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Archive for October, 2009

Halloween fun at Linton Spookfest on Saturday

by Greene County Daily World on Oct.30, 2009, under Greene County

Friday, October 30, 2009
Photo & Text by Nick Schneider, Assistant Editor
Greene County Daily World

The ghosts, goblins and all the other Halloween characters are invited to the Linton Spookfest on Saturday night. Linton's traditional Spookfest gets under way with a 6 p.m. parade around Humphreys Park.

The ghosts, goblins and all the other Halloween characters are invited to the Linton Spookfest on Saturday night. Linton's traditional Spookfest gets under way with a 6 p.m. parade around Humphreys Park.

The ghosts, goblins and all the other Halloween characters are invited to the Linton Spookfest on Saturday night.

Linton’s traditional Spookfest gets under way with a 6 p.m. parade around Humphreys Park. Costume judging will follow the parade on the band shelter stage. Registration starts at 5 p.m. in the Girl Scout Cabin.

* Trick or treating in Linton will be from 5:30 -9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

* Trick or treating in Bloomfield will be from 6 - 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

* Trick or treating in Lyons will be from 7 - 9 p.m. on Saturday.

* Trick or treating in Worthington will be from 6 - 9 p.m. on Saturday.

* Trick or treating in Jasonville will be from dusk to 9 p.m. on Saturday.

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Bloomfield school to get new web site

by Greene County Daily World on Oct.30, 2009, under Bloomfield News

Friday, October 30, 2009
By Timberly Ferree, Staff Writer
Greene County Daily World

The Bloomfield School District’s web site will soon get a new look.

The school board gave the go-ahead for the redesign in a 7-0 vote during its October monthly meeting Thursday night.

The project has a price tag of $2,000 — which is a one-time fee that also includes all training necessary for staff to manage the content of the Web site and it allows teachers to have Web pages.

But there was discussion on the matter.

Board Member Doug Frye questioned the reason for a new Web site.

“What’s wrong with the one we have now?” Frye asked.

Superintendent Dan Sichting replied that the current Web site has flaws with the dropdown menus and its content needs updated.

The current site was designed by a former student long ago and the new design will be used as a marketing tool to promote the positives, he added.

“It will be the same address with a different design,” he said.

Sichting provided additional details on the matter in a Friday morning interview with the Greene County Daily World.

“We are going to use our Web site to do a little bit of marketing. We believe it’s (current Web site) adequate but it needs to portray the positives,” he said, noting academic opportunities and programs at the school.

Discussion for the update has long been under way.

“We have been meeting since last spring as an administrative team to try to see what we want on the Web site,” Sichting explained. “It will have a lot of things it currently has along with some new things.”

When it comes to relocating, many people with children use school Web sites to determine where they will move, he added.

There is no set timeline for the new design to be up and running.

“We hope to have it done in a very short period of time,” Sichting said, noting project details still need to be finalized.

Five Star Technology Solutions LLC will redesign the school’s Web site. The company just recently redesigned the Eastern Greene School District’s site.

You can view the Bloomfield School District’s current Web site at www.bsd.k12.in.us/ . You can also find a link to the school’s Web site at www.gcdailyworld.com under school links.

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Fall back: Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday

by Greene County Daily World on Oct.30, 2009, under Bloomfield News

Friday, October 30, 2009
Greene County Daily World

Fall back, spring ahead. Daylight savings time ends Sunday.

So make sure to move your clocks back one hour before you go to bed tonight or when you get up first thing Sunday morning.

Did you know Daylight Savings Time is the invention of Benjamin Franklin from his 18th century Parisian days. He figured that to increase the number of productive daylight hours, during the seasons when the sunlight shines early, that if you bring the clock back you can gain an additional hour of sunlight in the morning.

However, it wasn’t Benjamin Franklin who gave it an actual start; instead, the practice was born of necessity during World Wars I and II.

The practicality of his idea came into play during these wars, when scarcity and rationing were the operative words. By following their normal routines, and by going to bed hours after sundown, people relied upon artificially generated light, which depleted the scarce reserves of fuel in its generation. Germany realized that this precious commodity could better be used to serve the war effort, and instituted the first daylight saving laws in 1915. Those who refused to comply with the lights out curfew faced punishment.

England followed suit in 1916, and, finally, the United States, in 1918.

The United States reinstated the daylight saving laws on a national basis during World War II. The close of the war ended the law’s necessity, but the national habit continued on a voluntary basis.

Daylight Saving Time had taken root in our society, and was now the norm. Of course, daylight saving time never affected the farmer, whose livelihood dictates that he adheres to the old adage “Early to bed, early to rise.”

The next time you change your clocks is March 14, 2010 — the second Sunday in March.

Kevin is the chief meteorologist for WTHI-TV in Terre Haute.

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Business Expo draws nearly 1,000

by Greene County Daily World on Oct.30, 2009, under Greene County

Friday, October 30, 2009
Greene County Daily World

FRENCH LICK — Nearly 1,000 people gathered for the 13th Annual Buy Indiana Expo at the Sports & Exhibits Complex at French Lick Resort on Tuesday.

Hosted by Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) and the Linton-Stockton Chamber of Commerce, the Expo experienced record attendance with more than 200 vendors exhibiting at the sold-out venue.

Buy Indiana Expo is the premier event for companies to showcase their products and services to NSWC Crane which spends $1.2 billion doing business each year.

NSWC Crane Commanding Officer, Captain Charles LaSota was on hand at the Expo to welcome the exhibitors, visitors and more than 400 NSWC Crane employees who work in Mission Support Services, Special Missions, Strategic Mission and Electronic Warfare/Information Operations.

“This event infuses the talents and capabilities of Indiana businesses into what we do to support the Warfighter,” Capt. LaSota said. “The synergy of Buy Indiana is unmatched in southern Indiana and gives us exposure to companies that can help us continue to be the agile and reliable resource that we are to the military.”

As one of Indiana’s largest employers, NSWC Crane is responsible for $2 million to the state’s economy each day. Through the Buy Indiana Initiative.

“Over the years I’ve watched Crane as a respected provider of the national security that we all depend on, but it is important to understand that they also contribute greatly to the economic development of Indiana,” Sen. Hume said.

In addition to the NSWC Crane exposure and the business-to business opportunities, the Expo also provided educational sessions for the vendors including workshops on “How to do business with NSWC Crane” and “Wide Area Workflow” which detailed the process for invoicing federal contracts.

“I want to thank the Linton-Stockton Chamber of Commerce for co-hosting this fantastic event,” Capt. LaSota said. “With this kind of support from our local and regional community we cannot fail in our mission to provide world-class solutions to our Warfighters.”

For more information about the Buy Indiana initiative call 812-854-1542 or visit www.crane.navy.mil.

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New Wabash Valley Correctional Facilty chief has Greene County ties

by Greene County Daily World on Oct.30, 2009, under Greene County

Friday, October 30, 2009
By Nick Schneider, Assistant Editor
Greene County Daily World

Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle has a new superintendent, who has close, long-standing ties to Greene County.

James Baysinger

James Baysinger

Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Edwin Buss announced in mid-October the promotion of James Baysinger to the head administrative job at the Sullivan County-based male adult prison.

He replaces Bruce Lemmon, who had been serving the dual role of superintendent at both Wabash Valley and the Putnamville Correctional Facility.

The newly named superintendent retired April 15 as Command Sergeant/Major with the 76th Brigade of the Indiana National Guard after more than 24 years of service, beginning as a U.S. Marine.

A former member of the Indiana National Guard Alpha Company, Task Force 1-151 — The Avengers based in Linton — Baysinger served two tours of duty in Iraq.

He served a third tour as the 76th Brigade’s Rear Detachment Command Sergeant Major for the Linton unit’s deployment that ended last November.

“I’ve been in Alpha Company for about 20 years,” he recalled.

The new prison chief credited his military leadership training as having a major role in his success in the state prison system.

“The leadership schools that I went to in the military greatly improved my ability to lead and supervise individuals. They (the military) give you a lot of training in small group leadership and running an organization and meeting time constraints and working in difficult, stressful environment and it all directly correlates with working inside a facility — a prison,” he explained.

Baysinger, an 18-year DOC employee, previously served as Assistant Superintendent of Operations at the maximum-security facility.

The rural Sullivan County resident moved up the ranks from a correctional officer to the rank of Major before being promoted to other leadership roles.

The new superintendent said he is excited about his new job and noted that he’s been busy and getting settled into a routine.

Baysinger previously served as the WVCF Emergency Squad Commander for seven years. He has also been the facility Training Coordinator.

The superintendent said one of his biggest challenges in his new job is to help the facility to be fiscally prudent.

“Obviously, Indiana is doing a lot more things to be fiscally responsible with the current budget crisis, so trying to run a facility and still be a good steward of the taxpayer dollars is not necessarily a challenge, but it’s an important thing that we do. I want to make sure we spend our money wisely and still have a safe place for our staff to work and for our neighbors in the community,” he stated.

Looking ahead, Baysinger said one of his immediate goals is to fill several vacant correctional officer positions.

“We’re working towards that. We have hired 16 people in the last couple of months,” he stated.

The superintendent also said he wants to work closely with the staff to “adjust the culture” of the employees.

“Prisons are a difficult place to work and I want my staff to enjoy their job and adjust their culture to where they come to work and are happy to be there,” he stressed.

A native of Fort Branch, Baysinger is a 1985 graduate of Gibson Southern High School.

He joined the Marine Corps right out of high school, about two weeks after his graduation.

Baysinger lives near Fairbanks with his wife, Shayne. The couple has three sons and two daughters.

Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, which opened in 1992, is a state minimum/maximum security male facility with an average daily offender population of nearly 2,100.

Employment at the facility numbers 646, with 152 residing in Greene County.

The 532-acre state prison is best known for its super-maximum Secured Housing Unit (SHU) that has been featured on several national television programs, including a National Geographic Channel six-part series “America’s Hardest Prisons”; the MSNBC series “Lockup: Extended Stay”; and a mini series on The Discovery Channel “Super Max”.

Baysinger said the correctional facility has developed a successful methamphetmine treatment program that is being transited to the Putnamville facility.

In the next few months the new prison head is hoping that he can work with judges in 13 area counties — including Greene, Sullivan and Knox counties — in a program called “Incarceration with a Purpose.”

“We want to bring Community Corrections officials in those counties into our advisory group so that we can better assist our offenders outside the prison and help their transition into the communities. If I have to take an offender inside the facility, I want to release him better able to be a productive member of society because he’s going to be living next door to you and me,” Baysinger said. “We want him to have all of the tools so he can be successful and get him off drugs and get him some job experience.”

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Hibbard has history of getting in trouble

by Greene County Daily World on Oct.30, 2009, under Greene County

Friday, October 30, 2009
By Anna Rochelle, Staff Writer
Greene County Daily World

At the age of 22, Tra Hibbard is now facing 16 felony counts connected with a tragic crash that killed two, injured five and tore a family apart.It happened around 8:30 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 2 after he picked his sister up in Jasonville, stole gas, then led a couple (trying to get his license plate number) round and about before he crashed into a minivan on State Road 54 in Stockton Township after he had turned onto County Road 1500W.

His criminal record indicates he was on a path toward trouble long before he turned onto that road then barrelled on through the intersection without stopping.

He’s been in a courtroom before, actually several times.

He has a juvenile record but those details are not a matter of public record.

His driving privileges have been suspended six times and his current incarceration is not his first visit to the Greene County Jail.

On March 29, 2005, Hibbard was arrested after leading an officer on another chase over some backroads.

Greene County Sheriff’s Det. George Dallaire was a deputy at that time and was on patrol when he saw a car driving left of center on CR 700N ( Terre Haute Rd.) near 1400W near Midland in Wright Township. The officer activated his lights and attempted a stop but the driver, Hibbard, sped up then turned on another road, then another.

The officer said he was running 90 mph and Hibbard was pulling away from him.

Indiana State Police Trooper Harry Bedwell responded to the area and stopped his patrol car in Hibbard’s path. Hibbard pulled over and stopped.

An affidavit filed in that case states the two officers approached Hibbard’s vehicle with their weapons drawn and ordered him and a passenger to get out and on the ground.

The passenger, a juvenile, was reportedly found to have methamphetamine in his pockets.

Hibbard, who was 18, was reportedly found with a marijuana and a pipe and there was a cooler of Budweiser on the back seat.

Hibbard didn’t have a driver’s license.

Hibbard was charged with class D felony resisting law enforcement and four misdemeanors including illegal possession, possession of paraphernalia, operating a vehicle without ever receiving a license and possession of marijuana.

Hibbard pled guilty to possession of paraphernalia and resisting law enforcement and the other counts were dropped. He was sentenced to a total of one and one-half years with all suspended except for 86 days (the time he’d already served in jail) and put on supervised probation for one and one-half years.

The pre-sentencing report said Hibbard had completed the ninth grade at Linton-Stockton, had another conviction in 2004 in Greene County for sniffing paint and the evaluation concluded by sayingHibbard was not an eligible candidate for work release because he didn’t have a job, a license or transportation and Hibbard had said he’d rather just serve his time in jail.

According to the Sullivan Daily Times, records show Hibbard has had five convictions in Sullivan County and four of those were drug or alcohol-related.

In Feb. 2007, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegal consumption of an alcoholic beverage and a charge of reckless possession of paraphernalia was dismissed.

In July 2007, he was arrested in Minnehaha State Fish and Wildlife Area for possession of marijuana, but his sentencing order stated the charge would be dismissed if he stayed out of trouble for one year.

That didn’t happen.

In May 2008, he pleaded guilty to battery resulting in bodily injury.

He was on probation in November 2008, when he tested positive for methamphetamine and marijuana and was arrested.

In March 2009, he was caught bringing a bottle of urine in to use at a drug screening and in May 2009, he pled guilty to interfering with a drug or alcohol screening test and he was also convicted of violating probation.

Hibbard was sentenced and then released from prison on June 7, 2009.

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Hibbard faces five additional felony counts in double traffic fatality wreck; charges now total 17

by Greene County Daily World on Oct.30, 2009, under Greene County

Friday, October 30, 2009
By Anna Rochelle, Staff Writer
Greene County Daily World

The blood tests are back and the long list of felonies filed against Tra Hibbard got a little longer this week.Hibbard was arraigned Oct. 13 in Greene Superior Court on 11 felonies including two counts of reckless homicide in connection with the deaths of Victor Newton and Debra Newton-Doyle in a tragic crash on Oct. 2, plus one misdemeanor.

The Greene County Prosecutor’s Office has now filed five additional felony counts with the probable cause based on a report from AIT Laboratory (an independent test lab) which revealed Hibbard’s blood alcohol concentration was equivalent to .076 grams per alcohol per 100 ml of blood and that his blood contained cannabinoids and THC, an active component of marijuana (a Schedule I controlled substance) and Lorazepam, a benzodiazepine (a Schedule IV controlled substance).

The analysis was made on a vial of whole blood taken from Hibbard at Wishard Hospital after he was airlifted there following the crash.

The new charges filed against Hibbard include: Two counts of operating a vehicle with a controlled substance in blood causing death, both class B felonies; and three counts of operating a vehicle with a controlled substance in blood causing serious bodily injury, all class D felonies.

The charges filed earlier included: Two counts of reckless homicide, both class C felonies; three counts of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon resulting in serious bodily injury, all class C felonies; one count of theft, a class D felony; one count of driving while suspended, a class A misdemeanor; two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, both class C felonies; and three counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, all class D felonies.

That’s a total of 17 counts, all in connection with the crash in western Greene County around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 2 involving two vehicles, a minivan driven by Victor Newton and a pick-up truck driven by Hibbard.

The Newton van was traveling east on State Road 54 and Hibbard’s truck was traveling south on County Road 1500W.

Hibbard reportedly did not stop at the intersection but hit the Newton van knocking it off the roadway.

Newton, 72, Linton, died in the crash along with his 45-year-old daughter, Debra K. Newton-Doyle, of Linton. Both were pronounced dead on the scene.

Newton’s wife, Violet E. Newton, 71, also a passenger in the van was seriously injured along with two sons of Debra Doyle.

Hibbard was also injured as was his sister who was a passenger in the truck.

Hibbard is currently being held in the Greene County Jail on $87,000 bond.

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Clarification

by Greene County Daily World on Oct.30, 2009, under Switz City

Friday, October 30, 2009
Greene County Daily World

Discussion of a new one-year contract awarded insurer United Health Care on Thursday by the White River Valley School Corp. board incorrectly stated that the amount the company would charge WRV was unchanged from last year, and would cost $1.12 million.The correct amount is $1.04 million, which represents a 13 percent increase from last year’s costs, according to corporation secretary Kim Downey.
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Worthington man faces battery charge after whipping six-year-old ’special needs’ child

by Greene County Daily World on Oct.30, 2009, under Worthington

Friday, October 30, 2009
By Timberly Ferree, Staff Writer
Greene County Daily World

A Worthington man now faces preliminary charges of battery after allegedly whipping a child he was baby-sitting.Timothy L. Lovell, 28, was arrested on a warrant of battery resulting in bodily injury to a minor by Worthington Town Marshal Dennis Conaway on Wednesday.

The probable cause affidavit — which was filed in Greene County Circuit Court on Tuesday — states that Worthington Deputy Marshal Eric S. Floyd was dispatched to the victim’s home Oct. 19.

At that point, the child’s mother reported that her 6-year-old son — who has cerebral palsy and some special needs — was abused while being watched by Lovell.

According to the court document, the mother noticed red marks on her son’s face and “a large welted/bruises area on his buttocks” shortly after picking her son up from the Lovell residence Oct. 19.

Lovell had watched the boy from 10 a.m. to noon that day.

According to the court document, Officer Floyd also observed the marks on the boy.

On Oct. 21, Officer Floyd spoke to Lovell about the incident.

At that time, Lovell admitted to whipping the boy on the buttocks twice but wasn’t aware he struck hard enough to leave any marks.

Lovell had no explanation for the red marks on the boy’s face.

Battery resulting in bodily injury to a minor is a class D felony.

After his arrest, Lovell was released from the Greene County Jail on a $4,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court for an initial hearing Nov. 4.

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Burglar wears “SCREAM” mask while stealing items at Linton store

by Greene County Daily World on Oct.30, 2009, under Linton

Friday, October 30, 2009
By Anna Rochelle, Staff Writer
Greene County Daily World

A burglar wearing a “SCREAM” mask broke into a Linton store at 1:07 a.m. on Friday and made off with cigarettes and other tobacco items they crammed into a backpack.A paper delivery man discovered the break-in at the Smokers Host store on NW A St. and notified police around 5:30 a.m.

Cpl. Paul Clark and Officer Debbie McDonald investigated and found the door to the store broken out.

Video surveillance shows the suspect broke the glass, entered the store, went directly to the cigarette rack and placed numerous items into a backpack, then went to the “Skoal” display and placed more items into the backpack.

The burglar then left after being in the store for approximately one minute.

The police report says the suspect was wearing the “SCREAM” mask, a hoodie, blue jeans, boots and gloves.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact the Linton Police Department at 812-847-4411.

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