Evansville Courier & Press (2007-Current)

'Personal' Mission On Patrol Night Out Event Puts Spotlight On Bond

Each week, three Evansville Police Department crime prevention officers in the East Sector walk or bicycle through one of the neighborhoods on their beats. Dubbed a "street sweep," officers Eric Krogman, Kevin Corbin and Anna Fillmore chat with people in the community, keep an eye open for problems and take note of quality-of-life issues such as abandoned cars, rundown houses or unkempt yards.

For Principal, Health Plan Makes the Grade Peace of Mind a Factor When Studying Options

Todd Slagle, Delaware Elementary School principal, has been happy with the health insurance plans during his 15-year career as an educator in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. That includes the plans offered by the EVSC's new provider, Anthem, to which the school system switched earlier this year.

Triplets Made Home After They Got Out

Three-hour rides to St. Louis to catch a plane. Meal money of $15 per day. A free pizza if you hit the game-winning RBI. A free gas grill for hitting a homer over the Arkla sign in left field. Sixty-five cent game programs. Players taking offseason jobs as house painters and store clerks to make ends meet.

Weighing Costs Vs. Needs Retiree Forced to Trim Medicines

Living on a fixed income means that Robert Vollmer has to be resourceful to afford his many medications. Vollmer, 78, is retired from his job as the religious education director at St. John Catholic Church, in Daylight, Ind. His wife, Carolyn Vollmer, 75, is a retired florist.

Local Happenings

Boonville, Ind. Warrick Co. School Board meeting tonight

Let's Look at the Arena's Effect On Milkshakes

Foolish me. Until I saw the overlay of Evansville's proposed new arena on an aerial photo of Downtown in last week's Sunday paper, it hadn't sunk into my thick head the plan calls for choking off another Downtown street.

K-9 Cop Is Officer's Best Friend Dog, Handler to Be at Night Out

Newburgh Police Department officer Chad Bailey hides a plastic bag containing a small amount of marijuana in an air-conditioning vent. "This won't take long," the 31-year-old man says as he puts the leash on Rex, the department's police dog.

Highways and Byways a Weekly Photographic Report Long Journey Home Distance, Health Obstacles to Three Sisters' Nfrequent Reunions

The three sisters, with husbands in tow, watch the afternoon's entertainment (the Winslow, Ind., street sweeper) make lap after lap not far from Lendon and Christine Toms' front porch. "They've had it two years and finally got it to where it would pick up trash," Christine Toms tells the others. "It used to just blow it out in the street and leave it. Now they've finally got it to where it'll work."

Teacher Licensing Still at Issue for Bennett

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana's schools chief says he is still optimistic he'll get the new licensing requirements he wants approved, even after a state board declined to start the clock on the approval process. The Indiana Professional Licensing Board on Wednesday said they hadn't had enough time to review Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett's proposal, which they received late Tuesday afternoon. Thus, they refused to initiate a public comment period.

Warrick's Night Out

Briefs

Evansville Man jailed, accused of breaking into cars

Obituaries

local Earl F. Ford

Welfare Plan's Costs Keep Growing Ibm Corp. Contract's Price Is 15 Percent Higher After 3 Years of Add-Ons

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana will spend nearly $180 million more than it initially planned to privatize many of its welfare functions just two years into a closely watched 10-year deal. The cost of the $1.16 billion contract Gov. Mitch Daniels signed in late 2006 has risen 15 percent, to $1.34 billion, under changes made to the agreement with a group led by Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp.

Senate Mulls Health Care Options

Here is a look at health care legislation taking shape in the Senate as President Barack Obama pushes to overhaul the system, cover nearly 50 million uninsured Americans and contain rising costs. Many of the details still are being negotiated, and any final bill would have to meld proposals from the House and Senate.