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Last updated on Friday, December 30, 2016
(UNDATED) - May saw crowds fill the street along 14th Street as the Milwaukee Depot was moved to its new home; a former Lawrence County jail officer was arrested for trafficking with an inmate; a IU senior lecturer at the Jacobs School of Music was fired after allegedly sexually assaulting a student at the Bloomington campus; Matt Seifers was named Bedford North Lawrence Boys basketball coach and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Law Enforcement presented Indiana Conservation Officers Mike Gregg and Nathan Lutz with “District 5 Officer of the year” and “District 5 Boating Officer of the Year.”
The Milwaukee Depot was moved to its new home at 14th and J streets.
The move was part of the City of Bedford's Stellar Communities Grant. The limestone building, which opened in 1900, is 130 feet long and weighs 350 tons and was moved about 1,200 feet south from its former home.
Once completed, the depot will serve as a tourism and trail information center and include a community room and a gallery room that will tell the story of Indiana limestone and its Lawrence County roots as well as reproductions of the Land of Limestone exhibit.
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A former Lawrence County Jail officer was arrested after police discovered he was having a relationship with a female inmate and provided her with unclaimed phone cards while he was on duty.
According to a press release, on April 5, while investigators were listening to inmate telephone calls during the course of an unrelated investigation, it was discovered that a corrections officer, 42-year-old Adam Troy Walls, was communicating regularly with a female inmate housed at the Lawrence County Jail.
Due to the nature of these communications a new investigation was started and Walls was immediately placed on administrative leave.
Police say Walls had obtained inmate phone card numbers from three unclaimed phone cards without permission and passed those numbers to the inmate so she could call him on his personal phone.
In addition, Walls delivered a bottle containing a liquid to the inmate while he was on duty.
On April 8, Walls was terminated and an investigative report was filed with the Lawrence County Prosecutor for review.
On May 2, a warrant was issued for Walls arrest and he turned himself.. He is facing charges of trafficking with an inmate and theft.
On August 10, Walls pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor of trafficking with an inmate, the theft charge was dismissed in a negotiated plea deal. He was sentenced to a year in jail with 355 days suspended to supervised probation. Walls spend was given credit for one day served and served four days in jail.
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Guo Ping Wang, a senior lecturer at the Jacobs School of Music, was fired for allegedly sexually assaulting a student on the Bloomington campus.
According to an Indiana University press release, the assault was reported on March 28. At that time officials immediately placed Wang on administrative leave.
IU's initial investigation included discussions with the accuser and others before the University decided to report the incident to the IU Police Department, who opened an investigation into the reported assault.
His next court appearance is a pretrial conference scheduled for January 5, 2017.
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Matt Seifers was named Bedford North Lawrence Boys basketball coach. Seifers took over for the BNL Stars after leading the Southport girls team to a 12-12 mark last season.
Seifers spent the past two seasons in Indianapolis, finishing with a 19-28 record. He held the boys coaching position at Mitchell in 2012 and finished 1-20. He also served one year as athletic director.
The eighth head coach in program history, Seifers was backed by a 6-0 vote from the North Lawrence Community Schools board .
Seifers is a 1991 graduate of Bloomington South High School and began coaching more than 20 years ago.
Seifers also served as a varsity assistant coach at Bloomington South High School under JR Holmes, a varsity assistant and head freshman coach at Seymour High School, head coach for Indiana Elite 2020 boys, head coach Indiana Elite Orange boys, director of Indiana Elite Girls Basketball, director of Club Teams for Indiana Elite Boys Basketball and instructor for Indiana Elite Basketball Academy.
Seifers replaced Jamie Hudson after the board opted not to renew his contract in April after guiding the Stars to a 107-96 record. The BNL boys program has not won a sectional title since 2001.
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The Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Law Enforcement presented Indiana Conservation Officers Mike Gregg and Nathan Lutz with "District 5 Officer of the year" and "District 5 Boating Officer of the Year."
The awards were presented May 19th following a memorial ceremony for fallen Indiana Conservation Officers, conducted in the south atrium of the State Capital Building in Indianapolis.
Officer Gregg has been nominated as District 5 Conservation Officer of the Year 8 times in his 28 year career with the IDNR Law Enforcement Division. He was also awarded the coveted James D. Pitzer award in 2002.
Officer Gregg is a member of the Indiana Conservation Officers' Public Safety Scuba Team and was very active in that role in 2015 as he was involved in several underwater recoveries around the state.
Officer Gregg is a very self-motivated and active patrol officer. He is well respected among his peers and other local law enforcement agencies. He is very diverse in his law enforcement activity ranging from fish and wildlife crimes to being instrumental in the search for an 18-year-old Marina Boeltner, of Bloomfield.
Officer Gregg is assigned to Greene County and resides there with his wife Shawn.
ICO Nathan Lutz was hired in February of 2014. He is a Parke County native and is currently assigned to Parke County. He has specialty training as a sonar operator and as an air boat operator. Officer Lutz serves as a District 5 Media Team Member/Public Information Officer.
ICO Lutz was hired by the Law Enforcement Division during his pursuit of a Wildlife Biology degree at Purdue University. He is a highly motivated officer and spends much of his time at Cecil M. Harden Reservoir/Raccoon Lake on the water enforcing state boating laws and ensuring the safety of the boaters on the lake. He is currently serving in his second year as an Indiana Conservation Officer.
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