Columbus Police arrested two men Monday morning on outstanding warrants after one of the men was seen wearing a mask while sitting in a vehicle.

Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the department, says that at approximately 8:40 a.m., Officer Ivan Shultz observed three men sitting in a vehicle in an alley near Ninth and California streets. The officers identified the back seat passenger as 33-year-old Winston C. Zink, of Columbus, who was wanted on a warrant. Officers say that the front seat passenger was wearing a mask and initially refused to identify himself. He was later identified as 23-year-old Seth A. Banks, of Columbus. He was also wanted on a local warrant.

Harris says that both men were arrested without incident.

A Scipio driver is under arrest after falling asleep behind the wheel early this morning in eastern Bartholomew County.

Deputies report that a vehicle was stopped in the middle of the road at about 4:30 a.m. this morning near County Road 600E and 850S. 35-year-old Gary L. Petro was asleep in the driver’s seat with a plastic baggie containing a white powder.

He was arrested on a preliminary charge of possession of methamphetamine.

A wanted Hartsville man is facing more drug charges after he was spotted by Columbus police yesterday afternoon.

25-year-old Robert W. Hiatt was seen by officers at about 5:35 p.m. yesterday driving near Ross and Ohio streets. Knowing he was wanted on two Bartholomew County warrants, police pulled the vehicle over and arrested him. At the jail, staff found he was carrying a small case with syringes, drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine.

He is facing charges for possessing the items, as well as trafficking with an inmate and driving while suspended.

Bartholomew County Councilwoman Laura DeDomenic will represent the county on the joint board to oversee funding on drug abuse projects. The council chose DeDomenic last night for the newly created Substance Abuse Funding Board.

The joint board will make recommendations on how tax money should be spent for projects proposed by the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County.

That includes determining if all other funding options have been explored before deciding that a project should be funded out of public money, and how the expense should be divided between the city and county, she said. Once the funding board makes its recommendation, both the city and county councils would decide whether or not to approve the funding request.

DeDominic was named to the board during Monday night’s County Council work session. There is some confusion as to whether or not the council will need to take any action to make the appointment official. That is expected to be ironed out when the council meets for its regular meeting on May 8th.

The National Weather Service is warning about the dangers of outdoor burning today.

The agency has issued a red flag warning from noon to 8 p.m. today, saying conditions are critical for wildfires. They are reporting that strong winds will combine with low humidity and warm temperatures to make it especially dangerous for burning out there today. That can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

A Columbus woman was arrested on drunk driving charges after causing a three car pileup last night on the west side of the city.

53-year-old Kristin R. Belli is facing preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content  .15% or greater, with a previous conviction and with endangerment.

The incident happened at about 7:11 p.m. last evening on Jonathan Moore Pike near the interstate. Police say that Belli was driving when she struck a car at a traffic signal, pushing that vehicle into another. Officers detected the strong smell of alcohol on her breath, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus police. She tested at .34 BAC, more than four times the legal limit, Harris says.

The former Republic building in downtown Columbus will now be the home for Indiana University’s new J. Irwin Miller Program in Architecture. The school made the announcement last night.

The building, designed by the same firm that created the Sears Tower, Skidmore Owings and Merrill, was built in 1971 and designated a historic landmark in 2012. The glass and steel building sits at the corner of Second and Washington Streets across from City Hall and the Bartholomew County Courthouse.

After Home News Enterprises sold its newspaper holdings, the Brown family sold the building to Columbus Regional Health in 2016. It was used as newspaper offices until the Republic moved to National Road. Since then, the building has been vacant.

The Community Education Coalition in Columbus has agreed to pay renovation costs for the building and the IU master’s in architecture program will launch this fall.

Former Cummins CEO Miller was a major proponent of top-notch architecture and was the force behind the Cummins Foundation which paid the architectural fees for buildings in the community.

“It is fitting that IU’s new Master of Architecture program is named after J. Irwin Miller, a true visionary whose plan to revitalize Columbus helped turn the city into a work of art,” said Lauren Robel, IU Bloomington provost and executive vice president. “It is our hope that his legacy of innovation will inspire our faculty and students as the program grows, spreading innovative design and beauty throughout the state.”

IU President Michael McRobbie and his wife, Laurie Burns McRobbie, announced that they were pledging half a million dollars to endow a professorship in modern architecture in the School of Art, Architecture + Design.