UPDATE @ 9:50 p.m.
Central to the decision to shut down the New Carlisle News, Enon Eagle and Tippecanoe Gazette is Andy Grimm’s health after he was shot last year by a Clark County Sheriff’s deputy who mistook a camera for a gun.
Owners Dale Grimm and his son, Andy, made the announcement Tuesday on the company’s Facebook page.
“We’re not happy about it at all,” Andy Grimm told News Center 7’s Sean Cudahy. “It’s not what we wanted to do. ... I’m sorry, sorry. We really didn’t want to close this.”
RELATED: Journalist shot by deputy: ‘He didn’t accidentally shoot me’
Grimm was preparing to take photos of a traffic stop the night of Sept. 4, 2017, in New Carlisle when he was shot and wounded by deputy Jacob Shaw. In March, a grand jury declined to indict Shaw, who is back on duty. Grimm has filed a lawsuit against the county and city of New Carlisle.
“At first I was all gung-ho to go back at it ... I love the First Amendment, I love being out in the mix of things,” Grimm said.
RELATED: Clark County deputy who shot news photographer back on road patrol
But Grimm said he is no longer able to work in his chosen field.
“I was diagnosed with PTSD almost immediately after the shooting,” he said.
The grand jury’s decision compounded the toll the shooting has taken, Grimm said, This left all the newspaper responsibilities on Dale Grimm, who is approaching 70. The aftermath also has strained relations between the newspaper company and involved entities, he said.
“We’re tired of fighting for information from the county, from the city, from the sheriff’s department,” Andy Grimm said. “I’m not asking for pity ... I just want to move on but I can’t because I’m still living this trauma every day.”
He called the community and people who live in it great, and said he is sorry there are so many good people with stories that will no longer be told.
FIRST REPORT
KBA News LLC announced that the company is discontinuing the New Carlisle News, Enon Eagle and Tippecanoe Gazette.
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Tuesday’s issue is the publications’ last print edition, according to a post shared on the publications’ Facebook pages.
“We have enjoyed the 10 years that we have been in the newspaper business and have made quite a few good friends,” read a post signed by owners Dale and Andy Grimm. “Thank you for the support we have received.”
The company said that Andy being shot by a Clark County Sheriff’s deputy last year “put a serious strain on our business.”
“He has been diagnosed with PTSD and no longer can come to the office,” the post read. “This put more in Dale’s lap. At age 69, Dale can no longer handle the 16-, 18- and 20-hour days it takes to keep these newspapers going.”