At least nine dams in Washington County have had their state classification status changed to high hazard, which means if the structure fails, there could be serious damage to residences and structures as well as loss of life.

David Hoar, president of both the county plan commission and county council says the earthen structures function well, but the state has changed standards regarding classification. Some medium-hazard dams are now high hazard not only because of their physical design but because of residence and buildings that have been built in the floodway areas.

Tom Scifres, attorney for the plan commission and county added the dams were in compliance when they were built, but the state changed the definition of what is high risk.

Hoar says seven structures in Delaney Creek Conservancy District and two in Twin Rush Conservancy District are now classified as high-hazard. Hoar says the state wants the districts to make improvements to the dams, but the districts don’t have the money to do that. He added the county plan commission has been asked to establish regulations that would limit development in areas subject to flooding if a dam should fail.

Drew Wright is the attorney for Delaney Creek. The district includes the lake at Delaney Park, which was constructed for drainage and flood control purposes. He says the problem is that the state wants the conservancy district to hire an engineer every two years to inspect the dam and complete a report which is filed with the state.

He says the Department of Natural Resources wants dam owners or operators to upgrade the dam beyond the specification that were required when they were built adding that would be a huge expense.

Ruth Hackman, Washington County’s district conservationist, said the new regulations have been in place for some time but the state is just now enforcing them. And if districts don’t comply, Hackman says the state has the power to level fines.

Washington County is not alone, it’s a problem faced by other districts in counties across the state. Hackman explained that when the dams were built in the 1960s, there was federal money to help cover costs but there is no longer federal money to help with upgrades. She said in some cases, it might be cheaper for a district to acquire the residences and businesses sitting in the flood way through eminent domain.

Hackman says the Natural Resource Conservation Service is conducting surveys to determine “breach routes,” where the water would go in the event a dam was breached. Technicians survey the dam and the area downstream of the dam, identifying homes and businesses in the floodway and where the water would go in the event of a breach, plotting it all on a map. She says that has been done on three structures and there are still six more do. Hackman adding that the surveys are done at no cost to the conservancy

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating the death of a Columbus woman that occurred at Patoka Reservoir Sunday afternoon.

Crawford County Dispatch Center received a 911 call that a woman was unresponsive on a boat in the Sycamore Creek area of Patoka Reservoir

55-year-old Patti Hoskins-Owens from Columbus was out swimming on a raft away from the boat. She yelled for help to get back to the boat. Once on the boat, she went unresponsive.

Three registered nurses that were on Patoka Reservoir in the same area swam over to Hoskins-Owens’ boat and began CPR. Brittney Barnickle, of Lanesville, Laura Whitfill, of Shepherdsville, KY, and Sheila Huffman, of Booneville, continued CPR until help arrived.

The woman was taken by an Indiana Conservation Officer to the Little Patoka Boat Ramp where she was flown by Air Methods to Harrison County Hospital where she was later pronounced dead. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Indiana Conservation Officers were assisted at the scene by Crawford County EMS and English Volunteer Fire Department first responders.

The Lawrence County Democratic Central Committee will host Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz on Sept. 13 in the banquet room at Stonecrest Golf Community.

Ritz will be the keynote speaker at the initial Lawrence County Trailblazers Dinner.

Tickets for the event are $30 and are available through the LCDDC at P.O. Box 36, Bedford, or online at www.lawrencecountydems.com. the event will be catered by Limestone Cafe.

A Jackson County man who was severely burned in a crash early Saturday has died.

Christopher T. Nichols, 30, of Seymour died Sunday at Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis. He was a 2001 graduate of Seymour High School.

Indiana State and Seymour Police were credited for pulling Nichols out of the vehicle. According to police Nichols’ vehicle left the roadway striking a bridge abutment. The car then overturned before bursting into flames.

When officers arrived they found Nichols lying near the vehicle with his clothing on fire. Fire extinguishers were used to hold back the flames till Nichols could be pulled to safety.

Nichols was transported to Wishard Hospital in Indianapolis for treatment of severe burns.

An Amber Alert has been  issued in the case of a missing Hamilton County child.

Detectives with the  Fishers Police Department are looking for 8-year-old Sophia Snow and her mother,  Jennifer Ansari.
On Tuesday, a Hamilton County Court issued an order for  the safe return of the child to her father.

Police said Ansari took the  child from their Fishers home after she found out she was losing custody of the  child to her ex-husband.

Police are concerned for  the child’s safety.

Ansari was last seen  driving a 2012 burgundy four-door Honda Civic with Kentucky license plate  number 779NZJ. Police believe she could be with relatives in  Louisville.
Police said if you see the pair to please call your local  police department.

The owner of former Butler University mascot Blue 2 says the incredibly popular bulldog will be missed.

Blue 2 died Saturday from congestive heart failure but his owner, Michael Kaltenmark, says the support he‘s received has been overwhelming.

He says Blue‘s passing was very emotional but he is also proud of how much Blue meant to people at Butler.

Kaltenmark says Blue 2 may have been just a mascot for many, but for he and his wife, Blue 2 was their first child.  Kaltenmark says he‘s excited for the proposed Bulldog Memorial on Butler‘s campus.

The university announced Tuesday that fundraising has begun for the memorial which will honor all of Butler‘s live mascots.  Kaltenmark says Blue 2‘s successor, Blue 3 or Trip, is ready to go and will lead the Butler football team to the field this weekend.

Now that Labor Day has passed, some doctors say it‘s time to get your flu shot, well ahead of the start of flu season.

The vaccine is available already at many clinics, and some flu shots offer added protection this year.  There are some vaccines that protect against four strains of flu rather than three, which has been typical since the 1970‘s.

Both of the ‘A‘ strains of flu have always been covered by the vaccine, “but there are two families of B, and in the past decade or so, the World Health Organization guessed wrong 50-percent of the time which strain would be in there,” said Dr. Christopher Belcher, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Peyton Manning Children‘s Hospital in Indianapolis.   Belcher says many clinics have the four-strain variety of vaccine, though some still provide the shots that only cover three strains of flu.

“The live virus – the nasal (spray) is always the four-strains.  But the injectable (vaccine), some have three, some have four,” Belcher said, adding that your clinic should be able to tell you which vaccines they offer.

There is also a new version of the flu vaccine that is not made using eggs, which has prevented those with egg allergies from getting flu shots in the past.  “It is made with recombinant DNA technology that doesn‘t require eggs,” Belcher said.  However, the egg-free vaccine is only approved for people 18 or older.

Democrats call the announcement of a one-year extension of the Healthy Indiana Plan the “bare minimum” uninsured Hoosiers could hope for.

House Minority Leader Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City) says he‘s glad HIP will continue for current patients, but says it‘s an “embarrassment” that Governor Pence hasn‘t joined other Republican governors in accepting federal money to expand Medicaid eligibility.

Pence has said he‘s willing to expand Medicaid only if it can be done through HIP. The one-year extension buys time for Indiana to negotiate with the Department of Health and Human Services over whether and how to do that. Pelath says HIP was never meant to operate on that scale, and charges Pence has turned it into a “vanity project” to enhance his resume for a possible presidential run.

Pelath and Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane (D-Anderson) argue Hoosiers are already paying for the expansion of Medicaid through their tax dollars. By not implementing the expansion, they say, the state is paying for health coverage in other states while leaving more than 300-thousand Hoosiers uninsured.
And Pelath says the state is sacrificing 30-thousand new health-care jobs he says a Medicaid expansion would create.

9th District events Rep. Young will be participating in this week

• Scott County: On Wednesday morning from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM, Rep. Young will meet with constituents on a one-on-one and small group basis at Mid-America Science Park.
• Floyd County: On Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM, Rep. Young will hold a town hall forum at Indiana University Southeast in Room 127 of University Center North.
• Harrison County: On Thursday afternoon at 3:00 PM, Rep. Young will be at the YMCA of Harrison County in Corydon to kick off a job fair sponsored by our office and WorkOne Southern Indiana. The event will last until 6:00 PM, but Rep. Young will not likely be there the entire time.
• Monroe County: On Saturday afternoon at 4:30 PM, Rep. Young will participate in festivities to dedicate the installation of the USS Indiana Prow at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The event will occur before Indiana University hosts Navy (Young’s alma mater) in a 6 PM football game.

Indiana’s 9th District includes all or parts of Brown, Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Johnson Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Orange, Scott, and Washington Counties in south central Indiana.

Indiana State Police troopers and Seymour police officers saved the life of a man they found next to his burning SUV early Saturday on a rural road near Seymour.

Christopher T. Nichols, 30, of Seymour was lying less than a foot from his 2010 Nissan, which was engulfed by  flames, when Troopers Chris Lockman and Jared Black and Seymour officers Bart Bevers and Crystal Schapson arrived at 2:31 a.m., according to a statement from state police.

Nichols’ clothes were on fire,  the statement said.

While Bevers and Schapson used fire extinguishers on  the blaze, Lockman and Black dragged Nichols a safe distance from the fire.

Lockman suffered minor burns.

Nichols, who suffered severe burns, was taken to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour and then flown  to Wishard Hospital in Indianapolis.

Nichols’ car had struck a bridge abutment on County Road 850E, just south of New Farmington Road,  the statement said.