Bartholomew County is on track to start construction on a new county highway garage by this summer.

Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz updated the County Council on the estimated $7 million dollar project at last night’s meeting.

Kleinhenz said the bidding will be broken into smaller segments to encourage local bidders.

He said bid documents will be distributed by April 17th, with bid awards made on May 20th. The hope is to break ground in June, Kleinhenz said.

The County Council had previously agreed to bond up to $6 million dollars for the project, with the rest coming from other county funds controlled by the commissioners. The commissioners have already trimmed some features and plan to put off other projects to reach the budgeted amount.

The new garage is planned for rural 25th Street beside the Clay Township Volunteer Fire Station on property formerly owned by the Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management district.

It must still receive approval from the Columbus Plan Commission, which is scheduled to discuss that approval this afternoon.

Another female Bartholomew County Jail inmate has been found allegedly hiding drugs in a body cavity.

This marks the third incident in the past few weeks.

The county Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team has been investigating trafficking of illegal narcotics and other contraband being brought into the jail. They are reporting that the investigation into an incident last month led to the third female inmate accused of smuggling drugs into the jail, 26 year old Breanna Meier of Columbus.

She is facing new preliminary charges of dealing in cocaine, conspiracy to deal narcotics and to traffic with an inmate, false informing, false identity and possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Her bond has been set at $633,500

The previous investigation involved 34-year-old Kristen Hunter of Columbus who was first identified as smuggling drugs in late February. She had been sentenced to 30 days in jail for possession of a controlled substance. But a tip led to a search that recovered two and a half grams of heroin, suboxone pills and cigarettes hidden inside her. Two men have been implicated in that case, according to deputies.

40-year-old Ivan Hendrickson of Columbus is facing new charges of dealing in narcotics and conspiracy to deal narcotics. 26-year-old Tyler Green of Columbus is being charged with conspiracy to deal narcotics and conspiracy to traffic with an inmate.

Hendrickson is being held in lieu of $600,000 bond and Green on $500,000 bond.

Seymour police are asking for the public’s help in the investigation of a fatal shooting Sunday evening in a grocery store parking lot.

The department is asking that anyone come forward with video footage of the incident leading up to the shooting death of 33-year-old Dustin Payne in the parking lot on Tipton Street at just before 6 p.m. Sunday night

Payne’s brother-in-law, 61-year- old William Baker, is being accused of murder after allegedly shooting Payne in the chest with a revolver. Payne died later at a Louisville hospital.

Seymour police say that they are looking for any video of the altercation between the two men, or the actual shooting. They do not need video taken after officers arrived on the scene.

If you can help, you can contact the Seymour Police at 812-522-1234.

The town of Hope will be featuring pancakes and pooches Saturday.

Hope volunteer firefighters are inviting you to a pancake breakfast Saturday morning at their fire station on Aiken Street. The pancake breakfast will be a fundraiser for the department and will run from 8 to 11 at the fire station. There is no set cost but free will donations are being accepted.

The breakfast is cosponsored by Main Street of Hope and organizers suggest that you can come to town, have pancakes, and then take part in the St. Patrick’s Pooch Parade on the Town Square. Registration for the costumed dogs will start at 11 a.m. and the parade and costume contests will start at noon. The cost to participate in the parade is $5 and the event benefits the Paula A. Pollitt Animal Shelter.

You can also make donations of cash, dog or cat food, dog or cat treats and pet accessories.

Brownstown police say they found a driver asleep behind the wheel near the entrance to the Jackson Washington State Forest.

Officers were called to the scene on State Road 250 on Sunday evening and found the vehicle being driven by 63 year old Leslie A. Robinson stopped in the middle of the road.

Robinson allegedly had a blood alcohol level of .284 percent, more than three times the legal limit. Robinson was taken to Schneck Medical Center and then to the Jackson County Jail at about 9:13 p.m. that night on a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

The town of Hope is bringing its zoning and building administrator back on duty. That after he was caught up in the removal of the town manager at the end of last year.

In a heated meeting in December, the Town Council opted not to renew the contract for then-town manager J.T. Doane.  Some council members said that they thought the town manager contract should go out to bid instead of simply rehiring Doane.

But when it came time later that night to renew the contract for building and zoning administrator Greg Potts, angry council members also insisted his contract be put out to bid.

After months of wrangling over how to seek bids for an employment contract, the council decided last night to rescind the previous decision on seeking bidders and to simply rehire Potts to the position with a three percent raise. Council member Nellie Meek and Clyde Compton also asked that the council consider back pay for Potts, as he had continued working for the town during the gap between the contracts. The position pays just over $6,100.

According to the town website, the building and zoning administrator is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the town’s zoning ordinance, the subdivision control ordinance, the unsafe structure ordinance, and the rental property registration ordinance.

There has still been no decision on how or if the town will fill the open town manager position.

Town of Hope Building and Zoning

Jennings County deputies will be tightening their procedures for transporting prisoners to court after an inmate escaped recently. The sheriff’s department announced yesterday that it had concluded the investigation into the escape of 41-year-old Kim Lynn Patton from the courthouse in Vernon on March 1st.

Sheriff Kenny Freeman says that a handcuff key was lost at the booking counter in the jail and ended up in Patton’s possession. While jail officers noticed the missing key, it was not recovered before Patton’s escape.

The department said that only a single officer was transporting prisoners on the day Patton escaped, due to staffing shortages. And because the department did not have video cameras trained on the prisoners in the transport cage, the officer did not see Patton undoing his restraints.

Because there was no marked parking spaces just for jail vehicles, the officer had to park farther away from the courthouse than normal to deliver the prisoner.

Freeman said old procedures from previous administrations will be replaced with new procedures and policies. Those changes include making sure all inmates at risk of escaping are transported with two officers, cameras will be used in the transport cage, and dedicated parking spaces close to the courthouse will be set aside for transport parking only.

Freeman also thanked the community for its support and the information that led to Patton being located.

Columbus police found an unconscious driver behind the wheel of a running vehicle early Saturday morning.

33-year-old Del L. Armstrong of Columbus was found inside the vehicle, stopped in the middle of the intersection of 11th and California streets, at about 4:20 a.m. Saturday morning. Police say that his foot was still on the brake pedal and the car was running, when they tried to wake him.

He failed several field sobriety tests and officers got a search warrant to test his blood alcohol level. He is facing a preliminary charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

A man suspected of shoplifting at the eastside Walmart in Columbus, is now facing drug possession charges.

Columbus police say that they were called to the store on Whitfield Drive at about 7:15 p.m. Friday night on a reported shoplifter. As the suspect, 31-year-old Dustin E. Howard of Trafalgar, attempted to leave the store he was confronted by police and ran away.

He was caught a short while later and found to allegedly be carrying goods stolen from the store as well as a small amount of methamphetamine.

He is facing preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement, theft and possession of methamphetamine.

Two people were arrested in North Vernon in what police are calling a “substantial” drug arrest following a traffic stop Saturday night.

The situation started at about 8:47 p.m. Saturday night when a North Vernon officer noticed a vehicle make a moving violation on Gum Street.  After the traffic stop, the officer became suspicious of possible criminal activity and the department’s police dog Zobi alerted to the odor of narcotics inside the vehicle.

A search allegedly revealed about 15 grams of methamphetamine in three bags. The driver, 41 year-old Jarel Haines of North Vernon, was also allegedly found to be carrying several small packages of heroin in his pockets. He was arrested and a search at the jail revealed another small bag of methamphetamine and a bag of pills identified as suboxone in Haines clothing.

Haines and a passenger, 18-year-old Ezra Engle of North Vernon, were arrested on charges including dealing in a controlled substance.