Bartholomew County Jail inmates caused havoc over the holiday weekend that will take thousands of dollars to repair.

Sheriff Matt Myers says that the inmates injured several members of the jail staff and caused the worst flood in the jail since the new section was built along with breaking out mesh and glass door inserts to use as weapons. He estimated about $8,000 dollars would be needed just to repair the damage to the cell doors.

The sheriff says that the jail is overcrowded, with a reduced staff, and there are not enough people available to keep an eye on all the inmates. Without the ability to actually patrol inside the cell blocks the inmates have the time and coordination to come up with destructive mischief.

The flooding was caused when the inmates used towels to block the bottom of their cell doors, then intentionally allowed the shower and toilets to overflow. When the water reached several feet high in the cells, they released the dams at once and let loose the flood.

Three jail staff suffered minor injuries when the inmates threw pieces of the shattered door mesh at officers and used pieces of the metal as weapons, the sheriff said. He estimated that it took six minutes for the involved inmates to dismantle the door panels and turn them into weapons.

Myers said that video evidence and reports on the incidents are being forwarded to the county prosecutor’s office for possible charges. He also said there is little that can be done to address the problem from a disciplinary standpoint. There is not enough room in the jail to further segregate the inmates leading the chaos, he said.

Ultimately, the sheriff would like  to reopen portions of the old jail to be used for further inmate detention, as well as drug treatment facilities. The current jail arrangement has 232 beds, but there were nearly 250 inmates yesterday afternoon, the sheriff said. The weekend’s damage further reduced the number of available cells, Myers said.

He briefed the County Council on the situation during their Tuesday night work session. The council urged the sheriff to come back with a plan on the costs and staffing needs to reopen the old portion of the jail.

The Seymour Boys and Girls Club is partnering with their counterpart in Austin, Texas to provide relief to Hurricane Harvey victims.

Membership director Lindsey Jones said she and her husband will be driving a semi with donated items to the area this weekend or next week.

You can drop off donations at the Seymour club or there will be a collection point at the Seymour Tumbleweed from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday or from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Needed items include:

• Canned meats, vegetables and fruits
• Corn bread mix
• Juices
• Hamburger, Chicken and Tuna Helper
• Assorted crackers
• Rice
• Peanut butter and jelly
• Dry beans
• Sugar
• Cereal (hot or cold)
• Instant potatoes
• Flour
• Pasta and tomato sauces
• Canned Beans
• Soups
• Toiletries
• Cooking oil
• Shelf stable milk
• Wheelbarrows
• Large black trash bags
• Gloves
• Face masks
• Brooms, mops and cleaning supplies
• Paper towels and toilet paper
• Paper plates and plastic utensils
• Pet food
• Rubber boots
• First-aid kits
• Flashlights batteries of all sizes
• Blankets
• Toiletries
• Bug spray
• New socks and underwear
• Bottled water
• Coolers

If you need more information, call 812-528-7038.

The White River Broadcasting family of stations are doing what they can to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey, and we’re inviting our listeners to help.

The “Help for Harvey Radiothon” is Thursday on 101.5 WKKG, 106.1 The River and WIN 104.9. From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., we will have a booth set up in our parking lot to accept song requests and donations. If there’s a particular song you’d like to hear, come by the station and drop off your request and donation of whatever you can afford. All proceeds go to the American Red Cross. We can only accept cash and checks, no debit or credit cards. Please make checks payable to the American Red Cross with “Harvey” in the subject line.

We appreciate your help!

Employees and elected officials in Columbus are on track to receive a two-percent cost of living adjustment for next year. The first reading of a pair of ordinances took place during Tuesday night’s city council meeting. The first ordinance, dealing only with city employees, passed unanimously. The second ordinance, dealing with a proposed increase for the mayor, clerk-treasurer and members of the city council, was a little more animated.

Noting the need to keep parity with communities of similar sizes, Councilman Tim Shuffett agreed that the mayor and clerk-treasurer salaries need to keep pace with city employee increases. However, he was against increasing compensation for members of the city council. Shuffett cited a study currently underway to make sure that city employees’ jobs are properly classified and compensated. Results of that study are expected by December and Shuffett says that he would be more comfortable waiting for that report before approving any raise for that body. Councilwoman Laurie Booher agreed, noting that everyone on the council knew what the pay was before they ran for office. Councilman Frank Jerome questioned Shuffett’s proposed amendment, saying that the increase would only amount to approximately $150 per year, per member.

In the end, both the amendment and the overall proposal were approved on a vote of 5 to 2. Jerome and Councilman Frank Miller were the “no” votes. The second reading of these ordinances are scheduled for Sept. 19th.

Efforts to clean up Columbus are expected to pick up after action taken Tuesday night by the city council gives additional power to the city’s code enforcement officer and police. Mary Ferdon, the city’s director of administration, says that many months of work has gone into amending the city code dealing with unlicensed, inoperable and abandoned vehicles.

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Ferdon says that junk vehicles have been a problem in Columbus for years.

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Ferdon talks about the changes to the ordinance, as well as potential penalties.

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Those fines would go to the owners of the property that the vehicles are parked on, not the owners of the vehicles.

A standing-room only crowd were in attendance for Tuesday night’s meeting. Those who spoke during the public comment portion where largely divided. Landlords expressed concerns that they would be held financially accountable for their tenants vehicles with little say in getting offending vehicles removed. However, Fred Barnett, the city’s code enforcement officer, explained that the intent isn’t to fine people, but rather address eyesores throughout the community. Ferdon agreed, noting that plans are being discussed to unveil a new program aimed at helping owners of non-compliant vehicles to have them removed at no cost to them. It’s called the Inoperable Vehicle Abatement Program.

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The proposal to more aggressively target inoperable, unlicensed and junk vehicles passed on a vote of 6 to 1, with Frank Jerome being the lone “no” vote. He expressed reservations about how the change would affect private property rights.

Johnson County Superior Court II has a new judge. Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Tuesday that Peter Douglas Nugent is his choice to succeed Judge Cynthia S. Emkes, who is retiring after 30 years on the bench.

Gov. Holcomb’s office says that Nugent has extensive experience in both the civil and criminal law arenas, serving as a deputy prosecutor as well as a public defender, in addition to his private law practice. In a statement, the governor says that Nugent also has extensive experience serving as a judge pro tempore in civil and criminal cases, including a murder trial. In addition, he has served on the Indiana Public Defender Commission and the Indiana State Ethics Commission.

Nugent will be sworn into office at a later date.

Cummins is opposed to plans by the Trump Administration to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA. Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger issued the following statement on Tuesday:

“The decision by the Trump Administration to rescind DACA is discriminatory, harmful and sets our country back. These young people deserve every opportunity to continue living, working, and thriving in the United States – for nearly all of them the U.S. is the only country they have ever known. This is their home.

Dreamers are our colleagues, our friends and our neighbors. They strengthen our country through daily contributions to our companies, our universities and our communities. We have a moral obligation to help these young people, protect them from living in fear, and to prevent families from being torn apart.

Cummins stands in full support of Dreamers and we ask Congress to take immediate action to pass the Dream Act or find a permanent legislative solution to support these young people before anyone is affected by this decision.

We hope that Americans speak out and make it clear to Congress and the President that we stand with the Dreamers.”

The Trump Administration made the decision to phase out DACA after coming to the conclusion that the program superseded immigration law and was an abuse of the Executive Branch. In announcing the decision, the administration noted that there is a six-month period before DACA is completely rescinded, in order to give Congress time to pass a legislative solution.

A Franklin man was arrested over the weekend after Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputies were called to a disturbance in the 4000 block of West County Road 950 North. Judy Jackson, department spokeswoman, says that deputies were called shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday in reference to an “unruly male.”

Jackson says that when deputies arrived, they saw two men in a physical altercation. One of the men, 22-year-old Seth Hodson, allegedly became aggressive with deputies. After deputies took control of Hodson, he was taken to Columbus Regional Health before being booked in the Bartholomew County Jail on preliminary charges of Battery on a Public Safety Officer, Battery, Disorderly Conduct, Public Intoxication and Resisting Law Enforcement. He has since been released on $23,000 bond.

Jackson says that no deputies were hurt during this incident.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the disappearance of an adult from Bloomington. Frank Binford is a 77-year-old white male, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 235 pounds, black/grey hair and brown eyes. Binford was last seen Tuesday, September 5th at 4:45 a.m. in Bloomington and is believed to be in danger.

Binford was last seen driving a tan 2003 Lexus S43 with Indiana Plate WNJ186. Authorities say that Binford may be disoriented and in need of medical assistance.

If you have any information on Frank Binford, contact the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department at (812) 349-2781 or 911.

A traffic stop turned into a drug arrest Sunday night in Columbus.

Police stopped a vehicle for a minor traffic violation just before midnight on Rockyford Road. While speaking with the officer, police say the driver and passenger appeared nervous and also appeared to be hiding something in the vehicle. The driver, 36-year-old Jeremy W. Law, was driving on a suspended license says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the city police. A search of the vehicle allegedly revealed four small bags of methamphetamine, along with synthetic marijuana.

Law is facing preliminary charges of dealing in and possessing a synthetic drug, possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia and visiting a common nuisance.

A passenger, 27-year old Chelsey K. England was charged with maintaining a common nuisance.