The Indiana Department of Transportation plans to close State Road 256 at its Muscatatuck River bridge located 1.92 miles east of S.R. 39 near Austin along the Scott-Washington County line.  

Contracted crews will be onsite beginning Monday to set barricades and begin making minor repairs in advance of installing a thin bridge deck overlay.  

Motorists will be detoured around the S.R. 256 closure via Interstate 65, S.R. 56 and S.R. 39. 

Ragle Inc. is the state’s contractor for this $300,000 2-bridge project.  The Evansville contractor will place a 3/8-inch polymeric overlay atop the Muscatatuck River bridge’s deck—restoring the driving surface, sealing it from weather degradation and ultra violet ray damage.  

In addition, approaches to the bridge will be milled and repaved. 

INDOT officials anticipate S.R. 256 reopening to traffic later in the month. 

A deck overlay at the S.R. 258 White River bridge in Jackson County has recently been completed near Seymour under this contract.      

Indiana Department of Transportation maintenance crews will chip seal 40 lane miles of State Road 160 in Washington and Scott counties next week—weather permitting—placing surface treatment material on the east-west highway between Salem and Henryville. 

On Monday and Tuesday (AUGUST 14 & 15), pavement preservation operations will proceed along the eastbound lane of S.R. 160 from S.R. 60 to Interstate 65.  Wednesday and Thursday (AUGUST 16 & 17), chip seal will be placed in the westbound lane from I-65 to S.R. 60. 

Flaggers will be onsite to direct motorists around crews and equipment. 

The S.R. 160 chip seal will coat the highway’s surface with liquid asphalt—sealing pavement cracks and protecting the roadbed from harmful ultraviolet rays.   Small chips of limestone will be used to “choke” the asphalt’s fluidity and minimize adhesion to tires.  These aggregate chips also restore surface friction—optimizing maneuverability and stopping capabilities.   

Chip seal applications are highly cost-effective as a pavement preservation measure.  Every $1 spent saves $6 to $14 in subsequent expenditures.

On yesterday’s date shortly after 2:15 pm, Troopers Jackie Smith, Andrew Taylor, Brandon Farias, Carey Huls and Katrina Smith from the Indiana State Police Post at Sellersburg served an arrest warrant on Jamie Ray Scheckles, 33, from 1612 East Oak Street in New Albany.   

The arrest warrant was out of Clark County, IN for a Probation Violation.

This was followed by the arrest of three others who were charged with:

1: JAMIE RAY SHECKLES, 33, from 1612 East Oak Street in New Albany, Clark County Jail.

1. Dealing in a Controlled Substance(Cocaine) – Level 2 Felony
2. Possession of Cocaine – Level 6 Felony
3. Dealing in a Controlled Substance (Meth) – Level 2 Felony
4. Possession of Methamphetamine – Level 5 Felony
5. Possession of Schedule I,II, III, IV, V, Controlled Substance, – Level 6 Felony
6. Controlled Substance, Dealing Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor
7. Possession of Marijuana – Class B Misdemeanor
8. Possession of Paraphernalia – Class B Misdemeanor
9. Maintaining a Common Nuisance – Class 6 Felony

2:  BRITTANY LYNN PRATHER, 26, from 1612 East Oak Street in New Albany, Floyd County Jail.  

1. Dealing in a Controlled Substance(Cocaine) – Level 2 Felony
2. Possession of Cocaine – Level 6 Felony
3. Dealing in Controlled Substance (Meth) – Level 2 Felony
4. Possession of Methamphetamine – Level 5 Felony
5. Possession of Schedule I,II, III, IV, V, Controlled Substance – Level 6 Felony
6. Controlled Substance, Dealing Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor
7. Possession of Marijuana – Class B Misdemeanor
8. Possession of Paraphernalia – Class B Misdemeanor
9. Maintaining a Common Nuisance – Class 6 Felony

3:  KEVIN MARTIN, 34, from 1612 East Oak Street in New Albany, Floyd County Jail.

1. Dealing in a Controlled Substance(Cocaine) – Level 2 Felony
2. Possession of Cocaine – Level 6 Felony
3. Dealing in Controlled Substance (Meth) – Level 2 Felony
4. Possession of Methamphetamine – Level 5 Felony
5. Possession of Schedule I,II, III, IV, V, Controlled Substance – Level 6 Felony
6. Controlled Substance, Dealing Marijuana – Class A Misdemeanor
7. Possession of Marijuana – Class B Misdemeanor
8. Possession of Paraphernalia – Class B Misdemeanor
9. Maintaining a Common Nuisance – Class 6 Felony

4:  TIA LANETTE EDELEN, 37, from 1612 East Oak Street in New Albany, Floyd County Jail.

1. Warrant, Failure to Appear
2. Warrant, Failure to Appear  

Troopers were assisted by the Washington County Drug Task Force. 

When troopers entered the home to serve the arrest warrant there were several other people in the home and drug paraphernalia was located. This lead troopers to apply for and obtain a search warrant for the residence.

A search of the residence resulted in troopers finding Heroin, Methamphetamine, Schedule I, II, III, IV and V Controlled Substances, Marijuana, Paraphernalia and over $1,200.00 in U.S. Currency. All four persons in the home were arrested.

A 36-year-old Cannelton man was back behind bars after Troopers found narcotics in his possession while trying to serve him with an arrest warrant.

Arrested and Charged was Charles A. Cronin, Jr., 36, of Cannelton, IN

• Possession of Methamphetamine, Level 6 Felony

• Warrant, Perry County
• Domestic Battery with a Deadly Weapon, Level 5 Felony
• Intimidation, Level 6 Felony
• Warrant, Perry County
• Dealing in a “Look-alike” Substance, Level 5 Felony
• Possession of Paraphernalia, Class C Felony
• Warrant, Perry County
• Invasion of Privacy, Violation of a Protective Order, Class A Misdemeanor 

New Charges:

• Possession of Methamphetamine, Level 6 Felony

• Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Level 6 Felony
• Possession of Paraphernalia, Class C Misdemeanor

Members of the State Police “All Crimes Policing” unit, Sergeant George Wooten and Master Trooper Trey Lytton, attempted to serve Cronin, Jr. with multiple arrest warrants at 15370 Dexter Magnet Road. 

Troopers, along with Perry County Deputy Daymion Marsh and members of Community Corrections, found Cronin inside the residence, and watched him attempt to hide an item between the cushions of the sofa he was sitting on. 

As Trooper Lytton placed Cronin into custody, Deputy Marsh found a glass smoking pipe and white baggies, both with white residue.  The white, crystal-like substance field tested positive as methamphetamine. 

Cronin was transported to the Perry County Corrections Center where he was held on his prior warrant, as well as possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia charges.

The Indiana State Police has released the names of four police officers who were involved in an incident that took place in Dyer on August 10, 2017.  The officers involved are as follows:

1) Victor Zamora, 37, Lake County Sheriff’s Department, 13 years of service

2)  Luke Schreiber, 41, St. John Police Department, 10 years of service (18 total)

3)  Jacob Patzschke, 25, St. John Police Department, 1 year of service (3 total)

4)  Daniel Kolodziej, 31, Dyer Police Department, 1 year of service (5 total)

The officers remain on paid administrative leave per their respective departments policies.

This incident remains under investigation by the Indiana State Police. Upon completion of the investigation, the results will be turned over to the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office for review. 

On August 10, 2017, at approximately 5:38 a.m., officers with the Dyer Police Department, St. John Police Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Department were involved in a vehicle pursuit of a stolen car in the area of 9300 Sheffield Ave. in Dyer.  

During the initial pursuit, the suspect vehicle struck a pedestrian in Saulk Village and continued to flee.  

Indiana officers were able to locate the vehicle in Indiana and pursued the vehicle north into the gas station at the intersection of 81st and Hart Street where it struck another white vehicle before coming to rest on Hart Street, north of 81st Ave.  

What occurred between the suspect and the officers is under investigation, but the interaction resulted in multiple shots being fired.  The suspect died at the scene.  

The suspect has been identified as Mark P. Coffey, 33, of South Chicago Heights, IL.  Coffey had an active warrant for Battery/Robbery and was considered to be armed and dangerous.  

Coffey also had an ankle monitoring bracelet on his person issued by the Illinois Department of Corrections.  

The Indiana State Police is being assisted by the Northwest Indiana Major Crime Task Force.  The Indiana State Police Crime Scene investigators processed the scene.  

INDOT ready to complete interstate project

“The INDOT project team alongside Walsh Construction accomplished in a few weeks what normally would take many months, and they did it while accelerating the current pace of work along the corridor,” INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness said. 

The Indiana Finance Authority today completed the settlement transaction to terminate the contractual relationship between I-69 Development Partners and the State, reimburse the developer’s bond holders for $246 million, and return direct control of the I-69 Section 5 project to the Indiana Department of Transportation.

“The State is officially in charge of this important project,” Gov. Eric J. Holcomb said. “Our focus is to complete this crucial stretch of roadway that provides a promising path to economic growth for Hoosiers and businesses in southern Indiana.”

The IFA announced the pending settlement agreement June 16, 2017. Since that time, the financing plan to complete the transaction was approved by the IFA Board and reviewed by the State Budget Committee. 

IFA Public Finance Director Dan Huge said his agency will use highway-revenue bonds to retire the developer’s private-activity bonds. Those highway-revenue bonds are rated at AA+ according to statements previously issued by S&P Global, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services.

This rating is considerably higher and more advantageous to the State than the BBB and BBB- rating assigned to the developer’s private-activity bonds and will result in interest savings over time.

The 21-mile project between Bloomington and Martinsville is expected to be complete on or before August 2018.

To ensure the project is completed within that timeframe, INDOT has worked closely over the past month with I-69 Development Partners and advisor Walsh Construction to conduct a thorough assessment of work that has been completed and to identify milestones to keep the project on track.

“We have INDOT staff on the ground today working with a team of partners ready to complete this section of the interstate.”

INDOT re-scoped and negotiated more than a dozen subcontractor agreements to retain most of the primary and subcontractors who worked on the project under the previous arrangement.

McGuiness said retaining that experience is invaluable in moving the project forward to completion.