Four adults were injured in a crash Sunday evening on State Road 46 near Hartsville, but an infant in a car seat escaped unharmed.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department reports that the accident happened at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday evening, when a vehicle driven by 29-year-old Lauren Norris of Mt. Juliet, Tenn.,  spun out of control into the path of an eastbound vehicle in the 14000 block of East State Road 46.

Norris was first taken to Columbus Regional Hospital and then transferred to IU Methodist Hospital for treatment. Her 1-year-old son was in a car seat in the vehicle and escaped unharmed.

Norris’ passenger 33-year-old Cody Minatra of Smyrna, Tenn., was taken to CRH for treatment, along with those in the second vehicle, 30-year-old Tyler Hadley and 32-year-old Jessica Hadley,  both of Hope.

“This incident should serve as a reminder of the importance to always buckling up ,and make sure your small children are properly in a child restraint seat, they work when used,” said Sheriff Matt Myers, in a Facebook post about the crash.

The Hartsville Volunteer Fire Department worked to rescue and treat the victims of the crash.

A new discussion series at the Columbus Learning Center will take a look at the past of Columbus next week.

Bethany Messersmith, director of the Ivy Tech Community College Columbus Library, explains the Columbus Past panel discussion, set for 7 p.m. on Oct. 19th.

Messersmith said the event is meant to raise raise community involvement in programs at the Columbus Learning Center.

On the panel will be Greg Lewis, talking about famous generals, Adam Rediker discussing the Reeves Pulley Company, Dr. Tamara Iorio displaying historic photography and David Sechrest exploring the historic downtown pumphouse.

The events are organized by the University Library of Columbus and Phi Theta Kappa at Ivy Tech. Desserts will be served afterward from Zaharakos.

A panel featuring the present of Columbus will be Jan. 25th and a discussion of the future will be March 29th. All of the discussions start at 7 p.m. in the evening at the lecture hall in the Columbus Learning Center.

The Hope Volunteer Fire Department will be having an open house on Saturday to show off their new fire station on Aiken Street and their newest fire truck.

The department took possession of the pumper truck this summer, after getting funding for the vehicle from a grant.

The new fire station is being named in honor of the department’s long-time chief, Merrill Clouse. Clouse died in April. He was a founding member of the department and served as chief for 26 years.

The event will be at 6 p.m. Saturday night and refreshments will be served afterwards.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department will be trying to pack a patrol car with canned goods and other nonperishable food to help the Love Chapel food bank.

Those efforts will start with Saturday’s Ethnic Expo parade in downtown Columbus. Sheriff Matt Myers is asking everyone who attends the parade to bring a canned food item to donate to the sheriff’s department as its float passes in the parade.

The department will also be setting up containers for donations in the lobby of the sheriff’s office on Second Street. And deputies will be taking donations during their regular neighborhood patrols.

The food drive will end on Nov. 14th when the sheriff’s department loads up a patrol car to deliver the goods to the pantry. Love Chapel is a program of the Ecumenical Assembly of Bartholomew County churches.

Cummins and GILLIG LLC announced a new electrified power partnership at the APTA public transportation show in Atlanta on Monday. Officials with the Columbus-based engine manufacturer says the work is a collaboration that “focuses on integrating and optimizing new battery electric technology offered by Cummins that will soon power GILLIG zero-emissions transit buses.”

“GILLIG has a very strong business relationship with Cummins, and now, with our new technical partnership, we have been able to share our respective technology roadmaps and jointly develop a vision to deliver the most comprehensive, advanced technology battery electric bus in the market for our customers,” said Derek Maunus, President of GILLIG.

“We have leveraged our companies’ decades of heavy duty transit experience in the design of the system, and will integrate this advanced technology into GILLIG’s industry leading proven platform,” added Maunus.

Amy Boerger, Cummins Vice President of Sales North America, says, “The Cummins electrified powertrain displayed here represents a major leap forward for the industry, and we are delighted that GILLIG will have first access to this important zero-emissions technology. The partnership enables a close technical collaboration so we can accelerate system integration and performance optimization work to leap ahead of others in the industry.”

Cummins say sthat initial development work for the new battery electric GILLIG bus plans for a 200-mile operating range on a single charge. The bus will utilize energy recovered from a regenerative braking system. Company officials say that the initial bus deployment will use a plug-in charger.

This latest announcement further encapsulates Cummins’ efforts to expand beyond its traditional diesel engine business. Tom Linebarger, Cummins Chairman and CEO, and other company officials have repeatedly noted their intent to Cummins an industry leader in clean-power generation. Announcements made by the company over this past several months include the introduction of an all-electric semi truck and powertrain. Cummins officials noted that many municipalities have made, or will make, the move to zero-to-low emission modes of transportation for public bus service and vehicles owned by municipalities. Executives say that customers’ desires for clean energy, as well as Cummins’ own desires to be a good steward to the environment, has necessitated the company’s need to adapt.

While clean energy continues to grow and become a vital component of Cummins’ business, the company says that its traditional diesel engine business is not dying out. Executives say that diesel power is still needed in many industries and developing nations. One area in particular that Cummins says will need diesel powered machines for the foreseeable future is in mining. With that, company officials say that Cummins is dedicated to further developing diesel engines that continue are efficient and reduce pollution with every new development.

A Columbus woman is facing drug charges after an incident over the weekend. Judy Jackson, spokeswoman for the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, says that deputies were called to a disturbance at a convenience store in the 10000 block of North U.S. 31 at 10:36 p.m. Friday. Dispatch told deputies that a woman was trying to steal from the store. After a clerk confronted the woman, identified as 22-year-old Dessirae Loreal Jonesike Streeter, she allegedly began destroying store displays.

When a deputy arrived, he reported seeing a woman matching Streeter’s description, standing in the lobby of a nearby fast-food restaurant. After making contact with Streeter, the deputy says that she agreed to return to the store with him. Jackson says that the deputy repeatedly asked Ms. Streeter to stay away from her purse before she finally sat the purse on the floor covering it with a piece of cloth.

When backup arrived, authorities say that K-9 Diesel was alerted to Streeter’s purse. They say that a search resulted in the discovery of a bag containing marijuana and glass pipes. In addition, deputies allegedly found two pills that Streeter identified as Xanax, a small baggie containing a white powdery substance, methamphetamine, an electronic cigarette that appeared to have a wax-like substance inside, a small glass jar with marijuana leaves on the sticker, a wax-like substance that had the odor of marijuana and a metal grinder.

Streeter was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Paraphernalia, Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Marijuana. Authorities say that additional charges of Criminal Mischief and Disorderly Conduct are being forwarded to the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office for consideration.

Streeter has since been released.

Two Columbus residents were arrested over the weekend on drug charges after a Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle. Judy Jackson, department spokeswoman, says that a deputy was dispatched to the area of West County Road 100 North and North County Road 250 West at 3:43 a.m. Saturday. When the deputy arrived, he reported finding two people sleeping in the vehicle.

After making contact with the driver, 39-year-old Jeremy Kittle, he reportedly told police that he was homeless and staying at random places. Kittle also reportedly told police that his passenger, 55-year-old Doreen Cregar, was in possession of a white powdery substance. Jackson says that a search resulted in the discovery of a prescription pill bottle, not in Kittle’s or Cregar’s name, containing multiple pills, as well as a glass pipe with burn marks and a white residue.

Jackson says that both Kittle and Cregar were arrested. Kittle is facing preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Paraphernalia. Cregar on preliminary charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Methamphetamine

Authorities say that both have since been released.

The Bartholomew County Council will be deciding tomorrow on whether or not to increase local income taxes. A large part of the new revenue would go to address public safety and the opioid drug epidemic.

Jeff Jones, head of Bartholomew County’s anti-opiate task force, the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, says that county officials have realized that dealing with the drug problem will have to require new revenue.

Part of that new revenue would to staff and reopen the old portion of the jail. That would ease jail overcrowding and would leave room for a drug treatment center of inmates, Jones said.

By opening the old jail, the sheriff could segregate inmates who need drug treatment, Jones said.

In effect, the jail provides a captive audience of newly sober addicts, Jones said. With that sobriety, some would like to improve their life, he said.

The County Council is scheduled to consider the second and final approval of an income tax increase. The tax rate would increase by half a percentage point and would raise county revenues by $4.8 million dollars.

The County Council meets at 6 p.m. tomorrow night at the Governmental Office Building on Third Street.

An Elizabethtown woman died in the Bartholomew County Jail Saturday night and Indiana State Police are investigating.

42-year-old Angela L. Blair was serving a sentence for a probation violation on drug related charges. Jail staff responded to a report that she needed medical attention at about 10:30 p.m. that night. As the jail staff spoke to her she collapsed and became unresponsive. Paramedics from Columbus Regional Hospital could not revive her and she was pronounced dead by the Bartholomew County Coroner’s office, says Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, spokesman for the state police.

Wheeles says an autopsy was performed Sunday at the hospital and results are pending.

Cummins has announced plans to reveal electrified power technology for transit bus applications at the APTA public transportation show opening in Atlanta on Monday.

Cummins officials say the company will display a new powertrain, configurable for either a full battery electric vehicle (BEV) or a range extended electric vehicle (REEV) incorporating a compact engine-generator. Cummins says that these systems are ideally suited for integration into transit, shuttle and commuter buses. With the bus operating in battery-only mode, they say the system achieves zero emissions at the point of use.

“The introduction of our new BEV and REEV systems will complement Cummins’ clean-diesel, near-zero natural gas and diesel-hybrid products to offer the broadest, most energy-diverse power portfolio in the bus industry. We are able to meet the needs of every transit route, every duty cycle and every emissions standard in the most cost-effective manner,” said Julie Furber, Executive Director, Electrification Business, Cummins Inc.

Compared to the standard diesel-powered bus, Cummins says the REEV 4.5-liter engine is downsized by about 50 percent in terms of displacement and can achieve up to 10 miles per gallon, significantly lowering the carbon footprint. A power assist function is available from the battery pack whenever the system needs additional energy.