Vanderburgh County's use of a private company for some probation services can mean high costs and even jail time for those who can't afford to pay. EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Jason Skelton is still paying, in ways he never imagined, for the heroin and fentanyl ov

In Vanderburgh County, you must pay a private company more than twice as much for court-ordered drug testing and electronic monitoring if you're on probation. EVANSVILLE, Ind. — People on probation in Vanderburgh County must pay a private company more tha

Lawsuits against an Evansville, Indiana, hospital show the need for new radiation standards to protect the health care providers who use them.

Miller Plating and Metal Finishing, as it was then named, closed in December 2007 after filing bankruptcy. Left behind were tens of thousands of gallons of hazardous wastes left in the low income residential neighborhood where Miller operated for decades. Its owner, former Evansville-area businessman Dan Stocks, walked away from a $1.4 million environmental cleanup and into a new life in South Florida, legally distanced from responsibility by corporate law and the bankruptcy.

For one thing, she practically vibrates with enthusiasm when asked if she had a good day at school. "She loves school. She gets mad at me if there is a snow day and the schools are canceled," said Crystal Bobbitt, her mother. That is all the more remarkable because Juliann was born quadriplegic, with spastic athetoid cerebral palsy.

The town was unfamiliar, her living arrangements tenuous, the work temporary and wages low. Each afternoon Marianie Sanon stepped into a van packed with other Haitian immigrant workers to make the 50-mile trek from Washington, Indiana, to AmeriQual near Evansville. The jobs were second shift and it was usually early morning when Sanon arrived back, but she had sought out the job at AmeriQual.

Debra Ann Wilhite was 19 when she disappeared into the night in a green 1966 Ford Galaxie on Oct. 14, 1974.

IF YOU GO:There will be a guided walk for the public on Snake Road at noon Saturday, Oct. 7, starting at the north parking lot (Winters Pond) of the LaRue-Pine Hills Research Natural Area. For more information, including directions, contact the Shawnee National Forest office in Jonesboro, Illinois, (618) 833-8576.

This story was originally published in the Sept. 02, 2014 edition of the Courier & Press. More than a memory, it’s a stark reminder of the emptiness and unanswered questions left behind by the unsolved disappearance of her daughter Heather Teague 19 years ago. Later, she would lay in the spot on the Ohio River bank where Heather’s chair had been and contemplate what, if anything, others in the area could have seen.

Mark Wilson is a freelance writer and communications professional with an award-winning career of nearly 30 years experience in daily newspapers. He has written extensively on environmental issues, courts, government, business and higher education, as well as features. He is a 1991 graduate of Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana and a fellow of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Michigan State University.