The Tribune staff has selected the top 10 stories of the year for Jackson County from a list of dozens of nominations by newsroom staff.

As we move toward 2023, here are some memories of the year that is almost behind us.

Pandemic winds down

Or did it. It’s hard to tell since so many people seem to be sick these days from so many different things, including the flu, respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and yes, even COVID-19.

Late in the year, Indiana health and hospital officials encouraged Hoosiers to get vaccinated against influenza as soon as possible as high levels of transmission were significantly impacting hospitals across the state.

 

In early December, Natalie Wiethoff, an infection preventionist at Schneck Medical Center, reported about 12% of the patients presenting to the Seymour hospital’s emergency room have a positive flu test.

“In comparison, in September and October of this year, the flu rate at Schneck was less than 1%,” she said.

According to the state’s influenza dashboard as of the week ending Dec. 17, there had been 65 deaths influenza-associated deaths. Through Dec. 18, 2021, there had been just three influenza-associated deaths.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID Data Tracker, Jackson County’s Community Level was medium as of Dec. 22. Because of home testing, there is no longer an accurate count of the number of COVID-19 cases at any one time or over time.

Tuskegee Airmen recognized

On Oct. 8, the dedication of the new Indiana State Historical Marker recognizing the 1945 Freeman Field Mutiny and two life-size statues of Tuskegee Airmen took place during a ceremony at Freeman Municipal Airport in Seymour.

One of the statues depicts a Tuskegee Airman in his flight gear to represent the defense of the nation, and the other is a Tuskegee Airman in an officer’s uniform to represent the discrimination they faced during an incident at Freeman Field. That incident involved Black officers who were refused service at a white officers club and were arrested in April 1945. The incident later led to the desegregation of the U.S. military.

Seymour resident Tim Molinari gave the opening remarks during the dedication, which ended six days of events focused on the expanded Tuskegee Airmen memorial.

The idea for the statues started back in 2015 when Molinari’s son, also named Tim, had a dedication for his Eagle Scout program. During and after that dedication ceremony for the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Plaza at the airport, the younger Molinari said he saw how moved people were by his project.

Scouts placing a wreath, veterans organizations doing a 21-gun salute, a bugler playing “Taps,” a band playing “God Bless America” and tears in people’s eyes were all memorable moments.

At that point, the Molinaris realized this wasn’t the end of the project. So they spent five years raising funds for the expanded memorial plaza, including the statues.

Arrest made in 2021 murder

In September, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department arrested Brady Alan Parrish of Kurtz for the November 2021 murder of a 58-year-old Seymour woman.

Parrish, who was 25 at the time of his arrest, is scheduled to stand trial at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 21 for the murder of Lisha A. “Lee” Branum, who had been found dead of gunshot wounds at her home in the 400 block of West County Road 1050N on Nov. 10, 2021.

Two acquaintances of Parrish told investigators they drove Parrish to Branum’s residence off of State Road 58 in far northern Jackson County and dropped him off along the road, according to court records. Parrish told the men to come back and get him in a few minutes.

One of the men told police he heard two gunshots before they returned to pick Parrish up about a minute or two after dropping him off, according to court records.

Parrish was located in Kansas City, Missouri, and taken into custody on a Jackson Circuit Court warrant on Aug. 30. The extradition process was completed on Sept. 9.

Promised investment

Earlier this week, the executive director of Jackson County Industrial Development Corp. said promised investment for this year wound up at $174,865,180.

Jim Plump said that was the second-highest total since JCIDC was created in 1984. The highest was in 2013 at $177.1 million in 2013.

“Obviously, a very good year,” he said.

Among the largest of this year’s promised investment, Aisin Drivetrain Inc. leads the way with $51 million, and Valeo follows at $40 million. Other promised investments announced through that time were Aisin USA Mfg. Inc., $27.5 million, Cummins Inc., $20 million, Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals Inc., $20 million, and The Royal Group, $10 million. Aisin Drivetrain is in Crothersville, while the other five companies are in Seymour.

Of the 11 projects, nine were expansions, and two were new locations: Guardian Bikes and Metal Protection Lenoli USA, both in Seymour.

Uniontown wastewater treatment system

In December, the Jackson County Redevelopment Commission hired Garmong Construction Services to provide assistance for a multi-million dollar project to provide wastewater collection, treatment and disposal services to an underserved area on the east side of the county.

At its November meeting, the Jackson County Council committed up to $11 million in funding for the project in Uniontown that is expected to pave the way for future commercial, industrial and residential growth in the area along Interstate 65 between Seymour and Crothersville.

The county will rely on a variety of sources to fund the first phase of the project, including $8.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and a $1.85 million Regional Economic Acceleration Development Initiative grant. Money from a tax increment financing district established in the Uniontown area in 2020 also will be used.

Two additional phases, which are in the future and have an estimated price tag of $10 million, also could use revenue generated from those obtaining sanitary sewer services in the first phase.

John Mellencamp

On the night of Sept. 17, John Mellencamp performed his first public concert in Seymour since 1976. The 70-year-old put on an acoustic show at Chateau de Pique Winery and Brewery for the return of Southern Indiana Center for the Arts’ gala fundraiser, Artful Affair. The not-for-profit organization’s primary fundraiser hadn’t occurred since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mellencamp, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, told the sold-out crowd of 400 he was there to support the arts center. One of his sons, Speck Mellencamp, serves as executive director, and they both are painters.

Plus, John owns the 1851 two-story brick mansion on the north side of Seymour and rents it to SICA for $1 per year.

On Jan. 21, Mellencamp’s 25th studio album, “Strictly a One-Eyed Jack,” was released.

New fire station

In early November, Seymour’s new Station 2 building at 1019 W. Second St. opened to much fanfare, including a dedication ceremony at 2 p.m. Nov. 9. That ceremony was designed to coincide with a groundbreaking ceremony at the same time and date one year earlier.

The public was invited to tour the station, which houses a fire engine, ladder truck and a reserve truck, and talk to Fire Chief Brad Lucas and his crew. Firefighters moved in the next day.

The new building, which cost $5.75 million, combines Station 2 — formerly at 500 W. Fifth St. — and headquarters — formerly at 318 East St. The city is refurbishing the Fifth Street building, while Station 1 will remain on East Street. The city’s third fire station is at 605 Meadowbrook Drive.

Crothersville annexations

In late November, the Crothersville Town Council completed an annexation process that is going to nearly double the size of the town.

The council also established its own planning and zoning ordinance so it could have more control of what could and couldn’t go in the five newly annexed areas that contain nearly 580 acres and other parts of town.

The council also established a planning and zoning board to developing zoning for the town, and the town’s redevelopment commission reestablished a tax increment financing district and accepted the annexation expansion into that district. The TIF district allows for the capture of tax money from new industrial development or increased property values in the district and setting it aside to fund infrastructure or redevelopment or provide incentives to promote economic development in a community rather than being distributed to other taxing units.

K-9 Control Center opens in Brownstown

On Sept. 7, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Control Center opened in Brownstown. Nine days later, Fred was adopted, the first dog to find a new home while living at the shelter.

The center had been several years in the making after a committee was formed to open a dog shelter behind the Jackson County Jail.

In February 2015, the Jackson County Board of Zoning Appeals approved construction of the shelter. Plans were focused on alleviating the burden of taking care of the county’s dogs from Medora-based nonprofit animal shelter Red Sky Rescue, which was owned and operated by Ruth Riley since 2008.

Red Sky had a contract with the county to provide a home for stray and abandoned dogs until that expired at the end of 2021.

Construction on the shelter began in the fall of 2018 when the project was being overseen by the original Jackson County Dog Shelter committee.

In October 2020, the Jackson County Commissioners voted 2-1 to take ownership of the dog shelter from that committee, and a new committee was formed to finish the project.

Election

Vote centers were used for the first time in Jackson County during the May 3 primary election. The seven centers — three in Seymour and one each in Brownstown, Crothersville, Freetown and Medora — allowed voters to cast ballots at whichever polling site they wished.

The only issue was there was just one contested race for a countywide office, and Sheriff Rick Meyer, a Republican, beat Republican Shawn Minton. The lack of races led to a turnout of just 16%.

Turnout improved for the Nov. 8 general election despite the fact that none of the 10 countywide races were contested. Overall, 11,414 of the 28,446 registered voters, or 40%, cast ballots.