Two Bartholomew County residents and one Jennings County resident were among several people arrested on drug charges in Ripley County. Indiana State Police say the incident took place April 5th when troopers from the ISP-Versailles All Crimes Policing Team arrested nine people following an investigation at a Holton residence.

ISP says the investigation began shortly after noon when troopers went to a home in the 100 block of South Marion Street to conduct a follow-up investigation. Upon entering the home, troopers observed seeing evidence of drug usage in plain view.

Troopers detained nine people inside the home as they worked to get a search warrant. Upon searching the residence, troopers allegedly found methamphetamine, marijuana, hypodermic syringes, drug paraphernalia and a large amount of cash.

The homeowners, Kathy Hardesty and Josie Robbins, face charges of Dealing Methamphetamine and other drug related charges. Charges on the other seven individuals include Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Hypodermic Syringes and visiting a common nuisance.

Others arrested were:

Tanner Cornett, 22, Holton
Gregg Gregory, 44, North Vernon
Kyle Ketcham, 21, Columbus
Melissa Popejoy, 26, Holton
Anastasha Robbins, 31, Holton
Ryan Runge, 22, Holton
Sheldon Vanosdol, 27, North Vernon

The investigation is ongoing.

The North Vernon city pool won’t open this summer. That was the unanimous decision of the North Vernon City Council during its meeting Monday night.

The decision was made as the city continues to examine its options as it relates to the pool. Chad Speer, the city’s director of parks and recreation, explained that the original pool at the city park was fitted with a liner approximately 15 years ago. After the pool was drained last summer, Speer says that an inspection of the liner revealed several cracks and other damage. It will take an estimated $30,000 to repair the liner, which will allow the pool to open for one season. Noting that the pool is already losing money for the city, the parks board voted unanimously last week to recommend not opening pool in 2018.
The city council must now decide on how to proceed. The options include:

Closing the pool permanently;
Replace the entire liner and repair the concrete, extending the life of the pool;
Construct a new pool or water park;
Council members agreed that the issue needs further study.

Improvements on a stretch of U.S. Highway 50 between Jackson County and Jennings County are set to begin next month. Indiana Department of Transportation officials met Monday afternoon with contractor representatives to discuss plans for repairing and repaving 8.3 miles of the road between U.S. 31 at Seymour and the U.S. 50 North Vernon bypass.

INDOT officials say that Dave O’Mara, INDOT’s contractor, will begin patching operations in early May. The contract’s completion date is September 30th. INDOT says this $1.9 million project calls for the milling and replacing pavement after completing full and partial-depth patching. Road and drive approaches will be paved and a sinusoidal wave will function along the center-line to warn drivers of cross-lane hazards.

The U.S. 50 resurfacing project is set to end just west of this summer’s roundabout construction at the U.S. 50/Walnut Street-County Road 400 West interchange, two miles west of North Vernon.

A guest speaker with real-world experience as it relates to drug addiction will be speaking at Wednesday night’s meeting of the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County. David Sheff is an author who wrote books about his family’s experiences as his son, Nic, struggled with drug addiction. Sheff says his family’s story mirrors that of many others.

Sheff says that addiction robs not from only the addict, but the addict’s familiy and friends as well.

As a parent, Sheff says he was focused on the usual things for his children in the hopes that they would have good lives.

Sheff says that it’s easy to be overwhelmed, but there is plenty of room for hope.

Wednesday night’s ASAP’s meeting will be held in the cafeteria at Columbus North High School beginning at 6:30 p.m. It’s free and you’re invited. For more on the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County, visit asapbc.org.

A local woman was arrested early Friday morning after a foot chase on the east side of Columbus. Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that at approximately 2:30 a.m., Officer Skylar Berry saw 39-year-old Penny N. Leonard, of Columbus, exiting a gas station in the 400 block of Gladstone Avenue. Leonard, who was wanted on a Marion County warrant, allegedly ran away with Officer Berry pursuing on foot. Leonard was eventually caught near CSA Fodrea School. Police reported finding three syringes, drug paraphernalia and heroin while searching Leonard’s purse. In addition to the warrant, Leonard is facing preliminary charges of:

Possession of Heroin (within 500 feet of a school) – Level 5 Felony;
Possession of a Legend Drug Injection Device (prior conviction) – Level 5 Felony;
Resisting Law Enforcement – Class A Misdemeanor;
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – Class C Misdemeanor

The Seymour Police Department has released figures from its recent Operation Pullover Blitz. Capt. Carl Lamb says that 10 officers worked 61 hours of overtime during the blitz, which ran from March 2nd through March 25th. The operation targeted dangerous drivers.

Capt. Lamb says that the officers worked 15 patrols and initiated 200 traffic stops. That resulted in 36 citations, 169 warnings and six arrests on 10 criminal charges. Charges included:

Habitual Traffic Violator;
Driving While Suspended;
Possession of Marijuana;
Possession of Paraphernalia;
Possession of Marijuana – 27 grams;
Possession of Methamphetamine;
Dealing Methamphetamine;
Operating while Never Having Received a License

The Dealing in Methamphetamine arrest resulted in 46 grams of methamphetamine being recovered.

Capt. Lamb says that the blitz was funded with federal grant money administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

Flood waters are expected to recede Thursday. Shannan Hinton, director of the Bartholomew County Emergency Management Agency, says it could have been much worse.

Hinton talked about how high water is affecting roads throughout the county.

She adds that high water is affecting the usual areas.

Hinton says that rivers, creeks and streams in and around Bartholomew County are expected to crest Thursday morning. She noted that with the amount of rain we received over such a short time period, the flooding could have been much worse.

The Columbus Fire Department is investigating a Wednesday afternoon garage fire that completely destroyed an SUV, the garage itself, as well as its contents. Captain Mike Wilson, CFD spokesman, says that firefighters were called to the 5300 block of Rocky Ford Road at approximately 2:43 p.m. after a neighbor witnessed fire coming from the detached garage.

Wilson says that during the investigation, authorities learned that a 2004 Jeep Liberty, which had been experiencing mechanical issues, was parked in the garage. The homeowner reportedly told investigators that he recently replaced a leaking fuel line and repaired some electrical connections. Authorities say that the vehicle had been running earlier in the afternoon before being parked in the garage. According to the homeowners, they left the property at approximately 2 p.m. with no indication of any problems in the garage.

Wilson says that the cause of the fire is undetermined. Damages are estimated at $9,000 and no injuries were reported.

Indiana Department of Transportation officials met with the state’s contractor Wednesday morning at Seymour District offices to schedule operations for installing thin bridge deck overlays at four structures in Jennings, Ripley and Dearborn Counties.

RAM Construction tentatively plans to place a 3/8-inch polymeric epoxy overlay in two lifts atop the single-span U.S. Highway 50 bypass bridge over CSX railroad tracks west of North Vernon. Overlay operations will occur north of construction activities for the U.S. 50 roundabout at County Road 450 West. This $335,000 project also includes work on the three-span State Road 3 bridge over Sand Creek, between North Vernon and Westport.

INDOT says that temporary signals will control single-lane traffic flow during overlay operations at each bridge.