Kohl’s shelves construction on store, plans to sell lot
GREENFIELD — Plans to opens a Kohl’s store in Greenfield are officially off. City planner Joanie Fitzwater told the city’s board of works Tuesday the retailer doesn’t believe Greenfield-area shoppers could support the store.
Kohl’s now plans to sell its lot just north of Home Depot near the Interstate 70 exit.
She asked members to approve its subdivision agreement to give the developer time to sell.
Plans to build a 55,000-square-foot store were unveiled in 2011. The project was touted as a major development in the city’s retail scene, and the business was expected to open in 2012.
In 2013, the store asked for an extension of its subdivision agreement and moved its construction date to spring of this year. Kohl’s never formally announced the plans but told Fitzwater at the time Greenfield was on its construction list.
It would have filled a void in clothing retail in Greenfield, where the only clothing stores besides secondhand shops and big box outlets are Maurices and Goody’s.
Trial ends with guilty plea for woman charged with murder
GREENFIELD — Faced with a selected jury and charged with murder, Amanda Gonzales changed her mind in the final moments and accepted a guilty plea.
The 28-year-old Indianapolis woman was set to begin trial Monday for orchestrating the murder of her romantic rival. Witnesses have said Gonzales couldn’t go through with shooting 23-year-old Katrina Miller and handed the gun over at the last minute to another before the slaying.
Monday, with a jury in place to hear the proceedings, Gonzales backed out, choosing instead to enter into an agreement with the prosecutor.
Following jury selection, the state and defense came to an agreement to avoid a trial.
Hancock County Prosecutor Brent Eaton agreed to drop the murder charges against Gonzales if she would plead guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder.
Gonzales entered an open plea of guilty to the two charges Monday afternoon and is scheduled to return to court for sentencing May 20.
Between the two charges, Gonzales faces 20 to 56 years in prison and more than $10,000 in fines. She’ll be required to serve 75 percent of her sentence.
Dangerous intersection to become four-way stop
HANCOCK COUNTY — A busy, accident-prone intersection will become a four-way stop next week after a traffic study brought on by concerned neighbors showed new stop signs could curb the problem.
Stop signs will be installed on State Road 234 at Fortville Pike on Monday, weather permitting, Indiana Department of Transportation officials announced Thursday.
Currently, the intersection is a two-way stop. Motorists on Fortville Pike must yield to traffic on State Road 234. But the awkward angle of the road makes for a difficult line of sight and causes up to eight accidents a year, according to the Hancock County Highway Department.
The area sees about 3,000 vehicles daily, county highway engineer Gary Pool said, adding, “It’s a skewed intersection. That’s what causes most of the problems.”
