The Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center will be asking for approval to transfer funds in order to purchase new camera equipment. At Monday night’s county council work session, an official with the center explained that the equipment would go towards making the center, located on Cherry Street in Columbus, more secure, while providing a safer environment for those who work there.

Center officials say that the request came about after a number of incidents this year that caused dispatchers concern. These include two occasions where contractors tried to cut locks from gates near the tower, threats to dispatchers over the phone, strange vehicles in the parking lot and people trying to get in to the locked building. Personnel say that not only are incidents such as these unnerving, but some also require dispatchers to leave their consoles to investigate.

The EOC is asking for the transfer of $13,900 to purchase the equipment. This will allow the purchase of four outdoor cameras to better monitor the property.

The request is expected to come before the county council at its meeting next week.

Work on the city of Columbus’ crack sealing project is scheduled to begin Tuesday. The city’s engineer’s office says that Hasco, Inc. will be doing the work, which is expected to take three-weeks.

City officials say that streets will be posted “No Parking” 24-hours prior to the scheduled work. In the event of rain, the “No Parking” signs will remain posted and work will resume when the pavement is dry. Regardless of the weather, you should pay attention to any traffic maintenance as you travel on these streets.

For a list of streets being crack sealed, click this link: http://bit.ly/2qZvbgA.

Last month’s flooding has led to Gov. Holcomb requesting help from the federal government for Washington County. If approved, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program will be made available for residents, businesses and non-profit groups for that county. In addition, the contiguous counties of Jackson, Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Lawrence, Orange and Scott would also qualify for the loans.

“This flooding devastated residents of Washington County,” Gov. Holcomb said. “It left homes and businesses severely affected, and our goal is to offer assistance. The state is applying for low-interest disaster loans to provide that measure of help.”

An Edinburgh man was arrested Sunday after police say he ran from them. Judy Jackson, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, says that at 3:48 pm, Deputy Lt. Gary Myers was dispatched to County Road 250 West, north of County Road 500 North, on a report of an ATV on its side with a man subject lying next to it.

Jackson says that as Lt. Myers drove into the field approaching the victim, the man began pushing the ATV away from the scene, where he was able to start the vehicle and flee south through the field. After several attempts to stop the vehicle, the male allegedly left the ATV and ran on foot before stopping outside the rear of a home in the 4100 West 500 North.

The owner of the home reportedly told authorities that the ATV belonged to him.

The driver, 33-year-old Gregory Allen Simpson, was arrested on an outstanding Bartholomew County warrant and a preliminary charge of Resisting Law Enforcement. He is being held on $11,000 bond.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued an Air Quality Action Day and is forecasting high ozone levels for Saturday for counties in our listening area.

You are urged to take steps to reduce ozone. These include:

• Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation
• Avoid using the drive-through and combine errands into one trip
• Avoid refueling your vehicle or using gasoline-powered lawn equipment until after 7 p.m.
• Turn off your engine when idling for more than 30 seconds
• Conserve energy by turning off lights or setting the air conditioner to 75 degrees or above

Anyone sensitive to changes in air quality may be affected when ozone levels are high. Children, the elderly and anyone with heart or lung conditions should reduce or avoid exertion and heavy work outdoors.

More than 750 students were named to the Dean’s List for the Spring 2017 semester at Ivy Tech Community College Columbus/Southeast campuses. The college names to the Dean’s List any degree-seeking student who has accumulated 12 or more earned credit hours, is enrolled in a minimum of six credit hours during the term, as well as earns a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

Area students named to the Dean’s List include:

Columbus: Renee Abraham, Caroline Ammon, Kathleen Ammon, Gregory Andress, Careena Arnholt, Matteo Auteri, Bridget Bartlett, Gavin Biddinger, Pallavi Borlepwar, Joshua Borowski, Wayne Braswell, Natalie Brewer, Jamie Brown, Haley Bryant, Sara Burriss, Grant Burton, Cassandra Caldwell, Virginia Camarena, Leighton Cameron, Lacy Chandler, Mollie Clark, Kathryn Clouse, Cheyenne Cody, Judy Compton, Heather Conrad, Martina Contreras, Michael Couch, Alex Cowan, Joanna Crane, Amanda Davis, Julia Decker, Noah Dement, Cynthia Dickmander, Laura Dodd, Melissa Dominguez, Breanna Eubank, Daniel Fogle, Sam Frazer, Katherine French, Aaron Gagneur, Lauren Gandy, Natasha Gates, Hannah Gregory, Dorthea Hankins, Kylie Hanmer, Alicia Harvey, Betsy Hoeflinger, Alicia Hughes, Amanda Hunter, Daniel Jacoboski, Jyoti Jamnis, Cailey Jones, Emily Joyce, Isaac Kearney, Lisa Kilbury, Emily Kirk, Tera Knapp, Nicholas Kohlman, Paul Krieg, Tucker Lang, Kyle Littell, Sarah Lucas, Amanda Luse, Denise Lynch, Rachel McCue, Katlyn McHenry, Morgan McKinney, Roma Mehta, David Meier, Paige Michael-Stroud, Taylor Mikulyuk, Rachel Miller, Kelsie Mires, Ann Dale Mitchell, Kevin Moats, Martha Montiel, Christopher Mullis, Andrew Murphy, Valerie Murray, Hayden Myers, Hunter Napier, Sierra Norfrey, Katharine Penix, Kavitha Penmathsa, Tyler Perkins, Taylor Pierpont, Alivia Plumlee, Stephanie Pushor, Casandra Qureshi, William Ragan, Sonia Ramos, Bridjet Richards, Parker Roberts, Mikayla Ross, Jessica Rotert, Jessica Scott, Tantania Skinner, Christopher Smith, Cole Smith, Timothy Snoddy, Eric Stevenson, Micheal Stillabower, Kendra Taylor, Andrew Teo, Daniel Thomas, Sharon Thompson, Jennifer Tindell, Samantha Tumbarello, Lucas Turner, Cristina Tuttle, Freddy Valencia-Cruz, Elizabeth Vance, Daniel Vazquez, Olga Ventura-Canales, Jessica Vincent, Courtney Vonsh, Mercedes Waller, Jacob Walls, Joshua Walls, Heidi Warren, Shelby Weaver, Katey Weed, Jason Weller, Karen Wilcox, Macy Wingham, Jordan Winters, Dellamarie Woon, Tania Zamora, Connor Farnsley.

Edinburgh: Rebecca Sizemore, Nikya Dorton, Hannah Etherington, Craig Huff, Alyssa Lawson, James Riley, Jamie Todd, Maribel Enrique, Mikayla Waltz.

Elizabethtown: Nathan Pevlor, Amanda Melton, Martin Smith, Patricia Trobaugh.

Flat Rock: Joanna Meister.

Freetown: Brittany Allman, Shaney Smith, Rebecca Wedan, Stevi Begley, Melissa Gray, Russell Roark.

Brownstown: Cody Barron, Alyisa Epperson, Austin Grider, Clinton Mann, Marlana Rice, Amanda Rust, Seth Spall.

Greensburg: Peggy Brown, Andrew Cronin, Kacy Cunnington, Jane Dance, Robert Davis, William Deitsch, Lori Durbin, Matthew Durham, Steven Dwenger, Breanna Evans, Katie Friend, Stephen Gommel, Rebecca Javarauckas, Cory Koors, Alexandra Kreppein, Abigail Ledwinka, Adam Litmer, Lauren Luckey, Dillon Mirick, Karen Mirick, Kimberly Nobbe, Timothy Nystrom, Aaron Ogle, Joshua Plunkett, Heather Powers, Dominic Reen, Stephen Reen II, Rachel Riedeman, Lydia Robinson, David Rolf, Janice Schneider, Jason Seals, Kyle Siebert, Brandon Smith, Rhiannon Snyder, Paige Sullivan, Molly Trenkamp, Rochelle Vaughn, Kaylan Wallace, David Webb.

Hayden: Savanna Richman.

Hope: Britney Allman, Emily Campbell, Stacy Case, Rob Critney, Kimberly Eaglen, Gavin Frady, Zachary Garrison, Christina Lefler, Lauren Tufts Binder, Brandy Walters, David Wiwi.

Jonesville: Alexandria Lolla.

Medora: Jessica Pfeiffer Jackson.

Nashville: Nikolas Lawson, Michael David, Hannah Fisher, Chris Fox, Ann Gibson, Ethan King, Deanna Manzenberger, Krista Marshall, Michelle Mosley, Angela Strain.

Nineveh: Brittney Mobley, Andrew Quackenbush, Jackolyn Rutherford, Amy Wach.

North Vernon: Abbigail Allman, Jessie Atkins, Melony Bell, Megan Bellack, Daniel Bueno, Dalton Burge, Alexandria Caldwell, Chelsie Chandler, Coy Chaney, Adam Coleman, Codi Coleman, Daniel Cox, Salina Daniels, Kayla De La Garza, Jamie Desender, Ian Donnell, Ethan Driver, Karoline Field, Edrei Garcia, Richard Harrison, Adreona Hasert, Ocklawaha Holt, Krista Huff, Whitney Johnson, Brandi King, Amy Kocsis, Bill Losey, Monica Miller, Kaleigh Owens, Chasity Perry, Mieko Reitman, Angela Sanders, Henry Schultz, Levi Sharp, Chelsie Short, Barbara Spicer, Joseph Spicer, Trace Sporleder, Zackary Vanosdol, Matthew Vaught, Collin Willis, Parker Willis.

Paris Crossing: Jarred Blake.

Saint Paul: William Hobbs, William Garner, Amy Sefton.

Scipio: Amanda Broady, Kara Daniels, Tara Herr, Jessica Johnson, Zion Napier, Mercedes Tobias.

Seymour: Mason Day, Natasha Langford, Jonathan Geralds, Kaimen Archer, Aurora Barradas-Gonzalez, Kevin Beam, Montana Bearry, Toni Bowling-Bricker, Joseph Bricker, Katy Buckley, Meagon Burton, Nikki Clevenger, Vanessa Cravens, Jeffrey Gerth, Ashley Gibson, Nicole Goodman, Sarah Greathouse, Benjamin Hankins, Catherine Hede, Jacob Hill, Clurie Hyden, Paige Ingalsbe, Scott Jenkins, Kenzi Jones, Jessica Lucas, Andrea Merritt, Mika Mosier, Lucas Nymann, Carlos Pacheco, Nathan Pollen, Mark Prater, April Pugh, Zachary Quillen, Angela Ritchie, Darian Roark, Alex Sandlin, Sierra Schmidt, Graham Sciarra, Leonardo Sebastian-Baltazar, Ashley Sitterding, Michelle Stephens, Katie Thomas, Stephanie Turner, Sacquia Turpin, Brittney Vetter, Emily Von Fange, Eric Watkins.

Vallonia: Leah McPike.

Westport: Daphne Ammerman, Elizabeth Burkhart, Stephanie Mattick, Lincoln Ramberg, Breanna Speer, Ashley Trepanier.

A North Vernon woman was hurt Tuesday afternoon in a one-vehicle crash. North Vernon Police say that officers responded to Tenn Oaks Plaza in the 1500 block of North State Street at 1:10 p.m. on a report of a personal injury accident. When they arrived, officers say they found Edna Rockey had crashed a van into a building. The NVPD says that both the van and the building suffered “extensive damage.” Rockey suffered minor injuries in the crash.

A cause for the crash has not been released, but the investigation is ongoing.

Members of the Indiana State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant Wednesday at a home in Morgan County. Indiana State Police say the warrant came about after a five-month investigation of 32-year-old Michael Scott Polston, of Monrovia. They say that Polston was arrested after the search of the home in the 2600 block of West McCracken Road. Polston is facing 10 felony counts of Possession of Child Pornography and is being held in the Morgan County Jail on $9,000 cash bond.

Indiana State Police say that the investigation is ongoing.

A Columbus man was arrested after a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon. Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that at approximately 4:40 p.m., Officer Drake Maddix witnessed the driver of a moped fail to properly signal a turn at 15th Street and Union Street. When he stopped the driver, 33-year-old Jose Manuel Irizarry Rivera, Maddix determined that Rivera’s license was suspended. When Rivera was taken into custody, Maddix allegedly found methamphetamine in Rivera’s pants pockets. Rivera is facing preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine and Driving while Suspended with a Prior Conviction.

Five people were arrested, three of them wanted on warrants, after the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant Tuesday at a home in Scipio. Lt. Mike Mowery, department spokesman, says that investigators received information that Larry M. Nantz, who was wanted on a warrant for a parole violation, was at a home in the 7000 block North State Road 7. They say the home is owned by Jacob J. Jareski.

Mowery says that just before 5 p.m., officers from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office, Indiana State Police and the Indiana Department of Correction executed the warrant. Four people were quickly taken into custody. The fifth person, Larry M. Nantz, allegedly ran from the home on foot and was pursued by Officers. He was apprehended with the help of K9 Vampir.

Mowery says that officers found firearms, drug paraphernalia, a small amount of drugs and marijuana plants at the home. Those arrested were:

Larry M. Nantz – Possession of Firearm by Serious Violent (Felon Level 4 Felony); Battery on Law Enforcement (Level 5 Felony); Visiting a Common Nuisance, Possession of a Syringe, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Paraphernalia (Level 6 Felonies); Resisting Law Enforcement (Class A Misdemeanor); Disorderly Conduct, Possession of Marijuana (Class B Misdemeanor). Held without bond,

Jennifer L. Acree – Wanted on a warrant for Visiting Common Nuisance, Possession of Syringe, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Controlled Substance (Level 6 Felonies); Possession of Marijuana (Class A Misdemeanor). Bond set at $2,055.

Samantha L. Bott – Wanted on a warrant for Visiting a Common Nuisance, Possession of Syringe, Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Methamphetamine (Level 6 Felonies); Possession of Marijuana (Class A Misdemeanor). Bond set at $2,055.

Jacob J. Jareski – Maintaining Common Nuisance, Possession of Syringe (Level 6 Felonies); Cultivating Marijuana (Class A Misdemeanor). Bond set at $1,055.

Alexander R. Taylor – Visiting Common Nuisance (Level 6 Felony). Bond set at $2,055.