Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating an ATV accident that occurred in Harrison County last night.  John Roberts (40) of Louisville, KY, suffered a serious head injury after crashing his ATV into a tree on private property near Laconia, IN.   
 
Just before midnight on Saturday, Roberts was riding his Yahama ATV on a muddy trail when he lost control and struck a tree head-on.  Roberts was ejected and struck the tree, knocking him unconscious. 
 
Another ATV rider behind Roberts was able to render aid and quickly call for help.  Roberts, who was not wearing a helmet, was knocked unconscious, and was airlifted to University of Louisville Hospital, where he is listed in critical condition. 
 
Assisting agencies at the scene included the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, Boone Township Fire Department, Harrison County EMS, and Air Methods Corydon Helicopter.   
 
Indiana Conservation Officers strongly encourage riders to always wear a helmet and necessary safety equipment when operating an ATV.

A traffic stop for multiple violations led to the arrest of a 24-year-old Shoals woman on drug and paraphernalia charges.

Arrested and Charged was Robin A. Salmon, 24, Shoals, IN

– Possession of Methamphetamine, Level 6 Felony

– Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Level 6 Felony

– Illegal Possession of a Syringe, Level 6 Felony

– Possession of a Controlled Substance, Class A Misdemeanor

– Possession of Paraphernalia, Class C Misdemeanor

At 1:22 PM Friday, Senior Trooper Jarrod Lents was patrolling Spout Springs Road, south of Shoals, when he observed the driver of a green 1997 Dodge Intreped traveling northbound without her seatbelt on. 

Lents pulled over the Dodge, and noticed that the license plate on the car had expired in 2016. 

Lents spoke to the driver, 24-year-old Robin Salmon of Shoals, and explained the reason for the stop.

During the stop, Lents learned that the license plate did not belong to the Dodge. 

While preparing to inventory the car before he impounded it, Lents asked Salmon to empty her pockets. 

As Salmon turned her pockets inside-out, a small plastic baggie with a white powder inside.  Salmon was placed into custody and transported to the Martin County Jail.

While Lents was processing Salmon at the jail, Martin County Sheriff Travis Roush and Chief Deputy Josh Greene searched the Dodge, finding methamphetamine residue, drug paraphernalia, and three syringes. 

After learning of the vehicle search, Lents amended the charges against Salmon.  She is being held in the Martin County Jail.

A 19-year old Liston man is in jail after admitting to beating his 9-month old daughter to keep her from crying.

The girl is at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis recovering from injuries.

Tosumba Welch, 19 of Linton, was arrested and charged with 3 counts of Domestic Battery, a Level 3 Felony and Neglect of a Dependent, a Level 3 Felony.

He was booked into the Greene County Jail.

After being contacted by the Department of Child Services, Detectives with the Indiana State Police Criminal Investigation Division at the Bloomington Post began an inquiry related to severe injuries sustained to a nine month old infant in Greene County.

On Wednesday of this past week (08/27), Caela Welch (9 mos. old) was taken to the Greene County Hospital, unresponsive and having seizures.

Due to the severity of her injuries, Caela was air-lifted to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis and the medical staff contacted the Department of Child Services for a review.

Testing at Riley Hospital discovered that Caela had multiple skull fractures which her Doctor described as a “cracked egg shell”, along with multiple brain bleeds.

The worst of the bleeds was to the back of her skull where there was one on each side of her head along with swelling in the same areas.

Caela also had several healing rib fractures. There were injuries to the lower part of her collar bone that were described by her doctor as “non-accidental”.

Caela also had a fracture to her left ankle that was described as a “classic jerk & yank” abuse fracture.

Testing had ruled out any medical cause for Caela’s injuries.

Investigators learned from Caela’s father Tosumba Welch, 19 of Linton, that he had squeezed Caela before and had also punched her in the head since she was four or five months old.

Welch told detectives he would strike Caela in the back of the skull or on the sides of her head to make her stop crying.

On 08/31/2017 Tosumba Welch was arrested and lodged at the Greene County Jail

The Indiana Department of Education tells WSLM Radio they plan to release spring ISTEP scores in the first week of September.

Performance remained stable across content areas in grades 3-8, while for Grade 10 performance rose slightly.

ISTEP+ assesses more rigorous Indiana Academic Standards adopted in 2014 for English Language Arts and Mathematics. Altogether, ISTEP+ assesses English Language Arts, Mathematics in grades 3-8 and 10, Science in grades 4, 6 and 10, and Social Studies in grades 5 and 7.

Current proficiency levels were established based on feedback from educators following the 2015 and 2016 test administrations.

The State of Education is set to meet on Wednesday, Sept. 6 to review the scores. Once that process is complete, they can be released to the media and the public.

Indiana continues with ISTEP+ 3-8 and 10 during the 2017-18 school year as the Department works towards the transition to ILEARN in 2018-19.

ILEARN assesses the same Indiana Academic Standards as ISTEP+, but leverages computer adaptive testing to better inform educators about students’ strengths and weaknesses.

Recruitment of educators to contribute to the development of the ILEARN assessment begins in September. 

The standardized tests were takenlast spring by more than 400,000 students across the Hoosier state.

Wednesday Indiana State Police arrested the mother and step-father of an 11-year-old special needs girl on one count each of Neglect of a Dependent (felony).

The pair was incarcerated in the Clay County Jail. 

Arrested were Autumn Renee Stone Snodgrass, age 29 and Stephen C. Snodgrass, age 36, of 3995 East County Road 1500 North in Clay County. 

The investigation originated on August 18, 2017 when Indiana State Police, Clay County Probation Officers, and Clay County Community Corrections Officers went to 3995 East County Road 1500 North in Clay County to conduct a home compliance check.

No one was home, but officers noticed the home was in deplorable condition. 

Over the next few days, Indiana State Police gathered information from various sources, which ultimately led to a Clay County search warrant for the home. 

On August 29, 2017, Indiana State Police and the Clay County Probation Office served a Clay County search warrant on the residence. The mother, step-father and daughter were interviewed with the daughter ultimately placed in foster care and currently doing well. 

During execution of the search warrant, investigators documented that the small outbuilding shack type home was unclean, no indoor modern plumbing, unprotected electrical outlets, unprotected electrical wires in and around the building, trash strewn about, raw sewage on the ground around the structure and adjacent to the small water well, and numerous other health hazards. 

Autumn R. Stone Snodgrass was taken into custody yesterday afternoon at approximately 2:15. Stephen Snodgrass was taken into custody last evening at 8:47. 

The case was investigated by ISP Detective Michael Featherling. Assisting were ISP Detective Sergeant Sam Stearley, troopers from the Putnamville Post, Clay County Prosecutor’s Office, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Clay County Probation Office, Clay County Department of Child Services, Clay County Health Department, and Suzie’s Place Child Advocacy Center of Terre Haute.