INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A New Palestine man died in a crash involving an overturned vehicle that closed U.S. 40 near the Marion-Hancock county line on Thursday afternoon, Indiana State Police said in a news release.
Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter about 1:25 p.m. Thursday alerted dispatchers of a serious crash he had come upon along U.S. 40 between Muessing Street and Carroll Road in Cumberland, the release and the Indiana Department of Transportation said.
“Emergency crews were called to the scene and Superintendent Carter rendered aid to the victims until medics arrived,” the release said.
Jeffrey Denton, 64, died after being taken to a hospital.
Two occupants in another vehicle went to a hospital with minor injuries.
Denton was driving a silver Chrysler — the release did not say what type of vehicle — west on U.S. 40 when he crossed the centerline and struck a 2019 Dodge Journey sport utility vehicle. The SUV overturned and came to rest on its top. The silver Chrysler continued across the eastbound lanes and into a deep ditch on the south side of U.S. 40.
Police don’t yet know what caused the crash. Both drivers were to be tested for intoxication.
The eastbound lanes of U.S. 40 were closed until 4:00 p.m. while the crash was investigated. The Indiana State Police was assisted by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, the Cumberland Police Department and the Sugar Creek Fire Department.
The road, which was closed for several hours, reopened sometime before 6:20 p.m.
NEW PALESTINE, Ind (WISH) — Tonii Pyle was elected the New Palestine clerk-treasurer in the last town election.
Almost right after she assumed the office in January, there was trouble.
Jim Robinson, the town manager, told I-Team 8 that Pyle hasn’t worked in the physical office for weeks. Her desk has been cleaned off. Her computer has been disconnected and unplugged.
“In the last 30 days, she has cleaned out the office,” said Robinson, who isn’t real sure if Pyle has partially given up on the job.
“At the end of the day, some things are getting done, you know. Our payroll was done but it was late. It was complete. We do have late invoices, but day-to-day operations, if a constituent were to walk into the Town Hall, they would not be met with a town clerk,” Robinson said.
There is some family history involved: Pyle’s father in-law, David Book, served as town manager for 30 years. He was fired in March and died a short time later. His obituary is taped to a filing cabinet in the clerk’s office. The Town Council has filled legal action against Book and Pyle.
“There are two ongoing investigations. Currently we have one with the former town manager, David Book, and, from what I understand, it has been turned over to the prosecuting attorney, and we have another against the clerk-treasurer. Originally, it was filed with the sheriff’s office, and ghost employment,” said Town Council member Angela Fahrnow.
I-Team 8 found Pyle at her house in the Hancock County town east of Indianapolis and asked her to explain why she was away from the office. She agreed to talk and had a four-page document of issues between her, council members and other town employees. She says, shortly after taking office, a council member physically threatened her.
“He wouldn’t move and continued to get louder and more belligerent and continued to threaten me, and so I pushed the door closed behind me so he would get the hint to please move and he didn’t,” Pyle said.
She began working from home at the start of the pandemic, and when the rest of the town employees come back to town hall she continued to work from home. She loves the job. However, she says, the environment is hostile in part because of her father-in-law. She says her intentions are to keep working,
“I wish they would focus on what is best for the town and not worry so much about what I’m doing. I’m doing my job. If I wasn’t doing my job, they would know. Things would not be getting paid. Things wouldn’t be running. If they have any questions, all they have to do is reach out and ask me,” Pyle said.
The clerk-treasurer is the keeper of the town’s money and records and, as the Town Council prepares for a new budget, they have no idea how much money is in the bank.
Pyle says she probably will not seek a second four-year term and questions whether she will complete this one.
NEW PALESTINE, Ind. (WISH) — New Palestine High School welcomed students back on Monday as Indiana battled a resurgence of the coronavirus.
District officials were made aware of the high school’s second confirmed COVID-19 case before the end of the day.
A student who tested positive attended the first day of in-person classes after a family physician provided a note “with an incorrect return-to-school date,” Hancock County health officials and the Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County said in a joint statement.
Administrators isolated the student and initiated contact tracing efforts after they were notified by the county health department.
On Friday, three days before the district’s six schools reopened, New Palestine High School football players learned a teammate had tested positive for COVID-19.
Administrators canceled an optional football practice and ordered the student athlete’s close contacts to quarantine for 14 days, but did not change the district’s reopening plans.
“I’m worried,” said Brittany Durre, whose daughter is a New Palestine freshman. “I know that there’s more [COVID-19 reports coming]… For the most part, kids aren’t getting as sick. So they’re a lot more likely to take it home and spread it to somebody who will get really sick before anybody knows what’s going on.”
Haley Holcombe, a New Palestine senior, said she expected the school to ultimately close over coronavirus concerns.
“I give it maybe two weeks,” she told News 8.
By Monday, at least five school districts across central Indiana had reported COVID-19 cases among students and staff.
Without state-mandated reopening rules or a national pandemic policy for schools, the districts took varied approaches.
Elwood Junior Senior High School pivoted to all-virtual learning for the week of Aug. 3-7 after at least one staff member at the school tested positive for COVID-19, but athletic activities were permitted to continue.
Avon High School continued in-person classes after a staff member – who had not been in close contact with colleagues or students – tested positive.
Warren Central High School did not cancel athletic activities or delay its scheduled reopening after a student athlete on the football team tested positive.
Greenfield Central Junior High School did not cancel classes after a student tested positive on the first day of school.
The responses were largely informed by how many people were believed to have had contact with the positive cases and their roles in the school community.
A spokesperson for the Elwood Community School Corporation, the only district among the five to suspend in-person classes, said a “few staff members at Elwood Junior Senior High School were within close contact.”
The districts all conducted contact tracing and said they alerted “close contacts” who may have been exposed to the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a close contact as any person who is within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes, regardless of the use of a face covering.
A spokesperson for Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb directed News 8 to YouTube videos of the governor’s weekly coronavirus briefings in response to an inquiry about calls for more uniform pandemic policies at schools following new cases among students and staff.
The most recent briefing was July 29, before schools in Greenfield, Avon, New Palestine, Warren Township and Elwood reported positive cases.
The Indiana Department of Education does not have the authority to mandate policies for local school districts.
NEW PALESTINE, Ind. (WISH) — Police in Hancock County said Thursday are looking for two men in connection to a theft last week at a New Palestine hardware store.
Hancock County Sheriff’s Department was called to a report of a “theft/driveoff/shoplifter” about 8:30 a.m. May 20 at New Palestine Hardware and Walker-IT LLC, 4083 S. Arbor Lane. That’s northwest of New Palestine off U.S. 52 between county roads South 650 West and South 600 West.
Surveillance video from the business shows a pickup driving in the back of the business. Minutes later, a man is seen hopping a fence and taking propane tanks. One of the men is then caught looking in the back of a box truck but apparently didn’t find anything. Both men are then seen going inside a greenhouse. Video shows them taking some potted plants and a hose reel. Minutes later, the video shows the men by a dump truck. One of them appears to be taking items from a box on the side of the truck.
The store owner estimated $60,000 in damage and stolen property, according to a police report.
Anyone with information on the men is asked to call the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department at (317) 477-1147.




Coronavirus updates from News 8 at 6:30 p.m. April 6, 2020
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — There are dozens of videos online on how to make any number of types of personal protection equipment
When a history teacher at New Palestine High School was told there was a need to make face shields, he figured out a way to make them and enlisted others to his cause.
Mitch Burk bought a 3-D printer for his classroom and, until a few days ago, he hadn’t touched it.
“I brought it home, fired it up. This was actually the very first thing I ever printed on this 3-D printer and the first one finished in 45 minutes and I realized how easy it would be to kind of mass produce on a smaller scale at least,” Burk said.
Over the weekend, he produced 25 headbands that will be used as face shields. His wife and mother are both health care professionals. His efforts are personal since his wife has moved into the front line of care of COVID-19 patients.
Once Burk got the hang of producing the face shields, he enlisted the help of a fellow teacher, who with the permission put the school’s 3-D printers into service.
“He jumped on board as soon as contacted him. We have a handful of machines there and he has been stopping by the school every morning to reload. He got about 40 finished over the weekend and we are looking to produce as many as we can over the next, until the need runs out,” Burk said.
So far he has helped produce 70 face shields, but, more importantly, this is a call to arms.
“I feel like it has become my space here to let schools know they have so many untapped resources. Obviously, the buildings are going to be pretty much vacant the next couple of months, and I have been trying to yell from the rooftops that schools have these things there and available, whether it is gloves, masks, goggles, we have already been able to collect those. 3-D printers just seem like the next step,” Burk said.
The New Palestine school district already has hundreds of gloves and goggles from the science department, N95 masks from the construction classes, and disinfecting solution.
Burk says by the end of the week they will have produced about 200 masks at a cost of 75 cents in material per mask.
Indiana coronavirus timeline
- March 6: Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) confirms the first case in Indiana. Officials say the Marion County resident had recently traveled to Boston to attend a BioGen conference as a contractor.
- March 8: ISDH confirms a second case. An adult in Hendricks County who had also traveled to the BioGen conference was placed in isolation. Noblesville Schools announces that a parent and that parent’s children will be self-quarantining after attending an out-of-state event where someone else tested positive.
- March 9: ISDH’s total of positive cases rises to 4. Avon Community School Corp. had announced on March 8 that a student tested positive; that case, along with another in Noble County, was confirmed by state health officials at a news conference.
- March 10: ISDH’s total of positive cases rises to 6 as the state launches an online tracker. Purdue and Indiana universities suspend classes for two weeks beyond their spring breaks. Ball State University basketball fans learn the Mid-American Conference tourney will have no fans in the stands. Three businesses operating nursing homes in Indiana announce they will no longer allow visitors.
- March 11: ISDH confirms four more positive cases in Indiana. The University of Indianapolis announces it will extend its ongoing spring break through March 22. The Indianapolis-based NCAA announces the men’s and women’s Final Four basketball tournaments will be conducted with essential staff and limited family attendance. The Big Ten announces all sports events, including the men’s basketball tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, will have no fans starting March 12. Ball State University announces classes are suspended for the rest of the spring semester. NBA suspends all games, including the Indiana Pacers, until further notice. Butler University extends its spring break, after which it will go to virtual classes.
- March 12: ISDH’s total of positive cases rises 12. Taylor University cancels international and domestic spring break trips for students and faculty sponsors. Indianapolis’ annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is canceled. Gov. Eric Holcomb announces new protections that led to extended public school closings and the cancellation of large events across the state. The league including the Indy Fuel hockey team suspends its season. Indy Eleven says it will reschedule four matches, including its April 4 home opener. The NCAA cancels the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The Big Ten suspends all sporting events through the winter and spring seasons.
- March 13: Gov. Holcomb announces additional actions — they included eliminating Medicaid co-pays for COVID-19 testing and lifting regulations limiting the number of work hours per day for drivers of commercial vehicles — to help stop the coronavirus. Wayzata Home Products, a Connersville cabinet maker, shut down and lays off its entire workforce due to market uncertainty associated with the coronavirus. The Indiana High School Athletic Association postpones the boys basketball tournament. Franklin College says it will have no in-person classes March 16 and 17, start online classes March 18 through at least April 5 and empty residence halls of students by 5 p.m. March 15. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis says it will be closed March 14-28. The Indianapolis Public Library joins other libraries across Indiana and says it will close all facilities until further notice beginning at 5 p.m. March 14.
- March 14: ISDH’s total number of positive cases rises to 15. The Indiana Gaming Commission says all licensed gaming and racing operations will close 14 days starting March 16.
- March 15: ISDH’s total number of positive cases rises to 19, with 121 tested. St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis announces all elective, non-urgent surgeries are canceled as of Tuesday.
- March 16: Gov. Eric Holcomb announces the first Hoosier death. ISDH’s total number of positive cases rises to 24. Holcomb closes bars, restaurants and nightlubs to in-person patrons, while carryout and delivery services will still be allowed.
- March 17: ISDH announces the second Hoosier death. Indiana’s Catholic bishops announce the cancellation of Sunday and weekday public masses. Gov. Holcomb activates the National Guard to assist as needed with the virus response. Purdue, Butler and Indiana State universities cancel May commencement ceremonies.
- March 18: ISDH’s total number of positive cases rises to 39. Eli Lilly and Co. says it will use its labs to speed up testing in Indiana for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The 500 Festival announces suspends all planned, in-person events scheduled through May 9. Simon Property Group closes all malls and retail properties until March 29.
- March 19: ISDH’s total number of positive cases rises to 56. Gov. Holcomb extends Indiana’s state of emergency into May. Holcomb says all K-12 public schools will be closed until May 1 and nonpublic schools also are to close. Standardized testing was canceled. The state’s income-tax and corporate-tax payment deadline was extended to July 15. Holcomb says the state will waive job search requirements for people applying for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. The IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament was canceled. The Marion County Emergency Operations Center upgrades to Level 1 status.
- March 20: ISDH reports the third Hoosier death and 23 new cases for a total of 79. Gov. Holcomb moves the state’s primary election to June 2. Indiana University says it is postponing May commencement ceremonies on all campuses. Indiana University Health says it can do limited virus testing.
- March 21: ISDH reports the fourth Hoosier death, and 47 new cases positive for a total of 126. A total of 833 people have been tested for the virus. Indiana National Guard details how it’s working with the Department of Transportation on distribution of medical supplies to hospitals.
- March 22: Indiana’s death toll rises to 7. ISDH reports 75 more positive cases.
- March 23: ISDH reports 259 cases of COVID-19, up from 201 a day earlier. Gov. Holcomb orders Hoosiers deemed nonessential to “stay at home” from March 24-April 7. Eli Lilly & Co. begins drive-thru testing for the coronavirus for health care workers with a doctor’s order. Ball State University cancels the May commencement.
- March 24: Indiana’s death toll rises to 13. Fred Payne of Indiana Workforce Development says any Hoosiers out of work, including temporary layoffs, are eligible to apply for unemployment benefits.
- March 25: Indiana’s death toll rises 17. Indianapolis Motor Speedway announces the Indianapolis 500 is moved to Aug. 23. IndyGo suspends fares and changes its ride schedules.
- March 27: Indiana’s death toll rises to 25. Marion County adds 192 new positive COVID-19 cases, the most of any county in the state for the day, for a total of 484. Indiana has 981 confirmed cases.
- March 28: Indiana’s death toll rises to 31. Marion County adds 100 new cases, the most of any county in the state, for a total of 584. Indiana has 1,232 confirmed cases.
- March 29: Indiana’s death toll rises to 32. Marion County adds 92 new positive cases, the most of any county in the state, for a total 676. Indiana has 1,514 confirmed cases. President Donald Trump announces in a press conference that the national social distancing recommendation will be extended by 30 days, to end April 30.
- March 30: Indiana’s death toll rises to 35. Marion County had the most new cases in the state with 135, for a total of 804. Indiana health commissioner Dr. Kris Box predicted the arrival of the surge in cases and deaths could come in mid-April to late April, but could be as late as mid-May, “but we don’t know.”
- March 31: Indiana’s death toll rises to 49. Gov. Holcomb extends the limits of bars and restaurants to offer only “to go” and “carry out” through April 6. Health commissioner Box, asked about when Indiana will be in a surge of COVID-19 cases, says she thinks the surge is starting.
- April 1: Indiana’s death toll rises to 65. Officials extend Marion County’s “stay at home” order through May 1. Marion County health officials say they will start COVID-19 testing services for frontline employees.The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis says it will remain closed until further notice. Gov. Holcomb announces the #InThisTogether campaign.
- April 2: Indiana’s death toll rises to 78. The state announces K-12 schools will be closed for the rest of the school year. The Indiana High School Athletic Association cancels spring sports seasons.
- April 3: Indiana’s death toll rises to 102. Gov. Holcomb extends the “stay at home” order through April 20. Indiana officials say the state has received a federal Major Disaster Declaration for all 92 counties. The Indiana National Guard says it, the Army Corps of Engineers and state health officials will begin on Saturday to assess sites for alternate health care facilities.
- April 4: ISDH reports 14 more deaths, bringing the state’s total to 116. 3,953 Hoosiers have tested positive, with 116 deaths and 19,800 total tests conducted.
- April 5: ISDH reports 11 more deaths in Indiana.
- April 6: Indiana’s death toll rises to 139. The state reports one Madison County nursing home has had 11 deaths. Gov. extends the “stay at home” order through April 20. He also limits additional businesses to carry-out only.
- April 7: Indiana’s death toll rises to 173. A total of 5,507 Hoosiers have tested positive. Indiana health commissioner Box notes four long-term care facilities have 22 deaths that appear to be related to COVID-19.
- April 8: Indiana surpasses 200 deaths. Indiana now has 203 deaths and 5,943 confirmed cases. A total of 30,869 Hoosiers have been tested.
- April 9: ISDH says 6,351 Hoosiers have been tested positive, resulting in 245 deaths. A total of 32,133 Hoosiers have been tested.
- April 10: ISDH says 6,907 Hoosiers have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in 300 deaths. A total of 35,040 Hoosiers have been tested. ISDH said 24 residents of a long-term care facility in Madison County have died from COVID-related illness.
- April 11: 30 more deaths are announced, bringing Indiana’s total to 330.
- April 12: A total of 343 Hoosiers have now died due to COVID-19, according to ISDH. Just under 8,000 cases have been confirmed in Indiana.
- April 13: Indiana stands at 350 deaths and 8,236 positive coronavirus cases, according to ISDH.
- April 14: ISDH announces 313 more cases and 37 more deaths, bringing the totals to 8,527 positive cases and 387 deaths.
- April 15: ISDH announces 49 more deaths for a total of 463. The total of positive cases grows to 8,955.
- April 16: Indiana reports 477 deaths and 9,542 positive cases. The governor says he expects Indiana to experience a reopening in early May.
- April 17: ISDH reports 519 deaths and 10,154 positive cases. The governor says that he will be extending the stay-at-home order through May 1, although some restrictions may be lifted in the new order.
- April 18: ISDH reports 26 more deaths. ISDH says there are now 10,641 positive cases and 545 Hoosiers have died as a result of the virus.
- April 19: 17 more Hoosiers have died according to ISDH, bringing Indiana’s total to 562.
- April 20: ISDH reports seven new deaths. ISDH says there are now 11,686 positive cases and 569 deaths related to the virus. Holcomb extended the “stay at home” order to May 1. The governor also said, if the medical supply chain is in good shape, other elective medical procedures can resume April 27.
- April 21: Indiana reports more than 12,000 positive cases and more than 600 deaths.
- April 22: Indiana reports 12,438 COVID-19 cases and 661 deaths. The Tyson facility in Logansport voluntarily closes so 2,200 employees can be tested for COVID-19.
- April 23: Indiana reports 13,039 COVID-19 cases and 709 deaths.
- April 24: Indiana reports 13,680 COVID-19 cases and 741 deaths. The Indianapolis City-County Council unanimously approved $25 million in an emergency meeting to help small businesses. Fishers City Council creates a city health department with a plan to test every resident.
- April 25: Indiana reports 14,395 COVID-19 cases and 785 deaths. ISDH launched an antibody testing study for Hoosiers on Saturday. Thousands of residents were randomly selected to participate in the study.
- April 26: Indiana reports 15,012 positive COVID-19 cases and 813 total deaths.
- April 27: Indiana reports 15,961 positive COVID-19 cases and 844 total deaths.
- April 28: Indiana reports 16,588 positive COVID-19 cases and 901 total deaths. Indiana officials say they are opening up COVID-19 testing to more Hoosiers, with expanded criteria and new testing services at 20 sites around the state.
- April 29: Indiana reports 17,182 positive COVID-19 cases and 964 total deaths. The state said it will spent $43 million on contact tracing.
- April 30: Indiana reports 17,835 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,007 total deaths. Indianapolis extends its stay-at-home order through May 15.
- May 1: Indiana reports 18,630 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,062 deaths. Gov. Eric Holcomb announces a phased reopening plan for the state of Indiana. He also extends the stay-at-home order to May 4.
- May 2: Indiana reports 19,295 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,115 deaths.
- May 3: Indiana reports 19,993 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,132 deaths.
- May 4: Indiana reports 583 more COVID-19 cases and 19 additional deaths. The stay-at-home order ends for most of Indiana. That order will end May 11 in Lake and Marion counties, and May 18 in Cass County.
- May 5: Indiana reports 21,033 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,213 deaths.
- May 6: Indiana reports 21,870 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,264 deaths. Ivy Tech Community College says it will continue virtual classes when summer courses begin in June.
- May 7: Indiana reports 22,503 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,295 deaths.
- May 8: Indiana reports 23,146 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,328 deaths. Cris Johnston, director of the Office of Budget and Management, said the state missed out on nearly $1 billion in anticipated April revenues. All state agencies will be given budget-cutting goals.
- May 9: Indiana reports 23,732 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,362 deaths.
- May 10: Indiana reports 24,126 COVID-19 cases in Indiana and 1,379 deaths.
- May 11: Indiana reports 24,627 COVID-19 cases in Indiana and 1,411 deaths.
- May 12: Indiana reports 25,127 COVID-19 cases in Indiana and 1,444 deaths.
- May 13: Indiana reports 25,473 COVID-19 cases in Indiana and 1,482 deaths. The first phase of a state-sponsored study of the coronavirus estimated about 186,000 Hoosiers had COVID-19 or the antibodies for the novel virus by May 1. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced plans for limited reopenings of worship services, retail establishments, the libraries and restaurants.
New Palestine, Indiana, street commissioner pleads guilty to drunken driving
NEW PALESTINE, Ind. (WISH) — A town employee previously questioned about record-keeping errors pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge but was not immediately removed from his position.
Stephen Pool, 59, the street commissioner for the town of New Palestine, was sentenced Jan. 16 in Shelby Superior Court.
He received a 10-day jail sentence and a 355-day suspended sentence to be served on probation. His driver’s license was suspended for a total of three years.
Special conditions of Pool’s probation include completing an alcohol and drug assessment program, and agreeing not to consume or possess any beer, wine or liquor, according to court documents obtained by News 8.
Pool was arrested in Sept. 2019 and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated after driving his truck into a Shelby County creek.
Deputies dispatched to the crash scene noted the smell of alcohol coming from Pool and asked for his license; he handed them a credit card, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Pool told deputies he had five alcoholic beverages and was heading to Indiana Grand Racing & Casino, charging documents state.
A breath test revealed Pool’s blood-alcohol content to be 0.115. He failed three field sobriety tests and initially refused to submit to a blood test.
“Mistakes happen,” said Jenny Jessen, a New Palestine resident. “But unfortunately, as an adult, that’s not the type of mistake that you just make. It was a conscious decision to drink and get behind the wheel of a vehicle. That’s not the type of person I want representing the community.”
She called for town officials to replace the disgraced street commissioner with a more appropriate role model for her daughter, a freshman at New Palestine High School, and other impressionable children in the “family-oriented” community.
Another longtime resident called Pool’s drunken driving arrest “an embarrassment to the community.”
The town manager and council president did not immediately respond to requests for comment from News 8.
New Palestine councilors had previously stated they would wait until Pool was sentenced to make personnel decisions in response to his arrest.
His sentencing came days after town officials questioned him about record-keeping errors that began before he commenced his three-year tenure as street commissioner.
Miles of unreported roads resulted in the municipality missing out on an estimated $200,000 to $500,000 in tax revenue over several years. The money would have funded local road maintenance, officials said.
Pool failed to note the mistakes until state transportation officials denied the town’s 2019 bid for a Community Crossing Grant.
Jessen, an advocate for street upgrades including safer crosswalks at New Palestine schools, said the oversight was “shocking.”
“It’s pretty unsettling,” she told News 8. “It just makes you wonder where the money could have been used.”
She and her daughter called for increased investment in safety upgrades at a crosswalk on U.S. 52, near New Palestine High School. A 14-year-old student was struck by a vehicle and critically injured at the crosswalk in Nov. 2019 while riding his bicycle to school.
Jessen was one of the first parents at the scene of the accident and rushed to calm students who witnessed the victim “being flung into the air,” she said.
“It’s something I will never, ever forget, just watching that young man laying there,” Jessen told News 8. “There are areas that could definitely use some improvement.”
Residents deserve a street commissioner they can trust to drive on — and advocate for — the streets of New Palestine, she said.
Pool did not immediately respond to requests for comment from News 8.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two central Indiana police departments are raising funds for a trained K-9 officer and the Indy Winter Classic Dog Show is helping out.
This weekend the Hoosier Kennel Club is donating $1,000 each to the New Palestine and Fortville Police Departments to help them fund the purchase of a new K-9 officer.
Both departments have been raising money for weeks. New Palestine PD’s target goal is $20,000, which includes the dog, training, equipment including a K-9 friendly vehicle cage and veterinary care.
“This is the biggest community initiative that our police department has undertaken in recent memory,” writes officers on the NPPD’s Go Fund Me page.
NPPD’s K-9 will be dual trained to track suspects and find missing people as well as detect narcotics, according to the page. The dog would also be available to help neighboring agencies.
The Fortville Police Department had a K-9 officer in 2012 and retired her after an officer was ambushed and she suffered from anxiety, according to the FPD’s Go Fund Me page.
“We have decided that now is the time to re-introduce a K-9 program back to the police department,” writes the officers, noting the current opioid epidemic and the large population growth in Fortville.
Kevin Allen, chairman of the Hoosier Kennel Club, presented the $1,000 check to the New Palestine Police officers Friday and anticipates meeting the Fortville officers Saturday.
The Indy Winter Classic Dog Show runs through Sunday in the West Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
NEW PALESTINE, Ind. (WISH) – Firefighters at Sugar Creek Township Fire Department are ready to celebrate after getting moved into their new firehouse.
The firehouse was completed around the end of February and this weekend they will hold a dedication ceremony and open house.
The project has been underway for about a year.
Firefighters there said they had outgrown their old house and really needed the extra space.
“We tried to build this place for the future so everything that we put into it, we looked at the growth for the township. We didn’t want to build anything too big but we wanted to meet needs. Health and safety was huge, physical fitness was huge so we tried to accommodate all of that as well,” said Captain James Wolsiffer with the Sugar Creek Township Fire Department.
Additions include an improved workout room and lounge area. There are eight private bedrooms so they can hold up to eight firefighters. Each will share a Jack-and-Jill style bathroom.
“We put geothermal system in here, helps out with the heating and cooling. We put closed loop water system here to help out with how quick we got hot water, LED lighting throughout so those are going to save tax payers alone in itself,” Wolsiffer added.
The hope is that with a better facility, the firefighters will be able to better serve the community.
“This space is stretched out a little bit. We still wanted it to be tight, we wanted it to still feel like home.
Sleeping arrangements are a lot better for the guys. Physical fitness room is a lot better for us. Better area for guys to spread out and not be so cramped,” he added.
The dedication and open house will take place June 3 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. There will be refreshments, firehouse tours, and activities for the kids.
NEW PALESTINE, Ind. (WISH) — A guidance counselor has been placed on administrative leave and criminally charged in connection to the theft of prescription drugs from a clinic at New Palestine High School, the school district said.
Y Michelle Long, 47, has been charged with five counts of theft, according to online jail and court records.
Southern Hancock Schools issued a news release Monday night that said its administrators became aware of the theft of prescription medicine from a locked cabinet. New Palestine Police Department investigated, the release said.
The district placed Long on administrative leave from her job and increased its security and surveillance measures in its school clinics.
The release said school officials were not at liberty to discuss other details about the incident and referred questions to the New Palestine Police Department.
The town’s police force said it is looking at two suspects in a theft case.
On Sunday, New Palestine police officers were sent to Woodland Terrace, a senior community, for a reported theft. Officers obtained video of a man and a woman who made their way into the facility, 4400 Terrace Drive, in an attempt to steal items. A news release from the department said the suspects made off with laptops and power tools worth about $3,000. Police have recovered the stolen items.
Police are not releasing the names of the suspects until charges are filed. Police said Tuesday night that they are continuing to collect evidence.