Indiana State Police arrested a 29-year-old Orleans man for fleeing police and reckless driving.

Arrested and charged was Brandon Pool, 29, Orleans, IN

1. Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle, Class 6 Felony
2. Theft (Firearm), Class 6 Felony
3. Reckless Driving, Class B Misdemeanor
4.  Auto Theft, Class 6 Felony

Yesterday at approximately 6:00 p.m., Trooper Chase Eaton was patrolling SR 57 near College Street in Oakland City when he observed a white 2003 Ford F150 pickup truck matching the description of a stolen vehicle reported earlier in Warrick County.

The owner of the stolen vehicle also reported he had left a .22 caliber rifle inside his truck.

Trooper Eaton checked the license plate and was able to confirm the vehicle was reported stolen.

When the driver of the pickup truck turned south onto North Main Street in Oakland City Trooper Eaton attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver accelerated to a high rate of speed traveling on several different city streets before driving west on SR 64.

The driver then drove south onto Franklin Street passing Wood Memorial High School before leaving the city limits and driving east on CR 200 South.

The driver continued east at speeds in excess of 85 mph before driving north into a disked field approximately a quarter of a mile west of CR 1300 East.

Trooper Eaton continued to chase the vehicle through the field for approximately ¼ mile until the driver crossed CR 1300 East and continued driving into a bean field.

Trooper Eaton stayed on CR 1300 East while Gibson County Deputy Loesch and Oakland City Police Chief Tim Gaines continued pursuing the vehicle through the bean field with their SUV patrol vehicles.

The driver of the pickup truck continued traveling north through the bean field for approximately ½ mile to CR 150 South where he attempted to enter a cornfield, but came to a stop after getting stuck.

The driver, who was identified as Pool, was arrested without further incident.

Further investigation revealed Pool had three outstanding warrants out of Lawrence County Indiana. Pool was taken to the Gibson County Jail where he is currently being held on bond.

Arresting Officer: Trooper Chase Eaton, Indiana State Police

Assisting Agencies: Gibson County Sheriff’s Department and Oakland City Police

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) released the Spring 2019 Indiana Learning Evaluation and Readiness Network (ILEARN) results today.

This was the test that replaced the ISTEP test in Indiana and educators hoped it would provide improved test scores for students across the state. 

However, ILEARN results released Wednesday show that 47.9% of all third- through eighth-grade students in Indiana tested at least proficient in English and 47.8% showed proficiency in math.

Those are down from the 2017-18 ISTEP results for, in which 64.1% and 58.3% of third through eighth graders scored proficient in English and math.

Only 37.1% of Indiana third- through eighth-grade students demonstrated proficiency in both subjects on the ILEARN tests, down from 50.7% in last year’s ISTEP exams.

The poor first-year ILEARN results prompted both Gov. Eric Holcomb and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick to urge Indiana lawmakers to hold school corporations harmless for poor scores.

McCormick last week asked legislators to pause interventions based on ILEARN scores and give the State Board of Education authority to review and alter Indiana’s accountability model, which assigns districts and individual schools “A” through “F” grades based in large part on assessment results.

Here are the scores for East Washington, Salem and West Washington Elementary and Middle Schools.

These statistics were released earlier today by the Indiana Department of Education. 

ilearn-2019-grade3-8-final-corporation

ilearn-2019-grade3-8-final-school

When compared to past ISTEP+ scores, ILEARN indicated lower achievement levels across the state in both English/language arts and mathematics. While performance dips to some degree were expected, the combination of the rigors associated with this newly aligned CCR assessment, national normative data, and the defined established performance cuts all contributed to the lower performance levels. With the negative impact assessment results have on educators, schools, districts, and communities, IDOE will advocate for responsive legislative action.

“While the 2019 ILEARN results do not provide a true reflection of the performance of Indiana’s schools, they do once again show us the importance of developing a modernized state legislated accountability system that is fair, accurate, and transparent,” said State Superintendent Dr. Jennifer McCormick.

“With this in mind, the Department will propose the following legislative actions: place a ‘hold harmless’ year on 2018-2019 letter grades, pause intervention timelines for all schools, and provide the State Board of Education with emergency rulemaking authority to review and reestablish the state accountability system. The success and wellbeing of our students, educators, and schools are dependent upon these actions.”

Mandated during the 2017 legislative session, ILEARN was created to serve as a replacement for ISTEP+. ILEARN assesses CCR content standards in English/language arts and mathematics in grades 3-8, science in grades 4 and 6, high school biology, social studies in grade 5, and U.S. Government in high school. 

The state’s new assessment went through several significant shifts, including:

• The development of content priorities defined with the assistance of Indiana educators,
• Computer-adaptive functionality, 
• Integration of new accessibility features such as translated glossaries, and a Spanish translation option, and 
• Reporting aligned to rigorous CCR indicators as early as grade 3.

Indiana policy recommendations emphasized a shift in rigorous expectations to reflect meaningful data and the identification of support for future student success. 

In addition, assessment and adaptability features allow ILEARN to better measure each student’s CCR level of mastery, while identifying where additional instruction may be necessary. 

ILEARN achievement levels include: Below Proficiency, Approaching Proficiency, At Proficiency, and Above Proficiency.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Department arrested a 22-year-old man early Sunday after caught with a naked underage teen in his vehicle.

He was a member of the Salem High School Class of 2016. 

According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, on Sunday, Sept. 1 just after 2 a.m., deputies responded to East New Cut Road to investigate a suspicious vehicle.

As deputies headed to the location, they spotted a vehicle that matched the description of the reported suspicious vehicle.

The vehicle was parked at Mt. Hebron Church.

The officers approached the vehicle and found 22-year-old Kenneth Hemmingway, who authorities say was partially clothed.

Police say the officers also found an unclothed 15-year-old girl.

Hemmingway was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and three counts of child solicitation.

Hemmingway is being held at the Washington County Detention Center.

Governor Eric J. Holcomb today announced that Indiana farmers are eligible for assistance under a secretarial natural disaster designation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This was in response to a letter Gov. Holcomb sent to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in July, requesting assistance due to the excessive rain and flooding farmers experienced during planting season.

“I am grateful that Secretary Perdue and his team recognized the hardships Hoosier farmers experienced this planting season,” Gov. Holcomb said. “As a result of this designation, farmers in all 92 counties are now eligible for assistance, and I encourage those impacted to work with their local Farm Service Agency office.”

Seventy-four counties were designated as primary natural disaster areas. USDA deferred its decision on the remaining 18 counties. However, since they border one or more of the primary disaster areas, they are considered contiguous disaster counties – allowing farm operators in those areas to be eligible for the same assistance.

Under a secretarial natural disaster designation, farm operators in primary and contiguous counties are eligible for assistance from the Farm Service Agency, provided certain requirements are met. This includes access to low-interest FSA emergency loans, which may be used to: restore or replace essential property, pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year, pay essential family living expenses, reorganize the farming operation, and refinance certain debts.

In order to qualify, farm operators must show at least a 30 percent loss in crop production or a physical loss to livestock, livestock products, real estate or chattel property.

Farmers can borrow up to 100 percent of actual production or physical losses to a maximum amount of $500,000, according to USDA.

“This has been an unprecedented year for Indiana farmers,” said Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “I applaud Governor Holcomb, the Indiana Farm Service Agency and our state department of agriculture for making this assistance available.”

In addition to emergency loans, farmers with existing FSA loans, who are unable to make their payments, may be eligible to have certain payments deferred. Farmers are encouraged to work with their local FSA office for assistance regarding payment forbearance or emergency disaster loans.

“Farmers, who have been doing this their entire lives, acknowledge this has been one of the toughest seasons on record, and we’re not in the clear yet,” said Bruce Kettler, Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director. “While we know this isn’t a cure-all solution, this assistance is welcome news and will help those severely impacted.”

For a list of Farm Service Agency offices in Indiana, click here or visit www.fsa.usda.gov, or click herefor more information about FSA’s Emergency Farm Loans. Deadline to apply for emergency loans is April 29, 2020.

Click here to read the letter from the USDA, which includes the list of counties.

Patoka Lake’s youth dove hunt drawing at the former R.A. Walton Farm in Crawford County scheduled for Sept. 1 has been canceled, but the area will be open for non-draw hunting during legal hunting hours that day.

The dove hunt drawing at Jackson State Recreation Area (SRA) in Orange County in the Wildcat Cove Hunter Check Station #17 parking area will be held as scheduled. Around 15 to 20 groups are expected to be drawn.

The drawing at Jackson SRA will be at 6 a.m. and have hunting hours of 6:30 a.m. to noon.

The hunt at Jackson SRA will have a maximum of two hunters per stake. All fields surrounding the controlled sunflower fields will have the same hours.

There will be no “stand-by” or refilling of shooting stations if there are early departures. All fields will be considered open hunting starting Sept. 2. Shooting hours will be a half hour before sunrise until sunset.

Hunters need to purchase the proper licenses and stamps and have their Federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) number. Hunters will be limited to 50 shells. Hunters must utilize size 6 or smaller non-toxic shot and are required to have their firearm plugged so it can only contain three shells at a time.

Tillery Hill State Recreational Area will also host a non-draw hunt opportunity on Sept. 1. There will also be a three-acre field at Hunter Check Station #6, and a two-acre field near Osborne Boat Ramp on W. Newton Stewart Road.

Hunters are strongly encouraged to wear blaze orange clothing for safety as other users may be in the fields and area.

Patoka Lake (on.IN.gov/patokalake) is at 3084 N. Dillard Road, Birdseye, IN 47513.

To view all DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.

A 36-year-old PTO secretary was arrested for making unauthorized purchased from the school PTO account.

Arrested and Charged was Stephanie Rhoton, 36, Oakland City, IN

1. Fraud on a Financial Institution, Class 5 Felony
2. Fraud, Class 6 Felony

State Police Detective Tobias Odom initiated a criminal investigation on August 13^th after receiving information that unauthorized purchases were recently discovered on the Wood Memorial PTO bank account.

During the investigation, Detective Odom revealed the PTO secretary, Rhoton, 36, made several unauthorized purchases between July 8 and July 24 totaling over $4,180.

One unauthorized purchase was for parasailing while recently vacationing in Daytona Beach, FL.

After reviewing the criminal investigation, the Gibson County Prosecutor’s Office issued a warrant for Rhoton’s arrest.

She was arrested this afternoon after turning herself in at Oakland City Police Department.

Rhoton was taken to the Gibson County Jail where she is currently being held on bond.

Investigating Officer: Detective Tobias Odom, Indiana State Police