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A bullet hole on Neely Avenue outside of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center resulted from an officer’s accidental discharge during the search for a reported armed assailant Friday. No one was injured. DN PHOTO COREY OHLENKAMP

Investigation underway to find source of misfire

An Eaton, Ind., police officer said the department is investigating the accidental firing of a gun into Neely Avenue on Friday during a search for a potential armed person in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.



Dick’s Sporting Goods, Panda Express, Culver's to open in Muncie

• Culver’s will host a ground-breaking ceremony Friday on the corner of Wheeling Avenue and McGalliard. • Dick’s Sporting Goods will be part of the multi-million dollar development being built off McGalliard. • Chick-fil-A has seen success after opening in August.



Jacqui Seidel, Mindy Marx and Kylee Baker set up a three-person defensive wall against Bowling Green State University's offense Oct. 25 at Worthen Arena. Bowling Green would take Ball State 3-1. DN PHOTO COREY OHLENKAMP

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: With tournament approaching, mental changes occur

When the lights turn on in the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, the Ball State women’s volleyball team can’t afford to make mistakes. Not when one error could make the difference between a Mid-American Conference championship and leaving empty handed. As the pressure builds, so does the energy that seniors Jacqui Seidel and Kylee Baker play with.


A car drives through the rain on East Riggin Road during a thunderstorm warning Nov. 17 in Muncie. Storms in East Central Indiana left heavy damage in southern Kokomo, which prompted the city to declare a state of emergency. DN PHOTO TAYLOR IRBY

Evidence refutes claims of tornado myth

Muncie’s supposed lack of tornadoes has been attributed to Indian roots and luck, but some experts explain Delaware County is no exception to twisters. Cailin Murray, an associate professor of anthropology, said she heard the myth that Chief Munsee blessed the area to keep severe weather away when she first came to Muncie. “I was very concerned about tornados coming from the Pacific Northwest,” she said.


Senior forward Chris Bond attempts the layup against Southeast Missouri on Monday at Worthen Arena. Bond scored a career-high 20 points in the win. DN PHOTO MARCEY BURTON

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Berry, Bond, set personal bests

As Ball State beat Southeast Missouri 87-83 Monday, seniors Chris Bond and Jesse Berry achieved new personal bests as they led their team to a 2-1 record on the year. Bond, who was last year’s Mid-American Conference leader in steals, scored a career-high 20 points, grabbed three rebounds and handed out an assist and as he carried his team to victory. “I was just playing throughout our offense, trying to stay in attack mode and crashing the offensive boards,” Bond said about his performance.



Muncie psychic talks about gift

She knows things are going to happen before they do. Sherita Campbell said there is no fanfare to these visions — no trumpets or angels heralding — just a matter of fact knowledge that these events she has seen must come to pass.


Muncie Community School Board votes to close one high school

The Muncie Community School Board voted 4-1 tonight in favor of closing one of its two high schools. Central High School will remain open while Southside High School will become a middle school. Many members of the crowd responded with cheers to the single member of the board who voted against the proposal.


	Those in favor still hopeful as mariage ban moves to general assembly soon

Faith leaders deliver letter in opposition to HJR-6

This afternoon, the Interfaith Coalition on Non-Discrimination, made up of Indiana clergy members spoke at the Indiana Statehouse against House Joint Resolution 6, which would define marriage as strictly between a man and a woman, and write that definition into the state’s constitution.



IU fraternity parties face limits on hard alcohol

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — An Indiana University fraternity group says a new policy limiting how much hard alcohol is allowed at fraternity-sponsored parties was well received during its first test earlier this month. The IU Interfraternity Council says it implemented the hard alcohol limitations in hopes of creating a safer, more responsible drinking atmosphere on the Bloomington campus. The new limits got their first test during IU’s homecoming weekend during the first weekend in November. Interfraternity Council vice president of communications Jordan Shwide says that while the new policy was well received, its success is difficult to measure. The Council’s vice president of risk management, Ben Weisel, tells The Herald-Times the group is receiving positive feedback from fraternity chapters.


Starbucks customers in Lebanon, Ind. rode out storm in bathroom

LEBANON, Ind. — A shift supervisor at a central Indiana Starbucks store damaged by a suspected tornado says she rode out Sunday’s storm in the coffee shop’s small bathroom with 10 other people. Melinda Wissig tells The Indianapolis Star she looked up Sunday to see the tornado approaching the Lebanon store after a customer yelled about a tornado. Wissig rushed to the drive-thru and told customers to come inside, where she and 10 others huddled in the store’s bathroom as the storm swept through. Once the sounds of breaking glass subsided, she says they emerged to find the floors strewn with debris and the store’s windows blown out. Outside the Starbucks, a car had flipped onto its side on the sidewalk and the windows of Wissig’s car were blown out.


Nearly 3 dozen injured in Kokomo area; 7 states affected by storms

KOKOMO, Ind. — Kokomo police say nearly three dozen people were injured when a suspected tornado swept through the north-central Indiana city, leaving a trail of destruction. Major Brian Seldon of the Kokomo Police Department says Howard County emergency management says 32 people were injured in Sunday’s storm, but that only three of those people were injured seriously enough to require hospitalization. Seldon says most of the people injured in the suspected tornado suffered only minor injuries. He says officials are still assessing how many homes and businesses in the Kokomo area were damaged by the storm, which swept through Kokomo’s southeast side along U.S.


Television helicopters circle around the area as police secure the Student Recreation and Wellness Center after a report of an armed assailant in the building. DN PHOTO COREY OHLENKAMP

Miles away

The text message alert popped up on Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler’s phone. He read the words “alleged gunman,” and began to worry, as several students, professors and parents did Friday evening when they became aware that there might danger. “Of course, I’m always concerned,” Tyler said.


Aric Fickert, a sophomore exercise science major, speaks to police about what he knew after an officer's gun accidentally discharged a few moments earlier. Fickert was released immediately after questioning. DN PHOTO COREY OHLENKAMP

Across the street

From the fourth floor of the Architecture Building, junior architecture majors Maya Bird-Murphy and Ellen Forthofer gathered against a wall of windows to watch the flurry of police across the street.


Police secure the Student Recreation and Wellness Center after a report of an armed assailant in the building. DN PHOTO COREY OHLENKAMP

Behind the tape

Sitting underneath his desk in the darkness, Dan Tracy listened to every noise outside of his office in the Health and Physical Activity Building. “Every step or shuffle of feet, it could be a guy out there with a gun,” he said. His worry began at about 4:30 p.m.