Salem, Indiana – September 13, 2013 – On August 8, St.Vincent Salem Hospital Emergency Medicine physician, Joel Nunley, MD, was awarded the Doc Hollywood award during the IRHA Annual Conference.

The Doc Hollywood Award was created to recognize the many individuals who care professionally for folks in rural and underserved communities across the country.  It is also a way to honor those medical professionals who have shown dedication toward improving healthcare in his/her own underserved rural community.

Dr. Nunley was nominated by St.Vincent Salem Hospital for many different reasons. Not only is he a full-time Emergency physician in rural Washington County in southern Indiana, but he is also pastor at City on the Hill Church in Scottsburg and a tireless volunteer in both communities.

Dr. Nunley consistently offers to pray with patients and/or families in the ER after he has treated them, but once he leaves the hospital, Dr. Nunley doesn’t stop! He also runs “Gospel-Driven” free community medical clinics and food giveaway events for families in need. The medical clinics include non-urgent medical exams, diabetes and blood pressure screenings and vision screenings. They also give away food to families in need, free haircuts, consultations for stress, anxiety and depression and they offer free dog and cat food and kitty litter to those in need.  These clinics are offered throughout Indiana approximately four times a year and are completely staffed by volunteers. Many times they are attended by 200-300 individuals in need of medical care and other types of assistance.

Every month, Dr. Nunley travels to the Scott County Jail to minister to the inmates and to pray with them. He hands out bibles and gives them his cell phone number to call if they need someone to talk to or pray with.

This year he also offered free sports physicals to students in Scott County, Indiana so that underprivileged children can also participate in school sports.

He is also part of an organization called “Breaking Borders” which focuses on taking medical care to third world countries and sharing the gospel in those countries. He has traveled several times to various countries with this group.

“I was pleasantly shocked to win this award! I just thought I had been nominated and that would be it,” said Dr. Nunley. “This award is just a way for me to give glory to God for all that he has done in my life. I wouldn’t be able to put on the clinics and devote my time to all these endeavors without my family, the volunteers and churches that so graciously support it. It is a way to share the gospel with those who attend by providing testimonials, compassionate care and showing them the love of Jesus.”

“Dr. Nunley is very deserving of the Doc Hollywood Award,” said Dana Muntz, CEO/CNO at
St.Vincent Salem Hospital. “He is constantly looking to help others. He is not only a supporter with money, but with actions. He uses his medical training to further the well-being of others whenever and wherever he can, but graciously gives the glory to God when patients thank him for helping them feel better.”

Dr. Nunley’s next free medical clinic will be held on September 21 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Kid’s Place in Austin, Indiana. For more information, visit www.cityonahillscottsburg.com/ministries/free-medical-clinic/.

Dr. Nunley resides in Scottsburg with his wife, Peggy and their three children.

A Scott County man pleaded guilty Friday to one count of causing death while driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

Garan A. Terrell, 19, of Austin, faces up to four years in prison under a plea agreement with the Jackson County prosecutor’s office.

Terrell was arrested last fall in connection with the death of 17-year-old Danika Collins, of Seymour, following a wreck on Seymour’s far west side.

Terrell pleaded guilty to the one charge, causing death when operating a motor vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance in the blood. Two other charges, including reckless homicide, were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The crash  involving a car and a parked trailer owned by Seymour Police Department left a teen dead and two others injured.

Seymour Assistant Police Chief Craig Hayes says that  Collins, died from blunt force trauma to the chest.

She was a front-seat passenger in a car driven by 18-year-old Garan Terrell, of Brownstown.

Terrell was taken to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

A back-seat passenger, 18-year-old Tanner Payton, of Seymour, who suffered facial injured was flown by helicopter to University Hospital in Louisville. According to a hospital spokeswoman Payton is listed in serious condition.

The Pioneer Village at Spring Mill State Park will come to life with historical re-enactors, crafts, demonstrations and musical entertainment during the annual Tri Kappa Candlelight Tour on Saturday, Sept. 21.

The tour is from 4-9 p.m. and is sponsored by service sorority Kappa Kappa Kappa’s Gamma Epsilon Chapter of Mitchell.
Dressed in traditional pioneer clothes, Tri Kappa members and their families and Spring Mill employees will re-create life in the mid-1800s in the houses and buildings of the restored Pioneer Village.

Visitors should bring a flashlight. Tri Kappa members will sell concession and food items in the carriage house.
The event is free, although the standard park admission fee of $5 per in-state vehicle and $7 per out-of-state vehicle applies. Buses will shuttle visitors from the campground and inn parking lots to the village.

Tri Kappa is a statewide sorority that supports community and state charities as well as educational and cultural projects. The Mitchell chapter has sponsored the Spring Mill Candlelight Tour since 1967. It has become a popular kick-off event for the week-long Persimmon Festival in Mitchell. Spring Mill State Park (stateparks.IN.gov/2968.htm) is located on State Road 60 east of Mitchell.

The Brown County Commissioners’ attempt to seek financing for renovation and expansion of the historic Brown County Courthouse has failed.

By Friday afternoon, four days after the petition/remonstrance process ended, signatures for and against the estimated $6.5 million loan had not been certified.

But Brown County Clerk Beth Mulry and Auditor Glenda Stogsdill announced in a news release that “the outcome of the petition and remonstrance process is clear.”

Less than 200 signatures were gathered in support of the proposed project, while more than 800 signatures against it had been verified as of 1 p.m. Friday.

“Both offices will continue to work through the certification as quickly as possible,” a news release reported. “Final signature counts will be released when the certification is complete.”

Indiana Conservation Officers arrested an Indianapolis man Friday afternoon at Patoka Lake in Crawford County on felony charges of receiving stolen auto parts, possession of methamphetamine, and misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to stop after accident resulting in damage.

25-year-old Justin Petrowski was arrested after an investigation into his alleged theft of a vehicle at the Champaign, Illinois Wal-mart Tuesday.

Early Thursday morning, the stolen vehicle was located near the Patoka Lake archery range. After locating the vehicle, Indiana Conservation Officers and Patoka Lake personnel conducted an exhaustive search, but were unable to locate Petrowski.

On Friday, just before 1 p.m., conservation officers discovered additional clues and hiked nearly a mile over rugged terrain into the woods on Patoka Lake property. They eventually located and arrested Petrowski, who was armed with a stolen shotgun and tending to his makeshift camp.

Conservation Officer Dennis Talley stated “It was a tense situation, and fortunately, there was a safe ending for all involved.” Petrowski is being held on $20,000 cash bond, and also faces additional charges in Indianapolis and Champaign, Illinois stemming from this investigation.

Assisting agencies at the scene included the Orange and Crawford County Sheriff’s Departments, and Indiana State Police.

A handful of deaths have been tied to what some are calling a new drug that‘s popular at dance clubs.  But one doctor says it isn‘t a new drug at all.

“Molly” is short for molecule and is touted as a “pure” form of MDMA.  MDMA is the same thing as the drug Ecstasy according to Dr. Kris Hunt, emergency room physician at St. Vincent Hospital.

“It‘s a slang term people are using to try to revamp the drug,” Hunt said. Those who use Molly claim it is safe, that it gives a powerful high with no lingering effects the next day.

“It increases dopamine and increases seratonin, especially.  Those are the two chemicals in the brain that make you happy,” Hunt says.  But the doctor also says claims of the drug‘s safety are specious.

“There is no guarantee of purity if anything is bought on the black market or through a drug dealer,” a claim Hunt says is true of any drug.

Molly‘s advocates are plenty – Miley Cyrus, Kanye West and Madonna (her last album was titled MDNA) are among those who have spoken of its benefits in songs.

The drug appeared to be popular at music festivals over the summer.   The Electric Zoo festival in New York is where two young women died over Labor Day weekend, and the medical examiner says both had overdosed on Molly.

At least two other deaths in other parts of the country have been linked to the drug, though Hunt says he isn‘t sure how prevalent it is in Indiana.

Hundreds of people returned to an intersection Sunday where Kokomo police say a driver hit two 13-year-olds on a moped and kept driving.

Christian Reede died Friday, a day after the accident.

Police are still searching for a white, late model Ford truck, with possible right front bumper damage.  A cash reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

Meanwhile, funeral services for Christian Reede will take place Thursday. The other teen is good condition at an Indianapolis hospital.

A dead body has been discovered in an Allen County park.

Authorities found a car Sunday belonging to Camilla Thompson in the parking lot at Fox Island Park. Later in the afternoon, they uncovered a body there.

No word yet if they body is that of Thompson.

The search for the woman has been suspended. An autopsy is planned.

The idea–to transform a bus for use as a mobile vaccine and pet care clinic for Marion County.

Jeremy Van Andel with the Humane Society of Indianapolis, says they launched the first-ever crowdfunding campaign in July to make that idea a reality and now Tuesday (Sept 17th) is the deadline.

The goal is 27-thousand dollars, and the campaign is currently sitting at 12 thousand dollars. VanAndel says the clinic is absolutely essential in connecting pet owners in Central Indiana with affordable pet care.

One of the goals of the campaign is to have a template to provide to other animal welfare agencies across the country that a mobile clinic is not only beneficial, but also can serve as an additional revenue stream.

A Greenwood doctor from Syria says the U.S. and the United Nations are “morally obligated” to help the “people of Syria.”

Dr. Ahmad Rami Saltagi says the world must launch some sort of military offensive against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Saltagi adds the United Nations should help lead the way. He says he‘s frustrated by the United Nations which has watched while Syrian children have been killed.

Saltagi says Syrian extremists could take over if the world doesn‘t intervene. He says most Syrians are moderate and need world support against dictator Assad.