The Seymour Police Department has released figures from its recent Operation Pullover Blitz. Capt. Carl Lamb says that 10 officers worked 61 hours of overtime during the blitz, which ran from March 2nd through March 25th. The operation targeted dangerous drivers.

Capt. Lamb says that the officers worked 15 patrols and initiated 200 traffic stops. That resulted in 36 citations, 169 warnings and six arrests on 10 criminal charges. Charges included:

Habitual Traffic Violator;
Driving While Suspended;
Possession of Marijuana;
Possession of Paraphernalia;
Possession of Marijuana – 27 grams;
Possession of Methamphetamine;
Dealing Methamphetamine;
Operating while Never Having Received a License

The Dealing in Methamphetamine arrest resulted in 46 grams of methamphetamine being recovered.

Capt. Lamb says that the blitz was funded with federal grant money administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

Flood waters are expected to recede Thursday. Shannan Hinton, director of the Bartholomew County Emergency Management Agency, says it could have been much worse.

Hinton talked about how high water is affecting roads throughout the county.

She adds that high water is affecting the usual areas.

Hinton says that rivers, creeks and streams in and around Bartholomew County are expected to crest Thursday morning. She noted that with the amount of rain we received over such a short time period, the flooding could have been much worse.

The Columbus Fire Department is investigating a Wednesday afternoon garage fire that completely destroyed an SUV, the garage itself, as well as its contents. Captain Mike Wilson, CFD spokesman, says that firefighters were called to the 5300 block of Rocky Ford Road at approximately 2:43 p.m. after a neighbor witnessed fire coming from the detached garage.

Wilson says that during the investigation, authorities learned that a 2004 Jeep Liberty, which had been experiencing mechanical issues, was parked in the garage. The homeowner reportedly told investigators that he recently replaced a leaking fuel line and repaired some electrical connections. Authorities say that the vehicle had been running earlier in the afternoon before being parked in the garage. According to the homeowners, they left the property at approximately 2 p.m. with no indication of any problems in the garage.

Wilson says that the cause of the fire is undetermined. Damages are estimated at $9,000 and no injuries were reported.

Indiana Department of Transportation officials met with the state’s contractor Wednesday morning at Seymour District offices to schedule operations for installing thin bridge deck overlays at four structures in Jennings, Ripley and Dearborn Counties.

RAM Construction tentatively plans to place a 3/8-inch polymeric epoxy overlay in two lifts atop the single-span U.S. Highway 50 bypass bridge over CSX railroad tracks west of North Vernon. Overlay operations will occur north of construction activities for the U.S. 50 roundabout at County Road 450 West. This $335,000 project also includes work on the three-span State Road 3 bridge over Sand Creek, between North Vernon and Westport.

INDOT says that temporary signals will control single-lane traffic flow during overlay operations at each bridge.

Seymour police report that they have made an arrest in an animal abuse case from a few weeks ago. In early March, employees at a business in the 100 block of East Tipton Street discovered a small, black dog, which appeared to be a Chihuahua mix, had been dropped into a dumpster.

Police officers took the sludge-covered dog to the Jackson County Humane Society where they bathed the puppy, gave it food, water and a treat. After being cleaned up, police said the frightened pup was wagging its tail.

Seymour police are now reporting that 54-year-old Mark A. Hammond of Seymour has been arrested on preliminary charges of theft, and animal cruelty/with a prior offense.

Police are crediting Animal Control/Reserve Officer Chuck Heiss, and Officer Ryan Cherry with the success of the investigation. Cherry was one of the officers who helped rescue the dog in March.

Flood warnings remain in effect for the Columbus area, but emergency officials are scaling back the amount of flooding you could see out there this morning.

While major flooding was forecast last night, East Fork White River at Columbus is now expected to crest just above the moderate flood level by early Thursday morning. The crest should continue with moderate flooding in Seymour along East Fork White River by Thursday evening.

Last night’s forecast showed possible flooding as far from the river as  Lafayette Avenue and Jonathan Moore Pike. But now the flooding is expected to be concentrated closer to the river, such as Lawton Avenue, which is just east of Noblitt Park.

Shannan Hinton, director of emergency management for Bartholomew County explains.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers says that the flood prediction tools we have now, allow for better forecasts than we had during the flood of 2008.

Officers and deputies were going door to door last night, warning people of the possibility of severe flooding this morning and encouraging voluntary evacuations from the affected areas.

Hinton said that emergency officials were looking at between a 10- and 100-year flood event last night and decided to warn residents who lived within the danger zone of a 100-year flood. An Everbridge System alert went out about 10:30 p.m. last night, warning of potential flooding from Lafayette Avenue to Jonathan Moore Pike. That led  some residents of the Lagoons, near the river, to begin installing sandbags to protect their property.

While last night’s warnings of a 100-year-flood level are now off the table, the sheriff says there are still many flooded roads in the county.

The most recent road to close due to high water is State Road 11 at Garden City.

The high water has also closed Noblitt Park and Mill Race Park as well as part of the city’s People Trail system. City officials say that these areas will be reopened after the water has receded and cleanup is completed.

Bartholomew Consoolidated Schools have closed for the day due to the high water and expected flooding. It will be an e-learning day for

You can get the updated list of  school closings on our website.

The Columbus City Council gave its final approval to an ordinance updating the city’s policy on taxi cabs. Police Chief John Rohde explained that this was an effort at modernizing the rules.

Chief Rohde says changes include removing the requirement that taxis are equipped with two-way radios, so long as the driver can reach dispatch immediately. He explained that another change includes how taxi cabs can be identified.

City Council members briefly discussed allowing magnets to be used to identify taxis, but Chief Rohde argued that allowing that would make it easier for non-licensed vehicles to operate as taxi cabs in the city. He says that, currently, there are two licensed taxi companies operating inside Columbus.

City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve the changes.