Two candidates are in the running to be the next Bartholomew County coroner, after long-time coroner Larry Fisher decided not to seek re-election.

Both candidates are running for office for the first time.

Republican, Clayton Nolting, 31, is chief deputy coroner and a patrolman with the Columbus Police Department. He has a bachelors degree in organizational leadership and supervision and a masters in forensic science focused in etymology. He is also a certified medical death investigator. He is married to Brelyn.

Democrat, Paula Rothrock, 57, is a case manager for Columbus Regional Hospital emergency department and served on the Columbus Police Department for 11 years. She has a bachelors degree in nursing science and is working toward her masters degree. She is married to Paul, a retired Columbus firefighter/paramedic and they have four children.

We asked the candidates about issues in the coroner’s race. Their full answers are below:

• What qualities would you bring to the role of County Coroner?

Nolting said:

Rothrock said:

• The job of county coroner seems like a particularly thankless task, especially for elected officials. Bad hours, low pay. Having to deal with bodies and grieving families. Why are you interested in being county coroner?

Rothrock said:

Nolting said:

• The state only requires that you be a resident of the county for a year and an elector to be a coroner. Beyond those minimum constitutional requirements, what qualifies you to be a county coroner?

Nolting said:

Rothrock said:

• Are there any ways you can see streamlining the way the county coroner’s office operates or saving costs?

Nolting said:

Rothrock said:

A Westfield, IN man is facing charges in a Oct. 2015 crash that killed a Jackson County teenager.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department says that the charges stem from a crash that took place Oct. 18, 2015, just east of Brownstown. On that day, 17-year-old Aaron M. Greathouse, of Seymour, was driving home when his car collided with another vehicle driven by 21-year-old Caleb P. Cartmel. The Sheriff’s Department says that Cartmel was driving east on County Road 25 North when he went left-of-center, striking Greathouse’s vehicle head-on.

Greathouse was pronounced dead at the scene. Cartmel and his passenger/brother, 17-year-old Ian Cartmel, were flown to IU Health in Indianapolis.

Jackson County authorities say that after a year-long investigation, the case was sent to prosecutors for review. They have filed charges of Reckless Homicide, a Level 5 Felony, and Operating a Motor Vehicle Causing Serious Bodily Injury or Death with Schedule I or II Substance, a Level 6 Felony, against the elder Cartmel.

Authorities say that Cartmel has been arrested and is being held in Muncie, IN. Cartmel is scheduled to be returned to Jackson County after his initial hearing. The Sheriff’s Department says that there is no bond on the warrant and that Cartmel is subject to a 96-hour hold once he is returned to Jackson County.

The Columbus City Engineer’s Office says that the intersection of 29th Street and Fairlawn Drive will be closed Monday as work begins on the installation of new drainage structures and new storm pipe, as well as removing and replacing concrete ramps.

Once finished in this area, crews are scheduled to move to Fox Pointe Drive to install curbs, followed by curb installations at Gilmore Street. Also on Monday, and through Tuesday, city officials say that crews will be at Morgan Willow Trace to complete milling and paving work. In addition, milling in Forest Park will also begin Monday, followed by paving on Wednesday. Once paving in Forest Park is complete, crews will move to Gilmore Street and Union Street to begin milling and paving work there.

Officials say that this schedule is dependent on the weather.

The Columbus Indiana YES Film Festival has announced the Jury Prize winners for the 2016 festival being held the weekend of October 28-30 at YES Cinema.

Diane Doup, with the Lincoln Central Neighborhood Family Center, says that the winners in each category are:

Best Narrative — “And Punching The Clown”
Best Documentary — “The Guys Next Door”
Best Short — “Phil’s Camino”

Doup says that prizes were awarded by a 10-person jury comprised of filmmakers, media representatives, actors and directors from film festivals across the United States. In addition, she says that the Audience Award will be determined by audience member voting during the festival.

You are encouraged to take part in this film festival. You can learn more about the Jury Prize winning films, including showtimes, by visiting www.yesfilmfestival.com or by calling YES Cinema at (812) 378-0377.

A number of Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corp. customers were without water for about three-hours on Friday.

Kathy Ford, the utility’s office manager, says that a water line on Terrace Lake Road was cut by contractors Friday morning. She explains that led to customers on Carr Hill Road, east of Terrace Lake Road, customers on Terrace Lake Road, north of Carr Hill Road and all customers on Suburban Court being without service. Ford says that water was restored at around 1:15 p.m.

As a result of this disruption in service, the utility has issued a Boil Water Advisory through noon on Thurday, October 27 for these same customers. As a precaution, affected customers should bring water to a full boil for five minutes before consumption or use in cooking and food preparation. In addition to the boil advisory, Ford says that these same customers will be without service again on Monday, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., for water main work on Terrace Lake Road.

The utility is apologizing for the inconvenience. Ford noted that they were unable to notify customers due to a cyber-attack. A number of websites and online entities, including Twitter, Playstation and others, were subjected to “denial of service” attacks on Friday.

Next week will be Red Ribbon Week in Columbus and across the state as part of the Young Marines campaign against drug abuse.

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop and Gov. Mike Pence have made the proclamation declaring Oct. 23 through Oct. 31st as Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week is a national anti drug effort and awareness campaign. There will be a ceremony Saturday at 6 p.m. on the steps of Columbus City Hall in recognition of Red Ribbon Week.

The Young Marines will then tie red ribbons around all of the trees downtown. The Columbus Unit will also be handing out drug information and awareness material, along with candy, during trick-or-treating at Fair Oaks Mall and Seymour downtown trick-or-treating.

Click here for more information on Red Ribbon Week.

Residents of Seymour can now have their leaves picked up.

Mayor Craig Luedeman’s office says the Department of Public Works began the program this week. Officials say that leaf pickup will be the day after your trash pickup, weather permitting.

Leaves should be raked to the edge of lawn, as close to the curb as possible, but not into the street and should be free of branches and trash.

The leaf pickup program in Columbus began earlier this month and runs through Dec. 16th.

You should have your leaves raked to the curb but not in the street by 7 a.m. on the same day as your trash pick up. You can also use your yard waste Toter to put leaves out for pickup, but there should be no sticks or woody material in the Toter.

If you want to bag your leaves, you bring them to the compost site at the Department of Public Works, which is at 2250 Kreutzer Drive, off South Gladstone Avenue. The bags must be emptied into the compost row and then the bags must be taken from the site.

A Columbus man was arrested Wednesday in Madison on a drug charge.

Madison Police Chief Dan Thurston says that officers arrested two individuals on methamphetamine-related charges. In early October, Thurston says that detectives received information that 54-year-old Edward Humes, Jr. was involved in the distribution of meth in the Madison area. He adds that detectives also learned that Humes was on parole for a possession of cocaine conviction.

Thurston says that Det. Kurtis Wallace was conducting surveillance Wednesday in downtown Madison when he spotted Humes. He says that Wallace, Det. Tim Armstrong with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, along with Parole Agents Robin Ray and Will Phelps, approached Humes as he was leaving a home as a passenger in a vehicle being driven by 44-year-old Carrie Kostin, of Madison.

A search of Humes allegedly led to the discovery of a digital scale that tested positive for methamphetamine. Nearby, police allegedly found a hypodermic needle containing a liquid and a small amount of marijuana. Inside the vehicle, police reportedly found a two bags containing approximately four grams of meth, along with hypodermic needles and a glass pipe with a burnt residue.

Humes was arrested on a preliminary charge of Possession of Methamphetamine. Kostin is facing preliminary charges of Dealing in Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine, Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Unlawful Possession of a Hypodermic Needle and Possession of Paraphernalia.

The Bartholomew County Substance Abuse Council is holding their eighth annual conference on Wednesday aimed at educating you about the drug issues facing the community. Larry Perkinson is the Vice President of the group…

Along with Perkinson, there will be other local speakers…

As for the keynote address…

Wednesday’s event runs from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Westside Community Church in Columbus.

For more on this free event, visit www.bcsac.org.

Columbus police are accusing a man of lying about his identity, when they tried to arrest him on various warrants.

Police came across a man they believed to be 27-year-old Stephen Henderson in the 2400 block of North National Road at just after midnight this morning. But Henderson allegedly gave police a fake name and birth date, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the police department.

After confirming Henderson’s identity he was arrested on four warrants for failing to appear in court to answer charges including trespassing, conversion and driving while suspended. Police say he is also facing a preliminary charge of making a false identity statement and possession methamphetamine, which was found in a bag concealed in his clothing by jail officers.