GREENTOWN, Ind. (WISH) — Howard County Coroner’s Office has ruled the death of two people in Greentown as a murder-suicide.
Kimberly Butler-Wilson, 39, and Timothy Glassburn, 42, were found shot to death Monday night in a vehicle parked in front of Casey’s General Store in Greentown, a Howard County town of 2,300.
The Howard County Sheriff’s Office said both Wilson and Glassburn met at Casey’s just before 5:30 p.m. Monday.
Police said that Glassburn shot Wilson inside her parked car before turning the gun on himself.
They were both known acquaintances and met for unknown reasons.
Officers were first dispatched around 6:30 p.m. to conduct a welfare check, police said.
Dozens of authorities from multiple agencies swarmed the scene after officers found the gunshot victims in the parking lot of the convenience store, located at U.S. 35 and State Road 231.
The incident was “isolated” and presented no threat to the community, according to Capt. Jordan Buckley, a spokesperson for the Howard County Sheriff’s Office.
GREENTOWN, Ind. (WISH) – A voyeurism investigation is underway in Howard County after someone found a cellphone camera recording video inside a women’s restroom.
It happened Jan. 14 at Casey’s General Store, a convenience store and gas station in Greentown.
Greentown Police tell 24-Hour News 8 that they have identified a suspect, but they’re still trying to figure out how many victims there are.
It’s the type of case people in the small town about eight miles east of Kokomo say they just don’t expect to hear about.
“It is kind of surprising in Greentown. We are all like, you know, family here,” said Nina Thomas, a Greentown resident.
“You trust everybody…. To have the trust violated in this small of a community is shocking,” said Tiffianey Taylor, who also lives in Greentown.
Police said the phone had been set up underneath the bathroom sink.
“If I found out I used the restroom where someone was recording, I would feel violated. That would shake me up,” Taylor said.
Greentown police are not releasing the suspect’s name at this point. They are still waiting on an arrest warrant. Some people in Greentown tell 24-Hour News 8 they hope that arrest happens soon.
“We have to stop this kind of crazy people … whoever did it, we don’t need that here,” Thomas said.
A manager for Casey’s General Store declined to comment.
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GREENTOWN, Ind. (WISH) – The norovirus forced an entire school district to close Tuesday.
Eastern Howard School Corporation closed its elementary, middle and high schools.
Officials say they decided to close the schools after 200 kids called in sick last week, and it’s nursing staff calling out Tuesday. The district was closed Monday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“It was like a sick ward, it really was until parents were able to come and pick up their children,” said Dr. Tracy Caddell speaking of the scene inside the nurse’s office Friday.
180 kids at the elementary school fell ill. 20 were sick at the middle and high schools.
Both of the district’s nurses called out Tuesday after their own children became sick.
“I’ve been a superintendent 16 years and this is the first time (school had to close for an illness). Safety and making sure our kids are going to be okay is paramount,” he said.
Since Friday the buildings and the buses have been disinfected and cleaned with bleach.
According to the CDC the norovirus hits younger children harder than older ones. Which is why when the district reopens Wednesday all eyes will be on the middle and high schools.
“I know one of the concerns we will have tomorrow is how much of this is transferred to the middle school and high school. But we’re hopeful the older children will handle this better,” he said
In addition to the students being sick, staff and teachers were also ill.
According to the CDC the easiest way to prevent the norovirus from spreading is by hand washing.
Dr. Caddell says a strict hand washing policy will be in effect.
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GREENTOWN, Ind. (WISH) — Eastern Howard School Corporation is closed Tuesday because nurses were not available for the school day.
According to the website, the corporation was not able to get any substitute nurses. After more than 25 percent of their elementary school students were out of school on Jan. 13, their own nurse staff is out sick as well.
A statement from the school provided more details:
With over 200 children out of school on Friday ill, we are uncertain what might happen with children and staff sick, and no medical staff available. We will continue to scrub the facility and plan on having school tomorrow. Thank you for understanding and again, our apologies. We will make this day up on President’s Day.”
In a school release, Superintendent Tracy Caddell explained that the schools had experienced an outbreak of viral gastroenteritis and would be bringing in additional custodial staff to clean all facilities, including the school buses. They also emphasized the school would be educating young students about hand washing.
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MADISON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — A glider pilot was taken to the hospital after crashing in Madison County Sunday afternoon.
Emergency crews were called to the 7200 block of West County Road 700 North around 4:45 p.m.
Richard Smith, 65, of Greentown said he crashed the 1976 Schleicher ASW-19 sailplane after getting caught in a downdraft, according to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department.
He said the glider hit the ground nose first and then the right wing caught the ground, knocking the craft back about 30 feet, according to the sheriff’s department.
Smith was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
Federal Aviation Administration officials will be on site to investigate the crash Monday.
MADISON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — A glider pilot was taken to the hospital after crashing in Madison County Sunday afternoon.
Emergency crews were called to the 7200 block of West County Road 700 North around 4:45 p.m.
Richard Smith, 65, of Greentown said he crashed the 1976 Schleicher ASW-19 sailplane after getting caught in a downdraft, according to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department.
He said the glider hit the ground nose first and then the right wing caught the ground, knocking the craft back about 30 feet, according to the sheriff’s department.
Smith was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
Federal Aviation Administration officials will be on site to investigate the crash Monday.
GREENTOWN, Ind. (WISH) — Greentown is preparing to turn the water back on at Eastern Howard County schools.
“We were kind of scared at first. We didn’t know what was going on,” said Cletus Lawson, who has two children in the district.
In a letter to the school corporation, the Howard County Health Department says the water is now safe to drink. High levels of lead were found in the water source early last month, forcing the district to shut off the water to its two schools.
The water will be turned back on before students go back to school on Monday.
“We had a lot of faith in the school that they were taking all the precautions that they should,” said Stacy Lawson. “They’ve replaced everything and if the board of health says its okay that they can drink out of the water fountain then they should be fine.”
Cletus and Stacy say their kids also drink out of the tap at home, which is the same source as the school district.
“They’ve been drinking out of the tap here at home. It’s the same city water as the school, and she came back negative. She [their daughter] drinks, like, two gallons of water out of the tap here a day so if there was lead in all of the water, she would’ve came back positive,” said Stacy Lawson.
Before water service is restored the entire system will be flushed, a filtration system will be installed, and there’s a follow up test scheduled for September.
“We worked very closely with the health department and I feel very comfortable with their decision,” said Dr. Tracy Caddell, the superintendent of Eastern Howard School Corporation.
The water in areas of the elementary school and high/middle school tested 22 parts per billion for lead. The EPA says an acceptable level is 15 parts per billion. To put the level of lead into perspective, Flint, Michigan’s water tested 13 thousand parts per billion.
“It’s an apples-to-oranges, but certainly there was anxiety. They [the department of health] firmly believe that with the flushing that we’re going to be doing that children will be safe to drink the water,” said Dr. Caddell.
The water in the areas of the schools where the lead was found will remain shut off until filtration systems are put in place.
The district will still have bottled water available.
KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) — There will be voluntary blood tests for students in eastern Howard County after lead continues to show up in water samples from the high school.
Because of those lead levels, students at Eastern Howard High School will also continue to drink bottled water at school.
Additional tests are being run.
After voluntary tests a couple weeks ago found high levels of lead, 43 additional samples were taken in Eastern Howard School Corporation.
Conner Buck is a junior at Eastern Howard High School and isn’t bothered by the lead issue.
“We’ve just been going to the office to get free water instead of going to the fountains,” he said.
And that will continue — for now.
On Tuesday, county and school officials shared results that there are still higher than normal levels of lead in at least one water source at the Performing Arts Center.
But Howard County Health Officer Dr. Don Zent said the levels weren’t in water that students drink.
“That’s not drinkable water, but if you notice there’s a water fountain that was tested in that building and that was normal,” he said.
A cause for the lead levels is still unknown.
The county is recommending more tests and some action steps for the school corporation.
“Filters, replacement components, replace old plumbing, etc.,” Zent said. “Use only cold water, because hot water will increase the lead level because of the heat.”
And the county is also offering free blood screening for all students Friday at their schools.
“Potentially we will see some positive results come from this testing,” Public Health Nursing Manager Jennifer Sexton said.
Sexton said it’s not uncommon to find levels of lead in children’s systems, but the cause might not be related to water at school.
“We anticipate that we will probably find other lead risks in the child’s environment,” she said.
For now, students will continue to drink bottled water at school until all levels of lead are deemed safe.
“We’re not going to allow students to drink the water until we’re absolutely sure that it’s safe and if it takes weeks, it takes months, we’re going to do whatever it takes,” Superintendent Tracy Caddell said.
GREENTOWN, Ind. (AP) – A central Indiana bridge with an unusual design has been chosen by a state agency to undergo a $500,000 renovation to preserve its historical value.
The Warren pony-truss bridge that spans Mud Creek over Indiana 26 in Howard County was chosen by the state Department of Transportation for the renovation.
The Kokomo Tribune reports that the bridge landed the renovation dollars after it was deemed eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
INDOT officials say the bridge built in 1947 displays an innovative design and construction method, as well as an exceptional main span length for its type.
INDOT design engineer Doug Dagley said many pony-truss bridges in Indiana have deteriorated and been demolished or removed to build new, modern ones.
GREENTOWN, Ind. (WISH) – The Eastern Howard School Corporation released that there were elevated levels of lead in at Eastern High School on Thursday.
On a website for the school corporation, a statement was released stating when the school corporation was informed and what steps they have currently taken to mitigate the issue.
The corporation has currently purchased 2,500 bottles of water for drinking and cooking.
Students will also not be exposed to water through swimming, washing their hands or showering.
Hand sanitizers are available to students and staff.
The high school is not closed, but will be open on Friday.
The release encouraged families to refer to the school corporation’s website and social media for updates.
To read the entire release, click here.