A Brownstown man was arrested after he admitted to police that he had sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Jackson County Police arrested Holden Reece Warren, 19, Sunday on a Level 3 felony charge of child molesting.

He is being held on a $5,005 bond. He entered a not guilty plea on Monday. A trial date is set of Dec. 19th at 8:30 a.m.

According to Jackson County Officer Rob Henley, on July 1st, Warren had been working with owner of the catering company hired to stay at the Brownstown home overnight to to cook the hog.

During the night, Warren began talking with the 13-year-old female. According to the police report, others at the home had warned Warren that the girl was only 13 and “boy crazy.”

After the girl’s parents went to bed, the girl came back outside to continue talking to Warren. Witnesses say the two disappeared and that’s when Warren told police the two had sex.

The girl told her step-mom about the encounter more than a week later, who then told the girl’s mother, who called police.

During an interview with the Department of Child Services the girl says she did not tell Warren no or to stop during the sexual encounter and that she was “okay” with what happened.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has issued an Air Quality Action Day and is forecasting high ozone levels for Thursday July 20, 2017 in the following area: 

• Southeast Indiana – Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Scott, and Washington

IDEM encourages everyone to help reduce ozone by making simple changes to their daily habits. You can:

• Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation
• Avoid using the drive-through and combine errands into one trip
• Avoid refueling your vehicle or using gasoline-powered lawn equipment until after 7 p.m.
• Turn off your engine when idling for more than 30 seconds
• Conserve energy by turning off lights or setting the air conditioner to 75 degrees or above 

Anyone sensitive to changes in air quality may be affected when ozone levels are high. Children, the elderly and anyone with heart or lung conditions should reduce or avoid exertion and heavy work outdoors. 

IDEM examines weather patterns and current ozone readings to make daily air quality forecasts. To learn more about ozone or sign up for air quality forecasts, visit www.SmogWatch.IN.gov or download our iPhone App: 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smogwatch/id882860480?mt=8 

Ground-level ozone is formed when sunlight and hot weather bake vehicle exhaust, factory emissions and gasoline vapors. Ozone in the upper atmosphere blocks ultraviolet radiation, but ozone near the ground is a lung irritant that can cause coughing and breathing difficulties. 

About the ozone standard: On October 1, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) finalized the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone. The new rule sets more stringent standards, lowering both the primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) standards from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb. IDEM encourages all Hoosiers to be proactive and help reduce ozone for those who may be sensitive.

The Washington County Historical Society was very fortunate to receive a limited donation of these beautiful Washington County 4-H belt buckles from Dr. Edgar DeJean.

They will be on sale at the Stevens Museum @ the John Hay Center, for $15 each, while supplies last. All proceeds will benefit the John Hay Center.

Museum hours of operation are 9 to 5, Tuesday-Saturday.

Officials at Jennings County Jail have confirmed the capture of Strong Arm Robbery suspect Travis Jerome Groce. He was booked into the Jennings County Jail today. 

Groce was wanted for his involvement in a Strong Armed Robbery that occurred Tuesday.

Groce held a gun to to the back of his victims head, took his his wallet and money and then fled. 

He was last seen wearing a cut off shirt and jeans. Groce also hadan outstanding Parole Warrant for Battery.

With the Washington County Clerk’s office and Circuit Court moving out of the courthouse, there will be some space that’s freed up. 

Earlier this year, as the County Commissioner’s began exploring the most important issues with the structural integrity of the courthouse, a group formed to help educate and raise funds for possible renovations. 

Friends of the Washington County Courthouse was formed back in February with Lisa Thompson and Washington County Council member Todd Ewen leading a dozen from the community. 

They suggested to the Commissioners to have a building use study completed along with the updated engineering study. 

Dave Kroll, Ratio Architects in Indianapolis presented two options for use of the Washington County Courthouse at Tuesday’s meeting. 

Their only suggestion of bringing in new offices to the Courthouse was bringing in the Chamber of Commerce and the Washington County Tourism group. 

No costs were associated with the plans that were presented.

One was called the “Make it Work” plan which would have limited impact on the interior of the building other than moving offices around to fill vacant space. 

In this plan, the Assessor’s office would move into the Clerk’s space, allowing the Auditor to expand into the old Assessor’s office. 

The Treasurer’s office will be reconfigured to allow more customer space as will the Auditor’s office. 

In both renditions, the basement configuration would remain the same, with the public records being removed from the open areas and put into storage. 

Upstairs in the “Make it Work” plan, would see the addition of a breakroom, private bathrooms for the employees, the addition of an office for the Commissioners, and the addition of offices for the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism group. 

There would also be storage and the Circuit Courtroom would be preserved as meeting space. 

In the “Ideal” layout, which Kroll said could be about twice as much as the previous plan, there would be plans to move the Recorder’s office upstairs and place the Washington County Tourism office in it’s place. 

In the upstairs of the “Ideal” layout, the Record’s office and storage would be moved to one of the attorney meeting rooms. 

Kroll said most of the offices has small refrigerators and making a room upstairs for a breakroom could consolidate those items into one room. 

A work room would have shared electronics, printers and copiers and there would be a mailroom. 

The main difference in the “Ideal” plan would be moving walls and cutting into rooms, which would drive up the cost. 

First District Commissioner Phil Marshall asked Kroll to provide some figures for the plans he presented.  

A 34-year-old Columbus woman is in jail on three counts of identity theft.

Lisa N. Joyner, 34, of Columbus, was arrested Tuesday for Theft, Fraud, and Identity Deception.  All are level 6 Felonies. 

Joyner is being held without bond in the Jackson County Jail.

On 7/10/17, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department received a report from a rural Seymour resident that someone had stolen her identity, got credit cards with her personal information, and then made charges and purchases both in person at stores in the area and also on-line. 

On Tuesday, Reserve Deputy Scott Davis went over documents supplied to the sheriff’s department from the victim and was able to track down a suspect from cell phone numbers used for the delivery of the on-line purchases to a North State Road 11 Seymour address.

A search warrant was obtained that same day and Davis, along with Jackson County Sheriff’s Department officers Jesse Hutchinson and Joe Francis, searched the residence on State Road 11 where they located an item that was purchased on-line and then delivered to that residence. 

Also found were documents pertaining to a fraudulent credit card as well as one fraudulent credit card itself.

Davis was assisted in the investigation by Deputy Adam Nicholson.