New book explores Purdue Extension’s history in farming
The crowd at the 70th Annual Meeting for the Dubois County Soil and Water Conservation District was well entertained for a 45-minute presentation by Dr. Fred Whitford. Whitford, who said he was under the weather but never faltered in his presentation, held the audience’s attention as he explored the Purdue Extension’s impact in Dubois County…
Hopf sentenced in toddler’s death
The Dubois County Circuit Court sentenced Charles M. Hopf, 22, for the death of a 17-month-Xavier Miller. Hopf agreed to plead guilty to a Level 1 felony charge of aggravated battery that resulted in the death of child under 14. The plea agreement was predicated with the State dropping the murder charge that was added…
Two more enter guilty pleas in Operation Double Trouble sting operation
Two more individuals arrested during Operation Double Trouble have entered into plea agreements and are set to be sentenced. Matthew E. Cronin, 27, of Huntingburg, pleaded guilty to dealing in methamphetamine, a level 5 felony. He will be sentenced to four years at the Indiana Department of Correction. Jeffrey L. Friede, 57, of Linton, pleaded…
Anonymous tip leads to cocaine-dealing arrest
Acting on an anonymous tip about drug activity, the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department arrested a Jasper resident on cocaine-dealing charges Wednesday. At about 11 a.m., the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department made contact with Charles A. Forrest, 46, at an apartment at 1705 Greene St. After viewing drug paraphernalia in plain view, deputies asked for consent…
Gov. Pence directs flags to half-staff across state
Governor Mike Pence is directing flags at state facilities statewide be flown at half-staff to honor former Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb, who passed away today, Thursday, February 4. Whitcomb served as Indiana’s 43rd Governor from 1969 to 1973 Prior to that he served as Secretary of State from 1966 to 1968. Flags should be flown…
Forest Park principal to retire at end of school year
Forest Park principal Jim Mehling sobered the mood at the Southwest Dubois School Board meeting Wednesday when he submitted a notice of his intention to retire in June. The board passed a motion to accept the retirement, but unwillingly. Mehling took the position in 2013 after Jeff Jessee retired. Mehling has been with the Southeast…
Sheriff’s departments add extra patrols for Super Bowl weekend
The Dubois and Martin County Sheriff’s Department, in partnership with the Governor’s Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI), would like to remind all Indiana motorists to celebrate this year’s Super Bowl responsibly, by driving sober and safe. “With increased celebration comes an even greater responsibility to do so…
Pothole repairs coming for I-64 in Crawford, Dubois and Perry Counties
Pothole patching will be creating lane restrictions on Interstate 64 in the coming weeks. The Indiana Department of Transportation will be working on Interstate 64 in the Bristow and Sulphur areas beginning Wednesday Feb. 10 while crews perform shallow patching operations. Workers will restrict lanes intermittently from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. One lane of…
Tractor-trailer crashes into Indiana State Police patrol car, two troopers injured
Two state troopers were injured Wednesday when a tractor-trailer struck their car while they were diverting traffic on Interstate 69 in Vanderburgh County. At about 9:10 a.m. CST, Troopers Kylen Compton and Taylor Fox were assisting the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Department at a property damage crash involving a semi and a passenger vehicle on I-69…
Wehr files to retain county council seat
Martha A. Wehr has filed as a candidate for Dubois County Council-At-Large. Wehr has served on the county council the past seven years and served as auditor of Dubois County from 2000 through 2007. She was president of the Indiana County Auditors’ Association in 2007 and served on the Board of Directors of the Association…
Updated: Man in serious condition after officer-involved shooting at Huntingburg park
A Huntingburg man is in critical condition after two Huntingburg officers shot him during a confrontation at Huntingburg City Park Tuesday afternoon. At 2:00 P.M. Tuesday afternoon, the Huntingburg Police Department received a message through social media from Zachary Tyler Peek, 27, Huntingburg, requesting that they meet at League Stadium on the south side of town….
Huntingburg Overpass project to go to bid this December
Jim O’Neal, News Director WITZ AM/FM contributed to this report The City of Huntingburg learned the much-anticipated overpass project is on the state’s docket of projects for 2016. The project to connect the north and south sides of the city will be let out for construction bidding by this December. The overpass project announced in…
Fairground reopened; poultry shows unaffected by flu
The State Board of Animal Health has downgraded the response to the Avian Influenza outbreak in Dubois. The Dubois County Fairgrounds had been used by responders as a staging area for equipment during the response and was closed to residents during that time. It has reopened at this time. “First, let me state that the…
Jasper Redevelopment meeting minutes Feb. 2
-Heard the annual reporting on the tax increment finance district in Jasper would be completed by Umbaugh Associates as per the contract signed last year. The report will include evaluating the assessed value of the tax increment finance area. -Discussed creating a budget for upcoming expenses associated with projects the redevelopment commission is overseeing. City…
Commissioner intends to run for re-election
Randall L. Fleck, Democrat, has announced he will seek re-election for Dubois County Commissioner, District 3. District 3 consists of Cass, Ferdinand, Hall, Jackson, Jefferson, and Marion Townships. Fleck has served as a commissioner for 11 years and is currently the vice president of the three-person group of commissioners. “I’ve really enjoyed my time working…
Uebelhor, former commissioner, seeks county council seat
Former Dubois County Commissioner Doug Uebelhor announced he will run for the office of Dubois County Council At-Large. Doug is seeking the Republican Party nomination for the seat at the May 3rd Primary election. Doug has lived in Dubois County his entire life. He is a 1999 graduate of Jasper High School and attended Indiana…
Haysville siren out; be sure your weather radios are working
Today, during testing, the county determined Haysville siren is not working. Due to the threat of severe weather in Dubois County tomorrow John Fuhrman, Chief of Haysville Fire Department and Tammy Humbert, Director of Dubois County Emergency Management are encouraging all residents of Haysville to be aware of the problem and to verify that their…
Robot tournament fun
18 student teams filled the Ruxer Gymnasium at Vincennes University Jasper Campus with their accompanying families as they competed in a robot rumble. As a First Tech Challenge qualifying tournament, teams from all over the state and one from Ohio converged on the campus to continue to rank in the upcoming tournaments. Comprised of up…
Charter school possibility for Otwell
The Friends of Otwell are seeking enrollment for a newly forming a charter school, Otwell Miller Academy. The group is hosting an enrollment form to determine the number of interested families. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1z9dUgNaHtW0gxqr8xhqCtB9RmyVx-EGP3Ep5CpY9EnI/viewform After the Pike County School Corporation announced Otwell Elementary would be closing after the 2015-2016 school year, the Friends of Otwell formed and conducted…
Troopers arrest two manufacturing meth on the Ohio River
An anonymous tip received Thursday led troopers to a meth lab and the arrest of two Perry County men. Troopers with the Indiana State Police received an anonymous tip that two men were manufacturing methamphetamine along the river bank near the boat ramp parking lot in Troy. Troopers and members of the Perry County Sheriff’s…
Driver misses brake pedal, breaks utility pole
An 84-year-old Jasper resident struck a utility pole when his foot slipped off the brake pedal Thursday at about 9:54 a.m. According to police, the driver was pulling his 2012 Chevrolet 1500 pickup truck onto Truman Road from his driveway when his foot slipped off the brake pedal onto the gas pedal. The truck lurched across…
County pledges $100,000 to avian flu efforts
Tammy Humbert told the Dubois County Council that the local response to the avian influenza outbreak will be the new standard across the United States. She explained that state and federal officials have said that the preparedness efforts and response by the county have been unmatched by anything they’ve seen before and that new procedures…
Schroeder appointed to Bainbridge Township Advisory Board
The Central Committee of the Dubois County Democrats caucused on January 21 at the Jasper Habig Center to fill a vacancy on the Bainbridge Township Advisory Board to replace Dave Hurst who was elected to the Jasper Common Council. Chairman Joe Huddleston reported that Jim Schroeder was elected to the Advisory Board as a new member….
Huntingburg Council: Solar Park passes zoning and subdivision hurdles
[gview file=”https://duboiscountyfreepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Proposed-Solar-Park-per-Huntingburg.pdf”%5DIn Tuesday night’s Huntingburg Common Council meeting, the council passed Ordinance 2016-05 that changes the zoning on 11.02 acres of land on the west side of Huntingburg to allow for the construction of a solar park that will provide electricity through Indiana Municipal Power Agency. Several Huntingburg residents have appeared before the planning commission…
Dubois County Community Foundation CEO announces resignation
Dubois County Community Foundation CEO Brad Ward announced he will be resigning from the foundation to take a position as Director of Community Philanthropy at the Washington D.C. based Council on Foundations. Ward and his wife Cara and daughter, Finley, will continue to live in Jasper. According to Ward, being able to remain in his…
Schuetter calls for better election procedure
Wayne Schuetter wants to see a bit more oversight in the process used for the types of ballots that led to him losing to incumbent Mayor Terry Seitz in the 2015 election. The deadline to appeal the special recount election commission’s decision to throw out a vote that conceded the victory to Seitz passed last…
Huntingburg’s solar park sent to council for approval
[gview file=”https://duboiscountyfreepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Proposed-Solar-Park-per-Huntingburg.pdf”%5D Several Huntingburg residents appeared before the Huntingburg Planning Commission to remonstrate plans for a new solar park on Phoenix Drive. Despite this, the planning commission approved the subdivision of 11.02 acres from a 40-acre plot to be used for the solar park. The Huntingburg Common Council will consider the subdivision as well as the…
Jasper swears in two new officers
The City of Jasper swore in two new officers this morning. Kaleb Chambers, 23, and Aaron Schmitt, 22, will head off to the Southwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy after conducting their agility and physical testing this week. The two will graduate from the academy May 27. Kaleb’s father, retired Jasper Det. Sgt. Rick Chambers pinned…
Holland Commons among six Dubois County Bicentennial Legacy projects
Two additional Dubois County projects have been listed as Indiana Legacy Projects for the state’s bicentennial celebration. The Indiana Bicentennial Commission is currently endorsing projects across the state that highlight the best of Indiana. The designation as a Bicentennial Legacy Projects will be used to promote and support those various community projects and programs. The…
Local event and discussion: Keeping Hoosier students in Indiana’s workforce
Two out of every five jobs in Dubois County are in the manufacturing sector. Those jobs pay more than $41,000 a year, on average. Yet, there are jobs across southwest Indiana and the state that remain unfilled due to a lack of qualified or available applicants. That’s why the Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) is partnering…
Annual Soil and Water Conservation meeting features Dr. Fred Whitford
The Dubois County Soil and Water Conservation District is pleased to invite all County residents to its 70th Annual Meeting at the Huntingburg Event Center on Thursday, February 4 at 6:30 p.m. EST. The featured speaker is Fred Whitford. Whitford is an author, Purdue professor and Director of the Purdue Pesticide Program. Dr. Whitford will…
