Bristol

Some 600 water customers in the town of Bristol are being advised to boil their water before drinking it for the next three days. Town Manager Bill Wuthrich says a valve on the town water tower failed about noon Wednesday, causing the pressure inside to drop. While the valve has been fixed, state rules require a “boil advisory” to be issued. A boil advisory has also been issued for Argos. Stay with WSBT.com for details on that advisory.    

Two Bristol town employees now face suspensions for violating the town's employment policies. Town manager Bill Wuthrich and city employee Tim Hathaway were each suspended for two weeks without pay. Hathaway was cited for violation of employee conduct and work rules. Wuthrick was cited for violation of employment policy and failure to comply with duties as town manager Town attorney Glenn Duncan said it was a personel matter, that is not open for public discussion.

A Bristol woman escaped serious injury when the vehicle she was riding in Saturday night struck a deer on U.S. 12 in Cass County. The Cass County Sheriff's Department reported Owen Stewart, 66, of Bristol, was driving west on U.S. 12, just west of M-40, when his vehicle struck a deer at 7:52 p.m. His passenger, Dolly Stewart, 60, was taken to Elkhart General Hospital by Porter Township Ambulance. According to a hospital nursing supervisor, she was treated for injuries and later released.

While many Michiana students are now on spring break, taking time to relax and have some fun, members of a Bristol church are also on spring break. Their break is working a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of those in need. Volunteers are joining members of Bristol United Methodist Church as they spread out across the area working on home improvement projects for those who otherwise would not be able to get the work done. Projects range from cleaning gutters, roofing, painting, and remodeling a bathroom, like workers did for Jim Combs of Bristol.

ELKHART COUNTY - A 12-year-old Elkhart County student started his own non-profit company to raise money for a playground project. At Bristol Elementary, some sixth graders are making, selling, and marketing chocolate covered cup cake pops. They even created a spread sheet, business model, and business cards. The money generated will go to buy playground equipment for a local mobile home park. Saleh Al-Azawi, 12, is the president of the non-profit group who came up with the idea and also lives near the park.

By the end of this week, shelves at Bristol Community Food Pantry will be empty. An increase in demand has caused food to go out much quicker than normal, and funding for food purchases to dry up. For the first time since the pantry's opening in 2006, more clients are picking up food more than ever before, but donations are not offsetting demand. Bristol's pantry organizers have started a campaign to see if people would be willing to donate $1 to turn the situation around.

A man accused of killing his neighbor back in 2008 now faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. A spokesman for the Elkhart County Prosecutor's Office says that was requested this morning against 30-year-old Tyrice Halliburton. Prosecutors also accused him of being a habitual offender due to his past history of unrelated charges of theft, burglary and drug possession. Sheena Kiska was found dead in her Bristol apartment in March of 2008.

The woman accused of a deadly hit-and-run in Bristol pleaded not guilty in court Monday morning. Yvonne Addington, 48, of Bristol entered the plea in Elkhart County court. She is charged in the hit-and-run that happened on March 5 on State Road 120 and County Road 19. Alan Hess, 16, was killed in that incident. He was walking home late at night after going to the store. Addington is out of jail on bond.

Elkhart County police say two women were attacked in a Bristol mobile home park by a man wielding a knife and a broken beer bottle. The incident, which police called a domestic dispute, happened around 5:50 p.m. Monday in the 500 block of West Hawthorne. That is in the Timberbrook mobile home park. The 29 and 19-year-old female victims received minor injuries. They were treated at the scene.   Joshua Ramirez, 24, was arrested for battery and public intoxication.

A 48-year-old Bristol woman was arrested Thursday for the hit-and-run crash that killed 16-year-old Alan Hess as he was walking home on Saturday morning. Police took evidence collected at the scene of the crash, which was on State Road 120 near County Road 19, and worked with a local dealership to track the suspect vehicle. It was found at the Antone Road home of Yvonne Addington with “substantial front-end damage,” according to police. Addington was arrested for leaving the scene of a fatal crash, a Class C felony punishable by 2 to 8 years in prison.