The Indiana Department of Transportation plans to close the southbound Interstate 65 off-ramp to State Road 11 at Exit 55 (Seymour/Jonesville exit) on Wednesday. The closure is scheduled to last 30 days and will allow the contractor, Reith-Riley, to pour new concrete pavement and install Weigh-In-Motion scales within the ramp area.

Drivers are advised to continue along I-65 south to U.S. Highway 50 at Seymour, then travel U.S. 50 west to Broadway Street to circumvent the closure.

INDOT says this work is part of a $6,951,000 design-build Weigh Station Project that combines weigh-in-motion sensing locations with facilities for certified scales and covered examinations.

A North Vernon man is dead after a suspected overdose. Lt. Randy Marshall, with the North Vernon Police Department, says that officers were called to a home on Harms Street at 12:20 a.m. on Friday. When officers arrived, they reported finding two people giving aid to 21-year-old Chase Clark. Police say that Clark was unresponsive and not breathing. They administered several doses of Narcan, however, it proved ineffective. Marshall says that paramedics from Rescue 20 worked diligently to save Clark, but were unsuccessful either. Jennings County Coroner Gene Rudicel pronounced the young man dead at the scene.

Lt. Marshall says that, while on the scene, officers learned that Clark had been down for at least 10 minutes before any calls for help were made. After getting a search warrant for the home, police reported finding several items of paraphernalia.

North Vernon Police say that the case remains under investigation. No autopsy is planned, however, blood was drawn to determine what Clark had ingested.

The city of North Vernon is warning its water customers to boil their water before consuming it through at least Monday.

The water utility reports that a broken water main on State Road 3 has interrupted water service to the northern portion of the town. The leak was expected to be repaired early this afternoon but until the utility can get back an all-clear on the water quality, you are asked to boil any water for five minutes before drinking it or using it in food preparation.

The city is also warning that if the water appears discolored, you should wait to do laundry.

If you have any questions or need more information  you can call North Vernon Utilities at 812-346-2037 or the Jennings County Health Department at 812-352-3024.

Columbus police say that a suspected drunk driver they arrested Thursday was far away from where he thought he was.

Police were called to National Road on a report of a possible drunk driver. They found 36-year-old Philip L. Keeling of LaPorte, trying to turn around in a driveway in the 600 block of National Road. When talking to police, he was slurring his words and appeared intoxicated, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus police. And when police asked him where he was, Keeling thought he was just south of Kokomo, Harris says.

Keeling was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to have his blood drawn and it was allegedly .251 percent, about three times the legal limit. He was arrested on a preliminary charge of driving while intoxicated.

A craft and vendor fair will be held on Saturday and Sunday at Hotel Indigo in Columbus to benefit those who have been afflicted with Lyme Disease.

Money from the LYMEaid Fundraiser will go to benefit Indiana Lyme Connect, which works to support those with the tick-born infection and to educate the community about the disease, which frequently goes misdiagnosed for years.

Nadine Turnbow, organizer for this weekend’s event, says Lyme Disease frequently goes misdiagnosed.

Turnbow talks about this weekend’s event and the more than 30 vendors signed up.

The fair will be from 10 to 1 on Saturday and 1 to 5 on Sunday. For more information, call 812-350-4654.

You can get more information on the organization at www.indianalymeconnect.org

The Columbus Human Rights Commission has a new tool to gather information about harassment, discrimination or other hateful events in the community.

The agency has set up a new online reporting tool, which allows people to anonymously submit information about incidents that are happening to them or that they saw unfold. Aida Ramirez, director of the city Human Rights Commission explains the tool.

Ramirez explains the tool can be used to report situations where residents feel discriminated against. These incidents could be considered hate crimes in other states.

Although there are no hate crimes laws in Indiana the tool will help track incidents and keep statistics. She said it is hard to say what the trends are, without the data to document what is happening locally.

The tool is now available in English and Spanish and will soon be offered in other languages including Chinese and Hindi, she said.

The anonymous reports will flow into the human rights commission, but those who submit the report do have the opportunity to identify themselves and ask to be contacted by a representative of the city agency to discuss their issue, Ramirez said.

You can find the tool on the city’s website at columbus.in.gov/human-rights.

An armed man who allegedly fled from a Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputy Thursday evening and caused authorities to alert residents to lock themselves in their homes is behind bars. The Sheriff’s Department put out the call for residents in the 100 block of Ross Street in Columbus to protect themselves shortly after 5:30 p.m. Authorities gave the “all-clear” about an hour later. Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” have identified the suspect as 26-year-old Ian Gardner, of Seymour.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.

Indiana Sixth District Rep. Luke Messer is calling on Congress to forgo its Easter recess, in order to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Messer joined members of House Republican Leadership Thursday to announce an amendment to the American Health Care Act. Messer says the amendment “safeguards patients with pre-existing conditions in a way that will also lower premiums.”

The Palmer-Schweikert amendment creates a $15 billion Federal Invisible Risk Sharing Program. The program is designed to help states reduce healthcare premiums by reimbursing health insurance issuers for high cost individuals, beginning in 2018.

One man is dead and another is behind bars after a fatal shooting Wednesday night in Jackson County. The Sheriff’s Department says that 35-year-old Dustin Robbins was killed in an altercation with 56-year-old Darrell Stanton.

Investigators say that officers were called to 8049 East County Road 400 South just before 7 p.m. on a report of a shooting. When they arrived, officers found Robbins outside of the home, suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Robbins was transported to Schneck Medical Center where he died.

The Sheriff’s Department says that investigators have determined that Robbins was the son of Stanton’s girlfriend. Robbins and his wife were at the home when Stanton arrived. Police believe that Stanton, carrying a shotgun, approached Robbins and his spouse while threatening him. A struggle ensued and the gun went off, killing Robbins.

The Sheriff’s Department says that Stanton is being held in jail, awaiting an initial hearing.

The Columbus Regional Health Foundation wants the public to know where their donations go and how they help community health initiatives. Cheryl Pollert, development support associate for the foundation, says that the foundation has recently released its 2016 Impact Report.

Pollert said the foundation has four major areas it supports. The first is CRH medical care.

Another is the VIM clinic, formerly known as Volunteers in Medicine.

The Foundation also provides support to Columbus Regional Health’s Healthy Communities.

And the Foundation works to support the various health initiatives the hospital decides to tackle.

The annual impact report has been mailed out to donors and is available at the hospital, or through the hospital foundation website at foundation.crh.org (PDF Download).