Celebrate Spring and Earth Day with Ace Hardware of Salem at their annual open house!

WSLM will be there broadcasting live from 10a-Noon with chances to sign up to win Holiday World and Cincinnati Reds tickets. 

Activities include: 

• 9:00-11:00 Earth Day craft for the kids
• 10:00-2:00 Bring your questions for your Porter Paints rep
• 11:00-1:00 Lunch for a donation to Imagination Library

  All Day Events:

• Buy 2, get 1 free on gallons of Porter Paints interior Hi-Hide & Silken Touch, exterior Acri-Shield and Flood exterior stain
• Bad Boy Mowers & STIHL demos
• Play Plinko for prizes and special offers
• Register for giveaways — including a $100 Ace gift card and a Craftsman push mower

While you’re at Ace Hardware of Salem this weekend, be sure and sign up for the annual WSLM – ACE HARDWARE 5K PAINT RACE to be held on Saturday, May 13 with proceeds going to Relay for Life. 

On April 14, 2017 Reserve Deputy Brad Barker entered the Bells Ford River Bridge Access site in the 6000 block East of State Road 258 at approximately 10:00pm.

Upon entering the property, a passenger car turned its headlights on when Barker drove into the parking area underneath the bridge.

The passenger car sped out of the parking area quickly. Barker followed the car that left the area traveling east on State Road 258, which nearly collided with a passing car that was traveling west on 258.

Once Barker caught up to the vehicle he paced the car at 80 miles per hour. Barker activated his emergency red and blue lights to initiate a traffic stop for exceeding the max speed limit.

The passenger car continued East on 258 into Seymour still traveling in excess of 70 miles per hour. The passenger car disregarded the stop light at 6th and Community continuing east.

The car then turned south onto Chestnut then back east on 5th.

The car then turned north onto Mill Street and then back onto 6th traveling east. The passenger car then disregarded another red light at 6th and Ewing.

The car then turned east back onto 5th disregarding the stop sign at 5th and Broadway. The car sped down 5th Street to Obrien Street, where it again ran the stop sign turning south on O’Brien Street. The car then turned onto 4th Street Road and traveled west for about a block before coming to a stop.

At that time officers were able to detain all subjects in the vehicle. Barker later learned that a back seat passenger reached up and shut the car off and placed it in park, ending the pursuit. The driver, Tim Alan Goff was placed under arrest for charges of Resisting Law Enforcement (Level 6 Felony), Possession of Paraphernalia (Misdemeanor), Possession Marijuana (Misdemeanor), and Reckless Driving (Misdemeanor).

Both of Goff’s passengers were interviewed and released at the scene. Goff will receive citations for his initial speed of 80 miles per hour in a 55 miles per zone and for disregarding the stop signs mentioned above.

Barker was assisted by other members of the Jackson County Sheriffs Department, Seymour Police Department, and the Indiana State Police.

The Indiana General Assembly is in the final weeks of the 2017 legislative session. This year I have worked on several important measures that I believe will continue to promote Hoosier values and make Indiana a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Senate Enrolled Act 322 requires all individuals arrested for a felony to submit a DNA sample along with finger prints, photographs and other information during the booking process. This legislation gives law enforcement another tool to find and convict criminals, exonerate the innocent and give peace to victims and their families.

Senate Enrolled Act 404 improves Indiana’s parental consent laws for minors seeking abortions. The bill requires verified consent of a parent, guardian or custodian prior to an unemancipated minor having an abortion. A parent, guardian or custodian must be notified of a petition to waive parental consent unless a court determines notification is not in the minor’s best interest.

In addition, the bill develops a framework for creating a hotline for victims of human trafficking and coerced abortions as well as a plan for law enforcement to receive annual training on these issues. It also improves the standard of care for women at abortion facilities by requiring the Indiana State Department of Health to adopt regulations regarding licensing and post-abortion medical care. 

Senate Enrolled Act 182 protects school districts and taxpayers by limiting initial superintendent contracts to no more than a three year term, and to no more than a five year term on a subsequent contract.  It also limits contract buyouts to one year’s salary or $250,000, whichever is the lesser amount. This ensures that school districts are not obligated to fund outrageous contracts or buyouts, eliminating the “golden parachutes” we have seen in school districts across the state in recent years.  SEA 182 is a tax-payer protection measure that will help ensure education dollars are going to the classroom and to teachers.  

Each of these bills have been approved by the General Assembly and will now be sent to Gov. Eric Holcomb for his final consideration.

If you have any thoughts or questions on any of these issues, please contact me by email at Senator.Houchin@iga.in.gov or by phone at 800-382-9467.

You can help a newly formed nonprofit in Jackson County hopes to earn grant money to save the former Medora Brick Plant by voting in a poll on USA Today. 

The Medora Brick Plant and Historical Sites committee, formerly known as Save the Medora Brick Plant, recently released a video showcasing a brief history of the plant and the role it played in the community for most of the 20th century.

50 men produced over 54,000 bricks a day, six days a week when the plant was in full production. 

It has been closed for 25 years and the site has fallen into disrepair.

The group is in the process of taking ownership of the old brick plant, which is among Indiana Landmarks Most Endangered historic sites.

The video also highlights some of the proposed plans for the six-acre site southwest of town.

The video was made to meet the guidelines of USA Today Network’s A Community Thrives contest. The contest prizes include a $100,000 grant for the winner and two $50,000 grants for the runner-ups.

The contest is divided into three categories: Wellness, arts and culture and education, and 10 finalists will be picked in each category. Videos can only be entered in one category, and the final three will be selected by a panel of judges. The Medora video will be entered in the arts and culture category.

To make it into the top 10, they need everyone to vote – at act.usatoday.com – Select the Save the Medora Brick Plant video to vote for it. The video can be viewed before voting begins.

Voting ends May 12th.

The video was produced with the help of Bill Klaes of Klaes Image Productions in Seymour.

The grant would make improvements at the plant, which opened Aug. 2, 1904, and continued to produce bricks until the day before Thanksgiving in 1990. A crew of less than 60 produced 54,000 bricks a day for years. Medora brick was used for in many buildings around the Midwest, including those on the campus of colleges and universities.

Students from Ball State University designed several examples of what the plant could look like, given enough funding.

The four proposed designs for the site soon will be on display at the Jackson County Visitor Center in Seymour.