U.S. 40 stretch to be closed for sewer work
GREENFIELD — Drivers should brace for another downtown detour. On Monday, U.S. 40 will be closed between East and Spring streets for construction work related to the Potts Ditch relocation project.
The street, which serves as a main thoroughfare through Greenfield, likely will remained closed through the Riley Festival, which starts Oct. 1.
It’s the second major road closure in recent weeks as construction crews move along the project to reroute Potts Ditch, an underground drainage channel that for years has been prone to flooding. State Road 9 was opened last week after being closed for more than a month.
Man receives 27 months in prison for wire fraud scheme
INDIANAPOLIS — A McCordsville man pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court Monday.
David H. Essington, 45, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said in a news release issued Monday.
Essington was a businessman who day-traded in the futures market as a hobby, the release stated.
Essington passed himself off as a talented investor, and friends and family gave him money to invest for them — but much of that cash went into Essington’s pocket instead, officials said.
Town’s offer of $20,000 not enough for church officials
CUMBERLAND — An eleventh-hour offer of $20,000 from the town of Cumberland isn’t enough for St. John United Church of Christ leaders to delay their plans to raze the historic building.
Church leaders, who are in the process of vacating the 101-year-old structure in dire need of repair, say they plan to reject the offer. Cumberland town officials had hoped a monetary incentive would give them more time to find a buyer for the church who would revamp the building instead of tearing it down.
Church officials said they are gravely disappointed in the town’s proposal — $20,000 over the course of a year — that also would have given the town the right to refuse an offer on the building should church officials find a buyer whose plans the town didn’t approve. Church leaders estimate the offer is about $40,000 shy of what they would need to keep up with the building’s costs.
Area organizations compete at annual spelling bee
GREENFIELD — “Quinquennially” means something that happens for five years, or every five years, according to the dictionary; but the word itself brought Eli Lilly its third win in a row — and eighth since 2000 — in the Hancock County Adult Literacy Coalition’s 27th annual spelling bee conducted Tuesday night at the Hancock County Public Library.
Each year, the competition draws participants from local businesses and organizations who work as a team to correctly spell a given word. The community event serves as the largest fundraiser of the year for the literacy coalition, which primarily supports those working to obtain a high school equivalency diploma.