Work on a $5.2 million asphalt resurface project on U.S. 31 in Bartholomew County is set to begin next week. The Indiana Department of Transportation says that Milestone Contractors crews are expected to begin work on Monday, Sept. 16, weather permitting.

Work will take place from Washington Street in Columbus to just south of I-65 in Taylorsville. Patching is scheduled to begin on Monday, September 23, and will be followed by milling and paving next year. Crews will work north from Washington Street to I-65, then work back south in each lane of the highway.

A turn lane will be added on southbound U.S. 31 at County Road 400 N. during this project.

Drivers should plan ahead and expect delays due to daytime lane closures.

Patching is expected to be complete by Halloween. INDOT says work will resume on U.S. 31 next spring.

A tip led to the arrest of two Jennings County residents on drug charges.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department says that on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019 at approximately 7:30 p.m., deputies received information that 43-year-old Charles Plumm, of Elizabethtown, was at his home on County Road 800 North. Plumm had an active warrant. While Deputies were getting into position to serve the warrant, dispatchers notified deputies that Plumm had left his house and was traveling East on County Road 800 North.

Deputies located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop in the area of County Road 950 North and State Road 7. Plumm was taken into custody. During the investigation, authorities say that illegal drugs and paraphernalia were found in the vehicle, leading to the arrest of a passenger, 30-year-old Kelly Williams, of Elizabtethtown.

Plumm and Williams are facing preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Paraphernalia, Possession of Legend Drug and Maintaining a Common Nuisance. Plumm remains behind bars on his parole warrant.

Two North Vernon residents were arrested Wednesday night on drug charges. The North Vernon Police Department says that at 6:11 p.m., officers responded to a reported overdose in the 600 block of Pierce Street.

Police arrested 22-year-old William Barlow for Dealing Methamphetamine, Dealing in a Narcotic Drug and Maintaining a Common Nuisance. Twenty-four year-old Dugan Carter is facing preliminary charges of Maintaining a Common Nuisance and Resisting Law Enforcement.

The Columbus Scottish Festival will be bringing a bit of the highlands to the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds this weekend.

The festival grounds open at 8 a.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.  on Sunday. Saturday’s competitions include the Highland Games, Highland Dancing, bagpipes and sheepdogs. Saturday night entertainment runs from 5 to 7 and includes Bold Roberts, Scottish Country Dancing, Highland Reign and the Southern Indiana Pipes and Drums.

Tickets are $15 for adults each day, or $25 for both days, $5 for children 5-12 each day and a family pack for a single day is $35.

You can get more information at scottishfestival.org

Columbus police arrested a man on drug-related charges after he tried to run from a traffic stop early Wednesday morning.

Officers say they began chasing a speeding vehicle near 17th and Chestnut streets at about 1:20 a.m. that morning. The driver suddenly stopped the vehicle and ran away.

A police dog was brought to the scene and found 32-year-old Kurtis W. Gregory hiding behind a home in the 1600 block of Chestnut Street. Also found nearby was heroin, methamphetamine and a syringe.

Gregory is facing a charge of resisting arrest, along with possession charges for the drugs and syringe.

Columbus police found a wanted man sleeping in a stolen vehicle Wednesday morning.

Police were called about a suspicious person and found 36-year-old Anthony D. Mattox of Columbus sleeping in a car in the 1000 block of Robert Drive at about 9:10 yesterday. He was wanted on a warrant out of Shelby County and the vehicle had been reported stolen in Bartholomew County. A search of the vehicle recovered methamphetamine, marijuana and a syringe.

In addition to the warrant, he is facing new charges of possession of stolen property, drugs and a syringe.

The Bartholomew County Landlord’s Association will be holding a candidate forum for Columbus City Council candidates on Saturday morning.

Each candidate has received two questions in advance and will have two minutes to respond. Questions from the audience will also be taken, as time allows. Landlords will be given priority for those questions.

The forum will be held in the basement conference room at the Columbus Municipal Airport. Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. and the forum will last from 9 to 10:30 a.m. You are invited to attend and free coffee and donuts will be available.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says that State Road 58 will close on or after Monday, Sept. 16, for approximately 30 days over South Fork White Creek, south of Waymansville, for scour protection work. The bridge is located approximately 9.5 miles west of I-65, between County Road 1100 S. and County Road 950 S. in Bartholomew County.

The official detour for the closure is State Road 135 to U.S. 50 to State Road 11 to I-65.

INDOT says this $360,000 project and is part of a larger bridge contract involving multiple bridges on I-65, U.S. 31 and State Road 58.

Scour protection treatments help maintain the structural integrity of bridges and eliminates risks associated with erosion at or near bridge structures.

The work is dependent on the weather.

The Alzheimer’s Association invites you to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s by participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Sunday, Sept. 29 at Mill Race Center in Columbus. Organizers say that funds raised will support critically needed research, as well as local education and support programs. Onsite registration for the event begins at 12:30 p.m.

On Walk day, participants will learn about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, volunteer opportunities, public policy initiatives and local programs and services provided by the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Indiana Chapter.

Participants will also honor those affected by Alzheimer’s disease with Promise Flowers during the Promise Garden Ceremony. The ceremony is meant to be a display of hope to represent the personal reasons participants join the fight against Alzheimer’s.

“It is one thing to hear the sobering statistics on this disease, but the Promise Garden Ceremony is a powerful way to witness the impact in our local community firsthand,” said Kyle Davern, Manager, Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Columbus. “Many participants will even write a tribute to a loved one on the petals. It’s a meaningful way for friends and family to come together in the fight against Alzheimer’s.”

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and the only one in the top 10 that cannot be prevented, slowed or cured. The Alzheimer’s Association says that more than five million Americans are living with the disease, including 110,000 in Indiana. Approximately 1,300 are living with the disease in Bartholomew County alone. Another 4,000 are serving as unpaid caregivers.

Organizers say that last year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Columbus raised nearly $87,000. This year, the Greater Indiana Chapter aims to raise $98,000.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Columbus is supported by Nationwide Presenting Sponsor Edward Jones and Chapter-wide sponsor Trilogy Health Services, with additional support from Columbus Transitional Care and Rehabilitation and Four Seasons.

You are encouraged to pre-register online for free at alz.org/indiana/walk.

Four vehicles, including a school bus, were involved in a Tuesday afternoon crash in southern Bartholomew County that resulted in three injuries.

Indiana State Police say that at about 2:40 p.m., a car driven by 27-year-old Shanaya N. Brown, of Columbus, was traveling southbound in the 11000 Block of South State Road 11. Brown’s vehicle was being followed by an SUV driven by 71-year-old Jack A. Cooper, of Seymour. ISP says that Brown slowed down for traffic ahead of her. That’s when Cooper’s vehicle swerved into the northbound lane of State Road 11 to avoid Brown’s vehicle.

Investigators say that Cooper’s vehicle collided nearly head on with a northbound Jeep driven by 56-year-old Maria G. Hernandez-Zarate, of Seymour. Cooper’s vehicle also collided with Brown’s car after making contact with Hernandez-Zarate’s vehicle.

Hernandez-Zarate’s vehicle then struck a school bus being driven by 68-year-old Daniel R. Ginger, of Seymour. ISP explains that the bus that was traveling southbound on State Road 11 behind Cooper’s vehicle. The Seymour Community School Corporation bus had approximately 33 students on the bus at the time of the crash.

Jack Cooper and Maria Hernandez-Zarate were both transported to Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. A 17-year-old female student who was on the bus was also transported to CRH for non-life threatening injuries.

State Road 11 was closed for nearly two hours for crash investigation and cleanup.

The investigation is ongoing.