A Columbus woman is facing charges after allegedly trying to take a police officer’s weapon during a disturbance early Saturday morning.

The incident happened at about 3:20 that morning when police were called to a report of a woman walking near the roundabout at 11th Street, trying to stop cars.

29-year-old Dystiny D. Green was found in the area and appeared intoxicated. After yelling at officers and refusing to follow orders, she was taken into custody and began fighting police. According to police reports, she grabbed the top of an officer’s gun, and disengaged a safety feature that keeps the weapon in the holster.

She was tackled to the ground and had additional restraints added before being taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to be checked out. She also allegedly spit at an officer.
She is facing preliminary charges of:

• Public Intoxication
• Disorderly Conduct
• Resisting Law Enforcement
• Battery by Bodily Waste on a Public Safety Official
• (Attempted) Disarming a Law Enforcement Officer

The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County will be giving a community update on Monday, August 26th at The Commons. The doors will open at 6 and the program will start at 6:30.

The Alliance is a partnership between the city of Columbus, Bartholomew County and Columbus Regional Health.

Among the update topics will be the soon-to-be opening ASAP Hub, a centralized location where those with addictions can access all of the services they need to get into recovery. That center will be in the Doug Otto United Way building on 13th Street.

The community update will also include a drug take-back opportunity, organized by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. You can turn in unwanted prescriptions and over the counter medications, however liquids or sharps will not be accepted.

And there will be information provided by other drug treatment and substance abuse prevention organizations.  Nathan Walsh the ASAP hub manager  said the Hub will be opening just in time for September which is National Recovery Month.

A Florida woman died and a Columbus woman was seriously injured in a Saturday afternoon crash in Decatur County.

Indiana State Police say that 42-year-old Maria V. Garcia of West Palm Beach, Florida died in the crash at about 2:40 Saturday on State Road 46 near County Road 750W.

61 year old Wanda Lutane of Columbus was driving a minivan westbound on the highway when she crossed the centerline into the path of Garcia’s car, where they hit head-on. All of the occupants of both vehicles were trapped in the wreckage and Garcia’s vehicle rolled over.

She was pronounced dead at the scene by the Decatur County coroner’s office.

Lutane was taken by medical helicopter to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis, State Police report.

A 33-year-old passenger in Garcia’s vehicle, Koceila Chaouadi, was also taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital. Her injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

Indiana American Water, a subsidiary of American Water Company on Friday announced it is investing $17.6 million to add additional water treatment capacity, storage, and pumping and water transmission capabilities to its system in Shelbyville.

“Shelbyville has grown over the last decade since we built the London Road water treatment facility in western Shelby County,” said Indiana American Water President Matt Prine. “The plant was placed in service in 2009 to serve our customers in Johnson County and was built so it could be easily expanded and eventually connected to our Shelbyville system as demand increased there. We have seen significant growth in demand since that time, and these investments will help us to continue to meet Shelbyville’s need for a high-quality source of water.”

The investment in Indiana American Water’s infrastructure serving Shelby County includes:

• Installing nine miles of 20-inch and 16-inch transmission mains to connect the London Road water treatment facility to the Shelbyville system.
• Expanding treatment capacity by 2 million gallons per day and adding two additional pumps at the London Road facility.
• Constructing a new 500,000-gallon storage tank and installing a transmission main near I-74 and State Road 44 on the city’s east side.
• Constructing a new pump station near an existing storage tank along East Michigan Road to create a new pressure zone to enhance system pressures and fire flows in the eastern portion of the system.

The company says these projects will help the company to meet current and future demand. The new treatment plant pumps and the transmission main connecting the Shelbyville system to the London Road treatment facility are expected to be in service early next year. The remaining projects will all be placed in service by mid-2021.

The 16-year-old female who was killed in Friday morning’s fatal crash has been identified as Sarah Starling of New Albany, Indiana. The original news release is listed below.

Five people were killed in a one-vehicle crash early Friday morning in Scott County.

The Scott County Sheriff’s Department responded to the crash on North Main Street near Rose Walk Road, just north of Scottsburg at about 2 a.m. Officers found an SUV in a field on the east side of the roadway. The vehicle had extensive damage and multiple occupants had been ejected.

The sheriff’s department requested the help of Indiana State Police crash investigators who assumed the investigation. Two of the seven occupants were trapped inside the vehicle requiring extrication before being rushed to Scott County Memorial Hospital. Both were later flown to University of Louisville Hospital and are in stable condition.

A preliminary investigation reveals that the SUV, for an unknown reason, left the east side of roadway at a high rate of speed. It overturned several times before coming to rest. None of the seven occupants were wearing a seatbelt, and all five of the ejected occupants were pronounced dead on the scene.

The deceased have been identified as:
– Sarah Starling, 16, New Albany
– Jeremiah James Akers, 18, Deputy
– Christopher Paul Dry, 18, Indianapolis
– Wandella Marie Brown, 22, Austin
– Elizabeth Michelle Wagner, 20, Lexington, Indiana.

It is believed Wandella Brown was the driver at the time of the crash.

State Police say that 20-year-old Adam Wayne Parker, of Austin and 21-year-old Shelby Lynn Griffin, of Dalhart, Texas have been hospitalized.

The investigation is ongoing.

A number of area farming families were among the 96 honored with the Hoosier Homestead Award. Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler presented the award Friday at the Indiana State Fair. The 96 families set a new record in the program’s 40-year history.

To be named a Hoosier Homestead, the farm had to be kept in the family for at least 100 consecutive years, and consist of more than 20 acres or produce more than $1,000 in agricultural products per year.

Since the program was established in 1976, more than 5,600 families have received the award.

“The vast majority of farms in Indiana are family owned and operated,” Crouch said. “They are the foundation we rely on as a society, which is something we must never take for granted. It was an honor to recognize these families at the great Indiana State Fair.”

Families were eligible for three different award distinctions. Based on the age of the farm, they received the Centennial Award for 100 years, Sesquicentennial Award for 150 years or Bicentennial Award for 200 years of ownership.

The 2019 summer Hoosier Homestead Award recipients include:

– Bartholomew Burney 1918 Centennial
– Bartholomew Guinn 1836 Sesquicentennial
– Bartholomew Larry Speaker 1908 Centennial
– Bartholomew Thayer 1854 Centennial & Sesquicentennial
– Decatur Kirchhoff 1919 Centennial
– Jackson Bishop 1914 Centennial
– Jackson Goecker (Pfenning) 1857 Sesquicentennial
– Jackson Rieckers 1852 Sesquicentennial
– Jennings Elsner 1919 Centennial

It’s nearing time for collective bargaining for the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation and it’s educators. BCSC and and representatives from the Columbus Educators Association gathered Thursday evening at the BCSC Administration Building to listen to any public testimony on the subject.

Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts explains that official negotiations have yet to commence.

No public testimony was offered.

Roberts says that both parties have until Nov. 15th to come to an agreement.

Eastern Bartholomew Water Corporation has issued a boil water advisory for residents on Broadmore Street in the Mineral Springs subdivision.

You should bring your water to a full boil for five minutes before drinking it or using it for cooking or food preparation.

The boil water advisory is in effect until 2 p.m. Monday afternoon.

The City of Columbus is reporting that crews will be closing California Street soon for work in the area and that closure will last until November.

Crews began preliminary work on the project last week as part of the next phase of the State Street corridor project. The ultimate goal is to make a walkable streetscape between State Street and Mill Race Park along Fifth Street.

California Street is expected to close on Monday from 4th to 6th Streets for replacement of a water line and that work will last about two weeks. Several utility companies have relocations to complete near California and Third Streets and the closure there is expected to last until November, depending on how the work proceeds and the weather.

There will be a discussion of the history of African Americans in Bartholomew County Monday evening at the Columbus Area Visitors Center.

Lori Thompson, an organizer for Monday’s discussion, explains:

Thompson, an organizer for Monday’s discussion, explains that local genealogists Paulette Roberts and Brenda Pitts  will be explaining the history they uncovered researching local African-American families.

Thompson talks about what led to the first African Americans migrating here.

Those first African Americans came to Bartholomew County in the 1830s, as former slaves seeking freedom.

Eventually the government of the Northwest Territory reversed course, making it harder for freed slaves or freemen to move into Indiana.  That led to a major drop in the local community.

The discussion will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Barbara Stewart room at the visitors center on Fifth Street.

The discussion is tied to the Soul of Philanthropy exhibit going on through the end of the month at The Commons. The exhibit and events are sponsored by the African American Fund of Bartholomew County.

August is Black Philanthropy month.