A rally to celebrate the diversity of Columbus and Bartholomew County will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon, starting at Columbus City Hall and then moving to Fourth Street.

The Celebrating our Diversity ally will feature more than 20 groups representing those that make up the fabric of the community.

One of the organizers, Sondra Bolte, explains the reason for the gathering:

Mayor Jim Lienhoop will read a proclamation from the steps of City Hall and delegations will make speeches from a stage on Fourth Street.

A woman driving a stolen vehicle fled from Seymour police early this morning before being arrested by officers as she drove across a golf course.

A police officer tried to stop the vehicle at East Tipton Street and Meadowbrook Lane at about 1 a.m., according to police reports. But the driver fled, winding through city streets and driving through several yards before taking off into the county, eventually driving through Brownstown and Vallonia.

Officers finally stopped the vehicle as it drove across Hickory Hills Golf Course by using tire deflation devices that blew out the front tires. The driver then tried to run away before being arrested, police report.

31-year-old Christy Clayton is facing preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, auto theft reckless driving.

Your opportunity to pre-register for the Tour de Trails Bicycle Challenge is running out. Columbus Parks and Recreation says that those wishing to pre-register should do so by the end of today.

Officials say that the event is Saturday all Mill Race Park. Routes will be set for 20K, 50K and 80K. Cost is $35 and proceeds benefit the Columbus Park Foundation and maintenance of the People Trail Network.

The Clay Township Volunteer Fire Department Fish Fry, originally scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, has been rescheduled for June 9th and 10th.

The event will start at 5 p.m. that Friday afternoon and then again at 11 a.m. that Saturday morning at the department’s fire station on East 25th Street, east of Columbus.

Food to be served includes fish sandwiches, hand-cut tenderloins, pulled pork BBQ, hot dogs, chicken tenders, cheese sticks, potato salad, cold slaw, baked beans and French fries.

If you have any questions, you can call Chris Pendleton at 812-447-8441.

Thousands of residents of Bartholomew, Jennings and Decatur counties have a chance tonight to weigh in on a water rate hike by Eastern Bartholomew Water Corp.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission will be holding a public hearing at 7 p.m. tonight at Taylorsville Elementary School.

The water utility hopes to raise its rates by almost 50 percent to cover bonds so the utility can replace two water treatment facilities that were bought used in the 1970s, as well as other work.

The average home customer would see their water bill increase from about $23 dollars a month to almost $34.

Pete King, attorney for the water utility, says that the rate hike comes after careful consideration by the water company’s board of directors.

King says that the water company’s board of directors are planning for the the future of the utility and safety of their customers.

The town of Hope is one of the water utility’s largest customers and town officials there said they plan to testify against the rate hike.

Those that attend tonight will be able to make their voices heard directly to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, which will decide on the rate hike later this summer.

You can also submit comments:

Online via the OUCC’s Website at www.in.gov/oucc/2361.htm

By mail to: Consumer Services Staff, Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, 115 W. Washington St., Suite 1500 South, Indianapolis, IN 46204

By e-mail to: uccinfo@oucc.IN.gov

By fax to: 317-232-5923

Comments should include the consumer’s name, mailing address, and a reference to “IURC Cause No. 44903.” Written comments the OUCC receives by June 14, 2017 will be filed with the Commission to be included in the case’s formal evidentiary record.

Consumers with questions about submitting written comments may call the OUCC toll-free at 1-888-441-2494.

Case updates are being posted on the OUCC’s website at www.in.gov/oucc/2507.htm .

Columbus police are looking for suspects who robbed a gas station in the Walesboro area and a Seymour hotel last night before escaping from police in Greenwood after a high-speed chase up the interstate.

Three masked men with a handgun entered the Ricker’s convenience store on State Road 58/County Road 450S at about 3 a.m. and demanded money from the cashier. After grabbing cash, they then left the scene in a white Hummer S2, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the police department.

The vehicle has been reported stolen earlier in an Indianapolis carjacking.

Officers picked up the vehicle on the State Road 46 and the driver fled back onto the interstate and drove north at speeds of more than 100 mph, Harris says.  After hitting tire deflation devices put in the road by police, the vehicle left the interstate at Greenwood and crashed into a building on Madison Avenue at Stop 12 road.

All three men then ran away. Police from around the area began searching the area for the three suspects.

They are described as:

• A white man who was about six feet tall and wore a black hooded sweatshirt or jacket with a black face mask
• A man who was 5-7 to 5-9 who wore a dark blue hooded sweatshirt, with khaki pants, white tennis shoes and a red knit hat and who may have had blonde hair.
• And a man who was 5-5 to 5-7 and was seen wearing all black clothing with a black face mask. There was a design on his dark pants and knit hat with red and white stripes.

If you have any information, you should contact the Columbus Police Department at 812-376-2600. All suspects should be considered armed and dangerous.

Tips and information can be left anonymously.

Crews working on updating railroad tracks through Columbus and Bartholomew County say that County Road 550 North will be closed, beginning Saturday and running through Tuesday, May 24th.

The work is continuing on the northside of Columbus on U.S. 31 and Indianapolis Road today through the weekend.

That will include closing railroad crossings today at County Roads 400N, 450N, 500N and possibly 550N.

Crews will be replacing the tracks and installing new railroad ties.

Upcoming work includes limiting access at:

• Friday: Crossings at Kiel Brothers, Homer Arnholt and Meeks.
• Saturday: Crossings at Dunlap,  Industrial Road, Shelby Materials and possibly Kiel Brothers and Homer Arnholt.
• Sunday:   Crossings at Dunlap,  Industrial Road, Shelby Materials, Kiel Brothers, Homer Arnholt and County Road 550N.
• Monday: Crossings at County Road 550N, Tannehill Road and possibly County Road 500N and Mill Street.

The schedule is tentative.

The former mayor of Columbus who filed a lawsuit against the city’s police department was unsuccessful in getting the case moved out of Bartholomew County. However, the case brought by Kristen Brown will be heard by a special judge.

The former mayor has been battling city officials on issues related to information being made available to the public since she was replaced by current Mayor Jim Lienhoop in January of 2016. During Lienhoop’s first year in office, Brown filed 10 public-information requests, as well as a number of complaints with the Indiana Public Access Councilor about what she perceives as the city’s lack of transparency. Brown’s lawsuit centers on one of those complaints.

Brown filed the lawsuit in February, alleging that the Columbus Police Department and Chief Jon Rohde failed to document and provide her with information regarding an alleged domestic disturbance in August of 2016 involving a married couple employed by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. In CPD’s incident report provided to Brown, both parties are named and the “crime incidents” are noted to be “Vandalism/Miscellaneous” and “Domestic Disturbance.”

In her complaint, the former mayor argues that the information provided to her by city police is inadequate under the law. Brown is asking for “factual circumstances surrounding the incident” as well as descriptions of any injuries, property or weapons involved. The Indiana Public Access Councilor agreed that Brown received “insufficient detail” as it relates to the specifics of the incident. When the former mayor pressed Chief Rohde for additional information, she received a communication from the city’s attorney that the department had provided her with all of the information in their records.

Brown’s lawsuit is asking for the court to impose a $100 civil penalty against the police department, declare that the department violated the Indiana Access to Public Records Act, issue an injunction directing CPD to provide her with the information she is requesting, as well as award her money for attorney’s fees and other “just and proper relief.”

Brown also filed a motion for a change of venue in this case, requesting it be taken out of Bartholomew County. Superior Court II Judge Kathleen Coriden denied that request. She did, however, assign a special judge. Court officials say the case will be heard by Judge Richard W. Poynter, of Jackson County.

As for what happens next, Alan Whitted, attorney for the city of Columbus, filed a motion to dismiss the case. He says that he cannot discuss the matter with the media at this time due to the lawsuit. Judge Poynter has yet to rule on the city’s request.

Next month’s free concert on the Bartholomew County Library plaza will feature The Groovaloos.

The Columbus Area Arts Council has announced that the June 16 show will feature the street, funk and hip hop dance group. The group has performed on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and “The Superstars of Dance.”

Live on the Plaza will start at 7 p.m. on June 16th in front of the library on Fifth Street and you should bring a lawn chair. For more on this or any of the Arts Council’s events you can go to artsincolumbus.org.

Greenfield police say they have arrested a man accused of making “Xanie Tarts,” mixing Sweet Tarts candy with Xanax, an anti-anxiety medicine.

The drugs have also been found locally, according to Bartholomew County deputies.

Our news-gathering partners at Network Indiana report that 30-year-old Jeramie Smith, of Greenfield, was arrested Friday. When police arrived to serve a search warrant, Smith was in the process of making the designer drug.

Authorities say Smith is suspected of distributing the tainted candy in Hancock County and elsewhere in central Indiana.