Two Columbus residents were arrested on drug charges Wednesday after a traffic stop. Judy Jackson, spokeswoman for the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, says that a deputy stopped a vehicle after he observed it speeding on southbound US 31 near County Road 550 North at 2:46 a.m.

While speaking with the driver, 22-year-old Ashley Shuffitt, and her passenger, 25-year-old Levi Underwood, the deputy says he detected the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. Jackson says that a search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of drugs and drug-related items. In addition, she says that additional drugs and drug-related items were found on Shuffitt after she was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail.

Shuffitt is facing preliminary charges of:

Possession of Methamphetamine,
Possession of Marijuana,
Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated,
Driving while Suspended with a Prior Conviction;

Shuffitt is being held of $68,500 bond.

Authorities say that a small bag containing a white, crystal substance, consistent with the look of methamphetamine, was found in Underwood’s wallet. He was arrested on a preliminary charge of Possession of Methamphetamine and is being held on $57,500 bond.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is looking for your help finding this week’s most wanted fugitive.

Deputies are searching for 34-year-old Franklin Earl Byars. The is a white man, six feet three inches tall and about 165 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Byars is wanted on three Bartholomew County warrants, charging possession of methamphetamine and of paraphernalia and conversion.

If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact Detective Sg. William Kinman at 812-565-5926. Or you can call the sheriff’s department tip line at 812-379-1712. Information can be left anonymously.

There will be a town hall meeting tonight at the Roby and America Anderson Community Center on the east side of Columbus.

The event will include members of the city council and Mayor Jim Lienhoop. It is being organized by the State Street Area Association. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the former Eastside Community Center on McClure Road.

Applications are now available for next year’s Brown Music Awards for Bartholomew County high school seniors.

The $3,500 scholarship winners are chosen during a music competition that will be held on February 10 at First Christian Church.

The awards are the Anna Newell Brown Award for Vocal Excellence and the Betty F. Brown Award for Instrumental Excellence. The scholarships aim to encourage formal vocal and music education for Bartholomew County students.

Applications are due by December 8th. You can get more information or apply by looking for the scholarships link at heritagefundbc.org.

When the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County gives its update to the community on Oct. 24th, it is also hoping to take something away — unwanted prescription medications.

Beth Morris, director of community health partnerships with Columbus Regional Health, says that the community update and forum will also include a drug take back event. You can bring any unwanted medications, either yours or someone else’s, to the event and they will be taken, no questions asked.

Morris says that anyone who brings in a prescription for disposal, will also receive a copy of the book “Dreamland” which explains how the opioid and heroin epidemic came to be.

The community forum will be at The Commons at 6:30 p.m. on the night of Tuesday, Oct. 24th.

Drivers traveling Interstate 65 in Bartholomew County during the overnight hours of Monday, Oct. 16 through the 17th should be aware that the Indiana Department of Transportation has scheduled rolling roadblocks during that time. INDOT says that the first roadblocks are set for Tuesday morning at 1 a.m. approaching mile marker 69 as the Bartholomew County REMC plans to remove a retired overhead communications line located approximately 60 feet south of County Road 100 North.

Officials say that a southbound traffic slowdown will begin at Exit 76. The northbound I-65 slowdown will begin at Exit 64. Indiana State Police will be on the scene to provide pilot cars as well as chase vehicles.

INDOT says that these rolling roadblocks are intended to void all I-65 lanes of traffic at the mile marker 69.0 work site for approximately 20 minutes, giving REMC crews time to lower the overhead line and pull it off the roadway.
Northbound I-65’s Exit 68 will be closed, as well as the southbound rest area exit at mile marker 73.5, during the slowdown.

Officials note that this work is dependent on the weather and could be rescheduled.

Uncommon Cause is Saturday, October 21st. Kathryn Armstrong is the executive director of the Columbus Area Arts Council, the organization that puts on the annual event. She explains that this year’s event, being held at the Columbus Learning Center, is going to be different from past offerings.

Armstrong talks about what you can expect at this year’s event.

Armstrong explains that Uncommon Cause is critical to the mission of the Arts Council.

The Arts Council says that tickets are $100 and members of the Columbus Young Professionals group receive a 40-percent discount. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit artsincolumbus.org and click on the “Uncommon Cause” tab.

Income taxes will be going up in Bartholomew County. The County Council gave its final approval for the tax hike last night, with members saying that the county has cut all that can be cut from the county budget and that there is a desperate need to reopen the old section of the county jail.

The tax increase passed with a vote of 4-3. It is expected to bring in about $4.8 million dollars to the county government, with $6 million going to the city of Columbus.

The council approved an increase in the income tax rate from 1.25 to 1.75 percent. Of that 1.75 percent, point two five would go to public safety, another point two five would go to economic development while the rest would be divided between the county, city and other taxing units.

A large crowd packed the meeting room. But only a handful of audience members opted to speak, limited to a 3-minute time limit. Columbus resident Russell Poling spoke against the increase:

Resident Joe Lohmeyer said he supports the tax increase.

Resident Mark Schneider said this was his first time attending a County Council meeting and he was frustrated about the lack of documentation that could be found online beforehand

Resident David Barker said it is the right thing to do for our neighbors.

Resident Don Strietelmeier was opposed to the tax hike, but he also took issue with a 3-minute limit on the time the public was allowed to speak.

Council members supporting the measure were Council President Laura DeDomenic, Mark Gorbett, Chris Ogle and Jorge Morales. In addition to concerns about public safety and the drug epidemic, DeDomenic said the county has huge capital expenses on the horizon including repairs to the courthouse, the veteran’s memorial and new roofs at both the county highway garage and the governmental office building.

Morales spoke passionately about his change of heart on the tax increase. Saying that time spent watching deputies and jail staff deal with the opiate epidemic convinced him that staffing shortages were putting those county employees and the public in jeopardy.

Of the three council members voting against the increase, Evelyn Pence said that the county did little to cut department’s spending during this year’s budget hearings. Bill Lentz said he would prefer a short-term bond rather than a permanent tax with much of the money going to the city. And Matt Miller said that the county does not have a detailed plan for how the money will be spent, nor will spending increases solve the opioid epidemic.

Three people were arrested Monday night in North Vernon after police served a search warrant at a home in the 300 block of Laurel Street. Sgt. Andrew Richmond, spokesman for the North Vernon Police Department, says that the warrant was executed at about 8:15 p.m. after he, Officer Anthony Bagby and Officer Shane Trepanier received detailed information of a recent drug transaction at the home.

Richmond says that a search of the home resulted in officers seizing about five grams of heroin, about one-half gram of meth, multiple syringes, several glass smoking pipes, three sets of digital scales, multiple small plastic bags, multiple medication bottles containing controlled medications not matching the labels and $448 cash.

Arrested were:

Shey M. Richardson, 25, of North Vernon
1. Dealing in a controlled substance Level 4 felony
2. Possession of a controlled substance Level 6 felony
3. Possession of methamphetamine Level 6 felony
4. Maintaining a common nuisance Level 6 felony
5. Possession of a syringe Level 6 felony
6. Legend drug violation Level 6 felony
7. Possession of paraphernalia A misdemeanor
8. Possession of marijuana B misdemeanor

Zachary Perry, 26, of North Vernon
1. Visiting a common nuisance B misdemeanor

Alicia A. Jones, 23, of North Vernon
1. Visiting a common nuisance B misdemeanor

North Vernon Police are thanking deputies from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department for their help in this case.

Two new officers joined the Columbus Police Department when they were sworn in Tuesday morning during the Board of Public Works and Safety Meeting.

Lt. Matt Harris, department spokesman, says that Officer Trenton Browning is a 24-year-old native of Bartholomew County and a graduate of Edinburgh Community High School. Browning attended Purdue University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Science with a minor in Military Science and Leadership. Browning also serves in the Army National Guard.

Officer Reid Thayer is a 23-year-old native of Hope and graduate of Hauser High School. Thayer attended Vincennes University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security and Public Safety.

Harris says that both officers will undergo training at the Columbus Police Department before they start at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy later this month.