The federal court case against a local police officer, Corey Posey, ended in a mistrial on Monday when jurors could not reach a verdict. The StarPress reported the panel began deliberations on Friday, broke for the weekend and then resumed their work on Monday before telling Judge Tanya Walton Pratt they were deadlocked. Posey pleaded not guilty to allegations he falsified a report describing the events of Aug. 9, 2018, when fellow officer Chase Winkle physically assaulted an arrestee. The U.S. Attorney’s office did not immediately announce whether Posey — on administrative leave from the Muncie Police Department since April 2021, when he was named in one of 17 counts returned by a federal court grand jury — would stand trial for a second time.
More local news briefs are below.
Survey teams from the National Weather Service have confirmed that four tornadoes hit Indiana Sunday afternoon…Greg Melo with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis said the tornado in Martin and Dubois counties had wind speeds of 120 miles per hour. The one in Johnson County was 115 miles per hour. He says severe weather is also possible on Thursday of this week with the biggest threats being damaging winds, hail, and an isolated tornado. Melo also said much of the state was dealing with unhealthy air quality yesterday because of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. There is an air quality alert again today for all of central Indiana. Air Quality was in the “Unhealthy” category in Muncie this morning as defined by Airnow.gov
At yesterday’s Delaware County Council meeting, live streaming of budget meetings continued to be discussed. Budget meeting requirements are different than streaming of regular council meetings. Budget meetings typically last 12 hours a day for 3 continuous days. If the council DOES eventually live-stream budget meetings, they would be ahead of a state law that begins on July 1, 2025 requiring the meetings be live-streamed.
More project updates from Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour… South Madison Street– the street north of the roundabout is failing. Ridenour said the road work was done prior to his term but his administration is working to fix it. They have torn out the problem area and are putting in multiple layers of base, then paving. Ridenour said he hopes to re-open it shortly.
Storer Estates– Paving is set to begin once concrete curbs are complete and the Riverside paving is finished. (The paving equipment is being used there). Ridnour says he has one builder wanting to buy all 34 lots but he denied the request so that local builders have a chance to buy the lots first. That builder has changed to buy just 6 lots instead. Ridenour said once paving is complete in roughly two weeks, he would entertain other offers.
A Muncie man was arrested Friday after he allegedly threw rocks and a tomahawk at his neighbors. 47 year old Robert Gene Koons, was preliminarily charged with criminal recklessness and battery. The StarPress reports Koons was released from the Delaware County jail on Sunday after posting a $7,500 bond.
Indiana will receive more than $868 million in federal high-speed internet funding as announced by the US Department of Commerce on Monday. Indiana must use the money to administer grant programs deploying or upgrading broadband networks to ensure everyone has access to reliable, affordable high speed internet service.
Ball State economist Dr. Michael Hicks believes spending cuts can help, but it will take a lot more than that to get the nation back in a position where future generations will not be paying for Baby Boomers and Gen-X Americans to retire. During an Indy Politics interview Hicks said If we got rid of the Navy, AND the Air Force, we’re still going to run a deficit. He said It really comes down to Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, federal government, military retirement, and veterans healthcare. Those things all cost more than the taxes we are collecting. For that reason Hicks believes that the U.S. is in a position that requires tax increases to pay for those programs.
The Delaware County Court Administrator’s Office has received several phone calls over the last few days from citizens who have stated something to the effect of: “I received a call that I missed jury duty and the caller said that I had a warrant. The caller said I needed to pay to have the warrant removed.” This is a scam and residents are warned to ignore the caller and hang up. The Sheriff’s Office and the Courts will NEVER call to demand payment over the phone.
The Muncie Arts and Culture Council in conjunction with the City of Muncie, have announced that nominations are being accepted for the 5th Biennial Mayor’s Arts Awards. Nominees for this year’s awards will be celebrated at a special reception preceding the award ceremony on September 30th at Munsee Lanes. The deadline for nominations is Friday, August 18th, 2023. Nominations can be submitted online. by email, by mail, or dropped off at the Mayor’s Office at City Hall, 300 S. High St., 3rd Floor. Go to munciejournal.com to view the award categories, nomination website links and more on this story.
The Chesterfield Police Department recently unveiled the look of their new police patrol vehicles. CPD recently purchased 4 Ford Police Interceptors and they are ready to hit the streets on patrol. The new look is very similar to their old grey police vehicles, but the white cars give the dept a new fresh image, according to a CPD social media post.
In a letter posted by Myrna Robertson, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Muncie Housing Authority….Robertson wrote, “On behalf of the Muncie Housing Authority Board of Directors, we are pleased to announce as of June 24, the appointment of Curtisa Goodwin as the Interim CEO, following the departure of Joseph Anderson. We are excited that Curtisa has agreed to serve in this capacity as we continue implementing our transition plan to find a permanent CEO.
It’s almost time for the 171st running of the Delaware County fair. This year the fair runs from July 15th to the 22nd. Yesterday, the fair posted the online schedule for all activities Find the schedule at delawarecountyfair.net.
No, it’s not Christmas in July, but the Nickel Plate Express in Noblesville, has announced that tickets for its Reindeer Ride Express are now on sale. The seasonal event offers passengers a unique opportunity to experience the magic of the holidays on a 75-minute train ride, all while traveling in a festive, historic train. Once the train departs, guests will be treated to a selection of holiday-themed onboard entertainment, including holiday music, cookies, and even appearances by Santa and Mrs. Claus. For more information and ticketing, visit NickelPlateExpress.com.
The Indiana Department of Transportation will begin rolling out a speed camera program in construction zones beginning July 1st when a host of new laws go into effect. The result is…you might receive a ticket in the mail if you pass by one of those new cameras too fast. Initially there will be cameras at four different construction zones in the state. The cameras are triggered when a driver exceeds the speed limit in the zone by 11 miles per hour.
The federal court case against a local police officer, Corey Posey, ended in a mistrial on Monday when jurors could not reach a verdict. The StarPress reported the panel began deliberations on Friday, broke for the weekend and then resumed their work on Monday before telling Judge Tanya Walton Pratt they were deadlocked. Posey pleaded not guilty to allegations he falsified a report describing the events of Aug. 9, 2018, when fellow officer Chase Winkle physically assaulted an arrestee. The U.S. Attorney’s office did not immediately announce whether Posey — on administrative leave from the Muncie Police Department since April 2021, when he was named in one of 17 counts returned by a federal court grand jury — would stand trial for a second time.
According to GasBuddy, prices are 10 cents less than a week ago. That brings the state’s average gas price to $3.46 a gallon. Gas prices in Terre Haute are even below that where the average price is $3.19.
The Ball Brothers Foundation will be at Morrow’s Meadow on Friday for the “White River Report Card Launch and canoe race. The White River Report Card Launch and Canoe Race is a celebration of the completion of the White River Report Card: an assessment and communication tool created to measure community progress, align partners and activities, and inspire change that improves our river and its watershed and protects our economy and way of life. Similar to school report cards, river basin report cards provide performance-driven grades that reflect the status of a river basin on a regular basis. They effectively integrate and synthesize large, and often complex, information into simple scores. These scores can be communicated to decision makers and the general public and provide to help us make good decisions. To hear the presentation and results, plan to be at Morrow’s Meadow at 9am this Friday.
In entertainment news, yesterday Sony Pictures Television announced that Ryan Seacrest will be the new host of Wheel of Fortune after Pat Sajak retires next year. Seacrest signed a multiyear deal to host the show starting with Season 42. Vanna White is expected to stay on, but she wants a raise before committing to additional seasons.
The City of Anderson will be demolishing 11 residential properties and cleaning up two additional properties, according to a Herald Bulletin Report.
Tamie Dixon-Tatum with the city’s Civil and Human rights department has requested that the Madison County Council consider providing $125,000 from the opioid settlement fund to pay for 20 juveniles to learn building trades skills. The building trades program originally started in Anderson prior to the pandemic. The program is approved by the state and Steve Koester, judge of Madison Circuit Court Division 2 which handles juvenile cases says he fully supports the program, according to the Herald Bulletin.
