A Seymour man was hurt Friday morning in a one-vehicle crash in Jackson County. Indiana State Police (ISP) say the accident happened at approximately 9:45 a.m. on U.S. 50 near County Avenue (County Road 560 North), just east of Seymour.

Initial investigation by Master Trooper Tommy Walker indicated that a car being driven by 57-year-old Mikel P. Williams was traveling westbound on US 50 near County Avenue when, for unknown reasons, the vehicle left the north side of the road, went down an embankment and struck a tree head on.

State Police say that Williams was trapped inside the vehicle and had to be extricated by the Seymour Fire Department. He was then flown to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis with serious internal injuries. His exact injuries and condition were not released.

ISP Spokesman Sgt. Stephen Wheeles says that the investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.

A Columbus man is being accused of stealing a vehicle and other items after an incident yesterday afternoon on Lucas Way.

A woman said that 50-year-old Donald A. Atwood was staying at her home. When she left the home on Thursday and returned, several items were missing including her 17-year-old Toyota. That’s according to Sgt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department.

Atwood was stopped several hours later by police while driving a different vehicle. He allegedly confessed to police that he had taken the woman’s property and vehicle. Her car was recovered in the 2900 block of National Road in parking lot.

Atwood was arrested and faces preliminary charges of auto theft and theft.

A Columbus man was arrested on drug charges Thursday after allegedly shoplifting a coat from a Whitfield Drive store.

Sgt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department says officers were called to the store at about 8 p.m. Thursday on a report from store security about a shoplifter. The security officers said that they saw 52-year-old Richard D. Bunch of Columbus remove items from their packaging and he allegedly removed his old coat and took a new one.

Bunch was arrested and while searching him, police allegedly found methamphetamine in his wallet, Harris said. Bunch is facing preliminary charges of possession of methamphetamine and theft.

The town of Hope is nearly finished with the first phase of renovations and improvements to the Town Square. That comes after the installation yesterday of a new decorative clock on the north side of the square.

The entire project is costing about $172 thousand dollars and includes new electrical power capacity throughout the town square, terraced seating around the town bandstand and concrete pads for the display of artwork around the square in the future. $50,000 of the funding came from a state matching grant, while the rest came from donations by businesses, residents and organizations, grants from the town’s economic development fund and the sale of decorative bricks around the new clock.

The project is a partnership between the town, the not-for-profit Heritage of Hope and the new Hope Main Street organization.

Michael Dean, CEO of Heritage of Hope, said that the new clock stands just over 15 feet tall.

Michael Dean on the features

On its four sides, it will honor four Hope community leaders and their accomplishments in the community: Lowell Miller, Buck Meek, John Baute and John Norman.

Michael Dean on the four families

Organizers of the Town Square project credited Larry Simpson with kicking it off and his vision of how the town could improve. Simpson, the former owner and editor at the Hope newspaper, the Star-Journal, died last year on the last day of Hope Heritage Days, before the grant was approved.

Columbus attorney Scott Andrews is planning a run for Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge in next year’s county elections.

Andrews, a Republican, who is a partner at Coriden Coriden Andrews & Glover. He is a Bartholomew County native who grew up near St. Louis Crossing. He has been in private practice in Columbus for the last 11 years and has also worked as a public defender since January 2014.

He has served on the boards of Family Service, Inc., Foundation for Youth and the Columbus Park Foundation. Andrews also served as a Columbus Parks and Recreation Board member from 2009 to 2012. .

Judge Stephen Heimann, a Democrat, is not seeking re-election. Republican attorney Kelly Benjamin has also announced her intention to run for the open seat.

The Bartholomew County Health Department and YES Cinema will be hosting a screening of the film “Someone You Love: The HPV Epidemic” at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that causes several types of cancer.

This is a free event but you need to make reservations if you plan to attend. You can call the Health Department’s Nursing Division at 812-379-1555 and extension 1

The Columbus Municipal Airport Board of Aviation Commissioners wants Airport TIF dollars to be used to extend water and sewer lines south to the future Columbus Express Soccer Pavilion. That from Columbus Municipal Airport Director Brian Payne.

In a letter to Mayor Kristen Brown, Payne says that this addition will “be significant to the Airpark as a whole and spur further growth along Vickers drive.” He says that the Soccer Express Club expects to break ground on the facility in early Spring of 2016. Completion is scheduled for that Fall. Payne says that the extended lines would need to be in place by mid-2016 to allow for hookups to the facility. He adds that the total cost for the extension is budgeted for $96,100.

Mayor Brown says that she supports the use of Airport TIF revenue for this project. She notes that it is a “necessary financial commitment to make the indoor soccer facility a reality.”

Columbus Mayor Kristen Brown has called a meeting of the State Street Implementation Committee to review the current options for that street’s revitalization project. According to the Mayor, the team will meet Monday at 5 p.m. with both her and project consultant Doug Pacheco.

Mayor Brown says that she is in favor of a number of improvement options that the committee has suggested. She also says that she would like to see a number of enhancement options included in the project, including widening both sides of the bridge that spans Haw Creek. The projected price tag for the project, with all proposed amenities, is just over $5.7 million.

Members of the implementation team are expected to make a presentation on the project later that evening during a meeting of the Columbus Redevelopment Commission. That body meets at 6 p.m. inside City Hall.

A Columbus man was arrested on drunk driving charges yesterday, after he fell asleep an an intersection.

Sgt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, said officers found 57-year-old Roderic F. Jernigan asleep at the wheel at the intersection of 25th and Washington streets at about 2:30 yesterday afternoon. Officers allegedly noted a strong smell of alcohol and said Jernigan appeared wobbly. He also failed several sobriety tests and later tested at .267 percent blood alcohol level, or more than three times over the legal limit.

He was arrested on preliminary charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and possession of drug paraphernalia.