One area organization was among the 12 awarded with more than $1.4 million in grant funding to expand recycling efforts in Indiana.

Rumpke of Indiana, Inc. in Jackson County was awarded $175,000 to expand the company’s recycling facility. The facility expansion project will increase capacity and bolster recycling opportunities for rural communities and businesses in Jackson and surrounding counties.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Recycling Market Development Program says the 12 grant recipients are located across Indiana and plan to expand recycling efforts through a variety of projects.

“We are happy to award grant funding to communities across the state to help expand their recycling programs,” said IDEM Commissioner Bruno Pigott. He adds, “The efforts made by these organizations will help Indiana get closer to our statewide recycling goal of 50 percent.”

Other recipients were:

City of West Lafayette, Tippecanoe County – Awarded $60,000 to purchase curbside food waste collection equipment.

CW Recycling, LLC, Marion County – Awarded $250,000 to fund the purchase of automated recycling equipment that will allow the company to triple its ability to recycle construction and demolition debris.

Dubois County Solid Waste Management District – Awarded $10,772.82 to provide a disposal option for large or refrigerant-based appliances and a space to store large, previously used items for residents to reuse.

Growing Green, Inc., Morgan County – Awarded $249,175 to purchase a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) optical sorting unit for a new materials recovery facility.

Martin County Solid Waste District – Awarded $91,212.50 to purchase a cardboard compactor truck.

Munster High School, Lake County – Awarded $5,185 to expand the school’s recycling collection program.

O’Bryan Barrel Company, Vanderburgh County – Awarded $250,000 to purchase a new plastic wash line and grinding components.

Opportunity Enterprises, Inc., Porter County – Awarded $60,050 to purchase and install a new baler that will enable the nonprofit organization to recycle an additional 1,000 tons of shredded paper each year.

Posey County Solid Waste Management District – Awarded $5,000 to purchase an industrial paper shredder.

Smith Creek, Floyd County – Awarded $250,000 to purchase a mobile diesel wood grinder.

Warren County Solid Waste District – Awarded $22,595.50 to purchase recycling bins, a recycling trailer, and a glass pulverizing machine.

Work on developing the Columbus riverfront between Second and Third Streets is ongoing.

The Columbus Redevelopment Commission voted this week to approve a contract with Hitchcock Design Group to continue work on the proposal at a cost not to exceed $567,000.

Hitchcock’s project team was tasked with developing an aesthetic for the riverfront redevelopment concept that strikes a balance between the modern design of the Robert N. Stewart Second Street Bridge and the historic pumphouse. The design is meant to improve access to and along the river while creating opportunities for engagement. The team is also working on plans to remove the low-head dam to improve river water quality, safety and navigation.

The current project schedule is anticipating permit approval from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in April. Contract bidding on the more than $8 million project is expected between April and June of 2020. The project is slated to close out in January of 2022, with post-construction improvements continuing through Fall of 2023.

Council approved the contract with Hitchcock on a unanimous vote. The Columbus City Council will need to give final approval, as the price tag is over the amount the redevelopment commission can spend without council approval.

Council next meets on Jan. 7.

You can cast your vote for your favorite Christmas light display in Hope. Main Street of Hope has launched its Deck the Town contest.

Photos have been taken of all of the decorated homes in the town limits and the 15 finalists are posted on the Main Street of Hope Facebook page.

To vote you will need to “Like” your favorite photos. Voting will continue through 10 p.m. in the evening on Saturday. The winner will receive a traveling trophy that is a replica of the Leg Lamp from the movie “A Christmas Story.”

Columbus firefighters fought a blaze in a tent Sunday night. They were originally called to a report of heavy fire in a building behind a home in the 200 block of Hughes Street at about 8:15 p.m. Sunday night.

The fire turned out to be in a large camping tent and a small metal storage building. Both were close to a detached garage, causing fire damage to the garage’s siding. Firefighters say there were a large amount of materials stored inside the tent and the storage building.

According to the property owner, a family member was living in the tent. The occupant of the tent told investigators that he was not in the tent at the time the fire occurred. And while a space heater was inside the tent, the occupant could not confirm if the heating device was operating at the time of the fire.

Firefighters were on the scene for about an hour.

A Jennings County burglary suspect was arrested after wrecking his vehicle near the business he is accused of robbing.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department says that early Sunday morning, deputies were responding to an alarm call at ISA Recycling Center in Spencer Township when dispatchers received a report of a crash near the same location. Deputies found a vehicle that had rolled several times, coming to rest in the middle of County Road 900W. And there was a Bobcat skid loader sitting nearby.

Deputies say their investigation revealed that 57-year-old Marvin McCall, of Edinburgh, allegedly broke into the business and loaded his truck with several catalytic converters. He then sped from the scene, lost control and crashed. After wrecking the vehicle, McCall returned to the business where he then allegedly stole the Bobcat. He drove that to the crash scene and unsuccessfully attempted to turn his vehicle back on its wheels. They say McCall then left both the vehicle and the Bobcat in the road and fled the scene for the second time.

Deputies using their police dog Vampir found McCall about a mile-and-a-half away from the crash scene and 200 yards from the recycling center. He is being accused of burglary, theft and possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

The powerful opioid fentanyl was found in a baby’s bedroom and illegal drugs were stashed in a diaper bag during a weekend incident in Jennings County.

Jennings County deputies were originally called to the scene of a domestic dispute on Gintshire Way in Geneva Township at about 2:45 a.m. Saturday morning and found a woman who had serious injuries after being battered. She had fled to a neighbor’s house after the battery but said her three-month old child was still inside the home with the baby’s father and his friends. And she believed they could be using drugs.

Deputies went to the home and said that drug paraphernalia was out in plain view. That led to a search which uncovered the fentanyl in the bedroom, the drugs inside of the child’s diaper bag and illegal drugs throughout the home. Those included a large amount of pills, approximately 300 grams of THC wax and drug paraphernalia.

24-year-old Ashdon Davis was arrested on charges including domestic battery in the presence of a minor, neglect of a dependent child, possession of a narcotic drug, a controlled substance, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia and maintaining a common nuisance.

21-year-old Jordan McCarty of North Vernon was also taken into custody. He is facing charges of dealing in and possessing marijuana.

The Department of Child Services assisted deputies with the child.

A crash on State Road 11 resulted in injuries for a driver and a gas leak between State Road 46 and CR 200 S in Bartholomew County Monday morning.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department investigators say that a van driven by 63-year-old Lester Solomon, of Columbus, was heading north on State Road 11 and was seen by witnesses reportedly weaving in the roadway before he crossed the center-line and struck a pickup driven by 44-year-old Kenneth Blackburn, of Indianapolis, head on. The crash caused Blackburn’s vehicle to strike a utility pole and also caused a gas leak in the area. Authorities say that approximately six homes in the area were evacuated until the gas could be shut off.

Blackburn had a complaint of pain but was not seriously injured. Solomon reportedly had a broken leg, broken shoulder and a head injury.

The crash remains under investigation.

A traffic stop led to the arrest of a Columbus woman Saturday night on drug charges in Columbus.

Police stopped a vehicle missing a taillight near 11th and Sycamore streets at about 11:10 Saturday night. A police dog alerted to the odor of drugs inside the vehicle and a search revealed marijuana and methamphetamine.

Police arrested the driver, 39-year-old Jennifer L. Jeffries of Columbus on preliminary drug possession charges.

Columbus police arrested a woman Friday morning after she passed out behind the wheel of her car.

Officers report that they were called to Gladstone Avenue and State Street at about 8:35 a.m. Friday morning to find the woman locked inside her vehicle and unconscious at the intersection. They used a lockout kit to enter the vehicle and found that she had a faint pulse.

They administered Narcan to the woman and she soon awoke. After being taken to Columbus Regional Hospital 43-year-old Maria G. Garcia of Columbus was arrested on a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Workers at a Columbus department store were left with a mess to clean up after an accidental sprinkler activation flooded part of the store.

Columbus firefighters are reporting that they were called to Kohl’s Saturday afternoon at 2:44 p.m. The sprinkler head activation flooded the floor and brought down part of the ceiling tiles.

Investigators believe the sprinkler head was faulty, causing the damage. Firefighters report the store is expected to be closed until cleaned up and repairs are made.