As WLBC told you first, yesterday morning, MAC Champion Ball State Accepts Bid to Arizona Bowl, New Year’s Eve with undefeated San Jose State on WLBC. The game will kick at 2 p.m. Muncie time at Arizona Stadium in Tucson. The game will be televised by CBS. The Cardinals are now set for their 10th bowl appearance in program history and their first since the GoDaddy Bowl following the 2013 season. Ball State enters the game riding a six-game winning streak. A seventh straight win would mean the program’s first bowl victory.
When Community Hospital Anderson began to administer the initial round of coronavirus vaccines Friday, Madison County Health Officer Dr. Stephen Wright was one of the first to roll up his sleeve. Wright, 70, was one of 140 healthcare workers vaccinated Friday. Later the same day according to the Herald Bulletin, he helped a family make the very difficult decision to remove the respirator from a 66-year-old COVID-19 patient, allowing him to die.
The American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) has selected West View Elementary second grade teacher Kelsey Pavelka as an Outstanding Dual Language Teacher. She is one of just nine teachers in Indiana to receive the award. She’s in her seventh year of teaching, her third with Muncie Community Schools.
Saturday morning, officers from the Gas City Police Department, the Upland Police Department, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Department responded to a single vehicle crash. Preliminary investigation revealed a car that crashed into a utility pole. Officers also located Amanda Elbert, 32, Alexandria, IN, a passenger in the Chevrolet who said she was not injured. The driver of the car allegedly fled the crash scene on foot. Due to the cold temperature, an Upland Police officer offered to let Elbert sit in the front seat of his police car to stay warm. She accepted the offer and sat in the front passenger seat of the police car. As officers worked, they heard a gunshot. Elbert allegedly shot herself with a handgun she had retrieved from her purse. Medics were summoned back to the scene and, despite lifesaving efforts, Elbert was pronounced dead. This is an ongoing investigation.
The final two Second Harvest Food Bank Tailgate food distributions of the year are this week. Henry County has one Tuesday 10:00 AM at First Baptist Church in New Castle. Wabash has one Wednesday 11:00 AM at Bachelor Creek Church of Christ.
Republican Delaware County Clerk Rick Spangler spoke out last week about an election fraud investigation earlier this year. In late September, Delaware County election officials looked into reports that Vicki Woodson, a local Democratic precinct official, had electronically signed and submitted applications for absentee ballots that were then sent to voters who had not asked for them. The special prosecutor assigned to the case said he would not file criminal charges due to insufficient evidence. Spangler said, as reported in the Muncie newspaper, that he would continue to work on rooting out wrongdoing during elections while he holds the office and that anyone with evidence of issues should work with him.
Over the weekend in Anderson, one person died and another was hospitalized after a fire destroyed a house trailer in the Shady Rest Mobile Home Park on the city’s north side. An elderly man was pronounced dead at the scene. Madison County Coroner Danielle Noone told the Herald Bulletin that efforts to identify him were ongoing and expected to take a few days. Another person with minor burns was taken to a nearby hospital.
A northwestern Indiana newspaper that’s been publishing for more than 130 years is ending its print edition. The Chesterton Tribune started publishing in 1884. It will end that tradition with a final print edition on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
A Muncie man has won a federal lawsuit against his parents, who destroyed his extensive collection of pornography. David Werking, who was about 38 at the time and living with his parents, filed the suit last year. A U.S. District Court Judge ruled the parents must pay for destroying his collection estimated value more than $25,000.
