Teens to explore career options at local businesses
HANCOCK COUNTY — For students entering high school, the pressures of mapping out the four years ahead of them — as well as those that follow — can be an overwhelming process.
To help students navigate those decisions and understand the breadth of career options available to them in the real world, the Hancock County Career Success Coalition has organized a day for local high school students to meet with representatives from a wide array of local businesses, ask questions and tour their facilities.
On Oct. 28, freshmen from Greenfield-Central High School and New Palestine High School will load up on buses and tour a variety of local facilities during a career exploration day.
Family seeking damages in crash for daughter’s injury
GREENFIELD — Family members of a former Mt. Vernon student are suing the school corporation after their daughter sustained injuries in a bus accident four years ago, saying the district should be held responsible for the costs of her medical expenses, according to a complaint filed in Hancock Circuit Court.
McCordsville resident Jim Houser said his daughter was a fifth-grader aboard a Mt. Vernon Community Schools bus that slammed into another of the district’s buses one afternoon in May 2011, an incident that sent nearly 30 students to the hospital with minor injuries.
Years after the accident, an orthodontist found damage to his daughter’s jawbone consistent with mild blunt force trauma, he said. The only time the child would have suffered an injury of that nature was when she hit her mouth on a seat during the accident, Houser said.
She was 11 at the time.
County to borrow $2 million for projects amid controversy
GREENFIELD — The Hancock County Council on Wednesday voted to borrow nearly $2 million for building and maintenance repairs, despite pleas from residents to consider other options.
After a public hearing on the matter that morning, the council voted unanimously — council member Kent Fisk was absent — to borrow money for the third time in four years.
Facility studies have identified nearly $8 million of work that needs to be done to bring county-owned buildings up to par. About $1.4 million of the bond will go toward the jail, where roof repairs and plumbing maintenance are sorely needed, officials said.
Driver who hit house jailed, pays for damages to property
GREENFIELD — A man who crashed his SUV into a house with three people inside, including a toddler, while high on “spice” has been ordered to pay the homeowners as part of an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, according to court records.
Thomas R. Bowman, 52, of Greenfield, was sentenced this week in Hancock County Superior Court 2 to serve six months in jail and spend two years on probation after pleading guilty to a Level 6 felony charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
An additional felony and two misdemeanor charges Bowman faced were dismissed, according to court records.
Terms of the plea deal dictate that Bowman’s driver’s license will be suspended for the next year, and he’ll pay reimbursement to those who were in the home at the time of the crash, court records state. That amount will be decided at a special hearing scheduled for Nov. 25.
