Letter: Mid-States Corridor will increase crime

Last month, I read the Jasper Police Department call and arrest report. There were 39 arrests in January, 51 in February, 68 in March, and 71 in April. In April alone, this included 38 related to drugs, 16 thefts, 7 operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and 6 driving while suspended. This does not include statistics from the Dubois County Sheriff’s office, the State Police, Huntingburg, Ferdinand, or Loogootee.

A lot of these arrests are individuals not from our area but driving through and arrested with drugs or caught stealing. Recent examples include two people from Kentucky in a stolen car arrested on drug related charges in the area of US 231 and S.R. 162, a Texas man arrested for stealing from a liquor store, an Anderson, Indiana woman arrested on drug charges near Bohnert Park, a Missouri man arrested on drug charges in the parking lot of the Schroeder Sports Complex, and the list goes on. The last two examples are where our children and grandchildren play every day.

Crime continues to increase throughout our local communities. What do you think will happen if the Mid-States Corridor becomes a reality? Can you imagine the burden it will put on our local towns and law enforcement? Our sheriff department, local police departments, and state troopers all do a great job protecting our community but are already strained and overworked.

Our city and county budgets struggle to allow for increasing needed law enforcement. Yet if the Mid-States Corridor is built, it will be an avenue for more drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other crimes.

The Mid-States Corridor is not worth building for many reasons. An increase in crime is only one reason. The increased costs to our community, which will become a taxpayer’s burden, the displacement of many families and farms, and the negative impact on our environment are just a few more reasons. All for what? To save a few minutes of travel time.

Is it really all about speed? Advocates for the highway say that it is needed for economic development. Really? Smart, sustainable economic growth can happen without a new highway.

Recently, INDOT canceled the Link101 project in Southeast Indiana. Other states, like Colorado, have stopped building new highways. It is time for INDOT to cancel the Mid-States Corridor project, which will cost billions.

Mark Nowotarski
Dubois County Resident