A funeral date has been set for a Columbus soldier who died in Afghanistan.

Barkes, Weaver and Glick funeral home has announced that services for 23-year-old Army Sgt. Jonathon M. Hunter will be held at 2 the afternoon of August 26th at Columbus East High School gymnasium. Those will be with full military honors by the Indiana Army National Guard Honor Guard.

Calling will be start at 10 a.m. until the time of services.

Hunter and 25-year-old Specialist Christopher Harris, of Jackson Springs North Carolina, died earlier this month in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan

The “Fayetteville Observer” newspaper reports that Harris was laid to rest yesterday.

For more information on the funeral services for Hunter, you can go to barkesweaverglick.com

The Preview Party for the opening of the inaugural Exhibit Columbus, originally scheduled for the grounds of the Cummins Corporate Office Building, has changed it’s location to the Mill Race Park Amphitheater. The party is set for the evening of Friday, Aug 25th. The Indiana University School of Art, Architecture, and Design is the presenting sponsor.

Organizers say the Preview Party of Exhibit Columbus’ inaugural exhibition opening is an evening of cocktails, food, and entertainment in celebration of architecture, design, and community. They note that the party will be an occasion to meet and honor the five J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize winners, other designers whose work is being presented in the 2017 exhibition, as well as those who have helped make this exhibition possible.

The schedule is as follows:

5 p.m. to 6 p.m.: VIP/Patron Reception;
6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Preview Party Reception and Dinner catered by Kahn’s Fine Catering of Indianapolis;

Organizers have also announced entertainment for the evening. The band “Salaam” will be playing during the cocktail/social hour. Organizers say that Salaam performs an “expansive mix of traditional and original Middle Eastern music.” The group has performed throughout the US, recorded seven albums, and have been interviewed and featured on NPR’s All Things Considered.

“Busman’s Holiday” has been announced as the Dinner/Dancing Entertainment. Organizers say that this group is fronted by brothers Lewis and Addison Rogers are brothers. The pop-music duo will be joined by their full band for this event.

Organizers say that you still have time to take part in this event.

Preview Party Tickets are $150 each and includes the cocktail reception, dinner and evening entertainment;
VIP Tickets are $250 and entitle you to arrive at 5 p.m. for a more intimate conversation with Exhibit Columbus participants and supporters;
Table Sponsorship are $1,500 and guarantees seating with your party of 10;
VIP and Table Sponsorship are $2,500 and entitle you to arrive at 5 p.m. for more intimate surroundings.

You can get reservations online at exhibitcolumbus.org.

Columbus Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Ziegler brought home gold and silver medals after competing in the 2017 World Police and Fire Games. Capt. Mike Wilson, CFD spokesman, says that Ziegler, a 20-year department veteran, traveled to Los Angeles to complete in the track and field competition. Ziegler won gold in the 100 meter hurdle event, setting a world record in the men’s 50-54 age bracket. Ziegler also competed in the 400 meter hurdles where he won silver. Wilson says that this marks the fourth time Ziegler competed in the games. Each time, he came away with at least one medal.

Wilson says that the biennial games, which began August 6th and wraps up on Wednesday, attract an average of 10,000 participants from over 60 countries. The first games were held in 1985 in San Jose, California. Subsequent games have been held in Spain, Canada, Sweden, Australia, British Columbia, Ireland and the United States. The 2019 games will be held in China. Ziegler does not yet know if he will be able to attend those games.

A Columbus woman is facing drug charges after she was arrested over the weekend. Judy Jackson, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, says that at about 1 a.m. on Saturday, Deputy Leah Burton was southbound on US 31, in the area of County Road 500 North, when she observed a vehicle in the northbound lane with a headlight out. Burton stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, 40-year-old Lisa Simmons.

Authorities say that Simmons appeared to have been under the influence. When she got out of the vehicle, Deputy Burton reported seeing a zip lock bag containing small round, green pills lying in the driver’s seat. She also noted that Simmons had something hidden under her skirt. Simmons allegedly told the deputy that she had a glass pipe hidden there. Simmons retrieved the pipe, which authorities say contained white reside. Jackson says that a search of the vehicle led to deputies finding a small brown glass jar with a whitish brown substance inside, another glass pipe with white residue, as well as a backpack that contained various items inside including a pill bottle with four more green pills and a white crystal rock-like substance.

Simmons was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Paraphernalia and
Possession of Methamphetamine. She has since been released.

A Freetown man was arrested on Friday, after allegedly leading Columbus police on a chase while on his bicycle.

A city police officer recognized 29-year-old Charles A. Reed riding the bike near State and Jones streets at about 8:45 Friday evening. Reed had two outstanding warrants for failing to appear in court. When police tried to stop Reed, he allegedly tried to pedal away, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the police department. He was found behind a building on Dahn Street and arrested. In addition to the warrants, he is facing a new charge of resisting law enforcement..

An Illinois man was arrested in Columbus over the weekend on drunk driving charges after getting his vehicle stuck in a drainage ditch.

45-year-old Robert M. Masa of South Elgin, Illinois was found to have a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit after police found the vehicle at 10:45 p.m.  Saturday night stuck in the drainage ditch in the 2900 block of West Inman Drive. Masa was allegedly trying to back the vehicle out of the culvert when police arrived. A breath test revealed a .262 percent blood-alcohol-level.

He was arrested on charges of driving a vehicle while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol-level of greater than .15 percent.

An Indianapolis man was flown by LIfeline helicopter to IU Methodist Hospital, after crashing his off-road vehicle into a barn over the weekend in Brown County.

Indiana conservation officers say that the crash happened at about 4 Sunday afternoon near Nineveh. 38-year-old Christopher Oder was driving in the 8700 block Nineveh Road, when he lost control, left the road and hit the structure, authorities say. He was not wearing any protective gear and suffered head trauma.

He is in critical, but stable condition. Alcohol is believed to have played a factor.

Bartholomew County officials will be traveling to Decatur, Ill. this week to check out some promising developments in the fight against the heroin epidemic.

Jeff Jones, head of ASAP Bartholomew County, the local anti-opiate epidemic task force, says the group has been investigating several other communities and their approaches to the problem.

Among those visits have been Tara Treatment Center in Franklin and the Monroe County Jail.

Among those scheduled to go on the Illinois trip this week are County Commissioner President Carl Lienhoop and Judge Kelly Benjamin, county officials said.

Jones said that ASAP will be offering proposals to stem the local epidemic next month. That’s after its initial information gathering phase wraps up.

Jones said that they have also been working with other communities through phone calls.

Jones said that ASAP will be offering proposals to stem the local epidemic next month. That’s after its initial information gathering phase wraps up.

Three Bartholomew County families were among those honored Friday at the Indiana State Fair through the Hoosier Homestead Award program.

To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for more than 100 consecutive years, and consist of more than 20 acres or produce more than $1,000 of agricultural products per year. The award distinctions recognized are Centennial (100 years), Sesquicentennial (150 years) and Bicentennial (200 years).

According to organizers, Bartholomew farmers receiving the Centennial award included:

• Andrews family farm, established in 1894.
• Jeffrey and Cynthia Shoaf, for their 1902 farm.
• The Voelz family farm, established in 1875.

Three Decatur county farms were also recognized with the Centennial award, and one Decatur-Jennings county farm. Those included:

• Porter family in Decatur County, since 1880
• Forster-Mahan family in Decatur County, since 1907
• Mang family in Decatur County, since 1917
• Hamilton family in Decatur/Jennings since 1902.