On July 9, 2023, at 7:33 a.m. Gibson County Central Dispatch received a 911 report of a possible intoxicated driver at the Huck’s Convenience Store located at 78 East State Road 168 near Fort Branch, Indiana. Upon arriving Deputy Bryan Small was directed by a concerned motorist to a Silver 2019 Dodge Journey. While speaking to the reporting party they advised that the driver looked like she needed help. Deputy Small then approached the vehicle and identified the driver as 35 year old Melissa Ragsdale of Vincennes. While speaking with Ms. Ragsdale Deputy Small noticed clues that Ms. Ragsdale may be under the influence of an unknown intoxicant. At that point he began a roadside OWI investigation which continue at the Deaconess Hospital Emergency Room where Trooper Tanner Hurley administered a Drug Recognition Evaluation. At the conclusion of their investigation Deputy Small transported Ms. Ragsdale to the Gibson County Jail where she was charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated.
All Criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Disturbance call leads to arrest of Owensville man
On July 11, 2023, at 6:13 p.m. Gibson County Central Dispatch received a call of a disturbance in the 4000 block of West 200 South. Deputies from the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office as well as an Owensville Town Marshal were dispatched to the scene. Upon arriving officers located 31 year old Michael Binhack of Owensville and began an investigation into the incident. While speaking with Mr. Binhack officers attempted to locate the other party involved in the incident, while attempting to locate the other party drug paraphernalia and Methamphetamines were found in plain view. Once the other party was found and the disturbance was investigated the officers conducted a brief drug investigation before taking Mr. Binhack into custody and transporting him to the Gibson County Jail where he was charged with Possession Of Paraphernalia and Possession of Methamphetamines. He has since posted a $750 bond.
Arresting Officer: Deputy Logan Lashbrook
Assisting Officers: Deputy Quinten Might and Owensville Officer Cody Dehart
All Criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Mt. Carmel Man Seriously Injured In Motorcycle Crash
On 07.10.23 at 9:01 a.m. Wabash County 911 received a 911 call of a one vehicle crash on Wabash 17 Ave. in the area of 7488 Wabash 17 Ave.
When Sheriff's Office units arrived on scene, they found a motorcycle had run off the right side of the roadway. The motorcycle traveled down the embankment and struck the ditch, causing the rider to be thrown from the motorcycle.
The driver, Joseph M. Deisher, 58, of Mt. Carmel traveled approximately 200 feet before coming to rest. The motorcycle sustained extensive damage. Mr. Deisher was flown from the scene by StatFlight with major injuries to St. Vincent in Evansville, Indiana.
The Wabash County Sheriff's Office was assisted by Wabash General Ambulance service and Mt. Carmel Fire Department.
2023 Wabash County Fair Queen Contestants
One of these three contestants will be crowned 2023 Wabash County Fair Queen Sunday night during the ice cream social.
Maria Kennard
Hello, my name is Maria Kennard. I am the daughter of Robbie and Traci Kennard. I would like to be the 2023 4-H Fair Queen. My sister and I have always wanted to be Fair Queen and Princess together.
I am in the Hi-Flyers 4-H club. I like taking swine, embroidery, and other arts and crafts projects in the fair. This year my projects include Visual Arts Fiber, Visual Arts Food Decorating, Floriculture A, and Swine in 4-H.
Outside of 4-H I enjoy playing golf. I love going to the 4-H fair to show off what I have been working on all year and to see everybody else’s skills. I like going to the fair to see all of my family and friends.
4-H teaches and helps me better myself for the future. I would like to be the 4-H Fair Queen this year and be more engaged with the 4-H community.
I would like to thank my sponsor DWR Farms for supporting me this year!
Rhiannon Anderson
Hello, my name is Rhiannon Anderson. I am the 19-year-old daughter of Clinton and Karissa Anderson. I am an 11-year member of Barn Busters 4-H Club, a 5-year member of the Wabash Country Federation Club and a 2-year council member of the Extension Council for the Unit 25-Univeristy of Illinois Extension. I have also help for two summers with cooking school’s for the U of I Extension office where I have enjoyed working with the youth of Wabash County learning to safely prepare and cook various types of food.
I attend First Christian Church-Disciples of Christ, where I have served as a Junior Deacon and a member of the Regional Youth Council for the Illinois-Wisconsin Region. In my spare time I enjoy cooking, working at Rosati’s Pizza, and spending time with my family and friends.
My 4-H projects this year are Photography, Computer Science, Passport to the World, and Shopping in Style. Some of my favorite memories are attending and presenting my various projects throughout the years at the Wabash County Fair and the Illinois State Fair.
I am running for Fair Queen because I have always enjoyed attending the Wabash County Fair and meeting new people. I want to help promote and celebrate the accomplishments of the many young adults of Wabash County.
I would like to thank my sponsors Lathrop/Anderson Family for sponsoring me as a contestant this year!
Alexis Bertram
My name is Alexis Bertram and I am the 17 year old daughter of Zach and Jill Hunt and Todd Bertram of Mount Carmel. I am a 2023 graduate of Mt. Carmel High School. I received an academic scholarship and athletic offer from Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana where I will be attending in the fall to play softball, major in Cybersecurity, and Psychology. I have been in 4-H and a member of Town and Country 4Her’s Club for 9 years.
While attending high school, I played on the Lady Aces softball team for four years, the Lady Aces Soccer Team for two years, was a member of the National Honor Society. I graduated with high honors, and a 4.0 GPA. I have also played softball for the last 15 years for Mt. Carmel Little League, Wabash Mission and Extreme travel softball teams.
During the 9 years I have been enrolled in 4-H, I have taken on various projects that have taught me a lot of responsibilities throughout my life. I have taken Vegetable Gardening, Cooking 101-401, Poultry, Rabbits, Cat Care, Dog Care, Scrapbooking, and Food Preservation. I have won multiple Best of Show awards at the Wabash County Fair for my projects. I have also attended the Illinois State Fair several times where I have also received awards for my projects.
In my free time I do a lot of volunteer work throughout the community. I help out with the Mt. Carmel Christmas Parade, Mt. Carmel’s Christmas Uptown, District 348 0-3 program, Pre-K, and kindergarten classes. I also give softball lessons, and I umpire Mt. Carmel Little League softball games.
I would love to become the 2023 Wabash County Fair Queen because I love being involved with the fair. I have a lot of knowledge about the 4-H fair shows, I am responsible, and I have had prior experience from being the 2019 Wabash County Fair Princess. I feel that I did a great job with the many things that are involved with holding the title and that I will continue to do a great job representing Wabash County. I really enjoyed passing out awards to the winners at the fair shows, being in all of the local parades, and I loved being a two-time judge for Mt. Carmel’s Little Miss Ag Day’s Contest. I would love to be able to have this opportunity in my last years of being involved in 4-H and the fair.
I would like to thank my sponsors Fischer Family Enterprises, LLC for supporting me!
2023 Wabash Country Fair Princess Contestants
Three young ladies are competing to be crowned Wabash County Fair Princess. The winner will be announced Sunday night during the Ice Cream Social at the Mabel Courter Youth Center skating rink.
Miley Kennard
Hello my name is Miley Kennard, and I am the daughter of Robbie and Traci Kennard. I would like to be this year’s fair princess. I want to be fair princess because I have always looked up to the past fair queen’s and now I want to be like them.
I am in the Hi-Flyers 4-H club and this year my projects include Swine, Poultry, Clothing and Textiles, Foods and Nutrition, Floriculture A, Horticulture, and Visual Arts.
I like to golf, go fishing, and hunting! I love 4-H! It is my favorite week all summer to show my projects and getting fair princess would make it even better.
I love seeing all my friends at the fair and spending time with my family. 4-H has taught me so much for the future ahead of me. I like to help out in my community as much as I can and I think I am a good role model for not just new members but others too. I can’t wait for this year’s fair!
I would like to thank my sponsor Keensburg Café for supporting me this year!
Addison Tennis
Hello, my name is Addison Tennis. I am the daughter of Jason and Carrie Tennis. I am 13 years old, and I am in the Allendale Twisters Club. This is my 5th year in 4-H. When I was younger, I would help my brother show his dairy cattle. I followed him around and I thought I was the coolest kid ever. I always looked up to the pretty girls with crowns and said I wanted to be like them. Here I am now trying to be one of them. I want to be one of the people that those little kids can look up to and hope they can be like me too.
At the fair I show dairy cows, meat and novelty goats. I bring in many different types of flowers, art, crops, produce, and schoolwork. I love to go to all the shows during fair week and watch my friends show their animals. Fair week is my favorite time of year because most of my closest friends are there with me and I love being involved with everyone.
Some of my favorite hobbies are school sports such as volleyball, track, cross country, and basketball. My favorite thing to do is work at our family farm. I take care of the baby calves; I make them bottles every morning and feed them as well as sometimes having to help the mothers give birth. I also keep most of my goats at the farm and make sure they are well fed and have all the hay and water they need. I also breed my own goats at home with our buck. I stay at eh farm most of the day and help my dad whenever he needs it. One of my favorite things to do at the farm is give all of my goat’s special names that have the same topic as their mothers’ names.
I was nominated and voted vice president of our club. I attend Saint Mary’s catholic school. I recently received the DAR Youth Citizenship Award which they hand pick a seventh grader every year to award with.
If I am chosen as princess, I will do my best to be a good role model and represent our 4-H and Jr. Fair Program in the best way possible.
I would like to thank my sponsors Steven’s Farms for supporting me this year!
Reese Price
Hello, my name is Reese Price, and I am the daughter of Jared and Jodi Price. I am a member of the Allendale Twisters 4-H club. I am 13 years old and will be starting my eight-grade year of school.
My 4-H projects this year include Horses, Swine, and Rabbits. Additionally, I plan to show Dogs and Photography at the Junior Fair. I am excited about the fair this year and the opportunity to run for Fair Princess. I chose to be a Fair Princess Candidate because I would like to be more involved in 4-H and develop more as a leader. I would also like to experience all the different projects being presented and serve my peers.
I play volleyball all year round. I take being an athlete seriously, and I am always using my time, energy, and focus to become better for my teams. I play for Ambassador Christian Academy on their JV and Varsity teams, and I play for travel ball teams in Indiana.
In the summer, I also devote a lot of my time and effort to barrel racing. Caring for my horse and keeping him fit for competition is a daily priority.
Volunteering is important to me as well. I volunteer with my mom at Safe Haven and the Lunch Wagon every week. I attend Allendale First Christian Church and play in the worship band. I am active in our church’s Youth Group as well.
I am grateful for the opportunity this program offers, and I look forward to being involved in the upcoming events.
I would like to thank my sponsor Richard Gochenour Construction for supporting me this year!
Wabash County EMA Director Praised By County Board
Last weekend’s severe storms were the first big test for new Wabash County Emergency Management Agency director Mark Majors. Majors has been an integral part of WEMA for many years, but it wasn’t until this Spring he was named to lead the agency after the passing of long time director Gerald Brooks. At the recent Wabash County Commissioner meeting, commissioner Rob Dean said Majors has stepped up…
Majors pointed out that WEMA volunteer Rhonda Banks played a big role in last weekend’s storm response.
Photo: Wabash EMA Facebook Page
Rains Cause New Issues For Area Farmers
After sweating through no rain for the much of June, area farmers have welcomed rains over the last 10 days. While the rain has been beneficial, certified crop advisor Mike Wilson of Wabash Valley Service Company says there’s been a downside too…
Wilson’s comments came on last week’s Valley Update.
County Commissioners Cutting Hotel-Motel Tax Funding Requests
Wabash County Commissioners are tightening the purse strings on the county’s hotel-motel tax fund and the contributions they make to local events and festivities. At their recent meeting, commissioners unanimously rejected the Ag Days committee’s request for $3,500 to be spent with out of county sources. Commissioner Scott West said $2,500 was a more realistic figure…
Commissioner Rob Dean said the county board needs to be more judicious in doling out funds from the hotel-motel tax…
Dean said since a new hotel in Wabash County is no longer a viable project, taxes going into the hotel-motel tax will continue to decline. He also urged organizers of softball and soccer tournaments and band competitions that attract out of town visitors to request money from the fund.
Indiana State Police and Gibson County Coroner investigating jail death
On July 7, 2023, at approximately 5:17 p.m. Gibson County Central Dispatch was alerted to a medical emergency inside the Gibson County Jail. Corrections Officers immediately went to the cellblock where the emergency was occurring and began CPR. Corrections Officers continued CPR with the assistance of a Communications Officer who is a registered Paramedic. CPR continued in addition to shocks delivered by an AED unit. Once the Princeton Fire Department and Gibson County Ambulance Service arrived they took over medical treatment. After approximately 40 minutes a call was made to the Ambulance Services Medical Doctor who declared the person as deceased. At that point the Gibson County Coroner and a Detective from the Indiana State Police were dispatched to the Gibson County Jail to begin an investigation into the medical emergency.
This is an ongoing investigation and the deceased individual will not be identified until the family is notified. Further the coroner is scheduling an autopsy to determine the cause of death
Mt. Carmel Woman Arrested For DUI-Drugs
On 7/02/23, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Josie M. Lewis, age 39, of Mt. Carmel for Driving Under the Influence of Drugs following an incident on Railroad Street just west of the Market Street intersection. The incident occurred as a result of an officer patrolling the area who came upon a gold Buick parked facing east bound on the south side of the roadway parked partially on the roadway and partially in the gravel. Officers found Lewis asleep with her foot on the brake pedal and the Buick in reverse. Officers were able to make contact with Lewis and found her to be disoriented and confused. The arresting officer conducted a roadside sobriety check on Lewis and found several clues to indicate impairment present. Lewis was placed under arrest and transported to the Wabash County Jail where she was processed for DUI and turned over to jail staff being held on a $100 cash bond.