A Hardinsburg man is in jail on drug charges after being arrested by the Indiana State Police Thursday afternoon.

Richard J. Huebel was arrested and charged with Possession of Methamphetamine less than five grams with a Firearm in Possession, Felony; Carrying a Handgun without a Permit by a Convicted Felon, Felony; Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Felony and Possession of Paraphernalia, Misdemeanor.

On February 23rd, 2017 at approximately 4:50pm, Trooper Zach Smith and his K-9, “Riggs”, stopped a 1987 Dodge Dakota for a traffic infraction on Heuser Street near State Road #135 in Palmyra.

During the course of the traffic stop reasonable suspicion was developed that criminal activity was afoot.

Trooper Smith deployed his K-9 and the dog gave a positive alert on the vehicle.

A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed that the driver, Huebel, from West Pavey Ridge Road in Hardinsburg, was in possession of approximately three grams of Methamphetamine, several items of drug paraphernalia, and a loaded .32 caliber handgun.
  
Huebel was incarcerated at the Harrison County Jail. 

Today, the reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect or suspects in the murders of Liberty German and Abigail Williams has increased to $50,000. The increase is because of a $9,000 dollar donation by the office of United States Representative Todd Rokita.

There have been approximately 3,900 tips received via phone and email.

Approximately 1,900 of the tips were received after the release of a voice recovered from Liberty German’s cell phone.

ISP announced on Wednesday that a short audio clip and a previously released photo of a suspect, were obtained from the cell phone of Liberty German.

The suspect’s voice can be heard saying, “Down The Hill”. It is unknown to whom the person was speaking. 

At approximately 12:15 p.m. on February 14, 2017, the bodies of Abigail J. Williams, 13, and Liberty Rose Lynn German, 14, both from Delphi, IN, were found in a wooded area near the Delphi Historic Trail, east of Delphi, IN, in Carroll County.

The teens had been reported missing the previous day by family members.

Their bodies were discovered by volunteers who were helping in an organized search for the girls. Law enforcement is investigating the case as a double homicide.

The FBI is utilizing approximately 6,000 electronic bill boards, in 46 states, requesting information about this case.

The Indiana State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department announced a monetary reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect or suspects in this case.

The reward fund is currently at $50,000.

The FBI has contributed $25.000, Indiana Packers Corporation has donated $10,000, the office of U.S. Representative Todd Rokita donated $9.000, and Lafayette Bank and Trust has donated $1,000.
 
The Indiana State Police Alliance (ISPA) has established an account for individuals or businesses wishing to donate to the Delphi Reward Fund.

Checks should be made payable to the Indiana State Police Alliance Foundation.

“Delphi Reward” should be entered on the memo line. Donations can be mailed to 1415 Shelby Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46203.
 
Citizens can provide information about this case by calling the Delphi Murder Tip Line at 1-844-459-5786.

Tips can also be reported by emailing Abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com.

Information can be reported anonymously.

Kimberly Ann Renee Bowling, infant, Scottsburg IN, February 18 2017,  Louisville KY

Parents are: Jon Bowling & Brandy Hobbs-Parkinson

SURVIVORS:  Parents:  Jon Bowling & Brandy Hobbs-Parkinson. Paternal Grandparents: Aaron Bowling, Sr. & Sandra Katheryn Barnard Bowling. Paternal Great Grandmother: Irma Mae Barnard. Maternal Grandparents: Michael Hobbs & Angela West

Maternal Great Grandfather: Doyle Hobbs

MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS:   c/o Stewart & Hoagland Funeral Home, 80 N 1st St., Scottsburg IN 47170

ONLINE CONDOLENCES:  www.stewart-hoaglandfuneralhome.com

Projects will provide over 700 additional units of affordable housing options for residents throughout Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS – Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch announced today that the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) is awarding more than $13.9 million in Rental Housing Tax Credits (RHTCs) and $5.8 million in additional funding from the Development Fund, HOME, and Housing Trust Fund towards 16 multi-family housing developments throughout Indiana.

“These awards are an important step in meeting the affordable housing needs in our state,” said Lt. Governor Crouch, who chairs the IHCDA Board of Directors. “I am especially pleased by the geographical diversity and wide range of needs these 16 new projects will address across 12 Indiana counties.”

IHCDA administers and manages the federal credits, which provide incentives for private developers to further the affordable housing choices available throughout Indiana. The 2017 RHTC allocation totaling $13.9 million will fund over 700 housing units.

With 62 applications received in November 2016 requesting over $50.6 million in federal rental housing tax credits and $23.2 million in supplemental IHCDA funding, the RHTC program is highly competitive.

“Indiana has an outstanding group of housing developers,” said Jacob Sipe, Executive Director of IHCDA. “It truly makes scoring the applications very difficult. While we couldn’t fund each application, the projects that were awarded will greatly expand the affordable housing options in Indiana.” 

Click here for a full list of applications and awards.

Project activities include new construction, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse (conversion of existing structures), and the preservation of historic buildings funded through the Internal Revenue Service Section 42 RHTC program. 

Scoring for the applications was determined by the state’s 2016-17 Qualified Action Plan (QAP). This plan applies to all allocations of RHTCs and other rental housing finance programs administered by IHCDA and provides evaluation factors in which they will consider when analyzing each application.

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.