A natural gas leak caused by a trenching machine led to the evacuation of one home this morning at Candlelight Village in Columbus.

Firefighters were called to the 2800 block of Rosewood Lane at about 10:54 this morning after maintenance crews damaged the one-inch gas line while they were burying electrical lines at the site of a new home in the park.

Firefighters closed the street and called Vectren Energy in to stop the leak. Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the fire department, said that you should always call before you dig. Vectren officials told firefighters that the utility location survey had been completed for the site prior to the incident.

But Wilson said Vectren also suggested hand digging if you are excavating close to an underground line.

Bartholomew Consolidated School students are making some historically good choices when it comes to drug use.

But there are concerns that after leaving the school system, young people in our community are choosing to imbibe.

Larry Perkinson, employee and student assistance coordinator for the school district, said that the recently released results from the Indiana Youth Data survey shows extremely low rates of drug usage, down in several categories to near-record lows since 1993.

Students were asked what substances they have used in the last month.

Tobacco use is at the record low for high school seniors and alcohol is at a near low. One drug that did edge higher recently was marijuana use, which is up from 13.2 percent in 2015 to 15.6 percent this year. Perkinson attributed that to the legalization efforts for both medical and recreational marijuana use around the country, which could be giving students a positive view of the drug.

The use of harder drugs was in the fractions of percentage points, Perkinson said.

Perkinson said he is concerned about the disconnect between student attitudes and the 18 to 25 year olds in the community. The number of overdoses of young adults in that age group has quadrupled in recent years.

He said that there may be more opportunities for the schools to prepare students for the dangers of after-school life.

Graphics below courtesy of Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.

A car hit a deer this morning on Becks Grove Road. Then the vehicle burst into flames.

No one was injured in the crash at just before 7:30 a.m. this morning, according to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. But the road was shut down while firefighter battled the vehicle fire in the 13,000 block of Becks Grove Road.

A 9-year-old girl will get to be sheriff for a day in Bartholomew County.

Kyria Rodriguez was the winner of the contest after donating 1,100 items to the Pack-a-Patrol-Car drive to benefit Love Chapel and Salvation Army food banks.

The sheriff’s department delivered almost a ton and a half of food this morning to Love Chapel at the end of the food drive, which began during the Ethnic Expo parade last month.

Kyria will be able to follow the sheriff during his normal duties including a tour of the jail, introductions to department staff members, attending meetings and having lunch with Sheriff Matt Myers.

The food drive, organized by Tammy Johnson and Jessica Niese, concluded yesterday at the end of normal business hours. This was the third annual Pack-a-Patrol-Car effort and it generated 2,934 pounds of non-perishable food and personal hygiene items.

Indiana State Police will have a sobriety checkpoint set up at an undisclosed location in Jackson County this weekend.

The Versailles District Post reports that they will be asking drivers who pass through the checkpoint to present their license and vehicle registration to the troopers and you may be detained while they determine if they need to investigate you further. State police say that the purpose of the checkpoint on Saturday and Sunday will be to remove drivers from roads who are impaired by alcohol or drugs.

State police suggest that if you are drinking over the weekend that you should plan ahead, use a designated driver and do not get behind the wheel of a vehicle yourself.

If you are driving and see a vehicle that you suspect has a drunk or drug-impaired driver you can call 911. Information can be left anonymously.

With Thanksgiving just over a week away, Columbus firefighters are warning you to be extra careful and aware of the dangers of cooking fires.

Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the Columbus Fire Department, said that the winter months see a big increase in home fires. And while part of that increase is due to improper heating of homes, the larger part is due to kitchen fires.

He urges you to be cautious and attentive if you are cooking.

He says to not let yourself be distracted from the potential dangers by the television, phone calls or other family members, even children.

Wilson suggested taking a wooden spoon or pot holder with you when you leave the kitchen as a way to remind you that there is still food on the stove, cooking.

Family farmers can learn more about how to make plans to pass their farms down to the next generation at an educational session being organized by the Purdue Extension office in Bartholomew County later this month.

Bartholomew County’s Purdue Extension will host a talk on farm succession by agricultural economist Dr. Maria Marshall on Tuesday, Nov. 28th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the evening at Hauser High School.

According to the USDA, more than 70 percent of U.S. farmland will change hands in the next 20 years.

The event is free, but registration is necessary. To register, contact the Purdue Extension Bartholomew County office by Nov. 20th at 812-379-1665.

Two people were arrested Monday after a domestic dispute ended with a stabbing.

Bartholomew County deputies were called to the 6000 block of East State Street at about 6 p.m. Monday evening. That’s where 40-year-old Elijuah B. Nail of Bloomington approached police and told them that he had been stabbed in the lower back side. He said an argument with his girlfriend turned violent when she stabbed him.

But when police found Nail’s girlfriend, 26-year-old Kristen A. Wise of Bloomington at a nearby convenience store with their RV, she also appeared injured. She said that Neil had been strangling her, so she pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed him to defend herself, says Judy Jackson, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department.

Police searched the RV the couple was using and and found the knife as well as drugs and drug paraphernalia, according to police reports.

They both were arrested. Wise on charges of possession of a controlled substance, and Nail on preliminary charges of strangulation, domestic battery and interfering with the reporting of a crime.

Duke Energy is warning its customers to be wary of scammers who misrepresent the company and prey on utility customers.

Wednesday is Utility Scam Awareness Day and electric and natural gas companies across the country are warning customers about scams. According to one survey, the number of attempted phone scams have more than doubled in the past year.

Duke officials report that the most common scams targeted at utility customers include scammers demanding that you pay a large bill immediately, or face cut-off of your power. Scammers will frequently tell you that you have to buy prepaid debit cards and give that information over the phone in order to settle the fake debt, usually within a matter of hours. They could also request that you wire money.

And you should be cautious even if you have caller ID because scammers can now fake the information, so a call appears to be coming from a legitimate utility company.

Duke says to hang up immediately if you suspect a scam, don’t pay your utility bill with pre-paid debit cards or money wires, and don’t make immediate payments over the phone. Delinquent customers will always receive a regular notice in their bill, never a phone demand for immediate payment of your power will be shut off in an hour.

Tickets are now on sale for the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic’s Bourbonfest fundraiser, coming up in February.

Representatives from the orchestra say that this year’s event sold out in three weeks, but there will be almost 200 more tickets available for the 2018 event.

The event features bourbon samples from national distributors as well as small area distilleries such as Bear Wallow Distillery, Hotel Tango, Old 55 Distillery, and Starlight Distillery. Musical entertainment will be provided by members of the Philharmonic.

Bourbonfest will be on Saturday, February 17th from 3 to 6 p.m. at The Commons. VIP entry will begin at 2 p.m. that afternoon. Tickets start at $15 for a designated driver. $30 for general admission and go up to $50 for advance purchase of VIP tickets.

You can buy tickets now at the Philharmonic offices at 315 Franklin Street, online at www.thecip.org, or by calling 812-376-2638