Vincennes City Council met Monday

local-government-9

Council supports a redistricting resolution.

 

REDISTRICTING

The City of Vincennes is lending its support to the establishment of an independent commission to oversee the re-drawing of state and congressional districts.

Council members last night unanimously supported the resolution introduced by Councilman Duane Chattin.

Chattin says currently the majority party in the Indiana General Assembly oversees the re-drawing of the maps every ten years. He says the process has led to redrawing the legislative maps to heavily favor incumbents of whichever political party is in power at the time.

The resolution calls upon the state to address several things including drawing districts as one connected area  which would include communities of interest such as city and county boundaries…instead of splintering legislative districts to include portions of several counties.

Common Cause of Indiana, a government watchdog group is pushing for the formation of an independent body to look at redistricting. According to Chattin, the independent commission would be consist of of Indiana voters who are representative of the state’s diversity, partisan balance and geography.

Four other cities besides Vincennes have passed similar resolutions of support.

 


 

 FIREWORKS

 

As the Fourth of July approaches, Vincennes Police Chief Dusty Luking wants to remind residents of when its permissible to set-off fireworks in the city.

Last year, Luking says the City Council adopted an ordinance setting out specific dates and times when fireworks can be used.

Council adopted the ordinance after receiving numerous complaints about fireworks being set off at all hours of the day and night.

So far, Luking says the police department has only received four complaints about fireworks use this month.

Luking also advises residents to take precautions when using fireworks. Always have water or sand on hand in the event of a fire and be sure to supervise and instruct children in the proper use of fireworks.

 


 

 

IREFIGHTER HONORED

A veteran of the Vincennes Fire Department has been recognized for his service to the community.

Vincennes Fire Chief Sonny Pinkstaff says that Captain Larry Shots was recently honored by the V-F-W as the Emergency Medical Technician of the Year.

Shots is a certified EMT and has worked on the Fire Department for the last 18-years.