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Spierer Family Files Lawsuit

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The parents of missing I-U student Lauren Spierer have filed a lawsuit against the three men who last saw their daughter alive.

The suit was originally filed in Monroe County Court in late May but was later transferred to federal court. It alleges that Corey Rossman, Jason Rosenbaum and Michael Beth were negligent in providing Lauren Spierer with alcohol, despite the signs of extreme intoxication, and allowing her to walk home alone. The Spierers claim that negligence resulted in the disappearance, injury and death of Lauren.

Robert and Charlene Spierer claim in the suit that Beth observed that Lauren was extremely intoxicated and witnessed Rossman encourage her to join him at Kilroy‘s Sports Bar in order to consume more alcohol. A witness observed that as Lauren entered Kilroy‘s, she appeared intoxicated, had trouble standing and relied on Rossman‘s assistance to walk.

The lawsuit goes on to say that Spierer was observed by multiple people in a distressed, incoherent and nonresponsive state near the elevator on the fifth floor of her apartment building with Rossman, who engaged in a physical confrontation with one of those people after being confronted for not assisting Lauren to her apartment.

The apartment was 100 yards from the elevator. The document says Rossman and Spierer returned to Rossman and Beth‘s apartment and, concerned for her well-being, Beth attempted to convince Spierer to sleep on their couch. When Spierer asked to return to her apartment, Beth escorted her to Rosenbaum‘s apartment, which was in the same complex. Rosenbaum attempted to contact friends to take Spierer home but when he was unsuccessful, he allowed Spierer to walk home on her own. Spierer hasn‘t been seen since that time.

“Rob and Charlene Spierer authorized the filing of this lawsuit with great reluctance and only after we counseled them that they would lost certain legal rights if not exercised by the 2-year anniversary of Lauren‘s disappearance.” said Jason Barclay, attorney for the Spierers. “We hope no one will misinterpret this action. Any parent in search of information about a missing child would use every resource available to them.

Therefore, we intend to use the rights afforded by the civil justice system to obtain answers to questions that have gone unanswered for too long. We fully expect that those with relevant information will cooperate with this process.” The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages including attorney‘s fees and any further relief deemed necessary by the court.

Renovation BOOM

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Like the rest of the nation, Indiana is experiencing a renovation boom.

That‘s according to Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis CEO Steve Lains. National figures show renovation spending will jump by 20-percent this year. Reports say that‘s due in part to the economic upswing and the shortage of available land on which to build new homes in the nation‘s urban areas. Lains says the current trend has led to a shortage of home building materials.

He says many drywall, lumber and insulation plants shut down during the recession and are coming back. Lains adds that prices for home building commodities are going up again.

He also says builders and contractors are feeling the pinch due to the loss of workers during the recession and are hiring again.

USS INDIANA at IU

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A piece of World War II history is coming back home to Indiana.   

The prow of the battleship the USS Indiana has been acquired by Indiana University. The prow is the forward most portion of the bow – the front of the battleship that served the Pacific theater during the war.

It was donated to the university by the family of Frank Spenger, who collected Navy memorabilia and saved the prow from being scrapped.

It has been on display outside the family‘s seafood restaurant in Berkeley, California for several years.   At the USS Indiana display at the Indiana War Memorial museum is a scale model of the last Naval vessel to be named for the state.

Memorial director Gen. Stewart Goodwin (Ret.) says it was commissioned in April 1942 as one of the ships built to replace the Pacific fleet destroyed by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor four months prior. “This has 16-inch guns, so each time it fired, it was like throwing a Volkswagen across the horizon, 2,000 pounds per shell,” said Goodwin.

The Indiana earned nine battle stars during the war, participating in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands in November 1943 and the Marshall Islands in January 1944, as well as the Marianas campaign in June 1944. Following an overhaul, she returned to the Western Pacific in January 1945 in time to participate in the invasion of Iwo Jima.   

Like many battleships from the Second World War, the Indiana was decommissioned soon afterward, as the needs of the military changed along with warfare tactics. The ship went out of service in 1947 and was sold for scrap in the 1960‘s.

There are a variety of pieces scattered across the state. “We have the ship‘s wheel here at the War Memorial as well as the ship‘s bell,” said Ethan Wright, director of the Indiana War Memorial Museum. “The mainmast is down at Memorial Stadium at I.U., and the anchor is at War Memorial Stadium in Fort Wayne.”
I.U. will acquire the ship‘s prow in July and will display it outside Memorial Stadium alongside the mainmast and two of the ship‘s guns.

“The fact that we have an opportunity to preserve a physical piece of this legacy and provide a lasting home for it at the state‘s flagship public university is a source of immense pride that I share with all Hoosiers.” said IU President Michael McRobbie.

The prow will be dedicated September 7th, appropriately enough, just before the Hoosiers‘ football game against Navy.

Hoosier Idol moved to Salem Middle School

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The Hoosier Idol Talent Show which earlier was to be held at the grandstand at the Washington County Fair has been moved to the Salem Middle School.

The move is due to flooding in some areas around the fairgrounds and inclement weather.

According to the WSLM/International Woods Digital Weather Station, the Washington County area recieved more than an inch of rain in about an hour. More than 30 lightening strikes were recorded in the same time frame.

The program will start at 8pm.

All previous tickets sold will be honored at the school.

Hoosier Idol Show on at Fairgrounds

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The Washington County Fair Board has determined the Hoosier Idol Talent Show will still be held at the grandstand at the fairgrounds tonight.

The program starts at 8p.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS TO HOLD 2013 TRAINING CAMP at Anderson University

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The Indianapolis Colts will hold its 2013 training camp at Anderson University in Anderson, Ind., with the full squad reporting on Saturday, July 27. The Colts will return to Anderson for the fourth consecutive year after the team originally spent their summers at the university from their inaugural season in 1984 to 1998.

Following training camp, the team will return to the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center to resume football operations.

The 2013 training camp will be located at the Kardatzke Wellness Center/Macholtz Stadium complex located in the Northeast section of the university campus. The public can access the camp via University Boulevard and 5th Street.

Campus signage will be present to direct the public to available parking for the duration of camp. Entire practices will be open to the public free of charge, however, Anderson University will charge a parking fee for campus visitors.

Camm Trial ready for third time before jury

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The prosecutor in David Camm‘s third murder trial says things are on schedule.
Special Prosecutor Stan Levco says that even with the significant number of motions presented to the judge in a hearing on Monday, he believes the case will still go to trial on August 5.

Levco says the motions include a broad spectrum of issues from evidence admissibility to issues with witnesses. He says he expects to judge to rule on Monday‘s motions in the next few weeks and says more motions will be presented to Special Judge Jonathan Dartt at a July 16 hearing.
Camm is facing his third murder trial in the deaths of his wife Kim and kids Jill and Brad in their Georgetown, Indiana home September of 2000. The convictions from the two previous trials were overturned on appeal.

IPS Superintendent Will be “New” to School Operations

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The next Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent will be running a school system for the first time.

None of the three finalists chosen by the IPS Board has been a superintendent before, and none is from Indiana. Thomas Darden is Executive Director of New York Schools for ASPIRA, a group that offers support to young Latinos. Lewis Ferebee (FAIR-uh-bee) is currently chief of staff for Durham Public Schools in North Carolina. Millard House is also from North Carolina – he is Chief Operating Officer for Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools.
The finalists will interview with the board Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and meet the public at a forum Thursday night. The community meeting will start at 6:00 pm at the Board Room of the John Morton-Finney Center for Educational Services, located at 120 East Walnut Street. Each of the candidates will address those attending the meeting, with time to talk informally with the public afterward.

The Board is expected to choose the favorite for the next superintendent during a private meeting Saturday morning. Under state law, the board is required to publicly post the superintendent‘s contract and hold a public meeting on the contract before making an official hire.

A date for that public meeting has not been set.

Fatality on SR 60

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Emergency responders were called to the scene of a deadly two-vehicle crash accident in Clark County just east of Borden.

The accident happened about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday near Deam Lake in the 14500 block of State Road 60, about three miles east of Borden, according to Indiana State Police.

An ISP dispatcher said one person died at the scene and a second person was rushed to a hospital. That person’s condition was not immediately known.

Traffic was expected to be diverted from the area for at least a couple of hours.

Lawrence Indiana murder-suicide

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Lawrence Police have identified that couple killed in what they believe to be a murder-suicide.

Capt. Curtis Bigsbee says they found 31-year-old Jeff Nelson and 31-year-old wife Shelly Nelson dead at their home at the Salem Courthouse Apartments early Tuesday morning.

Bigsbee says they had responded to a 911 call from children in the home. The kids range in age from five to 17. Bigsbee says they‘re still confirming how Shelly Nelson died, but he says police found Jeff Nelson dead from an apparent gunshot wound in the woods behind the apartment building.

He adds they‘re still trying to determine if a domestic disturbance led up to the incident. Police stated earlier that two teen girls in the home suffered minor injuries and were treated at Community North Hospital.

Bigsbee says all of the kids are now with relatives.