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11 Things in Evansville’s 2012 that were exemplary examples of Stupidity and Poor Public Policy

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Name this City Council Member

11 Things in Evansville’s 2012 that were exemplary examples of Stupidity and Poor Public Policy

Maingate Booze Fest: In a gathering of Democrats at the Maingate Bar in downtown Evansville, the integrity of the City Council’s adherence to Sunshine Laws and a one Councilman’s career were compromised last February in a Booze Fest fuelled and paid for by and Indianapolis based contractor. A family feud exploded into name calling, denials, and tattle tale behavior in an evening more fit for Animal House or the Dukes of Hazzard. Such behavior is unbecoming of public officials and should never happen again. If it does the CCO will show less mercy than we did in 2012 and in 2010 when the CVB hosted a similar Booze Fest at Biagi’s.

Earthcare Energy Fiasco: From the job buying announcement to slipping Earthcare $200,000 through a unpublicized loan committee without so much as giving the City Council the courtesy of notice this was one of the sneakiest most inept examples of economic development of the decade. If we comprised a list of the dumbest and most deceptive practices for the entire existence of the City of Evansville the Earthcare Energy fiasco would make the top ten. To this day the people of Evansville are owed $186,000 as a result of this READY, FIRE, AIM idiocy. From the lame vetting, to the sneaking of a loan, up until the hour that Mayor Winnecke cleared his head and found a way to end this travesty, thinking people in Evansville were astonished at the numbskullery of everyone involved in this “attraction” effort. It remains to be seen if or when the people of Evansville will get their $186,000 back.

Mourdock’s Gaffe: In one of those statements that cannot be taken back Evansville’s Richard Mourdock went from a Senator in waiting to a political pariah. It was a sad moment for a good man and for SW Indiana as we have not had a US Senator from here for many years. Mr. Mourdock became the poster child for not allowing early voting with his gaffe that makes Vice President Joe Biden look measured and conservative in his impromptu speeches.

City of Evansville’s Accounting Nightmare: Who would have ever even dreamed that the Weinzapfel Administration would be outed for not balancing the books of the City of Evansville for the entirety of 2011? Not only did the Office of the Controller preside over a software integration that was not proven to work before the other one was decommissioned but it has now tainted the financial reputation of two administrations and is still not completely integrated. No consequences have been administered by any of the people involved at the board level or the employee level. Evansville in 2012 may have lost the title of the most obese city in America but the City Controller’s office would certainly rank beside Stockton and San Bernardino as the “Dumbest City in America”.

EPA Sewer Planning Slip: In 2010 the EPA won a summary judgment against the City of Evansville over the discharge of raw sewage into the Ohio River. This judgment allowed the City 24 months to propose a solution to the problem that could be implemented within 20 years. The city failed to deliver and then hired a firm owned by the person who failed to deliver to make a plan happen in a 6 month extension that has not yet been granted. This is another of those failures that just makes your head spin with disbelief. Is anyone managing anything in the Civic Center?

Johnson Controls Lazarus Appeal: The Weinzapfel Administration stuck many albatrosses around the neck of the Winnecke Administration and this $54 Million unnecessary project is the most expensive albatross that there is. The IURC denied the City’s application to go forward with the financing of this project that any sane administration would have celebrated and let it die. The Winnecke Administration however breathed the breath of life back into this deal and raised from the dead like Lazarus through the appeal process. Sometimes sleeping dogs should be left to lie and this was a perfect opportunity to do so. Instead, political capital and good money has been squandered to do the fiscal equivalency of bringing Jack the Ripper back to life. Things like this make many people wonder if the old puppet master Weinzapfel has his tentacles attached to current Mayor Winnecke.

Roberts Stadium Debacle: What was advertised as a real committee to find a productive use for Roberts Stadium turned out to be nothing more than a kangaroo court packed with enough lackeys to get the stadium condemned by neglect. The demolition of Roberts Stadium is an act of destruction of public property that should be prosecutable. It is an example of a single minded act by an administration that is mind numbingly devoid creativity outside of a few easily implemented ideas as praised in another article. This also is an indictment on the investment community of Evansville for not coming forward with a productive use of a perfectly acceptable facility.

Infatuation with Building Parks: Okay, for the ten dozenth time, how can we build more parks if we can’t maintain the ones that we have? Are we locusts consuming everything in our path or are we human beings with the intelligence to provide good stewardship for existing parks. So far it is looking like locusts. When will the cycle of neglect be broken?

Closing of the FREE DENTAL CLINIC: The free dental clinic that was established to serve the poor and indigent was closed in 2012 for lack of funding. Such clinics save more money than they cost in provided an ounce of prevention to avoid a pound of cure at a later time when dental problems land in the emergency room for the public to pay for. It seems as though Evansville’s penchant for the neglect of maintenance in the parks, Roberts, and Mesker has infected the minds that decide on the dental clinic too. We expect that soon someone will propose building a FREE DENTAL CLINIC for $10 Million and neglecting to appropriate any operational expenses. That would be par for the course.

Mesker Amphitheatre: First we were told that Mesker could not open in 2012 because $100,000 in painting and repairs were needed. A few months later it was revealed that to be “nice” Mesker needs a facelift that will cost over $20 Million. Do our elected leaders have it ingrained in their minds that the people of this community are so stupid that Forrest Gump would be the smartest person on the voting rolls? The Mesker fiasco is not only an indicator of ignorance of condition is it one of oblivious idiocy. How can this happen in a place that actually has a school system?

Financial Results of the Ford Center: The Ford Center is a beautiful facility that has overachieved its highest projections in terms of attracting people to downtown Evansville. It was announced last summer that the Ford Center was profitable to the tune of $300,000 a couple of months before it was announced that it had lost $500,000. Which is it and how can such disparate performance numbers be released? It seems as though the financial projections used to gain some public support to build the Ford Center are not rooted in reality. We are looking forward to the audit of the construction to see if that is as far out of line as the operating results.

IS IT TRUE December 31, 2012

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE December 31, 2012

IS IT TRUE the Courier and Press has made a New Year’s resolution to clean up the comment section on their website by strictly enforcing the multi page agreement that all posters agree to while establishing an account?…if anyone reading this actually read every word of that agreement before signing it and knows all of the forbidden things then please let us know?…that recently a judge ordered a website in Indianapolis that allows anonymous comments to disclose the name of the person who made some comments?…while the CCO has an agreement as well we prefer to err on the side of freedom of expression and have no intention to remove posts for technicalities, we do have rules and have taken down some posts that are intentionally insulting or threatening?…we expect that all such websites have had to deal with words that constitute harassment and terroristic threatening?…taking those types of posts down and forwarding them to the sheriff is entirely appropriate?…we however expect that the CP will systematically censor posts and posters as it has in many cases that we are aware of based on the content of the opinion?…we have no intention to do that unless the posts begin to borderline on obsession?…we therefore thank the CP for what will in all likelihood be a traffic increase for the CCO from posters who do not want to be nickeled and dimed over technicalities?

IS IT TRUE the topic of gun ownership and the Rodney King riots came up over the weekend?…this is one instance where it was clearly in the best interest of private citizens to possess automatic weapons to protect their lives and their businesses?…that during the late 1980’s and early 90’s there was much tension in Los Angeles between the black community and the Korean community?…both sides were guilty of pettiness and random violence leading up to the riots?…over-reaction to shoplifting and general disrespect lead to the animosity between these two groups?…at one point in the riots a crowd formed with the purpose to go to Koreatown and burn down everything in sight?…what happened that night lead to the end of the riots?…much to the surprise the Korean merchants were heavily armed with automatic weapons and showed their hand early by spraying the street in front of the approaching mob?…this gave the mob in the street something to think about and the assault never happened the way it was planned?…that shortly thereafter President George Bush came to LA and stated “we will do what is necessary to stop this”, Edward James Olmos picked up a broom and began to clean a sidewalk, and thousands of private citizens followed his lead?…the end of the LA riots began when the Korean merchants sprayed the streets in front of the approaching mob?…if not for having a significant armed resistance Koreatown would have been raised to the ground?…here is one case where private ownership of automatic weapons turned out to be a positive thing?

IS IT TRUE that the fiscal cliff will most certainly be hit at the stroke of midnight tonight?…at this point President Obama, Congressman Boehner, and even Senator Harry Reid seem to have punted or failed in their half hearted attempts to reach a compromise that wouldn’t work anyway?…what we have now is Senator McConnell of Kentucky who is basically the self proclaimed leader of obstruction negotiating with Vice President Joe Biden who is a wind-up toy full of gaffes as the last two people of authority that are even willing to have a conversation about this topic?…we would be in much better hands if we could get the ghosts of Henry Clay and John Adams involved as opposed to the minority leader of obstruction and the laughing hyena of Delaware?…if 2012 is any indicator of the future capacity of the United States of America to self govern we are all hosed forever?…most of the comments by these stewards of the fiscal cliff would probably be censored by the CCO or the CP if they got into a posting war here?

IS IT TRUE we wish all of our readers a 2013 that is better than 2012?

IS IT TRUE December 29, 2012

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE that there were numerous schemes developed and implemented by the Obama Administration in its early days that were supposed to jumpstart the economy?…that the program known as cash for clunkers had no positive effect on hiring or corporate profits, destroyed some perfectly good vehicles, and redistributed printed tax money from Prius drivers and other taxpayers into the hands of people who had chosen to keep driving old cars that polluted and got poor mileage?…Cash for Clunkers was one of the most uninformed government programs ever launched?…there was also a program where people could be granted a tax credit for buying a home that was supposed to prop up the housing market?…that program also failed to achieve its goals and only served to redistribute borrowed taxpayer dollars to opportunists who were in the housing market at the right time?

IS IT TRUE that the Obama Administration has finally said something that has inspired vast spending without a government program being put into place and has actually increased profits, hiring, and activity for a single industry?…all of the chest pounding about gun control has set off a Christmas shopping binge for guns and ammunition that this country has never seen?…gun shops all over the country have stopped answering their phones, are low on inventory, and have hired people to assist customers at a level that has not been seen since beanie babies and cabbage patch kids were flying off of the shelves?…the way to a prosperous economy if the rest of the business world responds the way the gun industry has is to get the President of the United States to threaten to ban more products?…if the President threatened to ban basketballs and tennis shoes we expect there would be massive panic buying of those items?…if the President threatened to ban condoms or skittles there would be a rush to hoard every one in sight?…the key to prosperity and recovery seems not to be in STIMULUS PLANS but in THREATENED BANS OF TARGETED PRODUCTS?…the ultimate stimulus for the inspiration of hiring may be a threat to freeze staff levels for the next three years?

IS IT TRUE that some of our readers have added to the list of faux pas that were committed by the City of Evansville in 2012?…these suggestions include the closing of the FREE DENTAL CLINIC, the fiasco thrust upon the EVANSVILLE RESCUE MISSION by overzealous proponents of equal opportunity employment laws where that remedy was not appropriate, the Mesker Amphitheatre unwelcome $100,000 in neglect that turned into over $20 Million in needed repairs, and the flip flop (we made $300,000 oh no we didn’t we lost $500,000) financial results of the Ford Center?…on Monday we will be publishing more details about the fiascos of 2012?

Attorney General files suit to recover $143K in public funds owed to Chandler, Ind.

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Zoeller seeks repayment by former clerk-treasurer to reimburse public treasury

INDIANAPOLIS – Today Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s Office filed a lawsuit against a former clerk-treasurer of the Town of Chandler, Ind., who misappropriated public funds by purchasing home electronics, computer equipment and vehicle batteries using the town’s credit card. The Attorney General’s lawsuit seeks recovery of more than $143,000 in public funds, fees and penalties owed to the town government due to former clerk-treasurer Timothy D. Osha’s misappropriation.

The State’s lawsuit, filed today in Warrick County Circuit Court in Boonville, Ind., seeks $143,010.36 as well as treble damages, costs and attorneys fees from Osha, a Chandler resident. Osha resigned from office as town clerk-treasurer in October, and earlier this month Osha also was criminally charged by prosecutors with theft and fraud.

“It is an affront to public trust when an elected official whose duties included managing public funds is accused of misusing those funds. Misappropriation in public offices for personal gain will not be tolerated and we will use the legal means at our disposal to obtain repayment from this defendant so the town treasury can be reimbursed,” Zoeller said.

In an audit report issued December 10, the State Board of Accounts (SBoA) found that between January 2008 until his resignation in October, Osha used the town government’s credit card to purchase various personal electronics, including Gamer Extreme videogame equipment, six remote controls, three TV tuners, various software packages, a motorcycle battery, golf cart battery and ATV batteries, an Apple MacBook and three Apple iPads, headphones, three notebook computers and three laptops. Since Osha’s purchases using town funds were personal and not for town government, the audit found he must reimburse $23,633.51. Additionally, Osha owes the town $310.34 for a carpet cleaner purchased with town funds but not located among the town’s equipment.

Also, the SBoA audit found numerous instances of bookkeeping errors that occurred during the time Osha was clerk-treasurer and in charge of the town’s finances, including failing to file tax withholdings. Late tax payments to the Internal Revenue Service and Indiana Department of Revenue and late unemployment insurance payments to Indiana Department of Workforce Development resulted in late fees, penalties and interest being charged to the town. The State’s lawsuit demands that Osha repay the late fees, penalties and interest, totaling $79,266.69.

When it learned of possible bookkeeping issues with the elected clerk-treasurer, the Chandler Town Council requested a State Board of Accounts audit. The investigation and audit of the incomplete records incurred another $39,799.82 in auditing costs, for which the Attorney General’s Office seeks repayment from Osha.

Today the Attorney General’s Office also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order asking the Warrick County Circuit Court to freeze Osha’s assets – including a house, five vehicles and bank and retirement accounts. Judge David Kelley granted the temporary restraining order and scheduled a hearing January 7, 2013, on the State’s motion for a preliminary injunction. If granted, the injunction would prevent Osha from selling, transferring or concealing the property until the underlying lawsuit is resolved to preserve assets that could be recovered later to reimburse the town for the amounts misappropriated.

In the State’s underlying complaint to recover public funds, Zoeller asks the court to enter a civil judgment against Osha. The Attorney General then could pursue a monetary judgment through collections, and could seek to attach liens on property, garnish wages or take any other actions a creditor could take against a debtor to collect on a debt.

Also named as defendants are two bonding companies, Western Surety Company of Sioux Falls, S.D., and Auto-Owners Insurance Company of Indianapolis, which at different times wrote different surety bonds on Osha for $15,000 or $30,000 of coverage. Such bonds serve as a type of insurance policy against theft by an official. By naming the companies in the lawsuit, the State seeks to redeem the surety bonds to partially reimburse the Town of Chandler for the amount owed. Any portion not covered by bonds would be Osha’s personal responsibility.

Earlier this month, prosecutors criminally charged Osha with theft and fraud, both Class D felonies, and he awaits trial in the criminal charges. Decisions about filing criminal charges in audit cases are solely the jurisdiction of county prosecutors, not the Attorney General. Whether a public official is civilly responsible for repaying misappropriated funds is a separate issue from whether they are criminally responsible for a loss.

Through his role as lawyer for state government, the Attorney General has legal jurisdiction to file civil lawsuits based on State Board of Accounts audits. Through such lawsuits, Attorney General Zoeller’s Office since January 2009 has collected approximately $2.4 million from former officials named in SBoA audits as reimbursement for amounts misappropriated.

NOTE: Attached is the complaint to recover public funds the Attorney General’s Office filed today in Warrick County Circuit Court against Timothy D. Osha.

The State Board of Accounts certified audit report B41501 of the Town of Chandler is at this link: http://www.in.gov/sboa/WebReports/B41501.pdf

Congressman Larry Bucshon: The Senate Must Act

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(Evansville, IN) – Congressman Larry Bucshon (IN-08) released the following comment in regards to the U.S. Senate’s inaction to prevent the “fiscal cliff” from occurring.
Congressman Bucshon (IN-08) states:

“While the Republican controlled U.S. House of Representatives has acted on two separate occasions to prevent massive tax increases and across the board spending cuts from taking effect on January 1st, the U.S. Senate continues playing politics and holding ransom the financial future of hardworking Americans. The U.S. Senate should take immediate action on the House passed bills.

“As the U.S. Constitution states, all bills raising revenues must originate in the U.S. House. The current bill passed by the U.S. Senate does not meet the constitutional requirement and has not left their chamber. Sen. Harry Reid‘s call for the U.S. House to vote on their bill is political grandstanding and a disingenuous attempt to mislead the American people. The only course of action for the Senate to take is to act on the House passed bills.

“I, like my House colleagues, stand ready to take action once the Senate ends the political theater, adheres to the Constitution, and passes or amends the House legislation to prevent tax increases on middle class Americans and small businesses.”

Greg Hager to Speak on the Willard Library Expansion Project

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When: Tuesday 8 January 2013 6:30 PM

Where: Willard Library – Bayard Room on the Second Floor

What: Monthly Meeting

A drawing for an attendance prize will be awarded at the close of the meeting… you must be present to win.

The Tri-State Genealogical Society will have a brief business meeting followed by our program:

TSGS has announced that the program will feature Greg Hager, he has been employed by Willard Library for 20 years, 19 of those years as the Library Director. 2013 marks Greg’s 30th year of working in libraries. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rio Grande College and his Master of Library Science from Indiana University. Greg and his wife, Christina, are proud parents of four children ranging in ages 4 – 16. The topic of his program is:

The Willard Library Building Expansion Project

This is a program you don’t want to miss. There are exciting changes and development coming to our library. This promises to be a very informative program.

You do not have to be a member to come and participate at the society’s monthly meetings (except, no meetings in July and August).

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This time of the year, weather conditions may cause the society to cancel meetings… the decision to cancel usually is determined the day of the meeting, providing short notice. Since a bad weather system may develop later in the day (or that night), check our blog (http://tsgsblog.blogspot.com/) for cancellation notice or call Willard Library (812-425-4309).

IS IT TRUE December 28, 2012

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE December 28, 2012

IS IT TRUE the City of Chicago just recorded its 500th murder for 2012 and there are three days to go?…this is a 15% increase over the total for all of 2011?…we are sitting on baited breath for the scholarly reports on how the gun ban has worked during its first year at reducing homicides for the City of the Big Shoulders?

IS IT TRUE that the biggest failure on the part of government during 2012 is not in Evansville, Indiana?…the distinction for colossal and unmitigated failure for 2012 lies squarely within that three ring circus in Washington DC known as the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the White House?…this cast of self serving partisan babies could not even come to an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff that the congress created in 2010 as a poison pill to follow the election of 2012?…this batch of clowns that does not seem capable of ordering a meal if they have to agree on what to eat did manage to get the fiscal cliff and the maxing of the nation’s debt limit to happen at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve?…this is such an unbelievable coincidence that the only rational conclusion is that the Treasury Secretary manipulated notes offered in the federal debt auction next Monday (they are held every Monday) for the purpose of political sensationalism?…that to hit the debt ceiling on that day was clearly a deliberate act that could have easily been delayed by a week or two or even three?…this insulting knife in the nation’s back should be exposed for what it is, not that it makes much difference in the long run?…the CCO three stooges award for 2012 goes overwhelmingly to the trio in charge and that trio is Senator Harry Reid whose leadership in the Senate produced absolutely nothing, Representative John Boehner who couldn’t even get the dogs on his dog sled to pull in the same direction, and to President Barack Obama for politicizing our economy for the insane purpose of furthering class warfare in a way that does next to nothing?…this cast of idiots makes the government of Evansville look intelligent and noble?

IS IT TRUE that closer to home we do have a list of 8 things that were good for the CCO’s internet traffic but make you just shake your head in disbelief?…among those things that will be profiled fully in a standalone article are in no particular order, the Maingate booze fest, the Earthcare Energy fiasco, Mourdock’s special speech, the City’s accounting nightmare, the EPA planning slip, the Johnson Controls Lazarus moment, the Roberts Stadium debacle, and the illiterate infatuation with building parks?…we also have a list of 6 things that deserve recognition as making positive steps including the Mayor’s focus on litter, a renewed awareness of health problems, shaking off a coma to end the Earthcare deal, the defeat of consolidation, the change of ownership of the McCurdy, and the denial of the $32 Million fee increase that Vectren requested for dense pack technology?…all of these will be profiled in detail along with any other worthy subjects that are sent our way by then?

UE’s Matthew Knoester Publishes New Book on Democratic Education

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Matthew Knoester, assistant professor of education at the University of Evansville, has published a new book, Democratic Education in Practice: Inside the Mission Hill School.

Published through Teachers College Press, the book evaluates and describes a high-performing public school in Boston. The book describes the school’s successes — such as a high college attendance rate by its graduates and the portfolio process required for graduation — and also the challenges faced by schools like Mission Hill, including pressure to teach to standardized tests.

“The Mission Hill School is a small, personal, but informal K-8 learning environment where teachers hold high standards for children, who rise to those standards while taking a large amount of ownership over their own learning,” Knoester said. “Even if school leaders elsewhere cannot replicate the school due to various constraints, I hope there are parts that educators will find useful.”

“Matthew Knoester has done us an enormous favor by showing us, in detail, what could be — one example of how schools can be the building blocks for democracy, recreating community for all to taste, feel, hear, and see,” said Deborah W. Meier, author of the book’s foreword and a MacArthur Fellow who founded Mission Hill School.

Knoester is a National Board Certified Teacher and former teacher at the Mission Hill School in Boston, as well as schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Olaf College, his Master of Education degree from Harvard University, and his PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Knoester has published articles in journals such as Educational Policy; Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy; Pedagogy, Culture & Society; and Schools: Studies in Education. He is also the editor of the book International Struggles for Critical Democratic Education (Peter Lang Publishing, 2012).

Democratic Education in Practice: Inside the Mission Hill School is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Teachers College Press.

Source: Evansville.edu