Aces track and field travels up I-69 to Indiana Invitational
The Purple Aces prepare for their second meet of 2024 after a splash in the Music City
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — After a successful first meet of the season, the University of Evansville track and field team looks to improve over the weekend.
The Purple Aces broke a total of eleven program records at their first indoor meet of the 2024 season in Nashville. At the Commodore Challenge, UE in the first day had six runners break indoor program records and five team members set personal bests. All six of Evansville’s new records came during nonchampionship track events with an even split between the men’s and women’s events.
Program records were set by Nicole Prauchner (Neuhofen an der Ybbs, Austria BORGL St.Pölten) in the women’s 1000-meter, Rafael Rodriguez (Segovia, Spain Colegio Claret) in the men’s 1000-meter, Eline Brenne (Skien, Norway Telemark Toppidrett Gymnas) in the women’s 600-meter, Jakub Nowicki (Poznan, Poland) in the men’s 600-meter, Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind., Reitz HS) in the women’s 300-meter, and Raymond Felton III (Houston, Clear Brook HS) in the men’s 300-meter.
The final day of the Commodore Challenge runners Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind. / Reitz HS) and Nicole Prauchner (Neuhofen an der Ybbs, Austria BORGL St.Pölten) added two more individual records in the 400 and 800-meter races. While Samuel Lea (Worchester, England / Worchester Sixth Form College) set a record in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:31.79.
Evansville also ended the weekend with two more program records in both the women’s and men’s 4×400 meter relays. The women’s team of Johnson, Prauchner, Eilen Brenne (Skien, Norway / Telemark Toppidrett Gymnas), and Nayla Martin (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada) broke the former record by over seven seconds at 4:03.37. While the men’s team of Austin Liversgowdy (Florence, Ky. / Cooper HS), Raymond Felton III (Houston, Clear Brook HS), Jose Ocampo (Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico), and Alvaro Monfort (Castile Y Leon, Spain / I.E.S. Alonso de Madrigal) shaved a second off the record from 2020 at 3:27.67.
This weekend, UE will spend two days in Bloomington at the Indiana Invitational hosted by the Indiana Hoosiers. The Aces will see some familiar faces in their second meet of the indoor season in fellow MVC competitors Indiana State and Southern Illinois. Six other teams are also participating in the weekend’s invitational in hosts IU, Cincinnati, Dayton, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), and Division III DePauw. The weekend will begin with field events at 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon until sprints wrapping up just before 9 p.m. On Saturday, competition begins at 9 a.m. with the final ev
USI Track & Field laces up for indoor season Eagles take on Bellarmine Open
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Track & Field begins the 2024 indoor campaign Friday at the Bellarmine Open in Louisville, Kentucky. The Screaming Eagles look to continue its success in their second year in NCAA Division I and Ohio Valley Conference.
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USI will travel to nine meets this season including the OVC Indoor Championships at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama February 21-22. Last season, the Eagles had a pair of first-place finishes including five podium awards in their first-ever OVC Indoor Championships.
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Making a return for the women is junior Audrey Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) who scored four top 10 finishes at the championships last season including second place finishes in both the 800 meters and the distance medley relay. Comastri took home first place in the 400 meters at the ISU Open with a personal-best time of one minute flat in 2023.
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For the men, senior Mitchell Hopf (Santa Claus, Indiana) will lead the pack this season for USI after earning two top-five finishes at last year’s OVC Championship in the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters. in 2023, Hopf was able to collect a pair of personal bests in the 3,000 meters and mile with two top 10 finishes for the Eagles.
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USI Head Coach Mike Hillyard returns for his 27th season at the helm. Last season, Hillyard led his squads to a pair of sixth-place conference finishes in the indoor season.
  U E OPENS IOWA TRIP ON SATURDAY AT DRAKES
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UE opens Iowa trip on Saturday at Drake
Aces set for 2-game swing in Iowa
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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Back-to-back road games in Iowa are on the docket for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team beginning on Saturday when UE faces Drake in Des Moines. Tip is set for 5 p.m. CT with ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network having the coverage.
Last Time Out
– Finishing the night shooting 50.9%, the Purple Aces earned a 78-75 victory against Valparaiso on Wednesday
– Four players reached double figures with Yacine Toumi and Chuck Bailey III scoring 13 apiece
– Kenny Strawbridge Jr. registered 11 points while Antonio Thomas scored 10
– Cam Haffner scored 5 points and had 3 assists; all five tallies came in a run that saw UE take a game-high 9-point lead in the second half
He’s Back
– After missing five games, Ben Humrichous made his return to the floor on Wednesday against the Beacons
– He saw just under 12 minutes of playing time and scored seven points
– Humrichous continues to rank among the top players in the MVC in multiple stats including: 3-point FG% (T-1 | 48.4%), blocks (4th | 1.31/gm), FG% (6th | 55.4%), 3-pt made (7th | 2.38/gm), 3- scoring (10th | 15.6 PPG)
Clutch Shots
– An efficient 5-for-7 shooting performance saw Chuck Bailey III record 13 points in the win over Valpo
– Twelve of those points came in the second half as two late triples put UE in front
– Bailey missed the game at Cincinnati and struggled in the ensuing two games before erupting for 18 against the Braves; he connected on 10 of his 13 free throw tries, both career highs
– He is third on the squad with a season average of 10.1 points per contest
Stat Sheet Consistency
– Yacine Toumi has been averaging close to a double-double over the last seven games, posting 11.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game over that time
– Toumi has record double figures in scoring in eight of the last 10 games
– He posted a career-best 12 boards versus Missouri State and is 8th in the MVC with a season mark of 6.8
– Toumi has averaged 12.3 points over the last 10 games (123 total pts) and recorded double-doubles against Tennessee Tech and Indiana State
Scouting the Opponent
– Drake paces the MVC with a 15-3 mark and a 6-1 start to league play
– The Bulldogs dealt Indiana State their lone conference loss on Jan. 10 and are coming off back-to-back road wins at Southern Illinois and Illinois State
– Tucker DeVries paces four double figure scorers for the Bulldogs with 20.6 points per game
– He is a 46.0% shooter from the field and has chipped in an average of 6.1 boards
– Atin Wright and Kevin Overton check in with averages of 14.7 and 12.4 PPG, respectively
– Darnell Brodie is averaging 10.9 points and a team-best 8.3 caroms
JUST IN: Teamsters Urge State Senate To Hold Hearing
Teamsters Urge State Senate To Hold Hearing
By Matt McQuaid
JANUARY 19, 2024
(INDIANAPOLIS) – The International Brotherhood of Teamsters today commended Indiana State Senator Jim Tomes (R-Wadesville) for introducing legislation, Senate Bill 57 (SB 57), that would require a trained human operator to be physically present in any commercial vehicle transporting passengers or delivering goods on Indiana roads. SB 57 already has significant bipartisan support in the state Senate, with backing from Sen. Vaneta Becker (R), Sen. Mike Bohacek (R), Sen. Gary Byrne (R), Sen. Shelli Yoder (D), and Sen Mark Messmer (R), as support for AV safety measures continues to grow across the state.
Given the critical importance of this issue, the Teamsters Union is calling on Senator Michael Crider, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, to commit to holding a legislative hearing on SB 57 during this legislative session.
“The Teamsters applaud Senator Tomes for introducing legislation that will help keep Indiana roads safe,†said Chuck Whobrey, President of Teamsters Local 215 and Vice President of Teamsters Joint Council 94. “Based on what we have seen over the past year in other states, we know that driverless vehicles are dangerous and do not belong on public roads. This bill sends a clear message to Big Tech that Hoosiers will not be their test subjects and that public safety is our priority. We are thankful to State Senator Tomes for putting forth this important bill and call on the Senate Transportation Committee to hold a legislative hearing on SB 57 in the coming year.â€
The legislation comes as driverless vehicles have wreaked havoc on public roads across the country, causing accidents, blocking traffic, and interfering with first responders. A woman in San Francisco was seriously injured by a Cruise robotaxi after the vehicle struck and dragged her for 20 feet.
“Thousands of professional drivers in Indiana are responsible for safely transporting goods and keeping our economy moving. Their skills and training make them the best at what they do,†said Bob Warnock, President of Teamsters Local 364 and President of Teamsters Joint Council 69. “Deadly automated vehicles could kill their jobs and make it difficult for workers to support their families. With these vehicles on the road, the public is in danger. SB 57 will save lives and protect livelihoods, and the Teamsters urge the Transportation Committee to consider this commonsense legislation promptly.â€
Hoosiers are understandably concerned about the dangers of driverless vehicles. In a poll conducted last year, more than 60 percent of Indiana residents said they would not be comfortable sharing the road with a small, driverless car; 75 percent would not be comfortable sharing the road with a driverless truck; and 83 percent would not be comfortable sharing the road with a semi-truck.
According to the poll, the presence of a human operator in a vehicle made Indiana residents feel significantly safer on the road.
“Hoosiers do not want to share the road with driverless vehicles because they know that the technology is not ready for prime time,†said Harvey Jackson, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 142. “Given what we have seen around the country, it would be madness to put dangerous driverless vehicles on our streets and put our safety in jeopardy. We are grateful to Senator Tomes for proposing this commonsense measure that will keep human beings behind the wheel in Indiana.â€
FOOTNOTE: n Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org to learn more. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like†us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.
Three House bills asking how best to protect the vulnerable head to the Senate
FEATURED
Three House bills asking how best to protect the vulnerable head to the Senate
- By Arianna Hunt & Sanjida Tanim, TheStatehouseFile.com
Age verification for adult content, school-bus stop-arm violations and guardian ad litems—three bills passed from their third readings in the Indiana Senate to the House Wednesday morning.
Senate Bill 30
Three bills passed from their third readings in the Indiana Senate to the House Wednesday morning.
In a third reading, the Senate discussed Senate Bill 30, co-authored by Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, Sen. James Buck, R-Kokomo, and Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland.
SB 30 holds the registered owner of a car accountable for a school bus stop-arm violation (driving around a school bus when its stop arm is out) but provides some defense if the owner was not driving the car at the time of the incident.
“The violations in this state are staggering numbers not getting prosecuted because we don’t have the image of the driver,” Niemeyer said.
Niemeyer highlighted the importance of obtaining images of both the license plate and the driver to strengthen prosecution efforts.
Minority Leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, expressed gratitude for the inclusion of a defense for individuals who were not driving the vehicle, noting the importance of protecting those who may be unfairly implicated.
“This is good common-sense legislation to help curb, hopefully, give a disincentive for people driving around these buses,†said Taylor.
Sen. David Vinzant, D-Hobart, demonstrated the urgency for effective measures, citing instances of vehicles maneuvering around buses by driving through yards.
“Some of the numbers are just astonishingly, we’re not killing more kids than we are, and the fact that we even have people driving around these buses is a terrible thing to do,” Vinzant said.
Last April, over 6,000 Indiana school bus drivers participated in a study for a day. They reported 2,091 violations, according to the National School Bus Illegal Passing Driver Survey.
The proposed legislation also introduces a class B infraction, potentially carrying fines of up to $1,000, depending on the severity of the violation.
Niemeyer addressed concerns from law enforcement and prosecutors, acknowledging their challenges in pursuing prosecutions without clear identification of the driver but also stressing the need for a more sustainable solution.
The bill passed to the House on a 33-12 vote.
Senate Bill 17Â
Senate Bill 17 would prevent minors from accessing pornography online by requiring anyone logging on to those websites to verify their age by providing their ID to be authenticated by a third-party vendor.
“Just like any other thing that we do that requires people to be able to verify their age, like to purchase a pack of cigarettes, vote and many other things,†said Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores.“The ID that you produced, that is verified by a third-party vendor, once your ID is verified and your age is verified and that information is immediately redacted.â€
Although there are penalties in place for third-party vendors that do not immediately delete the information through fines and infractions, Sen. Greg Taylor argued against the bill, saying that the guard rails in place are not enough.
“When I verify my age through a verifying agency, what confidence do any of us have that they will not take our personal information and sell it?†said Taylor. “That is the only bad thing about this bill.â€
Taylor says that in other states with similar bills, their efforts to see if their information is being sold is impossible because the third-party vendors are out of the country.
“When these people verify their age, which is required under this piece of legislation, they found that most of the age verification companies are not United States companies,†said Taylor. “Most of them came from places like the Philippines, China and other nations that we can never access if our information is actually given.â€
He also argued that several witnesses during the committee said that the goal of this legislation was to stop adult entertainment sites from actually doing business in Indiana.
“But what about the law-abiding citizens who should be able to enjoy these sites because they are adults?†said Taylor.
“We can no longer afford to pretend that the pornography that is accessible to minors today is as mildly graphic and difficult to find as it was in the 1980s,†said Sen. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette.
The bill passed to the House in a 44-1 vote, with Taylor being the sole “no.â€
Senate Bill 16
Senate Bill 16 would require “a court to appoint a guardian ad litem in an adoption proceeding if a parent of the child has an intellectual disability and is subject to a guardianship†in LaPorte, Marshall and Starke counties.
Generally, an ad litem is a guardian appointed by court to represent the best interests of a child. In this case, the ad litem would represent the parent who has an intellectual disability.
“So when they deliver that child, the GAL [guardian ad litem] would help represent them and their interests during that transition period,†said bill author Bohacek.
“In many cases, these moms don’t want to say who they had a relationship with that resulted in the pregnancy, and many cases, it could be a family member or to protect the family member that is their guardian, and perhaps a GAL will be able to get that information out.â€
EVANSVILLE ERC SIGNS AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE BOND TO DEVELOPE FIRTH AND MAIN PROPERTY
FOOTNOTE: Â The CITY-COUNTY OBSERVER posted the above legal documents without bias or editing. Â After several announcements over the last several years by former Mayor Winnecke and spending several million dollars concerning the future development of the FiFTH and Main property (that never happened) we hope that a proposed project will be successful this time.