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April 2010 Archive
April
29, 2010
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Child
sex offender arrested on probation violation charges
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Wanda English Burnett
Editor
Less
than a year into a ten-year probation sentence
for sexual misconduct with a minor, Joseph
Dale Green, 50 of Osgood, has been arrested
for violating his probation.
While officials wouldn’t say exactly
what Green had done, he was “around children”
which is a violation of his probation contract.
A concerned citizen had called in a tip to
the Ripley County Sheriff’s Office, who
worked with the probation office to make the
arrest in the early morning hours of Tuesday,
April 27.
According to Ripley Publishing Co. files,
Green pled guilty in an open plea agreement.
He was charged with a Class B Felony, a crime
that could have carried up to 20 years imprisonment.
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Election
offers many choices
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
Voters
will have several choices in the primary election
on May 4.
In Ripley County voters will see several names on
the ballot for State Representative, the seat Cleo
Duncan now holds. Duncan made the announcement earlier
in the year that she would not be seeking re-election.
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Families
served now by Family Connections will be decreased
due to drastic budget cuts
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
According
to information from Connie DeBurger, executive
director of Family Connections, families will
be impacted by budget cuts that were recently
announced.
DeBurger noted that the Indiana Department of
Child Services has announced that further cuts
in the budget will impact funding for Family Connections.
She said funding for the Healthy Families Indiana
program was slashed from $42 million to $34 million
already this year. It will drop to $27.9 million
for the fiscal year 2011 and will spiral downward
even more in 2012 to $24.7 million.
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April
27, 2010
Take
Back the Night event well attended
Clothesline
Project coming to Versailles
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
Shirts
lined the clothesline that was strung
on both sides of the podium where women
told their stories of abuse and rape at
the annual “Take Back The Night”
event held April 22 sponsored by the Community
Mental Health Center.
Designs on the shirts were reflective
of pain caused by abuse. Some were made
by the victims, or survivors, while others
were made by family and friends to honor
what their loved ones have endured. Words
such as “why, dirty, and fear”
were seen on many shirts. Phrases such
as “I’m your partner, not your
possession”, and “Love Should
Never Hurt”, and “She’s
my daughter, Why?” were expressed.
The shirts are a visual tribute to survivors
of sexual assault and abuse.
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JCD
building project moves forward
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Beth Rumsey
Staff Writer
George
Link, VPS Architects, updated the Jac-Cen-Del
School Board on the building project at the
regular school board meeting on Wednesday,
May 21. According to Link, the site plan has
been received and the project is moving forward.
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Osgood
to apply for a $995,000 grant
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Beth
Rumsey
Staff Writer
A
public hearing for the intent to apply
for a federal grant for the storm water
project was held at the regular meeting
of the Osgood Town Council on Tuesday,
April 20. Mary McCarty from the Southeastern
Indiana Regional Planning Commission explained
that the town will apply for $995,000
with a local match of $22,000.
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April
22, 2010
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Board
unanimously approves recommended cuts
Milan
teacher asks for job back
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Beth
Rumsey
Staff Writer
Milan
High School Spanish teacher Leslie Vertz requested
a public conference regarding her termination.
The board heard from this conference at the
regular school board meeting on Monday, April
19.
Vertz was represented by Indiana State Teacher
Association Attorney Jim Singer who provided
a packet of information, which included the
letter stating determining factors for Vertz’s
termination. There were also evaluations that
had been conducted during her two-year stay
at Milan.
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Volcano
eruption in Iceland affects local teacher, fiance,
and daughter
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Beth
Rumsey
Staff Writer
“I
just want to go home,” sounds the same in
all four languages Zoe Ketselidou speaks. She
is one of thousands of stranded travelers after
the volcanic eruption in Iceland on April 14 -
just one day after she arrived in Cincinnati.
The Belgium resident came to the United States
and more specifically Ripley County, last week
to visit her fiance Bill Fogle, who teaches Spanish
at Jac-Cen-Del High School.
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Group
has questions about animal control officer
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Beth
Rumsey
Staff Writer
Geneen
Ostendorf, of the newly formed County Animal Rescue
and Education (CARE), requested information regarding
animal control in Ripley County as well as the
location of pens used by the county dog warden
Bill Lovins at the regular meeting of the commissioners
on Monday, April 19.
According to Commissioner President Rob Reiners,
an ordinance was passed in 1979 that addresses
vicious animals and established the county dog
warden as the county animal control officer for
small animals as well as assisting the Ripley
County Health Department with the larger animals.
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April
20, 2010
Milan
board approves tax abatements for Pike Lumber
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Beth
Rumsey
Staff Writer
Pike
Lumber Company received approval for
tax abatements for Phase I of the construction
project at the regular meeting of the
Milan Town Council on Monday, April
12. According to Town Manager John Ingram,
construction is projected to begin in
May.
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Charges
filed against horse owners
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
Ripley
County Prosecutor Ric Hertel has filed charges
of Abandonment or Neglect of Vertebrate Animals
against Brian L. Grider and Christina D. Grider
after horses were found dead and nearly starved
on the couple’s property near Osgood
last month.
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Local
saddle club gears up
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Beth
Rumsey
Staff Writer
The
desire to get people together for fellowship
and riding horses prompted the formation
of the Tri-State Saddle Club in October
of 2009. According to Saddle Club President
Christi Volz, the group caters to all
ages and all breeds of horses.
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April
15, 2010
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Patrons
of Milan schools concerned
Many cuts proposed for Milan
schools
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Beth
Rumsey
Staff Writer
Emotions
were high as Interim Superintendent Steve Gookins
presented his recommendations for reductions
and cuts for the calendar year 2010 at a special
meeting at the Milan Elementary School on Tuesday,
April 13. According to Interim Superintendent
Gookins, there is an estimated $365,000 needed
to begin the 2010-2011 school year.
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Former
Aurora police officer faces 5 counts of child
solicitation charges
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
Dennis
Lewis, 52, of Dillsboro was arrested last Thursday,
April 8 on charges of Child Solicitation, a Class
C felony.
Lewis was a police officer for the Aurora Police
Department until the same day of his arrest when
he resigned.
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Moores
Hill woman sentenced to 20 years
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
Melissa
Dawn Weaver, 32, of Moores Hill, was sentenced to
20 years with 8 suspended, for her part in a crash
that killed a Sunman man.
Weaver learned her fate on Friday, April 9 when
she appeared before a Dearborn County Court Judge.
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April
13, 2010
Who
will be the voice for the children?
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
“We
are looking for caring, compassionate
people who have a heart for children...people
who want to make a difference.” Rita
Seig of Southeastern Indiana Voices for
Children, told the Osgood Journal.
Southeastern Indiana Voices for Children
is a program of Pathways Youth Shelter
and Family Services that serves both Ripley
and Jefferson counties. Their goal is
to make a difference in a child’s
life through the Court Appointed Special
Advocate (CASA)/Guardian Ad Litem (GAL)
volunteer programs.
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
Multiple
victims suffered injuries after
a gas explosion rocked the Jac-Cen-Del High
School
around noon on Saturday, April 10.
That
could have been the headline if the disaster
at the school on Saturday had not been staged.
A number of fire, police and rescue units
raced to the scene that had been carefully
choreographed by Shawn Negangard, who oversees
training for the Osgood Volunteer Fire Department.
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Planning
Comm. asked to deny rezone request at regular
meeting
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Beth
Rumsey
Staff Writer
The Area Planning Commission considered
a rezone request presented by the Town
of Versailles at the regular meeting on
Tuesday, April 6. Larry Eaton, counsel
for the town, requested a rezone from
Residential to General Business for 119
North Adams Street, formerly the Versailles
Senior Center.
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April 8, 2010
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Korean
War veteran gets his high school diploma
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
The Ripley County Commissioners
continued to consider county employee health insurance
options at the regular meeting on Monday, April
5. The commissioners’ goal is to continue
with the same benefits currently provided without
a large increase in premiums.
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Commissioners
continue to probe into health inurance costs for
employees
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Beth
Rumsey
Staff Writer
The Ripley County Commissioners continued to consider
county employee health insurance options at the
regular meeting on Monday, April 5. The commissioners’
goal is to continue with the same benefits currently
provided without a large increase in premiums.
One option presented by Maverick Insurance is a
partially self-funded plan which would provide the
same benefits of the current county health insurance
plan. This plan will require the implementation
of a non-reverting fund that would be used to pay
for those claims that exceed the prearranged dollar
amount.
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Fugitive
apprehended in neighboring county
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
William
W. “Woody” Baker, 33, had eluded police
since December of last year when they searched his
Holton home and found a working methamphetamine
lab, stolen auto parts and more, according to information
from Ripley Publishing Co. files.
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April
6, 2010
No
foolin' - tax bills mailed on April 1
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
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ISP
Trooper sniffs out meth lab
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
Passersby on US 50 in Butlerville
saw a number of police cars and police tape
around the residence located at 5325 E US
50, on Sunday morning.
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Two
aircared from Easter Sunday crash
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See
photo and information inside...
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April
1, 2010
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Veterans
get medical care
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Beth
Rumsey
Staff Writer
Ripley County veterans received
an opportunity to improve their health care when
the VA Mobile Health Unit, sponsored by the Cincinnati
VA Medical Center, visited the Versailles American
Legion on Saturday, March 27
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Moores
Hill woman to be sentenced today
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
A Moores Hill woman will find out what her sentence
will be regarding an accident she was involved in
that claimed the life of a Sunman man nearly a year
ago.
Sentencing is set for 1 p.m. today, April 1 for
Melissa Dawn Weaver, 32, of Moores Hill, who pled
guilty after she was involved in a fatal collision
with motorcyclist Daniel L. Thielmann, Jr., 32,
of Sunman. The hearing will be held in the Dearborn
County Circuit Court courtroom and will be heard
by Judge Sally Blankenship.
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Concert
to be held to support local grief group
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Wanda
English Burnett
Editor
It has been said that music soothes
the soul. The music concert goers will hear music
that will do that as well as help a local grief
support group as they benefit from the proceeds.
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