IS IT TRUE Monthly City Water Rates Could Increase By 231%?

05/14/2013

Update: For more sewer information see IS IT TRUE Part 2 (the Sewer Chickens Come Home to Roost)

IS IT TRUE May 14, 2013

IS IT TRUE at a meeting of the Evansville City Council last night the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility unveiled a plan that proposes to spend $815 million to rework the cityâ€™s aging sewer system over the next 28 years?…this plan will eventually boost sewer bills for city residents from the current average of $26.30 a month to $87.10 an increase of $60.80 per month or 231%?…customers of the utility who live outside the city would see monthly rates jump from todayâ€™s $35.50 to $117.60 an increase of $82.60 per month or 233%?…the City County Observer hopes that all of our readers and even our non readers remember where these numbers were predicted first?…as far back as two years ago the CCO ran the numbers and predicted $60 to $90 per month increases and a total tab that would approach a Billion Dollars?…we were of course scoffed at for such heresy by the know nothings who do their best to hide the truth from the people of this community?…as expensive as it may be, no is not an option and we have to have a working and compliant sewer system?…the time is now to fix this mess and forget about all of the fun and games that Arenas, dog parks, skateboard ramps, ball fields, and parks to honor those who ignored our infrastructure problems?…for Evansville, recess is over, it is time to prepare for a future that could be bright if we really fix our infrastructure, schools, and crime?

IS IT TRUE Scott School, which serves grades kindergarten through sixth grade in the northern part of Vanderburgh County also known as McCutcheonville, was named a Four-Star School by the Indiana Department of Education based on the test results of the 2011-12 ISTEP?…Scott Elementary was the only school in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation to receive this distinction?…the criteria established for 4-Star schools is to be in the top 25% of schools statewide for the combined passing percentages of English/Language Arts and Mathematics as well as the percent of students passing both for all grades tested?… in addition to meeting these criteria, all Four-Star Schools must meet the 95 percent student participation rate?…Scott was not the only school in Vanderburgh County that received a Four-Star status?…Good Shepherd School and St. Matthew School, both from the Catholic Diocese of Evansville; Evansville Day School and the Signature School the Charter High School that is consistently ranked among the nationâ€™s top 10 high schools also were honored with 4 Stars?…in Warrick County, Castle North Middle School and John H. Castle Elementary School were similarly honored?…not one school that has traditional boundaries within the City of Evansville achieved 4 Star status?…it is common knowledge that EVSC spends more than 50% more per student than the Catholic schools or Signature School?…it seems with public education that the more you spend the worse the results get?

IS IT TRUE that the wheels seem to be falling off of the bus known as the Obama Administration?…during the past two weeks it has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the administration orchestrated a pack of lies regarding the real situation with the attacks on the US Embassy in Benghazi, Libya in which 4 Americans were killed?…last Friday it was revealed that the IRS targeted Americans who describes themselves as â€œpatriotsâ€ or with the â€œTea Partyâ€?…to his credit President Obama did come down on this illegal and despicable behavior for what it was?…of course he used the phrase â€œif they did itâ€ after the IRS lied about it, then admitted it, and finally apologized for it?…if this buffoonery was not enough it was discovered and revealed yesterday that the Justice Department (of gun running fame) basically wiretapped the Associated Press?…the three activities that were outed this week literally trampled on the Constitution of the United States and the only logical reason for these activities was to control a political narrative during a presidential election?…these activities that occurred on President Barack Obamaâ€™s watch with or without his knowledge are disgusting?…if a foreign power did these things on American soil we would in all likelihood see them as an act of war?…it will be interesting to see just how much the American people and the press that carried water for the Obama Administration during the election of 2012 will sit silently with issues this deplorable coming out?

IS IT TRUE that the same IRS that targeted people for audits and obstructed the non-profit status of conservative organization is the enforcement agency for ObamaCare?…there should be an immediate change of plans for what organization is worthy of that task?…the logical answer as it has been for some time would be to do away with the complexity of ObamaCare and just expand Medicare which does seem to work to the pleasure of most who are covered by it?…why that option was not pursued along with a single payer initiative in a nation that for a while really seemed to approve of such a thing?…if ObamaCare falls apart as nearly everyone close to it now expects a good opportunity will have been squandered to appease big medicine, big drugs, and big government?…it seems like consolidation on crack with the elite powers that be jamming poorly planned policies through without thought and dismissing regular people who asked legitimate questions as fools?…the consolidation forces were summarily dismissed by a 2 to 1 majority and if ObamaCare were put to a vote today it would likely suffer a similar fate?

Scott Elementary School Receives Four-Star Ranking

05/14/2013

0

Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz has announced that Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporationâ€™s Scott Elementary School has been named among Indianaâ€™s Four-Star Schools.
Superintendent Ritz congratulated these schools today. “I am honored to name these schools as our Four Star Schools for this year,” said Ritz. “Winning this award required excellent work by teachers, administrators, students and parents throughout the year and on behalf of the entire Indiana Department of Education I send them my sincere congratulations.”

“Scott School, which serves grades kindergarten through sixth, was named a Four-Star School by the Indiana Department of Education based on the results of the 2011-12 ISTEP tests.

Indiana Department of Education established the 25th percentile cut score for combined passing percentages of English/Language Arts and Mathematics as well as the percent of students passing both for all grades tested. In addition to meeting these criteria, all Four-Star Schools must meet the 95 percent student participation rate.

Other local schools that received a Four-Star status are: Good Shepherd School and St. Matthew School, both from the Catholic Diocese of Evansville; Evansville Day School;Signature School, Castle North Middle School and John H. Castle Elementary School.”

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

05/14/2013

0

Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutorâ€™s Office on Monday, May 13, 2013.

Abigail Beaman Receiving Stolen Property-Class D Felony
Driving While Suspended-Class A Misdemeanor

David Dimmett Dealing in a Schedule II Controlled Substance-Class B Felony
Maintaining a Common Nuisance-Class D Felony
Dealing in Marijuana-Class D Felony
Possession of Marijuana-Class D Felony
Possession of a Schedule IV Controlled Substance-Class D Felony
Possession of a Schedule Ii Controlled Substance-Class D Felony
(Habitual Substance Offender Enhancement)

Krystal Duerson Operating a Motor Vehicle after Forfeiture of License for Life-Class C Felony

Raymond Jerger Dealing in Methamphetamine-Class A Felonies (Two Counts)
Maintaining a Common Nuisance-Class D Felony
Possession of Chemical Reagents or Precursors with intent to Manufacture a Controlled Substance-Class D Felony

Lindsey Mangold Unlawful Possession or Use of a Legend Drug-Class D Felonies (Two Counts)
Possession of Paraphernalia-Class A Misdemeanor

George Payne Theft-Class D Felony
(Habitual Offender Enhancement)

John Moehlenkamp Intimidation-Class D Felony
Battery Resulting in Bodily Injury-Class D Felony
Invasion of Privacy-Class A Misdemeanor
Interference with the Reporting of a Crime-Class A
Misdemeanor

Joan Schifano Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance-Class D Felony
Possession of a Schedule IV Controlled Substance-Class D Felony
Maintaining a Common Nuisance-Class D Felony

Kendra Wright Possession of a Schedule IV Controlled Substance-Class D Felony
Conversion-Class A Misdemeanor

Disney Live! Three Classic Fairy Talesâ€

05/14/2013

0

Coming October 27

With two shows at 12:00pm and 3:00pm!

Seats are $53, $43, $30 and $22.

Tickets go on-sale Tuesday, June 4 at 10:00am.

Tickets available at The Centre Box Office, Ticketmaster online or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

THE CENTRE

Alice In Chains “2013 North American Tour” – May 22 @ 7:30pm

PEF/EVSC Summer Musical “Beauty and the Beast” – July 11-14

CENTRE’D ON KIDS 2014

Junie B. Jones – Feb. 5 @ 9:00am & 12:00pm

The Monster Who Ate My Peas – March 17 @ 9:00am & 12:00pm

Are You My Mother? – Apr. 22 @ 9:00am & 12:00pm

BROADWAY AT THE CENTRE 2013-2014

Elvis Lives! – Oct. 19 @ 7:30pm

Mamma Mia! – December 13 @ 7:30pm

Straight No Chaser – December 20 @ 7:30pm

Hello Dolly! starring Sally Struthers – January 12 @ 7:00pm

Bring It On: The Musical – February 9 @ 7:00pm

Hair – March 10 @ 7:30pm

Million Dollar Quartet – March 26 @ 7:30pm

Visit www.smgevansville.com for more information.

Fifth Grade String Students to Work with Composer Roger Cichy

05/14/2013

0

Fifth grade students at Cedar Hall Community School and Stringtown Elementary School will have the opportunity this week to work with internationally renowned composer Roger Cichy. Cichy will work with the students on the following days and times:

Tuesday, May 14:

9:20 – 10 a.m. – Cedar Hall

12:30 – 1 p.m. – Stringtown

Wednesday, May 15

9:20 – 10 a.m. – Cedar Hall

1:40 – 2:20 – Cedar Hall

Thursday, May 16

9:20 – 10 a.m. – Cedar Hall

The students work with with Cichy in preparation for their spring concerts later this week. Stringtown’s performance, “Sticks and Bows,” is scheduled for May 15 at 7 p.m. Students at Cedar Hall will perform, “Steel and Strings,” on May 16 at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Former Gibson Co. doctor faces state action for Rx fraud, inappropriate relationship with patient

05/14/2013

0

INDIANAPOLIS â€“ A former Gibson County physician is now the target of a licensing complaint filed by Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoellerâ€™s office.

According to the complaint, Dr. Christoper May, a former physician at Gibson General Hospital, had an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of his patients and also wrote fraudulent prescriptions for her. The complaint against May was filed last week with the Indiana Medical Licensing Board and a hearing date has not yet been set.

According to the filing, May wrote at least eight prescriptions for narcotics over a six-month period for a patient, but under the guise of her motherâ€™s name in order for insurance to cover the costs.

â€œThe Respondent engaged in sexual contact with a patient and fraudulently wrote her prescriptions for narcotics despite a history of addiction,â€ said Gabrielle Owens, Deputy Director of the Attorney Generalâ€™s Licensing Enforcement and Homeowner Protection. â€œThis case underscores the efforts by the Attorney Generalâ€™s office to ensure patients are protected while cutting down on the number of legal controlled substances that are being abused or otherwise diverted.”

Earlier this year, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued a consent order placing Mayâ€™s Illinois medical license on suspension. According to the filing, the suspension was based on allegations that May was denied staff membership and clinical privileges from the Lawrence County Memorial Hospital in Illinois for inappropriately prescribing controlled substances to a patient.

On April 1, May pled guilty, as part of a plea agreement, to criminal offenses related to registration labeling and prescription forms, a Class D felony. May is currently serving a 36-month criminal probation sentence.

As part of the agreement, Gibson County Superior Court directed May to surrender his Indiana medical license to the Indiana Medical Licensing Board with instructions that he shall not attempt to reinstate his license for 36 months. Owens said that a license holder must petition and be granted permission by the board to surrender his or her license.

Arrested in June 2011, May was originally charged with nine counts of conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by fraud and eight counts of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. A Princeton-area pharmacist first notified local police of a suspicious prescription transaction and also followed up with the patientâ€™s mother â€“ who claimed she had not been a patient of May nor was she taking the medication May prescribed.

Suspect arrested after hitting officer in the head with a rock

05/14/2013

0

Evansville Police arrested 35 year Zachary McCloud on multiple charges after he damaged multiple cars and attacked an officer.
Officers were called to the Dennyâ€™s at Hwy 41 and Lynch after McCloud began kicking and punching cars on the lot. One of the calls came from a couple who were scared to get out of their car because McCloud was kicking it while they were in it.
As the first officer arrived, he was directed to the north side of the building. As soon as the officer came around the corner, McCloud began throwing baseball sized rocks at him. The first rock struck the windshield and another struck the front of the car. When the officer tried to exit his patrol car, McCloud threw several more rocks at him. One rock hit the officer in his bullet resistant vest. As McCloud continued to throw rocks, one hit the officer in the forehead. McCloud then ran across Lynch Rd towards the Clarion Inn.
As assisting officers were arriving, McCloud ran into the Clarion. Officers chased him through the hotel and back outside. McCloud jumped into a large bush, but officer saw him before he could hide. McCloud was arrested after a brief struggle.
The officer was treated for a minor injury and released.
McCloud was arrested for Felony Battery on a Police Officer, Intimidation, Resisting Law Enforcement, and multiple counts of Criminal Mischief/Vandalism.
McCloud is on Parole for Domestic Violence Battery and was recently arrested for Resisting Law Enforcement after a foot chase on May 10th.

EPD Activity Report: May 13, 2013

05/14/2013

0

EPD Activity Report: May 13, 2013

Why Did the IRS Target Conservative Groups? by Megan McArdle

05/13/2013

7

Why Did the IRS Target Conservative Groups?
by Megan McArdle

May 13, 2013 8:24 AM EDT

Was it a legitimate reaction to an explosion of tax-exempt electioneering?

Kevin Drum outlines what I take to be the emerging case for the defense of the IRS agents who applied special scrutiny to tax-exemption applications from Tea Party groups:

Roughly speaking, what seems to have happened is that three years ago the IRS was facing an explosion of newly formed 501(c)4 groups claiming tax exempt status, something that’s legal only for groups that are primarily engaged in promoting education or social welfare, not electioneering. So some folks in the Cincinnati office tried to come up with a quick filter to flag groups that deserved extra scrutiny. But what should that flag be? Well, three years ago the explosion happened to be among tea party groups, so they began searching their database “for applications with ‘Tea Party,’ ‘Patriots,’ or ‘9/12’ in the organization’s name as well as other ‘political sounding’ names.” This was dumb, and when senior leaders found out about it, they put a quick stop to it . . .

The problem is that the explosion of 501(c)4 groups is a genuine problem: they really have grown like kudzu, lots of them really are used primarily as electioneering vehicles, and the IRS has been either unwilling or unable to regulate them properly. So the fact that some of the folks responsible for processing these applications were looking for a way to flag potentially dubious groups is sort of understandable.

However, if I were accused of this thing, and this was my defense, I’d be looking forward to a guilty verdict from any semi-competent jury.

For one thing, though the IRS is claiming that they told employees to knock it off in 2011, they went back and came up with an almost equally troubling set of standards in January 2012:

The IRS adopted a more generic set of standards the next month, but it changed the criteria again in January 2012, deciding to look at â€œpolitical action type organizations involved in limiting/expanding Government, educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, social economic reform movement,â€ according to the audit documents.

But even if that weren’t the case, this would be an incredibly stupid defense. It’s not like the IRS needs a way to flag the new groups that were created in the wake of the Citizens United decision. They have all the information they need to do that without any special filter. They can search for the date of the application. If what you’re concerned about is that most of the new groups being created are in fact thinly disguised electioneering vehicles, then what you want to do is take a random sample of the new groups, review them, and see what percentage turn out to be self-dealing or otherwised engaged in inappropriate behavior.

On Monday, President Obama said the IRS had to be held fully accountable.

Instead, the IRS method for dealing with the volume was to take an unrandom sample. And how did they decide that you deserved extra scrutiny? Because you had “tea party” or “patriot” in your name. Since the Tea Party was a brand new movement in 2010, they couldn’t possibly have had any data indicating that such groups were more likely to be doing something improper. So how exactly did they come up with this filter? There is no answer that does not ultimately resolve to “political bias”.

If Tea Party groups really were driving much of the post-Citizens-United explosion, there was no need to specifically search for the words “tea party” or “patriot”, because those words would naturally be overrepresented in a random sample of new applications. The reason you specifically search for those words is that you want to target those groups specifically, and not, say, applications with “Progress”, “Organizing”, or “Action” in them.

For that matter, even if they also targeted liberal keywords, it would still be just as big a problem. It’s hard to think of any reasonable standard for extra review that starts with “I didn’t like their name.”

Further evidence: given that they don’t seem to have taken action against any of the groups they hassled, it seems clear that this was, in fact, an objectively bad filter.

Rather than learning from this, the IRS instead did basically the same thing again, apparently on the logic that people who dislike taxes or complain about the government can’t possibly be promoting social welfare.

Now, maybe 501(c) organizations are a big scam and don’t promote social welfare nad we should get rid of them, as I’ve seen some columnists complain. But this doesn’t actually seem like the right time to have that conversation. Rather, it seems like a distraction from the fact that IRS employees decided that groups which advocated for smaller government were somehow specially untrustworthy, and acted on this opinion by singling them out for extra bureaucratic hassles. This is hugely disturbing, and right now our focus should be on making sure it doesn’t happen again, not reforming the laws governing tax-exempt organizations.

IS IT TRUE May 13, 2013

05/13/2013

12

IS IT TRUE May 13, 2013

IS IT TRUE in an article published a few weeks ago in the City County Observer Jordan Baer suggested that Building Commission Director Ben Miller should consider writing an article for the CCO detailing what is needed to provide him with the ability to effectively monitor and eliminate all of the blight in the two areas of Evansville that are particularly blighted instead of a rugged volunteer system?…thus far we have not heard from Ben about what his solution to the expanding blight would be?…as the City of Evansville has been randomly doing things like Front Door Pride where random homes are built or refurbished in blighted and sometimes dangerous neighborhoods?…former Director of DMD Tom Barnett candidly shared with the CCO in a tour of blighted areas in 2010 that our assertions that if the local schools are not performing and the crime machine keeps running that no amount of spending on houses will make the neighborhood attractive to young professionals?…Barnett was very clear that young professionals are the target demographic for the Front Door Pride program?…a master plan for the entire City of Evansville has not been written since the 1960s?…it is high time that a comprehensive master plan was written so the haphazard actions can be replaced with an actual thought out plan?

IS IT TRUE the Evansville Purple Aces menâ€™s basketball team just finished their best season since 1999 putting together 21 wins and playing deep into a post season tournament?…the Aces also knocked off the Final Four qualifying Wichita State Shockers two times during the regular season?…in spite of this improved performance and having the scoring record broken the home attendance dropped 13% relative to the previous season to an â€œofficialâ€ home attendance of 4,463?…this was the lowest attendance by any UE menâ€™s basketball team since 1956 when Roberts Stadium was opened?…the â€œofficialâ€ number is typically higher than the actual people in attendance due to season ticket holders who miss the game, illness, and free passes?…sometimes this year when the Aces played at Ford Center the stands seemed pretty near empty?…if the â€œofficialâ€ numbers came from warm butts in seats it would have probably been in the 3,000 range?…the move to Ford Center seems to have been a catalyst for a significant percentage of long time Aces fans to start staying home?…with the performance of the team on the upswing one would think that attendance would swing upwards as well?…the Aces may well enter next season with a realistic opportunity to win 25 games and compete for a MVC championship?…if that does not bring the fans back some serious changes may need to be considered to justify paying the rent for the Aces to play in the Ford Center?

IS IT TRUE it was admitted last week that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeted individuals who were known to associate themselves with the Tea Party for audits?…after the fact the IRS of course apologized for these inappropriate and misguided activities?…whether one agrees with the Tea Party or even has respect for their positions the IRS and the liberal fringe who seemingly hate the Tea Party need to realize that while vocally opposed to most liberal goals the Tea Party is made up of some of the most patriotic law abiding citizens the United States is privileged to be home to?…if you take a survey of people in jail we expect the percentage of Tea Party affiliates will be very low when compared to other political parties or fringe groups?…the IRS probably learned the same thing with their targeting?…the Tea Party affiliates are the kind of people who love this country and pay their taxes according to the laws of the land even when they do not like the laws of the land?…the beautiful thing about the laws of the United States is that they can be changed by people who love the country enough to get out in the street and make their views known?…that describes the Tea Party perfectly?