As 2021 drew to a close, the staff of The Tribune decided to take a look back at some of the year’s top news stories.

Without a doubt, COVID-19 dominated the news throughout the year. A quick search of more than 3,000 news items that appeared in The Tribune showed that 619 or nearly 40% contained the words COVID-19.

There were, however, other dominant news stories throughout the year.

One of those involved the death of Ta’Neasha Chappell. The 23-year-old Louisville woman was an inmate at the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown, who became sick on July 15 and died the day after being hospitalized at the Schneck Medical Center.

There also were three murders with three arrests and one suspicious death reported in the county this year.

There was some good news during the year, including announcements by several companies planning expansion, some new apartment and housing projects in the works and the groundbreaking for a new fire station.

COVID-19

Going into the second year of the global pandemic, recovery looked hopeful with the rollout of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in December 2019.

Looking at the current data from the Indiana State Department of Health, Jackson County has 22,030, or 47.4%, residents fully vaccinated from COVID-19 out of a total population of 46,428.

Out of Indiana’s total population of 6,785,528, there are 3,554,209, or 52.3%, Hoosiers that are vaccinated.

Unlike 2020 when almost every major event in the county was cancelled, everything went on as scheduled including the Jackson County, Oktoberfest and Fort Vallonia Days and for the most part, schools were back to in-person.

Two of Indiana’s biggest surges coincided with the spread of two major COVID-19 variants: delta and omicron.

Jackson County’s positivity rate started rising in July when the delta variant was making its way across the United States. The highest caseload at that time was 63 positive cases in one day on Aug. 31, and the highest positivity rate while delta was spreading was 15.9% on Aug. 29.

Those numbers would be topped going into 2022 with the introduction of the omicron variant in December. While delta accounts for over 98% of the positive samples collected in Jackson County in 2021, the discovery of omicron parallels the upticks in the county’s positivity rate.

Dec. 30 saw the highest positivity rate in the county in the entire year at 18.6%, with 74 positive cases being added that day.

Inmate death

Chappell’s death was announced in a news release from Sgt. Carey Hulls of the Indiana State Police — Sellersburg District.

On July 17, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department requested that the state police conduct the investigation into the circumstances of her death.

Attorneys with Chappell’s family allege wrongful death in a $30 million lawsuit against Jackson County Sheriff Rick Meyer and eight other jail employees. The lawsuit claims that Chappell fell ill on the afternoon of July 15 and jail staff neglected Chappell for around 23 hours until an ambulance was called.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jeffrey Chalfant reviewed the Indiana State Police’s investigation of Chappell’s death and said in a report released on Dec. 17 that the manner of death is “undetermined.” A forensic pathologist listed Chappell’s cause of death as a probable toxicity of unknown substance.

He also said Chappell’s death was not criminal.

Chappell had been booked into the jail May 26 after her arrest following a pursuit that began in Jackson County and ended in Clark County. She was arrested on a theft charge related to an incident in Bartholomew County earlier that day and also was arrested on charges of escape, three counts of resisting law enforcement, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving and possession of marijuana as a result of the pursuit.

Meyer released a statement on the same day the prosecutor’s report was released. He said he appreciated the patience of the public during the death investigation and declined to comment to avoid any interference with state police.

Burkart South Bypass

The first phase of the Burkart South Bypass that eventually will connect the Freeman Field Industrial Park on the southwest side of the city to the east side opened to traffic after a Nov. 1 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The $17.3 million project, which involved 2.3 miles of new road, takes motorists south along Burkart Boulevard through farm ground and over the Louisville and Indiana Railroad before connecting to O’Brien Street at a roundabout.

Construction of the second phase of the bypass project, which will take Burkart Boulevard from O’Brien Street west to Airport Road in the middle of Freeman Field Industrial Park, is slated to begin in the spring. In the fall of 2020, the third phase of this project was completed. It saw the reconstruction of Airport Road where the bypass connects to U.S. 50 on the far west side of the city.

The purpose of the bypass is to open up that side of the city for residential, commercial and industrial development in the years to come along with giving motorists an option for avoiding the many trains moving through the city along the Louisville and Indiana Railroad. The rail line, which basically cuts the city in half, has been creating issues for emergency vehicles and motorists for decades and has only worsened as rail traffic has picked with an upgrade of the rail line several years ago.

Murders

A fight on July 27 on the midway of the Jackson County Fair led to the hospitalization and eventual death of Michael J. Steele. Zachariah David Konkle of Warsaw was arrested and charged with murder in the death of Steele, who had been beaten and strangled, according to court records.

Police said the two men, who reportedly both worked for Poor Jack Amusements, had been in a fight around the end of activities that day at the fair near Brownstown.

Konkle told investigators the fight occurred after a family attending the fair had asked him if they could find someone in charge because someone around the Long Shot game had made fun of their special needs child and they wanted to file a complaint. Konkle said he told the family he would take care of the problem, according to court records.

On July 29, Jeremy Christopher Oliger of Seymour was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of Lelan-Eric W. Sharp, 22, of North Vernon who had been shot in the abdomen.

After talking with witnesses, detectives heading the investigation were able to determine the shooting had taken place at a residence in the 8000 block of North County Road 925E in Seymour, Sheriff Rick Meyer said at the time.

On the morning of Sept. 26, a 62-year-old Seymour man accused of stabbing a woman to death on the morning at Jamestown Apartments told police he “blacked out.”

Daniel Lee Baldwin was arrested on a murder charge shortly after police received a 911 call from a woman reporting she had found 74-year-old Sandra Luedeman lying bleeding in the hallway of an apartment building at 725 Miller Lane in Seymour.

Baldwin told a dispatcher that he may have stepped on a woman’s dog and she started to yell at him and said something about calling the cops, according to court records.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s also continues to investigate the death of Lisha Branum. The 58-year-old Seymour woman was found dead at a home in the 400 block of West County Road 1050N in Nov. 8. Her death has been termed suspicious by investigators.

READI grant

In December, the South Central Indiana Talent Region steering committee learned the region had been awarded $30 million in READI grant funding from a program launched by Gov. Eric Holcomb and led by the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

The South Central Indiana Talent Region, which is comprised of Jackson, Bartholomew and Jennings counties, had requested $49.5 million for 26 projects including six in Jackson County. The projects had to be in one of four categories: Innovation and entrepreneurship, education and workforce development, housing and talent attraction and quality of place.

The Jackson County projects included funding requests to help with a Uniontown sewer expansion, an expansion of Seymour High School career and technical programs and an expansion of the Jackson County Learning Center.

The READI had dedicated $500 million in state appropriations to “promote strategic investments that will make Indiana a magnet for talent and economic growth.”

Tax abatements

In early January, Valeo North America, 1231 A Ave. North announced a $36 million project to purchase new manufacturing equipment to support business growth. At the time the company was the largest employee in the county with 2,721 workers and the project was estimated to see 43 new employees join the payroll.

In September, the Crothersville Town Council approved a tax abatement of more than $54 million for Aisin Drivetrain Inc. for new manufacturing, logistics and information technology equipment. The company estimated the expansion could add 75 to 85 new jobs by December of 2022.

In late June, Aisin USA Mfg. Inc. in Seymour announced an investment of nearly $40 million at Plant 1 at 1700 E. Fourth Street and Plant 2 at 500 Burkart Blvd. The project could bring 70 new jobs to the area. The company already employees more than 1,800 people in the county.

In late March, Cummins Inc. announced a $17.74 million investment that included no anticipated new jobs. Jim Plump, executive director of the Jackson County Industrial Development Corp., said at the time, however, that it is typical for Cummins to hire more workers as a result of their investments.

Overall, the county saw commitments of about $105 million for planned expansion to be completed this year.

Housing

In March, TWG Development of Indianapolis announced a $10.2 million project called Seymour Lofts to address affordable workforce housing. The 50-unit projects will be constructed on 2.5 acres of vacant project in the 500 block of South Jackson Park Drive across from Margaret R. Brown Elementary School on the city’s east side.

In August, the city board of zoning appeals approved variances allowing for construction of a 202-unit apartment complex in the 500 block of South Street Road.

Alpine Studios LLC of Indianapolis plans to construct the complex on a 7.26-acre site on a half-mile south of Tipton Street and Fourth Street Road. Five buildings will be on the west side of the new Burkart Boulevard bypass that’s under construction, and two buildings will be on the east side.

A 64-lot subdivision of manufactured homes being developed by Joe Hauersperger also is planned for 1000 block of Quail Creek Drive near Sunset Lane south of the city, while Jason Miller is planning a 52-lot subdivision on 15 acres in the 700 block of Marley Lane.

Vote center county

In December, Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan announced Jackson County’s plan to become a vote center had been approved.

That approval means that for the May 3 primary election, registered voters in the county can visit any of seven vote centers — three in Seymour and one each in Brownstown, Crothersville, Freetown and Medora — to cast ballots. In the past, voters in the county’s 30 precincts voted at one of 20 polling sites throughout the county.

The county vote center plan was put together after months of work by Clerk Melissa Hayes, her staff, the county election board and a bi-partisian committee.

Vote centers can reduce costs for counties, increase turnout, provide local election officials more flexibility and improve overall convenience for voters, Sullivan said at the time of her announcement. Jackson County was the 54th of 92 to be approved as a vote center county.

New Seymour fire station

Construction of a new Fire Station 2 on a 4-acre site on West Second Street in Seymour started in early November.

The station, which has a price tag of $5.75 million, will replace the existing Fire Station 2 at 500 W. Fifth St. That station, which could by repurposed by the city or sold, was built in 1967. Fire Chief Brad Lucas, said the present station is cramped and provides little room for fire inspectors and officers to work.

With the creation of a new fire station, the department will add an assistant chief position and have room for a training officer and inspectors to work.

City hall renovation

In the fall, city workers started moving back into Seymour City Hall after it underwent $1.55 million in renovations, which came about after a chiller inside the building went down in March. That incident caused a leak and damaged city hall.

A decision was made at that time to make major renovations to the building. Besides a new HVAC systems, the remodeling included new ceilings, new LED lighting, new flooring and wall covering, a new conference room and accessibility and security improvements.

It had been 28 years since any major work had been done on the building and most of the heating and cooling equipment was pre-1990s.