Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators is canceling this weekend’s normal First Saturday at Utopia event. They say that between the extreme mud in the parking lot and the forecasts for rain or snow tonight that they will not hold the event. Instead, the next First Saturday at Utopia will be May 5th.

Utopia is also touting the weather forecasting abilities of their resident groundhog, Grubby. On Groundhog day on the Hope Town Square, Grubby predicted a long winter.

You can follow Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators on their Facebook page.

The search was suspended last night for a possibly missing kayaker.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources conservation officers report that they  suspended search operations at about 7:30 p.m. last night due to the fading daylight and will start again at 8 a.m. this morning.

Authorities say that 26-year-old Keygan Matlock of Bartholomew County told friends and family yesterday that he planned to go kayaking in either the Flat Rock or Driftwood rivers and hasn’t been heard from since. Indiana Conservation officers and Bartholomew County deputies began the search yesterday morning after he failed to return home overnight. His blue/black/yellow kayak is missing from his home.

Matlock is 5’8′ tall and weighs 130 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last known to be in the Tannehill Trailer Park area and is believed to be wearing a bright yellow coat with a black and yellow stocking cap.

If you have any information, please contact Indiana Conservation Officer’s dispatch center at 812-837-9536.

Flood waters continue to recede in Columbus and they are very close to cresting in Seymour, according to the National Weather Service. Bartholomew County officials say flood waters crested here at about 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

Despite the fading flooding, drivers on State Road 46 west of Columbus continued to see major delays yesterday. Shannan Hinton, emergency management director for Bartholomew County, said that part of that congestion was because of a complication at the bridge with Interstate 65, which has knocked out traffic signals at the location. Columbus police directed traffic at the intersection between Jonathan Moore Pike and Interstate 65 most of the day yesterday, due to the non-operational traffic lights.

Hinton said the equipment which has failed is actually located underwater. INDOT crews won’t be able to fix the problem until the water recedes, she said. City officials are hoping that happens today.

Flood gauge estimates at East Fork White River at Seymour show the river is expected to crest at about 18 feet this morning — that is about a foot above the moderate flood level. The estimates are that Seymour will see it drop back to minor flooding by tomorrow morning.

Bartholomew Consolidated schools opted to cancel classes again today and students will have an eLearning day. School officials told parents that the decision was made because so many local roads are still closed. and crews are still working to clear mud and debris from the roads that recently reopened.

A Columbus man is being accused of causing a four-vehicle crash in downtown yesterday morning, while driving drunk.

Police say that 23-year old Jonathan Z. Burge sped into the intersection at 8th and Washington streets at about 8 a.m. yesterday morning, ignoring the traffic signal. He crashed into the back of a vehicle at the stoplight, driven by 32 year old Jacob Atkins of Greenwood and then into two other unoccupied vehicles.

Columbus police say that Burge struggled with officers before being taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Atkins was also taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

Burge was arrested on a preliminary charge of driving while intoxicated.

Authorities want to stress that Jonathan Moore Pike is staying open.

The flood waters that threatened to close the stretch of State Road 46 through the city have quickly receded as East Fork White River and the Driftwood River continue to fall back to normal levels, says Shannan Hinton, emergency management director for Bartholomew County.

She said her office and law enforcement are being flooded with calls from concerned residents, worried that the road is going to soon close.

She said that part of that concern is because of a complication at the bridge with Interstate 65, which has knocked out traffic signals at the location. Columbus police have been directing traffic there since this this morning, Hinton said.

However, the equipment which has failed is actually in a cabinet now located underwater. INDOT crews won’t be able to fix the problem until the water recedes, she said.

Further worsening the problem is the closure of State Road 11 at Garden City, which has funneled more traffic to State Road 46. That road is forecast to reopen tomorrow, Hinton said.

Columbus police rescued a driver from high water early this morning, only to arrest her on drug-related charges.

29-year-old Andrea N. Bush allegedly drove around road closure signs and barricades and tried to cross a flooded section of Jonesville Road at about 12:20 this morning, says Lt. Matt Harris with the Columbus Police Department. The water, which covered the vehicle’s hood, stalled out the engine, stranding her in the floodwaters.

Police, firefighters and the Bartholomew County Water Rescue Team, saved Bush from her vehicle, but police discovered that she did not have a driver’s license. They also found that she was carrying marijuana, cocaine and prescription pills, along with drug paraphernalia.

She is facing preliminary charges of possession of cocaine, a legend drug, a controlled substance, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, as well as driving without a license.

Flood warnings for rivers and streams in our area continue this morning and some rivers are still rising.

East Fork White River at Columbus appears to be cresting Thursday morning at 14.5 feet, about six inches above the river’s moderate flood stage. The crest is expected to reach Seymour tomorrow morning and bring the river to 18.5 feet, or about six inches from reaching the level of major flooding.

Flat Rock River at Columbus appears to be on its way down. It crested yesterday morning just a hair below the moderate flood stage. Driftwood River at Edinburgh also appears to be on its way down, although it remains in the moderate flood stage. That river crested yesterday afternoon.

There is still a long list of roads closed or with high water in Bartholomew County. Authorities are urging you not to drive past any signs warning of high water. The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that it had several water rescues last night due to careless drivers and they will be ticketing those who pass barricades.

Several local communities will be receiving grants to fix their water systems. That’s according to an announcement from the office of Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch this morning. Across the state, $11 million dollars was given out through the Community Development Block Grant program.

Under the wastewater and drinking water grant program, the Town of Crothersville is receiving $550,000 for wastewater system improvements. Officials say that the project will significantly reduce the infiltration of groundwater into the system that is affecting the wastewater treatment plant.

Under the same program, Trafalgar is being awarded $700,000 for drinking water system improvements. That money will go to rehabilitate and replace outdated and deteriorating parts of the town’s water system.

Rescue workers are looking for a missing kayaker who may have disappeared on the Flat Rock or Driftwood Rivers.

Authorities say that 26-year-old Keygan Matlock of Columbus told friends and family yesterday that he planned to go kayaking in one of those rivers and hasn’t been heard from since. Indiana Conservation officers and Bartholomew County deputies began the search this morning after he failed to return home overnight. His blue/black/yellow kayak is missing from his home.

Matlock is 5’8’ tall and weighs 180 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last known to be in the Tannehill Trailer Park area and is believed to be wearing a bright yellow coat with a black and yellow stocking cap.

If you have any information, please contact Indiana Conservation Officer’s dispatch center at 812-837-9536.