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BREAKING NEWS: Storm causes damage in eastern Greene
(Local News ~ 05/26/11)
Greene County Daily World Assistant Editor Nick Schneider was on the scene in eastern Greene County at 7 a.m. today surveying the damage caused by Wednesday night's storm. He said there is a tree on a church in Hobbieville, and several trees down in the Lawrence Hollow and eastern Eastern Greene schools area. There may be other damage as well...
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Sectional baseball game postponed until Friday
(High School Sports ~ 05/26/11)
The opening game of the Shakamak Class A Baseball Sectional 57 on Thursday has been postponed because of wet grounds. The Clay City vs. White River Valley game will now be played at 7 p.m. Friday, May 27.
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Worthington officials working to solve ground water problem
(Local News ~ 05/26/11)
WORTHINGTON -- Standing water, flooded basements, swarming mosquitos, moisture-damaged floors, mold and ducks swimming in front yards were on the minds of more than two dozen Worthington residents who came out Wednesday night to a public forum hosted by the town council. The purpose of the meeting was to answer questions, give the residents an update on what the council is doing to try and alleviate an ongoing water problem that isn't catching any slack with recent severe storms and heavy rainfall. The council members listened and caught an earful of disdain from the residents who in no uncertain terms said they were fed up with standing water nearly every time it rains and the town's park is almost unusable because it's flooded. "We've got so many bugs we can't even sit on our porch for 30 seconds," Marsha Simpson told the council. She blames the problem in her neighborhood near the town park on some work done by state highway officials that closed up a culvert under her driveway. Simpson said the water is creating mold and bacteria problems that is causing respiratory problems among her family members. "I know it (the water) is making our life hell," she stressed. "I'm passed being tired of it." Resident Ada Lynn, who lives off of Terre Haute Road on the other side of town, echoed the same concerns. "We've got bugs out our wazzo," she said in pointing out that she's experienced fire coming out of her electrical outlets because of the moisture. Lynn said there are snakes galore in her neighborhood that she never saw before and she can't even mow her grass now because her yard never dries out. Patty Cobble said she has "three feet of water in her yard" nearly every time it rains. Council president Gregg Roudebush moderated the meeting and was able to offer the resident little in the way of promises, but he pointed out that town officials are experimenting with a couple of "fix" that might solve the problem. Roudebush outlined the situation saying the town has three systems -- the old sanitary sewer system that was shutdown in 1999; a new sanitary sewer system; and the first phase of a new storm water system that was completed in the past year. The old sanitary sewer system used to take sewage and ground water out of the town to what he called the "Ox Bowl" on the south side of town. Indiana Department of Environmental Protection (IDEM) officials then required the town to install a new wastewater treatment plant to stop the infiltration of the ground water. Since then, when there is a heavy rainfall and residents use sump pumps to drain their basements, the system can no longer handle the amount of water. In essence, the town is "filling up with water," Roudebush explained. When it rains, instead of pumping 40 gallons a minute, the system is pumping more than 200 gallons a minute -- which is overloading the system, he said. Residents weren't offered any immediate plan that will fix the problem, but Roudebush said he and others are trying some tests that might offer a solution. They are attempting to hook into the town's old sanitary sewer system to provide an outlet for the surface runoff water. "We used just to have a drain on the side of our house where the downspout ran into the sewer. All the water in Worthington ran out into the sanitary system. We built the new treatment plant. It (the infiltration of water) had to stop." The new wastewater system installed last year is not going to take water out of the ground. It handles nothing but rainwater as it lands on the streets and runs into grates and then it runs out to a ditch that goes out south of town. "The problem everybody has right now since we started taking the ground water out with the old sewer system, basically the town is filling up with water," Roudebush said. On Monday, at Dayton Street and Terre Haute Road, a pump was set up that is trying to bring the old sewer system back on line. They are doing test pumping to see if old water can be pulled out of the old sewer system and pumped into the storm water system. The town is also trying to pump from a location at Myra Street and Terre Haute Road, but there is a risk. "We still have some concerns about sand loss. If we start pulling water out of the old sewer system. If it starts bringing sand and stuff with it, we could start having cave-ins in the streets," he said. "All I can tell you folks is we are not going to open the new sewer system up to take ground water. It is not going to happen. IDEM will not let us do it."
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Trio arrested in Jasonville on gun thefts after vehicle break-in spree
(Local News ~ 05/26/11)
Three men are behind bars after Jasonville Police Department officers worked quickly and recovered two stolen handguns within 24 hours of them being taken in a rash of vehicle break-ins that occurred early Tuesday morning. Arrested were: of Sullivan, for possession of a handgun a class A misdemeanor and theft a class D felony. Bond was set at $5,000...
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County residents continue to open hearts and pocketbooks for Joplin tornado victims
(Local News ~ 05/26/11)
Greene County residents continue to open their hearts and their pocketbooks to help the tornado victims in the Joplin, Mo., area. The relief effort, organized by R&R Trucking Company, a defense contractor at NSA Crane that ships munitions and military supplies across the county, continues to fill up semi-trailer loads of supplies...
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New system in place to assist storm victims with reporting damage
(Local News ~ 05/26/11)
There is a new system put in place to assist residents of Greene County take the next step to receiving help from storm damage. "211, a telephone information referral service for health and human services, has offered to assist in filing damages reports for Greene County with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security," Roger Axe of Greene County Emergency Management Agency said...
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Storms pound eastern Greene County neighborhood
(Local News ~ 05/26/11)
Strong storms roared through eastern Greene County toppling trees, flattening mobile homes, damaging barns and other structures Wednesday night. The hardest hit area was in the rural residential subdivision of Lawrence Hollow, located off of State Road 54 -- about a mile east of the Eastern Greene Elementary and Middle School campus. Greene County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Major Mike Hasler said between eight and 11 mobile homes sustained damage when the second of the two evening storms went through about 10 p.m. There were no reported injuries. In Lawrence Hollow residents were busy Thursday morning surveying the damage and talking with neighbors. Most were thankful the damage wasn't worse. The storm came and left quickly. "It was like a big roar with the high winds and then it was over and just raining," said Greg Harmon, who had seven trees toppled in his yard, including one that landed on top of his mobile home. Harmon's neighbor, Dave Tatum, had about half a dozen trees either knocked down or damaged. One had fallen on the back side of his mobile home. A short distance from Harmon's home a county roadway was completely blocked by downed trees and electrical lines. A car was under one of the trees. Looking west, there was another mobile home tangled in a web of trees, limbs and power lines. Neighbor Kim Byers said she heard what she thought was hail about 10 p.m. "I just heard a bunch of stuff hitting my house. It was limbs and stuff like that. It sounded like it was hail," she told the Greene County Daily World. Major Hasler said his deputies were busy after the storm passed. They closed several roads because of downed power lines and trees. "They (the deputies) went in and checked most of the residents to make sure everyone was OK. We had so many trees down so they just closed the roads until today (Thursday) to give them a chance to get it cleaned up in the daylight," Hasler explained. There was damage from County Road 800E all the way to the Monroe County line, Hasler said. The reported major damage came from Center, Beech Creek, Cass, Taylor and Jackson counties, according to Hasler. About five barns sustained damage. The roof from a metal barn located near Eastern School was blown into the middle of State Road 54 -- closing the busy highway for a period until fire and police crews were able to move it off of the roadway. Just across the highway, a residence also had downed trees and a pair of metal garage doors were damaged by the force of the wind that was estimated at more than 60 mph. Greene County was apparently spared major damage, unlike neighboring Lawrence and Monroe counties. An apparent tornado struck east of Bedford. At least a dozen people suffered minor injuries in Bedford and six others were taken to the hospital in Bloomington with non-life-threatening injuries after high winds struck a mobile home park in Bloomington. Two of the victims suffered head injuries, and county highway workers freed two children, ages 13 and 7, who had been trapped in one of the mobile homes, said Mike Pershing, chief deputy for the Monroe County Sheriff's Department. The number of tornadoes that struck the state wasn't expected to be known until the National Weather Service could send crews to survey the damage. But there were numerous reports of funnel clouds and touchdowns. Sgt. Brian Olehy of Indiana State Police said the same storm system that hit the east side of Bedford appears to have also caused damage about six miles away in adjacent Jackson County in the town of Norman. No injuries were reported there, he said. The National Weather Service reported baseball-sized hail and wind gusts of up to 70 mph were earlier reported in Greensburg. Officials at NSA Crane also reported baseball-sized hail during the Wednesday storm.
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UPDATED: Power restored in Jasonville
(Local News ~ 05/26/11)
The town of Jasonville is currently without power. This story will be updated.
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WRV inks new two-year master contract; makes assignments for called back teachers
(Local News ~ 05/26/11)
SWITZ CITY -- The White River Valley Board of School Trustees approved a new two-year contract with the White River Valley Teacher's Association at a special meeting Thursday night. The new pact gives teachers no raise for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years other than their normal increment pay adjustment. Increment pay is based on professional educational attainment and years of experience with the school corporation...
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Darnell hopes to bring new spark to Greene County Invitational
(High School Sports ~ 05/26/11)
The parent of a former Eastern Greene basketball standout and an area tradition have joined forces to bring positive changes. Ray Darnell, father of 2011 Eastern Greene graduate Ray Darnell, and his company Raydar and Associates, have taken up the corporate banner of the Greene County Invitational...
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Sectional delayed again by the weather
(High School Sports ~ 05/26/11)
Due to heavy rain that hit the area Thursday, postseason baseball and softball sectional games were postponed. At the Class A Clay City softball sectional, the semifinals will now be played at 5 and 7 p.m. Friday. The championship game will be at 7 p.m. Saturday...
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Local athletes compete at track and field regionals
(High School Sports ~ 05/26/11)
There were four boys from Greene County that competed Thursday at two area track and field regionals. At the Evansville Central Regional, Grant Stamm of Linton-Stockton qualified for the finals in the 110 meter high hurdles. Stamm, who was timed at 16.01 seconds at last week's Terre Haute North Sectional, finished eight overall with a time of 15.7...
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Britton named new Bloomfield basketball coach
(Local News ~ 05/26/11)
Former Bloomfield basketball stand-out Matt Britton is now the Cardinals' newest varsity roundball coach. Hired Thursday in a 7-0 vote by school trustees, Britton, a 1996 Bloomfield High School graduate, replaces John Bucher, who resigned April 28. He'll also serve as the junior high science teacher, a job he's held elsewhere for three years...
Stories from Thursday, May 26, 2011
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