HEALTH OFFICIALS URGE SCREENING DURING NATIONAL LEAD POISONING PREVENTION WEEK
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) highlights the need for all Hoosier children younger than age 7 to be screened for lead exposure during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, recognized Oct. 22-28.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, House Enrolled Act 1313 requires that all Indiana healthcare providers determine whether children age 6 and younger have been tested for lead poisoning and to offer screening. Through August 2023, there has been a 21% increase in unique children tested compared to the same period in 2022 and a 393% overall increase in confirmed cases of elevated blood lead levels. This has led to 81.9% more children receiving resources and support from lead case managers than in all of 2022.
“Lead poisoning can look like a lot of other things like attention deficit disorder, ADHD or even autism because it doesn’t present in a specific way,†said Paul Krievins, director of the Indiana Department of Health Lead and Healthy Homes Division. “Testing is critical to identifying and removing sources of lead and ensuring children exposed to lead receive needed care and treatment.â€
Data show that no amount of lead in the blood is safe, and children age 6 and younger are most vulnerable to the effects of lead exposure because their bodies use the toxic lead in brain and bone development. Young children are also more likely to be exposed to lead through placing their hands which may be contaminated by lead dust into their mouths. Lead dust often originates from deteriorated lead-based paint in older homes, but lead can occur naturally in soil and can be found in drinking water fed through lead pipes. Signs of lead exposure can include damage to the brain and nervous system, learning and behavior problems, developmental delays and hearing and speech problems.
Gov. Holcomb directs flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims of violence in Lewiston, Maine
INDIANAPOLIS – Governor Eric J. Holcomb is directing flags to be flown at half-staff in honor and remembrance of the victims of the horrific tragedy in Lewiston, Maine per President Biden.
Flags statewide should be flown at half-staff from now until sunset on Monday, Oct. 30. Gov. Holcomb is requesting residents and businesses to lower their flags.
Late rally comes up just short for UE volleyball
Aces welcome SIU on Saturday
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In a close match throughout the evening, the University of Evansville volleyball team fell to Missouri State by a 3-1 final inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Friday evening.
Giulia Cardona and Melanie Feliciano led all players in kills with 22 and 20, respectively. Ainoah Cruz continued her strong streak on the defensive side with a match-high 28 digs while Kora Ruff picked up 43 assists. Ruff and Blakeley Freeman added 10 digs each. Cardona finished the night with six service aces while Freeman added three of her own.
Game 1 – MSU 25, UE 23
Both teams had their chances in the opening frame. Giulia Cardona picked up a kill to help the Aces take a 10-8 advantage before an error by the Bears pushed the Evansville lead to 13-10. Missouri State fought back to tie it at 16-16 before utilizing a 3-0 run to go up 21-20.
Kills by Brooke Springer and Melanie Feliciano along with a solo block from Madisyn Steele put UE back in front at 23-21. The Bears grabbed the momentum right back, posting the final four points to take the set.
Game 2 – MSU 26, UE 24
Three in a row by the Bears saw them take an early 9-6 lead with UE tying it right back up with a pair of Giulia Cardona service aces. Blakeley Freeman followed up with consecutive aces of her own to put her team in front – 14-11.
Evansville extended the lead to as many as four points as Feliciano picked up two more kills to push the advantage to 17-13. The Aces continued to lead until the Bears staged another late rally. Trailing 24-22, MSU reeled off the final four tallies to win the set and take a 2-0 lead.
Game 3 – UE 25, MSU 20
Following a back-and-forth battle early in the frame, the Aces went on a 13-4 run to turn a 5-5 game into an 18-9 advantage. Evansville started by scoring five in a row with Cardona picking up two kills and an ace. Emilee Scheumann and Feliciano added kills during the run to add to the lead.
MSU made a late run to cut the deficit to as few as three points (21-18), but the Aces held strong to take the set by a 25-20 score.
Game 4 – MSU 25, UE 23
MSU opened the fourth on a 3-0 run with a Scheumann kill getting the Aces within one at 9-8. The Bears would extend lead back to as many as four points with UE staying within a handful of points. An error by MSU allowed UE to cut the deficit back to one at 22-21 but the rally came up just short with UE falling by a 25-23 final.
Southern Illinois is on the slate Saturday with the match beginning at 5 p.m.
UE Men’s basketball faces Wabash in Saturday exhibition game
Tip set for 1 p.m. inside the Ford Center
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Basketball season officially opens on Saturday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team welcomes Wabash College to the Ford Center for an exhibition contest. Tip is set for 1 p.m. inside the Ford Center.
Setting the Scene
– Saturday’s game will be the lone exhibition game for the Purple Aces as they prepare for the 2023-24 season
– UE has five returners from last season while bringing in 12 newcomers
– Head coach David Ragland balanced the experience of the incoming players with eight being freshmen, one sophomore, a junior, senior and 5th-year senior
Scouting the Opponent
– Wabash is coming off a strong 21-8 campaign in 2022-23
– The Little Giants return a wealth of experience as 10 of their top 11 scorers from last season are back
– Ahmoni Jones led Wabash in both scoring (16.2 PPG) and rebounding (6.3 RPG) last year
Approaching 1,000
– Returning for his fifth season of college basketball is Kenny Strawbridge Jr.
– Following two seasons at Alabama State, Strawbridge joined the Aces last season and led the squad with 14.4 points per game
– He opens this season with 973 points in his career, just 27 away from reaching the 1,000-point mark
– Strawbridge was named to the MVC Preseason Second Team on October 17
– His top scoring output of last season saw him register 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting versus Fairfield
Best in the Valley
– Completing the 20-game MVC slate with a 44.0% showing from 3-point range, Gage Bobe led the way in the league last year
– He was 2-for-5 from outside in the finale versus Illinois State after going 4-of-7 in the final home game against UIC
– His top career game came at Valpo as he scored 22 points while draining six of his 11 3-point tries and seeing 36:49 of work
– Bobe enters his fifth season with the Aces
Back in the MVC
– Antonio Thomas embarks on his fifth season of college basketball right where it all started – in the MVC
– Thomas opened his career at Bradley where he was part of the 2020 MVC Championship team as a freshman
– Following two seasons with the Braves, Thomas transferred to Kentucky Wesleyan where he spent the last two seasons
– In 2022-23, Thomas averaged 9.8 points and 3.0 rebounds for KWC
UE Cross Country finishes 11th at MVC Championships
NASHVILLE – The University of Evansville cross country teams both finished in 11th place at the post-season meet.
Hosted by the Belmont Bruins in Nashville, the Purple Aces competed in the MVC Championships on Friday morning. UE’s women’s team outperformed their pre-championship poll selection finishing 11th out of 12 teams with four runners setting PRs while the men’s team finished 11 of 11 teams. The women’s side was led by freshman runner Sonja Inzinger (Mautern an der Donau, Austria) with a 38th-place finish while the men’s side was led by freshman Samuel Lea (Wooster, England) with a 59th-place finish.
“Today was a big step in the right direction for the women’s team,†said Head Coach Brook LeCompte following Friday’s race. “What doesn’t show on the results sheet is the adversity this team has faced all year. It was a team of mostly freshmen who dealt with illness for a majority of the season and only got to race as a full team for the first time today. We had some solid performances, but we know there is still plenty of room for improvement. This is the beginning of a team that will continue to move up in the MVC standings over the next handful of years.â€
“On the men’s side, they did not race as well as we expected. We lost some of our runners to injury but overall, I think we underperformed today. Cross country is a big adjustment for middle-distance runners on the men’s side. And I think this team still has a lot to learn in regard to long-distance racing. But this is a young team and we will figure it out over time,â€.
It was a big morning race for Evansville’s women as four runners set a personal best time for a 6K race. Inzinger finished Friday’s race with a time of 22:24.1, a new PR after setting her first at Angel Mounds two weeks prior. Nicole Prauchner (Neuhofen an der Ybbs, Austria) raced her first 6K and was second for the Aces placing 43rd with a time of 22:36.3.
Also setting PRs in Nashville were freshman Nayla Martin (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec) placing 55th with a time of 22:55.6 and freshman Shelby Bastin (Versailles, Ind.) with a time of 25:19.0. UE had two other runners place on the women’s side in Sarah Vanderhoof-Dossett (Franklin, Tenn.) finishing 81st with a time of 24:51.9 and Kyndall Anthis (Pakota, Ind.) placing 82nd with a time of 25:08.6.
For the men’s team, Samuel Lea finished with a time of 23:37.6, followed by Rafael Rodriguez (Segovia, Spain) placing 62nd with a time of 27:24.6. Woody Burrell (Ceaderburg, Wis.) was the Aces next finisher in 70th place with a time of 27:57.8. Rounding out finishes for the men were Owen Cuplin (Hampshire, Ill.) in 73rd with a time of 28:36.5, Cedrik Flipo (Beloeil, Quebec) in 75th with a time of 29:07.8 and Tommaso Losma in 76th with a time of 29:22.3.
Evansville ended its cross country season on Friday morning. UE will take some time to rest before turning their eyes to the indoor track and field season. The Aces will begin the indoor season in mid-January.
No. 1 seed Trailblazers advance to Region 24 Championship with sweep over No. 4 Lincoln Trail
CENTRALIA, Ill. – The No. 1-seeded Vincennes University volleyball team began their postseason run Friday afternoon at the NJCAA Division I Region 24 Tournament hosted by Kaskaskia College.
The Blazers earned the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s tournament after finishing the regular season with an undefeated 12-0 record in Region 24 play.
Vincennes took the court Friday afternoon for their first postseason match in a semi-final match against No. 4 seed Lincoln Trail College.
The day got off to a rough start for the Blazers, with sophomore middle Kennedy Sowell (Effingham, Ill.) suffering an injury during warmups which took her out of the lineup.
The match began as a back-and-forth battle, with Lincoln Trail having already played once Friday against No. 5 seed Lake Land College.
VU grabbed the early lead with a 6-1 scoring run to take a 16-9 advantage.
Lincoln Trail would look to answer back late but were unable to put together a scoring run of their own as the Trailblazers took set one of the match 25-15 to take the early 1-0 lead.
Vincennes was again the first to break away in set two, scoring four unanswered to take an 8-4 lead.
Lincoln Trail would answer back this time however, cutting the VU down to one at 9-8.
The Trailblazers would then outscore the Lady Statesmen 8-2 to take a big 17-10 lead, which would stand for the rest of the set as VU came away with set two 25-17 to take a 2-0 match lead.
Vincennes continued to ride the momentum of the match into set three, using five unanswered points to take an early 5-1 lead and later extending the lead with a 4-0 scoring run to take a 9-3 advantage.
VU kept on the attack after Lincoln Trail cut the lead down to 16-11 as VU would go on to outscore LTC 9-2 to take set three 25-13 and complete the three set sweep over Lincoln Trail College.
“The team did an excellent job after Kennedy’s injury,†VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “My heart breaks for her. She worked very hard all year. But the team went on and played a pretty seamless game despite the long layoff. We ball controlled, served and blocked very well.â€
The VU offense was led by sophomores Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Audrey Buis (Franklin, Ind.), with Parlanti putting together a really good all around game with 11 kills, seven digs, four blocks and three aces, while Buis just missed out on a double-double with nine kills, eight digs and two blocks.
Freshman Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) had a very good all around game, filling the stats sheet with seven kills, a team-high six blocks, four digs, three aces and one set assist.
Freshman Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) finished off her night with four kills, three blocks, one dig and one ace, while fellow freshman Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) ended with four kills and three blocks.
Sophomore setter Maecy Johnson (Chrisman, Ill.) ran another very efficient game to finish with 28 set assists, five digs, one ace and one block.
Sophomore libero Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.) controlled the VU back row defense to finish the night with 13 digs and one set assist.
Freshmen Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) and Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) entered the game to add some extra help defensively in the back row, with DeCoursey adding three digs and Flexter recording two digs.
“Isadora came in for Kennedy in the middle and did a very good job,†Sien said. “Elisa had big numbers in herb locks and hitting with no errors. All the hitters, like Paige and Audrey, had great numbers as the sets were evenly distributed.â€
“We passed exceptionally,†Sien added. “So Maecy was able to run a very balanced offense.â€
The Trailblazers will now have a quick turn around before the NJCAA Division I Region 24 Championship match tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. eastern against No. 2 seed John A. Logan College.
No. 3 Kaskaskia College will also take on No. 4 Lincoln Trail College in the third-place game tomorrow, slated to begin at 12 p.m. eastern.
“It is a toss-up in the Kaskaskia, John A. Logan match, either team could win it,†Sien said. “We just have to be ready for a dogfight tomorrow. Everything we did during the season is tossed out the window and it boils down to just one match for this whole thing.â€
Other results from the day include, No. 4 Lincoln Trail winning over No. 5 Lake Land College 25-19, 25-22, 25-18, No. 3 Kaskaskia College winning over No. 6 Wabash Valley 25-16, 25-18, 25-15 and No. 2 John A. Logan winning over No. 3 Kaskaskia College 25-17, 25-14, 25-21.
BOX SCORE
No. 4 Lincoln Trail – 15   17  13  x  x
VUVB (30-6, 13-0) – 25   25  25  x  x
VINCENNES STATS
Grace Flexter – 2 digs
Audrey Buis – 10 points, 9 kills, 2 block assists, 8 digs
Dylan DeCoursey – 3 digs
Morgan Netcott – 13 digs, 1 set assist
Paige Parlanti – 16.5 points, 3 aces, 11 kills, 1 solo block, 3 block assists, 7 digs
Isadora Dias – 5.5 points, 4 kills, 3 block assists
Maecy Johnson – 1.5 points, 1 ace, 1 block assist, 5 digs, 28 set assists
Elisa Dalla Pozza – 13 points, 3 aces, 7 kills, 6 blocks assists, 4 digs, 1 set assist
Laura Tavares – 6.5 points, 1 ace, 4 kills, 3 block assists, 1 dig
EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
FOOTNOTE: Â EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.