Indiana purges 481K inactive voter registrations from rolls
Indiana’s secretary of state says more than 481,000 inactive voter registrations have been purged from the state’s voter rolls as part of a long-running effort ordered by lawmakers.
Secretary of State Connie Lawson said Tuesday 481,235 voter registration records have been removed from voter rolls since November in accordance with federal law.
Those registrations were canceled if voters sent postcard alerts did not update their records or did not vote in any election held in 2014, 2015 or 2016.
The General Assembly adopted the mandatory voter roll purges in 2014, two years after two voter watchdog groups, Judicial Watch and True The Vote, sued Indiana, claiming the state failed to maintain clean voter registration lists.
Lawson says Indiana’s voter roll purge is continuing at both the state and county levels.
Car, prisoner van collide in northern Indiana, injuring 8
BUNKER HILL, Ind. — State police say a car has collided with a van carrying an Indiana Department of Correction work crew, injuring eight people.
Police say the crash occurred Tuesday morning on a Miami County road. A car driven by 41-year-old Zackariah Birdsong of Kokomo went left of center and struck the van head-on.
Police say Birdsong was airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital with life-threatening injuries, and two of the inmate passengers on the van, 61-year-old Norman Clark and 40-year-old Joshua Kochell, also were airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital with severe but non-life-threatening injuries. Van driver 49-year-old Tracy Hullett of Peru and four other inmates from the Miami Correctional Facility were transported by ambulance to a Kokomo hospital.
Marijuana-growing operation found during Indiana house fire
LOGANSPORT, Ind. — Two people were arrested on drug charges after firefighters reported spotting a marijuana-growing operation while putting out a northern Indiana house fire.
Logansport police say officers found 39 marijuana plants in a second-floor bedroom, along with marijuana in jars in another bedroom.
Police Sgt. Dan Frye tells the (Logansport) Pharos-Tribune that the growing operation included lighting on timers and irrigation and ventilation systems, but wasn’t the fire’s cause.
Two residents face felony charges of dealing marijuana and maintaining a common nuisance. Police say another resident was charged with felony battery for pushing and punching a firefighter.
Fire officials say the fire was reported about 6:45 a.m. Monday, with flames and smoke spreading through much of the house. Information on the cause wasn’t immediately released.
Man jailed after threat to blow up Indiana courthouse
JASPER, Ind. — Authorities say a 38-year-old man is jailed after threatening to blow up a courthouse in southern Indiana.
The Jasper Police Department says Keith E. Markle Jr. of Huntingburg was spotted Monday on the front lawn of the Dubois County Courthouse acting aggressively toward people and making threats to blow up the building. No injuries were reported.
Police say Markle was taken into custody and jailed on preliminary charges of intimidation and a misdemeanor of driving with a suspended license.
The Dubois County clerk’s office says Markle is expected to appear in court on Tuesday. He didn’t have a lawyer on record early Tuesday.
Small Indiana city turning dead trees into wood sculptures
DECATUR, Ind. (AP) — A small city in northeastern Indiana is becoming creative with its dead trees by hiring an artist to turn the stumps into wood carvings.
Artist Scott Lepley has finished six tree sculptures since city officials in Decatur hired him last December. WANE-TV reports those include a life-sized bear standing on its hind legs and smaller ones featuring an eagle and a raccoon.
City operations manager Jeremy Gilbert says the city cuts down about 30 dead trees a year and the carvings are a way to beautify the community rather than just grinding down the stumps.
Gilbert says the project has drawn attention around the community about 20 miles southeast of Fort Wayne and some people have called the city asking about having their dead trees turned into sculptures.
–Associated Press
