A local man was arrested on a Bartholomew County warrant and drug charges Sunday afternoon. Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that at approximately 2:55 p.m., Officer Robert Mitchell saw 51-year-old Scott W. Bryant, of Columbus, inside a vehicle in the 700 block of California Street. Mitchell noted that Bryant had a warrant for his arrest and he was taken into custody a short time later. While searching Bryant’s clothing after his arrest, officers allegedly found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Along with the Bartholomew County Warrant, Bryant is facing preliminary charges of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of Methamphetamine.

The Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corporation has issued a boil water advisory for a number of their customers. These areas include:

County Road 550 West – from CR 300S to CR 450S. This includes Deaver Road, Baldwin Addition, all of CR 300W and CR 500W off of CR 450S;
County Road 275 South;
Arian Trail;
Crossing Lane;
Sommerset Meadows;
State Road 58 to CR 525S
County Road 400 West – from CR 250S to CR 550S.

This advisory is in effect through 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 30th.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says that the contractor for a $4.3 million resurfacing project on State Road 46 between Columbus and Nashville plans to begin making pavement repairs on Wednesday, May 30th. Flaggers will be onsite to direct motorists around moving work zones.

INDOT officials anticipate that these asphalt patching operations will continue, weather permitting, for approximately one week.

Milestone, the state’s contractor, will soon mill the pavement before applying a new 1.5-inch lift of asphalt surface on this 15-mile section of State Road 46. Meanwhile, full-depth pavement replacement of a 1200-foot section of State Road 46 46 at Tipton Lakes Boulevard near Columbus has been rescheduled to occur after patching has been completed.

The Indiana Department of Transportation plans to close State Road 3 at a culvert replacement site, approximately 2.6 miles south of the State Road 7 junction at Vernon in Jennings County. INDOT officials say the closure will begin Monday, June 4, and last for 20 days. A signed detour will route motorists around the site via U.S. 50, I-65 and State Road 256.

INDOT says this small structure replacement operation is part of a $2,634,279 seven bridge/culvert improvement project on State Road 3 and State Road in Jennings and Decatur Counties.

A local man who was reportedly intoxicated at a restaurant drive-thru was arrested by Columbus police early Friday morning.

Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that at approximately 2:45 a.m., officers located a possible impaired driver at the drive through at a fast food restaurant in the 1600 block of North National Road. While speaking with 32-year-old Richard K. Battin, of Columbus, officers noted that Battin’s speech was slurred and the strong odor of alcohol was coming from the vehicle.

Battin allegedly failed several field sobriety tests in the parking lot and later provided a breath sample of .179 percent, more than twice the legal limit. Battin was arrested on a preliminary charge of Operating a Motor Vehicle with a BAC of .15 Percent or Greater.

A local man who had a suspended driver’s license for life was arrested Thursday night after he was observed driving through downtown Columbus.

Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that at approximately 11:35 p.m., Sgt. Josh McCrary observed a truck with an expired license plate near 11th Street and Lafayette Avenue. McCrary stopped the truck and spoke with the driver, 34-year-old Robert A. Hutt, of Columbus. McCrary determined that Hutt was a habitual traffic violator and his license was suspended for life. When McCrary returned to the Hutt’s vehicle, he noted that Hutt appeared to be concealing something in his hand. McCrary recovered the item and determined that it was methamphetamine.

Hutt was arrested on preliminary charges of Driving as a Habitual Traffic Violator and Possession of Methamphetamine.

Work on a $2.2 million bridge project in Jackson County has been scheduled. The Indiana Department of Transportation conducted a pre-construction conference this week to discuss operational schedules for a bridge rehabilitation and small structure replacement project that will impact area traffic at four locations in Jackson County that will last through this construction season.

INDOT says that bridges on State Road 135 and S.R. 235 will each receive new bridge deck overlays, expansion joints and approach slabs after necessary repairs have been made.

• S.R. 135 3-span 132-foot-long bridge over Hough Creek at Brownstown, 0.96 miles south of U.S. Highway 50. Single-lane traffic will be controlled by temporary signals while work takes place on one-half of the structure at a time. Operations are scheduled June 18 through mid-October.

• S.R. 235 5-span 524-foot-long bridge over East Fork of White River located east of Medora, 2.43 miles north of S.R. 135. A 60-day closure is scheduled to begin August 8. Motorists may detour via S.R. 135 and U.S. 50.

Small structures on State Road 235 and S.R. 250 will be replaced.

• S.R. 235 small structure at a tributary of White River located north of Medora, 5.8 miles north of S.R. 135. This structure will be replaced by a 16- X 8-foot precast concrete box culvert measuring 70 feet in width. Work is scheduled to begin July 5. Motorists will encounter temporary signals controlling single-lane one-direction-at-a-time access during 45 days of construction activity.

• S.R. 250 small structure at Hough Creek at Brownstown. This structure will be replaced by a 16- X 5-foot reinforced box culvert measuring 26-feet in width.

INDOT says that work is tentatively scheduled to begin August 13. The contractor will begin placing construction signage on June 11 at the State Road 135 bridge site.

Columbus residents looking to cool off this weekend at the Donner Aquatic Center will have to make other plans.

Jim Lemke, Columbus Parks and Recreation Aquatics Director Jim Lemke, says that the leisure pool and slide needed repairs. He explained that cracks had formed in the sealant of the pool and slide. He added that the initial plan was to make the repairs weeks ago, but the weather simply has not cooperated. Along with the heavy rainfall, Lemke said, “we went straight from winter to summer with no spring.” The extremes in recent temperature differences only exacerbated the delay in getting repairs underway.

We spoke with Lemke Thursday afternoon after he spoke with contractors. At this time, he says the goal is to open the aquatic center to the public on Monday, June 4th. Lemke explained that the sealant repairs have been made, but will take five days or so to cure. Once that is done, the hope is to fill the pool with water May 29th or 30th. Lemke says this will give staff just enough time to treat the water for a three-day swim meet scheduled for June 1-3.

The annual Columbus Indiana Philharmonic SALUTE! Concert is Friday evening in downtown Columbus. David Bowden, director of the philharmonic, explains that this is one of the most important concerts the philharmonic puts on.

Bowden says that the flag-folding ceremony will honor the late Sgt. Jonathan Hunter and community leader Harry McCawley.

Bowden talks about what else you can expect Friday night.

This free concert begins at 7 p.m. Friday.

For more on the concert and the philharmonic, visit thecip.org.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued an Air Quality Action Day and is forecasting high ozone levels throughout the state for Thursday.

Bartholomew County is among the counties listed in the advisory, along with Jackson, Johnson, Brown, Monroe, Morgan, Scott and Shelby counties.

IDEM says that those sensitive to changes in air quality may be affected when ozone levels are high. Officials say that children, the elderly and anyone with heart or lung conditions are at risk and should try to remain indoors.