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On Saturday, December 28, at approximately 4:37 pm, Washington County Deputies and other emergency personnel responded to the area of State Road 135 North and Spurgeon Road regarding a two-motor vehicle accident with injuries.

Deputies arrived on the scene and observed a 2018 Jeep Wrangler off the west side of the roadway with extensive front end damage. The driver of the Jeep was identified as Larry T. Stark, age 61, of Brownstown, Indiana.

Deputies also observed a 2013 Ford Fusion off the east side of the roadway with extensive front end damage. The driver of the Ford Fusion was identified as Carrisa Shepherd, age 25, of Salem.

Members of the Washington County Ambulance Service, Salem Fire Department and Monroe Township Volunteer Fire Department worked to extricate Stark from his vehicle. Stark was then transported to U of L Hospital in Louisville for treatment of his injuries.

Shepherd was transported to St. Vincent Hospital in Salem and later transferred to U of L Hospital for treatment of her injuries.

During the investigation, it was determined that Shepherd was traveling south on State Road 135, while Stark was traveling north. Both vehicles collided head on in the northbound lane.

Detective Brad Naugle is the lead investigating officer and was assisted by Deputy Hailee Lopotosky and the Indiana State Police.

The collision remains under investigation at this time.

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The Indiana State Department of Agriculture, The Nature Conservancy and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency have joined forces to implement the Cover Crop Premium Discount Program for the fifth year in a row.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, this program will provide farmers with a unique opportunity to receive financial incentives for implementing cover crops on their operation. Farmers who plant cover crops on owned or rented acres will receive a $5 per acre crop insurance premium discount. Farmers who planted cover crops in the fall of 2024 are eligible to apply. This program is eligible for 50 out of the 92 counties in Indiana.
 

Crop insurance is an integral part of the farm safety net that provides financial protection for farmers after bad weather impacts their crops. Cover crops can provide many benefits which include helping to prevent erosion, improving water quality and  making soils more resilient to weather and climate impacts.

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), The Nature Conservancy and partners throughout the state have worked with the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) to establish an initiative to increase cover crop usage in Indiana. Our focus for this program is to target first time cover crop users in an effort to expand awareness and the adoption of cover crops as a tool to improve farm resiliency.

This project will provide eligible participants with a $5/acre premium discount on the following year's crop insurance invoice for every acre of cover crop enrolled and verified in the program. Funding will be provided through RMA as an additional insurance premium discount through normal crop insurance processes. Only acres in cover crops (absent other state or federally incentivized cover crops) will be eligible for the premium discount. Confirmed applications will be forwarded to the USDA-RMA for processing premium discounts on crop insurance premium invoices for the 2024 cash crop. Applicants must certify that by signing up for this program, they give ISDA permission to share the information provided to the USDA-RMA for administering the benefit to the beneficiary as documented on the application. Applicants also convey permission to ISDA or SWCD representative(s) access to the property enrolled, if necessary, to verify cover crop establishment ISDA will verify applications and respective acreage. Being a first-time cover crop user is not a requirement but will be given priority for funding. ISDA may contact applicants for additional clarifying information.

Applicants must maintain documentation on cover crops that have been seeded (e.g. Seed Tags, Application Invoices) and utilize the Midwest Cover Crop Council - Cover Crop Tool or the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide recommendations. This includes seeding dates, appropriate seeding rates and seed mixes to ensure objectives of the cover crop are being met. A cover crop is considered: "a non-grain harvestable, non-insurable conservation/agronomic practice seeded in the fall to protect and improve soil and water quality." To ensure the practice achieves the desired results, no full width tillage/termination of the cover crop in the fall is allowed. Management/termination of the cover crops must be done in the spring in accordance with the most recent version of the USDA-NRCS Cover Crop Termination Guidelines. This guidance not only informs proper management of cover crops but must also be followed to maintain eligibility for federal crop insurance.

The Cover Crop Premium Discount Program is available in the following counties: Bartholomew, Boone, Brown, Clark, Crawford, Daviess, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware, Dubois, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Gibson, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Martin, Monroe, Morgan, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Perry, Pike, Posey, Randolph, Ripley, Rush, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, Switzerland, Tipton, Union, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Washington and Wayne.

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CAST (Creating Avenues For Student Transformation), a southern Indiana Dyslexia resource center, is seeking donations to help fund the organization's efforts in 2025. CAST relies solely on donations to fund their tutoring and mentoring services.

“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability related to reading. Studies show up to 20% of the population in the United States is affected at some level with dyslexia. Children who are unable to read by the third grade are more likely to drop out of school.”

“Help our students achieve their full potential by supporting this effort,” she added.

You can share the hope of literacy with a local student by giving here: www.castwashco.org, paypal.me/CASTWC, Venmo @CASTWashCo or by cash or check to 1707 N Shelby St #107, Salem, IN 47167.

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Members of the Washington County 4-H Junior Leaders worked feverishly on Thursday evening, Dec. 19, to prepare 430 cheeseballs for their annual Christmas-time fundraiser.
Because of a scheduling conflict this year, the group could not begin working on the project until later in the afternoon, rather than their traditional start time of 11 a.m. With a lot of hard work, and help from several former members and adult volunteers, the cheeseballs were prepared and distributed on time.

For over 30 years, the Junior Leaders have sold cheeseballs to raise money to pay for their annual Achievement Trip. Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a favored destination for the group’s 2025 trip.

Junior Leaders is a state-wide 4-H program for students in grades 7-12. Washington County’s Junior Leaders include members from the Salem, Eastern and West Washington school systems. The program has 20 members.

Junior Leaders provide assistance to the adult volunteer leaders, help various 4-H clubs and with related activities and serve as mentors and role models for younger 4-H members.

The Junior Leaders only offer their cheeseballs three times a year—leading up to Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The cheeseballs are just $8 each and come in three varieties: plain, parsley, and pecan.

Over 600 pounds of cream cheese, chipped beef and secret spices were used for the recent order. During this past Thanksgiving, 330 cheeseballs were made and sold.

The Junior Leaders will be making cheeseballs again in April 2025, just before Easter. Watch this website and other news outlets for ordering deadlines and details. Orders can be placed with the Washington County Extension Office by calling 812-883-4601.