33-year-old Jason Cockerill, of Salem, has been named Indiana’s assessor of the year by the state assessors’ association.

He was selected last month from among six top assessors.

Cockerill is the state’s second youngest county assessor. When he took the job five years ago, he was the youngest.

Cockerill succeeded fellow Republican Eugene Trueblood when that longtime public servant died. A party caucus preferred Cockerill over eight other candidates and he was unopposed for general election two years later.

Cockerill intends to run for assessor again next year and he does not rule out seeking another office – perhaps mayor of Salem – down the road. “I don’t want to be a placeholder,” Cockerill said.

Raised in Henryville, the youngest of six children, Cockerill came to Salem with his family when he was in fourth grade.

The Cockerills chose Salem because it was midway through his father’s new job in Bedford and family ties near Louisville.

Cockerill earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from IU Southeast. Before becoming assessor, he had run twice unsuccessfully for public office. He and wife Emily have two daughters, Aynslie and Brinley, with a third child due in January.

Rep. Todd Young will host a Military Academy Day on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg.

The event is open to any high school student interested in earning a college degree from a military institution and their families. Young will be on hand to meet students and offer his perspective as a Naval Academy graduate on the opportunities offered by a military education.

Beginning at 10 a.m., representatives from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and U.S. Air Force Academy will each give presentations on their respective schools, and will be available to answer questions.

Students and parents with questions about the event should contact the 9th District Congressional office in Jeffersonville at (812) 288-3999.

Kokomo police continue to search for the driver in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 13-year-old boy.

Police said they are looking for a 2005 to 2007 white truck, possibly a Ford or Mercury, with front-end damage.

Christian Reede and another teen were on a moped last Thursday when they were hit.  Reede died Friday from his injuries.  Doctors have released the second 13-year-old hurt in the crash.

Meanwhile, hundreds attended a memorial service for Reede on Wednesday.  Funeral services will be held this morning.

It can wait. That‘s the message the Hoosier State is working to drive home to stop the dangerous trend of texting while driving.

Governor Pence and more than 30 mayors across the state have designated today (Thurs) as ‘Drive 4 Pledges Day‘.  The goal is to get more people to take a stand against texting and driving by signing a pledge.

It‘s part of a national movement to create more of a “social stigma” against texting and driving.  Indiana lawmakers outlawed texting while driving in 2011.

Various activities are planned statewide, or you can go online and take the pledge at ItCanWait.com.

The first year for four schools turned over to independent operators has brought little change in ISTEP scores.

Passing rates went up four points at Arlington High School in Indy and five at Gary Roosevelt, but more than three-quarters of the students in those schools still flunked. At Indy‘s Howe High School and Donnan Middle School, passing rates went down a point or two.

All four schools‘ passing rates were 30-percent or below, placing them in the bottom seven statewide.  The state took control of the four schools after six years of failing performance while under district control.

Spokeswoman Beverly Rella with EdPower, the Indianapolis group now operating Arlington, says the small improvement is disappointing but not entirely surprising. She says EdPower‘s other school, the Charles A. Tindley charter school, performed poorly in its first couple of years after opening in 2004.

This year, 83-percent of Tindley‘s students passed ISTEP, the 42nd-best performance in the state.   Rella says the primary goal for the first year, at Tindley and at Arlington, is to create a safe environment that encourages learning. She expects test scores will follow as they did at Tindley.
Jay Kenworthy with the education reform group Stand for Children agrees it‘ll take a few years to judge the private operators‘ performance. And he says ISTEP shouldn‘t be the only measure anyway. He says the schools should also be judged by how many of their graduates go on to college.

Indianapolis Manual High School, also taken over by the state, includes only grades 9 through 12 and therefore doesn‘t have any students taking the test.

Seven House Republicans have unveiled their own version of a federal health care law.

The bill drafted by members of the Republican Study Committee, including Fourth District Representative Todd Rokita, repeals President Obama‘s health care law, and replaces it with a 75-hundred-dollar income tax deduction if you buy your own insurance. It proposes health savings accounts similar to those in Indiana‘s health insurance plan, and would make state insurance data and Medicare claims data public, to allow patients to comparison-shop on pricing.

Rokita argues the G-O-P version would force medical prices down through competition, while preserving existing doctor-patient relationships.

Republicans offered many of the provisions during the original health care debate three years ago. The bill incorporates the existing law‘s high-risk pools to ensure people with preexisting conditions can get coverage.

Rokita acknowledges the bill will go nowhere in the Senate without Democratic support. He says that would probably first require the existing law to prove unworkable as more provisions take effect — something Rokita maintains is inevitable.

Casey Crain, 24, Salem appeared in court today to be formally charged with a Class A Felony, Neglect of a Minor.

Her 8 month old son died in Sunday September 8 as a result of alleged  injuries from her boyfriend,  Jamie Lykins.

Washington County Circuit Judge Larry Medlock told Crane she placed her son in danger, allowed him to be abused and delayed medical treatment,  resulting in the baby’s death.

Because Crane said she had no assets, Medlock appointed Mark Clark as her defense attorney.

A pre-trial conference is set for Thursday October 31 at 9 a.m. with the trial tentatively set for May 7, 2014.

Crane was arrested at noon last Friday after Medlock issued a warrant based on information gathered by the Indiana State Police,  Salem Police Department and the Washington County Prosecutors office.

She is being held on a $40, 000 full cash bond at the Washington County Detention Center in an isolated cell.

Lykins was arrested a week ago and was charged with two Class A Felonies— Battery Resulting in Death and Neglect of a minor.

He remains incarcerated in the Washington County Detention Center.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (Sept. 16) – Indiana State Excise Police officers arrested or cited 61 people on alcohol, tobacco and drug charges at the B100 concert at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds in South Bend yesterday.

Officers arrested 22 people for illegal possession or consumption of alcohol. Six adults were arrested for furnishing or providing alcohol to a minor.

Twenty-eight people were cited for underage possession of tobacco. Two adults were also cited for furnishing tobacco to a juvenile.

Excise officers also made arrests for possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of synthetic marijuana and false informing.

Yesterday was B100’s 19^th annual birthday party, when the station hosts country music performers for a free concert. This year’s event included Travis Tritt, Joe Nichols and several other music artists.

As the enforcement division of the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, the primary mission of the Indiana State Excise Police is to promote public safety by enforcing Indiana’s Alcoholic Beverage Code. While excise officers have the authority to enforce any state law, they focus primarily on alcohol, tobacco and related laws.

All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Reed May of Brownstown Central High School has been named the Colts/NFL Coach of the Week, a program presented by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

May was selected after recording his 200^th victory as the head football coach at Brownstown Central. The Brownstown Central Braves delivered an excellent performance beating the visiting Salem Lions 55-7 to secure their coach’s 200^th victory and improve to 4-0 on the season.

Coach May enters his twenty-first season as the leader of the Brownstown Central football program. With an overall record of 200-41 during that time, May has built a tradition of hard work and dedication. Coach May attributes his success at Brownstown Central to the commitment and loyal support of the school, local community and his coaching staff.

The 2013 season marks the fourteenth year the Indianapolis Colts will be recognizing outstanding Indiana High School football coaches through the Colts/NFL Coach of the Week program, presented by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

All high school head coaches in the state of Indiana are eligible regardless of their school size, league or division.  Coaches are evaluated on various factors including the coach’s impact on his team, school and community, as well as performance of the team.  The honorees are selected by a panel of high school football media, former athletic directors and other football representatives from all regions of the state. Each Monday, following a high school football weekend, one head coach will be announced.

At the conclusion of the high school football season, each winning coach will receive a framed certificate signed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano, Colts General Manager Ryan Grigson and Colts Youth Football Commissioner Mike Prior, as well as a $1,000 donation from the NFL Youth Football Fund.  In addition, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield will contribute $1,000 for the school’s athletic fund.

The following coaches were recognized as honorable mentions for Week 4:

Salem, Indiana – August 28, 2012 – The Hospital Foundation of Washington County, Inc. will host a golf scramble on Friday, September 14 at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Sellersburg, IN. Registration will begin at 10:30 a.m. This year the event will also include a silent auction.  While silent auction items are still being collected, to date, a Peyton Manning autographed football, and a signed UofL football and basketball and tickets to various sporting events are just a few of the most sought after items to be offered.

Teams are $400 for four players which include green fees, cart rental, lunch, snacks and drink tickets. Individual registrations are $100 per person. The winning teams will be awarded cash prizes.

All money raised from the tournament will go toward renovations within the hospital.  “The Hospital Foundation has already provided funds to purchase new flooring in the main entrance of the hospital and new paint and lighting in the Emergency Room,” said Lee Jaeger, CEO of St.Vincent Salem Hospital and Vice-President of the Hospital Foundation. “The funds raised at this golf outing will allow the Foundation to continue investing in the improvement of our facility.”

Each golfer will also have the chance to win a $10,000 cash prize by carding a hole-in-one on the seventeenth hole.

Sponsorship opportunities with various pricing options are also available for the tournament. Corporate Sponsors include: First Harrison Bank, Washington County Medical Association and Premier Care.

For more information on the golf scramble, to register a team or to become a sponsor, please call Tournament Director, Melissa Richardson, at 883.5881 ext. 1366 or e-mail at MLRicha1@stvincent.org.