Around Indiana

Shots fired at officer in central Indiana city

Authorities spent hours searching for a gunman after shots were fired at a police car in a west-central Indiana city.

Greencastle Mayor Sue Murray said no one was hurt in the shooting that happened at about 2 a.m. Tuesday.

Police received calls early Tuesday saying someone was shooting from a car. A Putnam County sheriff’s deputy spotted the car and followed it for a short time before trying to stop it.

Police Chief Tom Sutherlin said the car’s passenger fired two or three rifle shots toward the squad car, with one hitting its hood and windshield. The car drove off with the deputy in pursuit. He later spotted the suspected gunman running away but wasn’t able to catch him.

The Greencastle schools were closed for the day as a safety precaution.


Retreat center planned at old central Ind. concert hall

A camp for adults with disabilities is planned for the site of a former concert hall in central Indiana.

Crews began demolition work Monday at the former Mockingbird Hill Concert Hall just south of Anderson. Lutheran Disability Ministries director Don Boden said the group plans to build a retreat center on the property that will open in June 2011.

The facility will have room to sleep 106 people, with lifts, roll-in showers, a 150-seat dining hall and a chapel. The organization has rented facilities in Fishers, Marion and Trafalgar for its activities since 1991.

Boden said Jerry Lee Lewis, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash are among those who performed at the concert hall during its peak in the ’50s and ’60s but that it closed when larger venues became available.


Purdue to offer free eye exams for service dogs

Certified service dogs can get free eye exams at Purdue University in May.

The university’s School of Veterinary Medicine is offering the exams as part of an effort to detect eye problems early and boost the chances of successful treatments.

Owners or handlers should register online at www.ACVOeyeexam.org. Exams will be done at the Purdue Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and openings will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.