Next week will be annual homeless count across the country.

Organizers say this one-day event on Wednesday gives a “snapshot” of the number of homeless living in communities. Columbus Township Trustee Ben Jackson says that his office is working with Human Services Inc. on a team to try to get an accurate tally.

Jackson said the group, including Columbus police, Centerstone and others, will be going out to all of the known areas where the homeless have encampments. The goal is to ask where people spent the previous night, whether it is outdoors, in a shelter or on a friend’s couch.

People can drop by the Columbus Township Trustee’s Office on Washington Street, to be counted, or can go the Recovery Engagement Center at 720 N. Marr Road to be counted.

The Wednesday count helps to determine the amount of funding the community obtains for shelter and permanent housing programs.That includes places like Turning Point, Horizon House and Human Services.

If you have questions about the count, Jackson says you can call his office at 812 372-8249.

Indiana Conservation officers are reporting that they helped rescue a dog from freezing water yesterday.

Indiana Department of Natural Resource worked with the Greensburg Fire Department and Decatur County Sheriff’s Department to save the dog from the Flatrock River.

A pet owner noticed their dog was barking around the river and found him stuck in the ice after apparently trying to walk across. The fire department went out on the ice and retrieved the dog, bringing him safely back to shore with the help of conservation officers and deputies. Officers report that the dog is back home and warming up.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is warning this morning about the danger of thinning ice with the warmer temperatures.

The sheriff says that people should never go on the ice alone and urges you to always let a trusted person know where you are going and when you intend to return.

If you do see someone fall through the ice, don’t try to go out on the ice and rescue them yourself. The sheriff says that if an untrained person without the right equipment goes out on the ice, rescue workers will soon have two people to rescue, instead of just one. Instead, you should call 911 immediately and keep the victim in sight.

The sheriff’s department  has released the following tips to help you stay safe:

•  A minimum of four inches of ice is recommended for ice fishing or skating.
•  A minimum of five inches of ice is recommended for ATVs and snowmobiles.
•  A minimum of eight inches of ice is recommended for cars and light trucks.
•  A minimum of ten inches of ice is recommended for medium trucks.
•  Always wear a life jacket or float coat and carry ice hooks.

They also recommend you leave a note on the dash of your vehicle stating what you are doing and when you intend to return.

For more information  you can go to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page.

The Bartholomew County coroners office says we hit a grim milestone last year — 30 deaths from overdoses. That is up sharply from 12 in 2016 and 6 in 2015.

According to the report released yesterday, all but one of the deaths have been ruled accidental. And despite concerns over the ongoing opioid epidemic, Deputy Coroner Jay Frederick reports that many drugs were involved and frequently in combination.

Of the 26 deaths that included opioids, 12 involved fentanyl, 8 involved heroin and seven involved prescription medicines. There were also seven deaths involving methamphetamine and seven involving Benzodiazepine. Two of the deaths involved cocaine.

The report says that 17 of those who died from overdoses were men and 13 were women.

The lone non-accidental death was a suicide, according to the report.

The complete statistics presented:

Total confirmed overdose deaths during 2017…………………………………….. 30

Males  …………………………………………………………………………. 17

Females………………………………………………………………………… 13

Opioid-related…………………………………………………………………. 26

Heroin………………………………………………………………….. 8

Fentanyl……………………………………………………………….. 12

U-47700……………………………………………………………….. 1

Carfentanil…………………………………………………………….. 1

Prescription opioids………………………………………………….. 7

Methamphetamine……………………………………………………………. 7

Cocaine…………………………………………………………………………. 2

Benzodiazepine……………………………………………………………….. 7

Manner of Death

Accident………………………………………………………………………… 29

Suicide …………………………………………………………………………. 1

Undetermined………………………………………………………………….. 0

Total overdose deaths in 2016………………………………………………………. 12

Total overdose deaths in 2015………………………………………………………. 6

If you live along Haw Creek, the Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department has some information you’ll want to know about. Emilie Pinkston, senior planner, says that FEMA has issued preliminary flood plain maps that will change the flood plain boundaries and the base flood elevations along Haw Creek in Columbus and Bartholomew County.

Pinkston explains that these maps are used to determine flood insurance rates and help local communities enforce construction regulations in flood prone areas. Officials say that Flood Insurance Rate Maps and a Flood Insurance Study also includes base elevations for Haw Creek, which indicate the elevation that floodwaters are expected to rise during a 100-year flood. Pinkston says that these preliminary maps, which take the place of previous ones issued in December of 2014, can be viewed online at floodmaps.in.gov or msc.fema.gov.

An open house with these updated maps is set for Tuesday, Jan. 30 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Donner Center. Pinkston says that officials from the planning department and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources will be on hand to answer any questions.

Columbus Police say that two local residents were scammed out of thousands of dollars after they received a call from a person claiming they were from their department. Lt. Matt Harris, CPD spokesman, says that the caller threatened the victims with arrest if they did not pay a fine in regards to alleged back taxes that they owed. The victims advised that the phone call originated from (812) 376-2600, the number for the Columbus Police Department help desk.

Detective Ryan Linneweber stated that it appears the suspects are using a cell phone masking application to make it appear that they are calling from the Columbus Police Department. During the phone call, the suspect instructed the victims to purchase gift and phone cards for payment to avoid arrest, costing them $6,000.

Harris stresses that the Columbus Police Department does not solicit payment for warrants over the telephone. In similar incidents, he noted that he could not think of a single police or government agency that require payment via gift cards, phone cards or wire transfers. If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of any phone call or document, you should contact law enforcement directly.

A man accused of raping a 16-year-old girl in Jackson County has been arrested. WDRB in Louisville is reporting that Kemberly Florvil was arrested in Florida for the incident that reportedly took place on Feb. 20, 2016. Authorities say that the then-18-year-old Florvil was in a car with the alleged victim and several others as they were traveling from Bloomington to Seymour.

The report says that days later, when the victim was interviewed by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, she told police that, over the course of the trip, she was sexually assaulted by Florvil and another man in the car. The victim told police that, during the incident, she was afraid that the pair might hurt her.

The same report says that Florvil denied the allegations in an interview with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. According to court documents, he denied ever being in the back seat with the girl, but the sheriff’s office added that his account of the events, “wasn’t making sense and he wasn’t being consistent with what he was saying.”

DNA samples were taken from both men.

In June 2017, Florvil was charged with Rape and Battery Resulting in Bodily Injury. A spokeswoman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office told WDRB that authorities arrested Florvil in Florida just recently. He was returned to Jackson County on Jan. 13. The spokeswoman also told the television station that the other suspect was never charged, because he died in a car crash before the results of the DNA test could be returned.

For more on this story, visit wdrb.com.

A witness report of a possible drunk driver led to the recovery of a car stolen from northern Indiana early this morning according to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

A deputy found the vehicle on North U.S. 31 in Edinburgh at about 2 this morning and discovered that it had been reported stolen from Fort Wayne.

The driver, 25 year old Cody Slaughter of Michigan City was found to be driving with a suspended license and was allegedly under the influence. He is facing preliminary charges of receiving stolen property and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

A passenger, 35-year-old Christopher Jackey of Salem was also arrested on a charge of receiving stolen property.

The Ivy Tech Library will be hosting an event next week called Columbus Present that will take a look at where we are as a city.

This comes after their success with a Columbus Past event last fall. Bethany Messersmith, the Ivy Tech library director, says that the panel includes Mayor Jim LIenhoop, LaTosha Lafferty and Rick Scalf with Black Lives Matter, Columbus Municipal Airport Director Brian Payne and Kathy Oren from the Community Education Coalition.

Messersmith explains that the series is meant to raise awareness of the college and of the university library at the Columbus Learning Center..

This event will be Thursday January 25th from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Columbus Learning Center. It is being sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa and the University Library. Dessert will follow.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers has filed for re-election.

According to County Clerk Jay Phelps, the sheriff filed for re-election yesterday. The sheriff is a former Columbus city police officer and prior to that worked for the sheriff’s department as a jail officer. Myers, a Republican, is in his first term as sheriff.

Neither Prosecutor Bill Nash nor Judge Jim Worton have filed to run for reelection yet, although they do need to travel to Indianapolis because those offices are considered state positions, Phelps said. Phelps has yet to file for re-election himself, although he said he plans to do so soon.

No Democrats have filed to run for county-level offices in Bartholomew County.

There is still no candidate slated to run for the County Council District 3 seat, now held by Republican Mark Gorbett. Gorbett, the former county sheriff, is in his first-term as a council member.

The deadline for filling is noon on Feb. 9th.

The town of Hope is putting their plans for a new town hall on the back burner.

The current town offices are in a pole-barn like building that is not ADA accessible, has poor heating and cooling due to a lack of insulation and has seriously outdated bathrooms. It was originally built in the 1970s as a garage.

A study committee received a recommendation from consultants that the town needs a $2 million to $2 and a half million dollars building to meet the current and future needs. But the only funding identified would be a possible 40-year-loan through the federal government, says Trena Carter with Administrative Resources Association, who advises Hope on grant and funding opportunities.

“Basically when you are dealing with a town hall or a city hall, federal funds — the community development block grant funds — it is not an eligible expense,” Carter said. “So therefore, the USDA has a community facilities program that will fund that but but it is basically a loan program, there is no grant that is associated with a community facility like this.”

Clerk-Treasurer Diane Burton put together a three-year budget to show the council what payments  would look like or even a slimmed down proposal.

“With the fact that making payments for 40 years is kind of a scary thing, something that we thought might be helpful is for the next three years to just set aside those (funds) as if you were making those monthly payments,” Burton said.

“That would kind of show us that ‘Hey, we have done this for three years and it hasn’t been a problem for the town do that.’  Plus it is setting money aside that we can try to use to knock down that balance. Now, in three years and if you say I don’t think this is a good idea. Or perhaps there is a struggle those payments, then you can use those funds for something else. It is not like it has to be used for a Town Hall.”

But council members said they could not see working on the project now when there are more pressing needs such as major sewer repairs.

Council members also said they did not want to burden future generations with a 40 year loan.