The Patterson building had a 3rd floor water pipe burst due to the freezing temps over Christmas. The lobby area and Debbie’s Handmade Soaps were affected.
The new Muncie City Council member representing District 4 is Isaac Miller, who has served on the Muncie Redevelopment Commission and plans to run in 2023 to keep the council seat given to him last week by a Republican Party caucus. The choice of Miller came after multiple ballots among as many as 10 precinct committee members from the district in northwest Muncie. According to the StarPress there were several ballots in the privately conducted caucus, held Dec. 19.
Two Madison County brothers died when their car was struck by a westbound train near the intersection of County Roads 1150 N and 400 West, near Orestes. Sheriff Scott Mellinger told us the crash happened shortly after 8 AM yesterday. He said the train’s engineer stated the vehicle never slowed before entering the crossing. Coroner Troy Abbott identified the victims as the driver, 37 year old Chad M. Stafford and his 42 year old brother Stephen R. Stafford II, both of Anderson. Both men reportedly died at the scene.
When all was said and done on Tuesday, Southwest Airlines canceled around 200 flights that were due to fly out of the Indianapolis International Airport. That was on top of an additional 43 flights that were canceled the day before as part of Southwest’s nationwide meltdown with over 2,600 flights canceled throughout the country. Thousands of passengers have been left stranded because of the debacle. But the problems are clearly a lot more than that, says Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The former South Bend mayor told CNN that he’s ordering an investigation into Southwest’s scheduling practices. The head of Southwest’s pilots’ union has called the airline’s scheduling system “outdated” using 1990’s technology.
There are more demands for the resignation of Purdue-Northwest chancellor Thomas Keon. It’s because of an Asian language impersonation he made during the school’s winter commencement earlier this month. Keon has already apologized for the remark that many are calling racist and that apology was even accepted by Purdue’s board of trustees who also formally reprimanded him. But now the National Asian Pacific Islander Women’s Forum of Indiana and the Asian American Alliance say the reprimand is not enough. They are demanding Keon resign calling his actions a “catalyst to expose Asian-focused hate and racism.” The Purdue-Northwest Faculty Senate has also called for Keon to step down.
An argument on Christmas Day left one man suffering from gunshot wounds and a second in jail on a charge of aggravated battery. Madison County Sheriff’s Department deputies went to Ascension St. Vincent Anderson Hospital on Sunday on a report of a man being shot. Brian Austin Dodson was shot once in the arm and once in the back—his injuries are not life-threatening. Dodson said he was in an argument with his girlfriend over his not joining her family while they opened Christmas gifts. He said 18 year old Matthew Miranda Antonio Ruiz, got involved in the argument and shot Dodson twice. Ruiz was arrested by deputies on a felony charge of aggravated battery.
The Indiana Department of Education is issuing stipends for teachers including some in Alexandria School Corp. and Daleville Community Schools. Funds were awarded if teachers were deemed highly effective or effective on their 2021 evaluations. Alexandria schools received $54,769.36 in appreciation funds, of which 38 highly effective teachers received about $694 each. Daleville received roughly $38,405 in teacher appreciation funds.
Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour recently reminded the public of the best way to report pot holes on city streets. The city will be using cold patch asphalt for repairs. Go to the city of Muncie website cityofmuncie.com, and click on the homepage link titled REPORT IT. Then click the link titled Street/Public Works related issues. The mayor says using the website Pothole reporting link will automatically generate a worker order for the repair.
The Muncie Mission will have their truck on-site at Lois Pearl in Yorktown on Saturday, 1/28, from 10-2pm. Donate your gently used clothing, furniture and houseware items and you’ll receive a 10% discount at Lois Pearl to be used that day. If you make a monetary donation to Muncie Mission that day you’ll receive 30% off Lois Pearl items.
Indiana saw another record-low in population growth this year. The population increased by 0.29% in 2022, marking the smallest annual increase since 2015, a U.S. Census Bureau report this month showed. The population increased by 0.36% in 2021. In the 2010s, Indiana’s population grew by about 31,000 residents per year. With a population of 6,833,037 residents, Indiana is the 17th most populous state in America.
A recent poll by Bellweather Research revealed Indiana Republicans want Mitch Daniels, Mike Braun and Donald Trump to represent them in Washington. The poll was conducted with 1,000 registered voters in Indiana, according to the Herald Bulletin. Mitch Daniels took 30-35 percentage points in every age group except 18-24 year olds for the 2024 US Senate Seat. For governor, Mike Braun took the most percentage points and Donald Trump is still favored by Republicans to run for president for a third time.
Two Madison County brothers died when their car was struck by a westbound train near the intersection of County Roads 1150 N and 400 West, near Orestes. Sheriff Scott Mellinger told us the crash happened shortly after 8 AM yesterday. He said the train’s engineer stated the vehicle never slowed before entering the crossing. Coroner Troy Abbott identified the victims as the driver, 37 year old Chad M. Stafford and his 42 year old brother Stephen R. Stafford II, both of Anderson. Both men reportedly died at the scene.
Yesterday, the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected Jessica Campbell and Mya Moody’s separate appeals to overturn their convictions for Dealing in a Narcotic Drug Resulting in Death. On January 4, 2022 a Delaware County jury deliberated for a little under two hours before convicting Jessica Campbell of Dealing in a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death. The evidence at trial demonstrated that the victim had asked Campbell to sell her heroin but instead of heroin, the victim received a lethal dose of fentanyl. This marks the first time in Delaware County history that a drug dealer has been held criminally accountable for killing another person by illegally selling narcotics. On May 26, 2022, a Delaware County jury deliberated for approximately an hour and thirty minutes before also convicting Mya Moody of Dealing in a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death, a Level 1 Felony. After Moody was booked into the jail, she dealt the heroin inside the jail block to various other inmates including 37-year old Dianna Rose Pace who later died of acute fentanyl intoxication.
The Indiana Department of Education is issuing stipends for teachers including some in Alexandria School Corp. and Daleville Community Schools. Funds were awarded if teachers were deemed highly effective or effective on their 2021 evaluations. Alexandria schools received $54,769.36 in appreciation funds, of which 38 highly effective teachers received about $694 each. Daleville received roughly $38,405 in teacher appreciation funds.
