The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is warning residents about a recent slew of burglaries and thefts on Georgetown Road. Caitlyn Gross, department spokeswoman, says that thieves have stolen items from outbuildings and vehicles. The Sheriff’s Office is encouraging residents to make sure that you lock all doors to homes, buildings and vehicles.
If you have any information about these incidents, or notice any suspicious people or vehicles in your area, you should immediately call police.
The Indiana Department of Transportation has announced that CSX has postponed rail crossing repairs at Seymour by one week. U.S. Highway 50 will now close from 7 a.m. Wednesday, January 18 to 7 a.m. Saturday, January 21.
INDOT says that the detour has been altered as well:
• Westbound U.S. 50 travelers will be directed around the rail closure via East Street, south to Bruce Street, east to Jeffersonville Avenue, returning north to U.S. 50.
• Eastbound traffic will be routed south on Carter Street, east on Bruce Street, returning north on East Street to U.S. 50.
INDOT adds that this work is dependent on the weather and could be rescheduled again.
Eight Indiana recyclers have received grant funding totaling $1 million from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Recycling Market Development Program to expand recycling throughout the state. The efforts are part of a combined $2 million commitment to operations that will benefit the environment and result in the creation of new jobs. A couple of area groups were among the recipients of those grants.
IDEM says that the city of Shelbyville is receiving $118,250 to initiate its first curbside recycling program. The program will include collecting commingled recycling products at up to 5,500 homes within the city. Recyclables will be collected by the City of Shelbyville Street and Sanitation Department on a weekly basis. IDEM says that currently, the Shelbyville provides curbside trash service to all city residents with a voluntary paper recycling program. Their goal is to provide all city residents with a full service, convenient program to exponentially increase recycling participation and to significantly lower the amount of refuse taken to the landfill.
Rumpke in Jackson County is receiving $87,425 to develop a recycling collection point at the Rumpke Medora Landfill. The project will include the construction of a 5,540 square foot pad with an enclosure to protect a horizontal baler as well as loose, single stream recycling services for both residential and commercial entities in adjacent counties. Rumpke will provide a compactor unit with a receiver box and a horizontal baler with infeed conveyor to support this project.
IDEM says that the Recycling Market Development Program was established in the early 1990s to better manage solid waste by developing markets for recycling. Municipalities, non-profit organizations and public and private businesses located and doing business in Indiana are eligible to apply for funding. Eligible candidates may seek a grant starting at $1,000 and up to $500,000, with a 50 percent required match.
Bartholomew County deputies are asking for your help finding their most wanted fugitive, 26-year-old Clinton J. Mings.
Mings is a white man, six feet tall and 215 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. Deputies say he has multiple tattoos.
According to police reports, Mings was arrested in December after allegedly stealing from a beer pong pot at a local bar. That incident happened at a bar on 25th Street and was caught on video. Police accused Mings of taking $57 from the beer pong game and $10 that another patron left on the bar to pay their tab.
If you have any information on Mings whereabouts, you can contact Capt. Dave Steinkoening at 812-565-5940 or you can call the department’s Tip Line at 812-379-1712. Tips can be left anonymously.
With the severely cold temperatures, if you are a pet owner, you should make sure to keep your animals safe and warm out there.
Nicohl Birdwell Goodin, head of Columbus Animal Care Services says that the city does not have an weather-related animal protection ordinance like the one in Indianapolis. In Indianapolis, pet owners are not allowed to leave their pets unprotected and alone when the temperature drops below 20 degrees. But pet owners in Columbus are still required to provide appropriate shelter, food and water for their outdoor animals.
Birdwell Goodin says that you shouldn’t expect just blankets to keep your pet warm outdoors in this weather. The blankets can get wet and freeze. She suggests using straw instead.
Birdwell Goodin said that if you need help providing shelter for your animals, you should call animal control. They frequently have extra shelters and straw on hand that have been donated such as by students doing their senior projects. You can call the shelter at 812-376-2505
A Columbus man was arrested on various warrants after a 2 and a half hour standoff with police yesterday afternoon.
A police officer saw 29-year-old Miguel J. Rivas at a residence in the 700 block of Werner Avenue at about 4 p.m. yesterday afternoon. When Rivas saw the police he rushed into the home, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus police. Officers found that Rivas had numerous warrants for his arrest including a warrant for the illegal possession of a machine gun.
The Columbus Police SWAT team was brought in and Rivas surrendered after negotiating with police at about 6:30 p.m. that evening. He was arrested on outstanding warrants including:
A Scott County woman was killed in a Thursday morning crash in Jackson County. Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, Indiana State Police spokesman, says that shortly after 8 a.m., troopers responded to the one-vehicle crash on I-65 near the 55 mile marker.
Wheeles says that the initial investigation revealed that a pickup truck driven by 71-year-old Gerald E. Brown, of Scottsburg, was traveling north on I-65 near the 55 mile marker when he lost control of his vehicle on the snow covered road. Brown’s vehicle left the east side of the roadway, just south of exit 55, where it then struck a light pole head-on.
ISP says that the crash claimed the life of Brown’s wife, 70-year-old R. Carolyn Brown, also of Scottsburg. Wheeles says that she was pronounced dead at the scene by the Jackson County Coroner. Authorities say that Gerald Brown sustained possible life threatening injuries in the crash. He was taken to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour before being transferred to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
ISP says that the roadway surface condition and the speed of the vehicle are believed to have been factors in the crash. Wheeles adds that the investigation is ongoing.
Cummins opened its new global distribution headquarters Thursday morning in Indianapolis. Tom Linebarger, Cummins’ Chairman and CEO, says that the company wants to mimic the relationship it has with Columbus, in Indianapolis…
Linebarger again assuaged fears that Cummins is abandoning Columbus. He says that the company has had around 100 employees working in a rented space in Indianapolis for over a decade and the need for a permanent home became apparent…
Linebarger also noted that Indianapolis serves as a natural extension of Cummins’ operations, and access to customers.
A Jeffersonville woman is under arrest in Bartholomew County, accused of stabbing her boyfriend in the head early this morning.
39-year-old Annie M. Brannon is facing preliminary charges of domestic battery in the presence of a minor and domestic battery with bodily injury after the incident this morning.
Bartholomew County deputies say they were called to the 4300 block of East State Street at 12:26 a.m. this morning. The victim said that he and his girlfriend, Brannon, were having an argument when she stabbed him and then cut her own forearm with the knife.
He was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for a small stab wound to the back of his head. Brannon was taken to the hospital for treatment before being taken to the Bartholomew County Jail.
Cummins announced on Wednesday that they have reached an agreement to resolve patent infringement claims against ADP Distributors, Inc. and ADP Distributors USA, Inc., which do business as Rotomaster.
According to a post on Cummins’ website, the litigation related to Rotomaster’s infringement of Cummins’ turbocharger patents in the U.S. and overseas. Under the terms of the settlement, Rotomaster will stop producing infringing products in any countries where Cummins has valid patent rights and will cease infringing activities in the United States. According to the post, “Rotomaster acknowledged that Cummins’ patents are valid and enforceable and that Rotomaster infringed the patents.”
“Cummins is pleased to have reached a resolution in this matter,” says Mahesh Narang, Executive Director and General Manager, Cummins Turbo Technologies, Cummins Inc. “Cummins respects the intellectual property rights of others and takes action necessary to protect and enforce its valuable intellectual property and to safeguard its own interests.