The Columbus City Council has given initial approval to a large subdivision northwest of Columbus, over the objections of neighbors. Arbor Homes submitted a plan to annex approximately 154 acres for the subdivision to be called “Abbey Place,” in the area of Indianapolis Road and Interstate 65 near the Princeton Park subdivision.

The Council voted unanimously on first reading to annex the land. The body later voted 4-3 in favor of an amended ordinance to rezone the property that will require the developer to meet certain commitments. Council members Frank Miller, Frank Jerome and Laurie Booher were the “no” votes.

The proposed development would max out at around 315 homes, but a representative for Arbor Homes says that, if approved, he expects construction to be gradual. He estimated that it would be six to seven years, at approximately 50 homes each year, before the development is complete.

Neighbors, many from the Princeton Park neighborhood, object to the project. They cited traffic in that area that they say is already problematic. With the scheduled increase in train traffic through that area, they say it is only going to get worse, even without a new housing development. Others cited worries of potential flooding and the effect a new development would have on existing property values. Other concerns expressed involved water service, fire department response times, the effect on schools and general safety.

The rezoning, as well as the development, need to be approved by the council for a second time before any work can begin.

The Libertarian Party of Indiana is hosting a protest this weekend the Ricker’s store in Columbus. Party officials say that they will be holding a “drink-in” at the store on 25th Street to protest what they call “over-reaching laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages in Indiana.”

Ricker’s obtained the appropriate license that allowed it to sell cold, carryout beer as well as serve alcohol in their on-site restaurant. Members of the Indiana General Assembly took issue with the company’s business method and changed the requirements to sell cold, carryout beer. Libertarian officials say the state legislature unfairly targeted Ricker’s.

The drink-in is scheduled for Sunday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Bartholomew County is one of 15 new Indiana counties eligible to to participate in “On My Way Pre-K.” The program is designed to make prekindergarten available to four-year-old children from low-income families in approved counties.

Gov. Eric Holcomb made the announcement on Wednesday. Earlier this year, the Indiana General Assembly expanded the program from five pilot counties to 20 counties in House Enrolled Act 1004-2017.

Along with Bartholomew County, the new counties added to the program are DeKalb, Delaware, Elkhart, Floyd, Grant, Harrison, Howard, Kosciusko, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe and Vigo. State officials say that participating local providers in these counties will be expected to enroll children in On My Way Pre-K for the 2018/2019 school year, with the possibility of a limited program beginning in January of 2018.

Bartholomew County joins Jackson County as being the only area counties eligible to take part in On My Way Pre-K. Jackson County was part of the pilot program, along with Allen, Lake, Marion and Vanderburgh counties, launched in 2015 when first authorized by the General Assembly.

“Eligible Hoosier children who start at the back of the line now have an opportunity to move ahead when enrolled in a high-quality pre-kindergarten program,” Gov. Holcomb said. “A strategic investment now to expand state-funded prekindergarten for children from low-income families is an essential investment we must make in Indiana’s workforce and our state’s future.”

“We at FSSA already know from the two years we have spent managing the five-county pilot of On My Way Pre-K that children who begin the program are some of the most educationally needy in our state, yet they make higher gains than their peers in important aspects of school readiness such as language comprehension, early literacy, executive functioning and a reduction in behavior problems in the classroom,” said Indiana Family and Social Services Secretary Dr. Jennifer Walthall. “We hope the expansion of On My Way Pre-K will double the number of Hoosier children receiving these important benefits.”

The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office, with the help of COPS Unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration and K9 Units, arrested several suspected drug-dealers. Judy Jackson, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department, says the arrest warrants were the result of narcotics investigations that occurred over several weeks in which the suspects sold narcotics to undercover detectives.

Those arrested:

• Cameron Charles Agnew, 22, 3449 Blackstone Sq., Columbus;
  Preliminary charge – Dealing Heroin.  Agnew remains in the Bartholomew County Jail in lieu of $140,000 bond.

• Kristen Eileen Parris, 25, 2914 N Peach Street, Columbus; Preliminary charges – Two Counts of Dealing Heroin. Parris remains in the Bartholomew County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.
• Connie Darlene Richey, 52, 2401 Fairington Ct., Columbus; Preliminary charges – Two Counts of Dealing Heroin. Richey remains in the Bartholomew County Jail in lieu of $100,255 bond.
• Rachel E. Allen, 30, 5875 E 50 N, Columbus; Preliminary charge – Dealing Heroin Allen was released on bond.

• Jeffery Melvin, II – Dealing Methamphetamine. Melvin is currently serving a sentence in another facility.
• Shawn Michael Asher, 37;  Preliminary charges – Two Counts of Dealing Methamphetamine.
  Asher remains in the Bartholomew County Jail in lieu of $315,500 bond.
• Jonathon K. Villegas, 23, 1691 Wrenwood Dr., Columbus; Preliminary charges – Two Counts of Dealing Heroin
  Villegas remains in the Bartholomew County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond.
• Chad E. Phillips, 37, 2893 N Talley Rd., Columbus; Preliminary charges – Two Counts of Dealing Methamphetamine. Phillips remains in the Bartholomew County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond.

Authorities say that other investigations stemming from these arrests are ongoing.

Sheriff Matt Myers is crediting the department’s partnership with the Drug Enforcement Agency for aiding in these, and other, arrests. For the  first time, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office assigned a deputy to serve as a DEA Task Force Officer. Myers says that this deputy works directly with the DEA office in Indianapolis Office. He says this assignment helps the department’s efforts to keep drugs out of Bartholomew County.

“Our relationship with federal drug enforcement efforts has allowed JNET to investigate crimes they would not previously have had the resources to address, increase funding, manpower and other resources that are necessary for such investigations and increase intelligence information gathering and sharing – all of which result in a more efficient, broader and swifter attack on drug issues plaguing our community”, said Sheriff Myers.

Two Decatur County residents were arrested Tuesday night in Jennings County. One of them was a wanted fugitive. The North Vernon Police Department says that at 9:22 p.m., officers encountered 38-year-old Chadwick Lucas, of Westport, and 38-year-old Nicole Jones, of Greensburg.

Police say that Lucas was wanted on warrants for Escape and Probation Violation. He is facing additional charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of a Syringe and Possession of Paraphernalia.

Jones was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of a Syringe and Possession of Paraphernalia.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers will be holding a neighborhood meeting tonight in Taylorsville.

The event is at the German Township Volunteer Fire Department station and it will start at 6 p.m.

You don’t have to be a resident of German Township or Taylorsville to attend. Any Bartholomew County residents are welcome to come and express their concerns or ask questions of the sheriff.

A group of Cummins employees were recently honored for their help making the Columbus Police Department more efficient.

Police officials say that the workers recently received the Cummins Components Business Impact Award for the Six Sigma project streamlining the police department’s hiring process.

By changing the timing of some elements of the hiring process, the project was able to find a 40 percent reduction in the time it takes for a candidate to complete the testing.

Cummins employees Mike Tinsley, Megan Henry, Tina Noronha and Jason Maddix were recognized. Maddix is also a former Columbus police chief.

A Shelby County woman is being accused of stealing $1.8 million dollars from a business where she worked as a bookkeeper.

U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler says this morning that 43-year-old Julie A. Ashman of Fairland has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and tax evasion. He says that for four and a half years Ashman secretly siphoned money from the medical equipment company where she worked, cutting herself checks up to 15 times a month.

She covered her tracks and represented to the business owners that their operation was barely profitable, authorities allege.

Minkler also says Ashman is accused of not paying taxes on the money she stole.

She is facing up to 20 years in prison on the fraud charges and another five on the tax charges.

The Indiana Department of Transportation wants your thoughts on a contractors’ plasn to add lanes to Interstate 65 between Columbus and Seymour.

The agency will hold two public meetings this week looking for comments on the plan. The $143 million dollar project would widen and update the 14 miles of the interstate, adding traffic lanes between U.S. 50 in Seymour and State Road 58 in the Walesboro area. It would also rehabilitate seven overpass bridges.

They will be holding public meetings at Columbus City Hall tonight, and at the Brownstown Town Hall on Thursday. Both meetings will start at 6 p.m. with a presentation on the contractor’s plan.

A Columbus woman is hoping to raise the spirits of two teens injured in the bomb blast at the Ariana Grande concert last month in Manchester, England.

Kim West is hoping local teens will write letters of encouragement to the twins, Chloe and Grace, daughters of a family friend. West says that the girls were near enough to the bomb blast to have temporarily lost their hearing, and they are suffering mental trauma, although otherwise uninjured.

She said the girls love American culture and music and West hopes they would be cheered by letters of encouragement from their American counterparts.

Their address:

Mrs. Caroline Entwistle
195 Belmonst Road
Astley Bridge
Bolton, Lancashire BL17AT