On Friday March 22, the Federal Emergency Management Agency notified an “Assistance to Firefighters Grant” (AFG) had been awarded to the Evansville Fire Department. The purpose of the (AFG) Program is to protect the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel against fire and fire related hazards. The AFG, Firefighter Wellness and Fitness Program, provides funding for eligible expenditures listed below: (highlights are areas that are specific to this award)
• Procurement of entry level physicals that meet NFPA 1582
• Annual medical/ fitness health evaluations consistent with NFPA 1582
• Immunizations, as recommended by the department or law (e.g., NFPA)
• Behavioral health programs
• Implementation if IAFC/ IAFF peer fitness trainer programs
• Costs for personnel, physical fitness equipment (including shipping charges and sales tax, as applicable), and supplies directly related to physical fitness activities
EFD does provide applicant medical exams compliant with NFPA 1582 and the Indiana Public Employee Retirement Fund standards. EFD does not currently provide periodic NFPA 1582 compliant wellness and fitness exams. EFD will use these funds to implement the remaining three components of a complete wellness and fitness program: 1) Job related immunization program, 2) Annual medical/fitness evaluation and 3) Behavioral health programs.
With support from the AFG Program, EFD will implement the proposed firefighter wellness and fitness program- to ensure compliance with current standards and to provide the firefighters the education and resources to become healthy and resilient to continue to serve their community. EFD’s goal is to provide a safe and secure environment for families, businesses and visitors in the City of Evansville and Vanderburgh County, Indiana.
By enhancing the fitness and wellness level of its firefighters, EFD is confident in its ability to improve the safety of the citizens served – decreasing the risk of poor health outcomes among firefighters, especially when responding to emergency incidents.
Improvement in physical fitness needs to happen in our city and county, and we believe the Evansville Fire Department must take an active leadership role.
• The Performance Period of the grant is from March 15, 2013 to March 14, 2014.
• Project total $233,688
• Federal share $186,951
• EFD share $46,737
• NFPA 1582: Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments
• Updates will be provided to the media as the project moves forward.

What parts of America have been growing during these years of sluggish economic growth?

Answers come from comparing the Census Bureau’s just-released estimates of metropolitan area populations in July 2012 with the results of the Census conducted in 2010.

The focus here is on the 51 metro areas with populations of more than 1 million where 55 percent of Americans live, most of them of course not in central cities but in suburbs and exurbs.

Two growth champs stick out — Austin and Raleigh. A half-century ago, neither of them amounted to much.

The counties now in metro Austin had 300,000 people in 1960. Those in metro Raleigh had 260,000. Now metro Austin is 1,834,000, and metro Raleigh is 1,188,000.

Austin’s population grew by 6.9 percent and Raleigh’s by 5.1 in 2010-12. That’s huge growth in just two years.
Both are high-tech centers with major universities. They had the biggest rate of domestic in-migration of any million-plus metro areas in 2010-2012.

They both have reputations as cool cities. More important, they both have creative and vibrant private sector economies, fostered by relatively low tax rates and sensible regulation.

Raleigh’s taxes and cost of living compare favorably with those in most states in the Northeast. Austin is attracting a lot of people from California, where the top income tax rate is now 13.3 percent. Texas’s income tax rate is zero.

Next on the growth list are Texas’s three other million-plus metros, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, which grew by 4.3 percent in 2010-12.

Their populations increased by 622,000 people. That’s 12 percent of the entire nation’s population gain during that period.

It’s more than metro New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Hartford and Providence combined. Texas is making a huge contribution to the nation’s demographic and economic growth.

Not far behind are Orlando, Fla., with its tourism industry; Denver in healthy Colorado (the nation’s lowest obesity rates); Metro Washington, D.C., which has the advantage of federal tax dollars pouring in; Metro Miami, where growth is greatest in farther-north Broward and Palm Beach counties; Charlotte, N.C., the nation’s No. 2 banking center; Oklahoma City (natural gas); Phoenix, Ariz. (though immigration is way down); Nashville, Tenn. (health care and music); Salt Lake City (high birth rates); Seattle (high-tech, despite the rain); and Atlanta.

Lagging somewhat is California. The combined Los Angeles-Riverside metro area is growing just slightly above the national average. More people have been migrating from California to other states than moving in from other states since 1990, and immigration there is sharply down.

And despite wonderful weather, domestic in-migration is negligible in the San Francisco Bay area and metro San Diego.

Although most of this growth is driven by the private sector, one disquieting thing is how many of these cities are state capitals. It looks like government is generating growth, while the private sector in most places languishes.

On the other end of the growth list, metro Cleveland, Detroit and Buffalo, N.Y., are continuing to lose population, as their central cities empty out and inner suburbs age.

There is very slow growth in what were booming interior cities in the 19th century — Rochester, N.Y., Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis.

None of the metro areas in the Amtrak corridor from Washington to Boston is growing as fast as the nation, and some — Providence, R.I., and Hartford, Conn. — are barely growing at all.

But 2010-12 population growth exceeded the national average in some Midwestern metros — Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Grand Rapids, Mich. (which just made it over the 1 million mark).
Of course, it’s still possible to live a comfortable and productive life in a city that is not growing.

Many point to Pittsburgh, the only million-plus metro area with more births than deaths, as an example. Its “meds and eds” economy — health care and higher education — is stable, and the air is a lot cleaner than when the steel mills were belching smoke.

But a great nation needs growth to give people opportunity to move upward and to allow the downwardly mobile to live as comfortably as they did growing up. Population trends give us clues as to what works and what doesn’t.

Not every metro area can be a high-tech center like Austin or Raleigh. But the continuing rapid growth of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, unendowed with great natural beauty and scorched during five-month summers, suggest that others should take the Texas example seriously.

The Indiana State Police Firearms Section requests the following:

Please DO NOT request a status check regarding your firearm permit application unless the timeframe significantly exceeds the projected issue dates listed below.

Firearms questions can be directed to the Indiana State Police Firearms Licensing Section. ISP is experiencing a high volume of phone calls. If you are checking the status of your firearms application, include your full name, date of birth, and date that your money order was cashed.

ATTENTION: If you have already submitted a firearms application, the following timelines should be anticipated:

â– For those using Morpho Trust USA (formerly L-1 Fingerprinting Solutions)–10 to 12 weeks from the date your money order was cashed.
â– For those submitting paper fingerprint cards and applications–15 to 17 weeks from the date your money order was cashed.
â– If you have any prior criminal history, the above timelines may be extended until your criminal history can be reviewed.
For the fastest response, we recommend that you submit your questions via email.

Email:
ISPFirearmsquestions@isp.in.gov

Link to this information:
http://www.in.gov/isp/2833.htm
Contact Information:
Sergeant Ron Galaviz
Public Information
260-459-4819
rgalaviz@isp.in.gov

(Washington, DC) –Representative Larry Bucshon released the following statement regarding the budget passed by the United States Senate this morning.

Representative Larry Bucshon (IN-08) states:

“Senate Democrats passed a budget early this morning that raises taxes by almost a trillion dollars and never balances, continuing deficits as far as the eye can see. Their budget includes even more stimulus type deficit spending at a time when we are borrowing 42 cents of every dollar we spend. They also fail to address the impending bankruptcy of our critical mandatory spending programs (Medicare, Medicaid).

“Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2014 in conservative leaning States were allowed to vote no while other “moderate” Senate Democrats voted for the measure since they won’t be facing the voters for years. Democrat Senator Joe Donnelly voted for the measure while Republican Senator Dan Coats voted against it.

“This is why the American people disapprove of Washington D.C. Instead of voting what they believe in, the Senate Democrats that voted no did so hoping to pull the wool over the eyes of the voters in their states. Hoosiers are smarter than that and deserve more from their elected officials. The Democrat controlled Senate budget contrasts sharply with the Republican controlled House passed budget. The House passed budget does not raise taxes, responsibly addresses our mandatory spending programs to preserve them for current beneficiaries and future generations of Americans and balances within 10 years.

“With a federal government budget deficit over $1 trillion for 5 straight years and a national debt approaching $17 trillion, it is time for Washington D.C. to tell the American people the truth and responsibly balance our budget.

Spring Project Blitz Begins!

As the winter cold begins to break, we are inviting volunteers, small groups, churches, business, and donors to support a Spring Project Blitz, with a goal of completing 20 home repair projects and completing our whole-hose rehab at 501 E Riverside Drive by June 1.
Volunteers can participate through:
• Direct project involvement
• Project Coaching (coordinating)
• Financial donations
• Help with Fundraising
• Volunteering within the organization

If you’d like to include yourself, your small group, church, business or organization in a spring project, please email me or call at (812) 250-6888.

Getting Started as a Volunteer

Our website is the hub of our work, where projects are posted and volunteers browse to find ways to serve. The very first step in volunteering is to go to our website and register as a volunteer. You’ll then be able to login, browse projects and volunteer with a mouse-click.
Repair Project Update

Catalyst Church Assists Homeowners With House Clean-out
Members of Catalyst Church recently skipped Sunday worship services to go out and serve in the community, including a Community One project to serve a family that had experienced a house fire. Church members pitched in to gut the house so that rehab could follow.
Our thanks to Pastor Dave Whitmore, Project Coaches Eddie and Kristy Greene and to all the volunteers that helped with the project—well done!

New Fundraiser: Give Away A Garage Sale
Clean Out Your House & Support a Great Cause
Need to spring clean? Time for a garage sale? We invite you to give your garage sale away! Rally some friends or neighbors or your small group to help. We’ll provide you yard signs to help people locate your sale, and information about Community One to share with customers.
In return, we simply ask that you donate some or all of your garage sale proceeds to Community One for housing restoration work in our community.
This is a super-easy way to support a great cause! For details email Donna Myers or phone at (812) 5New Fundraiser: iPhones For Homes

Donate your Unused, Used or Broken Apple Products
Let us put your unused, used or broken (yes broken!) Apple iPhone (including iPod or iPad) to work in housing restoration!
Donate an Apple iPhone (including iPod or iPad) to Community One and we’ll recycle the item and use the proceeds to fund housing restoration projects. There is no need for you to erase the information on your device; our recycler will wipe all stored data from your device as soon as it is received.

This collection is for Apple products only please. Here is a visual reminder of the Apple iPhone product line:
18-1424.

Works to include Indiana as example for Medicaid reform

(Washington, DC) –Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Con. Res 25, a responsible, balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2014. The budget passed the House, 221 – 207.

Representative Bucshon (IN-08) released the following statement regarding the House budget proposal:

“Today, the House passed yet another budget that follows through on our commitment to cut spending, balance the budget, and grow the economy. Our budget cuts wasteful spending, reforms the broken tax code, and strengthens our priorities like Medicare, Medicaid, and national security.

“The House budget also uses Indiana as an example of what states can achieve if the federal government allows them to innovate. I am proud to have worked with Chairman Ryan and his staff to ensure the Healthy Indiana Plan was included in the budget as a blueprint for states to implement Medicaid reforms when given the necessary flexibility.

“Today we voted to ease the burden on hardworking Hoosiers, expand opportunity, and pay down our debt. I hoped the Senate would follow this lead and present a budget that offers real spending reduction, yet their first budget proposal in over four years includes over $1 trillion in new taxes and never fully balances. At the same time, the President’s budget is still absent.

“Hoosiers deserve a balanced budget from Washington, DC that strengthens our priorities and creates more opportunity, not a plan that takes more of their paycheck to fund more federal spending.”

BACKGROUND:

To access full text of the House FY 2014 Budget, click here.

Congressman Bucshon worked with Congressman Paul Ryan, Chairman of the Budget Committee, and his staff to ensure the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) was included in the house budget. “It [HIP] was included after U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon, a Newburgh Republican, urged Ryan to look at Indiana’s plan one that was launched under former Gov. Mitch Daniels and approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a Medicaid waiver”(Evansville Courier & Press; 3/13/13).

According to The Hill, President Obama is unlikely to balance the budget when he releases his budget blueprint next month” (The Hill, 3/11/13).

In the same article, White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney admits that he does not know when the President’s budget will be released. “On Monday, Carney again reiterated that the White House did not ‘have a date-certain’ for release of the president’s budget”(The Hill, 3/11/13).

The Senate Budget will increase taxes and not end deficits. “They have signaled that their budget will do more to raise revenue than to cut spending and that it will not end deficits” (The Hill, 3/11/13).