The Indiana Publisher

Publisher The Indiana Volume 84, Issue 9 • September 2019 Published on second Thursday monthly Indiana publishers gathered Friday to discuss the continual attacks on the principle of published public notices as a vital element of government transparency and strategies to combat legislative efforts to move the notices to government websites. Roundtable discussions by those newspaper executives created a lengthy list of ways publishers can better engage and educate their local senators and representatives on the importance of public notices and ways to better educate their commu- nities on the value of published public notices. Hoosier State Press Association Board of Directors president Pat Lanman, publisher of Vevay Newspapers Inc., called the Public Notice Summit in the wake of the 2019 legislative session. H.B. 1212, which would have eliminated the publication requirement of notices of sheriff's sales (mortgage foreclo- sures), was passed in the House and only died in the Senate Local Government Committee by a single vote. The Indiana statute mandating the publication of public notices joins the Open Door Law and Access to public Records Act as the foundation supporting the public's right to know what its government is either doing or contemplating. "Unfortunately, many govern- Attacks on public notices focus of publishers summit Indiana advertising and news professionals gathered in September to celebrate the out- standing work produced at news- papers across the state. HSPA's annual Advertising Conference and Awards Gala took place on Friday, Sept. 13 at The Nest Event Center in Greenwood, Indiana. Presenters included the 2018 Distinguished Service Award honoree Pete VanBaalen and top ad sales coach and motivational speaker Ryan Dohrn who encour- aged attendees to be focused and efficient in their relationships with clients. After a day of workshops, con- ference goers attended the annual awards dinner which included recognition for the state's top advertising designers: Matthew Haycraft of The Press-Dispatch (Petersburg) for Nondaily and Amanda Waltz of AIM Media Indiana for Daily Newspapers. Indiana's Top Sales Professional is Jane Barton of AIM Media Indiana. Barotn and Julie Daiker of the Daily Reporter (Greenfield) shared top honors for Best Use of Graphics while Best of Show Publication honors went to Chad Sisk and Amanda Waltz also from the Daily Reporter (Greenfield). Kelly Nelson of the Parke County Sentinel (Rockville) was awarded Best of Show Ad for work titled, "Family Health and Help." Former HSPA President Chuck Wells was given the Distinguished Service Award for outstanding ser- vice to the newspaper industry. On Saturday, Sept. 14, news professionals arrived at the Nest Awards honor outstanding news, advertising work ""The time has ended for newspapers to take public notices for granted," " Steve Key HSPA executive director, general counsel See Awards, pages 12-13 See Summit, page 11 This week's highlights ■ Addiction declared a public health crisis B2 ■ Board fields complaints about signage A7 Subscribe Brown County Democrat, P.O. Box 277, Nashville, IN 47448 Contact us Have a story idea? Call 812-988-2221 or email newsroom@bcdemocrat.com. Brown County Democrat 148th year, Issue No. 18 | bcdemocrat.com Nashville, Indiana | $1.00 May 2, 2018 TAKE NOTE Local man pleads guilty to attempted murder A local man charged with two counts of attempted murder who was sched- uled to go to trial April 30 has pleaded guilty instead to two Level 1 felonies. Joshua E. Asher, 32, pleaded guilty on April 23. Sentencing was set for 8:30 a.m. Thursday, June 7 and is expected to last around four hours, according to online court records. In addition to two Level 1 felony counts of attempted murder, Asher also was charged with two counts of aggravated battery, Level 3 felonies; domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor; torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal, a Level 6 felony; and inva- sion of privacy, a Class A misdemeanor. The charges stem from when police arrested Asher on Aug. 23, 2016, after they said he fired a gun at two women until the gun was empty. Asher shot his ex-girlfriend, Angel Mack, in her right thigh and foot, police said. Nicole Hillen, a friend of Mack's, sustained a surface gunshot wound to the chest. Both survived. The women told police that Asher told them, "You're going to die," but Asher told police he did not intend to hurt his ex-girlfriend. He told officers that he believed Mack was seeing another man. Police said Asher also shot a dog in the leg. He said he went to the home on Lucas Hollow Road and hid by the creek across the drive. When he saw Mack and Hillen pull up in a van, he said he fired one shot to "let them know he was there," then continued to fire as he came toward them, the police report said. The women's neighbor and landlord told police that he saw Asher walking down Lucas Hollow. He said Asher walked up, hugged him and handed him a 9mm handgun. Another resident of Lucas Hollow reported to officers that Asher told him he had shot two people. Asher told police he knew what he did was wrong and that a friend had tried to talk him out of doing it before he went to the home, the report said. According to Indiana Code, a Level 1 felony carries a sentencing range of 20 to 40 years with an advisory sentence of 30 years in the Department of Corrections. Asher also could face fines up to $10,000. Asher was also charged in January 2017 with 14 counts of invasion of privacy. That case is still scheduled to go before a jury on Aug. 1 at 8 a.m. with a final pre-trial conference on July 16 at 8:30 a.m. Moore also repre- sents Asher in that case. ASHER Access Brown County working to raise $10,000 in 1 day THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC A D D I C T E D & D Y I N G Substance, drug addiction's effects on county children BY SUZANNAH COUCH | THE DEMOCRAT scouch@bcdemocrat.com A t first, she tried to stay strong for her grand- children. But finally, Melissa Tatman broke down with them. The mother the kids were crying for was her daughter, too. She wasn't in their lives as she struggled with addiction. "We cry together. 'I know you want your mom. I want your mom.' That's my little girl out there, and I don't know where she's at, so we just cry together." Tatman is currently raising three of her grandchildren. Their mother, Tatman's oldest daughter, has been more than 90 days clean from heroin now. She gave birth to a baby boy less than a year ago, and he was born addicted. The Department of Child Services became involved and he went to live with Tatman. "She had overdosed twice during her pregnancy with him. He was born with some complica- tions. He is just a miracle child," Tatman said. Tatman and the baby spent the first five weeks in a bedroom together. "There was oxygen, there was monitors. There's other kids in the house, so I was worried about cross-contamination. We literally spent five weeks in the bedroom before I really felt safe to bring him out," she said. Grandmother raising three children as daughter battles addiction Opioid conference planned in Brown County TOGETHER' 'WE JUST CRY Pictured: Melissa Tatman holds her infant grandson after a Battlefield for Freedom meet- ing at New Life Community Church on March 27. Tatman has been the guardian of the baby and two other grandchildren as her daughter works on her recovery from heroin ad- diction. Tatman started the recovery ministry at New Life Community Church. Formerly ad- dicted to drugs herself, she has been sober since 2002. SUZANNAH COUCH | THE DEMOCRAT BY SARA CLIFFORD AND SUZANNAH COUCH | THE DEMOCRAT sclifford@bcdemocrat.com, scouch@bcdemocrat.com W hen a parent is arrested on drug charges, the adult often goes to jail. For the child left behind, life changes, too. Mom or dad is sud- denly gone. Another adult, typically a rela- tive, is put in charge of the child's care. That could mean picking up and moving to a new house, a new town, a new school district. At the very least, "you've got service providers, therapists, people in the court. Suddenly you've got 16 to 20 people, strangers, appearing in their lives, and appointment after appointment after appointment, and everything feels like it's out of control," INSIDE A LOOK AT CHILDREN PLACED WITH CHILD SERVICES P A G E A 1 2 (SEE GRANDMOTHER PAGE A11) (SEE CHILDREN PAGE A12) BY SARA CLIFFORD | THE DEMOCRAT sclifford@bcdemocrat.com By Sunday, May 6, Access Brown County supporters are hoping to have $10,000 in their hands. Through a matching grant, that $10,000 can turn into $20,000, and help sustain the bus service which helps thou- sands of local people get to work, doctor's appointments and other errands inside and outside the county. On Sunday, May 6, Access advocates are asking area churches to participate in the fund drive by placing enve- lopes in their programs. However, anyone can make a donation at any time in person or by mail to the Brown County YMCA, where the Ac- cess dispatch office is, said Y Executive Director Kim Robinson. She also handles the day-to-day administration for Access. The Nashville Town Council declared May 6 Access Brown County Day in order to raise awareness of the fundraising need. Access Brown County started operating in 2009 after local people worked for eight years to fill this gap in local ser- vices. In 2004, it was identified as the second-biggest need in Brown County in the Commu- nity Wide Needs Assessment. Demand for the service has only increased. Access took on 2,892 riders in 2014; in 2017, the total for the year was 10,770. Getting to and from work is the second-most popular reason riders take the Access bus, behind undefined "other" uses. Senior citizens use the ser- vice the most. They accounted for 4,203 riders in 2017. Access' annual budget is about $75,000, Robinson said. The biggest expense is staff, which runs close to $50,000, she said. In addition to the matching INSIDE: How to help Access Brown County. Page A9 (SEE ACCESS PAGE A8) FAST AS EAGLES Runners nearly break school record Brown County Democrat sports | A9 Commissioner candidates answer questions LOCAL | A7 #DOSOMETHING A D D I C T E D & D Y I N G | B 1 HSPA Executive Director Steve Key answers questions from Bud Hunt (left) of AIM Media and Larry Bemis (right) of the Parke County Sentinel (Rockville) during the Sept. 13 publishers summit. Indiana newspaper executives discuss ways to better educate, engage legislators & public MUELLER REPORT: Trump campaign did not coordinate with Russia in 2016, but investigation has no definitive answer on whether president obstructed justice THE MUELLER REPORT • NATION, PAGE B5 INDEX: Weather, A8 | Nation & World, B5 | MAD Life, A7 | Local & State, A3 | Obituaries, A4 | Comics, B8 | Classifieds, B7 Page designer: Patrick Caldwell TheHeraldBulletin.com MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019 $1.00 Casino bill gets local leaders' support A NDERSON — Local civic and c om mu n it y le ader s a re u r g i ng passage of legislation that could transform the gambling industry in Indiana and Anderson. The legislation passed by the Indi- ana Senate and scheduled for a vote in the House Public Policy Commit- tee this week would allow for the locating of a casino in Terre Haute, the relocation of a casino in Lake County, and sports betting. What is important to Anderson and Madison Count y is a prov i- sion that will allow live dealers at Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino starting as soon as July. Currently, live dealers, instead of a computer simulation for such table games as "Black Jack," are scheduled to take effect in 2021. Harrah's officials, the owners of the Anderson and Shelbyville horse tracks and casinos, have said that live dealers will create 650 jobs and additional investment in the facili- ties. The proposal could create 300 jobs in Anderson. Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, a co -sponsor of t he legislation, believes there is a strong chance the bill will make it to the governor's desk for final approval. "There will be changes," she said of the legislation. "That will be deter- mined in a conference committee." Austin said if the bill is approved in the Public Policy Committee it will be sent to the House Ways and Means Committee, which will deal with revenues. She said there is support for a casino in Terre Haute but concerns have been raised about moving a casino in Lake County away from Lake Michigan. "It's all a moving target," Austin said. Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, a Senate co-sponsor, said the legisla- tion should pass. BY KEN DE LA BASTIDE T H E H E R A L D B U L L E T I N It would allow for live dealers at casinos including Hoosier Park Work begins on memorial park to honor slain teen girls DELPHI — Driving by the Abby and Libby Memorial Park site on the Hoo- sier Heartland Highway, one might not recognize a park being built, or even much work being done. But that's about to change. Leveling and site work recently began to build a memorial park in honor of Libby German and Abby Wil- liams, two teenage girls murdered in Carroll County just two years ago. In honor of the girls, the L. & A. Park Foundation Fund was established through the Carroll County Com- munity Foundation. The purpose of the foundation is to commemorate the lives of Libby German and Abby Williams by creating a place for the appreciation of nature, art, play and athleticism. "The park will never replace what was taken from us," said Eric Erskin, L. & A. board member and the grand- father of Abby Williams. "The girls' BY QUENTIN BLOUNT C N H I N E W S I N D I A N A Libby German and Abby Williams were murdered 2 years ago Libby German Abby Williams See MEMORIAL on A2 BY TRACI L. MILLER T H E H E R A L D B U L L E T I N S washbuckling movie characters step aside, there is a trove of hidden treasure buried within our community for you to explore. Each year The Herald Bulletin releases an annual report on everything from crime to business. This year we have included a special collection of stories to highlight the people and places of our past. From a map of little known historical sites to the highlights of men and women who were born or lived here. There are stories of bravery like Melvin Earl "Bud" Biddle who received the Medal of Honor in the United States Army for his actions in World War II. Or Kris Roe, who formed a rock band in Anderson and is best known for the hit cover song, originally recorded by Don Henley, "The Boys of Summer." And then there are bone-chilling tales like that of Lowell "Ed" Amos who has been featured on television as the "Black Widower." Discover why Madison County and our sur- rounding communities are treasured and how the people who lived here helped change history. Learn how the county is faring, and delve into Madison County's hidden treasures More online Discover the rich past of Madison County and 80 of its historic hidden treasures in an audio tour of the county's townships, narrated by Madison County Historian Stephen Jackson. Hear fascinating facts and surprising stories about sites you drive by every day without knowing their importance to the area's history. Find this treasure exclusively at heraldbulletin. com/hiddentreasures. SPECIAL EDITION INSIDE I N D I A N A G E N E R A L A S S E M B LY See CASINOS on A2 Terri Austin Tim Lanane Anderson Democrats are both co-sponsors of Indiana legislation set for a vote in House Public Policy Committee this week The Brown County Democrat (Nashville) was named 2019 Nondaily Blue Ribbon Newspaper and the Herald Bulletin (Ander- son) was named 2019 Daily Blue Ribbon Newspaper at the Sept. 14 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Luncheon.

• Cover