According to the Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center, the Indiana Department of Transportation plans to close the northbound right lane of Interstate 65 near the 67.0 mile marker at Columbus Monday morning.
INDOT crews have been scheduled to make signage repairs between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Inclement weather could delay this operation.
The Indiana Department of Transportation will have lane closings on Interstate 65 at the Taylorsville exit for bridge work next week. The state’s contractor will be working on the bridges at Interstate 65 over U.S. 31 and the bridges over the Louisville and Indiana railroad tracks about 7 tenths of a mile north of there.
Prep work will start Monday, but Wednesday and Thursday crews will start repair work on the bridges at U.S. 31.. Single lanes of traffic will be closed between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. with work continuing Aug. 29th through 31st at the railroad bridges.
There will be more night-time single-lane closures at the four bridges after Labor Day weekend. .
American Legion Post number 24 on 25th Street in Columbus will be holding a fundraiser today from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
You can buy lunch or dinner for $7 to benefit the legion post and its activities.
You can also call for takeout at 812-376-7036
The Moonlight Loop bicycle ride to raise money for Columbus Animal Care Services is Saturday night.
You can sign up for $35 at the event, or buy advance tickets for $30 today. The ride starts at 9 p.m. at the Bartholomew County Public Library plaza and will include a 19-mile bike ride escorted through the city and county by Columbus police and reserve sheriff’s deputies.
The event benefits the medical care services fund, which helps get animals ready for adoption through spaying or neutering, shots and other care.
For more information you can call 812-376-2505 or go the city’s website.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers made the case yesterday that he needs three more deputies and more than half a million dollars to upgrade the departments radios and add video recording for deputies. When asked by County Council President Bill Lentz to prioritize which of his needs were the most important, Myers said they all were needed right now. ‘
Myers said the department also needs to pay the jail matron more and to better compensate the supervisors in the jail.
Council member Jorge Morales questioned whether a quiet community like Bartholomew County needs the camera equipment larger cities are getting. But Myers said Maj. Gary Myers said that the interstate brings the same quality and types of criminals that are seen in larger cities like Louisville and Indianapolis.
The cost for the cameras and radios would be paid over several years, the sheriff said.
The sheriff said that cameras would help protect both the deputies and the public. He cited an incident where a deputy was called to stop a black woman from walking on the interstate. The deputy, fearing a lawsuit or complaint, waited until more deputies arrived before stopping the woman because he wanted witnesses to what happened.
The council set aside all of the county departments new spending requests for consideration until they find out how much money is expected to come in next year.
Although originally scheduled to begin deliberating on the 2017 spending levels this morning, the council will now reconvene next Thursday and Friday. That will include an update from new adviser, Reedy Financial.
A man whose body was found in Country Squire Lakes in Jennings County Wednesday afternoon committed suicide according to the county’s sheriff’s department investigation.
And sheriff’s deputies say there was no gun or gunshots involved in the incident.
Deputies were called at about 5:30 p.m. after a passerby found the body of the 33-year-old man near the intersection of Country Manor Road and Hylander Drive. An autopsy confirmed that the man committed suicide, says Lt. MIke Mowery, spokesman for the sheriff’s department.
Although there was information swirling on social media about gunshots, Mowery said there was no evidence of a firearm being involved. A neighbor said a passing vehicle in the area did backfire several times though and deputies heard the same thing while on scene, Mowery said.
The Columbus City Council and the city Redevelopment Commission will have a special meeting next week at the IU Center for Art and Design, for a private showing of the center’s exhibit on downtown Columbus development.
The exhibit pulls from artifacts and documents held by the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives and looks back at the various plans and proposals for downtown, stretching from the days of Death Valley to the modern day efforts that led to the new Cummins office buildings downtown.
The council and commission will have their showing at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The exhibit runs through next Friday and is open to the public. The Jackson Street gallery’s hours are weekdays from 1 to 5 pm.
A Nashville man was arrested after a swim in the creek, while allegedly trying to avoid Columbus police.
Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that police saw 31-year-old Winston C. Zink working on a moped on the side of U.S. 31 Wednesday at about 5:30 p.m. The officer knew Zink was wanted on a warrant. When the officer stopped, Zink allegedly ran away eventually jumping into Clifty Creek, which was swollen with rain water and moving fast.
Zink appeared to struggle in the water and the officer threw a lifeline to him. An investigation revealed that the moped had been stolen.
Zink was arrested on the warrant, along with auto theft and resisting law enforcement.
16 people have been arrested in Bartholomew County after a months-long investigation into drug dealing.
The Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement team was assisted by the Columbus police, Bartholomew County deputies, Indiana State Police and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency in serving warrants this week.
Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus police, says they are still searching for two people in the warrant sweep: 32-year-old Robert Eugene Leturgez Jr. and 24-year-old Joshua M. “Chirp” Parker.
Harris says that Leturgez Jr. is wanted on two counts of dealing methamphetamine. Leturgez is a white man, standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 198 pounds. with brown hair and blue eyes.
Parker is wanted on a single charge of dealing methamphetamine. He is also a white man, six feet three weighting 224 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes and has multiple tattoos.
If you have any information on Leturgez or Parker, you can call the police department at 812-376-2600 or you can call the sheriff’s department at 812-379-1740
Others arrested in the drug sweep include:
The Bartholomew County Council’s budget hearings for 2017 continue this morning.
Sheriff Matt Myers is scheduled to make his case for increased funding at the first session at 8:35 a.m. in the Governmental Office Building on Third Street in Columbus.
Myers has said he will be looking for substantial budget increases to provide for more deputies, training and equipment. He has said the department has held the line on spending for years, but increasing drug traffic and a growing population are stretching the county’s deputies too far.
Also this morning, the Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center budget hearing will be held. Several council members have suggested the county consider a new income tax to fund operations at the center and other public safety needs in the community.