The Columbus Engineering Department says the westbound lanes of 11th Street between Washington Street and Jackson Street are completely closed until further notice. In addition, Jackson Street is closed between 11th Street and 12th Street.

If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.

A Columbus police officer and a public works employee were recognized today for saving the life of a coworker who was choking.

Columbus police are reporting that the coworker began choking on a piece of food near Pence and State Streets on July 10th. Rudy Zeigler, with the department of public works, flagged down Officer Brian Voyles who was on patrol in the area.

Voyles worked with Zeigler to perform the Heimlich maneuver, which dislodged the food, allowing the victim to breath again. Voyles was recognized with a letter of commendation during today’s Board of Public Works and Safety meeting.

The Bartholomew County Council is taking an aggressive stance on getting the county’s 2020 budget squared away.

County Auditor Pia O’Connor released the budget review schedule during Monday night’s council work session. The first review session is set to begin Monday, Aug. 12 at noon. The body is scheduled to consider budget and requests for additional employees for four days, wrapping up on Thursday, Aug. 15. Friday, Aug 16 is set aside for any business not completed during those four days.

Most departments are requesting across-the-board three-percent pay raises for their employees. Department heads requesting higher raises or additional manpower will need to explain their requests to council during these sessions.

County council’s next meeting is Tuesday, Aug.13 on the fourth floor of the county government building at 440 Third Street.

Electronic smoking devices and vaping will be treated as cigarettes and smoking under a proposal set for first reading Tuesday night, Aug. 6, before the Columbus City Council.

Kylee Jones, tobacco awareness coordinator with Healthy Communities at Columbus Regional Health made a presentation to the council in June, asking for the amendment. She says that use of e-cigarettes is skyrocketing among the youth in our community and the devices are possibly as harmful to public health as actual cigarettes.

Council passed the current smoking ordinance in 2012.

Council referred the proposal to the mayor’s ordinance advisory committee, which was accepted. It will now go before city council for an initial reading.

Council meets at 6 p.m. at city hall. You are invited.

Two people, one a former Bartholomew County Sheriff Merit Deputy, were arrested after a domestic disturbance ended in shots fired.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the 2900 block of South Lake Drive Sunday shortly after 11 p.m. after dispatch received a call of a domestic disturbance with one of the parties involved being shot. When deputies arrived they located 37-year-old Hannah Tamer Bowman, who stated that she had shot her husband during an altercation while he was sitting in her vehicle.

The husband, age 49, did have injuries to his shoulder but refused medical treatment. Police say he is not cooperating with authorities in the investigation.

Police say that alcohol was present at the scene and Bowman admitted to drinking prior to the incident. A portable breath-testing device indicated she had a BAC of .215, more than two-and-a-half times the legal limit

Bowman, who left the department in 2009, was arrested on a preliminary charge of Criminal Recklessness with a Deadly Weapon. She is being held on $10,000 bond.

Police say Bowman’s brother, 35-year-old Jonathan A. Lawburgh, of Scipio, showed up at the home and began fighting with deputies and other first responders.

Lawburgh was arrested preliminary charges of:

– Battery on a Public Safety Official (two counts)
– Obstruction of Justice,
– Disorderly Conduct, and
– Resisting Law Enforcement.

He has since been released on bond.

A wanted Hope man is behind bars after he was spotted by an off-duty Hope Police officer.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department was advised that 26-year-old Joshua Lucas was spotted in a vehicle leaving the area of the Circle K gasoline station. Deputies confirmed that Lucas had an outstanding warrant and pulled his vehicle over.

Police reported finding Lucas in possession of a bag containing suspected methamphetamine, as well as a brown powder that was suspected to be heroin.

In addition to the outstanding warrants, Lucas is being held on preliminary charges of Possession of Heroin and Possession of Methamphetamine.

A 5-year-old girl is recovering after being pulled unconscious from a swimming pool Sunday afternoon.

Bartholomew County deputies report that the girls was swimming with other children at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the 7000 block of West Paddock Lane when they found she was unconscious.

A family member who is also a nurse performed CPR until rescuers arrived. The girl was found to have a faint pulse and was taken to Columbus Regional hospital. She is reported to be in stable condition.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matthew A. Myers says the incident should remind parents, that a fun swimming session can turn tragic in only a few seconds.

“I cannot stress how important it is for adults to keep a very close watch on children who are swimming.” Myers said. “This means being within hand’s reach, not talking on a phone, not checking Facebook, not chatting with friends, etc..”

A local effort to get kids and families onto health insurance plans will be having an open house from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Doug Otto United Way Center on 13th Street.

Covering Kids and Families of United Way offers free help for families applying for health insurance programs. That includes Medicaid, Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), Hoosier Healthwise (HHW), Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), and plans on the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.

A light lunch will be provided. The open house will be in the 2nd floor board room at the center at 1531 13th Street.

For questions or to sign up you can call 812-530-1876.

A three-hour SWAT team standoff involving children trapped in a Columbus home ended with no injuries this morning.

Columbus police are reporting that the incident started at about 5 a.m. when a man with a knife broke into a home in the 1000 block of Iowa Street. The suspect, 35 year old Tyrrice L. Degraffenreid of Columbus, is the father of two of the children in the home but has a temporary protective order against him.

Four children escaped the house but three were trapped inside with the suspect.

Columbus police tried to communicate with the suspect, but after they couldn’t get him to respond, the SWAT Team entered the home and escorted the remaining three children to safety. Degraffenreid was found hiding in a bedroom by a Columbus Police dog.

He is facing charges of residential entry and violation of a protective order.

Southeastern Indiana, led by the Columbus Community Education Coalition’s EcO Network, has been chosen as the state’s second 21st Century Talent Region. The statewide designation is awarded to Indiana communities focused on working collaboratively to attract, develop and connect talent.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation made the announcement Friday. The state agency established the 21st Century Talent Region initiative with the goals of increasing educational attainment, raising household income and growing the population in regions of the state..

The EcO Network of Southeast Indiana represents Batesville, Columbus, Greensburg, North Vernon, Rising Sun and Seymour.