The Indiana Department of Transportation plans to restrict traffic to a single lane on State Road 46 at Shipley Hollow Road/Bond Cemetery Road just east of State Road 446 in Brown County on Thursday. Contracted crews will begin removing the existing single-slab bridge on State Road 46, replacing it with a 14′ x 7′ concrete box culvert measuring 53 feet in width.

Temporary signals at either end of the work site will control one-direction-at-a-time traffic flow along the north side of the structure while construction occurs on the south side. INDOT says that speed limits will be lowered to 35 mph approaching the bridge. A 10-foot width restriction will also be imposed. Oversized loads will be directed around the site via S.R. 135 North and S.R. 45.

INDOT officials say work at this site may continue through August.

Columbus City Utilities has a new director. Scott Dompke was approved by the utility board on Monday to replace Keith Reeves, who is retiring. Reeves has worked for the city of Columbus since 1980. He has been the director of utilities since 1997.

Reeves says that Dompke brings over 30 years of management and design experience with municipal government and utilities to his new role with the city of Columbus. That includes 16 years with the city of Bloomington, where he was a department head of the water and wastewater utility.

Dompke is scheduled to begin his role as Director on July 2.

The second suspect in a Monday burglary and police stand-off in Jackson County is behind bars. The incident started at about 8 a.m., when a property owner in the 3800 block of West State Road 58 was watching remote surveillance video of the home near Freetown when he noticed two people inside his garage. Police were called to the scene when one of the men,, believed to be 31-year-old Nathan M. Shepherd, of Columbus, fled from the garage and escaped into a nearby wooded area. The Indiana State Police S.W.A.T. team arrived and and were getting ready to enter the garage when 28-year-old Travis L. Mitchell, of Columbus, surrendered.

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Carothers says that deputies found Shepherd at around 10 p.m. Monday walking the streets of Freetown.

The Bartholomew County Highway Department is reporting that 25th Street, from Booher Court to State Road 9, will be down to one lane until Thursday, weather permitting. Crews are crack sealing there.

Marr Road will be down to one lane today and tomorrow between Sawin Drive and 550 North while crews do a new asphalt overlay. That will be from 7 a.m.  until about 6 p.m. and is also weather permitting.

The Bartholomew Consolidated School Board recognized two elementary school teachers last night — Kim Bockover and Chasidy Aldrich. They are the winners of this year’s William and Sally Hanley Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Bockover is a special education teacher at Schmitt Elementary, while Aldrich is a kindergarten teacher at CSA Lincoln Elementary.

The award, which is given through Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, recognizes elementary teachers for their dedication, initiative and contributions to improve the school and its environment. The award, which was established in 2000, comes with a $1,000 stipend.

Amy Laker, scholarship manager for Heritage Fund, says Aldrich has been a kindergarten teacher for the past four years at CSA Lincoln Elementary School. She was nominated for her creativity, enthusiasm and dedication to students.

Bockover has been a special education teacher at L.C. Schmitt Elementary for 26 years. She was nominated “for being a true professional in her field who has a deep respect for her students and the staff.”

One Columbus resident is behind bars and another is wanted by police after a Monday standoff in Jackson County.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department says that a deputy responded to a report of a burglary in progress in the the 3800 block West of State Road 58 in the Freetown area around 7:53 am. Authorities received a call from the property owner who was watching his home video surveillance system on his cell phone. The property owner told dispatch he was not home, but thought there were two subjects in his garage.

The deputy arrived at the home and could hear people inside the garage. When other deputies arrived on the scene, they attempted to make contact with the suspects, to no avail. After entering the garage, police found a man in a make shift upstairs area in the rafters. They say the suspect was hiding from the officers and would not comply with orders. The suspect then allegedly threatened to shoot police, and himself, if authorities didn’t exit the garage. Due to poor visibility, the officers complied.

Authorities tried setting up a perimeter around the garage. The suspect allegedly continued threatening to fire upon the officers. Police then reported hearing a loud popping sound come from inside the garage. They were unable to tell if they were being shot at, or if the suspect had shot himself.

Other officers arrived to help with a perimeter. As the perimeter was being established, a man fled from the garage into a nearby wooded area. Some officers gave chase, but lost sight of the suspect. Officers with the Brownstown Police Department, Indiana State Police and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department set up a larger perimeter to search for the man.

Officers checked the garage again for any other suspects. Once in the garage, they were allegedly threatened by another suspect that they were going to be shot. This suspect was also hiding in the rafters, and was not visible. The officers were able to exit safely.

Sheriff Mike Carothers spoke with Indiana State Police and requested their S.W.A.T. team to assist with the case. Seymour Police Officers Brian Moore and Bart Beavers also responded to the scene with their S.W.A.T. vehicle.

Officers at the perimeter continued for several hours to make contact with the suspect. The officers gave commands with loud speakers, but got no response. State Police S.W.A.T. arrived, and were within minutes of making entry before the suspect began communicating with Jackson County Officer Rob Henley. The suspect then negotiated with Henley and came out of the garage freely and was arrested.

While in custody the suspect allegedly gave a false name. He was ultimately identified as 28-year-old Travis L. Mitchell. He is facing preliminary charges of Burglary, Intimidation, Criminal Trespass, Resisting Law Enforcement and False Informing. Police say that Mitchell was also wanted on an active warrant out of Bartholomew County for a Probation Violation.

Authorities say they learned that the suspect who fled was 31-year-old Nathan M. Shepherd. He is wanted on preliminary charges of Burglary, Intimidation, Resisting Law Enforcement, and Criminal Trespass. Shepherd is described as a white male standing 5’10” tall with brown hair and beard. He was last seen wearing camouflaged pants and a camouflaged jacket.

Anyone with information on Shepherd’s whereabouts are asked to call the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department at (812) 358-2141.

The Substance Abuse Public Funding Board is meeting Wednesday afternoon. The board, comprised of officials from the city of Columbus and Bartholomew County, will determine what projects and programs are good fits for public money in the ongoing fight against the opioid epidemic.

Mary Ferdon, the city’s director of administration, says that the goal of Wednesday’s meeting is to approve the official application to request funds. She explained that the board requested that the Substance Abuse Accountability and Advisory Committee create one. The committee, made up of elected officials, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders, will consider funding requests and make recommendations to the public funding board. The board will then make a decision before pushing it to the city council, county council, or both for final approval.

Wednesday’s meeting is set for 3:30 p.m. in Conference Room 3 at Columbus City Hall.

A Columbus man was struck and killed by a semi tractor-trailer early Monday morning while attempting to walk across the southbound lanes of I-65 near the 74 mile marker in Bartholomew County.

Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, spokesman for the Indiana State Police, say the initial investigation indicated that a vehicle driven by 27-year-old Justin S. Mills was traveling southbound near the 74.5 mile marker when the vehicle entered the median of I-65 and struck the cable barrier. Police say that Mills left the vehicle and walked to the nearby I-65 rest area. Upon returning to his vehicle, Mills was struck and killed while crossing the interstate. The semi that struck Mills was driven by 48-year-old Carlos E. Zepeda, of Greenwood.

Wheeles says that Zepeda, who was not hurt, immediately stopped at the scene and reported striking Mills. Authorities still don’t know why Mills entered into the path of the semi. Authorities add that they are still waiting on toxicology reports on both Zepeda and Mills.

The crash remains under investigation.

Two people were arrested on drug charges early Saturday morning after a traffic stop in downtown Columbus.

A Columbus police officer pulled over a car driven by 42-year-old Christina D. Sullivan, who had a suspended license at 2:40 a.m. in the morning in the 1700 block of Cottage Avenue. A police dog alerted to the odor of narcotics inside the vehicle and a search allegedly revealed methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and a prescription medication that was not prescribed to anyone in the vehicle.

Sullivan was arrested on preliminary charges of possession of methamphetamine, a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, as well as driving while suspended

A passenger, 30-year-old Richy A Schoonover, was also arrested on a methamphetamine possession charge.