Two North Vernon men was arrested over the weekend on drug charges after one attempted to return a cell phone to local business. Just before 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, Jennings County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a local business after employees located a glass smoking pipe inside of a box for a cell phone that a man was attempting to return to the store.

Deputies spoke with the man, 50-year-old Marvin Cumberworth, who allegedly confessed to being in possession of methamphetamine. He was then arrested and transported to the Jennings County Jail.

Upon arrival to the jail, officers reported finding Cumberworth in possession of a larger amount of methamphetamine. Further investigation led police to Cumberworth’s home in Campbell Township. Deputies reported finding approximately eight grams of meth and 180 grams of marijuana in the home. Deputies also made contact with 40-year-old James Earl, of North Vernon inside the residence. He was arrested for possessing meth.

Cumberworth is facing preliminary charges of:

– Dealing Methamphetamine – Level 3 Felony
– Dealing Marijuana- A Misdemeanor
– Possession of Marijuana – B misdemeanor
– Maintaining a Common Nuisance – Level 6 Felony

Cumberworth is being held in the Jennings County Jail on a $12,055 full cash bond.

Earl is facing preliminary charges of:

– Possession of Methamphetamine – Level 6 Felony
– Possession of Paraphernalia – C misdemeanor
– Visiting a Common Nuisance – A Misdemeanor

Earl is being held on a $3,055 full cash bond.

U.S. Congressman Greg Pence, a Republican representing Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District, announced the formation of the Sixth District Veterans Advisory Board and hosted its first meeting on Monday. The board is comprised of veterans within the district and those who serve as leaders on veterans issues.

Each member of the board serves on a volunteer basis and provides counsel to Rep. Pence on all matters relating to veterans, including legislation pending in the United States House of Representatives.

“I’m proud of the work we’ve done to support our men and women in uniform this year. As a Beirut veteran myself, I understand there is always more to be done in Congress to support our nation’s veterans and the families who sacrifice so much for our freedom,” said Congressman Pence. “I thank each and every member of the Sixth District Veterans Advisory Board for committing to such a worthy cause.”

Members of the Sixth District Veterans Advisory:

– SGM Rick Caldwell of Columbus
– Maj. Gen. Mark Pillar of Columbus
– Jim Worton of Edinburgh
– Col. Roger Peterman of Greenwood
– Faith Weir of Madison
– Rep. Randy Frye (IN Representative District 67)
– Jerry Jordan of Shirley
– Dolores Chalker of Madison
– Robert L. Darringer of Columbus
– Brian Kushman of Columbus
– Troy King of Shelbyville

The holiday season in Columbus kicks off on Saturday with the Festival of LIghts parade and the Christmas Village at The Commons.

The Christmas Village features children’s activities, crafts, games, holiday displays and music. The free event will be from 2:00 to 4:30 pm in the Nugent-Custer Performance Hall and Lobby of The Commons.

The annual Festival of Lights Parade starts at 6 p.m. in downtown Columbus.

The impeachment hearings on Capitol Hill are moving to the Judiciary Committee in the House this week.

Congressman Greg Pence, a Columbus Republican, says he has yet to see anything that indicates the president should be removed from office.

As a member of the House foreign affairs committee Pence said he has heard much of the evidence before it was presented in public testimony.

Pence  says there is a lot of work that could be getting done in the House but isn’t — including approving a new trade deal with Canada and Mexico, dealing with prescription drug prices and passing a military budget.

The Judiciary Committee’s first hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

We talked to the congressman last week for AM Columbus. You can hear the entire interview here, along with all of our other recent AM Columbus interviews.

A suspect was arrested after employees at a Columbus storage business saw him checking doors at the facility early this morning.

Columbus police say that they were called to the business at about 2 a.m. this morning and the suspect ran away. After being warned several times by Officer Branch Schrader, Columbus police dog Argo was put on the man’s trail and he was soon found hiding behind a trailer and taken into custody. A set of bolt cutters and a syringe were found nearby.

After being treated at Columbus Regional Hospital for a dog bite to his leg, 38-year-old Christopher Douglas of Austin was taken to jail on preliminary charges of attempted theft, possession of a syringe, resisting law enforcement and trespassing.

The Yellow Trail Museum will be hosting its annual Christmas Homes Tour on Friday.

The self-guided tour will include four homes, a nativity collection at First Baptist Church, Simmons School — the one-room schoolhouse behind Hope Elementary — and the museum itself, which is decorated for Christmas.

The museum will be offering refreshments and a place to warm up during the tour. Tickets are available in advance at the museum or WILLow LeaVes of Hope, both on the Hope Town Square. Tickets will also be available at the museum the night of the tour starting at 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 each. The tour runs from 6 to 9 Friday night.

For more information, you can call the museum at 812-546-8020.

Two people were injured in a head on crash on State Road 46 Sunday afternoon in Bartholomew County.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that deputies were called to the crash at State Road 46 and County Road 825E at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

According to witness reports, a vehicle driven by 74-year-old Martha L. Muckerheide, of Greensburg, crossed the centerline into the westbound lanes, hitting head-on with a vehicle driven by 21-year-old Corrine E Busemeyer, of Columbus. Busemeyer was briefly trapped inside her vehicle but was freed by firefighters from Columbus Fire Department and Hartsville Volunteer Fire Department.

Busemeyer had minor injuries to her wrists, upper arm and shoulder. Muckerheide was transported to Greensburg Hospital with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries.

State Road 46 was rerouted for about 90 minutes while the crash was cleaned up.