Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers says that his department’s efforts to build trusting relationships with neighborhoods and individual residents won’t be deterred. This after a public meeting Thursday night at the Clay Township Fire Department near Jewell Village was sparsely attended…

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The Sheriff has a message for all county residents…

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Myers says that law-enforcement can’t clean-up neighborhoods without help…

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The Sheriff says that all you have to do is call his office.

Thursday night’s meeting took place two days after a fatal drug-overdose in the same area.

The Indiana Department of Transportation will close lanes on U.S. Highway 31 between County Line Road and Stop 18 and lanes on State Road 135 between Bargersville and Stones Crossing in Johnson County for pavement repairs on Monday.

INDOT officials say that one lane will be closed at any one time on U.S. 31 during daylight hours for full-depth concrete patching.

State Road 135 will have a single lane closed at work sites during daylight hours while crews saw-cut pavement sections to be removed for full-depth concrete patching.

E & B Paving is the state’s contractor for this $6.1 million pavement preservation project.

INDOT says that future work tentatively calls for nighttime milling and asphalt patching on U.S. 31 beginning Sunday night, April 30. Crews will start placing concrete patches along the south segment of State Road 135 during daytime hours on Monday morning, May 1. Flaggers will direct traffic around work-sites. INDOT says that this phase of the project is scheduled to last for about two weeks.

Jackson County Bank has made a donation of $50,000 to Schneck’s “restore hope. restore life project.” Stephanie Furlow, hospital spokeswoman, says the $1.5 million project will fund the new Schneck Rehabilitation Center and the Schneck Cancer Center’s 4D CT Simulator.

“Over the years, Schneck Medical Center has provided our families and friends with outstanding, compassionate healthcare. Jackson County Bank’s generous donation ensures Schneck can continue to provide life-changing programs and services in rehabilitation medicine and innovative cancer care and treatment,” says Rexanne Ude, Executive Director of the Schneck Foundation.

“Philanthropic support is essential to completing the restore hope. restore life. project and requires our community to work together for better healthcare,” says Marvin Veatch, Chief Operating Officer of JCB.

Dave Geis, President and CEO said, “It is the mission of Jackson County Bank to build a lasting legacy in our community through local involvement and investment. We are proud to support the Schneck Rehab Center and Schneck Cancer Center.”

For more information, or to make a gift, contact Rexanne Ude, Executive Director of the Schneck Foundation, at 812-522-4244 or rude@schneckmed.org.

Indiana State Police Troopers from the Versailles Post were honored during an awards ceremony Friday in Indianapolis. The awards, presented by Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas Carter, recognized troopers from around the state who have performed their jobs with integrity, service, and professionalism and at many times went above and beyond the call of duty.

Troopers who work in our area were among those honored. They include:

The Versailles District ‘Trooper of the Year’ award went to Senior Trooper Randel Miller. Miller is a 10-year veteran of the force. Officials say that Trp. Miller, along with his K-9 partner ‘Jinx,’ patrol the district, adding that Miller is regularly among the district leaders in criminal arrests.

Trooper Christopher Lockman, a six-year veteran of the Indiana State Police, was honored with an ISP “Lifesaving Award”for his actions on February 19th of this year in Jackson County. Officials say that on this day, Trp. Lockman, who is the assistant squad leader of the Indiana State Police-South Zone Dive Team, along with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, successfully rescued two people who were stranded in a capsized boat in the White River near Seymour.

Trooper Korry Clark, an eight-year veteran of the Indiana State Police, was presented with an award for being the Versailles District’s top DUI Enforcement Trooper of the Year for 2016. ISP says that Trp. Clark arrested 79 intoxicated drivers while patrolling the roads of Bartholomew and Jackson Counties last year.

All troopers who received awards were given plaques to recognize their achievements.

Two young boys were killed in a Thursday night house fire in Jennings County. Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting the the children, ages 3 and 4, died in the blaze at 1375 N. County Road 615E in Campbell Township.

The paper is reporting that the first call about the blaze was received at 11:16 p.m. The home was fully engulfed when firefighters aarrived on the scene. The report identifies the bots as four-year-old Carson Collett and his brother, three-year-old Carter Collett.

The fire remains under investigation.

For more on this story, pick up Saturday’s edition of The Republic.

The Bartholomew County Soil and Water Conservation District is inviting you to take advantage of an Arbor Day program meant to help plant trees throughout the community.

Organizers say that the sixth-annual tree giveaway will be Friday, April 28 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Community Building at the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds.

Heather Shireman with the conservation district explains that they will be giving away 1,300 seedlings.

She said you can choose up to five trees and they will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

She said the tree giveaway helps the conservation district’s key mission of protecting the soil and water.

You will be able to pick up to five trees on a first-come, first-served basis.

Seymour police say that they have made two arrests in an investigation of a  knifepoint robbery earlier this week at the Morales Market.

Seymour residents, 29 year old Pablo Cocuyo and 34 year old Nicole Hernandez were arrested at about 11:30 p.m. last night in the 600 block of Indianapolis Avenue. They are both facing preliminary charges of robbery, burglary, intimidation and criminal recklessness.

The police say that a man and woman robbed the Morales Market on East Tipton Street at about 10:53 p.m. Monday. They displayed knives and held a knife to an employee’s throat while they ordered him to turn over money. They were both wearing hooded sweatshirts and ski masks.

Bartholomew County has an immediate need for a drug treatment facility, if it wants to stem the ongoing heroin epidemic.

Dr. Kendall Stewart, chief medical officer for the Southern Ohio Medical Center, was the featured speaker at the community kickoff event Wednesday for Bartholomew County’s new anti-opiate drug initiative.

He stresses that the situation is not hopeless, but he said that addicts need to have treatment options available.

And those will only be effective when the drug addict is ready to be treated.

Bartholomew County officials kicked off their efforts to stem the heroin and opiate epidemic with an event that drew a huge amount of community support.

The kickoff event at The Commons was attended by hundreds of people and introduced the new Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County, or ASAP in BC, initiative.

A new proposal in the Legislature would let a Columbus Ricker’s store continue to sell cold beer until the end of the year when its liquor license expires.

According to our news-gathering partners at Network Indiana, the latest draft leaves Ricker’s permits for restaurant/convenience store combos in Sheridan and Columbus intact until they expire at year’s end. They could extend their carryout beer privileges, but only till April 1.

Ricker’s owner Jay Ricker tells Network Indiana that if legislators pass the bill, he’ll urge Governor Holcomb to veto it. He complains the bill specifically targets his business by limiting only permits issued since November, when he received the first of his two permits.

Further he said the proposal doesn’t specifically call for a review of alcohol laws and there is no time to get one done by April 1st.

New applicants for carryout privileges would have to show that 60-percent of their alcohol sales are for consumption at the restaurant itself, a standard likely to exclude non-traditional restaurants like the Ricker’s burrito eateries.

House speaker Brian Bosma says is unclear whether there are enough votes to pass it.

Columbus officials continue gathering information and thoughts from residents about a proposal to further develop the city’s riverfront district. Jamie Brinegar is the city’s director of finance.

That survey, which Brinegar says has already generated over 600 responses, will be up until early May.

Mayor Jim Lienhoop says that for too long, the city has “been built with its back to the river.” Brinegar says that it’s time to change that…

Brinegar says that information gleaned from the survey, along with public meetings already held, will be used by the city’s consulting firm to illustrate some proposals for the area.