2020 Year In Review

Most will be glad to see 2020 end.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - Eagle Country 99.3 is recapping the biggest news stories of 2020. The stories below were chosen based on each story’s magnitude, how long it remained in the headlines and the amount of views the story received.

The top stories are ranked in no particular order.

 

Hog Rock Cafe Fire

The beloved southeastern Indiana bar and restaurant went up in flames on Thanksgiving Eve as patrons were enjoying some live music. 

Luckily, no one was injured in the blaze, but more than 30 employees were left without a job and owners, Jeff and Chrissy Lanham, were left without a business. 

After battling the fire for several hours, firefighters reported a partial collapse of the front of the structure. The building was a complete loss. 

Despite the devastation, what happened next was beautiful. On December 12, a drive thru donation event was set up to benefit the families impacted by the Hog Rock Cafe fire. 

Nearly $39,000 was raised thanks to the generous giving of community members from near and far. 

Jeff and Chrissy Lanham hope to rebuild the Hog Rock Cafe in the future, but specifics haven't been publicly released at this time. 

 

New Lawrenceburg City Council Votes Out LMU Director Olin Clawson

Just a day after being sworn in to city council, new members Brett Bondurant, Justin Noppert, Thomas Rowlett, Sr., Lenny Fryman, along with longtime councilman Tony Abbott, voted to relieve Olin Clawson as LMU director. 

The decision came after months of controversy surrounding a lone utility pole at the corner of Fourth and Front streets that had been struck multiple times by semi-trucks.

A firestorm between Clawson and Lawrenceburg leaders became public in September after the city was handed a $1.3 million bill for a job to relocate the utility pole after LMU ended up taking on the job. 

An application for an Indiana Community Crossings grant to help pay for the work estimated the cost at $180,000 – which led to lots of raised eyebrows when LMU submitted the invoice for nearly $1.33 million for the project in August.

That was not the only allegation of unapproved spending LMU and Clawson faced. Spending on a large event tent has been questioned by members of council and the Lawrenceburg Utility Service Board, which oversees LMU.

Council members reported findings from financial analysis of LMU that showed the electric utility’s cash balance was more than $10 million at the start of 2018, but had fallen to just $688,000 by the end of July.

Clawson remained adamant that LMU was only doing work it was asked to do by Mayor Kelly Mollaun and the city engineer. He has since been replaced by William Kinnett. 

 

Three Arrested In Ohio County Shooting

Three people were arrested following an alleged drug deal gone wrong that occurred on March 3rd in the area of State Road 262.

Investigators say Joseph Louden, 21, of Rising Sun, was attempting to possess and sell approximately six grams of Oxycodone when Jesse Michel allegedly held him at gunpoint and robbed him of $6,400. 

Louden reported that he was driving down his driveway when a white male, later identified as Sean Murphy, was limping down the drive. Louden stopped to assist Murphy, when he was held at gunpoint by a masked man, believed to be Jesse Michel. Louden would retrieve a handgun and fire shots at the two men, striking Murphy. He would lose his spleen and part of his intestines. 

Michel was located and arrested two days later.

Prior to his arrest, police took Marcus Donald into custody. Donald is accused of setting up the drug transaction for Louden. He is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Robbery. 

Louden was arrested in June and charged with multiple felonies. 

 

Dillsboro Man Facing Murder Charge

The Dearborn County Sheriff's Office was called to the scene of a fatal shooting that occurred during a graduation party at a home on Prosperity Ridge Road on July 19 around 1:24 a.m.

Upon arrival, an 18-year-old was found deceased in the driveway of an apparent gunshot wound. 

The shot was allegedly fired by William "Billy" Baker. The 47-year-old told investigators that a teenage family member told him she'd been raped and that the person who did it was at the party. Baker proceeded to his house, retrieved a .30-06 rifle and went to his shed, which was lit - so he could see through the scope and fired a shot, according to court documents. 

Police interviewed the teen who Baker believed had been raped. She allegedly stated that at no time did she say she had been sexually assaulted, and that she was unaware of any other person present at the party who made any such statements.

Baker was formally charged with Murder in July and is awaiting trial. 

 

"Pigskin" Pete Arnold Passes Away

Eagle Country 99.3 lost one of its own in 2020. 

"Pigskin" Pete Arnold passed away in July at the age of 65 after a lengthy battle with cancer. 

Pete was a loving husband, father, stepfather, grandfather, brother, teacher, radio personality and friend. He was always heavily involved in sports at Lawrenceburg High School, as he spent time coaching golf and baseball, in addition to announcing various sports. 

His love for sports translated to radio, where Pete spent many years calling ballgames for Eagle Country 99.3.

And who could forget the Saturday morning Country Gold Show, featuring Pete and his long-time friend and co-host Jim Helms. 

Fans of the show know that Pete always liked to start the show by saying, "Good morning, good morning, good morning." That would be followed by Pete and Jim saying in unison, "we're the Country Gold guys."

Pete is dearly missed at Eagle Country 99.3 and around the community. 

 

Brent Spence Bridge Closes For Six Weeks After Fiery Crash 

The Brent Spence Bridge carries approximately 170,000 vehicles per day. So, when things go wrong on the bridge, it creates a traffic nightmare for a lot of folks in the tri-state. 

On November 11, a two-vehicle accident caused a huge fire on the northbound side of the bridge. The flames burned for more than two hours causing damage to the southbound lanes on the upper deck of the bridge. No injuries were reported but the bridge would need to be shut down for an extended period of time for repairs. 

Forty-one days later the bridge reopened, a day ahead of schedule, according to KYTC Secretary Jim Gray. Crews worked 24/7 even through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend to keep the repair project on schedule. 

Those repair included replacing a section of the concrete as well as some of the support beams on the upper deck that carries southbound traffic from Ohio to Kentucky; replacing a section of the concrete on the lower deck that carries northbound traffic from Kentucky to Ohio; and repairing electrical and drainage systems on the bridge.

The total cost of the project was initially said to be around $12 million. However, Jim Gray reported that final costs likely be half that number. 

 

Eagle Country 99.3 Celebrates It's 50th Anniversary

WSCH went on the air for the first time on October 29, 1970. 

The call letters are still in place 50 years later at Eagle Country 99.3 in Lawrenceburg. 

Over the course of 2020, we took a stroll down memory lane in celebration of the station's 50th anniversary. In the picture above, current afternoon host Travis Thayer sits with Bob Britton, one of the original crew members at WSCH. 

Britton recalled the very first disk jockey's to be on-air at WSCH to be Bruce Campbell (morning's) and Ron Keith (afternoon's). Kenneth Courtney served as the engineer, and Britton joined a couple weeks after doing air work, sales, news and even carried the trash out.  

The first song Britton remembers giving a spin was Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried". 

Another big part of our 50th anniversary was the weekly giveaways of $99.30. In total, 39 individuals were winners and each were entered in to win the grand prize of $993, which was given away on December 11. 

Eagle Country 99.3 will continue to celebrate 50 years in 2021 with more weekly giveaways starting in January. 

 

Greendale Bank Robbery

The U.S. Bank on Ridge Avenue in Greendale was robbed in early February. 

The initial investigation by Indiana State Police and Greendale Police determined that a black male, wearing a disguise entered the bank, displayed a handgun and demanded money from the teller.

The man, identified as Edward L. Colllier, 44, of Indianapolis, left the bank with an undisclosed amount of money and took off in a Buick LeSabre. A nearby security camera revealed that a man matching the description of the suspect parked the vehicle and got into an orangish Dodge Charger, driven by another person, who was later identified as Rheonia L. Jackson, 24, of Indianapolis.  

Police say Collier and Jackson drove to Rising Star Casino after the robbery and discarded the disguise and clothing allegedly worn by Collier during the robbery. They were attempting to return to Indianapolis when they were taken into custody.

Collier and Jackson were transported back to Dearborn County Jail where they are both incarcerated on felony charges of Robbery While Armed with a Deadly Weapon and Conspiracy to Commit Robbery While Armed with a Deadly Weapon.

 

COVID-19 

2020 will forever be the year of COVID-19. 

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, but it wasn't until March of 2020 that the virus was beginning to spread at an alarming rate. 

Stay-at-home orders were made, businesses were forced to close, employees started working from home, masks and face coverings were mandated, social distancing came into the picture, and quarantines were required for positive cases and close contacts. 

The 2020 news cycle has been dominated by COVID-19 talk. Positive cases, deaths, red-status, school closings, event cancellations, etc. were among the headlines. Now, vaccines are beginning to be distributed across the country in hopes of decreasing spread of the virus. 

Since January 1, the CDC reports 19,432,125 positive cases and 337,419 deaths across the United States. 

 

Music on the River Goes On 

Music on the River circa 2019. 

Live music was largely non-existent in 2020. 

In Lawrenceburg, the show went on with Lawrenceburg Main Street's Music on the River series. 

Those who felt comfortable enough to attend were encouraged to social distance and wear face coverings. 

For those who didn't feel comfortable being around a crowd, most of the shows were live streamed on the Lawrenceburg Main Street Facebook page. 

Lawrenceburg also hosted Fall Music Fest and Summer Fest, featuring the likes of Jimmie Allen and David Lee Murphy. 

 

 

 

 

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