Foundation For Youth is inviting you to celebrate its new Comcast Digital Lab with an open house next week.

Brittany Gray, spokeswoman for the FFY, says the open house is Thursday, Nov. 9th from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. She explains that the open house will offer the opportunity for you to see the new lab, which is the result of a $4,900 donation from Comcast. The lab features 10 computers, photography equipment, and various software.

“As a leading technology company, we understand how important high-speed internet access is. We know that exposure to a high-speed network helps prepare students for higher education and the jobs of the future,” said Matt Kelley, Sr. Manager for Comcast. “The Foundation for Youth’s computer lab will give kids, who might not otherwise have internet access, a safe place to learn valuable skills.”

Boys & Girls Club Director, Nathan Larrison added, “The new Comcast Digital Lab will enable the nearly 200 children who participate in Boys & Girls Club daily to explore coding, digital arts, photography, and music making, as well as educational resources.”

This open house will also include refreshments.

For more on this story, go to foundationforyouth.com.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is asking for your help to feed the hungry in our area. Tammy Johnson is the coordinator for the “Pack a Patrol Car” food drive. She says that Sheriff Matt Myers will be at Kroger on Saturday to accept your donation.

Johnson says that donation boxes for canned goods will be at the store Friday through Sunday. There are other ways you can donate.

Johnson says that this food drive includes a “Sheriff for a Day” contest for the person who donates the most.

Donations for this contest must be delivered to the jail during normal business hours, Monday through Friday.

Property tax bills are due in less than two weeks and the Bartholomew County Treasurer’s Office wants you to be aware of your payment options. Pia O’Connor, county treasurer, says that the fall installment of 2017 property tax bills are due Monday, Nov. 13th. She says that the following payment options are available:

• Mail — Send remittance to Bartholomew County Treasurer’s office, PO Box 1986, Columbus, IN 47202. Must be post marked by the due date.
• Banks – must have statement – Centra Credit Union, First Financial Bank, Jackson County Bank, MainSource Bank or Salin Bank.
• 24-hour drop box — Third Street side of Governmental Office Building, 440 Third St. Envelopes provided. Include copy of statement, parcel number or address.
• In person — Treasurer’s office during business hours, 8-5 Monday – Friday. The Treasurer’s office will be closed on November 10th in observance of Veteran’s Day
• Credit card — Instructions on back of statement or bartholomew.in.gov. Credit card companies will assess a fee.

A five-percent penalty will apply for any payments as many as 30 days late, after December 10th, a 10-percent penalty will apply. In addition, O’Connor says that the County Treasurer’s office will be closed on Friday, November 10th in observance of Veteran’s Day.

For more information, visit bartholomew.in.gov or call (812) 379-1530.

The third hearing at the Statehouse to debate making Indiana a “constitutional carry” state was held Monday morning by a study committee. That committee voted to call on legislators to “remove all hurdles” to gun ownership, but did not specifically mention how. State Rep. Jim Lucas, a Seymour Republican who also represents southern Bartholomew County, is championing the move. He says that a number of misconceptions about constitutional carry have been bandied about. Lucas took aim at the media.

We asked if we could expect any legislative action in the upcoming session.

The recommendation passed on a party-line vote, with Democrats voting “no.”

Lucas released the following statement:

“I believe it’s wrong to require a license to exercise a Constitutional right. I plan to introduce Second Amendment legislation known as Constitutional Carry that would eliminate this cumbersome and expensive burden on innocent, law-abiding Hoosiers. The only people who would be affected by this would be those innocent people that currently have to fill out lengthy forms online, take time off work to get fingerprinted and pay a fee of up to $140 to get a card to prove their innocence — all to receive a license. I look forward to this upcoming session where I can bring this piece of legislation to the House of Representatives to consider as I work to give the people of Indiana the ‘right to bear arms for defense of themselves and the state.’”

Eighteen people were arrested last week as part of a joint operation between North Vernon Police, the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, officers from Jennings Superior and Circuit Probation Offices, agents from Indiana State Parole and officers from Jackson / Jennings Community Corrections. Sgt. Andrew Richmond, spokesman for the North Vernon Police Department, says the operation conducted multiple compliance checks for persons on probation, parole and supervised release.

Authorities say these arrests ranged from outstanding warrants, driving while suspended, possession of controlled substances and/or paraphernalia and cultivating marijuana.

A water leak in the 4300 block of State Road 46 West has resulted in a Boil Order for a number of customers of Nashville Utilities. This includes:

3272 State Road 46 West to 4440 State Road 46 West;

3484 Hickory Hill Drive to 3772 Hickory Hill Drive;

4023 Yellowwood Road to 4995 Yellowwood Road;

3465 Somerset Lake Road to 4292 Somerset Lake Road;

3599 Cardinal Drive to 3749 Cardinal Drive;

3505 Mockingbird Lane to 3609 Mockingbird Lane;

2095 Bambi Lane to 3463 Bambi Lane;

86 & 772 Yellowwood Lake Road

1399 Jackson Creek Road

Residents and businesses in these areas should boil all cooking and drinking water through 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Customers with questions should call Nashville Utilities at (812) 988-5526.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that 111 Indiana law-enforcement agencies will be awarded a total of $377,409 to help purchase ballistic or stab-resistant body armor.

“According to the National Institute of Justice, ballistic body armor has saved more than 3,000 police officers’ lives during the past three decades,” said Dave Murtaugh, executive director of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. “The ICJI recognizes local agencies that met the requirements for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership matching grants and applied directly with the DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.”

The Bulletproof Vest Partnership gave funding priority to cities, towns and counties with less than 100,000 residents. The 50-50 matching funds reimburse the purchase of NIJ-compliant vests that are made in the United States and ordered after April 1, 2017. The local agencies must request reimbursement before Aug. 31, 2019.

Area agencies receiving grants are:

City of Columbus – $2,445.83
Town of Edinburgh  – $4,360.50
City of Franklin  – $15,315.84
City of Seymour  – $8,331.77
Town of New Whiteland  – $3,517.20
City of Greenwood  – $3,108.66
Shelby County  – $1,916.73
Scott County  – $1,274.61
Town of Brownstown  – $1,201.94
City of North Vernon  – $788.26
City of Greensburg  – $688.83

Columbus Firefighters responded to a building fire Friday morning in the 1300 Block of Pearl Street shortly after 6:30 a.m. Capt. Mike Wilson, CFD spokesman, says that a resident in the area told investigators that she heard a loud “boom” outside the residence.

Wilson says that firefighters arrived on the scene within four minutes to find flames coming through the roof of the unoccupied structure. Flames damaged an overhead power line that supplied electrical service to home in the 1300 block of Pearl Street. Wilson say the intense heat from the fire melted vinyl siding at 722 13th Street, located across the alley. A wooden privacy fence at 1311 Pearl Street was also damaged. The fire was marked under control at 6:48 a.m. Damage to the building was estimated at $22,000.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The Puccini’s restaurant in the Commons will continue operating under a new name after action taken by the Columbus Redevelopment Commission to reassign the lease to a different company.

Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting that the commission amended Puccini’s lease Thursday to allow it be assigned to Paul Heilbrunn, who operates two Bucceto’s Smiling Teeth restaurants in Bloomington.

The commission also approved six months free rent for the new restaurant and decreased Bucceto’s rental payments from $16 per square foot that Puccini’s is paying to $11 per square foot.

The paper says that the $11 rate is the same as what was offered to Luciana’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, which opened in the largest restaurant space in the Commons in September.

No time-frame was set for the official takeover of the restaurant, pending finalizing the lease terms.

For more on this story, visit therepublic.com.

A Thursday night police chase ended with one man behind bars. Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that at approximately 7:15 p.m., Officer Wesley Dodge responded to the area of 17th Street and Midway Street in regards to a report of a possible intoxicated driver. Dodge spotted the vehicle a short time later, however, the driver, 37-year-old Matthew D. Richardson, of Columbus, allegedly refused to pull over. Police say that Richardson sped across the parking lot at Columbus Regional Hospital at speeds up to 50 miles per hour, crashed into a chain length gate and eventually fled on foot after ditching his vehicle in the backyard of a home in the 2600 block of 22nd Street.

Harris says that three Columbus police department canines and their handlers were training nearby and joined in the search for Richardson. A short time later, Officer Branch Schrader and his canine partner, Argo, located Richardson lying down in a wooded area near Lincoln Park. Harris says that Argo assisted with the apprehension of Richardson after he refused to show his hands and come out to the officers. Suspecting that Richardson was under the influence, officers transported him to CRH for a blood draw and for treatment for a dog bite. While searching Richardson’s vehicle, officers reported finding drug paraphernalia and a scale.

After being discharged from the hospital, Richardson was booked in the Bartholomew County Jail on the following preliminary charges:

Operating as a Habitual Traffic Violator
Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle
Possession of a Legend Drug Injection Device
Possession of a Legend Drug Smoking Device
Possession of a Legend Drug
Leaving the Scene of an Accident
Resisting Law Enforcement on Foot
Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence (Endangerment)
Criminal Recklessness