Two suspects wanted in connection with a shooting in Palmyra, Ind. Wednesday were arrested in Madison Ind. Thursday, according to police.
The pair was arrested Thursday afternoon by the Madison Police Department, who were tipped off that Travis Fentress and Tara Vanwinkle were in the area.
The pair were accused of shooting Ralph and Rebecca Thomas at the newlywed couple’s home Wednesday in Palmyra.
Both victims were taken to University Hospital, Ralph by helicopter and Rebecca by ambulance.
Harrison County Sheriff’s deputies were on the way to pick them up to take them back to the Harrison County Jail.
The 2016 Cincinnati RedsCaravan kicks off Thursday, Jan. 28 from the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum and will travel more than 3,300 miles with stops in five states over three days.
That includes a stop at the American Legion with Reds Radio Affiliate WSLM RADIO.
Reds Broadcaster Thom Brennaman interviews Reds General Manager Walt Jockity for Fox Sports Ohio while in Salem, In.
The Reds personnel involved will be Jim Kelch (broadcaster), Jeff Brantley (broadcaster/Alumni), Dick Williams (General Manager), Billy Hamilton (major leaguer) and Jesse Winker (minor leaguer).
“My affiliate manager for the Reds and park announcer Joe Zerhusen will also be in attendance,” said WSLM Owner and General Manager Becky White. “I’m thrilled to be part of the Caravan for the third year and can’t wait to welcome them to Salem.”
She also pointed out this is not a public stop on the Caravan and is by “invitation only.”
Reds Fans can win a chance to attend by signing up at Huffaker Insurance and Mid Southern Savings Bank in Salem as well as Gun World in Corydon.
Two winners from each location will be chosen to attend.
After leaving Salem, the South tour will go to the Louisville Bats stadium for a public stop.
“The great thing about our radio stop is that it’s more intimate and Reds fans can participate in a question and answer session, get an item signed and share a meal with the Reds staff,” said White. “For many, that’s the only chance they’ll have to interact with a professional baseball team.”
White is also including local high school baseball and softball teams in the event. The group from Salem, Eastern and WW that collects the most food for the Washington County Food Bank will get to come and have lunch with and meet the Reds.
“This not only gives these youth a chance to meet idols they look up to, ask questions about their sport but to participate in an event that most teenagers don’t get the chance to do,” said White. “And it helps them keep in mind that helping others is important.”
The Caravan is presented by the Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network.
The four Caravan tours travel through Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee providing fans with the opportunity to interact with current and former players, top minor leaguers, broadcasters and members of the Reds front office staff.
At each of the 16 fan stops, the groups will field questions and sign autographs while time allows.
“The Caravan is our official kick-off to the new season and our players, coaches, broadcasters and front office personnel are excited to meet with loyal fans in every corner of Reds Country,” said Phil Castellini, Reds Chief Operating Officer.
All Caravan fan stops are free and open to the public, and at each fan stop listed below the Reds will raffle two tickets to the 2016 Opening Day game on Monday, April 4 (4:10 pm) vs. the Philadelphia Phillies.
The North Tour includes broadcasters Thom Brennaman and Jim Day, pitcher J. J. Hoover(Thurs. & Fri. only), catcher Devin Mesoraco (Sat. only), minor league pitcher Cody Reed, formerReds catcher and Dayton Dragons catching coach Corky Miller, President of Baseball OperationsWalt Jocketty, Chief Operating Officer Phil Castellini and mascot Mr. Redlegs.
The South Tour includes broadcasters Jeff Brantley and Jim Kelch, outfielder Billy Hamilton, shortstop Zack Cozart (Nashville only), infielder Adam Duvall (Louisville only), minor leaguerJesse Winker, Senior Vice President & General Manager Dick Williams, former outfielder Austin Kearns (Lexington only) and mascot Rosie Red.
The East Tour includes broadcasters Marty Brennaman and Chris Welsh, catcher Tucker Barnhart, minor league pitcher Amir Garrett, Assistant General Manager Nick Krall and mascot Gapper.
The West Tour includes broadcaster Jeff Piecoro, manager Bryan Price, infielder Ivan DeJesus Jr., pitcher Keyvius Sampson, minor league infielder Alex Blandino, Reds Hall of Famer Tom Browning, Director of Player Development Jeff Graupe and mascot Mr. Red.
The RedsCaravan will also visit over 20 of the Reds on Radio affiliates throughout Reds Country during the tours.
Additional Caravan participants may be added to select tours. Times are subject to change.
Reds sales representatives will be at each stop to answer ticketing questions and discuss 2016 ticket plans, while the Reds Hall of Fame, the Reds Community Fund and Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network will attend select stops.
Memberships to the Reds Heads Kids Club, Reds Rookies Baby Club, Club Red and Reds Hall of Fame & Museum will be for sale at select stops.
Seating is limited at all Caravan stops. Autographs will be available on a first-come, first-served basis while time allows. No posed photographs. There may be restrictions on items celebrities can sign.
Helen Doswell Hobbs, 96, passed away around 7:15 on the morning of January 9, 2016.
She was born July 10, 1918, in Fort Wayne, Indiana to Harold “Doc” Doswell and Hannah Stiles Doswell. She was the second of five children. She had an older sister, Mary, two younger brothers, John and Jerry, and a younger sister, Sally, all of who preceded her in death.
Helen went to Indiana University in Bloomington, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and met her husband-to-be, Marmaduke “Duke” Hobbs of Salem, Indiana. They were married in 1937, and raised three sons, Arthur (currently living in Bryan, Texas), Jerry (Marina del Rey, California) and Will (Cornelius, Oregon). After earning a law degree, Duke worked for Alcoa and Bendix, finally entering private practice as a patent attorney in South Bend, Indiana, where Helen became his office manager and partner. Retiring in 1986, they moved to Salem, Indiana until Duke’s passing in 2006. In 2008, Helen moved to Oregon.
Helen was active throughout her life, earning a teaching degree at St. Mary’s College in South Bend and teaching third grade for two years. She was involved with Delta Gamma, DAR, PEO and the Antiquarians. She founded the South Bend Bar Association Women’s Auxiliary. She was very active in the Episcopal Church, and wrote for various church publication and philosophy and psychology journals. Recently, she appeared in videos and interviews promoting the POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) advance directive paradigm.
She passed away around 7:15 on the morning of January 9, 2016. She is survived by her three sons, seven grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Funeral services will be held Saturday at 2:00PM at Weathers Funeral Home with Reverend Charles Carpenter officiating. Burial will follow in Crown Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be Saturday from10:00AM-time of service.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana head football coach Kevin Wilson announced Thursday that Keith Caton (KAY-ton) will join the Hoosiers staff as head strength and conditioning coach. Caton arrives in Bloomington after a four-year stint at Baylor University.
“Keith’s skill set and personality are a perfect fit for us,” Wilson said. “Studying the Baylor program from afar, their style of play and player development has been remarkable and we wanted to target someone with that pedigree. We found that in Keith. He is a dynamic leader with great ideas, tremendous energy and a strong coaching background. This position is one of the most critical within a football program, and we are very confident in Keith leading our athletic performance. We welcome him and his family to IU.”
Caton served as Baylor’s director of football for athletic performance. The Bears posted a 40-12 record in his four seasons and just capped off their third straight 10-win campaign.
“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to be a Hoosier and to work for Coach Wilson and his staff,” Caton said. “The leadership that Coach Wilson has shown has set IU up to be a successful program not only in the Big Ten but nationally. I am truly honored to be a part of Hoosier Nation and cannot wait to get to work. Go IU!”
Caton owns 17 years of experience with stops at Western Kentucky University (2011-12, 2004-05), the University of Missouri (2005-10), Elon University (2003-04), Auburn University (2001-03) and the University of Southern Mississippi (1999-2001).
At WKU, he assisted with football all four years and led all aspects of strength and conditioning for men’s basketball (2004-05), baseball (2011-12) and track and field (2011-12).
He was named assistant strength and conditioning director at Missouri in August of 2005. Caton served as the Director of the Mizzou Performance Club, assisted with football and led the design and implementation of programs for baseball and wrestling.
In January of 2004, Caton was promoted to head strength and conditioning coach at Elon, where he oversaw the development of all varsity sports.
Caton graduated from Auburn with an educational specialist degree in 2003. He helped with football, baseball and softball while overseeing equestrian.
A four-year player at Southern Miss, Caton remained with USM following his playing days as strength and conditioning graduate assistant from June of 1999 to May of 2001. He received both his undergraduate degree in the spring of 1999 in exercise physiology and his master’s in May of 2001 in coaching/sports administration from his alma mater.
In addition to his football duties at Baylor, Caton taught a master’s level course as an adjunct professor in the College of Health and Human Sciences.
Caton holds certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association.
Keith and his wife, Adriene, have three children, Kade, Weslie and Kole.
The most beautiful fitness centers in the state are turning 100 this year, and Hoosiers are being encouraged to celebrate by getting outside and getting healthy.
Indiana State Parks is celebrating its centennial year in 2016 and one way it is commemorating the milestone is with the Centennial Fitness Challenge.
The challenge encourages visitors to walk, run, bike, paddle or swim at least 25 miles, or ride on horseback 100 miles, by Nov. 31.
Those who do will be entered into a drawing for prizes, including a 2017 Annual Entrance Pass, Outdoor Indiana magazine subscriptions, DNR camping gift cards and State Park Inns gift certificates.
As a bonus to celebrate the centennial, anyone who completes 100 miles, or 200 miles on horseback, by Nov. 31 will receive a free Indiana State Parks commemorative centennial coin.
Indiana State Parks director Dan Bortner said state parks offer hundreds of miles of trails that wind past lakes, climb big hills, wander through deep forests and canyons, and explore prairies. Many locations also offer accessible hard-surface trails, he said.
“All of these pathways offer opportunities for exercise,” Bortner said. “They also offer the added benefit of just being outdoors, where it is possible to shed the worries and challenges of daily life for a little while.”
Participants must download and keep a Fitness Challenge log that documents their visits to state parks and get a signature from park staff each time they visit.
The log, and additional information on the challenge, is at dnr.IN.gov/healthy.
To see other ways to celebrate Indiana State Parks centennial year, visit INStateParks100.com.
To view all DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) Purdue followed coach Matt Painter’s instructions Wednesday night.
Vince Edwards was aggressive. Isaac Haas was tough. And with those two playing well, their teammates exposed the open looks they created.
Edwards scored 19 points, Haas had 14 and Caleb Swanigan finished with 13 points and nine rebounds to help No. 24 Purdue pull away from Penn State 74-57 in a game that looked almost as impressive as the box score.
”When the ball goes in it looks better, but he (Edwards) was efficient, a little more aggressive,” Painter said. ”I thought Vince was really good. I thought Isaac was really good.”
Better than they’ve been in a while.
After scoring 11 points just once in the previous 12 games, Edwards matched that total by the end of the first half and nearly doubled in the second half.
Haas, who came off the bench for the fourth straight time, played big in the middle. He had 10 points in the first half, forcing the Nittany Lions (10-8, 1-4) to make defensive adjustments, which didn’t work either.
Instead, Swanigan and A.J. Hammons warmed up and Edwards continued playing well. The combination left struggling Penn State with no chance for a comeback.
Hammons finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Haas and Edwards were a combined 11 of 14 from the field.
”You’ve just got to take your shots in rhythm, take them when they’re there and just be ready to shoot,” Edwards said. ”That’s what I did.”
Penn State (10-8, 1-4) had even bigger, self-inflicted problems, too.
Leading scorer Brandon Taylor finished with 21 points but drew his third foul late in the first half and his fourth with 15:34 left to play. The only other Nittany Lion player to reach double figures was Donovan Jack with 12, not nearly enough to avoid a second straight loss.
”They played tough. They played physical. They played great defense. Hence, we were in foul trouble … a step slow,” coach Patrick Chambers said. ”That’s a very good team, though, especially when Edwards is playing like that.”
Purdue used a 10-3 spurt to take a 38-25 halftime lead, opened the second half on an 8-3 run to make it 46-28 and finally put it away with a quick flurry right after Taylor went to the bench.
Edwards and Dakota Mathias hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Haas drew a foul in the post and made two free throws and Edwards made another 3 to give Purdue an insurmountable 59-37 lead with 12:07 to go.
MR. 300
Hammons is the nation’s active leader in blocks and added to his total with two more Wednesday. That gives him 301 in his career, making him only the second player in school history with 300. The Boilermakers’ career leader is Joe Barry Carroll (349), who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1980 NBA draft.
ON THE ROAD
Trips outside Happy Valley have been rather unpleasant experiences recently for Penn State – especially when they play at Mackey Arena. The Nittany Lions have lost nine straight in West Lafayette, Indiana, since a victory Feb. 18, 2006.
ON THE REBOUND
After winning its first 11 games, Purdue climbed into the Top 10. Since then, it’s been more of a struggle. The Boilermakers had lost two of their last three coming into Wednesday, but the re-emergence of major contributions from Haas and Edwards is a promising sign that the balanced Boilers could be back in sync.
TIP-INS
Penn State: Penn State is 2-5 on the road this season with its only wins coming Dec. 2 at Boston College in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and at Drexel on Dec. 19. … The Nittany Lions committed 12 turnovers and had only five offensive rebounds.
Purdue: Has its best record after 18 games since 1993-94 and its fifth straight 3-2 start in Big Ten play. … Purdue kept its 15th opponent below its season scoring average and had a 42-25 rebounding edge. … The Boilermakers are the only Division I team that has outrebounded every opponent this season.
INDIANAPOLIS (Jan. 14, 2016) – Powerball players in Indiana should check their tickets carefully because there were 18 notable winners in the Hoosier state in the historic $1.5 billion drawing.
Three states — California, Florida and Tennessee — sold winning tickets for the monster $1.58 billion Powerball lottery, according to California lottery spokesman Russ Lopez,
Six numbers — 08, 27, 34, 04, 19 — and Powerball 10 were drawn Wednesday night in the historic lottery event.
The three winners will split the colossal jackpot resulting in $528.8 million prize for each, according to officials.
A ticket worth $1 million was sold in Terre Haute. That ticket matched the first five numbers, but not the Powerball number.
In Indiana, 15 tickets are worth $50,000. Those tickets matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball number and were sold in the cities of Jasper, Madison, Corydon, Seymour, Lapel, Fort Wayne (two tickets), Batesville, Indianapolis, South Bend (two tickets), Richmond, Terre Haute, Danville and Hobart.
Two additional tickets, sold in West Lafayette and Zionsville, are worth $100,000. Those tickets matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball number and included the Power Play which doubled the standard $50,000 prize.
The winning ticketholders should sign the back and contact Hoosier Lottery customer service for claim instructions. The 24-hour toll free number is 1-800-955-6886. Prizes of $50,000 or more must be claimed at Hoosier Lottery headquarters in Indianapolis.
The Hoosier Lottery thanks the more than 4,500 Hoosier Lottery retailers around the state for their hard work and commitment. Without them, the success of this record-setting jackpot would not be possible.
A Jasper man was jailed this evening on drug and neglect charges after he drove through a yard to avoid nearly striking a State Trooper at the scene of a weather-related slide off.
Caleb M. Peltier, 24, Jasper, was arrested and charged with Neglect of a Dependent (two counts), Level 6 Felony; Operating While Intoxicated (Endangering), Class A Misdemeanor; Operating While Intoxicated (w/ Schedule I and II Controlled Substance), Class C Misdemeanor; Possession of Paraphernalia, Class A Misdemeanor and Possession of Marijuana, Class B Misdemeanor.
Around 5:01 P.M. today, Trooper Brock Werne was assisting with a truck that had slid off of the roadway on Portersville Road south of County Road 500 North, approximately one mile north of Jasper.
Trooper Werne had closed down the road by parking his police car in the middle of the road and turning on his emergency lighting.
A Ford Exploer, driven by 24 year old Caleb M. Peltier of Jasper, drove around the police car and through a yard in an attempt to drive around the scene. After not being able to drive past the slide-off, Peltier turned around and drove back towards Werne, who stopped him.Werne, while speaking to Peltier, smelled what he believed to be the odor of burnt marijuana.
Through the course of his investigation, Werne learned that Peltier had smoked marijuana around noon today, and had marijuana and paraphernalia in his possession.
Werne also found that Peltier had his two year old and 9 month old children in the vehicle.
Peltier was arrested and charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated, two counts of Neglect of a Dependent, as well as Possession of Marijuana and Paraphernalia.
He was lodged without incident in the Dubois County Security Center. The children were unharmed and picked up at the scene by their mother.
The Indiana State Police reminds motorists who witness reckless and dangerous drivers to immediately contact law enforcement, especially when road conditions are poor.
Call 9-1-1 with a location, description of the vehicle, and specifically what reckless actions are happening to help police take dangerous drivers off of Indiana’s roadways.
Arrested and Charges:
Caleb M. Peltier, 24
Jasper, IN
– Neglect of a Dependent (two counts), Level 6 Felony
– Operating While Intoxicated (Endangering), Class A Misdemeanor
– Operating While Intoxicated (w/ Schedule I and II Controlled Substance), Class C Misdemeanor
– Possession of Paraphernalia, Class A Misdemeanor
– Possession of Marijuana, Class B Misdemeanor
Harrison County officials are looking for two people accused of shooting a couple in their Palmyra home.
The shooting happened at a home on Huff Street Northeast, near Avery Street Northeast.
According to Harrison County Deputy Sheriff Daran Hodges, deputies arrived at the scene around 11a Wednesday morning.
A husband and wife were shot, with the man flown to University Hospital in Louisville with life-threatening injuries.
His wife was transported to the hospital by ambulance. She called 911 and was conscious when emergency crews arrived and was able to give a description of the shooters to police.
Authorities said there were two children in the home, but they were currently staying with grandparents at the time and were at school today.
Hodges said the wife was was able to provide information about the suspects- who apparently left in a white vehicle, with Florida plates and possibly a Kia.
“Right now we have a white male by the name of Travis Fentress, along with a white female by the name of Tara Van Winkle,” said Hodges. “My team is currently out hunting those individuals. And we have a detective on the way to the hospital to interview the witness to obtain more information. Hopefully we can find out what this was about”
Hodges said the husband had been stabilized but “his prognosis is not very well.”
The two suspects are to be considered “armed and dangerous,” according to Hodges.
Others in the area are concerned for their safety. While WSLM was on the scene, several local residents asked police about the safety of the neighborhood. Hodges informed them they were safe and those who committed the crime had left the area.
One anonymous source said he felt drugs were at the issue.
Hodges is asking anyone with any information about the suspects’ whereabouts to call the Harrison County Police Department at 812-738-2195.
A thorn in the side of three business owners on Salem’s east side — and many drivers — is going away, thanks to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
INDOT met with City of Salem officials on Wednesday, January 6 to discuss the traffic and construction on SR56 and ordered the median removed.
City Councilmember Justin Green, who owns a piece of property on State Road 56 East, WSLM and Painter Machine Works are all breathing a sigh of relief to know the 900 foot concrete median is being removed.
The median that was constructed in the middle of State Road 56 will be busted up and removed in the next week or so, according to INDOT Public Information Officer Harry Maginity.
“I’m more than mildly shocked,” said Maginity. “Deputy Commissioner Tony McClellan told Temple and Temple at a meeting with the City of Salem on Wednesday to bust this up. It’s a minor miracle. This doesn’t ever happen.”
The state has received multiple complaints about the median, which was installed as a safety measure to be in place when two stoplights are added to the Coral Street and Kimball Blvd. intersections for the Wal-Mart Supercenter that is being built in the area.
INDOT lists three reasons for removing the median:
Wal-Mart development has been delayed and potential of out-lots is uncertain—resulting in lower traffic volume than was anticipated at this time.
The median curb was placed prior to installation of the traffic signals.
Efforts to satisfactorily make short-term corrections to respond to residents’ and business owners concerns have not been successful.
In early October, without any warning to businesses in the area, Temple and Temple constructed a median in the middle of the State Road 56 Reconstruction project.
“For 60-plus years, people have drove to WSLM one way – down State Road 56 and turned into the drive way. In less than 24 hours, all that changed,” White said.
White said INDOT admitted they were supposed to have notified local businesses but did not. “After the fact, they apologized for not letting us know. The first time we knew about it was watching Temple and Temple outside pouring the concrete.”
The median affected the traffic flow in the area, causing traffic to WSLM and Painter’s Machine Works customers and visitors to have to proceed down East 56 to Jim Day Road and turn around and come back on the other side of the median and turn into the businesses.
William Painter had pointed out during an INDOT visit in late October that he receives deliveries from semi-tractor trailers that come in from the bypass or I-65 in Scottsburg.
White pointed out that trucks can turn into the Northside of the street, but can’t easily turn out to go back to I-65 or to the bypass.
“They’re going to have to go towards Salem and then find a place to come back to I-65 or the bypass. That’s probably going to be too much driving around and the trucker is going to go down around the square and down 60 – which defeats the purpose of the bypass.”
White said the median has been hard to get used to.
“I’ve made a left turn off 56 into WSLM for several years and now I have to take another 2-3 minutes to get to work each morning,” said White. “It’s a huge inconvenience. And guests and customers coming here have tried to figure out how to get into the radio station and some have just left. FedEx didn’t deliver a package here for two weeks before Christmas and listed the package as “undeliverable” because they couldn’t figure how to get in here.”
As a proposed fix, a U-turn lane was proposed and constructed in December to help local traffic navigate from one side of the median to the other — but the U-turn lane did not allow enough room for a successful turn.
And a U-turn lane to move from the North to South side of the road was never added.
“There wasn’t a vehicle made by any manufacturer that could have turned left and then turned back into an 8’foot lane,” said White. “I had to make the turn, stop and back up and then continue turning left and was many times over into the entrance to the church and trailer park area which was another lane and a half from the U-turn.”
According to Maginity, an additional lane running between Coral Street and Jim Day Road was going to be added but Wal-Mart did not want to pay to add additional lanes of traffic for the U-turn lane.
Green said development on the North Side of 56 – on his property, WSLM and Payntor’s Machine Words, could require a return of the median in the future.
He also said there were issues with aligning the four-way stops at Kimball Blvd. and Coral Street.
“They are trying to realign Kimball Blvd. It needs to go more to the east than it is supposed to. Which crowds’ part of the first lot, crowds the poles, etc. Nothing is lining up the way it was supposed to,” Green said.
Kimball Blvd. is located more to the east than the entrance to the Twin House Apartments on the North Side.
To make that completely parallel, the road would need to be cut through the former Bill Stickles property on the corner.
“You go down to Coral and look at the [proposed] stoplight,” said Green. “They were going to have to put in a new lane of pavement in order to make the U-turn work. To make the extra turn lane and make the intersection work, it’s become too expensive and it doesn’t line up. So it’s easier to do away with the median and not spend any more money. It’s basically a dollars and sense issue. “
Green also added that timing was a big issue as well. “Here’s my beef again. It’s January … and it should have been addressed and taken care of back in the fall. The project is finished and they’re making these modifications.”
“It still is the satisfaction that we made our point,” said Green. “I was as big as cheerleader as you were. I knew to bide my time. I didn’t see this coming out of [the] meeting [last week].”
TIMELINE OF MEDIAN PLACEMENT
SUMMER 2015
Salem Wal-Mart development asked for two signals plus a right in/right out drive to be placed on S.R. 56.
The signal locations are at existing Kimball Drive and a new drive east of Coral Street, spacing of approximately 900 feet. INDOT standard for signal spacing is 2000 feet or more.
The east end signal was allowed as provisional with the ability for INDOT to remove after 6 months if the traffic volume is not warranted.
There is a Duke easement on the west side of Kimball Drive that does not allow for alignment of Kimball Drive and Twin House Road, which also does not allow for a signal to be placed for Twin House road which serves 7 houses.
Therefore the stop bar for Kimball Drive is in the middle of the approach for Twin House road.
The Duke easement is for overhead power lines that cannot have a signal in proximity of it for Twin House.
Also for the installation of Kimball signal, the road alignment is moved to the east to accommodate the strain poles.
Coral Street has the same issue as Twin House Road in alignment with the East end signal.
Thus the decision was made—due to all of the factors above—to place a median curb to provide safety for the property owners and the motoring public.
INDOT’s road construction project was being completed while Wal-Mart development was ongoing under permit.
The Wal-Mart developer hired INDOT’s contractor – Temple and Temple — there was coordination between the two projects. But the median curb was installed prior to signal installation—it was intended to be installed at the time signals were put in place.
OCTOBER 2015
Concrete median was built in one day without any INDOT notice to local businesses.
MID-OCTOBER 2015
The developer and INDOT worked on a new set of plans that would extend the pavement to the north side approach of the east end signal.
Plans would extend the south side combining the through and right turn lane at the intersection–allowing a dedicated U-turn lane to head back westbound.
Because pavement has yet to be extended to the north, INDOT placed stop signs at the intersection to aid in making U-turns.
After several meetings and much consideration—responding to concerns of property owners and Salem police—INDOT has determined the best resolution at this time is removal of the median curb.
