Monthly Archives: June 2019

Section of SR 135 closed in Jackson County

State Road 135 is closed between County Road 850 N. and County Road 890 N. in Jackson County for bridge approach repair at Kiper Creek, north of Freetown. Officials with the Indiana Department of Transportation say the road will be closed for approximately three days, weather permitting.

Drivers are encouraged to use U.S. 50 to I-65 to State Road 46 as an alternate route.

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.

Treatment Center open house set for June 27th

Columbus Regional Health is inviting you to an open house of the new Treatment and Support Center. The center is scheduled to begin serving patients on July 1st.

The Treatment and Support Center is an outpatient treatment program for those suffering from substance use disorder. CRH officials say the program consists of comprehensive psychosocial services, including individual and group counseling, behavioral health therapies, medication-assisted treatment when appropriate and family support services. They add that the center will accept patient self-referrals, as well as provider referrals.

The open house is set for June 27th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the center, located at 2630 22nd Street. Attendees will get to tour the facility, meet the staff and learn more about the programs and services be offered. Light refreshments will be available.

CRH says that parking will be available in the employee lot at the west end of 22nd Street.

Nashville under a Boil Order

Due to water valve break, the Town Of Nashville/Nashville Utilities has issued a Boil Order for the following area:

– 726-1170 Clay Lick
– 597 Coffey Hill Road
– 801-989 Eads Lane
– 637-935 Highland Drive
– 1098-1104 Hill Top Trail
– 768-845 Mail Pouch Lane
– 465-765 McGee Road
– 418- 1408 Old State Road 46
– 1055-1080 Treetop Lane
– 204-1185 Tuck-A-Way Ridge

Residents and businesses affected in these areas are asked to boil their drinking and cooking water until 4 p.m. on Friday, June 21st.

Nashville Utilities has contacted all customers affected by this boil order, but any customer who may feel that their service has been affected is asked to contact them at (812) 988-5526.

Report of possible overdose leads to arrest of North Vernon man

A North Vernon man is behind bars on drug charges.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department says that shortly after 7:30 p.m. Monday, deputies responded to a possible overdose near the old school in Vernon. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with 24-year-old Nicholas Barlow who was standing near a vehicle. While speaking with Barlow, deputies reported seeing a bag containing 2.5 grams of crystal substance in the passenger seat.

Barlow was checked by Jennings County EMS at the scene and refused treatment. He was arrested on a preliminary charge of Possession of Methamphetamine and is being held on $3,155 cash bond.

Hope museum finds home for rural mail artifacts

The Yellow Trail Museum in Hope has found a home for artifacts from the town’s early days with the longest continually operated rural mail carrier routes in the country.

Barb Johnson, with the museum, tells HSJ Online, the Hope news website, that the museum now owns a nearby building on the west side of the square. The former mail carrier’s museum was on the town square and was torn down about five years ago.

Hope was one of two towns that were chosen for a prototype rural mail delivery system in 1896 and the routes have been run ever since.

Tuesday morning road closings and high water in Bartholomew County

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is reporting several county roads are closed this morning due to the high water. That includes:

  • 400W between 850S and 930S
  • 625S between 100W and 200W
  • Ferguson Road
  • 800S between State Road 11 and South U.S. 31
  • 300E between U.S. 31 and 100S
  • 750E between 300S and 400S
  • 400N between U.S. 31 and River Rd, including Tinkey Bridge
  • Tellman Camp Road between Indianapolis Road and 200W
  • East 400S between 425E and 525E
  • South Jonesville Road at E 550 S

There is also high water on roads including:

  • East Base Road near Jewell Village
  • East Legal Tender Road
  • Road 200S by  Rockcreek Elementary School
  • Southern Crossing between Jonesville Road and Road 150E

Authorities warn that if you come across water moving over the roadway, you should never try to drive through. You can not tell the depth of the water, nor can you tell whether the road has been washed out under the waters.

Turn around, don’t drown.

 

CPD Chief Rohde to transition out of position

Columbus Chief of Police Jon Rohde is transitioning out of his role with the department. Rohde recently announced that he will be running for Judge of Bartholomew County Superior Court 2 next year. A press release from CPD explains that he has requested to transition out of the role of police chief in order to focus on his campaign.

Mayor Jim Lienhoop will be working with Rohde on developing a transition plan, which will be announced in the near future. Rohde stated, “I’ve been humbled to serve as chief of police for the Columbus Police Department for over five years. From working closely with Mayor Lienhoop, I can attest that he is a true public servant who cares about the citizens of Columbus as well as the future of our community. I’ve been honored to work alongside Mayor Lienhoop and will do whatever I can to assist in this transition.”

At age 35, Rohde became the youngest police chief in the history of the department. During Rohde’s leadership, the department attained international and state accreditations and reaccreditations, implemented a body-worn camera program and an overdose intervention program. Rohde also cited increased transparency by communicating with the public on social media.

Mayor Lienhoop stated, “Jon Rohde is a high caliber police chief and the City of Columbus has been fortunate to have him serve in that capacity for over five years. His forward thinking, and desire to improve the force has led to critical improvements in the department. Rohde’s legal background has helped set the tone for making policy changes which have improved how our police force conducts themselves as they do their job and, his commitment to the police workforce led him to push forward, and support the salary compensation study and implementation that was accomplished in 2018. Public safety is the number one commitment a city makes to its citizens and I have been pleased to work with Chief Rohde for the past three-and-a-half years and am proud of his accomplishments during the many years he has worked for the city.”

Rohde will continue to serve as chief of police through the end of this year.

North Vernon Police make arrest in auto theft case

A North Vernon man was arrested for auto theft on Friday afternoon.

The North Vernon Police Department says that 34-year-old Joseph R. Chastain, was arrested after being identified as a suspect after the victim’s vehicle was stolen from the Walmart parking lot. Approximately 20 minutes after taking the report, Sgt. Andrew Richmond located the stolen vehicle in the 2000 block of Hickory Circle.

Authorities say Chastain had been identified as the suspect from Walmart security video. He remains behind bars on $2,055 bond.

Brown County family rescued from flooded home

Severe weather kept Brown County first-responders busy Sunday night.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says that at approximately 6:30 p.m., Brown County 911 received a call from a home off of Upper Schooner Road. The caller advised that flash flooding had caused water to enter the home. Conservation Officers and firefighters from the Nashville Fire Department rescued the family of four, including one juvenile, from the home.

Floodwater covering sections of State Road 46 West also caused Indiana Conservation Officers and deputies from the Brown County Sheriff’s Department to close the road for a short time to prevent any further water emergencies.

Brown County residents continue to clean up in the aftermath of this past weekend’s storms.

Train collides with dump truck in Jennings County

A Medora man was sent to the hospital after the dump truck he was driving was hit by a train.

Chief Deputy David Turner with the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department says that just before 8:30 a.m. Friday, deputies received a report of the collision at the railroad crossing on County Road 750 W, just north of US 50 W. Upon deputies’ arrival, they reported seeing a stopped CSX train and a Mack truck with a large dumpster on the back off of the roadway. Authorities say the truck appeared to be traveling northbound on 750 W when it entered into the path of the oncoming train.

As a result of the crash, investigators say the dump truck rotated clockwise and came to a rest on the south side of the tracks in a ditch. The train was able to stop about half mile down the tracks near County Road 700 W. CSX officials told the Sheriff’s Department that there were at least 50 cars on the train. The engineer of the train told investigators that there was no way that he would have been able to avoid the crash because the truck entered the crossing as the train was going through it.

The driver of the truck, 65-year-old James Fleetwood, was transported to Schneck Medical Center ambulance. His condition has not been released. No one on the train was hurt.