Columbus City Council will consider giving a company tax breaks to create new affordable housing units in the 400 block of Gladstone Avenue.

The city’s community development department says this $11 million investment would create 60 affordable housing units in a project to be called Gladstone Apartments.

At tonight’s City Council meeting, the council will consider a proposal to give its final approval to designate that property as an economic revitalization area, and another proposal to approve a 10-year tax abatement on the project for the project’s owner Real America Development LLC.

City Council meets tonight at 6 p.m. at City Hall and you are invited.

One man is dead after a Monday morning accident involving a tractor. Jay Frederick, Deputy Bartholomew County Coroner, says that Coroner Clayton Nolting was called to the 8800 block of South Country Road 300 East, just north of Azalia, shortly after 10:30 a.m. Investigators say that 38-year-old David E. Eckert was using a front end loader filled with gravel to fill a hole. Frederick says the load shifted and the tractor rolled, pinning Eckert, who was pronounced dead on the scene due to crushing blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen.

The North Vernon Police Department is singing the praises of Officer Shane Trepanier and K9 Zobi after a busy first week of patrol after recently graduating K9 school.

Sgt. Andrew Richmond, department spokesman, says that on Saturday, June 9th, Officer Mike Holliday responded to suspicious person call in the parking lot of a business on Norris Avenue. During the investigation, Officer Holliday allegedly found that 27-year-old C. Evan Lessley, of Commiskey, was in possession of heroin. Officer Holliday called for Officer Trepanier and Zobi to sniff the car that Lessley was standing near. Richmond says that Zobi was alerted to the odor of an illegal drug inside the car. A subsequent search allegedly uncovered a small amount of heroin in a bag belonging to 25-year-old Nicole Stephens, of North Vernon, along with approximately a dozen syringes. Both Lessley and Stephens were charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Syringe.

On Tuesday, June 12th, Sgt. Craig Kipper was observing traffic on Brownstown Road and initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by 29-year-old Matthew R. Daniels, of North Vernon. Police say the driver had a learners permit and the passenger had no license. Sgt. Kipper became suspicious of drug activity. He requested Officer Trepanier and K9 Zobi to his traffic stop to sniff the car. Richmond says that Zobi alerted to the odor of illegal drugs within the vehicle. A subsequent search allegedly uncovered several empty baggies with residue and a methamphetamine smoking pipe. Daniels was charged with Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Paraphernalia.

The third incident occurred on Wednesday, June 13th when Officer Wes Thayer was investigating a property damage traffic crash at North State Street and Bay Street. During his investigation, Officer Thayer suspected drug activity in one of the vehicles. He contacted Officer Trepanier to meet him and use K9 Zobi to sniff the car. Zobi was alerted to the presence of drugs, leading to the vehicle being searched. Police reported finding prescription pills not in a prescribed container, leading to the arrests of 28-year-old Alex C. Simmons and 32-year-old Tara L. Simmons, both of North Vernon. Simmons was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance. Simmons was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Methamphetamine. Police say that when Simmons was being booked in the Jennings County Jail, officers found her to be in possession of a corner cut bag of methamphetamine hidden in her under garments.

Work continues as the city of Columbus considers the possibility of a downtown hotel and conference center. The city’s redevelopment commission considered a resolution during its meeting Monday afternoon. Heather Pope is the city’s redevelopment director…

06-19 HEATHER POPE-1

Originally, the city was considering limiting the scope of the study to a city-owned lot neighboring the Bartholomew County Jail. Pope says that scope has been expanded to include the entire downtown area also being looked at by the Envision Columbus study. Cost of the study is not to exceed $36,000 with the Columbus Area Visitor’s Center covering half of the cost.

Pope says the study should take six to eight weeks to complete.

A North Vernon man was arrested last week after allegedly overdosing inside a vehicle in the Verizon store parking lot on North State Street..

North Vernon police report that they were called to the store last Tuesday at about 1:30 p.m. and found 33 year old Jonathon L. Noel slumped over the wheel. As they administered Narcan, officers noticed drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. A search allegedly revealed three syringes, marijuana, a digital scale and five grams of methamphetamine.

After being treated at St. Vincent Jennings Hospital, Noel was arrested on preliminary charges of dealing methamphetamine and possession of syringes and drug paraphernalia.

A Columbus woman is being accused of drunk driving, after falling asleep in the drive through of White Castle on National Road Saturday morning.

Columbus police are reporting that the call came in at about 4:50 a.m. Saturday morning after a store customer found 30-year-old Joanna M. Purtlebaugh asleep behind the wheel at the National Road restaurant.

Police say that she failed several field sobriety tests and a breath test showed a blood alcohol level of .153 percent, almost twice the legal limit. After being taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for a blood test, she was arrested on a preliminary charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

The Indiana Department of Transportation will be restricting traffic at the State Road 46 bridge over Haw Creek in Columbus, starting today.

That is at State Street and Central Avenue and the work will last through next week.

Workers will be installing a new bridge deck overlay. The left lanes, both eastbound and westbound will be closed during work this week, while the outside lanes will be closed next week for work.

Work on the $148,876 project is being done by the R.A. Myers contractors.

Funeral services have been set for the 6-year-old boy who disappeared last week into the river at Mill Race Park.

Rescue workers found the body of 6-year-old Brendon Sperry in East Fork White River Saturday morning half a mile south of the Robert Stewart Bridge at Second Street according to Indiana Department of Natural Resources conservation officers.

The boy had been missing since Thursday afternoon when he disappeared into the river at Mill Race Park. He had been playing on a sandbar in the river with family members.

Services for Brendon will be held Thursday in Columbus and in Leavenworth on Friday. In Columbus, visitation will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Barkes Weaver and Glick Funeral Home and Crematorium followed by a service. In Leavenworth, visitation will take place from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Crawford County Consolidated Church. The service will be held afterwards.

According to Barkes, Weaver and Glick Funeral Home, Brendon was born Dec. 7, 2011, in Paoli, the son of Joseph and Amanda Peppers Sperry. Survivors include his parents, Joseph and Amanda Sperry; siblings, Haley Peppers, Gary Peppers and Morgan Sperry, all of Columbus; grandparents, Cheryl and Fred Terry, also of Columbus, Jim and Brenda Humphrey of Leavenworth; numerous aunts, uncles, friends and family.

Burial will be at Fredonia Cemetery in Fredonia, Indiana.

Barkes, Weaver and Glick obituary page

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis has issued a Heat  Advisory for today, starting at noon and running to 8 tonight. The weather service is forecasting temperatures in the 90s this afternoon, combined with high humidity means it will feel like it is around 105 degrees.

The agency warns that the heat could lead to hazardous conditions for the elderly, those those with preexisting health conditions, and pets. Heat exhaustion or heat stroke is possible.

They suggest that you drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Take extra precautions, if you work or spend time outside.

Other safety tips from the National Weather Service:

• When possible, reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
• Wear light weight and loose fitting clothing when possible and drink plenty of water.
• Temperatures inside a vehicle can be significantly higher than outside, even with windows open. Make sure not to leave children or animals in the vehicle as they can be quickly overcome by the heat.
• To reduce risk during outdoor work, the occupational safety and health administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments.

Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency, call 9 1 1.

The body of 6-year-old Brendan Sperry has been recovered in East Fork White River according to Indiana Department of Natural Resources conservation officers.

The boy had been missing since Thursday afternoon when he disappeared into the river at Mill Race Park. He had been playing on a sandbar in the river with family members.

Members of the Bartholomew County Water Rescue Team found his body at about 7:45 a.m., half a mile south of the Robert Stewart Bridge at Second Street.