Ripley Publishing Company

January 22, 2013

Sheriff's office makes heroin,
drug related arrests

Arrests made at a Pierceville residence on Saturday, January 19 saw three men jailed for drugs and other charges. Heroin was seized along with drug paraphernalia.

According to information released from the Ripley County Sheriff's Office, three agencies worked together conducting an extended drug investigation to culminate in search warrant/arrest warrants being issued.

Those arrested include Daniel T. Withered, 24, Pierceville, who was arrested on initial charges of Dealing in a Narcotic Drug and Dealing in a Substance represented to be a Narcotic Drug, both Class B felonies. Additional charges resulting from the search of his residence were: Possession of a Controlled Substance, Class D felony; Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Class D felony and Possession of Marijuana, Class A misdemeanor.

Also arrested were Russell J. Steinhauer, 23, Versailles and Christopher M. Thompson, 23, Milan, both charged with Visiting a Common Nuisance, a Class B misdemeanor.

Withered was taken to the Ripley County Jail where he was incarcerated without bond pending an initial court hearing. Both Steinhauer and Thompson were taken to the jail, and were incarcerated pending bond.

The sheriff's office, along with the Milan Police Department and the Indiana State Excise Police worked together on the investigation.

Sheriff Tom Grills noted, "Drugs have been a problem since I started in law enforcement in 1997 and they were here before then." He said since his election in 2006 he and his staff has been committed to taking drugs off the streets. "We, the sheriff's office, have always been working to combat the problem. My deputies, along with the citizens, should be given credit for our growing success in removing the problem. We, together, are making a difference."

Citizens are always encouraged to report drug activity, or suspicious activity to their local law enforcement.

The sheriff's office can be reached by calling 689-5558, the State Police at 689-5000 or a tip line that will go directly to the prosecutor's office at 1-855-812-DRUG where your calls will be anonymous.

Osgood reorganizes, works on trash complaints

Wanda English Burnett
Editor

The Osgood Town Council met for their organizational meeting on Jan. 8 and then for the regular meeting on Jan. 15. The council agreed unanimously to retain Linda Krinop as president of the council. They also agreed to keep the council meetings on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. to be held at the town hall.

Resolution 2013-1 and 2013-2 were unanimously approved as presented. These resolutions concern the town's need for cleaning services for the town hall, community center, and gas office on a regular basis. A contract for the cleaning services was presented to retain Jeanne DeBurger.

A motion was made to appoint the entire council as the Board of Public Works and Safety. This was followed with the proper meeting requirements and approved unanimously. It was also approved to retain all current superintendents in their respective position's within the town.

In other business:

• Mary Ann Gay, the town's attorney, was approved to be retained for the 2013 year.

• A contract was signed to provide fire protection services for Osgood residents through the Osgood Volunteer Fire Department.

• Osgood, along with the Jackson Center Delaware Fire Territory and the Osgood Volunteer Fire Department agreed to provide fire protection, emergency medical and extrication services for its residents.

• Mary McCarty with Southeastern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, asked for a signed application from the town council to pursue grant funding for the Industrial Park from the Rising Sun Regional Foundation.

• The council agreed to approve Mitchell & Stark's pay estimate #13 for $63,287.73 with retainage of $639.27 for the sewer project.

At the Jan. 15 meeting Nippon was approved as the new health insurance carrier for the town. This came at a savings of $337 per month over the previous carrier.

It was noted at the meeting that there have been multiple complaints about the trash pickup. Linkel Company has sold to Rumpke and now the complaints are coming in that the garbage is not being picked up. Steve Wilhoit has been in contact with Rumpke and will try to get these issues resolved. There was also an increase in garbage collection rates with a $3.00 per month, per unit, increase. This makes the rate now $8 per month, per unit.

Resolution 2013-6 was presented and approved. This has to do with the town owning a building and real estate located at 240 Wilson Street, which is used for economic development purposes. The town has entered into a lease agreement with Solarzentrum, NA, who has made numerous improvements to the premises. Those improvements will revert to benefit the town upon termination of the lease. It was made known that the town council desires to reimburse Solarzentrum, NA for the costs of improvements up to $70,000.

Wilhoit and Attorney Gay have been working together on the ADA requirements. It was noted that there will need to be some changes made to the town hall. Also, Willhoit has done an inventory of street signs in town that will need to be updated due to new state laws. He reported there are 93 intersections and 137 stop signs. The two will continue to work toward all requirements to be ADA compliant.

The meeting adjourned with the next regular meeting scheduled to take place February 19 at 7:00 p.m. at the Osgood Town Hall.

To read these and more articles pick up a copy of The Versailles Republican at your local store or subscribe by clicking on the link above or by calling 812-689-6364.

Ripley Publishing Company, Inc.

115 S. Washington Street P.O. Box 158 Versailles, Indiana 47042	Phone: (812) 689-6364 Fax: (812) 689-6508
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