ANDERSON, Ind. — A compilation of news items from the Madison County area:
Smith candidate for county assessor
ANDERSON — Linda Smith is running for independent candidate for Madison County assessor.
Smith has worked in county government since 1991, serving 16 years in the Madison County prosecutor’s office. In January 2007, she was appointed the administrative assistant/office manager for the Madison County commissioners office.
Smith said she has completed the requirements of Level One and Level Two assessor-appraiser certifications and collected over 1,000 signatures on a petition for nomination as the independent candidate for assessor in the general election in November.
Donate coats to Coats of Caring
ANDERSON — Community Hospital Anderson needs the public’s help in its annual Coats of Caring, an effort to collect winter coats for families in need.
New or gently worn winter coats for adults and children, as well as new hats and mittens, can be dropped off this Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the hospital’s main entrance valet station. In order to accommodate those who may come across donations throughout the year, Community Anderson has begun accepting donations on the last Friday of every month.
Fire chars interior of Notre Dame’s grotto
SOUTH BEND — University of Notre Dame officials are restricting access to the school’s famed stone grotto until damage from a small fire can be inspected.
University spokesman Dennis Brown says several people were praying at the campus site Monday evening when the fire broke out. He says no one was hurt and that the campus fire department quickly extinguished the flames.
Pilot burned in aircraft crash in S. Ind.
TELL CITY — Police say a Kentucky man was hurt when his experimental aircraft crashed near Perry County Municipal Airport in southern Indiana.
Police reported that 69-year-old pilot Charles Lunceford of Lewisport, Ky., was able to crawl from the wreckage of his Sparrow Hawk II gyro-copter Tuesday and was alert when emergency workers arrived. He suffered burns to his lower extremities, arms and face and was flown to the University of Louisville Medical Center for treatment.
Foul play suspected in death at prison
WESTVILLE — State prison officials suspect foul play in the death of an inmate at a northern Indiana prison who had been there just 10 days on an eight-year sentence.
Officials say 32-year-old Shawn Milton of Warsaw was found dead Sunday in his bed area at the medium-security Westville Correctional Facility. The prison said Milton had injuries inconsistent with natural causes.
Hundreds attend vigil for 3 teens killed
WABASH — Hundreds of people attended a vigil outside the northern Indiana home where three teenagers died in a weekend fire.
Dylan Diskey helped organize the vigil, saying that everybody who knew the family loved them.
Those killed in the fire were 17-year-old Caitlin Burke, 15-year-old Jacob Johnson and 13-year-old Jared Johnson. Their parents escaped, and their father thanked the crowd for attending the vigil.
