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Mesker Amphitheatre Deteriorated near the Point of No Return

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Can Evansville look like Dresden from Neglect

Today it was revealed that the Mesker Amphitheatre like Roberts Stadium and a host of the Evansville Parks has been allowed to deteriorate to the point that maintenance cannot save it. The study furthermore states that the amphitheatres 9,000 seats are not enough to ever attract a major musical act.

Using the Madonna Show as an example the study makes a strong case that the venue is too small and does not have the rigging capacity to attract such a show. Amphitheatres like Verizon in Noblesville that attract “mega” shows typically seat over 20,000 people and have the ability to accommodate 120,000 pounds of equipment. They also have adequate parking for trucks, storage for the equipment and dressing rooms to accommodate the large posse that mega acts need for support. It is ironic that the study chose Madonna who compared Evansville to eastern Europe before the fall of the iron curtain as their example.

The full recommendations to restore Mesker to a 9,000 seat venue fall between $12 Million and $27 Million. Afterward it would be too small to handle “mega” acts but may attract tier 2 acts. Proformas were shown for similar facilities that lost money and had a small operating gain. Of course the next step will be for the City Administration to put this on the wish list along with Centennial Park ($2 Million), Roberts Park ($10 Million), Ballfields ($18 Million or less), a downtown hotel ($25 Million), the Johnson Controls deal ($53 Milion), fixing 2,300 acres of existing parks, and of course satisfaction of the EPA mandates for our sewer ($500+ Million).

It seems as though the price of 6 decades of neglect are really stacking up on Mayor Winnecke and the next 5 Mayors whomever they turn out to be.

Link to Mesker Study:

http://media.courierpress.com/media/static/theatre.pdf

Spend The Money On The Cemeteries Not C&P Advertising, By: Jordan Baer, Guest Editorial

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Now that approximately $70,000 has been earmarked and approved in the 2013 Evansville City Budget for Oak Hill & Locust Hill Cemeteries, it is time to check back up once more on the conditions of these two cemeteries.

Previously, we had started to see some minor improvements at both of the cemeteries as new road lines had received a fresh coat of paint, some graves were stood back up, and a few vases had been put back on top of a few grave markers.

I was hoping this new wave of progress would be just the beginning of our city starting to finally tackle this enormous issue of city cemetery neglect. When the 2013 Evansville City Budget passed, the cemeteries were really the only thing I was optimistic about. I fully understood that the funds in this year’s budget would only be a drop in the bucket towards completely overhauling both cemeteries. Nevertheless, I fully expected these funds to be focused entirely on the graves themselves, not wasted on needless advertising expenses.

This past week, I was surfing the internet when I noticed an advertisement from Oak Hill and Locust Cemeteries on the Evansville Courier & Press’ website. If you sit on the site for just a few moments, the advertisement, which is known as a banner ad in the online marketing industry, flashes the following line…”Your loved ones will be cared for”. Given the conditions of both cemeteries, I am absolutely shocked and appalled that anyone would think their family members would be taken care of properly in a cemetery that decides to buy online advertisements when both of their cemeteries are in deplorable conditions. What makes this decision even more offensive is the fact that they chose to advertise with the only media outlet that didn’t have the guts to investigate the conditions of these cemeteries.

As soon as I spoke in front of the City Council last summer about getting funds for Locust and Oak Hill, I was approached by both news stations and 1 of the 2 newspaper organizations. Unfortunately, I was out of town when Lorilyn Prestidge from 14 News called to investigate the situation at both cemeteries, but I was able to show Jordan Vandenberge of Eyewitness News around Locust Cemetery…

http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=536592

And of course, those who visit the City-County Observer frequently remember the initial article that got the wheels turning in the first place…

https://city-countyobserver.com/2012/07/16/evansvilles-grave-injustice-by-jordan-baer/

So why did the city advertise with the only news outlet that DID NOT give one ounce of energy towards getting these cemeteries corrected? Why reward an organization for not doing the right thing? Many people have asked me why the C&P is/was so hellbent on helping Winnecke knock down Roberts Stadium, helping the ECVB construct 8 dull, boring, and overpriced ball fields in the middle of nowhere, puching to spend $20 to $25 million dollars of taxpayers money to build a second class downtown arena hotel and helping the Chamber lobby to change city and county government. Well, consider this advertisement Exhibit A for why doing the wrong thing can be the rewarding thing to do in Evansville. Is this really how we want our city to conduct business?

When I spoke in front of the City Council in regards to these cemeteries, I heard the following responses from various members of the council…

” Where is the money tree going to come from?”

” Government can’t be everything to everybody.”

” I haven’t heard any complaints yet from the dead.”

What I would like to ask Evansville’s nine council members is this- Do you believe the funds approved by your governing body should go towards buying online banner ads for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, or do you think these funds should go towards rehabilitating, maintaining, and preventing further damage to both cemeteries? I know which option sounds better to me!

For those who don’t believe that there still is a lot of work to be done, perhaps the photos taken this week at Oak Hill Cemetery will change your mind…

http://s1295.beta.photobucket.com/user/RailOverAuto/library/Oak%20Hill%20Cemetery%20Photos

Another problem that I have noticed with the grave sites has been the complete lack of leadership displayed by the city, in particular the mayor, towards getting these cemeteries going in the right direction. According to photos posted by Carol McClintock that were shared on Oak Hill’s Facebook group, Lloyd was at the cemetery during Veteran’s Day…

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4801572274388&set=a.1793336350370.2104220.1148512234&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4801394629947&set=a.1793336350370.2104220.1148512234&type=1&theater

Since the conditions at the cemeteries has been made public, we have yet to hear even a whisper from the mayor himself about these cemeteries. Given the photo evidence of Winnecke at Oak Hill Cemetery on Veteran’s Day, I have to wonder if he took the time to explore the grounds of Oak Hill or if he came just to pose for the convenient p.r photo shoot and then leave. I ask this because it would seem to me that if he genuinely saw the deplorable conditions of these cemeteries he would be more motivated to do something about them other than to go silent on the issue.

When I was walking through Oak Hill yesterday, I passed by a couple of ladies who were trying to fix up the grave of one of their family members. They told me they were embarrassed by the conditions of the cemetery and that they were tired of it getting worse year after year. It would seem to me that if our city is going to genuinely convince Evansville residents that “your loved ones will be cared for,” they should try a new approach that involves actually cleaning up the cemeteries, not buying advertisements with the Courier & Press and only getting involved in the cemeteries when it’s camera day.

FOOTNOTE: POSTED WITHOUT OPINION, BIAS OR EDITING.

IS IT TRUE December 7, 2012

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The gate to the convention hotel

IS IT TRUE December 7, 2012

IS IT TRUE that it has been over a year since then DMD Director Tom Barnett insisted on putting up a safety fence to protect the children of Evansville from the dangers associated with the big ROCK PILE left where the Executive Inn and its parking lot used to be?…Mr. Barnett was quite insistent that the ROCK PILE posed a serious danger and liability to the City of Evansville because kids like to play on ROCK PILES and sometimes hurt themselves doing so?…the state of that lot right now since the ROCK PILE is gone and the fence has been installed makes Tom Barnett look like a visionary and a genius?…today, that lot is truly a serious danger yet the gate that Barnett built with his fence is unlocked so that children and adults can enter and injure themselves or even worse treat that lot the way the dregs of Evansville treat many of our one immaculate parks?…at least one concerned citizen left a message at for Mr. Barnett’s replacement regarding the dangers and did not even get a call back?…this well known local resident then went to the lot and took the pictures included in this IS IT TRUE for all to see in hopes that the City of Evansville will be awakened from their coma and actually fulfill Barnett’s dream of having a secure fence around that empty but degrading lot?

The convention hotel SWIMMING POOL

IS IT TRUE after passing undetected through the open gate shown in the picture that one has the opportunity to fall through an open manhole to serious injury or death?…a pond seems to be forming in the muck of an unmaintained lot behind the unlocked gate that poses a different kind of danger?…it is also disconcerting to find evidence that some of our dregs have been using the lot where a hotel was promised by the Weinzapfel Administration without public money in it as a place to booze it up?…the real tragedy is that we are not even surprised at the neglect within a rock throws distance of the Mayor’s office?

Open Manhole in the convention hotel lot, or maybe the outhouse project has been started

IS IT TRUE a tour of the public cemeteries reveals that the conditions of the tombstones has continued to deteriorate since the CCO exposed the neglect last summer?…the City Council did appropriate money to do some restorative work at the cemeteries but it does not look as though a darn thing has been done?…that the public cemeteries run by the City of Evansville must be using some of that restoration money to pay for banner ads in the Scripps Howard website in town seeking additional corpses to move into their unkempt graveyards?…that once again the City of Evansville has proven that when it comes to fluff and marketing they are all about it but when it comes to maintenance and awareness they are totally inept?…this is the bunch that would be spending over $10 Million on new parks and $25 Million to subsidize a convention hotel if the people of this town and 5 members of the City Council do not keep them in check?…we have also been advised that the wish list for a new hotel includes about 30,000 square feet of storage to be used by the Ford Center because there was not any significant storage included in the original design and that now they operators are finding themselves in need of storage?

IS IT TRUE there are rumors of a private developer interested in turning the civic center into a mall downtown?…if that were to play out, the government bodies currently in the civic center may look to go to the Old National building on Main Street?…the devil is in the details and it would need to make financial sense to the community’s taxpayers?…that a downtown mall helped transform downtown Indianapolis?…such a proposal would need a thorough vetting?…that this early proposal is not getting much traction from local leaders just yet?…that Mayor Winnecke was spotted touring the ONB building recently but we are not certain whether he was there to look for his next office or to determine the feasibility of converting it to a hotel?…with the number of square feet that the old ONB building has that has been empty for many years filling it up should take priority over building anything new including a convention hotel that requires a subsidy?…subsidizing a competitive business like a new hotel is seen by many local business leaders as “BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS” by the City of Evansville?…that doing so will leave a lasting state of disdain for government action with some local businesses?…the massive spending on temples to entertainment downtown has not inspired much investment?…the squandering of money meant for business on Front Door Pride houses that sit unsold by the Weinzapfel Administration has not impacted the prices of the existing homes around them, and the nearly $8 Million in government dollars spent at the old safe house has produced 30 or so apartments that would have a market value of less than a Million Bucks?…the moral of these stories is that the government needs to stay out of free markets?

IS IT TRUE Mole #9 and a few others tell us that Mayor Winnecke will not only be faced with a strong primary challenge in 2015 but that a well recognized Libertarian candidate will be on the ballot for Mayor of Evansville?…if Mayor Winnecke runs on his first year’s record that he better hope people place a high value on trash collection and exercise videos because those are the things he has proven himself capable of doing well?

Wesselman Nature Society Annual Appeal Letter

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Click Here to Download the Wesselman Nature Society Annual Appeal Letter

EPD Activity Report: December 6, 2012

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EPD Activity Report: December 6, 2012

Mayor Winnecke, Gov.-Elect Pence to Visit Salvation Army Toy Town

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(EVANSVILLE, IN) –Mayor Lloyd Winnecke and Indiana Governor-Elect Mike Pence will be at the Salvation Army Toy Town drop-off site at Walmart West tomorrow, Dec. 7, at 1:15 p.m., to donate toys to the annual toy drive and to encourage public support for the Salvation Army during the Christmas season. The Salvation Army has received a record number of requests for assistance this year. The goal is to collect over 6,000 toys during the toy drive. The gifts will make it a brighter Christmas for some 2,200 children. In addition, the Salvation Army welcomes monetary donations to provide food assistance for needy families.

Mayor Winnecke, Gov.-Elect Pence to Visit Salvation Army Toy Town

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OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
LLOYD WINNECKE
December 6, 2012 Contact: Ella Johnson-Watson
For Immediate Release

Mayor Winnecke, Gov.-Elect Pence to Visit Salvation Army Toy Town

(EVANSVILLE, IN) –Mayor Lloyd Winnecke and Indiana Governor-Elect Mike Pence will be at the Salvation Army Toy Town drop-off site at Walmart West tomorrow, Dec. 7, at 1:15 p.m., to donate toys to the annual toy drive and to encourage public support for the Salvation Army during the Christmas season. The Salvation Army has received a record number of requests for assistance this year. The goal is to collect over 6,000 toys during the toy drive. The gifts will make it a brighter Christmas for some 2,200 children. In addition, the Salvation Army welcomes monetary donations to provide food assistance for needy families.

IS IT TRUE December 6, 2012

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The Mole #??

IS IT TRUE of our “MOLES” were pleasantly surprised to see city employees, Ben Miller and Rose Young at the Aihua International Market on North Greenriver road around 5:45 P.M. yesterday? …they were doing the people’s business by helping a businessman to start a new business in a vacant building located on North Greenriver Road?…we say thank you Rose and Ben for working beyond the call of duty?

IS IT TRUE the staff of the Deaconess Gateway hospital has been doing an absolutely commendable job with respect to the reason this writer had to make a quick trip to Evansville?

IS IT TRUE the CCO filed three Freedom of Information requests with DMD, the City Of Evansville Controller’s office and the Water and Utilities Department today? …we were told by our well placed “Civic Center Moles” that the multi-million bookkeeping software is still not performing correctly

IS IT TRUE that the 8 day strike at the Port of Long Beach was finally settled and that the hundreds of cargo ships that have been sitting offshore in the Pacific Ocean can now be unloaded? …the strike affected nearly $5 Billion in cargo and was causing ripple effects in the trucking industry, the logistics industry, and the 10,000 people who work at the port who refused to cross the picket lines of the clerks? …that clerks at the Port of Long Beach earn a compensation package worth well over $150,000 per year with base pay of nearly $90,000 and some of the best benefits in the USA? …the settlement happens only hours after federal mediators were sent in?…we wonder just how rough the feds were intending to get with the unions that were disrupting nearly 40% of the imports and exports of the entire country? …one could easily conclude that the port workers have the country by the throat? …it is good that the port is opened and we hope it has a sustainable business model in place going forward?

IS IT TRUE that President Obama has made an offer to supposedly avoid the overhyped fiscal cliff and that the Republicans in congress have delivered a counter offer? …these positions are apart by roughly $800 Million on how much to raise taxes with the President’s offer being heavy on taxation and light on cutting spending? …neither proposal balances the budget or puts into place a situation to promote growth? …neither the President, the Republicans, or the Democrats in congress seem to have a clue about how to balance a budget or get out of the way of everyday Americans so this MADE IN WASHINGTON FISCAL CLIFF is eliminated the right way? …it seems like it is time to ignore the whole batch of these sons of witches and get on about personal prosperity one person at a time? …the dance with governments being able to do something good for the economy is over and the easiest route to a decent life is to pretend these two packs of jackals to not exist?

IS IT TRUE speaking of a no confidence in local government there are a few people telling us that there may be an effort to remove Mayor Winnecke from office for failing to do his fiduciary duty and balanced the budget with a known set of reconciled books? …he surely is not the originator of this unbalanced books problem when it comes to Mayors of Evansville as this whole fiasco started under ex-Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel? …if it takes drastic action to get to the bottom of this embarrassing fiasco and get a solution in place then so be it? …if such a thing happened in the real world of business there would have been firings by now? …all government needs to relearn the lesson that they have bosses and that serving the people that vote for them is their job? …this is not happening locally or nationally? …the State of Indiana has been run fiscally among the best in the country under Governor Daniels who will leave office at the end of this month? …we hope the state continues to function well as many others are not? …that unfortunately a well run state does not isolate the people of the state from the economic ineptness of local and federal governance?

Consulting Firm Locates at Innovation Pointe

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GAGE
AGITO Consulting, a business services firm based in Evansville has recently located at Innovation Pointe, a high‐tech business incubator, managed by the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville.

AGITO, a Latin word meaning “to set in motion,” provides proven tools to help companies improve performance and achieve sustainable growth through innovation, leadership, and waste elimination. AGITO specializes in training, consulting, and facilitation in the areas of Value Driven Management, Lean Systems (based on the approach pioneered by Toyota), Leadership, and Six Sigma.

Offering specific tools and workshops to guide leadership executives and employees, AGITO strives to recognize and enhance the value proposition offered to customers, identify ways to generate growth, find key strategic business opportunities, facilitate innovation sessions, and eliminate waste from all processes to enhance productivity. AGITO’s services range from a one‐time training session to complete business assessments, program development and implementation.

Patricia Tirado joins the AGITO team as a business partner and President of the organization, bringing over 20 years of strategic business planning and general management experience. Her investment in the company is being used to expand the operations and add additional consulting and training resources. She is a customer and business‐oriented executive with expertise in process analysis and redesign. Through her experience, she has developed an excellent ability to solve complex problems and conflicts while driving effective change. In addition, her background in international experiences makes her highly capable of interacting and communicating in a variety of cultures.

VHS Pet of the Week: “Hope”

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Hope is a 2 year old female Labrador Retriever. She is energetic and looking for an active family. She is very friendly and would be a great running or walking partner. Her adoption fee would be $80 and includes her spay, her vaccines, a microchip and a bag of food.

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