A hunter was injured last week after falling 25-feet from a tree stand in Decatur County.
According to reports from Indiana conservation officers, 44-year-old Jeffrey Berkemeir of Greensburg was attempting to remove a hang-on tree stand at about 11:32 a.m. Thursday morning in the 8700 block of East County Road 150N. He was using a full-body safety harness but the lineman’s rope became untied for unknown reasons, leading to the fall.
Berkemeir suffered severe injuries to both his legs and was flown by helicopter to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment.
Jennings County authorities are looking for information after a dead dog was found in a ditch last week.
The dog, which appears to have been a black pit bull, was severely burned and it was dragged to the area with a leash or rope after being set on fire. The body was found in a ditch off of Country Manor Street in Country Squire Lakes.
The sheriff’s department asks that if you have any information on the case that you call investigator Ian McPherson at 812-346-4911. You can leave information anonymously.
Legal Aid is holding a Free Legal Aid Phone Clinic from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Legal Aid offers the clinics for low-income residents of its eight-county district.
If you take part you will have a brief consultation with a volunteer attorney to answer general questions, to offer legal information or to receive other advice over the phone.
To take part, you must first register between noon and 2 Tuesday by calling 812-378-0358.
INDOT says drivers will see restrictions this week on Interstate 74 in Decatur County as crews patch the highway.
Barrels will be placed early this week, with patching starting as early as Thursday between St. Paul and Greensburg. Work will start in the westbound lanes and then move to the eastbound.
You can expect lane closures both during the day and at night. The work is expected to finish by mid November, weather permitting.
INDOT reminds you to to slow down, to use extra caution, and to drive without distractions in all construction zones.
Photo of Ta’neasha Chappell after her May arrest. Photo courtesy of Indiana State Police
The family of an inmate who died this summer while in the custody of the Jackson County Jail is suing authorities for $30 million dollars according to the Seymour newspaper.
The Seymour Tribune is reporting that the family of Ta’Neasha Chappell filed the lawsuit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The complaint alleges that the sheriff, jail commander and jailers were indifferent to getting the 23-year-old Louisville, Kentucky woman medical treatment after she fell ill on July 15th in the jail, according to the newspaper report.
She was taken to Schneck Medical Center on the afternoon of July 16th, where she died later that evening.
Chappell was being held at the jail on various charges after an incident in May, where she was accused of theft from the Edinburgh Premium Outlet Mall, then fleeing from police at speeds of up to 100 mph through Bartholomew, Jackson, Scott and Clark counties, before crashing into the rear of a truck near Clarksville.
Bartholomew County Road 50N will be closing Monday through Thursday next week between 850E and 1000E for a culvert replacement.
The work will be between 8 a.m. Monday morning and 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon and the road will be completely closed to all through traffic. You should avoid the area if you can.
Cummins is introducing a 15-liter natural gas engine that the company calls a “game changer” as an option to traditional diesel power trains for heavy-duty trucking.
The Columbus-based engine manufacturer announced the new engine yesterday. The engine is expected to offer up to 500 horsepower and 1,850 foot pounds of torque, but still weigh 500 lbs less than comparable diesel engines. It won’t require Selective Catalytic Reduction to meet California or Environmental Protection Agency emission standards.
Company officials say the new engine is also the basis for the hydrogen internal combustion engine currently being tested.
The company says that when powered with renewable natural gas, using methane collected from organic waste as the primary fuel source, the system can produce net greenhouse gas emissions at or below zero.
Editor’s Note: This story is courtesy of Network Indiana.
There are around 6,700 Afghan refugees now staying at Camp Atterbury. Around 150 more are due to arrive in the coming days.
The military base, which once served as a POW camp in World War II, is now a make-shift community with people living life as they usually would. But, they are also learning how to assimilate into American society with the help of teachers like Sara Jallal.
“They’ve adapted really well,” Jallal said. “We don’t give them as much credit. We don’t give kids as much credit as they deserve. Some of the adults are taking it a little harder and it’s harder for them to assimilate and learn how life is here. But, the kids have been doing really good.”
Jallal was born in Afghanistan and when she was five her family fled the country for America.
One of the people she is helping make the transition is Sulman Akbarzada. He and his then-fiance, Arzo, were supposed to be married the week that the Taliban converged on Kabul, but they had to cancel their wedding and decided to flee the country. They fled because their families had worked with U.S. forces while they were fighting the Taliban over the last 20 years.
“Because my father-in-law worked with the Army and the most dangerous was for her,” Akbarzada said. “Because the family of the Army people was not safe in Afghanistan.”
A couple of weeks after arriving at Camp Atterbury he and Arzo were allowed to be married at the base chapel. Now both are looking forward to starting a new life here in America. He and Arzo have plans to resettle in San Diego once they are allowed to leave Camp Atterbury.
“They can put us anywhere they want. I want to just be in peace. That’s all I want,” Sulman added.
Many other new lives were started here as well. As of this week, 10 babies have been born to Afghan refugees at Camp Atterbury, all of them automatically U.S. citizens since they were born here.
Refugees are also still able to hang on to the culture of their homeland, though. They are served three meals a day, all of which reflect Afghan cuisine. They also have access to 24-hour snack stations set up throughout their living quarters. The base also holds regular town halls so that refugees can speak directly with base leaders to express concerns and recommendations to make their stay a little easier.
Photo by Sgt. Dylan Bailey. An Afghan family has their wedding at Camp Atterbury, Indiana Oct. 9, 2021 after the original ceremony was postponed during the Afghanistan evacuation.
Tyler Lucas. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.
A wanted Columbus man was arrested Wednesday night after police found him carrying drugs.
According to Columbus police reports, police noticed 29-year-old Tyler L. Lucas riding a bicycle at about 6:15 near 12th and Franklin streets. Police noticed that Lucas was allegedly carrying methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia and pulled him over. They found that he was wanted on three outstanding Bartholomew County warrants.
Lucas was arrested on preliminary charges of possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, as well as the warrants.
