Man Arrested on Multiple Charges of Deer Poaching in Martin County

On November 11, 2017 Indiana Conservation Officer Corporal Eric Doane was contacted by an anonymous caller about multiple whitetail deer that had been shot illegally.  Cpl. Doane conducted a series of interviews with multiple individuals, and was able to determine that Brook N. Hawkins, 26 of Shoals, had shot and killed three whitetail bucks within a period of 48 hours.
 
On November 10, 2017 between the hours of midnight and 2:00 AM Mr. Hawkins was searching for deer from a motor vehicle with a spotlight.  A group of three deer were located and Mr. Hawkins shot a large 9 point buck from the motor vehicle with a .204 Ruger rifle and the aid of a spotlight.  They then left the area and returned to get the deer hours later. 
 
On November 11, 2017 between the hours of midnight and 3:00 AM Mr. Hawkins was in a burgundy Ford truck driven by Brandon Clifton, 27 of Loogootee.  Mr. Hawkins located a buck deer with a spotlight, and shot it from the vehicle.  When the buck dropped Mr. Hawkins ran into the field, cut off the head, and left the body lying in the field. 
 
It was also found that on November 11, 2017 at approximately 6:00PM Mr. Hawkins was in a vehicle driven by Brandon Clifton.  Mr. Hawkins located a buck standing in a field and shot it with a .204 Ruger rifle.  The deer was not retrieved. 
 
Brook Hawkins was jailed and charged with the following:

• Hunting Deer by Illegal Method
• Illegal Taking-Possession of Whitetail Deer
• Use of Artificial light to Take Deer
• Hunting Deer with the Aid of a Motor Vehicle
• False Informing
  Brandon Clifton is being charged with the following:
• Illegal Taking-Possession of Whitetail Deer
• Use of Artificial light to Take Deer
• Hunting Deer with the Aid of a Motor Vehicle
  Under the Law, criminal charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Trooper Finds Approximately Two Pounds of Suspected Marijuana during Traffic Stop

Vigo County—Last night at approximately 8:20, Indiana State Police Trooper Ian Portteus stopped a black Buick passenger car for a turn signal violation on westbound Hulman Street at Center Street. While conversing with the driver, Trooper Portteus noticed what appeared to be an odor of raw marijuana coming from the vehicle’s interior. Further investigation revealed two jars, with what appeared to be marijuana inside and estimated at two pounds, in a backpack in the vehicle’s trunk area. Other items of paraphernalia and commonly associated with the sale and/or use of marijuana were also located. Estimated street value is three to four thousand dollars.

The driver, Michael D. Shouse, age 24, of Terre Haute, IN. was incarcerated in the Vigo County Jail for Dealing Marijuana and Possession of Paraphernalia. 

Assisting was ISP Trooper Brad Fyfe. 

Under the Law, criminal charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Two Vehicle Crash North of Loogootee Kills Two

Martin County:  A two vehicle crash Wednesday morning on US231 near Boggs Lake claimed the lives of two local men.

At 8:20 A.M. this morning, 60-year-old Kevin Sears of Odon was northbound on US231, when for an unknown reason, his 2002 Honda Civic veered into the southbound lane near County Road 700 South.  The Honda pulled directly into the path of a 2008 Dodge Avenger, driven by 29-year-old Zachary Greene of Loogootee.  Sears’s Honda struck Greene’s Stratus, coming to a stop almost immediately.

Sears was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Martin County Coroner.  Greene and his front seat passenger were both transported to Memorial Hospital in Jasper.  The passenger was transferred to St. Vincent Hospital in Evansville, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.  Notification of his passing to family is still pending.  Greene was being treated for injuries to his legs and ankle.

All three vehicle occupants were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.

The crash remains under investigation by ISP crash reconstructionists.  The State Police was assisted by the Martin County Sheriff’s Department, Loogootee Fire Department, and Southwest Medical.

MCPU Scam Warning

Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co. has been informed that some of it’s customers have received phone calls claiming to be MCPU and attempting to collect payments over the phone.  Please be advised this is a scam and is not MCPU.  MCPU does use automated reminder calling but will never attempt collection over the phone. Please contact MCPU at 618.262.5151 with any questions regarding your account or to report any suspicious activity. 

IDNR Reminds Hunters to Make Safety a Priority

The Illinois Firearm Deer Season opens with the first weekend of firearm hunting on Nov. 17-19, and hunters in Illinois are reminded to make safety their top priority throughout all of Illinois’ busiest hunting seasons. “This is prime time for hunting in Illinois, and the best way to enjoy an autumn or winter day in the field, in a blind, or in a tree stand is to make sure you’re hunting safely,” said Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Director Wayne Rosenthal. The IDNR Office of Law Enforcement, which administers the Illinois Hunter Safety Education Program, reports there were 29 hunting incidents last year during all seasons, and 23 of those incidents involved hunters falling from elevated tree stands, or falling while climbing into or out of tree stands. Hunters using tree stands are reminded to use a Fall Arrest System (FAS) safety harness. Nationally, more than 80 percent of reported tree stand incidents involve hunters who were not using a fall restraint system. As additional precautions for hunting from elevated stands, hunters should check the harness, straps, ladder and other equipment to make sure they are in good working order. Hunters are also advised to always be aware of weather conditions that could make stands and steps slippery, and to have a mobile phone within reach to call for help, if needed. Hunters can review tree stand safety online at http://www.huntercourse.com/treestandsafety/ Safety educators and IDNR Conservation Police also remind everyone hunting with a firearm to: • Treat every firearm as if it is loaded, and never assume a firearm is unloaded; • Always point a firearm in a safe direction; • Be sure of the target, and make sure there are no other hunters, homes, buildings, vehicles or other animals beyond the target; • Keep their finger out of the trigger guard and off the trigger until they are ready to shoot. Illinois’ most popular hunting season, the split seven-day Firearm Deer Season, begins on Friday through Sunday, Nov. 17-19, and concludes on Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 30-Dec. 3. Legal hunting hours on those days are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Hunters who take a deer during the firearm season in most Illinois counties must register the deer they harvest online, or through the toll-free phone check-in system. A link to the online deer registration system is available here: https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Pages/HarvestReporting.aspx The toll-free phone deer registration line is 1-866-IL-CHECK (1-866-452-4325). Hunters registering deer through the online or phone systems must do so by 10 p.m. on the day they take the deer. In many northern Illinois counties where chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in deer, hunters are required to register all deer harvested during firearm season by taking them to a check station (listed below) between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Biologists will be present to take CWD samples for testing at the time of registration. Testing is voluntary, but all hunters with adult deer are encouraged to participate. The counties where hunters are required to check in their deer at check stations are: Boone: Boone Co. Fairgrounds, 1/2 mi. north of Rt. 76 and Business Rt. 20, Belvidere DeKalb: Shabbona Lake State Park, 4201 Shabbona Grove Rd., Shabbona Grundy: Gebhard Woods State Park, 401 Ottawa Street, Morris Jo Daviess: Elizabeth Community Building, 210 N. West St., Elizabeth, IL, 1/2 mi. west of business district on Hwy. 20, next to the Highland C.C. Elizabeth campus Kane: Use Boone, DeKalb, Kendall, or McHenry check station Kankakee: Kankakee River State Park Visitor Center, 4 mi. northwest of Bourbonnais at 5214 W. State Rt. 102 Kendall: Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area, 4.5 mi. west of Yorkville at 13608 Fox Road LaSalle: Buffalo Rock State Park, 3 mi. west of Ottawa on Dee Bennett Road Livingston: Pontiac Sportsman’s Club, northwest of Livingston Co. Fairgrounds at 18663 4-H Park Road, Pontiac (just west of I-55) McHenry: Moraine Hills State Park McHenry Dam Day Use Area, east of McHenry on River Rd., 2.2 mi. south of Rt. 120 Ogle: Castle Rock State Park, Rt. 2, 3 mi. south of Oregon, IL Stephenson: County Fairgrounds, 1 mi. east of Rt. 26 and Fairgrounds Rd., Freeport Will: Des Plaines Game Propagation Center, east of I‐55 at 30550 S. Boathouse Road, Wilmington Winnebago: Rock Cut State Park, 6425 Hart Rd., Loves Park, 0.9 mi. east of N. Perryville Rd. on Hart Rd. Hunters participating in CWD sampling can check the status of their deer (listed by phone number) through the IDNR website. Hunters who provide samples from deer that test positive are notified by the IDNR. For more information on CWD in Illinois, check the website at: www.dnr.illinois.gov/programs/CWD. For a detailed information sheet on firearm deer hunting in counties with check stations for chronic wasting disease sampling, go to the IDNR website at: https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Documents/FirearmDeerHuntingInfoCountiesTestingCWD. pdf In addition to the seven-day Illinois Firearm Deer Season, other deer hunting seasons in the state include the three-day Muzzleloader-only Deer Season on Dec. 8-10, and the seven-day split Late-Winter Firearm Antlerless-only Deer Season and Special CWD Deer Season (in select counties) on Dec. 28-31, 2017 and January 12-14, 2018. The Illinois Archery Deer Season, which opened on Oct. 1, is open through Jan. 14, 2018 (except closed in counties open to Firearm Deer Season on Nov. 17-19 and Nov. 30-Dec. 3). For more information on Illinois deer hunting regulations, check the Illinois Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations 2017-2018 at https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/documents/HuntTrapDigest.pdf

Boil Order For RWCWD

At approximately 1:50pm on Tuesday, November 14th, a third party was doing work unrelated to the Rural Wabash County Water District and hit a 6" water main. As a result, a boil advisory has been issued until further notice for RWCWD customers from 6484 Highway 11 (Lancaster Church of Christ) going east  to the intersection of 770 road and Highway 11. This includes customers on both sides of Highway 11.  All water intended for consumption should be boiled first. Please call 618-299-6101 if you have any questions, and also to check the status of the boil order as it will be reflected on the answering machine.

New Sign At Safe Haven

A new sign recently up at Safe Haven Homeless Shelter on West 3rd Street in Mt. Carmel.

The Attic Remaining Open

Despite having the business for sale, owner Rita Harness says The Attic in uptown Mt. Carmel is in no danger of closing anytime soon. At this morning’s Wabash County Retail Merchants Committee meeting, Harness said she has a couple of prospective buyers interested in the business, but a sale isn’t imminent. To illustrate her point of remaining open, Harness said she has already ordered Spring and Easter merchandise for next year. She said The Attic is one of the few, if not only, baby shops in the Tri-State offering clothing in sizes preemie to size 14. The Attic is the exclusive outlet for Under Armor clothing for children with Mustard Pie being one of her leading lines.

Toni Brines Moving Edward Jones Office

Toni Brines’ Edward Jones office will be moving soon. At today’s Wabash County Retail Merchants meeting, Brines announced the move from her 6th and Walnut Street location to 219 West 9th Street should take place the week after Thanksgiving. Brines’ new location is the former USDA office.