Francesville Woman Arrested on Possession, OVWI Charges

A Francesville woman was arrested Thursday after she reportedly was operating a vehicle under the influence of controlled substances.

The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department had received a call about an intoxicated driver and police found Samantha Davis’ vehicle at 1726 W. 560 S. The vehicle was off the road stuck in a large snow bank. Police found the driver, Davis, in the passenger side of the vehicle. The officer tried talking to her but he stated in the police report that she was having a hard time focusing and talking. She was asked to step back to the police car and she reportedly stumbled to the car. The officer asked for her ID and she had a difficult time retrieving her wallet from the car. The officer also reportedly found marijuana in her vehicle.

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Storm Wreaks Havoc in Kankakee Valley

Francesville Fire Station Two sustained damage due to a tornado

Several buildings sustained damage after tornadoes touched down in Francesville Wednesday morning. Francesville Fire Chief, Tim Wuethrich, talked about the event.

“It appears that we had a tornado touch down in two spots in Francesville, maybe three,” said Wuethrich. “It took three poles out on the highway, leveled a building that we call Station Two, our other fire station. We had a fire truck in there that’s underneath the rubble. It took part of a roof off a house on the other end of town. I’ve been at Incident Command the whole time so I haven’t assessed the damage yet.” Homeowners with damaged roofs may need to hire local roofers to fix and restore their roofing systems. They may also need to find a supplier of timber roof trusses for their roof replacement project.

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Former Owner of Gutwein Seed Company Dies at the Age of 92

Harvey F. Gutwein

The former owner of Gutwein Seed Company in Francesville has passed away at the age of 92. Harvey Gutwein passed away Sunday in the Jasper County Hospital in Rensselaer. Mr. Gutwein said before he passed that his pleasures were simple: flying his plane, picking citrus in Florida, and spending time with his family.

Spending time with his family could have been a full time job as Mr. Gutwein had 5 living sons, 5 living daughters, his wife, 4 living sisters, 1 living brother, 31 grandchildren, 55 great grandchildren, and 4 great-great grandchildren.

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Right to Work Legislation Bills Filed in the Indiana House

Indiana Statehouse

With sizeable majorities in both Houses, will State Republicans push for legislation that would prevent workers from being required to pay union dues? House Labor Committee Chairman, Doug Gutwein (R-Francesville), has indicated that he personally likes the idea, but would not predict whether it will be debated this session. Bills have already been filed in the House on Right to Work legislation.

Governor Mitch Daniels, though, is not too excited to promote the legislation, wanting the legislators to concentrate on school, local government, and criminal justice reform.

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