School district moves bus stop after fatal crash

ROCHESTER — A northern Indiana school district said it will relocate a bus stop where a pickup truck hit four students boarding a bus this week, killing three siblings and badly injuring a fourth child.

Superintendent Blaine Conley of the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. said the bus stop along State Road 25 near Rochester will be moved to a nearby park. Conley said he also was establishing a committee to look at the safety of all the district’s bus stops.

The three children killed in the Tuesday crash were 6-year-old twin brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle, and their 9-year-old sister, Alivia Stahl.

The child who survived, 11-year-old Maverik Lowe, remained hospitalized in stable condition Wednesday, according to his parents. The boy suffered multiple broken bones and internal injuries, and had undergone two surgeries as of Wednesday morning, according to Indiana State Police Sgt. Tony Slocum.

Maverik’s parents issued a statement thanking the community for supporting them and the family of the children who were killed in the crash just outside Rochester, a city about miles east of Merrillville.

“Our family is focused on his recovery at this time and requests privacy as we heal together,” the statement said.

The 24-year-old driver of the pickup truck, Alyssa Shepherd, faces three counts of reckless homicide and a misdemeanor traffic violation. She was released from the Fulton County Jail after posting a $15,000 surety bond shortly after her arrest Tuesday afternoon.

Imprisoned

ex-pastor getting his confiscated electronics back

COLUMBUS — An imprisoned ex-southern Indiana pastor who admitted charges in what prosecutors say was a scheme faking a burglary of his home to pay an opioid drug debt is getting his confiscated electronics returned.

A hearing on the request by Justin White, 39, to get back seized items including a cellphone and two laptops was set for Nov. 8. The Republic reports it was canceled after Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash didn’t object.

The alleged burglary was in December 2015. White was sentenced last year after pleading guilty to two felony counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for inducing a 16-year-old youth to deal in hydrocodone and oxycontin.

White was pastor of First Christian Church in Columbus. He’s said his opioid addiction started with a prescription for headaches.

Police: Man wrestles stun gun from officer, shocks his face

EVANSVILLE — Police say a southwestern Indiana man allegedly grabbed an officer’s stun gun during a struggle and shocked the officer in the face.

Logan Stidham, 22, was arrested Wednesday after the officer suffered facial injuries in the attack. The Evansville man is jailed without bond on charges that include battery with a deadly weapon and resisting law enforcement.

Evansville police say an officer was investigating a suspicious person at an elementary school when he approached Stidham, who would not identify himself or comply with the officer’s instructions.

A struggle ensued when the officer tried to handcuff Stidham and both of them fell to the ground. Police say Stidham grabbed the officer’s stun gun and discharged it against the officer’s face.

The officer held onto Stidham until fellow officers arrested him.

Indiana Grown aims to expand schools’ access to local foods

INDIANAPOLIS — A state program devoted to finding new markets for Indiana-grown foods is aiming to expand Hoosier school districts’ access to local foods.

Indiana Grown is working with three partners on a local food resource guide school that school food service directors will be able to consult to make more informed purchasing decisions.

That initiative is seeking farmers, producers and businesses interested in selling fruits, vegetables and other crops, as well as locally produced food products.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch says the guide can’t be completed until it’s determined “what local products are available in Indiana and who’s interested in providing them.”

The State Department of Health and Purdue Extension are helping create the guide, which the Indiana Department of Education will distribute to all Ind- iana public school corporations.

— Associated Press