New Palestine sex offender arrested on nudity charges
NEW PALESTINE — A convicted child molester was arrested Wednesday after residents spotted him walking through a New Palestine neighborhood without any pants on, police said.
Taylor Rainey, 21, of New Palestine, was arrested after police were called to first block of Sugar Creek Drive following reports from neighbors that a man was walking in the area half-naked.
One woman told police she saw Rainey, who was convicted of child molestation in 2013, standing on her deck and staring inside her bedroom.
She asked him why he was standing there with no pants on, and Rainey said he had run from a party that had been broken up by police, court documents state.
He asked her if he could come in and borrow some clothes.
She said she invited him inside and gave him sweatpants and a cigarette. She told police Rainey didn’t put the sweatpants on until she asked him to. She then asked him to leave her house and he did, documents state.
Police caught up with Rainey, who was hiding in a patch of weeds behind a nearby residence. They ordered him at gunpoint to appear from his hiding place, and he was taken into custody, court document state.
He faces charges of public nudity, voyeurism and fleeing law enforcement after the incident that ended in police drawing their guns.
Resisting law enforcement is a Class A misdemeanor; public nudity is a Class C misdemeanor, and voyeurism is a Class B misdemeanor.
Greeenfield-Hancock board of works selects shelter leader
GREENFIELD — The interim director of Greenfield-Hancock County Animal Management was appointed Tuesday to lead the department going forward.
Paul Miller of Greenfield stepped in to lead the department after longtime director Jeff Leffel resigned in February.
On Tuesday, Miller was appointed the department’s director by Greenfield Board of Works and Public Safety.
Animal management, 809 S. State St., serves the entire county and is responsible for sheltering lost and stray dogs and cats, finding families to adopt animals and investigating cases of animal cruelty. The facility houses about 25 dogs and 40 cats regularly.
Miller will manage a $480,000 budget and oversee five employees. He will be responsible for directing the daily operations of the department and enforcing all city, county and state laws regarding the treatment of animals.
Morristown Pike closed for bridge project
GREENFIELD — After several years of planning, county officials have finally broken ground on a bridge project they said will address traffic-flow issues, flooding and accidents along a well-traveled Greenfield thoroughfare.
Traffic has been blocked on Morristown Pike between county roads 100S and 300S as Hancock County road crews work to build a new bridge over Little Brandywine Creek, said Gary Pool, Hancock County highway engineer.
The new bridge will serve as a link, realigning Morristown Pike near two sharp curves at the intersections of Steele Ford Road and County Road 200S, making the roadway straighter and hopefully eliminating traffic-flow problems in the area, Pool said.
That portion of the road has been on the county’s radar for some time because accidents and flooding have increased, officials said. A federal matching grant became available three years ago and gave the county enough funding to replace the old bridge while realigning the road and making it safer.
Morristown Pike is expected to be closed for at least 90 days, Pool said. During this time, a detour will direct drivers to use Davis Road to State Road 9 to County Road 300S as an alternative route.
Federal dollars will pay for 80 percent of the project’s overall cost, county commissioner Brad Armstrong said. The county was required to chip in 20 percent, about $1.4 million.
