Missouri Man Arrested for Child Molesting
70 year-old Gary E. Jones of Missouri was arrested by Indiana State Police this past weekend while visiting family in Lawrence County. The charges come after February 2021 allegations of molestation from a 13 year-old victim. The Honorable Judge John Plummer found probable cause to issue an arrest warrant for Jones, who was subsequently arrested and transported to the Lawrence County Jail on Felony Child Molestation.
***All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven in a court of law.
Mayor at the Market Returns to the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market
Mayor at the Market is a community outreach program that invites marketgoers to interact with the Mayor and various Department Heads from the City of Bloomington. Most Saturday mornings, either Mayor Hamilton, Deputy Mayor Don Griffin, or one of nineteen other Administration leaders will be at the Farmers’ Market to answer resident questions and discuss issues of interest in the city. Any city-related topic you are interested in is up for discussion. This is an opportunity to have an informal conversation and connect with the city leaders. The Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market opens for the 2022 season on Saturday, April 2nd from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at Showers Common, 401 N. Morton Street next to Bloomington’s City Hall. Mayor John Hamilton and Deputy Mayor Don Griffin will both be at the first market of the season, ready to greet and chat with the Bloomington community.
Arts Commission announces research study on arts and culture in community and economic development strategies
The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC), in partnership with the Indiana Communities Institute (ICI) of Ball State University, has released new research around how Indiana municipalities are utilizing local arts and culture in their community and economic development strategies. The research report, Planning with Arts & Culture, was produced by Emily J. Wornell, PhD and Brian Blackford, MPA of the ICI, and published surveys from Indiana municipal government leaders as well as tourism and Community Foundation offices. Goals of the study included determining:
- the extent to which communities view arts and culture as an avenue to achieve economic, community, and tourism development goals,
- the extent to which communities are currently working with arts and culture to pursue such goals,
- the priorities for arts and culture focused community development programming in communities without a robust arts and culture vision, and
- the extent to which communities would be receptive to capacity-building and training to prepare them for this type of work.
Some key findings of the research revealed:
- An overwhelming majority of all respondents agree that an economic development opportunity exists in arts and culture and that it is important to include arts and culture in community and economic planning initiatives.
- Many communities understand both the tangible and intangible benefits of arts and culture to their communities and are already engaging with arts and culture in their community and/or economic development plans. For example, arts and culture can contribute to both local tourism (tangible) and a sense of community and belonging (intangible).
- No community has no arts and culture assets; however, the majority of municipal leaders who claim their communities have little-to-no arts and culture still recognize the value of this activity to economic development. Some leaders need assistance both in recognizing the arts and culture already present in their communities and in seeing those arts and culture
resources as assets to build on.
Research findings will inform the IAC’s strategic and programmatic planning around supporting communities as they employ arts and culture in their economic and community development planning.
This Week in Hoosier History
1922 – The Hatfield radio studio on North Meridian Street in Indianapolis announced the premiere of station WOH. A special live broadcast included Governor Warren McCray, Indianapolis Mayor Samuel Shank, author Meredith Nicholson, and newspaper reporter Mary E. Bostwick. Music was provided by the Purdue Glee Club and Holler’s Hoosier Orchestra. The radio signal reached wide parts of the United States.
For more local news . . .
Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson here