A Jennings County man was killed in a one-vehicle crash Friday morning in Bartholomew County. The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that a passerby noticed the crashed vehicle shortly after 7 a.m. on County Road 330 West near County Road 450 North. Investigators believe the vehicle left the road, struck and embankment and rolled.

Clayton Nolting, Bartholomew County Coroner, identified the driver as 53-year-old Jeffrey L. Hanson, of North Vernon. Authorities say that Hanson was the only person in the vehicle and was not wearing his seat-belt. Nolting says that Hanson died from blunt-force trauma to the chest.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Indiana State Police are investigating the shooting of a four-year-old boy in Ripley County. Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, ISP spokesman, says that detectives were called to a home located in the 1000 Block of South County Road 625 East near Milan at 9:40 p.m. on Thursday.

The initial investigation by Detective Kip Main indicated that police were called to the home after family members took the small child to the hospital after he was shot inside the home. Police believe the child found a loaded gun and shot himself in the abdomen. Wheeles says that family members immediately rendered first aid and then took the child to the Dearborn County Hospital. He was then transferred to Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati for further treatment. The child’s injuries are not believed to be life threatening and he is expected to make a full recovery.

The investigation is ongoing and state police say that their findings will be turned over to the Ripley County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

Columbus City Utilities continue its work on getting to the bottom of a recent report about its water supply. Keith Reeves is the director of the utility.

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Reeves says that Dioxane is a very common substance found in a wide variety of household products.

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Reeves notes that the Columbus sample was from four years ago.

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Reeves stresses that Columbus’ water supply is not in violation of any environmental rules, as Dioxane is not a regulated contaminant. He adds that testing on the city’s water supply will commence shortly to see if the issue remains. That testing is expected to take about a week. If an issue is found, Reeves says that the utility will take necessary steps to address the issue.

The White River Broadcasting family of stations raised $3,270 for victims of Hurricane Harvey during our “Help for Harvey Radiothon” on Thursday.

Listeners of 101.5 WKKG, 106.1 The River and WIN 104.9 contributed cash, as well as their song requests, to help make a difference for those in need. Our morning teams worked the entire 12-hour shift in conjunction with this fundraising effort.

White River Broadcasting will be presenting the contribution to representatives of the American Red Cross next week.

All of us here at White River Broadcasting thank you for your help and support.

A North Vernon man has been arrested for attempted murder in connection with an incident in July that left a 40-year-old Seymour man with life-threatening injuries. Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting that 32-year-old Gary Eugene Thomas was arrested Tuesday by Seymour police at the Jennings County Jail, where he was being held on a state parole violation.

According to the report, Thomas’ arrest stems from a July 20 stabbing in the 400 block of North Jackson Park Drive. The victim suffered numerous stab wounds and had to be flown to an Indianapolis hospital.

Along with the attempted murder charge, the paper says that Thomas is facing charges of Aggravated Battery Posing a Substantial Risk of Death and Battery by Means of a Deadly Weapon.

For more on this story, visit TheRepublic.com.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is releasing more information about a chaotic situation in the county jail over the holiday weekend that left three jail staff injured and caused thousands of dollars in damages.

Jail staff reported that on Monday, inmates Joe Reed and Jordan Rhoades allegedly kicked out sections of their cell doors. Rhoades then allegedly used debris, including metal rods, to attack the staff. He was subdued with a Taser, according to Judy Jackson,. spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department.

One of the jail staff received injuries from the metal rods including to her abdomen and leg, while the other two suffered minor injuries.

Rhoades was in trouble earlier this year for an eruption in the county courthouse when he threw chairs, injuring a deputy prosecutor and destroying a computer monitor.

Both inmates have been placed in confinement, said Sheriff Matt Myers. Details about the incident including video have been forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for possible charges against those involved. Myers said.

Columbus City Utilities are investigating why there is an increased level of Dioxane in water distributed to the city, as well as customers of Southwest Bartholomew Water Corp. Keith Reeves, director of city utilities, says that a report from Environmental Working Group, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, illustrated the elevated levels. He explains that this report took its information from reports made by all state utilities to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

In the results for the City of Columbus, Reeves says that it is reported that Dioxane levels measured at 0.483 ppb (parts per billion). This is in comparison to the “healthy level” of 0.35 ppb indicated by EWG. However, he stresses that Dioxane is not a regulated contaminant for drinking water under either EPA or Indiana drinking water regulations, so it is not tested for on a regular basis. Reeves says that Dioxane is a very common chemical that is regularly found in the atmosphere. He went on to say that it is mostly caused from the burning of fossil fuels, and is regularly used in toothpaste, cosmetics and detergents, all of which get recycled back into the water supply during their use. Reeves says that until such guidelines are set by the EPA and IDEM, utilities “have no basis on which to indicate ‘safe’ versus ‘unsafe’ levels.”

Columbus City Utilities officials say that they are in the process of retesting its finished water to confirm these numbers and testing individual wells to try a pinpoint a source for the increased level of Dioxane. Reeves says that Columbus City Utilities and Southwest Bartholomew Water are committed to providing quality water to its residents. He stresses that both utilities are in full compliance with all currently regulated contaminates for drinking water and will take any action necessary in the future to remain fully compliant with current and future regulations.

The Heritage Fund of Bartholomew County has announced that online applications for the 2018 scholarship season are now available. The organization says that students can create user accounts and access HFBC scholarship information and criteria and apply at hfbcscholarships.communityforce.com/Login.aspx. A listing of scholarships, eligibility requirements and the application link are also available at heritagefundbc.org, under the Scholarships heading. Completed applications must be submitted by 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12, 2018.

Officials at the Heritage Fund says that several new scholarships are available to students as part of the Combined Application this year, including:

• Steve Antcliff Memorial Scholarship – Established to honor Steve Antcliff, who passed away in 2016. Steve was fun, full of life, a friend to everyone, and someone who had a tremendous work hard/play hard attitude. The scholarship celebrates his passion for helping others and his belief that education transforms lives.

• Developmental Services, Inc. (DSI) William K. Hadar Scholarship – Established in 2016 by DSI to perpetuate the achievements and dreams of future professionals dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others and to honor DSI’s longest serving Chief Executive Officer, Bill Hadar. Bill served 28 with DSI and an additional 12 in leadership roles with other organizations that serve individuals with disabilities. Bill guided DSI through some of its greatest challenges and helped it grow from a seven-county service area in Indiana to 44.

• Abbott Forrester Garn Scholarship – Established in memory of Columbus East High School sophomore Abbott Forrester Garn.

• Sgt. Jonathon Michael Hunter Legacy Scholarship Fund – Established in 2017 to honor the memory and celebrate the life of Sgt. Jonathon Michael Hunter of the United States Army. Jonathon was a natural leader with a passion for giving back. He gave his life in service of others. Through this scholarship Jonathon’s family, friends and supporters preserve his memory by recognizing students who exhibit his leadership, strength of character and selflessness.

• Thomas H. Sayrs Memorial Scholarship – Established in memory of Tom Sayrs, who was passionate about all things engineering, and was a longtime volunteer with Science Olympiad.

• Kenny Smith Memorial Scholarship – Established in 2017 in memory of Kenny Smith.

Heritage Fund awarded more than $700,000 in educational scholarships in 2017 to area students. Scholarships are available for graduating high school seniors, college students, graduate school students and non-traditional students.

A report of a suspicious person looking inside vehicles led to the arrest of a Columbus man after an officer observed a marijuana cigarette behind the suspect’s ear. Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that at approximately 9 a.m. Tuesday, Officer Angie Owens responded to the 3900 block of 25th Street in regards to a report of a suspicious person. Owens located 23-year-old Dillon J. Lane. While speaking Lane, Owens observed a marijuana cigarette behind the man’s ear. When Lane was taken into custody, officers also allegedly found several syringes and pills in his pants pockets.

Lane was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Legend Drug Injection Device and Possession of a Schedule IV Controlled Substance.

Columbus police stopped a vehicle driving without a license plate on the east side of the city Tuesday night and ended up making an arrest of a man with a loaded handgun.

Officers stopped the vehicle at about 9:35 p.m. at Mapleton and State streets and found that the driver, 22-year-old Bryan M. Avlidrez, of Columbus, had no license and had an active warrant out of Jennings County. Police say that Avlidrez was also was carrying a loaded .357 revolver under the seat of the truck that he had no permit for.

Avlidrez was arrested on preliminary charges of Operating a Vehicle without Ever Receiving a License and Possession of a Handgun without a Permit, along with the outstanding warrant.