Town offers deal to save historic church
CUMBERLAND — Cumberland town officials are dangling financial incentives in front of the congregation of St. John United Church of Christ in hopes of buying time to save the historic church from being knocked down.
Town officials have suggested they might provide the church — whose members say the building in the 11000 block of East Washington St. needs repairs they can’t afford — a monthly stipend for six months to delay demolition of the 101-year-old structure. During that time, town officials would seek a buyer for the building.
At a meeting between the groups Wednesday, church leaders gave town officials two weeks to finalize a financial offer.
Church officials have been trying to sell the site for years. An offer from a Pittsburgh developer fell through earlier this year amid controversy about the company’s plan to raze the building.
Church members plan to vacate the church in early October and move into a temporary location until a new facility can be built. Upon their exit, they say, they will demolish the old church and sell the land, which has been approved for commercial use.
Convicted child molester wants trial moved
GREENFIELD — A convicted child molester accused of assaulting a young boy in a public restroom early this year has taken issue with news reports noting he is a sex offender and said such negative coverage should qualify him to have his trial moved out of Hancock County.
An attorney for David Paterson, who faces a felony charge of child molesting, has filed a motion asking Hancock County Superior Court 1 Judge Terry Snow to change the venue of his client’s trial, claiming residents in the area might be biased or prejudiced against him because of media reports of the case.
Bradley Keffer of Indianapolis, Paterson’s attorney, did not specify where he would prefer the case be heard. One of the media accounts he included as evidence is a nearly 20-page transcript of an episode of “Nancy Grace,” which would have been seen by viewers across the country.
Paterson was arrested in March after a 7-year-old boy said a man he didn’t know touched him inappropriately in the men’s restroom at Walmart in Greenfield, police said.
The boy told his mother and police that the man climbed into the stall he was using while they were alone in the restroom, according to court documents.
Officer saves overdose victim
FORTVILLE — The Fortville Police Department is crediting the quick thinking of an officer and access to an overdose-reversing drug with saving the life of a Fortville resident.
Patrol officer Jordan Conley was called to assist the Vernon Township Fire Department after a person was found unresponsive at a home on South Oak Street in Fortville at 7:30 p.m. Monday, police said.
Conley evaluated the patient and observed signs of an overdose, police said. He then retrieved a unit of Narcan from his patrol car and administered the medicine to the patient, reversing the effects of the overdose.
Narcan is a brand name of the prescription drug naloxone. If administered properly and in time, naloxone can reverse the effects of a prescription opioid or heroin overdose.
