Dukes was traveling southbound in the 300 block of Western Avenue when his Toyota Corolla crossed West Main Cross Street, went into the lane of oncoming traffic, and off the road striking the church. Dukes was then transported via HANCO to Blanchard Valley Hospital for medical treatment. He was also issued a citation for operation without reasonable control along with an additional criminal charge.

A Putnam County man facing a rape charge agrees to a plea deal.  27-year-old Zachery Lambert pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of sexual battery.  With the plea deal, the severity of the charge dropped from a felony one to a felony three.   Lambert says that he and the adult female victim were drinking at her home when she fell asleep.   Lambert then sexually assaulted her, and when she told him to stop, he did and left the home.   He will be sentenced at a later date, but he will be classified a sex offender.

Allen County is seeing a slight increase in reported cases, and they expect those numbers to rise as those contracting the virus at family gatherings are just coming to light. Allen County Public Health reports there have been no confirmed cases of the Omicron variant but that doesn’t mean it’s not here and the severity of the COVID virus differs.