The Indiana State Police continue to investigate an officer involved shooting that occurred Wednesday morning in Brownstown, Indiana that involved two Brownstown Police Officers and left a 53-year-old Brownstown man dead. 

The first officer involved in the shooting has been identified as Brownstown Police Chief Tom Hanner. 

Chief Hanner is a 15 year law enforcement veteran.  He has been chief of the Brownstown Police Department for seven years and previously served with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. 

The second officer has been identified as Assistant Chief Joe Kelly.  Assistant Chief Kelly is a 12 year law enforcement veteran and previously served with the Indiana Capital Police before being hired by the Brownstown Police Department.

Both Chief Hanner and Assistant Chief Kelly have been placed on administrative leave per department protocol.

At the conclusion of the investigation, the Indiana State Police will submit the investigation to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

The investigation continues in the officer involved shooting that occurred on April 3, 2019, outside of the Brownstown Police Department in Jackson County.

The initial evidence indicated that a male, identified as Barry A. Rucker, age 53, Brownstown, Indiana along with a female arrived at the Brownstown Police Department together shortly after 8:00 am.

Rucker and the female were involved in an altercation outside of the police department which prompted a 911 call from a passerby.  Hanner and Kelly from the Brownstown Police Department soon arrived on scene. 

After the officers arrived, an altercation occurred between the officers and Rucker. 

During the altercation, Rucker produced a gun, prompting both officers to fire at least one round from their handguns. 

Rucker was struck by at least one of the bullets fired by the officers. 

Deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department soon arrived on scene and assisted the Brownstown officers in administering immediate first aid to Rucker. 

Jackson County EMS arrived on scene and transported Rucker to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, Indiana where he was soon pronounced deceased by the Jackson County Coroner’s Office.

None of the officers or the female acquaintance of Rucker were injured. 

Detectives from the Indiana State Police-Versailles Post responded to the scene and became the lead investigating agency.

Barry Rucker’s family has been notified.

The names of the officers involved in the incident will be posted in a future release.

The Brownstown Community School Corporation briefly went on lockdown after the incident occurred until it was determined that there was no threat to any of the schools in the district. 

Streets located near the Brownstown Police Department were blocked off for nearly eight hours while the investigation was occurring.     

The Louisville Bats (0-1) dropped their Opening Day matchup with the defending International League West Division champion Toledo Mud Hens (1-0) by a 10-5 score at Fifth Third Field on a 39-degree Thursday night. For Louisville, the loss sets a franchise-record five consecutive years in which the club has dropped its opening game of the season.

The contest started off well for the Bats, with right-handed starter Odrisamer Despaigne (0-0, 5.40) keeping the Mud Hens hitless through the first four innings, at one point retiring seven consecutive Toledo batters. Despaigne went 5.0 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits, which all occurred in the home half of the fifth, walking two and striking out five on 81 pitches, 47 strikes.

Louisville’s offense got off to an early start, at one point leading in the game 4-0 and getting their leadoff hitter on base in each of the first three innings. Sherman Johnson’s bases-loaded walk in the top of the second got the scoring started, and Christian Colon’s sacrifice fly made it a 2-0 lead. The Bats drove Toledo starting pitcher and University of Louisville product Kyle Funkhouser out of the game after just 3.0 innings, giving up two runs and walking three on 77 pitches, 41 strikes. The Bats added one run in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings against the Toledo bullpen before the Hens closed the gap with a three-spot off Despaigne to make it a 5-3 game.

The Mud Hens completed their comeback effort in the bottom of the seventh, scoring five runs off Louisville relievers Jackson Stephens, Cody Reed and Matt Bowman to take an 8-5 lead over the Bats. The Hens would win by a 10-5 final score.

Under new manager Jody Davis, Louisville swiped four bags on the base paths, their most as a team in a game since June 17, 2017. Colon stole two bases, with Johnson and Phillip Ervin each swiping a bag themselves. Johnson had quite a Louisville debut out of the leadoff spot, reaching base three times with a single and two walks. Catcher Juan Graterol reached base four times, with two singles and two walks.

The Bats and Mud Hens are back at it tomorrow night for the second game of a four-game series at Fifth Third Field to open the 2019 season. Right-hander Lucas Sims is set to start for Louisville, while left-hander Ryan Carpenter, who faced the Bats three times last year, is set to go for Toledo.

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating the deaths of a father and daughter who died after what appears to be a kayaking accident at Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Area. 

Joshua Varner (33) and Vivian Varner (4) of Newburgh were kayaking on Blue Grass Pit Thursday evening.  

A family member became concerned when they had not returned when expected. Emergency services were called around 7:15 pm.

Around 9:45 pm both subjects were found floating in the water. Joshua was pronounced deceased at the scene.  Vivian was taken to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville where she succumbed to her injuries.  

A kayak belonging to the victims was found capsized in the water approximately 500 yards away.  The water temperature was 55 degrees and the water depth where the victims were found was roughly 10 feet.    

It is unknown at this time what caused the kayak to capsize.  Life jackets were not being worn by the victims when they were recovered.

Responding agencies included the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Valley Search and Rescue, Elberfeld Fire Department, Chandler Fire Department, Booneville Fire Department, Scott Township Fire Department, Warrick County EMA, Warrick County EMS, Warrick County Dispatch, Warrick County Coroner’s Office and Indiana Conservation Officers. 

Indiana Conservation Officers strongly encourage the use of life jackets while boating or near water.  More information on boating safety can be found by clicking on the link below.

https://www.in.gov/dnr/lawenfor/5066.htm

A culvert replacement project will close State Road 56 west of Scottsburg for approximately one week beginning on or after Monday, April 8.

S.R. 56 will be closed one mile west of S.R. 39 near North Mount Road.

The official state highway detour routes will follow S.R. 160 and I-65 or S.R. 135, U.S. 50 and I-65. 

On Thursday, April 4, 2019 an ongoing investigation led by the Indiana State Police Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC), led to the arrest of a Madison, Indiana man for possession of child pornography. 

The investigation began in February of this year when the Indiana State Police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. That investigation led Detective Tom Basham from the Indiana State Police ICAC Task Force, to meet Lantz Edward Alexander Helms, 21, Madison, Indiana at the Charlestown Police Department for questioning. 

As a result of the interview and investigation, Helms was arrested and charged with 107 counts of Possession of Child Pornography, a level 6 felony.  Lantz Helms was then remanded into the custody of the Clark County Jail. 

Officers from the Indiana State Police were assisted by the Charlestown Police Department. 

This investigation is ongoing. 

April 4

Washington County Sheriff’s Department

Theron M. Korte, 52, Marysville, IN

• Possession of Marijuana, Hashish, Hash Oil or Salvia
• Possession or Use of a Legend Drug or Precursor
• Violations of Terms or Conditions of Bonds Offenses

Lyndi B Bowling, 40, Salem

• Contempt of Court

 City of Salem Police

Carole L Slack, 66, Salem

• Public Intoxication

Brayden N Schultz, 19, Salem

• Operating a Motor Vehicle While Never Being Licensed

April 5

Washington County Sheriff’s Department

Scott M. Montgomery, 30, Salem

• Contempt of Court

Lee Roy Cox, 48, Austin

• Violation of Probation

Monica A. Cole, 39, Campbellsburg

• Violation of Probation

Coty William Estes, 21, Salem

• Serving Weekend Sentence

Anthony Blaine Arnold, 36, Clarksville

• Body Attachment, Contempt of Court

City of Salem Police

Michael Larue Bowers, 36, Scottsburg

• Violation of Probation
• Possession of Meth
• Possession of Paraphernalia

Lesa Mae Graham, 47, Salem

• Failure to Appear on Felony Charge

April 6

Washington County Sheriff’s Department

City of Salem Police

Polmer Wayne Burke, 42, Salem

• Operating While Intoxicated Per Se
• Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person
• Neglect of a Dependent
• Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated with at least one passenger under 18

April 7

City of Salem Police

James Scott Weyrauch, 44, Salem 

• Intimidation – draws/uses weapon or person to whom threat communicated is judge or bailiff 

April 7

Washington County Sheriff’s Department

Anthony Dion Hunt, 33, Pekin

• Criminal Trespass 

April 8

Washington County Sheriff’s Department

Steven Brent Tankersly, 61, Pekin

• Operating a vehicle with with a controlled substance in the person’s body
• Operating While Intoxicated Per Se 

William Andrew McCarty, 41, Pekin

• Writ of Body Attachment

Jeannie Ruth Howard, 44, Medora 

• Operating a Motor Vehicle While Privileges Are Suspended or Revoked

Bobby Joe Chambers, 30, Pekin 

• Violation of Probation 

Scott County Jail 

Scott R. Hemmingway, 43, Salem 

• Here for Court

Indiana State Police

Edward Akers, 39, Scottsburg

• Violation of Probation 

April 9

City of Salem Police 

Kamron Swank, 29, Mitchell

• Theft 

The male Kosciusko County Jail inmate that was discovered unresponsive, and later died, has been identified as Christopher A. Hinson, 42 of North Webster, IN.

Hinson was in the jail on charges of possession of methamphetamine and dealing methamphetamine.

This is an ongoing investigation and autopsy results are pending.

At the request of Kosciusko County Sheriff Kyle Dukes, the Indiana State Police has been requested to investigate the death of a male inmate at the Kosciusko County Jail.

The state police were contacted, on April 8, 2019, after an inmate was discovered unresponsive in his jail cell around 1:00 p.m.

Once the inmate was discovered, CPR was attempted but was unsuccessful.

The inmate was transported to the Kosciusko Community Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The Indiana State Police were assisted by the Kosciusko County Coroner’s Office and the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.

April 9 

City of Salem Police 

Mary Ann Heathcock, 50, Salem

• Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated
• Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated, Endangering a Person

April 10

City of Salem Police

Jessica Marie Tharp, 23, Borden

• Possession of Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish or Salvia
• Visiting a Common Nuisance
• Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor

William C. Martin, 33, Corydon

• Possession of Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish or Salvia
• Visiting a Common Nuisance
• Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor

Chassidy S. Shepherd, 21, Salem

• Possession of Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish or Salvia
• Maintaining a Common Nuisance
• Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor
• Possession of Meth
• Possession of Paraphernalia

Demonte Tee Whitfield, 18, Radcliff, Ky

• Possession of Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish or Salvia
• Visiting a Common Nuisance
• Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor

Washington County Sheriff’s Department

John E. Reich, 55, Salem

• Public Intoxication
• Disorderly Conduct
• Resisting Law Enforcement

Sue Ann Hankins, age 52 of Jeffersonville, passed away Saturday, April 6, 2019, in Norton Audubon Hospital Louisville.

Born November 3, 1966 in Salem, Indiana, she was the daughter of the late Ernest Gabe and Imogene (Flannery) Hankins. She was an employee of Blueriver Services in Palmyra and a resident of New Hope Services.

Survivors include: Brother: Gerry Hankins of Connersville, Indiana; Sister: Roberta Baldwin of Salem; Nephews: Robert Williams Jr., Ernie Williams and Jonathan Hankins; Nieces: Teresa Poehlein and Kimberlee Hankins and several great nephews and nieces; 4 Aunts: Helen Hisel, who cared for her, Joan Schocke, Barbara Brumfiel, Patsy Hines and many many cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents and 1 brother, Frank Hankins.

Funeral Service: 11:00 am Saturday at Dawalt Funeral Home in Salem, followed by interment in Crown Hill Cemetery.

Visitation: 4 to 8 pm Friday and 9 am until the time of the service on Saturday.

Enjoy fried morel mushrooms while taking in live music at Brown County State Park’s Mushrooms and Mash Festival on May 4 beginning at 6 p.m.

 Indiana Boys and Grass Hound will provide live music at the festival, which will also include s’mores around the campfire, mushroom crafts, and other activities. Adult beverages will be for sale.

 Tickets are on sale now for $5 in advance. They will cost $10 the day of the event. Purchase tickets at browncounty.com/store or at the Brown County State Park office or nature center. Kids 12 and under are free.

 Park admission during the event is $7 per vehicle for in-state residents and $9 per vehicle for out-of-state residents. 2019 annual passes will also be available.

 Brown County State Park (on.IN.gov/browncountysp) is at 1450 S.R. 46 E in Nashville, 47448.

 To view all DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.

Dyslexia Intervention Plans Throughout Washington County:
Did you know that dyslexia affects roughly 20% of the general population? This neurological learning
disability can mean difficulty with word recognition, poor spelling, reduced reading comprehension, and often
children with dyslexia are reading below grade level and unable to get the support they need to be successful
readers.

But there is good news: 95% of reading failure can be prevented by intervening during early school
years, using the correct reading system, and well-trained teachers.

The particular method of systematic
multisensory phonetics is incredibly effective when implemented early in an academic career. In the spirit of
this hopeful statistic, Creating Avenues for Student Transformation, (CAST) is working to implement a
community-wide dyslexia intervention plan to ensure that Dyslexic students have the academic support they
need to excel.

This intervention has three major phases. Phase 1 includes a 2 week training that will be offered through the
Dyslexia Institute of Indiana. This extensive 50-Hour Orton Gillingham Reading Specialist training will be
offered to selected educators in all 3 county schools so they can begin implementing these reading strategies
in classrooms.

In the 2019-2020 school year, all Indiana students in Kindergarten -2 nd grade will be screened for
Dyslexia.

Because of this new legislation, many new diagnoses are likely. As teachers are trained in this
teaching method, it will begin making a huge difference in student success, but many students will need
additional support in addition to classroom instruction. Phase 2 will seek out volunteer tutors.

These tutors will also need to attend the 2 week Orton Gillingham training and will then be matched with dyslexic students as they are identified through screening and diagnosis. Tutoring sites for Salem and West Washington school districts will be at Southern Hills Church and Mt. Tabor Christian Church respectively. A tutoring site for the East Washington school district is still to be confirmed.

This project is the brain child of Erin and Dustin Houchin, who are passionate about this issue.

They have personal experience with the effectiveness of this intervention. They were able to get their son the help he
needed but they quickly learned that other children in our community are not afforded the same opportunity:

“After coming to terms with the fact that there is no infrastructure here, we decided to try to build a support system. Through the help of our church, Mount Tabor, as well as Southern Hills Church and the CAST program, the Washington County Community Foundation, and corporate and private partners and donors, we
are on the verge of launching what we hope will become a Southern Indiana Dyslexia Institute that can
provide help in detecting, accommodating, treating and tutoring children with dyslexia, as well as providing
dyslexia training for teachers in our school systems and serving as a resource for parents of newly diagnosed
children.”

This Southern Indiana Dyslexia Institute is phase 3 of the Dyslexia Intervention Plan. The hope is that Washington County can grow to be a hub of services in a severely under-served region.

CAST is currently working along with Southern Hills Church, Mount Tabor Christian Church and various other organizations to bring all 3 phases of this ambitious plan to fruition. This teacher and tutor training would not be possible without the substantial investment of the Washington County Community Foundation.

Judy Johnson, Foundation Executive Director, is enthusiastic about this partnership, “This is a great follow-up
to the training we offered last summer to our county teachers when we brought in the Ron Clark Academy.
  

Although this event is more targeted, I think this training will have widespread effect in our county.   We are
happy to partner with CAST on this and we are so grateful to our generous donors who made this possible. 

Our donors are having a tremendous impact throughout Washington County.” The Touch Tomorrow funds
that have made such a huge impact on this dyslexia project will continue to be important to the development
of the community: “Our donors to the Touch Tomorrow Funds made this training move from dream to reality. 
Because of their generosity, we were able to fund this training in a very big way. 

The Touch Tomorrow funds allow us to be responsive to the ever-changing needs of our community and respond to opportunities like this. 

Currently, we are offering a matching grant for donations to a Touch Tomorrow Fund.  For every dollar a
donor gives to this type of fund, we will match that dollar with two dollars. 

This is a great time to start or build
a fund in the Washington County Community Foundation.”
The 50 hour Orton Gillingham training will be held at the Washington County Community Foundation
from June 3 rd – June 14 th with possible additional training dates added in the near future.

Space is extremely limited and applications must be turned in to CAST by May 1 st to be considered. Individuals who attend the
training must commit to at least 1 year of tutoring or be teachers in Washington County, Indiana.

Funds are still being collected to fully fund this and future trainings and may be directed to CAST.

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating after a body was recovered from the Ohio River this evening.

The Louisville Fire Department recovered the body of an unidentified male shortly before 6:00 p.m., near the junction of Silver Creek and the Ohio River.

An autopsy is scheduled for early next week. Assisting agencies at the scene included the New Albany Fire Department, New Albany Police Department, Louisville Fire Department, Floyd County EMS, and the Floyd County Coroner’s Office. 

Anyone with information concerning this investigation is encouraged to contact Indiana Conservation Officers’ Central Dispatch at 812-837-9536. No further information will be released until completion of the autopsy. 

Last week, a Grant County man turned himself at the Jefferson County Jail in Madison, Indiana after a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of impersonating an Indiana StateTrooper.

The investigation by Trooper Nate Adams began in February of this year when a man, later identified as James L. Keirstead, age 44, Marion, Indiana, caused a disturbance at the Pizza Hut Restaurant located at 510 Clifty Drive, Madison, Indiana.  During the disturbance, Keirstead told employees of the restaurant that he was a state trooper. 

Multiple employees had additional contact with Keirstead in February and March when he complained about service he received at the business.  During each of those conversations, Keirstead again identified himself as a state trooper and threatened to charge employees with various offenses.  Employees became suspicious of Keirstead and reported him to the ISP-Versailles Post, prompting the investigation. 

With the assistance of Trooper Jeremy Perez (Peru Post), Trooper Adams located Keirstead at a residence in Marion, Indiana where he was interviewed. 

At the conclusion of the investigation, a warrant was issued for James Keirstead on a charge of Impersonation of a Public Servant.  Keirstead returned to Jefferson County and turned himself in on the charge.  He was being held at the Jefferson County Jail pending his initial appearance in court.

Samp Hall, Jr., age 95 of Pekin, passed away on April 13, 2019 at his residence. Born on November 10, 1923 in McRoberts, Kentucky, he was the son of the late Samp Hall, Sr. and Minerva Webb Hall.

On October 21, 1946, he married the love of his life, Glassie Fleming Hall. She passed away on October 9, 2012.

Samp was a retired electrician with Webb & Lee. He was a member of Pekin Church of Christ.

Survivors include his son, Luther Hall (Mona) of Pekin; 5 daughters, Linda Pennington (Ronnie) of Salem, Dianna Norris (Jay-deceased) of Salem, Shanda Barnabee (Jim) of Henderson, Kentucky, Marsha Miller (Brad) of Corydon, and Barbara Morris (Jerry) of Starlight; sister, Mildred Collier of Virginia; daughter in law, Tina Hall; 13 grandchildren, 34 great grandchildren, and 17 great-great grandchildren.

Preceded in death by his parents; wife; son, Tim Greg Hall; grandson, Mark Hall; 10 brothers and 4 sisters.

The funeral service will be at 12:00 PM Tuesday at the Hughes-Taylor Funeral Home in Pekin. Viewing will be from 4-8 PM Monday, and Tuesday from 10:00 AM until time of service at the Funeral Home. Burial will be at Mt. Washington Cemetery. Jeremy Goen will officiate. 

www.hughestaylor.net

Ruth “Mimi” White 98, of Paoli, Indiana passed away Thursday April 11, 2019 at her home.

She was born on June 29, 1920 in Fargo, Indiana to Leonard Alonza Bennett and Josephine (Cecil) Bennett.

She married Elwood “Woody” White on March 28, 1937.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Elwood “Woody”, two sisters Lois Stout and
Viola Lanham, three great-grandchildren Ashley White, Brian White, and Rebecca Ott, one step-
granddaughter Mykala Morin.

During World War II she went to work at Indiana Army Ammunition Plant in Charlestown,
Indiana and was a caregiver for her father-in-law Elvet.
She was a member of the Old Union Methodist Church in Orleans, Indiana.

She loved to garden, attending to her flowers and the hummingbirds, she loved music, and
loved to travel, she enjoyed cooking and being with her family, they were her biggest accomplishment.

Survivors include:
4-Sons:

JR (Becky) White, New Albany, Indiana
Frank (Connie) White, Sellersburg, Indiana
Steve (Diane) White, West Baden, Indiana
Joe (Rita) White, Paoli, Indiana

3-Daughters:

Norma Spalding, Paoli, Indiana
Anita (Lawrence) Myers Paoli, Indiana
Melody (Larry) Morin, Bedford, Indiana

Caregivers:

Mary Patton, Paoli, Indiana
Barbara Mosson, Paoli, Indiana

Also surviving Ruth “Mimi” White are fourteen grandchildren and thirty-four great-grandchildren and seven great-great grandchildren.

Funeral Services will be at 1:00 P.M. Tuesday April 16, 2019 at Dillman-Scott Funeral Home.

Interment will follow in the Old Union United Methodist Cemetery, Orleans, Indiana. Visitation to be held Monday April 15, 2019 from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. and from 9:00 A.M. until time of service on Tuesday at Dillman-Scott Funeral Home, 226 West Campbell Street, Paoli, Indiana.

Arrangements made by Dillman-Scott Funeral Home, 226 W. Campbell Street, Paoli, IN 47454.

Online Condolences may be made at Dillman-Scott Funeral Home.com.

The Washington County Sheep Association, the Washington County Goat Association, and Purdue Extension invite sheep and goat producers to a Body Condition Scoring Workshop
beginning at 6:30 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2019 at the Washington County Fairgrounds (118 Fair St.) in Salem.

This workshop will focus on determining body condition scores of sheep and goats and how to utilize these scores to manager your flock or herd.

In addition to body condition scoring, grading of lambs and kids will also be discussed. Local sheep and goat producers will be providing examples of their livestock for workshop participants to practice scoring and grading.

Dr. Beth Johnson, Field Veterinary for Kentucky Department of Agriculture and a representative from Brewer Livestock in North Vernon, IN will be the workshop presenters.

The workshop is free, thanks to generous support from the Washington County Sheep Association and Washington County Goat Association, but RSVP’s are appreciated by
Tuesday, April 23, 2019 by contacting the Purdue Extension – Washington County office at dhowellw@purdue.edu or 812-883-4601.

Ten years after a fire burned the Little Nashville Opry, live music is set to return to Historic Brown County Indiana.

The Brown County Music Center will feature seating for 2,000 and host its grand opening event on Saturday, August 24^th with a concert by legendary country artist Vince Gill and unveiled a list of other national acts scheduled to perform at the new venue.

The Brown County Music Center also today announced its agreement to have Live Nation assist with programming the venue and that Ticketmaster will handle the ticketing. The venue will program local and regional entertainment as well.

• Vince Gill – Saturday, August 24^th (tickets on sale this Friday)
• *Tesla – Saturday, September 7^th
• *Clint Black – Friday, September 20^th
• *Home Free – Sunday, October 6^th
• *George Thorogood & The Destroyers – Sunday, October 13^th
• Peppa Pig Live! – Wednesday, October 16^th (tickets on sale this Friday)
• *Here Come The Mummies – Saturday, October 26^th
• *Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox – Thursday, December 12^th

*Tickets on sale at a later to be announced date

Tickets for the Vince Gill and Peppa Pig Live! shows will go on sale this Friday, April 19^th at 10:00 a.m. at www.browncountymusiccenter.com and at www.ticketmaster.com.

Tickets will also be available for purchase in person at the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau Visitor’s Center and also, eventually, at the venue box office.

Tickets for all other events listed above with an *asterisk will go on sale at later, to be determined times.

Located in Nashville, Indiana, the Brown County Music Center will be a visual and auditory masterpiece with cutting edge design that will bring in nationally known performers and host local events. The new venue will offer an incredibly intimate experience for each show. The farthest seat from the stage will only be 106 feet away.

Dana Beth Evans, the Director of Events for the new venue said, “This is an incredibly exciting time for Brown County and you can feel the anticipation growing as we get closer and closer to opening day. We’ve all put an incredible amount of time and effort into this place to make sure that it is nothing short of amazing for all who attend, including the artists. We hope people are able to take in all the beauty of the venue, the nature around it and the love and care of the people in this community when they visit us.”

The Brown County Board of Directors have banded together to make sure that the Brown County Music Center is both an incredible destination for music lovers and also a central part of its community. The commitment to its community has been shown by making plans to locally source and display local works of art, highlight local restaurants and breweries as part of their concessions, and have partnered with the local Live Nation office based in Indianapolis to book all national touring artists. 

“We are thrilled to be part of the Brown County Music Center and their team to bring some of the best national touring artists into Nashville, Indiana.” said Dan Kemer, Live Nation’s VP of Midwest who will be responsible for booking the venue.  “Brown County is already a great arts destination, and the music center is the next logical step as the Nashville market and tourism business continue to grow.”

Regional and local performances will be mixed in with the Live Nation booked events to keep the venue’s schedule full of great entertainment.  The Brown County Music Center will also be available for rent for community related activities and special events on non-concert days, and they have also partnered with Ticketmaster as its official ticketing agency.