INDOT says that you will see lane closures over the next few weeks around the intersection of U.S. 31 and Bartholomew County Road 550N near Taylorsville.
Crews will be upgrading the traffic signals at the intersection. That will mean replacing the existing signals with five-section heads on new cables, along with new railroad pavement markings and new traffic signs.
You will see temporary lane closures and intermittent stoppages as needed for overhead work. The project is expected to start on Monday and be finished by the end of September, weather permitting.
The work on the $94,000 contract is being done by The Hoosier Company Inc.
Jessica D. Johnson. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.
Columbus police say they arrested two people on drug possession charges Tuesday after unrelated traffic stops.
The first happened at just after 1 a.m. Tuesday, when police stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation near 11th and Chestnut streets. The driver appeared nervous and a police dog alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle.
A search recovered methamphetamine and a syringe. 34-year-old Jessica D. Johnson is facing drug and injection device possession charges.
At about 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, officers stopped a vehicle near 20th Street and Cottage Avenue. A police dog alerted to the odor of narcotics and a search uncovered methamphetamine and paraphernalia in the trunk.
Benjamin T. Leonard. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.
41-year-old Benjamin T. Leonard was arrested on charges of possessing methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and a legend drug, as well as driving with a suspended license from a previous conviction.
Taylor Road in Columbus will be shutting down to through traffic on Monday for a road improvement project expected to last into early next year.
Design of Fairlawn Drive roundabout. Image courtesy of city of Columbus.
The city engineer’s office says that crews will be starting on the first phase of the project, from 31st Street to Rocky Ford Road. The road will become single 11-foot wide lanes in each direction, with an 8-foot wide concrete side path on the west side and a 5-foot concrete sidewalk on the other side. There will be new curb and gutter, pavement markings and signage.
And there will be two mini roundabouts created — at 31st Street and Taylor Road and at Fairlawn Drive and Taylor.
The second phase, from 25th to 31st streets will begin next year.
The goal is to make the road safer for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.
INDOT says that asphalt patching will begin on the interstate between Edinburgh and Franklin starting Friday.
The work is expected to take six weekends to complete and you will see single lanes closed around the clock starting at 8 p.m. each Friday and lasting until 6 a.m. on Monday mornings. Trucks equipped with flashing lights and additional signage will be used to alert drivers of slowed and/or stopped traffic ahead.
Crews will start working on the northbound lanes on Friday and over the the next three weekends. After that they will switch to the southbound lanes. The work should wrap up in late September but the work is dependent on the weather.
INDOT asks that you slow down, use extra caution and drive without distractions in work zones.
Courtesy of Columbus Area Bicentennial Steering Committee
A Columbus native and University of Louisville design student has been chosen as the winner of the Columbus Area bicentennial logo competition.
Ava Becker was chosen from about two dozen submissions to the contest that started late last year.
Becker, who is a junior at the University of Louisville, said that she drew her inspiration from the community’s iconic art and architectural history. She also sought to honor famous graphic designer Paul Rand.
The bicentennial steering committee is announcing that the theme for next year’s 200th anniversary will be “Common Ground.” The theme is meant to celebrate the past, present and future of the community by building on the things that residents have in common. The committee is looking to endorse and to be involved in a variety of events highlighting the greater Columbus area and its culture, diversity, heritage, people, arts, commerce and agriculture.
Through the end of this month, the committee has set up an online survey and is looking for community suggestions on events that the bicentennial committee can back. You can find a link to the survey at columbus.in.gov/ bicentennial
Central Middle School. Photo courtesy of BCSCMichael K. Jones. Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Jail
A man with two loaded handguns was arrested in Central Middle School’s parking lot Wednesday morning.
According to police, School Resource Officer Greg Ross noticed a suspicious looking man moving through the vehicles in the parking lot at about 11:15 a.m. in the morning. After confronting the man, the officer recognized that he was carrying concealed firearms and took him into custody.
38-year-old Michael K. Jones of Columbus was arrested on a preliminary charge of possessing a firearm on school property.
Columbus Police Chief Mike Richardson praised Ross for his actions, saying that by being proactive, Ross was able to defuse the potential threat to student safety, arresting Jones without incident.
Markquiel Derrick. Photo courtesy of Fort Wayne Police Department
A Fort Wayne murder suspect was arrested near the Indiana Premium Outlet Mall in Edinburgh Friday night.
Fort Wayne police say that their homicide detectives worked with Indiana State Police and the Columbus Police Department’s Intelligence Led Policing unit to locate and arrest 27-year-old Markquiel Derrick after stopping his vehicle in Bartholomew County at about 7 Friday evening.
Derrick is accused of a shooting death of Antonyo Stephens just after midnight early Friday morning. Fort Wayne news reports that the 42-year-old Stephens was shot multiple times at a home. After his arrest, Derrick was transported back to Fort Wayne and booked into the Allen County Jail.
Bartholomew County voters will be choosing members of local school boards when they go to the polls in November. But with a filing deadline of noon on Friday, Aug. 21st there are few names to go on the ballot.
County Clerk Jay Phelps said that there are three seats on the Bartholomew Consolidated School board up for election this fall, and two seats on the Flat Rock-Hawcreek School board.
The only candidate to file so far is Todd Grimes, who is running for the BCSC district 3 seat. The incumbent for District 3 is James Persinger who was first elected four years ago.
Also up for BCSC are the District 5 seat now held by Pat Bryant and the District 7 seat held by Jeff Caldwell.
The Flat Rock and Haw Creek district seats are up for election in the northeastern part of the county. Those are held by Brian Rose and by Steve Wilson.
Phelps said that the deadline to register to vote in the November election is coming up on Oct. 5th. You can check your registration at Indiana Voters dot org or in Bartholomew County, call the voter registration and elections office at 812-379-1604.
Garden City Mobile Home Park. Image courtesy of Columbus Planning Department.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the council members’ vote on the issue. Jerone Wood, Elaine Hilber and Frank Miller voted against the measure.
A tied vote by Columbus City Council last night means an expansion of a Garden City mobile home park will move forward, despite city planning staff recommending the rezoning be turned down.
The proposal would allow property next to the Garden City Mobile Home Community to be added to the park and changed from single-family use to mobile homes.
The planning department staff urged city officials not to approve the development because of the lack of sidewalks, transit, utilities and green space at the site. The planners cited concerns about the noise from trains and the danger of cutting off the community when State Road 11 floods.
However, the plan commission forwarded the request to the City Council with a favorable recommendation. And because of time constraints the council had to either approve or turn down the request at last night’s meeting, or it would move forward with the plan commission’s positive recommendation under state law deadlines.
With Councilman Dave Bush absent, the council tied on a 3-3 vote with council members Jerone Wood, Elaine Hilber and Frank Miller voting against the proposal.
Indiana State Police troopers, Columbus police and Bartholomew County deputies will be joining with about 200 other law enforcement agencies across the state for this year’s Drive Sober of Get Pulled Over impaired driving blitz.
Through Labor Day, agencies will be conducing overtime patrols looking for impaired drivers and showing zero tolerance for anyone found drinking and driving.
Funding for the patrol blitz comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and is administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
According to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, in 2018 there were more than 4,000 alcohol-impaired crashes Indiana, with 83 fatalities. 48 of those collisions and one fatality happened over Labor Day weekend.
In Indiana, it is illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. Drivers under the age of 21 with a BAC of .02 or higher face fines and having their license suspended for up to one year.
Motorists that encounter a suspected drunk driver on the road are encouraged to call 911.
