A Westport resident was killed in a two-vehicle crash Thursday morning in Decatur County.

Indiana State Police (ISP) Spokesman Sgt. Stephen Wheeles says that at approximately 7:37 a.m., ISP Troopers and the Decatur County Sheriff’s Department responded to the crash on State Road 3 at Main Street in Westport. According to the initial investigation, Wheeles says that a car being driven by 80-year-old Richard E. LaFlower was traveling east on Main Street in Westport when he tried to turn northbound onto State Road 3. Investigators say that LaFlower turned into the path of a southbound vehicle being driven by 42-year-old Michael K. Martin, of North Vernon. Wheeles says that the vehicles collided nearly head-on.

Wheeles says that LaFlower was taken to Decatur County Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Investigators say that both Martin, and a 17-year-old passenger in his vehicle, were transported to Decatur County Memorial Hospital with what are being called “non-life threatening injuries.”

ISP say that State Road 3 was closed at the crash site for about an hour for investigation and cleanup work.

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop has announced the appointment of Jamie Brinegar as the city’s new Director of Operations, Finance and Risk, effective May 2. Mary Ferdon, the city’s Director of Administration, says that Brinegar has worked for the city’s Parks Department as the Director of Business Services for over six years and brings a wide variety of experience to the job. Prior to coming to Columbus, Ferdon says that Brinegar spent 12 years in leadership positions for the city of Bloomington.

Ferdon says that the Director of Operations, Finance and Risk participates in management of all aspects of City of Columbus operations, including strategy development, policy development and execution. She explains that this position oversees and monitors city operations in the areas of financial, budget and accounting strategy, risk, purchasing, information technology, and office management.

Ferdon says that Brinegar is taking over the job formerly held by Matt Caldwell, the former Director of Operations and Finance. She says that Caldwell left the city in early-April for an opportunity to work in the non-profit sector in Indianapolis.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department will be holding its next rural neighborhood meeting tonight in Elizabethtown at 6 p.m. at the fire station.

Officials in the sheriff’s office say that these neighborhood meetings are meant to help build ties and trust in the community and to find out what residents are concerned about. Many of the town-hall style meetings so far have been held at volunteer fire departments.

For the next meeting though, the deputies and firefighters will be doing something a little different. According to the sheriff’s department Facebook page, on Saturday, May 7, the sheriff’s department and Clifford Volunteer firefighters will have a meet and greet for the community. That will be from 4 to 6 p.m. and will include a police car that residents can explore along with the giving away of hats and junior deputy stickers.

The event will be at the Clifford Volunteer Fire Department, outside – weather permitting.

Bartholomew County voters will be taking to the polls in just over a week to choose candidates in the primary election.

Most of the contested elections are on the Republican ticket. Three candidates are vying for the District 1 seat on the Bartholomew County Commissioners on the Republican side including long-time incumbent Larry Kleinhenz, landlord and former appointee to the city’s redevelopment commission and board of public works and safety Susan Thayer-Fye and Jorge Morales, who is retired from Cummins and now serves on the County Council.

We asked the candidates:

• Last year’s budget was extremely tight and the commissioners gave up control over a large chunk of tax money that has been going to road repairs. How should the County Commissioners address ongoing road maintenance?

Kleinhenz said that the commissioners have been applying much of the county’s share of Economic Development Income Tax funds toward the road. But this year, that money went to the County Council to help balance the county’s budget. His complete answer:

04-xx Larry Kleinhenz Question 2 FULL

Thayer-Fye said that a cash infusion from the state will help in the short-term but she would look for other savings in the county budget, through more effectively using space. Her complete answer:

04-xx Susan Thayer-Fye Question 2 FULL

Morales said that unexpected expenses, including 3.8 million in health care expenses, caused the council to dip into the Economic Development Income Taxes this year, which are normally used for road repairs. His complete answer

04-xx Jorge Morales Question 2 FULL

You can vote early at the Bartholomew County Courthouse during normal weekday hours, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. That will end on Monday, May 2nd at noon.

Three satellite voting locations will be opening closer to election day. Those will be at Donner Center, Main Source Bank on Jonathan Moore Pike and Flintwood Wesleyan Church. You can vote at those locations April 25th through the 29th from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, April 30th from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, you can go the Bartholomew County Voter Registration office website.

Bartholomew County Republican ballot candidates:
U.S. SENATOR — MARLIN A. STUTZMAN and TODD YOUNG
GOVERNOR — MICHAEL R. PENCE
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE – DISTRICT 6 — CHARLES (CHUCK) JOHNSON JR., LUKE MESSER, JEFF SMITH
STATE REPRESENTATIVE – DISTRICT 059 — RYAN LAUER, MILO SMITH, LEW WILSON
JUDGE OF THE CIRCUIT COURT – BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY — SCOTT ANDREWS, KELLY S. BENJAMIN
COUNTY CORONER — CLAYTON R. NOLTING, RONALD W. SHADLEY, SR.
COUNTY SURVEYOR — E. R. GRAY
COUNTY COMMISSIONER – DISTRICT #3 — RICK FLOHR
COUNTY COMMISSIONER- DISTRICT #1 — SUSAN THAYER FYE, LARRY S. KLEINHENZ, JORGE R. (GEORGE) MORALES
COUNTY COUNCIL- AT LARGE — WILLIAM F. (BILL) LENTZ, MICHAEL LOVELACE, MATT MILLER, EVELYN STRIETELMEIER PENCE, JAMES (JIM) REED

Bartholomew County Democratic ballot candidates:
U.S. SENATOR — BARON HILL
GOVERNOR — JOHN R. GREGG
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE – DISTRICT 6 — DANNY BASHAM, GEORGE THOMAS HOLLAND, BRUCE W. PEAVLER, RALPH SPELBRING, BARRY WELSH
STATE REPRESENTATIVE – DISTRICT 059 — DALE NOWLIN, ROBERT M. (BOB) PITMAN
COUNTY CORONER — PAULA K. ROTHROCK
COUNTY COMMISSIONER – DISTRICT #3 — BRAD WOODCOCK
COUNTY COUNCIL- AT LARGE — GABRIELLE (GABY) CHEEK, PAM CLARK, LYNNE L. FLEMING

Property in the 4700 block of Progress Drive in Columbus will be designated as an Economic Revitalization Area (ERA) after action taken Tuesday night by the Columbus City Council.

The action was requested by officials with Shively Bros. According to documentation provided to the city, the company is a “precision tooling preset organization servicing the engine manufacturing industry.” Representatives with Shively Bros. told council members that they have found a 6,000 square-foot facility, on 1.4 acres, at 4780 Progress Drive that the company is in the process of obtaining in order to support its business with Cummins. Company officials told the council that once the ERA designation was applied to this property, they would apply for tax abatements to help cover the expense of leasing the property and purchasing the needed equipment.

Company officials say that work at the site won’t begin until after the delivery of machinery coming in from Germany in the middle of 2018. Once that is in place, they say that the Columbus location is expected to begin with nine employees and increase to approximately 20 within one year. In documents presented to the city, Shively Bros. says that their company is employee-owned, meaning that on top of wages and insurance benefits, employees are also eligible for bonuses.

The council approved the request to make the property an ERA on a unanimous vote of 7-to-0.

The March of Dimes “March for Babies” events are taking place locally this weekend. These annual events help to raise awareness about premature births, along with money to fund research that will, hopefully, make high premature birth rates a thing of the past.

Saturday’s walk takes place at Seymour High School. Officials say that registration begins at 9 a.m. The walk begins at 9:30 a.m. and lasts until noon. The goal for the Seymour walk, say March of Dimes officials, is $33,000. As of early Wednesday evening, the March of Dimes says that just over $10,000 has been raised.

Sunday’s walk is set to kick-off on the west lawn of IUPUC in Columbus. Organizers say that registration begins at noon and the walk commences at 1 p.m. The goal for the Columbus walk, say March of Dimes officials, is $61,000. As of early Wednesday evening, the March of Dimes says that just over $26,000 has been raised.

Both walks are 3.1 miles in length. You are encouraged to put a team together of friends, coworkers or family, then take part in a very good cause. For m ore on these events, visit www.marchforbabies.org.

Indiana State Police (ISP) are investigating an early-Wednesday morning shooting near Milan that resulted in the death of a Sunman man.

ISP Spokesman Sgt. Sgt. Stephen Wheeles says that at approximately 12:02 a.m., ISP Troopers and Ripley County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a reported shooting at 7802 N. State Road 101 in Milan. He says that police arrived on the scene to discover the body of 50-year-old Ronald L. Mounts inside the home. Investigators say that Mounts died after suffering multiple gunshot wounds.

Wheeles says that another man, who authorities believed to be the shooter, was detained and questioned before being released. ISP say that they will not release the alleged shooter’s identity until additional investigative work is finished. They add that the alleged shooter’s identity will be released if an arrest is made.

Wheeles says that the investigation is ongoing. He asks that anyone with information about this case to contact State Police at (812) 689-5000. Tips and information can be left anonymously.

In connection with Bartholomew County Earth Day activities, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says it will be holding a “Drug Take-Back” event.

Sheriff’s Department Spokesperson Judy Jackson says that department staff will accept expired, unused and unwanted prescription medications this Saturday, from 9 a.m. until noon at the Columbus/Bartholomew Recycling Center, located at 720 South Mapleton Street in Columbus. Jackson says that the department receives several inquiries about these type of events, noting that residents find the service to be a valuable one. With that, Jackson says that the Sheriff’s Department has already scheduled another Drug Take-Back event for Thursday, June 23rd. This event, she says, will be an all-day affair, running from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., in the parking lot of Cummins Plant One.

Jackson stresses that, for both events, the Sheriff’s Department will not be able to accept medications from businesses, including pharmacies. She explains that this rule is in place because businesses should properly manage their drug waste under federal and state hazardous waste regulations.

A Brown County man was arrested early Wednesday morning on a number of charges after a traffic stop in Bartholomew County.

Sheriff’s Department Spokesperson Judy Jackson says that, at approximately 3:41 a.m., Deputy Adam Warner pulled a vehicle over at

the 71 mile marker of southbound I-65. He reported that the driver, 22-year-old Timothy Robert Dean, of Nashville, was intoxicated.

Jackson says that Dean was arrested and booked in the Bartholomew County Jail on preliminary charges of Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated, Driving while Suspended with a Prior Conviction and Never Obtaining a License. She adds that Dean remains in jail on $10,000 bond.

A Batesville man has been arrested on a child pornography charge after a tip to Columbus police.

Officers arrested 19-year-old Joseph F. Freyer on Monday after receiving a tip about illicit images on his laptop computer, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus police. Officers were working on a search warrant when Freyer showed up at his Poshard Drive apartment and was taken into custody. Detectives allegedly found the images on the computer and his apartment was also searched after the search warrant was granted.