A Cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) led to the arrest of a Washington County man for possession of child pornography.  

As a result of the investigation and search, Troopers arrested 30-year-old Matthew Reid for five counts of Possession of Child Pornography.

Each count is a level 4 Felony. 

Troopers arrested Reid following the investigation and transported him to the Washington Couty Jail without incident. 

Investigators requested a search warrant based on information gathered during the investigation.

As a result, on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant at a School Road address (Scottsburg) in eastern Washington County. 

Detectives with the Indiana State Police – Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force in Sellersburg began an investigation in April 2023 after receiving a cyber tip report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The cyber tip report indicated that a specific account was possibly used to transmit child pornography images or video files.  

The Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is a multiagency task force that investigates and prosecutes persons who use the internet to sexually exploit or entice children, and the Indiana State Police oversees the task force.

The Indiana ICAC Task Force encourages Hoosiers to report online exploitation, solicitation, and enticement-type crimes against children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The NCMEC website can be accessed through the ICAC Task Force website. To report a crime with your child as a victim involving the Internet or other electronic means, please contact your local Indiana law enforcement agency.

 ICAC Taskforce website: https://www.in.gov/isp/icactf/

Indiana Department of Transportation contractor Milestone Contractors is scheduled to temporarily close S.R. 56 in Salem for road reconstruction work.

This is expected to be the final layer of asphalt and one of the final stages of the project that began in March 2022 and originally scheduled to be completed in November 2023.

On or after Tuesday, October 10, crews will close S.R. 56 between the intersection of S.R. 135 and S.R. 60 in Salem to lay surface mix.

Work is expected to take up to three days, weather permitting.

Access to all properties will be maintained while work is in progress.

The official detour will follow S.R. 135 to U.S. 150 to S.R. 56

The $13.2 million reconstruction project was awarded to Milestone Contractors LP.

The closure first involved the intersection of Main and Hackberry Streets and moved west, where the bridge over Brock Creek was removed and totally rebuilt. 

That section of the road was opened in May to allow traffic through the area up to North Harrison Street. 

About that time, work began moving west to the bridge over Highland Creek. 

In all, about 1.5 miles of roadway, curbs and sidewalks have been reconstructed along with sewer and utility improvements.

INDOT reminds motorists to slow down, use caution and drive distraction-free in and near work zones.

All work is weather-dependent and schedules are subject to change.

FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on October 4, 2023, at 2:20p EST.  

The national test will consist of testing both WEA and EAS capabilities. 

FEMA and the FCC are coordinating with EAS participants, wireless providers, emergency managers, and other stakeholders in preparation for this national test to minimize confusion and to maximize the public safety value of the test.

The purpose of the test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level. 

The WEA portion of the test will be directed to all consumer cell phones.  The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset. All wireless phones should receive the message only once. 

• For consumers, the message that appears on their phones will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

• Phones with the main menu set to Spanish will display: “ESTA ES UNA PRUEBA del Sistema Nacional de Alerta de Emergencia. No se necesita acción.”

Important information about the EAS test:

• The EAS portion of the test is scheduled to last approximately one minute and will be conducted with the participation of radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers and wireline video providers.

• The test message will be similar to the regular monthly EAS test messages with which the public is familiar. It will state: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”