Evansville Courier & Press

Hunting in This Part of the Country Isn't What It Used to Be

Lord, I hope I don't become one of those old folks who live in the past, but there were some things I enjoyed growing up in the country that are pretty much gone now and for which I'll admit a misty-eyed fondness. One of them was hunting. My generation, the kids that came of age in the late 1950s and '60s, are pretty well the last to have experienced the culture of hunting in this part of the country as it used to be.

Camp Breckinridge Case May Go On for Years Land Fight: Where's Money?

Jimmy Hendrickson's family was one of hundreds of Western Kentucky farm families forced from their land by the government to make way for a World War II training camp. Hendrickson, now 76, waited decades for the government to make it right, and thought a federal judge's ruling issued last month -- 40 years after the first lawsuit was filed -- would mean millions of dollars in compensation.

Good Food and Good Taste Ethel Tucker Known for Gracious Dining

Before fast- food restaurants turned mealtimes into timed events and before watching TV replaced conversation, dining was entertainment. The focus was, of course, on the food, but the presentation was, perhaps, equally important. The china, the silver, the floral arrangement and the party favors all contributed to a successful meal.

Every Homeless Pet Deserves a Loving Home

Since I have no children, I felt pretty confident in the assumption I would have no grandchildren. Happily, I was wrong.

Lunch Served Up with a Bit of History

When interviewed for this story, Ethel Tucker surprised photographer Elizabeth Fisco and reporter John Lucas with a luncheon. The menu consisted of vegetable chicken salad served on a bed of lettuce; glazed apple rings; broccoli; homemade bread; and strawberry pie.

Guardsmen Honor Recovering Soldier Sgt. Jamie Brown Seriously Wounded in Iraq

His innards shredded and his brain damaged by a missile attack in Baghdad in November 2003, Sgt. Jamie Brown could easily have died. Instead, the 23-year-old Indiana Army National Guard soldier from Evansville survived to put his life back together. "Temporarily retired," pending a final determination of his medical condition, a mostly healed Brown is back in Evansville, making plans to study engineering and get a Department of Veterans Affairs job helping veterans.

Weinzapfel Campaign Staffer Still Working

Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel's four-year term hasn't yet reached its halfway point, but his campaign effort has remained active. One of Weinzapfel's 2003 campaign staff members, Carrie Bales, stayed in Evansville after the race and has continued to do some fund-raising work for the campaign.

Major Water Project Well Under Way

Motorists passing by U.S. 41 and Boonville-New Harmony Road might be curious about the heavy equipment and the large pieces of pipe on the ground there recently. They're part of a major waterline extension that will serve the Elberfeld area of Vanderburgh County, said Harry Lawson, general manager of Evansville's Water and Sewer Utility.

Highways and Byways a Weekly Photographic Report

Tim Schaefer is the kind of guy who likes to jump in on something new and give it a try... "money permitting," he said with a chuckle. So, inside his year-old 27-foot-by-94-foot greenhouse in Mount Vernon, Ind., Schaefer raises zonal geraniums. Thirteen different shades of the delicate flowers.

Students Walk Out in Graduation Protest

More than 50 students walked out of Christian County High School last week to protest a decision by the district's superintendent to allow 17 students to graduate, despite questions about their writing portfolios. The students, joined by a group of students from Hopkinsville High School, walked to the school district's central office Friday. Superintendent Bob Lovingood was out of town for a meeting at the time.

Roads

Drug, Alcohol Abuse Sessions Start at Ue

University of Evansville's annual Drug and Alcohol Abuse Institute for community health professionals begins today. The four-day event will include morning plenary speakers, "lunch and learns" and shorter afternoon sessions. The schedule includes:

Info Line

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Evansville

Body Found in Wabash Identified As 37-Year-Old Illinois Woman

The body of a woman found this weekend in the Wabash River was identified Sunday as a 37-year-old woman who had been missing since Dec. 27, 2004. The body of the Russellville, Ill., woman was found Saturday afternoon two miles north of Kimmel Park in Vincennes, Ind.

Obituaries

Local Obituaries Billie D. Dollars

City to Get Update On Roberts Stadium

The City Council and the Parks Board both are scheduled to be updated this week on the Roberts Stadium flooding issue. Late last week, the source of water gushing beneath the stadium floor was still undetermined, but an engineering consultant was testing at sites around the stadium in search of an answer.

County to Award Bid for Road Work

A construction bid for the summer's Oak Hill Road project will be awarded by Vanderburgh County Commissioners during a special meeting at noon Wednesday in Room 307 of the Civic Center. Bids for the project will be opened during the commissioners' regularly scheduled meeting, at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room 301 of the Civic Center.

State Police Struggle to Attract Recruits

The growing number of state troopers nearing retirement and increased competition from the private sector and other police agencies have left the Indiana State Police struggling to attract new recruits. The 24 troopers who graduated in October came from a pool of a few hundred applicants -- far less than the 2,000 or so applications processed about 25 years ago.

45 Percent Want New Governor in Illinois

A third of Illinois voters want to see Gov. Rod Blagojevich re- elected in 2006, while 45 percent would prefer having someone else in the governor's office, according to a new poll. The Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV poll of 1,200 likely voters also found that 35 percent approved of the job Blagojevich is doing, while 44 percent disapproved. Twenty-one percent said they had no opinion.