Charles Dickens’ classic tale “A Christmas Carol†comes to life in this exciting musical extravaganza! This Broadway sensation ran for 10 years and spawned the NBC Hallmark Entertainment special starring Kelsey Grammer as Scrooge, and an array of modern stars including Jason Alexander, Jane Krakowski, and Jennifer Lover Hewitt! Civic will bring out an enormous cast of our local stars to tell one of the most beloved Christmas stories ever written. “A Christmas Carol†retains its emotional power and pure joy thanks to this marvelously told story and beautiful score. Spend this holiday season with Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley, and Tiny Tim. Bring the whole family to one of the largest undertakings at Civic Theatre to date!
Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” – 12/14-12/15
VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES
Evansville, IN – Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday, December 5, 2012.
Corey Connolly Theft – Class D Felony
(Habitual Offender Enhancement)
Michael Gatlin Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated – Class C Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Driving While Suspended – Class A Misdemeanor
Evansville, IN – Below is a list of felony cases that were filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday, December 6, 2012.
Kendra Browning Possession of Methamphetamine –Class D Felony
Possession of Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor
Virgil Davis Burglary –Class C Felony
Attempted Theft –Class D Felony
Bennie Fulton Domestic Battery –Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
Criminal Mischief – Class B Misdemeanor
Edward Lowery Theft – Class D Felony
Criminal Trespass – Class A Misdemeanor
Kevin Miles Burglary –Class C Felony
Attempted Theft –Class D Felony
Cameron Meadows Theft –Class D Felony
False Informing – Class B Misdemeanor
Joseph Mitchell Receiving Stolen Property – Class D Felony
Driving Without a License – Class A Misdemeanor
Kristie Oberhausen Dealing in Methamphetamine –Class B Felony
Illegal Possession of Anhydrous Ammonia or Ammonia Solution – Class D Felony
Adam Rankin Dealing in Methamphetamine –Class B Felony
Illegal Possession of Anhydrous Ammonia or Ammonia Solution – Class D Felony
Possession of Paraphernalia – Class A Misdemeanor
Remington Voorhees Trespass – Class A Misdemeanor
(Enhanced to a Class D Felony due to Prior Convictions)
For further information on the cases listed above, or any pending case, please contact Carly Settles at 812.435.5688 or via e-mail at csettles@vanderburghgov.org.
Under Indiana law, all criminal defendants are considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
SENTENCE CHART
Class Range
Murder 45-65 Years
Class A Felony 20-50 Years
Class B Felony 6-20 Years
Class C Felony 2-8 Years
Class D Felony ½ – 3 Years
Class A Misdemeanor 0-1 Year
Class B Misdemeanor 0-180 Days
Class C Misdemeanor 0-60 Days
The Committee to Elect Jim Tucker, Sheriff of Vanderburgh County 2014
We are proud to announce that Jim Tucker, a 24 year veteran of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s office, has formed a committee and will seek the Office of Sheriff as a Democratic candidate in 2014.
As a life long Vanderburgh County resident, Jim has spent the majority of his adult life in the public service sector. He has served on the Perry Township Fire Department and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office. He has also served the community through various civic organizations and youth groups. Jim has every intention to raise the morale of the Sheriff’s Office and to bring new vision and streamlined law enforcement to the citizens of Vanderburgh County. He will work hard to reduce the budget in this already stressed economy, without compromising the safety of the citizens of this county.
He will release his plan to improve the agency in the weeks to come.
Jim is a graduate of F.J. Reitz High School and the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield, Indiana. Jim currently resides in northern Vanderburgh County with his wife Melissa and their three daughters.
Jim’s decision to seek this office is based on the overwhelming support of friends, family and Vanderburgh County residents to bring new vision, streamline law enforcement, and accountability to the office of the Sheriff.
We are very excited about this campaign! We look forward to running a clean, positive campaign and staying focused on the issues to ensure the safety of the citizens of Vanderburgh County.
Jim has established a Facebook page, www.facebook.com/tucker4sheriff, Twitter page: @JTucker4sheriff and a web page:www.tucker4sheriff.com. Voters can stay up to date with announcements, news, and event dates by going to any of theses sites.
The date of the official announcement and news conference is still pending and will be made available at a later date.
Contact info
Jim Tucker, Candidate for Sheriff, Vanderburgh County,812-568-4357
jim@tucker4sheriff.com
Will Singleton, Chairman, Jim Tucker for Sheriff. Vanderburgh County
will@tucker4sheriff.com. 812-455-4106
Mesker Amphitheatre Deteriorated near the Point of No Return
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:
Spend The Money On The Cemeteries Not C&P Advertising, By: Jordan Baer, Guest Editorial
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…
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
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?
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?
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?
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.
Mayor Winnecke, Gov.-Elect Pence to Visit Salvation Army Toy Town
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.