Stories from Thursday, December 31, 2020

On Aug. 12, local pizza hotspot Goosepond Pizza announced their temporary shutdown due to one positive covid case among their staff members, which is our most-read story of 2020. After seeing a flood of questions from recent customers on Goosepond’s Facebook page, the Greene County Daily World reached out to Goosepond to help answer some of those questions...

The second most-read story of the year was the passing of two WRV students due to a car crash in Knox County on the morning of Dec. 18. WRV Superintendent Bob Hacker shared the passing of the two students, Braiden Haton and Ethan Hayes. According to the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, a dump truck traveling south driven by Terry Fish of Linton collided with a compact SUV traveling north carrying Ethan Hayes, 17, of Switz City and Braiden Haton, 18, of Worthington on State Road 67 at approximately 7 a.m Friday. ...

A tragic story about the robbery and shooting of a Worthington couple who ran a roofing company in Bloomfield came in at no. 3 for 2020. On Sept. 17, Jonathan Hochstetler was at a worksite on the 3000 block of North High School Road in Indianapolis when a tire blew on his work trailer at around 7 p.m. ...

A fire broke out in the evening of Oct. 27 when a pickup truck struck a utility pole on State Road 54 in Linton, near Pickin Dixons. No one was injured, and no one was inside Pickin Dixons at the time of the crash. Both the Linton Fire Department and Wright Township Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene...

A story about a gathering in Lyons over the summer was our fifth most-read story for 2020. At the time, (Aug. 28) the Greene County Health Department had released a report showing an uptick in COVID cases for the prior week. Out of Indiana’s 92 counties, Greene County was one of the six counties with a severe proportion of cases...

A story about a man arrested on school property comes in at No. 6. On Oct. 23 at approximately 8 a.m., the Greene County Sheriff’s department was dispatched to White River Valley High School on a report of a suspicious individual in the school parking lot...

The seventh most-read story of the year was Walmart becoming the largest retailer to require face coverings for shoppers in July, a topic that was heavily debated and made some shoppers unhappy, even threatening to stop shopping with the company. “To help bring consistency across stores and clubs, we will require all shoppers to wear a face-covering starting Monday, July 20,” Walmart US chief operating officer Dacona Smith and Sam’s Club chief operating officer Lance De La Rosa said in a blog post. ...

The eighth most-read story of the year commemorated the graduation of Chelsea Hineman, daughter of Jon Hineman and Michelle Lawson, both of Linton. Hineman graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree this spring. The college is one of only 30 veterinary schools in the United States...

A story published on June 19 was our ninth most-read story of 2020 which detailed rape allegations of a Greene County man. Former reserve officer with the Linton Police Department, Indiana Miller, 25, faces charges of Rape, a Level 3 felony, Sexual Battery, a Level 6 Felony and Battery, a class A misdemeanor. On February 10, the Indiana State Police received information of two separate incidents being reported where an individual had allegedly been a victim of sexual assault conducted by Miller...

Our tenth most popular story from 2020 was the retirement of Jerry and Gayle Margraf on Sept. 30, saying goodbye to a 31-year-long journey of owning the Linton McDonalds. Gayle and Jerry Margraf were both born and raised in Arcadia, Ohio, a small town of just 700 people. Jerry was the middle child of five brothers and one sister while Gayle was the oldest of her five sisters and one brother...

A Gallup poll conducted in November about whether U.S. citizens would get the COVID-19 vaccine found that 58% of people are willing to be vaccinated. The most common reason people said they would not get vaccinated is due to the speed with which the vaccine was created, following with wanting to confirm the vaccine is safe. This number is up from the same poll conducted in September that found only 50% of people would get vaccinated, which then decreased to 42% in October...

More than 500 students graduated from Ivy Tech Community College Terre Haute in December 2020, including many from Greene County. Graduates will enter a workforce that has been greatly impacted by COVID-19. Many will enter fields that will make a direct impact on public health and welfare in the Wabash Valley...

There will be no trash pick-up on New Years Day, trash will be picked up the following Monday, Jan. 4. The Greene County Veterans’ Council will meet at 7 p.m. at the Greene County Community Event Center. The Carnegie Heritage & Arts Center of Greene County will hold its annual meeting at 5 p.m. at the Carnegie Center. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. Your comments will be welcomed...

Greene County man Steven A. Taylor II appeared for an initial hearing in superior court on Tuesday. Taylor, 21, has been charged with aggravated battery, a Level 3 Felony, battery resulting in serious injury, a Level 5 Felony, and residential break and enter the dwelling, a Level 6 felony...

David Elliott, age 76, of Linton, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, at home surrounded by his family. He was born at home near Marco, Indiana on Jan. 1, 1944, the son of Laina & Sarah Marie (Owen) Elliott. He was a graduate of L&M High School. ...