Category Archives: Jeers

Prop 8 Overturn Has Evansville Talking

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Proposition 8 was overturned on Wednesday, which has sparked debate all over the US, including here in Evansville.  There are currently over 470 comments on the article from the Courier Press website, each person chiming in with their own interpretation of the law.  After a quick glance at the comments it becomes obvious that, at least those who want to leave comments, are in support of the overturn.

I wasn’t interested in debating the merits of Proposition 8 or the moral implications or lack thereof that might surface.  However, I do find it interesting to see how the Evansville community discusses such important and potentially life changing news.

Let’s say a viewer only looks at the comments found on the Courier Press article, the following would be revealed.  If you support Proposition 8, then you are a right wing moral army nut job, however if you are for the overturn then you are a leftist, liberal, supporting the moral decay of the US.  So where is the gray area?  Is it possible the city of Evansville can be split directly down the middle using these two assumptions?  I think not.

Readers of any online news/opinion site need to keep in mind that the most out spoken people on comment posts and forums are not always the majority of a community.  These are just the people who feel their opinions are important enough to discuss upon their soap boxes.  Again, this is true no matter which side of the argument or political landscape you may be on.

Evansville Outsourcing Safety On Greenway

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Due to a recent accident on the Pigeon Creek Greenway, the Evansville Parks and Recreation Board has hired an outside firm to come assess the dangers of the bike trail.  Instead of hiring a local firm, Evansville has hired someone out of Indianapolis and paying them $9,500 to point out where patrons could get hurt.

Although the inspection is most likely being done to curb any future lawsuits, the parents of the small girl who fell look like they will be suing the Parks and Recreation Board.

Jones said the girl’s family has sent a tort claim to the city, a preliminary step to filing a lawsuit.

So what’s the solution, put up barriers everywhere and make sure said barriers are padded?  Take down the bike trails, because it’s too dangerous anyway?  Surely some of the responsibility should be laid squarely on the parents and people who ride the trails and enjoy the scenery.  We are a sue happy society and it’s going to end up ruining Evansville for the rest of us.

My heart does go out to the little girl cited as getting hurt, it’s a very scary thing to have a child injured.  But is the first step to always go after someone else in hopes of getting money?  Instead, lets look at ways that the community could help with medical bills or another means of generating funds, that won’t require extreme measures like building walls.

Lastly, if assessment is necessary and actions are required, let’s keep the work local.  I can already imagine the next headline, ‘Evansville Hires Employees From Mexico To Install Safety Equipment On Greenway’.

Source: CourierPress.com

Why Does Evansville Stink?

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I first noticed one of the residents of Evansville on Twitter asking why Evansville stunk.  Figured it had something to do with his specific location.  Unfortunately as soon as I walked outside I smelled what seemed like a pile of rotting wet rags.

Since then there have been 2 others mention the stench that seems to be moving all over the city.  Of course there hasn’t been an official response or comment in the media, Hoyt of Channel 14 WFIE made an observation.

Likely farming. We did a story out of Gibson Co. about using turkey litter which has strong smell when it gets wet and warmer.

So, if you are outside today and wondering what’s crawling up your nose, it’s probably fertilizer.  The warmer temperatures bring out more than greenery and wild life, it also brings out the squiggly stink lines.

*Update

According to Jeff Lyons we are experiencing a weather condition called Inversion.  This conditions normally causes conditions for smog, but in our case can intensify the stench of the city dump and fertilizers being used on nearby farms.

Also, added this to the weather category. ;)

Sewage Lawsuit

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It’s a biased opinion, but I think our current public servants are dropping the ball big time.  Not all of them, all the time, but enough to make an embarrassment of our fine city.  There has been a lawsuit filed against the city of Evansville for excessive pollution of the Ohio River.  I say excessive because the state permits a small amount of pollution, it’s alleged that we’ve over stepped those boundaries.

What this means for the city of Evansville are extremely steep fines.  According to the Courier and Press these fines can reach up to $37,500, per day!  Weinzapfel replied in a statement that this was bullying by the federal government to exert control.  Sounds familiar.

My opinion is that there have been way too many pet projects over the past 10 years, spending money that should have been put toward sewer and drainage upgrades.  The huge downpour in Evansville on Sept 5th, 2009 is cited as one example of how our sewers lack the volume to handle a lot of rain, thus dumping sewage into the Ohio.  I know the residents of the South Side of Evansville know a little something about down pours and no where for the water to go.

I really don’t know if the money being spent on the stadium comes from the same purse as what’s used for our Sewers, but it should.  There should be some way to dip into allotted budgets to take care of emergencies, like our sewer problems, to keep Evansville homes and businesses from flooding.

Local Car Lots Selling On Craigslist

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Here is some free advice for local car lots looking to capitalize on the popularity of Evansville Craigslist.  Yes it’s free to list and there are not printed rules to follow, however there is netiquette that should be followed if you don’t want to piss potential buyers off.  Let’s get started.

1. Always advertise the price, don’t  make me call you.  Town and Country Ford is the latest offender of this and frankly I’ll never shop there again, that’s how much it pisses me off.

2. Provide plenty of pictures, at least 4, don’t tease me with the perfect exterior picture when the interior is rotted.

3. Remove the damn listing if you’ve sold it off your lot.  Internet shoppers don’t like to hear about great sales after the fact.

4. Don’t Spam!  Filling up Craigslist with listings from your car lot is the equivalent of filling my email inbox with Viagra ads and then coming to the grocery store with me and pushing my cart over when it’s full.  Don’t do it, you are ruining the free service for everyone else and it makes you look like a dick.

5. Don’t list crap.  Only list things on Craigslist that are of value or a special deal.  This means if you have a special edition car or truck you want to sell, list it, or if you have a bargain basement price, list it.  Everything else you can keep to yourself and try to sell off of your lot.