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KimWellsMedia HeadshotThursday’s News & Sports Headlines with Kim Wells

Hancock County sheriff deputies are warning residents to be on the lookout this Thursday morning for an inmate who escaped from deputies while he was in transport to the jail on U.S. 40 in Greenfield just before 6 a.m. this morning. That jail is just east of the courthouse square. The escapee has been identified as Anthony Bowling, 46. He’s described as a white male with brown hair, blue eyes and is wearing a black shirt. He was handcuffed at the time and K-9 units are searching the area. Call police if you spot him.

The Bureau of Motor Vehicles is mailing out claim forms to those who are eligible for an Excise Tax refund. About 180,000 Hoosiers dating back to 2004 are owed money after a glitch misclassified their vehicles and overcharged them. The mistake will cost the BMV $29 million. All of the forms will be mailed out to affected customers within the next 30 days.

TODAY: State education officials will hear proposals on Thursday how to turn around troubled Arlington High School. Non-profit Tindley Accelerated Schools says it’s unsure it can keep running the school. Indianapolis Public Schools and another charter school operator have offered to step in. IPS is rumored to pitch closing the school and merging it with another high school.

Family and friends of the Indianapolis native being held captive by ISIS are hoping for his release. A prayer service was held last night at Butler University for Abdul-Rahman Kassig, 26, formerly known as Peter. ISIS is threatening to behead Kassig as their next victim. The Butler graduate was in the Middle East doing humanitarian work when he was captured in October 2013 while en route to eastern Syria.

A $1,000 reward is being offered for info about who set a Greenwood Police Department patrol car on fire. The “Daily Journal” reports the vehicle was parked along Turning Leaf Drive in Franklin Friday morning when it went up in flames. A semi-automatic M4 rifle, 30 rounds of ammunition, a laptop, a portable breath test and a flashlight were taken before it was set on fire. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers.

The Indianapolis Fire Department battled a fire, bringing it under control on the city’s west side this morning. The blaze happened in the 300 block of North Holmes Avenue near Vermont and Michigan Streets. IFD has reported no injuries in this building that was used as a nursing home and now stands vacant. A fire broke out in the same building Wednesday night according to media reports causing about $20,000 in damage. There’s no word on what may have reignited this morning’s much larger blaze.

Speaking of the IFD, firefighters are teaming up with the Pacers to help thousands of kids have a happy Halloween. Ten thousand kids showed up at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday to get free costumes donated by Jakks Pacific. Pacers players handed them out, while thousands of costumes were already distributed to IFD partners, and at the Fire Safety Olympics. In order to receive costumes, families must present a fire evacuation plan for their homes.

On the national scene…

No real changes occurred in the unemployment lines across this country. Thursday morning’s figures from the Labor Department show 287,000 Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits. That’s a thousand fewer than last week’s revised total.

The federal government is releasing more information about upgraded Ebola screening at five U.S. airports. All travelers from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia will undergo enhanced screenings. The stepped up screenings will begin Saturday at New York’s JFK airport. They’ll be extended to Washington Dulles, Newark, Chicago O’Hare, and Atlanta-Hartsfield airports next week.

In St. Louis, police say an off-duty officer shot and killed a teenager who shot at him on Wednesday. Police say the officer was working a second job for a private security company when he struggled with a teen who pulled out a gun and fired at least three shots at the officer. The policeman shot back 17 times and killed the teen. Police say they’ve recovered a gun from the scene. This sparked more protests last night ahead of demonstrations that were already scheduled today in nearby Ferguson, where unarmed teen Michael Brown was shot and killed by police.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel is staying put here in Indianapolis. The team announced on Wednesday that Vogel has signed a multi-year contract extension, but it’s not known how many years it was for or what his salary will be. Vogel has been coaching the Pacers since taking over as interim head coach in January 2011.

Indianapolis Weather:

Rain on this Thursday…cool, the high around 60 degrees.

I’m Kim Wells

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