Columbus Republican voters will be choosing candidates in three City Council races in the May 7th primary election – District 1, District 3 and the at-large races.

We asked the candidates for their overall thoughts on their candidacies and Tuesday’s election…

In District 3, incumbent Dave Bush is running against Russell Poling.

In the At-Large race, incumbent Laurie Booher is facing a challenge from John D. Counceller and Josh Burnett.

About the candidates:

Dascal Bunch, 64, is currently in his second term representing District 1 on the Columbus City Council. He also works part-time. Bunch has two adult children, six grandchildren and a seventh on the way. He attended Ball State University. Bunch is involved with St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, specifically the church’s “Angels of Love” program.

Chris Rutan, 41, is a local property manager. He has previously run for city council, district 1, Columbus Township Trustee and the Columbus Township Advisory Board. Rutan is heavily involved with the Salvation Army.

David Bush, 34, currently serves District 3 on the Columbus City Council. He was selected by local Republican Party leaders to complete the term of former Councilman Frank Jerome, who moved out of the district. Bush is also a small business owner. He and his wife Katy are raising three children. Bush is a graduate of Columbus East and Purdue. He is involved with Turning Point and is a member of the operations board for St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.

Russell Poling, 56, is a quality manager at Cummins and a 20-year veteran of the Air Force. He and his wife Judy have two adult children and one grandchild. Poling has a degree in computer science from the the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is a mentor with the Bartholomew County Veterans Treatment Court and serves on the Bartholomew County Plan Commission and as vice president of the Columbus City Plan Commission. Poling previously ran for this council seat in 2015.

Laurie Booher is currently serving on the Columbus City Council At-Large. She is a small business owner that employs youths and adults with special needs. Booher has three adult children and a master’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Indianapolis. Booher served as a member of the Columbus Service League, as well as on the boards of Turning Point and Riley Hospital Foundation.

John D. Counceller,72, is a local business owner. He and his wife have a blended family of seven adult children. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Trine University. Counceller ran unsuccessfully last year to represent Indiana House District 59.

Josh Burnett, 31, is a small business owner. He and his wife Katie are raising there young children. Burnett is a graduate of Columbus East and Cincinnati Christian University. His is a member of Columbus Young Professionals, the local Rotary Club and the board of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation. This is his first run at elected office.

There are no contested primaries on the Democratic side.

Foul play is suspected in a vehicle fire in Jennings County that injured one person. Investigators from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office and State Fire Marshal’s Office responded to the scene near the boat docks in Country Squire Lakes early Friday morning. Authorities say that an unidentified man received burns in the incident.

The victim was taken to an Indianapolis Hospital. His name has not yet been released, pending notification of his family. His condition is unknown.

Jennings County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy David Turner says this was an isolated incident, adding the public was not in danger.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Our Hospice of South Central Indiana has been named a 2019 Hospice Honors recipient for the third time by HEALTHCAREfirst, a leading provider of CAHPS (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) surveys, advanced analytics and billing and coding services. Hospice Honors is a program that recognizes hospices providing the highest quality of care from the families’ point of view.

“We are honored to be a three-time recipient of this award as it means our patients and families are pleased with the care and support we provide,” said Laura Leonard, Our Hospice President. “We are proud to be the local, not-for-profit hospice carrying out our mission to make every moment count. It is rewarding to know our families recognize we are fulfilling our mission.”

Honorees were selected based on caregivers’ evaluations on the Hospice CAHPS survey assessing hospice on a set of 24 quality indicator measures with data from October 2017 through September 2018.

The Indiana Department of Transportation has delayed the closure of State Road 45, near Bean Blossom Creek, between Carmel Ridge Road and W. Lost Branch Road in Brown County due to recent rain. The new start date for this culvert replacement work is Monday, June 3rd. The road will be closed for approximately five days.

The official state detour for the closure is State Road 46.

A Columbus man was arrested after a Thursday traffic stop. At approximately 12:49 a.m., deputies stopped a vehicle driven by 42-year-old Jeremy Stewart. The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that Stewart was found to have an outstanding local warrant for Auto Theft. In addition, he was driving with a suspended license.

Stewart was arrested on a new preliminary charge of Driving while Suspended with a Prior Conviction. He remains behind bars on $65,000 bond.

A Johnson County man was arrested driving a stolen vehicle in Columbus. At approximately 1:49 a.m. Friday, deputies stopped a vehicle driven by Dakota Levi Ebright, 28, of Greenwood. Authorities say that Ebright was found to have a suspended license and was driving a pickup truck reported stolen out of Indianapolis. As Ebright was being taken into custody, deputies reported finding a syringe under the driver’s seat.

Ebright was arrested on preliminary charges of:

Theft – Receiving Stolen Property
Possession Legend Drug Injection Device
Driving While Suspended – Prior

Ebright remains in the Bartholomew County Jail on $70,000 bond.

Some Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corp. customers will be without water for part of the day on Monday, May 6th. Officials say customers on State Road 46 in Brown County west of the North Salem Church to Camp Moneto Road and a few customers on Old Nashville Road, Hoover Road and Lucas Hollow Road will be without service from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday.

Once water service is restored, a Boil Water Advisory will then be in effect through noon on May 9th for these same customers. As a precaution, customers should bring water to a full boil for five minutes before consumption or use in cooking and food preparation.

Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess says that his department is conducting an investigation into potential financial wrong doing at Center Grove School Corp.

The sheriff is releasing only a few details, but he did say that the investigation is criminal in nature and it doesn’t involve any students or children. he said it is a financial crimes investigation, and that it is being worked on diligently by investigators.

He said he will not be releasing any names or other information into the case until it comes to completion.

An Elizabethtown woman is under arrest, accused of drug dealing after being arrested within 500 feet of a school.

32-year-old Jessica A. Comstock is facing charges of dealing and possessing methamphetamine, dealing and possessing heroin, possession of a legend drug injection device and driving while suspended.

Columbus police say that they stopped her vehicle at about 3:15 Thursday afternoon in the 600 block of California Street after noticing it had a false registration.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department police dog Diesel alerted to the smell of drugs in the vehicle and a search found syringes and other drug paraphernalia. Comstock was arrested and during a search, officers found the drugs.

The police department says the preliminary charges were enhanced because she was within 500 feet of the school at the time of the traffic stop.

One of the biggest issues facing the city of Columbus is the ongoing opioid epidemic.

In the past few years, the city has taken several steps to fight the drug issue including partnering with Bartholomew County and Columbus Regional Health to form the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, and dedicating funds from local income taxes to pay for programs and other costs fighting the epidemic.

We asked the candidates in the contested Republican primaries in next week’s election for their thoughts on what more the city could do to address the opioid crisis.

Columbus Republican voters will be choosing candidates in three City Council races in the May 7th primary election – District 1, District 3 and the at-large races.

In District 1, incumbent Dascal Bunch is facing challenger Chris Rutan.

Bunch said:

Rutan said:

In District 3, incumbent Dave Bush is running against Russell Poling.

Bush said:

Poling said:

In the At-Large race, incumbent Laurie Booher is facing a challenge from John D. Counceller and Josh Burnett.

Booher said:

Counceller said:

Burnett said:

About the candidates:

Dascal Bunch, 64, is currently in his second term representing District 1 on the Columbus City Council. He also works part-time. Bunch has two adult childre, six grandchildren and a seventh on the way. He attended Ball State University. Bunch is involved with St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, specifically the church’s “Angels of Love” program.

Chris Rutan, 41, is a local property manager. He has previously run for city council, district 1, Columbus Townsip Trustee and the Columbus Township Advisory Board. Rutan is heavily involved with the Salvation Army.

David Bush, 34, currently serves District 3 on the Columbus City Council. He was selected by local Republican Party leaders to complete the term of former Councilman Frank Jerome, who moved out of the district. Bush is also a small business owner. He and his wife Katy are raising three children. Bush is a graduate of Columbus East and Purdue. He is involved with Turning Point and is a member of the operations board for St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.

Russell Poling, 56, is a quality manager at Cummins and a 20-year veteran of the Air Force. He and his wife Judy have two adult children and one grandchild. Poling has a degree in computer science from the the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is a mentor with the Bartholomew County Veterans Treatment Court and serves on the Bartholomew County Plan Commission and as vice president of the Columbus City Plan Commission. Poling previously ran for this council seat in 2015.

Laurie Booher is currently serving on the Columbus City Council At-Large. She is a small business owner that employs youths and adults with special needs. Booher has three adult children and a master’s degree in physical therapy from the Universtity of Indianapolis. Booher served as a member of the Columbus Service League, as well as on the boards of Turning Point and Riley Hospital Foundation.

John D. Counceller,72, is a local business owner. He and his wife have a blended family of seven adult children. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Trine University. Counceller ran unsucessfully last year to represent Indiana House District 59.

Josh Burnett, 31, is a small busines owner. He and his wife Katie are raising there young children. Burnett is a graduate of Columbus East and Cincinnatti Christian University. His is a member of Columbus Young Professionals, the local Rotary Club and the board of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation. This is his first run at elected office.

There are no contested primaries on the Democratic side.