POSTED AT 11:35 P.M. ON SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2008

FIRST PHOTO - A tree split on South Seminary Street near its intersection with 'A' Street. SECOND PHOTO - Todd McGhee's porch was badly damaged after a tree fell on it on Lester Street. THIRD PHOTO - Firefighters were called to Monty Howell's home on West Mechanic Street after a tree took out power lines in his back and side yards. (R.M. Johnson photos)
BLOOMFIELD - No injuries and no catastrophic damage was reported as the result of a storm that passed through Bloomfield and Greene County early Sunday morning.
According to the Greene County Sheriff's Department, the main complaints they received Sunday were trees down throughout the area. In Bloomfield, a tree in Monty Howell's back yard on West Mechanic Street fell, landing on some power lines and pulling the electrical weather head out of the side of his home. The Bloomfield Fire Department was dispatched to the scene to investigate for possible smoke, but found nothing.
A tree in the front yard of Todd McGhee on Lester Street fell, causing damage to his front porch. On South Seminary Street, there were a number of large limbs and small trees down, but no major damage.
At this posting, Town of Bloomfield crews have been out for about five hours cleaning up after the storm. UDWI/REMC reports only scattered outages throughout its district. There is only one major REMC line out - that one being in the Clay City area.

POSTED AT 2:38 P.M. ON THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2008
NEW PICTURES POSTED AT 2:32 P.M. ON FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2008

Greene County Circuit Court Judge Erik 'Chip' Allen talks to Bloomfield Elementary School students Thursday afternoon as part of the annual Blooms for Bloomfield Project put on by the school. Normally, the Blooms for Bloomfield celebration is held at the Bloomfield Town Park, but since the weather was rainy, the event was moved to the Glover Gymnasium. Area businesses all received planters full of flowers to celebrate spring and spruce up Bloomfield. SECOND PHOTO - Bloomfield Town Marshal Ken Tharp shows kindergartner Blake Burch how the radar works in one of the town's police vehicles Friday. FOR MORE PICTURES OF THE EVENT, CLICK HERE (R.M. Johnson photo)

Editor’s Note: Although winners have been declared, all vote totals are unofficial until the Board of Election certifies the results in the next few days.
Republican Greene County Superior Court candidate Dena Benham Martin gets a hug and kiss from her husband, Dean, after the final vote tallies came in Tuesday evening. Martin beat former prosecutor David Powell to secure a place on the November General Election ballot, where she will face Democrat Jacob Fish. (R.M. Johnson photo)
BLOOMFIELD - Greene County will get a new judge and Bloomfield will get two new school board members after Tuesday’s Primary Election.
Democrat Jacob Fish and Republican Dena Benham Martin got the nods from their respective parties by defeating challengers Karen Strueh and David Powell, respectively.
Fish garnered 3,524 votes to Strueh’s 2,666 on the Democrat side, while Martin grabbed 1,627 GOP votes to Powell's 1,272 votes.
Fish had 56.93 percent of his party's votes, while Martin beat Powell by a 12.24 percent margin.
In the race for two seats on Bloomfield's School Board - both of which were at-large positions - two newcomers will take their seats on the board this summer.
Dwayne Hostetter and John Combs were both victorious challengers to incumbents Eric Moody and Bob Kirk. Also running were Homer Abrams, Paul Hash, Steve Jones, Willard Norris and Curt Vandeventer.
In the school board race, the numbers are:
• Homer Abrams - 235
• John W. Combs - 740
• Paul J. Hash - 190
• Dwayne E. Hostetter - 710
• Steven E. Jones - 611
• Robert S. Kirk - 523
• Eric S. Moody - 628
• Willard R. Norris - 116
• Curt Vandeventer - 565
Incumbent School Board member Steve Dowden got 1,724 complimentary votes, as he was running for re-election in Bloomfield's District One unopposed.
In an upset on the Greene County Council, incumbent Ed Michael was not one of the three Republicans to be placed on the November ballot.
Local accountant Jerry Frye got 1,510 votes to take the top spot, while incumbent Ken Gremore was a close second with 1,505.
The third candidate to make it to the fall election was current County Treasurer Carolyn White, who received 1,479 votes.
Michael was ousted by only 1.1 percent with 1,414 votes.
On the Democrat side of the County Council race, Butch Brown led all candidates with 3,577 votes, while fellow Dem Rae Della Cravens got 3,477 and Scott Richards grabbed 3,108.
In the race for District One County Commissioner, Center Township Trustee Kermit Holtsclaw received 3,071 votes to face Republican incumbent Commissioner Kathy Crouch in the fall. Crouch received 1,988 complimentary votes in her unopposed run.
Democrat Charles Bennett came in second on the ticket with 1,393 votes, while Marvin Hash picked up the rear, trailing by 30 votes.
When chosing a candidate to replace the late Larry Hasler in District Two of the County Commission, GOP voters tabbed Nate Abrams with 1,045 votes for 41.45 percent.
Highland Township Trustee Willard Neill was a close second with 993 votes for 39.39 percent.
Coming in a far third was Darin Stalcup, who got only 483 out of 2,521 votes cast on the GOP side.
It was brought out recently that Stalcup - while running for commissioner - was still on probation from a drunken driving conviction, and was no longer employed as a bartender since he was unable to renew his bartending license last Jaunary.
Always a big vote-getter, Democrat Shelby Meurer showed the highest vote count of any local candidate with 5,265 complimentary votes.
She will face Bloomfield’s Stuart Dowden, who beat former County Clerk of Courts Susan Fowler 1,468 to 1,185 in the fall election.
For a full look at all the election results, CLICK HERE

BLOOMFIELD - Bloomfield Deputy Town Marshal Brad Deckard will soon be wearing brown.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Terry Pierce confirmed that Deckard - who has been with the Town of Bloomfield as a police officer since last summer - will soon begin his duties as a Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy.
He replaces Dured Townsend, who recently retired and accepted a position as a police officer at NSWC Crane.
Townsend was with the sheriff’s department for more than two decades.
Deckard is a 2002 graduate of Eastern Greene High School and is the son of Donald and Jenny Deckard of Solsberry.
Before coming to Bloomfield’s police department, Deckard was an officer on the Ellettsville Police Department and was a reserve deputy for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.
Deckard is a 2007 graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and is the father of fraternal twins, born last year.
He currently lives in Eastern Greene County.
All Deputies in Greene County are hired by a Sheriff’s Merit Board

BLOOMFIELD - The Bloomfield Town Park will be the place to be on May 16-17 as the American Cancer Society brings its annual Relay for Life to the Greene County seat for the first time.
Beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 16, the fundraiser to fight cancer will go for an entire 24 hours, ending late Saturday afternoon.
Along with walkers of all ages, the event will feature a bevy of bountiful eats and treats for old and young alike.
Johnny Davidson of JT Concessions will be at the park with his famous fish sandwiches.
The Bloomfield Lions Club will be serving a biscuits and gravy breakfast on Saturday and will be dishing up other food items throughout the Relay.
Bloomfield's Lighthouse Lunchbox will fire up its grill for some delectable grub, while a Tropical Snow stand will help cool everyone down should temperatures rise.
Two area churches - Mansions in Heaven and the Mineral Church - will both also be providing food and drinks throughout the weekend.
"We are already bigger and better than ever before," said Nicole Cox, who is the coordinator for the event. "We hope it grows every year."
The fundraising goal for this year's Relay for Life in Greene County is $35,000, with a special dare issued a few weeks ago by Bloomfield Free Press Publisher R. Michael Johnson.
"If the Relay raises $35,001 this year, I am willing to let them publicly shave my head," he said last month with a chuckle. "I know there are a number of folks in this community who would jump at the chance to get at me with a razor."
The Bloomfield Free Press is the Relay for Life in Greene County's exclusive corporate print media sponsor this year.
Should the Relay surpass its goal, Johnson's head-shaving experience will happen at about 4 p.m. during the Relay for Life's finale - which will also include some local 'dignitary' getting a pie in the face.
"Along with me getting a head-shaving, I know there are a lot of local folks who would like to hit Jo Ann Carmichael in the face with a pie," Johnson said, encouraging local folks to donate to cans with Carmichael's face on them.

TRIBUTE TO CATFISH
Best friend anyone could ask for passes away

A pat on the back for those who deserve it, and a swift kick in the pants for those who need it.
ROSES to the 51.89 percent of Greene County's roughly 19,000 registered voters who took the time out of their busy day on Tuesday to cast their ballot in the primary election. Voting is a right, but it should also be considered a privilege.
THORNS to the 48.11 percent of voters who stayed at home. You now, officially, have no right to complain.
ROSES to Linda Pullen and the new Bloomfield Town Park Board for making the park once again look magnificent for the spring and summer months. Linda - especially - has worked tirelessly on that park for years and we all owe her a debt of gratitude for making the park what it is today.
THORNS - again this year - to the imbeciles who decided it would be 'cool' to smash a flowerpot and tear up some flowers just as soon as they were planted. Here's a warning for all would-be vandals: We are all now watching you. And, I have the assurance of the cops that you will be charged if you get caught. Do I need to start patrolling the park with camera in hand again like I did a couple of years ago?
ROSES IN ADVANCE - To all citizens of Bloomfield for helping us keep an eye on the park. There are now signs posted with all of the Park Board members and their phone numbers. If you see something amiss, first call the police and then contact a Park Board member.
ROSES to Mike Dean for his and his crews' continued hard work on the storefront at the corner of Main and Washington streets in Bloomfield. The property is really looking good, and we will be making the announcement of his plans in the next couple of weeks.
ROSES to all of the politicians who manage to get their signs down in a timely manner. A timely manner is in the next couple of days. We understand the winners leaving their signs in preparation for the fall.
THORNS to the politicians who don't.
ROSES to the Bloomfield Police Department on its new website. Ken Tharp and the guys have done a great job of getting our ordinances, rules and regulations on the worldwide web for all to see.
You can see it, too, by logging onto www.bloomfieldpd.com
ROSES to the voters of Greene County for standing up and saying no to a convicted drunken driver who is still on probation and was seeking election. Darin Stalcup got the least amount of votes of any candidate.
ROSES to Bloomfield Masonic Lodge 84 for hosting a bean supper to benefit the Bloomfield Town Park last weekend. Nearly $400 was raised to help pay for flowers and supplies for OUR park.
ROSES to the anonymous mushroom donor who keeps finding them and donating them to people who are not able to get out and hunt on their own. You know who you are, so we'll simply say thanks.
THORNS to those who can't seem to grasp the concept that a stopped school bus is like a brick wall - you can't pass it. Of all of the medical and accident runs our ambulances and fire departments make every day, we really don't want to have to scrape a kid off the roadway. Slow down. If you're in such a hurry that you have to pass a school bus, you should have left the house five minutes earlier.
ROSES to Marjorie Cullison, Nancy West, Jackie Winstead and the rest of the folks in the Clerk's Office - as well as all of the poll workers - who made this election run smoothly, fairly and professionally. While we miss the standing around and waiting in the halls of the courthouse - with its big chalkboard - we really like getting the final results before 2 a.m.
YOUR THOUGHTS?

TOWN COUNCIL MEETING CHANGED
Rescheduled because of election

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