, veterans support, drug treatment, and support to women charged with prostitution.

Evans is a 1965 graduate of the University of Illinois and received his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago in 1969. In 2009, he became the first judge from Illinois to receive the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence from the National Center for State Courts. The award is one of the most prestigious judicial honors in the country and is presented by by the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Source: Evansville.edu

As a new year begins, I would like to thank all of the citizens that have communicated with city government in 2012. Whether it was submitting a concern through the new Citizen Concern mobile smartphone application or attending a public meeting, your input is welcomed and key to the future direction of our community.
Since taking office, it has been our goal to improve the customer service of your government, and while local government may not be able to solve every issue, we are committed to continuous improvement. Gauging from most of the feedback we have received, our efforts have been well received, and I commend our city employees for their hard work.
We hear from citizens daily through the Citizen Concern app, logging more than 500 submittals since the application launched in September. Citizens still have the option of calling our office to submit concerns, suggestions or ask questions. All of these contacts are recorded and tasked to the appropriate department or non-city entity to be properly addressed.
One of the most rewarding aspects of being Mayor is hearing about positive interactions between residents and local government. For example, a mother of two young girls emailed me after reading about a meeting in the Mayor’s office with school officials to discuss school safety in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shooting to offer her input as a parent. Our office received numerous calls thanking Evansville firefighters, police officers and emergency personnel for their swift response to a three-alarm fire at Grandview Tower. Jerry Lawrence sent me a letter he had published in the Courier & Press praising an Evansville Water & Sewer Department maintenance crew for repairs made to a ruptured water pipe in his backyard, comparing their work to “a fine orchestra performing a symphony.”
Many residents have taken advantage of the Travelling City Hall program, where all department heads such as the Police Chief, Fire Chief, City Engineer and Parks Director, to name a few, are available after regular business hours to meet citizens at different locations throughout the community. We welcomed the participation of the United Neighborhoods of Evansville in this program and look forward to growing it. Any citizen can attend and have one-on-one discussions with any department head, including myself, regarding any issue. The next Traveling City Hall meeting will be on Jan. 30 at Greater St. James Missionary Baptist Church, 645 S. Elliott St., from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
One of the reasons I ran for Mayor is the perception that local government didn’t listen and operated outside of the public eye. Through a partnership with Leadership Evansville, a visioning process called VOICE was initiated in 2012 and will continue forward, with meetings across the city seeking to have an interactive conversation with participants. In addition to receiving feedback on resident’s preferred vision for Evansville’s future, a goal of changing the tone of civic dialogue is important. VOICE volunteers are reviewing ideas from all of the previous meetings to identify major themes. Once themes are determined, they will be presented to our administration for further action. The next public VOICE
meeting is set for February 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Nativity Catholic Church, 3635 Pollack Ave. More information on the program can be found at www.evansvillevoice.com.
Whether it’s on the local, state or federal level, it is clear that citizens want their government officials to work together, regardless of their political affiliation. In an effort to achieve that goal and stay attentive to citizen concerns made to their council representative, I’ve maintained an open door policy for all members of City Council and will continue to do so.
In a recent speech at the NAACP annual dinner, I spoke about what I termed the “behavioral cliff,” while others in Washington were only concerned with the fiscal cliff. My point was, in order to move our community forward, it is imperative that we all engage in a positive, productive dialogue about issues facing our city. To those with strong views on an issue, I invite anyone to contact us directly, rather than criticize anonymously.
For information or dates on any of the mentioned meetings or ways to contact city government, please visit the revamped website at www.evansville.in.gov or call the Mayor’s office at 436-4962.
Looking forward, it is my intent to continue operating city government in a transparent and open manner and I encourage you to become civically engaged.

Evansville Police have arrested a juvenile for the December 24th burglary at the Lincoln Ave Subway. He is being held at the Youth Care Center.

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Newburgh man after he attempted to break into a residence in a Northeastern Vanderburgh County. Prior to Sheriff’s Deputies’ arrival, the homeowner fired a pistol at the intruder, missing him. The man fled the scene and was apprehended a short while later, as he attempted to break into the residence a second time while Sheriff’s Deputies were inside speaking with the resident. Trent Alan Thompson, age 21, was arrested and charged with Residential Entry, Criminal Mischief and Public Intoxication. He has since posted a $5,000 cash bond and was released from custody. No charges will be filed on the homeowner.

On January 12th, at approximately 11:56 PM hours, the homeowner called 911 and reported that a man was attempting to break into her residence through a glass patio door. The Call Taker at Central Dispatch could hear the sounds the man was making as he attempted to break in. Day had retrieved a pistol from within the residence prior to calling 911. As she was on the line, she fired a shot at the intruder who had not yet made entry. Deputies arrived within 2 minutes of dispatch and found that the intruder had fled the scene. Two deputies remained inside the residence while other deputies and an EPD canine began a search of the area. Less than 15 minutes later, the deputies inside the residence heard what sounded like glass breaking coming from the garage. The deputies, as well as the EPD canine handler whose dog had tracked away then back to the residence, found Thompson attempting to enter the residence through the man door of the attached garage. He had just broken the window on the door and was taken into custody without incident.

Sheriff’s investigators were able to determine that Thompson had been drinking approximately 2 hours earlier in the evening at the Hornet’s Nest restraint with his wife. He became angry after watching a football game and left the restaurant on foot. Thompson stated that he believed he was at a friend’s residence when he was arrested.

Trent Alan Thompson, 21, Newburgh, IN

Residential Entry Class D Felony/Criminal Mischief Class D Felony/Public Intoxication Class B Misdemeanor