Top 10 Local News Stories Of 2015

By Mike Perleberg (Undated) - Lauren Hill's legacy, falls from grace, and traffic jams make up some of the top local news stories of 2015. Eagle Country 99.3 formed the list of the year's top stories - good or bad - based of each story’s impact, its longevity, and how popular it was on our website, www.EagleCountryOnline.com. Share your thoughts on our top local news stories of 2015 on Eagle 99.3’s Facebook page.   1. I-275 Carroll Cropper Bridge construction One of the many accidents that shut down the single lanes of the I-275 Carroll Cropper Bridge during a bridge deck reconstruction project. Photo provided. For more than eight months, the $6.7 million project to put a new bridge deck and lighting on the Carroll Lee Cropper Bridge took countless time and money from commuters and businesses in Eagle Country. If it wasn’t a Friday evening backup for folks driving the Interstate 275 bridge from Kentucky into Indiana, it was an oversized load (or two) getting lodged in the narrow lanes in a botched attempt to cross the bridge. Traffic flow on the bridge was restored to normal on December 15, about a month later than the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and contractors had originally planned for the bridge project to end. The biggest question for those crossing the smoother, safer bridge now? Why are the light posts on the Indiana side shorter than those on the Kentucky side?     2. Inspirational teen Lauren Hill dies Lauren Hill's teammates, coaches, and hundreds of fans gave a standing ovation at the conclusion of a memorial ceremony following the Greendale teen's untimely death in April. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3. Lauren Hill and everybody who heard her story knew it would happen eventually. That didn’t make saying goodbye any easier to the 19-year-old brain cancer warrior when she died on April 10, 2015. The community at-large created memorials at Lawrenceburg High School and Mt. St. Joseph University, Lauren’s alma maters. Hill’s story caught America’s attention in 2014 when she made her college basketball debut for the MSJ Lions women’s basketball team. Lauren’s legacy is still having an impact even after her death. Lauren’s family and The Cure Starts Now Foundation continue efforts to raise money for a cure for pediatric brain cancer, something Hill had hoped would lead to a home run cure for all cancers. “Lauren left us with a huge mission to carry forward and she was pretty heavy about it. She didn’t want to stop it. She didn’t want other kids to end up in her shoes,” Lisa Hill told Eagle Country 99.3 in June. Before she died, Hill wished for $2.2 million in fundraising. Thanks in part to a fundraiser held in conjunction with the inaugural Lauren Hill Tipoff Classic in November, The Cure Starts Now is only about $36,000 from achieving Lauren’s goal.     3. State Rep. Jud McMillin abruptly resigns State Rep. Jud McMillin resigned in September after a sexual video was sent to numerous people from his cell phone. Photo provided. Jud McMillin, a Republican from Brookville, was catapulting to the top of Indiana politics. Southeast Indiana had a go-to guy who proved he could accomplish things for his home district in the Indiana House of Representatives as the GOP supermajority’s floor leader. That all came to an end when McMillin unexpectedly resigned on September 29. McMillin’s outgoing statement said he wished to spend more time with his family. It wasn’t but a few hours later when media reports began to circulate stating that McMillin’s resignation was tied to the leak of a sexual video to numerous people from the lawmaker’s own cell phone. In a text to the people who had received the video, McMillin claimed that his phone “was stolen 24 hours ago in Canada.” He apologized for “anything offense that you may have received.” Former Dearborn County Councilman Randy Lyness was selected by a Republican caucus to fill the remaining year of McMillin’s term in the state legislature. State Rep. Matt Lehman (R-Berne) was chosen by the House Republican caucus to serve as their new floor leader.   4. Finally, Allison Moore convicted of murder Allison Moore received a 105 year prison sentence, nearly three years after murdering Nancy Hershman during a break-in at the victim's home in Milan in 2012. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3. Nancy Hershman was awakened from bed and gunned down in her home when Allison Moore and two teenage boys barged into the Milan home early in the morning on December 30, 2012. While the teens were sentenced for their roles in the break-in, Moore was the one who prosecutors wanted to convict the most because she pulled the trigger. It took nearly three years from the date of Hershman’s murder for her family to receive justice. It at long last arrived in late 2015 when a Ripley County jury convicted Allison Moore, of Colerain Township, Ohio, on charges of Murder and Burglary. Despite Moore’s confession to police tossed by a judge, a series of appeals, requests for a change of venue, and threats against jailhouse snitches, jurors needed only two hours to return a guilty verdict against Moore. Moore was sentenced to the maximum 105 years behind bars on December 21. She was not eligible for life in prison without parole because the jury had agreed that she was not deserving of that punishment. While she seemed accepting of the punishment that was coming her way, Moore never directly apologized for murdering the 78-year-old Milan school bus driver and nursing home volunteer. Judge Jeffrey Sharp made note of that in handing down his sentence. “Given the nature and circumstances of this heinous crime, the character of the defendant, a complete lack of remorse or acceptance of responsibility, and the impact on the victim’s family, the Court finds such sentence is warranted in this matter,” Sharp said     5. Municipal elections bring new local leadership Republican Kelly Mollaun (center) will become Lawrenceburg's new mayor on January 1. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3. New mayors were elected in four Eagle Country cities on Election Day, November 3. Voters in Lawrenceburg indicated they wanted a fresh start with their city government by electing a Republican mayor, Kelly Mollaun, over incumbent Democrat Dennis Carr. Rising Sun voters chose Democrat Brent Bascom in ousting incumbent Republican April Hautman in a landslide. Independent candidate Alan Weiss surprised many in Greendale’s mayoral election by defeating Democrat councilman Bob Bischoff and Republican businessman Christopher Libbert. In Harrison, an independent candidate didn’t fare as well. Incumbent mayor Joel McGuire lost a bid for a third term to Republican city councilman Bill Neyer. Batesville voters elected Mike Bettice, a Republican, over Democrat Mike Vonderheide. Vonderheide had defeated incumbent mayor Rick Fledderman in the May primary election. More to come on the former mayor’s exit in our next top story of 2015.   6. Batesville mayor accused of soliciting prostitute, leaves office Then-Batesville mayor Rick Fledderman (left) was arrested after the man he paid for sex with, Randy Wigle-Stevens, went to police with allegations that Fledderman paid him for sex. Photos by Ripley County Sheriff's Office. A private meet-up with a male prostitute in his Batesville home eventually led to the downfall from more than local political office for Rick Fledderman. The 60-year-old mayor was the victim of a possible blackmail attempt with the prostitute, Indianapolis resident Randy Wigle-Stevens, who went to police when Fledderman refused to pay him money. The awkward details of the men’s alleged encounter were aired out in the media, sometimes on national talk shows or websites. Fledderman and the man he allegedly paid for sex were each charged in Ripley County in August. The ex-mayor faces one count of Soliciting a Prostitute (class A misdemeanor) in Ripley County. Wigle-Stevens has been charged with Failure to Disclose Dangerous Communicable Disease Status (level 6 felony), Prostitution (class A misdemeanor), and Intimidation (class A misdemeanor). Both cases are pending. It didn’t happen immediately, but under pressure from city residents who wanted to move past the scandal Fledderman resigned from the mayor’s office about two weeks after his arrest.     7. Explosion rocks downtown Rising Sun An explosion injured three people in a downtown Rising Sun apartment building on March 4. Photo provided. Like the windows at the former NAPA Auto Parts building, a quiet morning in Rising Sun was shattered when the structure exploded. Three people, one of them a child, living in second story apartments were injured in the blaze that tore through the structure. Some were forced to jump from windows to escape with their lives. Hummel Insurance’s office on the ground floor was destroyed. Debris was littered on Main and Poplar streets. Nearby buildings were damaged by the fire, smoke and flying debris. Rising Sun Fire Chief Kevin Armstrong said the cause of the explosion was accidental. The fire did about $750,000 in damage.     8. Meth labs a common problem Nine people were charged after a meth lab was discovered in Bright in July. Photo provided. While heroin catches the most headlines these days, it was apparent that methamphetamine is still a local nuisance to be dealt with in 2015. While official meth lab seizure numbers won’t be released until months from now, the arrests for meth possession and labs discovered by law enforcement continued to happen too often. In July, nine people were arrested when a meth manufacturing operation was discovered at a home on Morgan Road in Bright. Investigators said that 24-year-old Joseph Sizemore bragged about having relatives purchase pseudoephedrine for him to use in making the illegal drug. Several families in a downtown Aurora apartment building were displaced when an active lab was found in one unit in November. Aurora Police said that a three-year-old child was staying in the residence. Three children ages four to 12 were removed from a home on East Miami River Road near Cleves when their mother was found to be manufacturing meth in their home in March. These are just a few examples of meth’s presence and toll in our area this past year.     9. East Central returns to football state finals East Central High School's football team returned to glory with a run to the 4A state championship this past season. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3. East Central football’s state finals drought ended this year as the Trojans made a run to the championship game look easy. Led by third year coach Justin Roden, senior quarterback Luke Patton, tailback Doug Rosemeyer, linebacker Hunter Armstrong and crew averaged 39.4 points on offense and allowed opponents only about 12 points through the first five rounds of the IHSAA 4A State Football Tournament. The Trojans were confident entering the 4A championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on November 28. However, it was an opponent from up north, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, that hoisted the trophy after a 27-3 win – even if the tipping point came on a controversial touchdown call by the Saints. “It was fun. It’s a good group of kids,” Roden said after the title game loss. “The most disappointing thing for me right now is me realizing I’m not going to have those kids (the seniors). Their humor. The bounce in their step every day. It’s a group that never complains. There will be a few tears because I’m going to miss their enthusiasm and their passion.” EC didn’t come home empty handed, however. Senior tight end Connor Lynch was named the recipient of the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award. The state finals appearance was the third in Trojans football history and their first since 1994. East Central High School senior Connor Lynch, with his mother Linda at left, accepts the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award following the IHSAA 4A State Championship Game on Saturday, November 28. Photo by Rick Daniels, Eagle Country 99.3.     10. Franklin County Nativity debate rages on The Freedom From Religion Foundation had a display of its own outside the Franklin County Courthouse in Brookville this past Christmas season. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3. It’s the Christmas gift that keeps on giving for local news organizations. The battle of beliefs on the lawn of the Franklin County Courthouse continued to play out over this past year. Following a 2014 lawsuit by the atheist Freedom From Religion Foundation to have the Nativity scene removed from the government property, Franklin County Commissioners in January adopted a content-neutral ordinance permitting any group to place a display on the courthouse lawn. The FFRF took advantage and put up a “Bill of Rights” nativity and a sign calling religion and myth. The sign was stolen once in December and a second one was vandalized on Christmas Eve or Day. With a potential circus brewing in the small town usually ignored by outsiders, the Brookville Town Council voted unanimously this month to move the nativity scene it owns from the courthouse lawn. The town has plans to place the nativity scene on private property directly across the street next Christmas season. More recently, the FFRF and its members may be putting their attention to other southeast Indiana matters, such as a veterans memorial in Oldenburg or an alternative to school suspension program in Ripley County.   Honorable Mentions:

- A former youth summer camp near Dillsboro was proposed for a new, private drug rehabilitation center, but the would-be director was arrested.

- Record cold in February.

- Heroin overdoses continue at alarming pace.

- Shooting at Milan bar leads to manhunt.