The Washington County Community Foundation recently provided an $1800 grant so Adult Protective Services (APS) can provide lifesaving tracking devices for up to four vulnerable adults in the community free of charge.  

According to Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Dustin Houchin, 
his office serves as the APS hub for a four-county region. 

Houchin was grateful for the donation, which will add four more devices to his office, bringing the total to 7.

“This funding makes it possible to provide four additional devices for families in our county,” said Houchin. “This gives our first responders the
ability to locate a lost loved one more rapidly, and we know that in some cases those minutes save lives.”

Project Lifesaver program allows community members who have elderly family members or adults and children with intellectual or developmental
disabilities to apply for a device that will help locate the family member if they wander off. 

Houchin said these devices can allow families to have the least restrictive living environment for their loved ones; allowing an alternative to a nursing facility. 

“I want to thank the Community Foundation for supporting Project LifeSaver in Washington County.  It provides peace of mind for these families and that is priceless,” said Houchin. 

There are four starter kits currently available in the community. 

To sign up, contact Amanda Yake at 812-883-5988 or Cpt. Joe Keltner at 812-883-5999. 

Once they are contacted, Keltner or Yake will go to the applicant’s residence and confirm the need for the service, fill out the necessary paperwork, and if the individual qualifies, place the transmitter the same
day.

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating an off-road vehicle (ORV) accident that occurred yesterday afternoon.

At approximately 2:07 p.m., Posey County dispatch received information of an ORV accident with an injury that occurred on private property near Copper line and Blackburn roads.   

A responding conservation officer rendered aid and applied a tourniquet to an injured juvenile before EMS arrived.

That juvenile was then transported to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville for treatment and later flown to Louisville. 

The other two juvenile passengers had minor injuries. None of the riders was wearing helmets nor any other safety gear when the accident occurred.

Initial investigation has revealed that the side-by-side ORV was being operated by a 16-year-old juvenile who lost control and the vehicle overturned. She suffered significant leg and hand injuries in the accident.

Other responding agencies included Posey County EMS, Black Township Fire Department, and Posey County Sherriff’s Department.

Conservation officers remind everyone to always wear a helmet and protective riding gear when operating or riding on an ORV and to always use a seatbelt or safety harness when present.

Detectives from the Indiana State Police Versailles post are investigating the death of a 23-year-old a Jackson County Jail inmate, who died shortly after being transported from the jail to Schneck Memorial Hospital in Seymour on Friday.  

Ta’neash Chappell, of Louisville, Kentucky, was arrested by the Indiana State Police on May 26, 2021, and transported to the Jackson County Jail. 

On July 16, she was taken by ambulance to Schneck Memorial Hospital in Seymour, where she later died on the same day.

On Saturday, July 17, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department contacted investigators from the ISP Versailles post and requested detectives conduct a death investigation.  

As part of that investigation, an autopsy was performed Sunday, July 18, and detectives are awaiting the autopsy report and toxicology results.  

 The family of the deceased has been notified. 

 This case is still under investigation.