Thursday, Oct. 30

Guilty plea

A Portland woman pleaded guilty to theft, a class D felony, on Tuesday in Jay Superior Court.

Rhonda L. Langston, 46, is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2 at 3 p.m.

Langston is accused of stealing a prescription medication from a patient at AmeriCare Living Center, Portland, in November 2002.

Convicted

A Portland man was found guilty by a jury in Jay Superior on Oct. 23 of criminal confinement, a class D felony and battery, a class B misdemeanor.

Phillip A. Ferguson, 38, is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 19 at 1 p.m.

He was accused of battering a Portland woman on Jan. 18 2003. When police arrested him for this incident, he allegedly attempted to resist police. In another incident on Jan. 3, 2003 involving the Portland woman, Ferguson is accused of keeping her from leaving his home.

He also is scheduled to be tried by a jury on Dec. 4 at 9 a.m. in Jay Superior Court for battery resulting in bodily injury, a class A misdemeanor and resisting law enforcement, a class D felony. Those charges also stem from the January incidents.

Honest guy

A homeless man who turned in an envelope stuffed with nearly $2,000 in cash will receive the money because no one came forward to claim it, The Associated Press reported.

Dana Hughes, who described himself as a drifter from Virginia, was walking through Columbus, Ind., on Oct. 17 when he found the $1,956 in a bank envelope on the sidewalk outside the Bartholomew County treasurer’s office.

Rather than walking away with the money, he went inside and gave it to Treasurer Vernon Jewell.

The treasurer had set a Tuesday deadline for someone to come forward prepared to provide an accurate description of the money and the envelope in which it was found.

Jewell said two people had tried to claim it, but both were rejected because of inaccurate information.

Deaths

Daniel Schoenlein, 20, 647 North 800 East, Portland.

Details elsewhere on page 1.

Bernice Tharp Gibble, 97, a resident of Heritage Commons in Portland.

Ruby Renbarger, 101, AmeriCare Living Center of Portland, a former resident of 704 W. Arch St., Portland.

Gary D. Bollenbacher, 49, 3433 West 400 South, Berne, a former Geneva deputy town marshal.

Dale H. Wilcox, 81, Union City.

Lolita R. Deiser, 66, San Diego, Calif., a former resident of Geneva.

Ollie Louise Reid, 86, Hartford City, a former Redkey resident.

Details on page 16.

Weather

Lows tonight will be in the upper 50s, with south winds at 20 mph. Skies Friday should be partly cloudy, with highs reaching near 70.

There is a 30 percent chance of showers Friday night, when lows will dip into the lower 50s.

The high temperature Wednesday at the Portland weather observation station was 50, while the low was 38.

The temperature at 7 a.m. today was 44.

The 30 percent chance of showers continues into Saturday, with highs in the upper 60s and north winds at 5 mph.

Lows Saturday night will be in the lower 50s.

Sunday’s forecast calls for partly cloudy conditions and highs in the upper 60s.

The extended outlook for Monday through Wednesday calls for a 30 percent chance of rain each day, with highs Monday in the upper 60s, and highs Tuesday and Wednesday in the upper 50s.[[In-content Ad]]