Local News from WIKY

Future of ISTEP test usage may rest with outside consultant

Submitted by WIKY News on Mon, 06/10/2013 - 5:41pm
State school superintendent Glenda Ritz says that the Department of Education will pay $53,000 to have the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment look at ISTEP scores to see whether interruptions to more than 78,000 students taking the online version of the exam should invalidate their scores. Ritz says she still opposes the "high stakes" attached to the ISTEP, but acknowledges she is limited in how she can reduce the exam‘s influence on student and teacher assessment.

Jury warned to hear "horrible facts" involving death of children

Submitted by WIKY News on Mon, 06/10/2013 - 1:09pm
Lisa Lynch tearfully testifies about the last night she saw her 5 and 8 year old children alive - before they died in an inferno in the house she shared with Jeffrey Weisheit. He's being tried on charges of murder and arson and could be sentenced to death if he's convicted by a jury. Lynch and Weisheit shared a house in northern Vanderburgh County before the fatal fire. After Lynch recomposed herself, she resumed testifying. Her children, a boy and a girl, were sleeping in the house and suffered what they state will try to show were horrible deaths.

Evansville man dies in Warrick jail

Submitted by WIKY News on Mon, 06/10/2013 - 10:17am
Authorities have released the identity of an inmate found dead in his jail cell at the Warrick County jail. State Police say 37-year-old James Pyott of Evansville was unconcious when jail personnel made their security rounds at about 10:00 Sunday night. Jail workers and an EMS crew tried to revive Pyott, but were unsuccessful. Police don't suspect foul play. Pyott was being held on a theft charge. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.

Weisheit trial underway

Submitted by WIKY News on Mon, 06/10/2013 - 10:15am
Testimony is underway in the murder and arson trial of Jeffrey Weisheit. A jury was chosen last week in Clark County, where the trial was moved because of pre-trial publicity in the Evansville area. The 37-year old Weisheit is accused of setting fire to his girlfriend's Vanderburgh County home, with her two children inside. 5-year old Caleb and 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch died in the fire. Weisheit could face the death penalty if he's convicted.

Western Kentucky couple arrested after child burned

Submitted by WIKY News on Mon, 06/10/2013 - 10:13am
A two-year-old girl is being treated for severe chemical burns, after she apparently swallowed ingredients used to make meth. The Ohio County Sheriff's Department says the child was airlifted to Kosair Hospital in Louisville, where she's in critical condition with burns to her lips, mouth, tongue, and esophagus. Deputies say her mother, Racheal Arroyo, and her boyfriend, Jared McStoots, had first brought her to an Owensboro hospital, saying they didn't know what she had ingested.

Henderson woman wounded in drive-by shooting

Submitted by WIKY News on Mon, 06/10/2013 - 10:10am
A woman is wounded in a drive-by shooting in Henderson. Police say 24-year-old Krista Avery was walking on in the 1400 block of South Green Street at about 6:30 Sunday night when someone in a green Pontiac Grand Prix fired a weapon out the car window. Avery was able to walk to her home and call 911. Officers say Avery was struck by at least one round. She was transported to Methodist Hospital. Her name and condition have not been released. read more

Lincoln School students graduate, calendar changes for next school year

Submitted by WIKY News on Sat, 06/08/2013 - 9:19am
Thirty-six eighth-grade students graduated from Lincoln School yesterday, the last class of students to graduate from the school's full-year calendar. In August, Lincoln will transition to a traditional school calendar like the rest of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation schools. Principal Ronnetha Darrett says officials surveyed parents to gather their opinions on the schedule, and the majority wanted a change. read more

Dream Center offers free feeding program and summer activities

Submitted by WIKY News on Sat, 06/08/2013 - 7:01am
Nutritious meals, swimming, field trips, and special lessons are all part of Media Ministries Dream Center's free Summer Program 2013.  The Dream Center is opening its doors to all youth from kindergarten through high school from 11:30 to 3 Monday through Friday, and each age group has its own afternoon for additional lessons and activities.  Any child in the community is also invited to eat a free lunch from 11:30 to 12:30, as the Dream Center participates in the Summer Food Service Program.

Winnecke challenges city council to quit playing politics

Submitted by WIKY News on Fri, 06/07/2013 - 4:47pm
Bookkeeping errors and overpayments - that have been rectified - are highlighted by the Indiana State Board of Accounts in a report sought by Mayor Lloyd Winnecke. He requested the audit when he entered office, with the Downtown entertainment facility 95 percent completed. The report said expenditures exceeded the $128 million cap set by the city council by about a half million dollars. City Controller Russ Lloyd Jr. says that with corrections of the erors, it came-in under budget.

Three charged in homicide at Arbors of Evansville Apartments

Submitted by WIKY News on Fri, 06/07/2013 - 4:38pm
Evansville police say they've made three arrests in connection with the shooting death of 46-year old Angie Dixon. 19-year old Katlyun Jerrod Marsh is charged with Murder. 29-year old Brandi Michelle Phillips is charged with Robbery with Serious Bodily Injury, Conspiracy and Assisting a Criminal. 24-year old Blake Anthony Fisher is charged with Robbery with Serious Bodily Injury, Conspiracy and Assisting a Criminal. Police say they determined all three were with Dixon at 1360 S. Lombard - in the Arbors at Evansville Apartments - when she was shot to death.