A Jennings County man was arrested over the weekend after North Vernon Police responded to a report of shots fired. Just before 6 p.m. Friday, officers responded to the area of Hurley Drive. When they arrived, they arrested 69-year-old Russel Curlin, of North Vernon, on preliminary charges of Criminal Recklessness and Intimidation with a Deadly Weapon.
No injuries were reported.
A traffic stop last week led to the arrest of a Louisville man on drug-dealing charges and the recovery of $15,000 in methamphetamine according to authorities.
43-year-old Adam C. Galloway is facing charges of dealing and possessing methamphetamine as well as possessing cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
Troopers with the Indiana State Police stopped the vehicle Thursday. Police have not released the location or time of the arrest. A search including the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team and the Seymour police found the half pound of methamphetamine as well as a small amount of crack cocaine. Galloway was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail.
The investigation into the sale of illegal drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County continues and additional charges are possible.
Columbus City Utilities is reporting that they have closed Union Street between 11th and 13th Streets, as well as 12th Street between California and Grand Avenue. Those should reopen by 4 p.m. this afternoon.
Bartholomew County Emergency Management is also reporting that County Road 300S will be closed today between 400W AND 475W.
If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team powered by Crew Car Wash. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.
A Columbus man is facing drug charges after he was found with a flashlight in the backyard of a Lafayette Avenue home Saturday night.
Columbus police were called to the home at about 9:20 p.m. on a report of suspicious activity and discovered 47-year-old Timothy K. David in the yard. He allegedly provided a fake name to police, but officers confirmed his identity and he was wanted on two outstanding warrants. A search revealed marijuana, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia hidden in his clothing.
He was arrested on the warrants, as well as false informing and possession charges for the drugs and paraphernalia.
Today is the last day you can register, if you want to vote in the May primary election.
In the Columbus Republican primary election, incumbent Mayor Jim Lienhoop is facing challenger Glenn Petri. In the City Council races on the Republican ticket, incumbent Dascal Bunch is running against Chris Rutan for the District 1 seat, and incumbent Dave Bush is running against challenger Russ Polling in the District 3 race. There are three candidates running for the two spots on the fall ballot for the at-large races, including incumbent Laurie Booher, John Counceller and Josh Burnett.
There are no contested races on the Democratic side for the May primary.
You can register at the voter registration office in the Bartholomew County Courthouse. Early voting starts at the courthouse tomorrow.
A 21-year-old Columbus man was killed in a Saturday night accident near Rosstown, according to the Bartholomew County Coroner’s office.
Ethan R. Bailey was pronounced dead after the crash on County Roads 100W and 650S at about 8:52 p.m. Saturday evening. Deputy Coroner Jay Frederick says that Bailey died from massive trauma to the head and spine.
Bailey was the driver of a Jeep that collided with a motorcycle. A passenger in the Jeep and the motorcyclist were also injured and taken from the scene for treatment.
Toxicology tests are done in all fatal crashes and Frederick said he expects the results to be back in about two weeks.
A semi has rolled over near Bear Lane and U.S. 31 and crews are working to remove the wreckage as of about 11 a.m. Saturday morning.
You are asked to avoid the area if you can. Minor injuries are being reported.
Construction projects starting this month will affect guests traveling to Brown County State Park, Clifty Falls State Park and Hardy Lake for part or all of the summer season.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says that the project affecting Brown County State Park could start as early as the week of April 8th.
The projects include:
BROWN COUNTY: The north entrance into Brown County State Park, two-miles east of Nashville, will be closed from April 8 – May 9 while repairs are made to the park’s historic Ramp Creek Covered Bridge. During the time that the bridge is under repair, park visitors must use the park’s west entrance two-miles south of Nashville on State Road 46. Horse campers can continue to use the south entrance into the equestrian campground.
Visitors should call (812) 988-6406 before visiting.
CLIFTY FALLS: Beginning in early April, State Road 256 from Austin to Hardy Lake Road will be closed for a road-widening project. This is the primary access to Clifty Falls off I-65 for guests traveling from the north. This project will continue through the summer. From I-65, guests should take the Scottsburg exit (S.R.56), and head east toward Madison, then take S.R. 56 east all the way into Madison to access the park. An alternative route is to take S.R. 56 to S.R. 203 north to reach S.R. 256, then head east to Clifty Falls State Park.
Call (812) 273-8885 before visiting.
HARDY LAKE: Beginning in early April, State Road 256 from Austin to Hardy Lake Road will be closed for a road-widening project. This is the primary access to Hardy Lake off I-65 for guests traveling from the north. This project will continue through the summer. From I-65, guests should take the Scottsburg exit, and head east toward Madison, then head north on S.R. 203, crossing over S.R.256, and continue north on Hardy Lake Road to the property.
Call (812) 794-3800 before visiting.
The most current information about alternative routes can be obtained at stateparks.IN.gov/7881.htm.
Exhibit Columbus on Friday released five new design concepts commissioned for Washington Street. These projects are part of the the 2019 exhibition, which will feature 18 temporary installations in total and opens to the public on August 24.
Organizers say the Washington Street Civic Projects are designed by mission-driven organizations from across North America that will activate sites throughout downtown. This year, Exhibit Columbus explores the thematic concept of “good design and the community” in a tangible way by inviting architects, artists, and designers to create outdoor installations and experiences that use Columbus’s built heritage as context and inspiration.
“The Washington Street Civic Projects provide a unique lens through which we hope to examine the notion of civic engagement through exhibition,” said Anne Surak, Exhibit Columbus Director of Exhibitions. “These innovative organizations use architecture and design as tools of collaboration to effect positive change in their own cities, and we are excited to have them develop temporary projects in our community.”
2019 Washington Street Civic Project Leaders
Borderless Studio – Chicago
Borderless Studio is an urban design and research consultancy focused on shaping communities through collaborative design. The Chicago-based studio, led by Paola Aguirre, explores comprehensive city design solutions that address complex urban systems and equitable development, with emphasis on research and communication across disciplines and fields of practice.
Love Letter to The Crump
The Crump Theater is a significant asset in downtown Columbus––after more than two decades of assessment and feasibility studies for its redevelopment, the stepping stones for its rehabilitation and reactivation are falling into place and plans for its rebirth as a performing arts center are gaining momentum. This project consists of a collective “love letter” showcased through a large-scale exterior curtain installation at The Crump. The letter will be written in the abstract – a new graphic pattern inspired by Alexander Girard’s urban and textile design practices – and designed in collaboration with members of the community through participatory workshops where they will contribute to the creation of an abstract language inspired by the architectural features and character of the art-deco theatre. The project’s purpose is to invite both residents and visitors to reflect on the transformation process of places in Columbus – foremost, Love Letter to The Crump aims to generate a dialogue about new forms and meanings for preservation, as well as shared values and processes that could guide our decisions about heritage places in our cities.
Extrapolation Factory – New York
The Extrapolation Factory is a design-based research studio for participatory futures studies, founded in New York by Chris Woebken and Elliott P. Montgomery. The studio develops experimental methods for collaboratively prototyping, experiencing and impacting future scenarios. With this work, the studio is exploring new territories for democratized futures by rapidly imagining, prototyping, distributing, and evaluating visions of possible futures on an extended time scale.
Futures Kiosk
Central to Extrapolation Factory’s methods of engagement are the creation of hypothetical future props and their deployment in familiar public contexts. Futures Kiosk will be installed on the sidewalk where Washington Street meets 2nd Street at an active corner that connects City Hall, the Bartholomew County Courthouse and Veterans Memorial, and The Republic Building. This installation, and its location at the heart of civic exchange, encourages members of the public to use the kiosk to contemplate, articulate, and share future visions for Columbus. Each vision generated by members of the public, depicted as a short sentence and image, will be digitally shared with the mayor’s office with the intention that this database of visions offers decision makers inspiration and insight into the public’s desirable futures.
LA Más – Los Angeles
LA-Más is a non-profit urban design organization, led by co-executive directors Elizabeth Timme and Helen Leung, that helps lower-income and underserved communities shape their own growth. Based in Los Angeles, LA-Más creates projects that are alternative models for development in neighborhoods that have been historically disinvested in and shut out of formal planning initiatives. Timme’s training in architecture and design and Leung’s background in public policy and planning allow LA-Más to engage thoughtfully with the communities they serve.
Thank U, Next an informal meeting space for the City of Columbus
Thank U, Next is a study in contrast and will serve as a destination for people from all parts of the city and from all backgrounds to have shared civic experiences. This project thanks civic leaders and past architects for their highly formal contributions to Washington Street, but also looks to create the next precedent for an alternative. As this area is often viewed as a hub for the middle class and wealthy, the project is an explicit and implicit invitation to working class residents to redefine Washington Street. The project also presents an urban plaza that is flexible, reconfigurable, playful, multiple, and open. Taking the form of a moveable table that adapts to diverse programming, Thank U, Next creates a sense of inclusivity to all residents and provides a place for social and cultural togetherness. The project will also host a calendar of delightful programming hosted by Columbus community organizations that will bring Washington Street to life with a bold spirit of inclusivity. Residents are encouraged to reconfigure the space and define for Columbus the potential of its urban programming.
People for Urban Progress – Indianapolis
People For Urban Progress (PUP) is an Indianapolis non-profit that advances good design and civic sustainability by developing products and projects that promote connectivity, responsible reuse, and making. With founder Michael Bricker as director of public design, PUP’s work is about rethinking the future of cities as it relates to the lifecycle of its materials, matching these resources with existing community needs.
Jungle Subtraction
This installation is an architecture of subtraction. By inserting a series of reflective panels and surfaces on public infrastructure along an entire city block of Washington Street, Jungle Subtraction will visually edit the pedestrian landscape. Trees, sign posts, light posts, bike racks, and trash cans will be covered in mirrored surfaces from chair height to door height, creating a reflective (subtracted) band along the street. Looking at the history of master planning of downtown Columbus, this project contemplates the point at which adding to a streetscape tries to fix something that isn’t broken. In consideration of Washington Street as a place of civic exchange, how can the exercise of subtraction help a Main Street be more Main Street in the future?
PienZa Sostenible – Mexico City
PienZa Sostenible is a non-profit association that promotes the research, study, analysis, implementation, monitoring, and coordination on the current situation in Mexico. Led by architect Carlos Zedillo Velasco, PienZa Sostenible helped form ReConstruir México – an initiative that brings together architects and professionals to make knowledge and techniques available for the reconstruction of affected homes in vulnerable communities affected by the devastating 2017 earthquakes in the country. More than 40 distinguished architecture offices are now building 154 houses in seven of Mexico’s most damaged communities..
Las Abejas
The bee is one of the most important living beings in the world. The reduction of the bee population in the last decades is directly influencing the process of pollination, the breeding of other living beings, and the nutritional and variety of natural products. Mexico is one of the leading exporters and producers of bee and apiculture products worldwide thanks to its natural resources and environment. PienZa Sostenible promotes the protection and care of the bee as one of its priority actions as a declining bee population is a problem that affects us all. This project, Las Abejas, includes deep research into the study of bees and beehives, and the present importance of apiculture. In a model similar to the ReConstruir México initiative, the installation for Exhibit Columbus invites critically-acclaimed / internationally-renowned architects and Mexican designers to devise and build bee houses that encourage understanding of the importance of bees, while also contributing to increasing bee populations. Participants include TAX | Alberto Kalach, Tatiana Bilbao Studio, Rozana Montiel Arquitectos, and CC Arquitectos.
Columbus Police Detectives, with the assistance of the CPD uniform division and the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, arrested five people on several drug related charges during a warrant service Thursday afternoon.
Detectives executed a search warrant at a home in the 2000 block of Central Avenue in regards to an ongoing investigation. While at the residence, detectives reported seeing drug paraphernalia inside the home. Narcotics detectives secured a second search warrant for the home, leading to the following arrests:
Michael S. Gilbert, 50, of Columbus: Resisting Law Enforcement, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Robert L. Dixon, 56, of Columbus: Possession of Heroin, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of a Legend Drug Injection Device, Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Kristy L. Pendleton, 32, of Columbus: Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana, Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
Brittany R. Watts, 24, of Columbus: Two Bartholomew County Warrants, One Bartholomew County Body Attachment Warrant
James K. Purdue, 56, of Columbus: Maintaining a Common Nuisance