Monroe County health officials are cautiously optimistic that the number of confirmed Hepatitis A cases may have already peaked statewide. 

Health Department Administrator Penny Caudill says cases are still emerging but they’re declining. 

“It does appear that we possibly could have peaked with our numbers in the state this winter," Caudill says. "And that we might be on kind of … right now our numbers are declining which is good news.”

Monroe County and its plan commission are taking a private property owner to court over what they say is unauthorized development along the shores of Lake Monroe.

Joe Huff owns nearly 250 acres of property between Shady Side Drive and the lake’s shores.

The county says that land is within an Environmental Constraints Overlay Zone, which requires certain permits for excavation and construction. Court documents say all development proposals must include plans to minimize erosion and runoff.

Monroe County and its plan commission are taking a private property owner to court over what they say is unauthorized development along the shores of Lake Monroe.

Joe Huff owns nearly 250 acres of property between Shady Side Drive and the lake’s shores.

The county says that land is within an Environmental Constraints Overlay Zone, which requires certain permits for excavation and construction. Court documents say all development proposals must include plans to minimize erosion and runoff.

A recent Purdue University study says rainfall in populated areas is strengthened by the heat generated by the people below.

Dev Niyogi, a professor in Purdue’s earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences department, says it’s not merely a downtown area that can add energy to a storm -- commuters and highly trafficked areas contribute as well. Niyogi says, “So even going in and out of that city you’re going to have pollution around that city, so now suddenly the footprint of the city is much bigger than what we see in terms where we have those buildings present.”

North Montgomery High School hopes to keep its staff longer and increase college credits earned by students through a new program that’ll subsidize Master’s degrees for teachers.

The school corporation will pay teachers five-hundred dollars per credit hour to earn the degrees necessary for them to teach dual-credit courses. The Higher Learning Commission, which accredits many colleges, says teachers must have a masters to teach high schoolers classes for which they’ll also earn college credit.