Most area counties are under travel advisories this morning due to the cold temperatures overnight refreezing slush on the roads and making for some slippery conditions out there.

Bartholomew and Brown counties are under an orange, or watch travel condition. Under a travel watch, only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended, and emergency action plans should be implemented by businesses, schools, government agencies, and other organizations.

Jackson, Jennings and Johnson counties are all under a yellow travel advisory condition. That means you should use caution or avoid those areas if you can.

If you have to drive, Bartholomew County Emergency Management is urging you to use caution, to allow extra time for any trips this morning and to keep the distance between you and other vehicles.

Columbus Republican Congressman Greg Pence met yesterday with Brigadier General Dale Lyles, adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard, about bringing a national Cybersecurity Training Center to Camp Atterbury and the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center.

The congressman said the National Defense Authorization Act enacted into law earlier this year included Pence’s proposal to build on the National Guard’s efforts with a cyber security training center pilot program here. Pence pointed out that the local bases are the Department of Defense’s only live, full-scale cyber range.

Pence said he will be urging the appropriations sub committee to fully fund the pilot program.

Photo courtesy of Pence’s staff.

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are evaluating how to implement changes and mandates from the state on COVID-19 prevention measures.

Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts told the school board earlier this week that the changes announced last week by Governor Eric Holcomb include distributing 10 KN-95 masks to every staff member and starting rapid testing at schools this week including the shipping of 120 test kits to each school. Roberts said the schools are not comfortable with and don’t have procedures in place to do testing in the schools. The district could look at transferring all those tests kits to the county health department to conduct tests of school staff and students through that agency, he said.

Other changes include redefining close contact in classrooms as being less than three feet apart for 15 minutes or more and new requirements for quarantine periods, depending on if a person who tested positive ever developed symptoms and if they can wear a mask at all times.

Roberts said that the district is not yet ready to implement the governor’s announced changes and are still figuring out how they will be brought to the schools.

BCSC officials will be re-evaluating current conditions tomorrow to decide whether to return middle school and high school students to a regular schedule or to continue on with the hybrid learning. Under hybrid learning, students attend part of the week in class and part in e-learning, depending on the letters of their last name. If any changes are made, they would go into effect on Monday.

A fire overnight left a two-apartment Pearl Street home in Columbus with severe damage.

Columbus firefighters were called to the 1300 block of Pearl Street at about 10:46 last night after several people called 911 about the home fire. Firefighters arrived to find flames showing from the ground floor apartment and the second floor unit and heavy smoke coming from under the eaves. More fire trucks were called to the scene.

Firefighters knocked down the outside flames so they could search the apartments for occupants and both were empty. After gaining access to the attic, firefighters were able to get the fire under control.

Firefighters say a neighbor rescued a dog from the fire but a cat was still unaccounted for.

Damages to the home were estimated at $60,000 and the home is uninhabitable. The Salvation Army is providing assistance to the occupants.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. No injuries were reported.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.

Most of our area counties remain under a travel advisory this morning, due to freezing temperatures overnight causing slick road conditions on some of the already wet roadways.

Bartholomew, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson and Shelby counties are all under the yellow advisory level, the state’s lowest level of travel limits, meaning that routine travel or activities are restricted due to a hazardous condition and you should use caution or avoid those areas.

Brown County remains at the higher orange watch level, which means conditions are threatening to public safety. Only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended, and emergency action plans should be implemented by businesses, schools, government agencies, and other organizations.

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis is reporting an area of light snow and freezing rain will be passing through our area this morning. Any accumulation is expected to be very light, however there will be enough to cause slick spots on roads and bridges.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a murder after a man’s body was found wrapped in plastic in an area home.

Sheriff Scott Southerland told the Brown County Democrat newspaper that deputies received a call Monday asking officers to check a home in the 7000 block of Hicks Road. The caller said they heard that someone may have been killed in the home on Saturday.

Deputies went to the home and, in one of the bedrooms, found a man’s body wrapped in plastic.

An investigation led to the arrests of 54-year-old Michael Hazelgrove of Brown County and 36-year-old Alicia Bustle of Stanford, Ky. on Monday. Hazelgrove was arrested at the home and Bustle was arrested a few miles down the road in another residence the newspaper reports.

Bustle and Hazelgrove are facing preliminary charges of murder, obstruction of justice and assisting a criminal according to the newspaper. Bustle is also facing a charge of conversion.

An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon to identify the body and determine the cause of death.

You can read more at The Brown County Democrat newspaper

An Indiana State Police trooper is being recognized for his heroism rescuing a teen from a burning vehicle.

The Versailles post is reporting that Sgt. Jared Black was honored with the Indiana State Police Lifesaving Award Monday for his efforts at the scene of a crash in August in rural Ripley County.

According to state police, Black arrived on the scene to find a 17-year-old trapped in the burning vehicle. Black broke out the sunroof of the vehicle and helped the victim get to safety.

Photo: Capt. Anthony Scott, Maj. Michael Eslinger, Sgt. Jared Black, Lt. Paul Adams. Photo courtesy of Indiana State Police

A 30-mile long police chase that started in Jackson County Monday ended up with a car crashing into the rear of a semi and a Crawfordsville man in jail.

Indiana State Police are reporting that they stopped a vehicle headed southbound on Interstate 65 in northern Jackson County at about 1 yesterday. But after speaking briefly with the trooper, the driver took off. More troopers joined the chase and despite having two tires flattened with a tire-deflation device just south of Seymour, the driver continued on into Scott County, where more tire-deflation devices were used. The vehicle eventually crashed into the rear of a semi-trailer near the Scottsburg exit.

After struggling with police and medics, the driver 30-year-old Mitchell W. Jones was taken to Schneck Medical Center to be checked out before being arrested on charges including battery by bodily waste, battery against a public safety official, resisting law enforcement and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Photo courtesy of Indiana State Police.

Jackson County REMC is making plans to begin providing high speed internet to some Bartholomew County customers, according to county commissioners.

County Commissioner Tony London said that the REMC plan and other announcements will soon be unveiled after confidentiality agreements were lifted last week on bidders who offered to provide high speed internet to rural parts of the state under a federal bidding process.

London has been heading up the county’s efforts to improve internet access in remote parts of the county. He said that Jackson County REMC is definitely going to be building out service in the southeastern part of Bartholomew County. He said that work is expected to start early next year for a small part of the county.

A company called Charter won one of the auctions and they will be providing broadband internet in the southwestern part of the county. And at least two more companies are considering providing service in the northeastern and northwestern corners of the county. But commissioners stressed that the actual plans are not yet concrete and there are as of yet no dates for digging to start.

Following yesterday’s regular county commissioners meeting, the commissioners were meeting to discuss ways to lower any obstacles that companies might face in bringing broadband services to the county, said Commissioners President Larry Kleinhenz. Kleinhenz said the goal is to make the bidders want to come to Bartholomew County first, rather than waiting years to build services here.

Between state and federal funds, about $250 million dollars in new money is being allocated to improve rural broadband in Indiana, London said.

Two people were injured Monday morning after a crash on rural 25th Street east of Columbus.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the 8300 block of 25th Street at about 5:20 yesterday morning to find two vehicles with heavy front-end damage.

The driver of a van, 66-year-old Wayne L. Fields of Hartsville was flown by helicopter to a trauma center in Indianapolis. The driver of a car, 25-year-old Lane M. Luhn of North Vernon was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital by CRH paramedics.

The accident remains under investigation. Indiana State Police, Clay Township and Columbus Township volunteer firefighters also assisted at the scene.