The Seymour Department of Parks and Recreation is preparing for the hot summer months.

Department officials say that the Shields Park pool will be open from May 28th through August 8th. The hours are Monday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday hours are noon to 5 p.m. Admission for adults and children ages six to 17 is $3 for the afternoon session and $2 for the evening session. Toddler admission, for children ages three to five, is $1 for each session. Seymour Parks and Rec says that season passes for Family, Adults, Children and Seniors are available, as well as Lap Passes and 30-day Family Passes.

For those wanting their children to take part in swim lessons, parks officials say that they will be held in two sessions: June 20th to the 30th and July 11th to the 21st. These lessons will be offered in two time slots: 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. to 5:45pm. Officials say that the cost for each child, age four and up, is $30. Each additional child is $25. The deadline to register for the June session is June 17, while the deadline to register for the July session is July 8.

Parks and Rec adds that Summer Aquatic Exercise Classes will be offered from June 13th through August 3rd. These include Shallow Aquatic Exercise and Deep Aquatic Exercise Classes. The fee for each Shallow Aquatic Classes is $5, while the fee for each Deep Aquatic Classes is $3. Officials add that Summer Passes are also available for $200.

To register your children for swim lessons, or for any questions regarding the pool, you should call the Shields Park Pool Office at (812) 523-7665.

A Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputy arrested two people on drug charges after traffic stop on Wednesday night.

A Sheriff’s Department spokesperson says that just before 6 p.m., Deputy Adam Warner initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of

North US 31 and West Fiesbeck Lane for unsafe lane movement. During the traffic stop, Deputy Warner called for the Columbus Police Department’s police dog, Max, to respond to the scene.

Max and his handler, Officer Jeremy Jones, arrived on the scene and walked around the vehicle. Authorities say that this led to Max alerting to the presence of drugs in the vehicle. A search allegedly resulted in the discovery of methamphetamine, paraphernalia, a controlled substance and a lookalike substance.

Sheriff’s Department officials say that the driver, Adam Fugate, 54, of Greensburg, was arrested on charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Paraphernalia and Possession of a Controlled Substance. The passenger

of the vehicle, Keesha Stewart, 27, of Columbus, was arrested on a charge of Possession of a Lookalike Substance. Authorities say that Fugate remains behind bars on $65,000 bond, while Stewart remains jailed on $2,500 bond.

The Sheriff’s Department is thanking the Columbus Police Department for its help in making these arrests.

The Columbus Area Arts Council has announced that Indianapolis designer Kathryn Armstrong will be the new executive director of the organization. Current director Karen Shrode is stepping down from the role.

Since 2010, Armstrong has been a faculty member at the Herron School of Art and Design. She has been an active board member of the Contemporary Art Society at the Indianapolis Museum of Art since 2012. She joined the Columbus Museum of Art and Design as an independent curator and consultant earlier this year.

Armstrong will start in the new role on June 6th. She will be moving to Columbus with her partner, Steven Baker, who is a design professional.

Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus will be offering a new degree program this fall — an associates of science in engineering.

School officials unveiled the new program yesterday at the Columbus Learning Center. They outlined a program that could eventually get a student to a bachelor’s degree at a fraction of the cost of a traditional engineering school.

Joan Wills, program director and chief engineer of Cummins High Horsepower Engineering and Power Systems Global Platforms, said that such a degree is in high demand

05-19 Joan Wills-1

Clayton Force, LEED AP Project Engineering manager for Force Construction, talks about the doors even a two-year engineering degree opens:

05-19 Clayton Force-1 Full

Dr. Stephen Combs, campus president, explains that the two-year, 63 credit program could save a student $32,000 compared to the cost of a similar degree at a traditional school. Some local companies also offer tuition reimbursement toward finishing a bachelor’s degree.

05-19 Steven Combs-1 full

The Flamenco sculpture in front of The Commons in downtown Columbus has found its forever home, after a fundraiser last week.

Geri Handley with the Columbus Area Arts Council explains:

05-19 Geri Handley-1

The red, steel sculpture, by artist Ruth Aizuss Migdal, was brought to Columbus and installed at the corner of Fourth and Washington Streets during the Arts Council’s biennial Sculpture Invitational.

Similarly, the Eos state at Fifth and Brown streets was brought to Columbus during a previous Sculpture Invitational and also found a permanent home in Columbus through local fundraising efforts.

A Columbus driver was seriously injured after driving his car into the rear of a school bus yesterday and getting wedged underneath the bus at 10th Street and Marr Road.

Capt. Mike Wilson with the Columbus Fire Department said the accident happened at about 2:22 p.m. Firefighters had to use hydraulic tools to cut the driver from his car.

The driver, 50-year-old Donald Atwood of Columbus, was taken first by ambulance and then by Lifeline helicopter to IU Methodist Hospital. That’s according to our news-gathering partners at The Republic.

No children were onboard the bus at the time of the crash and the bus driver was uninjured.

Firefighters then spent about 20 minutes trying to separate the two vehicles. He said that meant using rescue air bags to lift the bus off the car so it could be pulled out by winch.

A Tuesday morning traffic stop in Jennings County led to the arrests of two people and may have resulted in the largest meth bust in county history.

Lt. Mike Mowery, spokesman for the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, says that at about 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a deputy stopped

a car near the intersection of County Road 300 North at State Road 7 in Center Township after the driver failed to dim his headlights for oncoming traffic.

Mowery says that the traffic stop led to an investigation, which resulted in deputies seizing more than two pounds of methamphetamine. He says that Larry Janes, 65, and Kimberly L. Tungate, 28, both of North Vernon, are charged with dealing and possession of methamphetamine.

Mowery says that the investigation continued, as at approximately 10 a.m., deputies executed a search warrant at Janes’ home on Whitehall Drive in Country Squire Lakes. He alleges that deputies recovered six guns, drug paraphernalia, marijuana and approximately five ounces of methamphetamine. Investigators say that the meth found inside the home appeared to be packaged for sale.

The Sheriff’s Department says that the estimated street value of all of the methamphetamine that was recovered in this case is over $100,000.

Mowery says that both Janes and Tungate are being held without bond on the following preliminary charges:

Janes:
Dealing Methamphetamine (Level 2 Felony);
Possession of Meth with a Firearm (Level 3 Felony);
Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon (Level 4 Felony);
Possession of a Syringe (Level 6 Felony);
Possession of Paraphernalia (Class A Misdemeanor);
Possession of Marijuana (Class A Misdemeanor);
Maintaining Common Nuisance (Class B Misdemeanor)

Tungate:
Dealing Methamphetamine (Level 2 Felony);
Possession of Meth with a Firearm (Level 3 Felony);
Possession of a Controlled Substance (Level 6 Felony);
Possession of Paraphernalia (Class A Misdemeanor);
Possession of Marijuana (Class A Misdemeanor);
Maintaining Common Nuisance (Class B Misdemeanor)

Jennings County Sheriff Gary Driver says that he believes this is the largest methamphetamine seizure in the Department’s history. He went on to say that these arrests and seizures have helped fight the County’s drug problem. Sheriff Driver added, “With the community’s help and support, we hope to make our county a safer place.” Driver also praised his deputies, noting that he is proud of his their hard work and persistence in fighting Jennings County’s drug problem. Sheriff Driver also thanked the North Vernon Police Department, Indiana State Police and all of surrounding police agencies that have recognized the drug problem that has crept into southeastern Indiana, and their work to fight it.

A Columbus man, who was wanted on a warrant, is behind bars after allegedly leading Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputies on a vehicle pursuit on Tuesday morning.

Judy Jackson, Sheriff’s Department spokesperson, says that at approximately 8:44 a.m., Deputy Kevin Abner attempted to serve a

warrant on 39-year-old Caleb Charles Hoover. Authorities say that Hoover was wanted for Failure to Appear on an original charge of Possession of Paraphernalia.

Jackson says that Hoover fled from his home, at 13230 County Road North 300 East, in a pickup truck. With deputies in pursuit, Hoover allegedly abandoned his vehicle in the 6700 block of East Mulberry Street at St. Louis Crossing, and continued on foot. Jackson says that pursuit was a short one, as deputies caught up to Hoover in short order.

Jackson says that Hoover is being held without bond on the following preliminary charges:

Failure to Appear on a Bartholomew County warrant;
Johnson County warrant charging three counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated;
Brown County Warrant for Failure to Appear on a Probation Violation;
Driving While Suspended;
Resisting Law Enforcement in a Vehicle (Level 6 Felony).

The Sheriff’s Department thanks Capt. Dave Steinkoenig, Sgt. Chad Swank and Deputy Nick Martoccia, along with officers from the Hope Police Department and Indiana State Police for their help in making this arrest.

Detectives with the Columbus Police Department continue their investigation into the overnight armed robbery of a local convenience store.

Officer Justin Black, a police department spokesman, says that at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, officers responded to the Village

Pantry, at the corner of National Road and Washington Street. Investigators say that a white male, in his twenties, approached the employee working and produced a knife. The suspect allegedly pointed the knife at the employee and demanding money. Jackson says that the suspect fled the store, running south, after getting an undetermined amount of cash.

Investigators say the suspect is approximately five-feet, six-inches tall. He was wearing dark clothing along with white tennis shoes and a red bandana covering his face. They add that employee was not injured during the robbery.

Columbus Police are releasing images of the suspect caught on the store’s surveillance system. If you have any information on this suspect,

you are urged to contact Detective Jason Christophel at (812) 376-2600. Police stress that tips and information can be left anonymously.

A new street direction change in front of the Cole apartments in downtown Columbus will be going into effect.

Cummins asked the city to make Second Street a two-way street in front of the Cole to improve the traffic flow and to allow easier entrances and exits to the parking garage inside the apartment complex.

City Engineer Dave Hayward said the change won’t happen immediately, as the city will need need to change the traffic light, add road striping and make internal changes to the garage gates to allow the new direction.

Mayor Jim Lienhoop explains that the plan is still going through the engineering process. Cummins has offered to pay for the changes. Lienhoop said that the city has yet to put a price tag on the work that must be done.

05-17 jim lienhoop cole-1

Columbus City Council agreed to the proposal 6-0, with Councilwoman Elaine Wagner abstaining because she works for Cummins.