Yesterday an autopsy was completed on Justin Holland, age 25, Moores Hill, Indiana at the Dearborn County Hospital.  

Holland was shot Monday by a citizen after he resisted an Indiana Conservation Officer and began to overtake the officer while engaged in a physical altercation with him.  

Holland later died at the Dearborn County Hospital.

A preliminary result of the autopsy indicated that Holland’s cause of death was likely as a result of a single gunshot wound.  The final pathologist’s report may take weeks to be finished. Toxicology results are also pending.

Monday at approximately 12:30 pm, an Indiana Conservation Officer responded to an Ohio County dispatch of a suspicious person in the 8300 Block of State Road 56, west of Rising Sun, Indiana. 

Upon arriving on scene, the Conservation Officer made contact with Holland, who was near a vehicle along State Road 56.
 
At some point during their interaction, Holland began to resist the officer and became involved in a physical altercation with the officer. 

A female who was at a nearby residence responded to assist the officer who was being overtaken by Holland.  At that time, the female fired one shot from a personally owned firearm at Holland, striking him in the torso.
 
Holland was immediately given first aid by witnesses and EMS was notified.  Holland was transported to the Dearborn County Hospital where he soon passed away.  An autopsy has been scheduled to take place tomorrow morning at the Dearborn County Hospital to determine cause of death. 
 
The Conservation Officer was injured in the altercation and transported to the Dearborn County Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. 
 
The identity of the Conservation Officer and the identity of the female shooter will not be released at this time pending the outcome of the investigation.
 
The Indiana State Police is currently conducting the investigation which is ongoing at this time.

A crash on Jasper’s south side Wednesday night injured a Huntingburg mother and baby.

At 8:55 PM Wednesday, 15 year old Beronica Dubon of Huntingburg was traveling southbound on Meridian Road, just north of State Road 162.

Investigators believe Dubon failed to yield at the intersection of Meridian and SR162, and pulled her 2002 Dodge Stratus into the path of a westbound 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt, driven by 28 year old Morgan Schnarr of Jasper.  

The impact of the Chevrolet into the Dodge caused Dubon’s unrestrained baby to be ejected from the vehicle.  The Jasper Fire Department had to extricate Dubon from her drivers seat.  Baby Dubon was transported by medical helicopter to St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville, where she was listed in stable condition.  Dubon was also transported by ambulance to St. Mary’s for injuries sustained, and was also listed in stable condition.  Schnarr was taken to Memorial Hospital in Jasper for a laceration to her knee.

This crash remains under investigation by the Indiana State Police Crash Investigation Team.  ISP was assisted by the Jasper Police and Fire Departments, the Dubos County Sheriffs Department, and Memorial Hospital EMS.

This is a picture of Mary Reid-Lusk in her much later years, according to Washington County Historian Jeremy Elliott.

“From the bio below you can easily judge that she was quite the woman!,” noted Elliott. “She will officially be included in the new UGRR display opening next month at the Stevens Museum” 

Mary Reid was the daughter of Reverend Isiah Reid Sr., a South Carolina Covenanter, who left the South to escape the atrocities of slavery and settled on Walnut Ridge in 1817. 

When her older brother Samuel entered medical school at the University of Louisville, it is said Mary, who had an unquenchable desire for learning, studied everything her brother’s classes could offer and had a thorough understanding of the medical profession by the time of his graduation. 

At the age of 18, she married the Reverend Robert Lusk, a traveling minister from Pennsylvania, who had degrees in theology and medicine. 

He also reportedly had an extensive library consisting of over 1,100 titles, which assisted in furthering Mary’s medical knowledge.

She was soon, riding her horse all over the county and surrounding counties, to assist pioneer settlers with any and all medical needs. 

This included child birth and performing surgery.  Women medical practitioners at this time were referred to as “Grannies” and this is how she garnered the moniker, Granny Reid-Lusk.

Her stout abolitionist views were inherent and reportedly she became heavily involved with assisting her brothers, Thomas and Isaiah Jr., with running the Reid Line of the county’s UGRR.  

Some even claim she was the “real” manager of that line. 

Undoubtedly, she was one of the most important people in Washington County, involved with the overall operation, due to her medical knowledge, aptitude and willingness to help any human being in need.

Later in life, Mary Reid-Lusk appeared before a state medical examiner’s board, which awarded her with a doctorate in medicine.      

The Washington County Sheriff’s Department announced today they will join efforts with over 250 Indiana state and local law enforcement agencies to increase education and enforcement around dangerous and impaired driving.

From March 3 through March 26, 2017, officers across the state will conduct high-visibility patrols specifically designated to identify and intercept those driving aggressively and under the influence.

“As a state known for basketball hysteria, March is a time of celebration and fun here in Indiana,” said Captain Ryan Larrimore “Throw in St. Patrick’s Day as well, and its critical we drive home the message that the only way to celebrate, is responsibly. For this reason, our officers will be working day and night all across the state looking out for our fellow Hoosiers, because if we do see you driving dangerously or impaired, we will pull you over.”

Increased enforcement during March is a statewide effort supported by federal funding allocated to The Washington County Sheriff’s Department from the Traffic Safety Division of the Indiana Criminal Justice

Institute (ICJI). More than 6 of The Sheriff’s Department’s officers will work overtime to conduct observational patrols and sobriety checkpoints around the clock.

According to ICJI, in March 2016 there were 495 alcohol-related crashes across Indiana, resulting in 231 injuries and 11 fatalities. Additionally, during the same period, crash reports indicate 1,128 collisions occurred due to dangerous driving, resulting in 260 injuries and two fatalities.

Dangerous driving includes factors such as “speed too fast for weather conditions,” “driver distracted,” and “driver asleep or fatigued.”

“Protecting all those traveling Indiana’s roadways is an action we do not take lightly,” said ICJI Executive Director Dave Murtaugh. “With various celebratory events taking place during the month of March, it’s important we remind all drivers and passengers the responsibility of staying safe on the road, lies at their feet. I want to thank our hard working and dedicated officers who will be out in full patrol working to ensure this message is front and center in the mind of all those behind the wheel. The key to safe travel is simple. Buckle up and drive sober.”

Crashes resulting from dangerous and impaired driving are preventable. Sheriff Roger Newlon and ICJI would like to remind motorists safe driving is as simple as following these easy steps:

 Before the celebration begins, plan a safe way home

 Do not drive impaired

 If you do drink, use a taxi, public transportation, ridesharing service or designate a sober friend or family member, and give them your keys

 If you see a drunk driver on the road, call 911

 If you know someone who is about to drive or ride impaired, take their keys and help make arrangements to get them home safely

The Indiana House of Representatives voted unanimously today in favor of State Rep. Steve Davisson’s (R-Salem) bill that would create mobile addiction teams to serve more rural areas of Indiana affected by the opioid crisis.

Davisson said many families struggling with opioid addiction often cannot find appropriate treatment because of the shortage of care providers. Mobile addiction teams established under Davisson’s proposal would include an advanced practice nurse or a physician assistant, a licensed clinical addiction counselor and a certified recovery coach.

“This legislation would provide an innovative solution to the problem rural counties are facing,” Davisson said. “Since many people in recovery also need a job after treatment, my proposal would also allow the Department of Workforce Development to work with these addiction treatment teams to connect patients with jobs and training.”

According to Davisson, because of the training that would be involved and the mobile nature of these teams, funding for the program would not be from Medicaid, but from the Recovery Works program. Davisson said this would promote flexibility by allowing these recovery teams to visit small, rural jails, some of which are in severe need for addiction treatment services for their inmates.

This bill will now proceed to the Senate for further consideration.