Around The Region

EVANSVILLE -- Officials overseeing the proposed Interstate 69 extension from Evansville to Indianapolis are considering a new route in the Evansville area.\nThe latest option could have less of an impact on archaeological sites near the Ohio River than the other nine proposed routes traversing southwestern Indiana, officials say.\nThe new option would carry traffic through river bottomlands southwest of Evansville in Vanderburgh County's Union Township. Other proposed corridors are east of Evansville, and west of the city in neighboring Posey County.\nThe Union Township route would require perhaps six miles of elevated roadway over flood plain, and cross the river near Henderson Island to U.S. 60 in Henderson County, Ky., then on to the Breathitt Parkway.\nConsultants told the Evansville Courier & Press that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggested considering the Union Township corridor.\nMembers of an I-69 advisory committee spent four hours Tuesday touring wetlands and other areas in Indiana and Kentucky that would be affected by I-69 around Evansville.\nThe plans are part of a project to extend I-69 from Indianapolis to the Texas-Mexico border to enhance trade along the route from Canada to Mexico.\nSupporters of two new I-69 bridges east and west of Evansville were told Tuesday that only one bridge would be built under current plans.\nThose supporters seemed less hopeful for a route west of Evansville than in the past due to potential snags, including problems with sensitive wetlands and archaeological sites.\nConsultants said all nine original options face problems. Eastern routes face wetlands, a proposed state forest, historic areas and a planned wildlife refuge on the Kentucky side.\nWestern corridors must deal with archaeological sites in Indiana and vast tracts of Kentucky wetlands, consultants said.\nThe number of corridors will be trimmed to three or four before a public hearing this summer.\nClosed-circuit telecast planned to meet murder trial interest\nNEW ALBANY, Ind. -- Plans are being made for a closed-circuit telecast to accommodate those who want to see the testimony of a man on trial on charges he killed his wife and two young children.\nNearly 100 people have often filled a Floyd County courtroom to capacitysince David Camm's trial began in early January. Camm, a former Indiana state trooper, is charged with killing his wife, Kimberly, and two children, Bradley, 7, and Jill, 5, in September 2000.\nFloyd Superior Court Judge Richard Striegel said Tuesday that he expected it would be impossible for all those who wanting to see Camm's testimony to fit inside his courtroom.\n"There are a number of people who've called wanting to come when he testifies," the judge said.\nDefense attorney Mike McDaniel said he expected Camm would testify in his own defense. He said there were points he wanted to clarify that only Camm would know.\n"I don't know of any reason why he won't testify," McDaniel said. "The jury wants to hear from him."\nProsecutors continue to present their case against Camm and it is uncertain when he would testify.\nCamm was a state trooper for 10 years, but left the agency about four months before the shootings to work for his uncle's construction company.\nStriegel said he had arranged to use a 50-seat neighboring courtroom for overflow crowds to watch a closed-circuit telecast.\nA security camera, which allows a view of the attorneys but not the jury, will be used for the telecast, he said. No other cameras are allowed in the courtroom.\nGM to invest $12 million in Fort Wayne plant\nFORT WAYNE -- General Motors Corp. plans to invest $12 million at its truck-assembly plant here as it produces two new pickups.\nModifications will be made to assembly lines to produce the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, GM spokesman Dan Flores said.\n"We are not going to overturn the apple cart and start from scratch," Flores said.\nProduction of the new models will begin in late June, with those trucks reaching dealerships in July or August, Flores said.\nNew jobs are not expected to be added at the Fort Wayne plant due to production of the new models, Flores said. Overtime also is not likely to increase.\nWhen the Silverado and Sierra last underwent major design changes in 1998, GM invested more than $300 million in the Fort Wayne plant. Those upgrades included a new body shop and a redesigned general assembly area with new equipment.\nThe more than 2.5 million-square-foot plant in southwest Allen County employs about 3,000 people and produced more than 241,000 pickups last year.\nAuto sales overall have been sluggish in the economic recession, but truck sales have been solid. GM sold more than 2.6 million trucks in 2001, the best-ever industry truck sales, the company said.