GAS CITY, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — A synthetic lumber manufacturer is growing operations in Grant County. Earthwise Plastics Inc. says it will add a production line at its Gas City facility to manufacture walls and doors for semi-trailers and add a small number of jobs.
Earthwise makes products recycled from High Density Polyethylene, which can be found in milk cartons and other consumer and industrial goods. The company’s products are used in the outdoor furniture, transportation, marine and industrial markets.
“It’s exciting to see Earthwise Plastics expand right here in Gas City,” Mayor Bill Rock Jr. said in written remarks. “We are proud that they started in Grant County, and the City of Gas City is committed to helping them grow and expand right here.”
The expansion is expected to add about eight employees. The company currently employs 52 in Gas City.
Earthwise is funding the expansion with the help of a U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan through the Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corp. and Community First Bank.
The total investment figure for the expansion was not provided. Earthwise did not respond to requests for more information from Inside INdiana Business.
GRANT CO., Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Marion Health has announced plans to invest $80 million to build a new medical campus in Gas City near I-69. The health system says the four-story, 100,000-square-foot hospital will include in-patient acute care, ambulatory services and an emergency department with a helipad.
“This expansion will bring convenient, state of the art care to our community in the southeastern region of Grant County,” said Stephanie Hilton-Siebert, president and chief executive officer of Marion Health.
Marion Health says the project will comprise about 100 acres in the northeast corner of I-69 and State Road 22.
Hilton-Siebert says proximity to the interstate was key.
“There’s a stretch of 93 miles on I-69 where there are no convenient options for emergency services,” said Hilton-Siebert. “This campus will meet the need for convenient, accessible care for both travelers and our community.”
The health system says it will maintain all existing hospital-owned buildings and integrate their future use into the campus.
Marion Health says the first phase will create approximately 100 new jobs. Construction has already started, and it plans to be operational in 2022.
GAS CITY, Ind. (WISH) — A woman accused of murdering her stepdaughter will waive her right to counsel and defend herself in court.
Online court records indicate that Amanda Carmack said she will defend herself during an initial hearing on Monday morning.
Carmack is accused of murdering her stepdaughter, 10-year-old Skylea Carmack, by strangling her.
Amanda Carmack is due back on Jan. 8, 2020 for a pretrial conference. A jury trial is currently scheduled for Feb. 3, 2020.
Autopsy finds 10-year-old found dead was strangled
GAS CITY, Ind. (WISH) — A coroner has confirmed investigator’s beliefs regarding the death of a 10-year-old girl.
Dr. Scott Wagner of the Fort Wayne Forensic Examination Unit at St Joseph’s Hospital says that Skylea Carmack was strangled.
Her official cause of death is asphyxia by strangulation and the manner of death was homicide.
Skylea Carmack was reported missing Saturday night. Her body was found inside a trash bag near a shed behind her home early Wednesday morning.
Amanda Carmack, 34, has been arrested for the murder of Skylea Carmack. She is now in the Grant County Jail on preliminary charges of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, strangulation and domestic battery resulting in serious injury.
Police believe Skylea was killed between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Around 3 a.m. Wednesday, her body was found inside of a trash bag behind a shed. That shed is located behind her home.
Six other children have been removed from the home and placed with the state Department of Child Services.
Police have not released a motive for the killing.
Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday night at the Gas City Library for a vigil honoring the young girl’s life.
Woman strangled stepdaughter, hid body in trash bag behind shed
GAS CITY, Ind. (WISH) — Indiana State Police have found the body of a missing girl. Investigators believe she was strangled by her stepmother.
Amanda Carmack, 34, has been arrested for the murder of Skylea Carmack. She is now in the Grant County Jail on preliminary charges of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, strangulation and domestic battery resulting in serious injury.
Gas City press conference
Skylea had been missing since Saturday afternoon. A Silver Alert was issued on Sunday. Community members had formed search parties where they looked for hours a day for Skylea. One person even said Amanda Carmack thanked her for her efforts.
“It just makes me sick that she could look me in the eye, hug me, cry as if she is grieving and scared, knowing she knew what happened all along,” said Ashley Lopez.
Police believe Skylea was killed between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday and she was strangled.
Around 3 a.m. Wednesday, her body was found inside of a trash bag behind a shed. That shed is located behind her home.
“I think we both just still had hope [Friday] and it was just ripped away from us,” said Christy Bernardin who helped with the search.
Police did not discuss a motive for the killing.
“Our main focus is who and how, not why,” said state police Sgt. Tony Slocum. “To try and rationalize why someone would kill a 10-year-old, there’s no rationale for that. That’s just an act of cowardice.”
People that knew Skylea say she was smart and that she loved to read.
Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday night at the Gas City Library for a vigil honoring the young girl’s life.
“Growing up when she was younger she was just always so happy and lively, so full of life. Then you see pictures of her recently and you can just tell her face that she was lifeless,” said Alexis Scott, Skylea’s cousin.
Six other children have been removed from the home and placed with the state Department of Child Services.
ISP: Woman strangled stepdaughter, hid body in trash bag in shed
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Interstate cameras are coming to Allen County highways, following in the steps of Indianapolis, Chicago and Louisville.
Beginning next year, Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will cover more than 100 miles of I-69 and 31 miles of I-469 with cameras. They’ll also be installing speed and volume sensors and message boards.
With the new technology at most interstate interchanges, INDOT will be able to monitor crashes, incidents, and concerns in real-time. The public will be able to view snapshots of incidents on INDOT’s website.
On I-69, cameras will be placed from State Road 26, near Gas City, to the Ohio state line.
INDOT Fort Wayne spokesperson Nichole Hacha-Thomas explained that the greater Fort Wayne area was the next reasonable location to install interstate cameras now that they’ve already equipped other nearby metropolitan areas with them. With I-69 averaging 60,000 motorists a day and I-469 averaging 30,000 motorists a day, this will help them handle incidents and backups with much more efficiency.
“Now we’ll be able to pinpoint incidents, pull it up on a camera and look at that and see what’s going on and dispatch our resources with the correct resources as opposed to getting there, determining what we need and then dispatching out,” she said. “So, this will allow us to get those situations under control sooner which gets drivers back on the road sooner.”
Thomas said it will also give drivers another tool in their toolbox before they travel.
“Certainly, in the winter, this will be very helpful because they can pull up I-69 still and see what the highway looks like before they decide to travel,” she said. “If it looks bad or icy, then they might want to alter their route. Same thing if you are headed to a concert or you’re heading out, you want to double-check what the highway traffic looks like. Is it crazy? Is it light? What does it look like?”
Indiana State Police have been waiting for the technology to reach Fort Wayne, seeing how it’s been benefiting first responders in Indianapolis.
“It’s a tremendous help down there,” state police Sgt. Ron Galaviz said. “They know exactly where they need to be and which direction to come in from so they’re not getting tied up in the bottleneck themselves.There’s a lot of different dynamics that happen on these roadways every day that we’re expected to respond to and be ‘Johnny-on-the-spot’ and it’s hard to, but when we can get eyes on, we see exactly what’s happening, have more accurate information and make better decisions.”
INDOT hasn’t determined how many cameras or message boards will be installed or if there will be a new mobile app for the cameras.
Their goal is for all of I-69 and I-469 to be monitored via these systems by 2024.
A 34-year-old Jonesboro woman died when the truck she was driving hit a semitractor-trailer head-on Sunday morning, Indiana State Police said Tuesday.
Police said Marti Wamsley, 34, was driving a 2015 Dodge Challenger east near the 800 block of Main Street in Gas City when it crossed the centerline for an undetermined reason and hit the 2016 Freightliner driven by Christopher Lewis, 34, of Gas City. The crash happened about 8 a.m. Sunday.
Wamsley died at the crash scene. Lewis, who was hauling dry goods for Walmart in Marion, was not injured, police said.
The crash remained under investigation Tuesday.
GAS CITY, Ind. (WISH) — A fatal fire claimed the lives of a pair of brothers in Gas City early Saturday morning.
It happened on West North G Street, near the intersection of North First Street and West Main Street.
Volunteer firefighters found the bodies of the two men inside the home.
The Grant County coroner identified the victims as 60-year-old Douglas Simon and his brother, 53-year-old Bruce Simon.
A family dog also died in the fire.
Fire officials say the fire started on the main floor and spread to the second floor.
There were no working fire alarms in the home.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials do not believe the fire is suspicious.
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ALEXANDRIA, Ind. (WISH) — Alexandria police have asked authorities to conduct an independent investigation after a man’s death during a traffic stop.
According to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, 25-year-old Nico Vasquez, of Gas City, died Friday, June 30, during a traffic stop conducted by Alexandria police around 3 p.m.
Authorities say Vasquez was pulled over for speeding and was cited for driving on a suspended driver’s license. While Vasquez waited for a ride, police say he “fell into a semi-conscious state” and was taken by medics to Community Hospital-Anderson, where he died.
A statement from Madison County Sheriff Scott Mellinger states there appeared to be no physical altercation between Vasquez and the officers who conducted the traffic stop and that it appears to be related to a medical issue.
Alexandria police have requested the sheriff’s office investigation to eliminate conflict of interest — the sheriff’s office says autopsy results remain pending as of Monday at 2:55 p.m.
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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two owners of six central Indiana restaurants have agreed to give restitution to the Indiana Department of Revenue after being convicted for tax evasion, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Monday.
Rosalio Sanchez and Manuel Rodriquez Alonso operate Mexican restaurants in Indianapolis, Muncie, Gas City, Fairmount and formerly ran a pizzeria in Gas City that is now closed.
The pair were accused of failing to report about $1.8 million in sales tax, and not paying taxes of about $143,000. They were accused of failing to report over three years, from 2013-2015.
The pair pleaded guilty to criminal charges and have agreed to pay $142,930 in restitution to the Department of Revenue, a news release from the prosecutors said.
Sanchez pleaded guilty to six counts of theft. Rodriquez Alonso pleaded guilty to three counts of theft. Both were ordered to pay restitution and to home detention.
The prosecutor’s office said it seized $247,411 in cash and bank accounts for possible forfeiture. In addition to the $142,930, which will be paid from those funds as restitution, a separate forfeiture action remains pending seeking forfeiture of the remaining $104,480.
“This is the second recent case where restaurant owners have been convicted for skimming cash sales in order to avoid their sales tax obligation,” Prosecutor Terry Curry said in the news release. “Not only is this business practice unscrupulous, it is illegal and punishable.”
“Today’s sentencing should put merchants on notice: tax evasion will never be tolerated in Indiana,” Adam Krupp, Department of Revenue commissioner, said in the release. “Business owners are required to play by the same set of rules, and we will hold them accountable in remitting all sales taxes collected or face significant fines and criminal prosecution.”