Federal funds received for rebuilding
(Washington, DC) – Indiana will receive $300,000 in government money for use towards repairs on roads and bridges damaged during last April’s heavy storms and flooding. Some southern Indiana areas, hit hard with 15 inches of rain will also receive funding. The Wabash River flooded from Lafayette to Vincennes along with Clark, Dubois, Floyd, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Martin, Perry Pike, Pose, Switzerland, Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties are expected to receive funding. The money is part of $215 million distribution to California, Vermont and North Dakota for flooding, hurricane and earthquake damage repair.
Police action shooting brings suspicion
(Fort Wayne) – A 31-year-old man was fatally shot by police over the weekend is the subject of controversy this morning. According to police reports, an officer responding to a dispatch of shots fired saw Antron Pearson holding a weapon in the parking lot of a bar. The officer reportedly told Pearson to drop the weapon; he didn’t so the officer fired, striking Pearson. The Journal Gazette reports this morning that Pearson’s family is disputing the policeman’s version of events saying Pearson never owned or carried a gun and the officer yelled “freeze” before opening fire.
Jury awards monetary damages in explosion
(Martinsville) – The Reporter-Times reports this morning that a jury has awarded a family $27 million in a 2004 propane explosion at a horse farm. The explosion killed a man and critically burned his wife, 2 toddlers and another relative. South Central Indiana REMC electric utility was named in the lawsuit.
Workers injured at airport
(Indianapolis) – Two steel construction workers are recuperating this morning after falling 16 feet at a hangar at the Indianapolis International Airport Monday. According to an airport spokesperson, the workers’ safety harness broke their fall, but the cause of the accident is still under investigation. The employees were working on the expansion of Comlux near the airport’s administrative office area.
Body found in burning home
(Westfield) – An investigation is underway after a woman’s body was found inside a burning house early this morning. Fire personnel were dispatched to a home on Ethan Allen Lane around 3:15 a.m. Upon arrival, they found the first floor of the home had collapsed into the basement. The female was pulled from the home and was pronounced dead at the scene. Her identity has not been released and the origin of the blaze has not been determined.
School district sued over student’s death
(Fishers) – The mother of a Hamilton Southeastern freshman is suing the school district after her son committed suicide. Jamarcus Bell, 14, hung himself at his mother’s home In October of 2010. Bell’s mother claims her son was the target of continuous racially based bullying and harassment for “perceived homosexuality and emotional disability.” The suit was filed on November 23rd and names both Hamilton Southeastern Junior High School and Hamilton Southeastern High School, blaming school officials for not doing enough to stop the bullying.
Is Peyton Manning’s career over?
(Indianapolis) – Indianapolis Colts vice-chairman Bill Polian addressed rumors that quarterback Peyton Manning’s career could be at the end of the road. Speaking on his weekly radio show, Polian said the issue, “is not something that’s quite honestly on our radar screen at the moment.” Manning is recuperating from multiple off-season neck surgeries including a cervical fusion last September. Polian said he sees no reason the Colts cannot have both Manning and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck playing for the Colts next season.
