Looking for a way to meet new people and improve the quality of life in your community? Apply today to participate in the University of Southern Indiana’s 2013 Connect with Southern Indiana program.

A regional leadership program offered through USI’s Historic Southern Indiana, Connect with Southern Indiana is an annual program open to Indiana residents living in Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, or Warrick counties. Applicants should have an interest in improving the quality of life in their community and/or region, a desire to develop leadership skills, and to become actively involved in their area.

Participants will attend ten full-day sessions on January 11 and 25, February 15 and 28, March 1 and 15, April 12 and 26, May 17, and June 7. Members of the class will develop a collaborative project, which they will present at the end of the program.

This year’s program topics will include community overviews, critical thinking, personality profiles, opportunity identification, project management, public skills, presentation planning, and government relations. USI faculty and staff and community leaders will facilitate all programs.

Up to twenty-four individuals will be selected for the program. One year’s residency in the region prior to January 2013 is required to participate.

The University covers program expenses, including overnight accommodations, facilitation, meals, location rental fees, and materials. Participants will provide their own transportation to and from sessions and should have time in their schedule to attend sessions and work on projects. Since the program is free with limited openings, applicants must have the ability and willingness to participate in all sessions and out-of-class assignments.

Additional information and an application for the 2013 Connect with Southern Indiana class can be found online by clicking here. The deadline to apply is Monday, October 22.

The Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana, part of the Schroeder Family School of Business Administration at the University of Evansville, is pleased to announce event details for Calvin Klein’s appearances in Indianapolis and Evansville on Wednesday, October 24. As part of the Institute Speaker Series, Klein will discuss “Lessons from the Runway to Success: Leadership and Building a Global Brand.”

Klein, an award-winning fashion icon, is recognized globally as a master of minimalism. His name ranks among the best-known brands in the world with Calvin Klein, Inc. reaching over $6 billion in global retail sales. Whether in fashion, fragrance, beauty, or his collections for the home, Klein’s advertising campaigns have redefined the way products are marketed to consumers. Among his many honors, Time Magazine in 1996 named him one of the most influential Americans.

Klein’s appearance in Indianapolis is presented in partnership with the Rotary Club of Indianapolis. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. local time, and Klein will speak at noon at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, 650 N. Meridian St. Each ticket costs $30 and includes lunch. Guests may purchase a maximum of four tickets through the University of Evansville at www.uealumnionline.com/calvinklein or 812-488-2706.

Klein will speak that evening in Evansville at 7:00 p.m. local time at the Victory Theatre, 600 Main St. This event is free and open to the public, with no tickets required. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., and seating is first come, first served. For more information, please visit www.globalindiana.com or contact the Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana at 812-488-2455 or globalindiana@evansville.edu.

The Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana wishes to thank Old National Bank, Let’s Sew, and Anchor Industries for their generous support of these Institute Speaker Series events.

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.