Brown County State Park and Abe Martin Lodge remain closed through at least Sunday, June 23.

Several free programs scheduled by the park’s interpretive services have been relocated to the Brown County Visitor Center at 211 S. Van Buren Street in Nashville, IN, including Indiana reptiles on display on Friday and Saturday, an Arts in the Parks sketching program and a live raptor program on Saturday. See the full schedule of activities and program times at http://bit.ly/2Y2jk2j.

The sediment level from last weekend’s heavy rainfall still remains too high in Ogle Lake to allow the production of potable water. State Parks staff members have provided cancellation notices to guests with reservations for the campgrounds and for Abe Martin Lodge through Sunday evening.

Park staff continue to work with DNR’s Division of Engineering, consultants and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to ensure that when the park reopens there is safe drinking water and water for all needed uses across the property.

Closure beyond the weekend will be evaluated as we watch lake conditions and rainfall.

Don’t expect the current daily deluge of rain to stop any time soon, says David Call, a meteorology professor at Ball State University.

And climate change may be to blame.

“The long-range forecast calls for continuous rain throughout the summer for the Midwest,” Call said. “Overall, it’s been a wet year and it will stay wet.”

He said the weather pattern for summer calls for warmer and wetter weather in the U.S. south and east and cooler in the north and west, he said.

“The jet stream is causing weather systems to track right through Indiana, funneling moisture into the Midwest. There are very few regions of the U.S. suffering any sort of drought, but lots of places are suffering flood conditions.”

Call points out that climate change may be causing the recent weather issues.

“With climate change, the planet gets warmer and puts more moisture in the air,” he said. “When you increase moisture, you increase rain. An inch more of rain here and there and you quickly are dealing flooding.”

Call also noted that due to climate change, the jet stream over the U.S. will get weaker, creating more stagnant weather patterns.

“So, rain gets stuck over the same area. Right now, we are wondering if it will ever stop raining, but in 2012, we had the worst drought since the Dust Bowl and people wondered if it would ever rain again.”

A 25-year-old man who went missing earlier this month has returned, Indiana State Police say.

Dakota Ray Fessel was last seen on June 8 in Corydon, Indiana. He returned on June 18, police said.

The police statement thanked the family and public for providing information during the investigation

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a single-vehicle ORV accident that happened yesterday in Blackford County, resulting in a woman being airlifted to St. Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne for treatment for critical injuries. 

Two other adult female passengers were also treated at Blackford County Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

At approximately 5:17 p.m. yesterday, officers were dispatched to the 3700 block of East State Road 18.

Per the initial investigation, Cynthia Beeks (62, Montpelier) was operating a side-by-side UTV in a field. Beeks attempted to take a sharp turn at a high rate of speed, causing the ORV to roll over, pinning her beneath. Her two passengers, Tammy Garrett (48, Alexandria) and Kristin Roberts (48, Alexandria) both suffered minor injuries.

All three were transported by ambulance to Blackford County Hospital. Due to the seriousness of the injuries, Beeks was then helicoptered to St. Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.

The women did not have permission to operate an ORV in the field where the accident occurred. None were wearing any protective gear. The investigation into this incident is still ongoing.

Other agencies responding to the scene include Montpelier Police Department, Montpelier Fire Department, Montpelier EMS, and Hartford City Fire Department.​

Brown County State Park and Abe Martin Lodge closed to the public at about 4 p.m. today due to a lack of usable water supply caused by the heavy rainfall over the last several days.

The park will remain closed to the public tomorrow. The decision about closure beyond tomorrow is day-to-day.

The park’s water source is Ogle Lake, which is within park boundaries. Water is drawn from the lake and is treated through the park’s in-house facility.

The significantly larger-than-normal quantities of water coming into the lake has brought soil with it, increasing the water’s turbidity. The high turbidity prevents the system from reducing it for treatment quickly enough at the intake site. This has resulted in an insufficient quantity of water to supply park facilities.

The DNR Engineering staff and consultants who designed the system are on site working on the issue.

All campers who were in the park, about 50, are being notified, and the 16 campers who were scheduled to come in tonight, as well as those scheduled for tomorrow night, have been notified.

Abe Martin, the state park’s inn, was at about 50 percent occupancy. All guests are going home, and guests expected today were contacted and alerted.

Updates will be posted at stateparks.IN.gov/7881.htm and on social media. If additional camper or inn guest cancellations are required, those guests will be notified directly by park staff or through the central reservation system.

Brown County State Park (on.IN.gov/browncountysp) is at 1450 S.R. 46 E in Nashville, 47448.

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

S.R. 135 is closed between C.R. 850 N. and C.R. 890 N. in Jackson County for bridge approach repair at Kiper Creek, north of Freetown. The road will be closed for approximately three days, weather permitting.

Motorists may use U.S. 50 to I-65 to S.R. 46 as an alternate route until repairs are complete.