North Vernon police arrested a woman last week who allegedly had guns and drugs in a vehicle in fast-food restaurant parking lot.

Police say this morning that the situation unfolded at about 1:30 in the morning on October 5th, when an employee at the restaurant noticed two people acting suspiciously in the drive-through lane.

Police were called to the scene and found 21-year-old.Sierra Ihle in the vehicle in the parking lot. They noticed a rifle in the vehicle and an investigation allegedly revealed almost 8 grams of methamphetamine. Police say there were two rifles found with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, drug paraphernalia including scales and smoking pipes along with clothing and a camera reported stolen from the nearby Walmart.

Ihle is facing preliminary charges of possession of methamphetamine over 5 grams with possession of a firearm, possession of paraphernalia and possession of stolen property.

A second person in the vehicle is believed to have left the scene, police say.

Buffalo Bill Cody’s tales will be coming to Hope on Friday evening.

Re-enactor Terry Clark will hold a performance as the Wild West icon at the Hope Branch of the Bartholomew County Public Library starting at 6 p.m. The performance, called “Buffalo Bill in Song” will feature music and tales from Cody’s experiences.

The material will be appropriate for all audiences, says David Miller, branch manager of the Hope library. Miller said this is part of the library’s efforts to expand its programming to include adults as well as children.

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The Bartholomew County Council gave final approval to the county’s 2017 budget. Barb Hackman, county auditor, explains that there was some discrepancies from the budget’s first reading…

Hackman explains another reason for the change in figures

The budget, totaling $20,778,212, was approved unanimously by the county council.

A group of 13 residents, including former Mayor Kristen Brown, have filed a formal appeal against the proposed Columbus city budget for 2017. Russ Poling is one of those residents. He says that city officials are painting an unrealistic picture of the city’s finances. Poling explains that there are two points to the appeal…

As for the second point…

Poling talks about what his group hopes to accomplish with this appeal…

Poling explains that his group is recommending that the city council not approve the budget until this issue is resolved. However, he says that the council is free to do as it wishes.

City officials disagree with the group’s conclusions . Finance director Jamie Brinegar explains…

The City Council is scheduled to vote on final approval for the budget at its next meeting on Tuesday night.

Fort Vallonia Days takes place this weekend in Jackson County. The festival celebrates the history of the community, which was established well before Indiana was granted statehood.

The annual festival, held each year during the third weekend of October, is expected to draw as many as 30,000 people. It takes place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Each year there are craft booths, food booths, flea markets and entertainment for adults and children. Activities include a Muzzle Loading Shoot, Archery Shoot, 5k Walk / Run and much more.

For more on this year’s Fort Vallonia Days, visit www.fortvalloniadays.com.

The driver in a one-vehicle crash that killed his girlfriend is reportedly behind bars.

Authorities in Marion County arrested 39-year-old Kevin Bell on charges related to the Sept. 17 crash which killed 37-year-old Nikki Reed, of Seymour. Bell reportedly told investigators that he lost control of the SUV he was driving and went down an embankment and hitting a tree, head-on. The crash happened on a Saturday, but Bell wasn’t found until the following Tuesday when he was seen walking along the road. By then, both he and Reed were reported as missing.

About one week later, Bell was charged with: Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Death, Failure to Report a Dead Body, Driving with a Suspended License and False Informing.

Bell remains in the Marion County Jail. Staff at the Jennings County Jail did not know when he would be extradited.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is asking for your help locating its most-wanted fugitive.

Judy Jackson, department spokeswoman, says that deputies are looking for 39-year-old Angela Kay Spencer. She is described as being a white female, 5’4″ tall and weighing 130 pounds. Authorities say that Spencer has brown hair, brown eyes and tattoos. She is wanted on outstanding warrants, says Jackson.

If you have any information on Spencer’s whereabouts, you are asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (812) 379-1650, or the department’s Tip Line at (812) 379-1712. You may also contact authorities via email at sheriff@bartholomew.in.gov. Jackson says that information can be left anonymously.

Today marks the start of early voting in Indiana for next month’s general election. But if you are planning to vote straight party ticket on your ballot, you will need to take extra steps to vote in some races.

A new state law requires that straight party votes will not be applied to at-large races such as those for Bartholomew County Council says County Clerk Jay Phelps. Instead, voters will have to vote on those races individually, Phelps said. Other affected races include some town council races that area also at-large.

Phelps explains the change:

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Voting officials are trying to make sure that residents understand the change. Phelps says that officials will include signs at the voting centers, at  the voting machines themselves and on the ballot to alert voters to the change.

Phelps suggests that people may want to vote on every race individually just to make sure they don’t miss any candidates. For instance, school board candidates are always a non-partisan race so no votes are tallied when voters cast a straight-party ticket on those races either.

You can vote early at the Bartholomew County Courthouse during normal weekday business hours starting at 8 a.m. through November 7th, the day before the election. There will also be early voting at the courthouse on Saturday October 29th and November 5th.

Voting at three other satellite locations begins Oct. 31st and runs through Nov. 5th. Those will be at  Main Source Bank on the city’s west side, Donner Center and Flintwood-Wesleyan Church on 25th Street.

Correction: Faurecia is closing two plants in Michigan and two more plants will be affected by the loss of the Chrysler 200. The number of plants being closed altogether was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.

Automotive parts supplier Faurecia has announced the closing of two plants in Michigan, and reduced operations at two more, which will lead to almost 350 people losing jobs there.

The closings are tied to Fiat Chrysler’s decision to end production of the Chrysler 200 and the Dodge Dart. Faurecia North America has notified Michigan officials that two facilities in Fraser and two in Sterling Heights will be closed. In all, the French company is laying off 348 employees in the state.

The company has recently expanded its presence in Bartholomew County with a new plant and nearby tech center in Walesboro. The new plant is expected to have 450 employees when it becomes fully operational.

Tony Sapienza, director of communications for the company’s North America operations, said that the closings will have no effect in the Bartholomew County operations.

Faurecia makes emission systems, automotive seats and interior systems for Detroit’s Big Three automakers and BMW, Nissan, Volkswagen and Hyundai.

Action taken by Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers, and his staff, has eliminated the need to request additional money from the county to cover future overtime costs, hopefully, for the rest of the year, says Myers…

The Sheriff took the action after the county council asked him to look into his budget and see if he could squeeze any additional savings. Myers stressed that, while he thinks he has found enough money to cover the expense, he may be back before the end of the year to ask for an additional appropriation.

During Tuesday night’s County Council meeting, Myers explained the increase in overtime costs…

The Sheriff also noted an emphasis on training…

The discussion seemed to get testy, as Councilman Jorge Morales directly told Myers that he would need to “live within his means” for the 2017 budget…

Myers says that, with all things considered, the department has done a good job of keeping overtime costs in check. He credited his deputies for their sacrifices in helping to save the county money.