There is still time to sign up for the Cleanup Greenup event in Columbus neighborhoods. The deadline to get help cleaning up your property is Friday. Volunteers from Cummins and First Christian Church and the city of Columbus will be out in neighborhoods on April 22nd and 23rd, helping with chores on people’s property.

Robin HIlber, with the city’s community development department, says you can get help with your property by calling First Christian Church at 812-3794491. the deadline to sign up is Friday.

North Vernon police are reporting that two city residents were arrested Friday on drug charges after a traffic stop outside of Muscatatuck County Park. An officer stopped a car leaving the park after hours for having an invalid vehicle registration.

A passenger allegedly gave the officer a fake ID, but was identified as 37-year-old Kimlynn D. Patton of North Vernon who was wanted on a warrant. As he was being arrested, officers allegedly discovered a syringe.

The driver, 26-year-old Katrina M. Roush, was allegedly found to be carrying 7 and a half grams of methamphetamine, three grams of marijuana and half a gram of cocaine, along with packaging materials and digital scales.

Roush is facing charges of dealing in meth and controlled substances as well as charges for possession of meth, controlled substances, paraphernalia and marijuana. Patton is being accused of possession of a syringe, false informing and the original warrant for a probation revocation.

Columbus police are warning you to be cautious after a credit card skimming device was discovered inside a gas pump at a Columbus gas station.

Police were called Friday to the Circle K Gas Station, at 1644 Central Avenue, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the police department. The device was located after a contractor, who conducts routine checks and who noticed that a gas pump had been tampered with. A skimmer was found inside the pump.

Investigators believe that the device was placed in the pump between 12:00 p.m. April 6th and 12:00 p.m. on April 7th. If you used your credit card to purchase gas at the pump during that time, police are encouraging you to monitor your credit card statements and if necessary request a new card.

You can report suspicious activity anonymously by calling the police department at 812-376-2600. Anyone with information in this case should contact Detective Ryan Linneweber at 812-376-2624.

Columbus police are looking for your help solving some downtown vandalisms from Thursday morning.

If you know who shot out car windows with a pellet gun and threw eggs on vehicles and a home in downtown Columbus, you can contact Detective Bill Zeigler at 812-376-2627.  Tips and information can be left anonymously.

Correction: The starting time of the May 5th event is 5 p.m. It was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.

The former Eastside Community Center will be getting a new name and organizers are taking a new look at its role in the community.

The center will be renamed after Roby Anderson, who founded the center out of a garage at his home in the 1960s. The city of Columbus will hold a ceremony on May 5th to honor the memory of Roby and his wife America says Dascal Bunch, the city councilman for the neighborhood.

Although the center closed last fall and its board disbanded, the United Way of Bartholomew County has reopened the center for some activities and asked neighborhood residents at a meeting last night what they would like to see happen there.

Julie Bilz, president of the State Street Area Association said there were a lot of good ideas. Residents suggested more activities, classes, block parties and meals at the center.

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Julie Aton, a member of the State Street Area Association, said that sometimes people don’t really appreciate something until it is gone..

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Bunch says that the early days of the center made the building into a true neighborhood center and gave people ownership in its efforts, he said.

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The city of Columbus will hold a ceremony on May 5th starting at 5 p.m. to honor the memory of Roby and his wife America, Bunch says. There will be a spaghetti dinner that night and Mayor Jim Lienhoop will proclaim that day as Roby Anderson Day and present the Anderson family with a plaque. A plaque will also be mounted on the wall of the center and the sign on the front of the building will be repainted, Bunch said.

Members of the Bartholomew Consolidated School board said they were impressed with the innovations that Dr. Jim Roberts brought to the Batesville Community Schools. The board has chosen Roberts to be the next superintendent of the BCSC district.

School Board President Jill Shedd talks about what the school board was looking for.

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The BCSC board is set to vote on Roberts contract on Monday.

School Board member Jeff Caldwell said the board was impressed with Roberts’ innovations.

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School Board member Rich Stenner said the board appreciated the awards Roberts has won, as well as innovations such as an immersive learning program focused on Mandarin Chinese.

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School Board member Bob Abrams said he originally met Roberts when they both worked on regional education issues through ECO 15.

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Roberts will replace Dr. John Quick, who is retiring at the end of the school year.

For more on Roberts’ background click here.

The BCSC board is set to vote on Roberts contract on Monday.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is calling last month’s blitz on dangerous and impaired driving a success.

The department reports that 91 tickets were written and five arrests made in Bartholomew County during the 24-day enforcement effort.

Sheriff Matt Myers said dangerous and impaired driving leads to deaths. He said putting deputies out in full patrol is a key in getting rid of unsafe drivers.

March’s extra enforcement efforts were made possible by federal highway safety funding distributed by The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute to more than 250 participating Indiana law enforcement agencies.

The 2016 winners of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships for Bartholomew County are Columbus East High School senior Bryn Eudy and Columbus Signature Academy New Tech senior Karla Guerrero.

Amy Laker, scholarship manager for the Heritage Fund – the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County says Bryn and Karla will receive full tuition for four years to the Indiana college of their choice and a $900 annual stipend for required books and equipment.

According to Heritage Fund:

• Bryn, the daughter of Randall and Karla Eudy, has been active as Web editor for the school newspaper (awarded Individual and Group Excellence Award at Ball State University’s Summer Media Academy), tutoring at McDowell Adult Education Center, varsity captain of the Women’s Soccer Team (All District 2014-15; All Conference 2014-15; Academic All State 2014-15; Republic Girls Soccer Player of the Year 2015); public relations officer of National Honor Society; Youth Leadership Bartholomew County (10^th place overall); and committee member for the annual Turning Point Dance Marathon benefit. Bryn plans to attend Indiana University and major in journalism and public relations.
• Karla, daughter of Carlos and Celia Guerrero, has been active as editor of the school yearbook; member of the advisory board for Indiana State Museum’s Bicentennial Committee, serving as the Columbus Signature Academy’s committee chairperson; recipient of Outstanding Leadership recognition from Bartholomew County Youth Leadership; and design chairperson for the school’s Adventure Club. Karla plans to major in journalism at Ball State University.

Laker said the Heritage Fund received 69 applications for this year’s scholarships. Ten students were chosen for interviews by the Selection Committee. Each finalist will also receive a $1,000 award from Heritage Fund.

Finalists included:

• Rebecca Smith, Kevin Williams, Alex Galle and Olivia Fahey from Columbus East High School
• Eva Yezerets, Emma McAlister, and Marlena Reisinger from Columbus North High School
• Zacharia Johnson from Hauser High School.

Our Hospice of South Central Indiana wants to warn you of a fund-raising effort that is going on in the community, but which is completely unrelated to the local hospice.

Suzie Singer, spokeswoman for the local hospice, says that fundraising letters are going out in the area that appear to be local, but are actually coming from Virginia. And no money sent to that agency will make its way to the Columbus hospice.

The donation form from the Virginia group says it is sending you the “2016 Columbus Area Appeal for their Annual Fund Drive for the Hospice Support Fund.” But the company is based out of Merrifield, Virginia and uses about 70 percent of the money it raises to do even more fundraising, Singer says.

Singer said that fundraising appeals for the local hospice will always display the hospice logo and provide local contact information. She says the local hospice is a not-for-profit and depends on donations to help families in its 15-county service area.

Bartholomew County will be part of a pilot program to help keep people out of jail just because they can’t afford to bail themselves out. The Indiana Lawyer magazine is reporting that the program will use a risk-assessment tool to determine which arrestees actually are at risk of trying to flee from their charges and which can be let loose on their own recognizance until trial.

The program is part of an initiative from the Indiana Supreme Court to study evidence based pretrial release, according to the Indiana Lawyer.

Judges who are involved in the pilot program say that national studies show that there is no ties between bond amounts and the likelihood of people showing up for their court date.

Bartholomew County will be one of nine counties involved in the effort, the magazine reports, including Allen, Hamilton, Hendricks, Jefferson, Monroe, St. Joseph, Starke and Tipton counties. Counties are still waiting to find out what information they will need to collect and how to apply that information, the magazine reports.

You can read the full article here.