Stories from Monday, July 23, 2012

Dr. E. M. 'Ed' Benjamin, D.D.S., 84, of Worthington, passed away at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, July 22, 2012 at his residence. He was born Sept. 29, 1927 in Worthington, to Clarren and Mary (Meiring) Benjamin. He was a dentist in Worthington for more than 50 years, graduating from I. ...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The NCAA slammed Penn State for the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal Monday with an unprecedented series of penalties, including a $60 million fine and the loss of all the school's victories from 1998-2011, knocking Joe Paterno from his spot as major college football's winningest coach...

TERRE HAUTE -- Despite the final outcome of the 2012 American Legion baseball sectional, the weekend wasn't a total loss for Sullivan Post 139. "For us to play four games in four days and come out 2-2 is very respectable for our program," Post 139 coach Craig Klitz said. "The kids did a great job, especially against Washington."...

The Bloomfield Crusherz 14U Softball team recently continued their successful season by going undefeated and winning the Team Appreciation tournament in Terre Haute. Team members include (from row, from left) Alli Workman, Malee Sparks, Marisa McIntosh, Felicity Graf and Kelsey Moody. ...

Diamond Electric was the Rookie League champs in 2012. They were regular season and city tournament champs, finishing with a 14-0 record. Team members include (front row, from left) Palmer Jerrell, Gabe Moronez, Tyler Henico and Devon Robinson. The middle row (from left) includes Joey Hart, Cameron Goodman, Brennen Martin, Gavin Roberts, Jaydan Miller and Ayden Riggleman. ...

New Linton-Stockton girls cross country coach Bill Doyle will conduct the first practice of the season on Monday, July 30 at 7 p.m. at Humphreys Park. Runners are remided that athletic physicals need to be completed prior to the first practice.

White River Valley High School boys tennis coach Roger Maryfield would like to remind players that practice will start Monday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Players have to have a complete physical form on file in the high school office to be able to participate...

The Linton -Stockton Miner coaching staff will host their annual youth camp, the first three Saturdays in August from 10 a.m. until noon on Aug. 4, 11 and 18. Children in K-6 are invited to participate. Cost is $10 per child and everyone who signs up will receive a camp T-shirt...

Bloomfield High School boys tennis practice will start Monday, July 30, from 8 to 10 a.m. Players must have their athletic physicals completed before they will be permitted to practice.

LINTON POLICE DEPARTMENT ACTIVITY LOG The Linton Police Department activity log for July 20 to the 22 included: One refusal to leave; two frauds; two illegal burns; one title check; two follow-up investigations; two information requests; two utility assists after hours; one civil complaint; one repossessed vehicle; three accidents with property damage; one funeral escort; four medical/illness; two animal complaints; four suspicious vehicles/persons; four assists to other agencies; one harassment complaint; one theft; three welfare checks/concerns; one fire department assistance; one animal/canine removal; one domestic/neighbor; and 20 traffic stops.. ...

Russell E. "Peck" Cox, 82, of Dugger, passed away at 8:08 a.m. on Monday July 23, 2012 at Terre Haute Regional Hospital. He was born in Sullivan County on March 21, 1930 the son of Noble Cox and Gertie Hale Cox. Russell was a Korean War Army veteran, and retired from Crane Navel Weapon Support Center. He was a member of the Whosoeverwill Church, Dugger American Legion Post 224, and Dugger Masonic Lodge 721...

GREENE CIRCUIT COURT Civil Filings LVNV Funding LLC as assignee for Bank of America vs. David Myers, civil collection. Mary Jackson vs. Donald Patrick, civil tort. GREENE SUPERIOR COURT Civil Filings Asset Acceptance vs. Lindel Anderson, civil collection...

Tuesday Wednesday, July 25 Thursday, July 26 Friday, July 27 Saturday, July 28 Sunday, July 29 Monday, July 30 Tuesday, July 31 Wednesday, Aug. 1 Friday, Aug. 3 Saturday, Aug. 4 Sunday, Aug. 5 Monday, Aug. 13 Tuesday, Aug. 14 Saturday, Aug. 18 Sunday, Aug. 26...

The ghoul can't help it: Sammy Terry's asking price for personal appearances has doubled, perhaps due to the high cost of living -- or dying -- and so Frightmares Haunted House aims to scare up some sponsors to bring the popular TV host here for Halloween...

A Linton man is facing two counts of theft after allegedly taking items from vehicles. Linton Police Department Officer Debbie McDonald-Miller was dispatched to 15th St. NW in Linton, regarding a radio missing out of a truck the morning of July 10. According to the probable cause filed with Greene Circuit Court, Danny Cox called police when he noticed the stereo was missing out of his vehicle...

SWITZ CITY -- The curtain dropped Saturday night on the 2012 Greene County 4-H and Open Class Fair with the staging of the annual Demolition Derby. Hundreds of ribbons, trophies and plaques were handed out to 4-H youngsters and Open Class Fair entrants...

A brush fire of unknown origin scorched approximately one acre of land belonging to the Linton Conservation Club on Monday, according to Linton Fire Chief Brad Sparks. Sparks said the fire, which was reported around 1:45 p.m., left the area near one of the ponds on the property with a large charred area and no further detectable damage...

Irene (Ayala) Denman, 70, of Linton, IN, passed away Friday, July 20, 2012, at Terre Haute Regional Hospital in Terre Haute, IN. She was born on October 20, 1941, in Beeville, TX, to Juan and Lupe (Mareno) Ayala. Irene was a loving mother and grandmother. She enjoyed taking care of her grandchildren and going to yard sales. Her family called her "The Yard Sale Queen"...

Luann Kohler Shonk loved the flowers, and the friends who made them happen. The local lawyer still hasn't made it home to see her garden grow. Two weeks bedridden on a respirator means she's now facing physical rehabilitation at Terre Haute's Union Hospital...

The Linton-Stockton School Corp. Board of Trustees unanimously approved a trio of projects which entail a corporation-wide overhaul as well as a two-stage expansion of the middle school adding eight classrooms. The expected cost of the trio of projects will be $6 million -- $2 million for each, financed through the issue of state education bonds...

The Greene County Prosecutor's Office has asked for more time to investigate an intimidation case after a warrant was issued and executed on the wrong man. According to a probable cause affidavit filed with Greene Superior Court, Greene County Sheriff's Department Deputy David Miller was dispatched to a residence in Switz City on May 26 regarding a verbal argument taking place. When Miller arrived on scene, Dale Hasket said Steven Myers -- whom Hasket identified as the uncle to his child's mother -- got out of his vehicle, a Chevrolet 1500 4x4, and started screaming obscenities and threats, including "I am going to get out of this truck and slit your throat." Class D felony intimidation charges were brought against Myers, but the Steven Myers who was picked up by the Linton Police Department was a 61-year-old man battling cancer. His wife, P.J. Myers looked on in horror when LPD Officers Debbie McDonald-Miller, Thomas Jerrels and Michael Watts showed up at her door around 11 p.m. on July 17 to arrest her husband, just as she was heading to bed. "I told them (officers) this is the most Godly man on the planet. You are making a mistake," Myers said. Before she could even let police see her husband, P.J. Myers had to help her husband out of bed and assist him as he got dressed. She said his physical condition left him incapable of moving from the bed on his own. Steven Myers -- with no middle initial -- has stage 4B colorectal cancer, which has moved to his "whole trunk area," according to his wife. She said not only do they not own a Chevy 1500, but Steven has been unable to drive for about two years. Her horror intensified as she was not allowed to send his pain medication or give him a drink of water before he was sent to the Greene County Jail. "I told the police, 'I want you to know before you take him away, Steve is a cancer victim. He is on chemo and his immune system is down.' I said don't put him in a cell," P.J. Myers recalled. She was able to get to the jail before he was placed in a cell to post his bond. LPD Chief Troy Jerrell said his officers had a feeling something was wrong when they arrived at the residence. "We picked the right person up for the warrant, (but) they filed against the wrong person ... whoever originally filed the charges for the warrant, it was the wrong person," Jerrell explained. "We called to confirm with them 'Is this the right person?' ... (the Linton officers who served the warrant) thought something was up. But, everything came back that it was him." Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw said Deputy Prosecutor Kevin McIntosh filed the probable cause, and the warrant was issued July 16. "The police investigate it. They bring the case to him (McIntosh) or (Deputy Prosecutor) Cheri (Stone) to review. They sign off on it, then it gets sent to the judge," Holtsclaw explained about the process of serving a warrant. "That's (the probable cause) -- I'm sure -- what the judge also relied on when issuing the warrant." McIntosh -- who was not in the office Monday afternoon -- dismissed the case Monday morning, and asked for an extension to investigate the case further. Both the suspect and the wrongly arrested man share a common name locally. Holtsclaw said, "We have five different Steven Myers in our system." Holtsclaw also added the probable cause states that Miller had visited Myers' residence to question him multiple times with no avail.

Several emotions flooded P.J. Myers as her husband was arrested last week, including embarrassment, confusion, and -- mostly -- fear. Steven Myers, 61, of Linton, was wrongly arrested by the Linton Police Department on a warrant July 17 in a class D felony intimidation case filed in Greene Superior Court...