The City of Columbus will fund the next phase of the State Street Revitalization effort. The city council voted Tuesday night to approved Phase 2A, not to exceed $2.6 million. The project would stretch south from the Haw Creek bridge to about Mapleton Street and will include green spaces and trails for pedestrians and bicycles. Heather Pope, the city’s redevelopment director, talks about the timeline for this phase of the project…

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The current timeline calls for this phase of the project to be completed by November 1st.

Councilman Frank Miller expressed concerns about the fact that the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety agreed to put the project out to bid last week, prior to receiving approval from the council. While Miller emphasized that nothing illegal took place, he was concerned about how residents would perceive the action. He noted that he heard from residents that the funding approval was “a done deal” and that the approval was already granted. Councilman Dascal Bunch, along with members of the State Street Area Association, explained that the action was taken to help ensure the work on Phase 2A could be finished by the end of this construction season.

Councilman Bunch, who represents the area on the council, has been an ardent supporter of the project…

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The council’s vote to approve the funding was unanimous.

An Indianapolis judge has ruled in favor of three former Irwin Union Bank & Trust Co. executives, closing the book on a civil suit that the bank’s bankruptcy trustee originally filed in 2011.

“The Indiana Lawyer” is reporting that, on Friday, federal Judge Sarah Evans Barker granted a motion for summary judgement on two remaining claims against former CEO William Miller, former Chief Financial Officer Gregory Ehlinger and former Executive Vice President Thomas Washburn. With Barker’s ruling, the suit against the three is now closed.

Federal regulators seized and shut down the Columbus-based bank in September 2009. At the same time, the bank also filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The report states that the civil suit dates back to 2011, when the bankruptcy trustee for Irwin sued the three bank officers for breach of fiduciary duty, seeking more than $500 million in damages.

Barker dismissed the suit in 2012, but the bankruptcy trustee appealed the decision and an appeals court reinstated two of the original seven charges. One count alleged that the defendants failed to provide accurate and reliable information to the bank’s board of directors, leading the board to approve dividends and stock repurchases and other distributions when the bank should have been preserving capital. The second count alleged that the defendants capitulated to bank regulators and made millions of dollars’ worth of capital contributions to the bank even as it was headed for failure.

For more on this story, visit theindianalawyer.com.

The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and Chevrolet of Columbus are collaborating to organize a second Corvette Raffle fundraiser. Organizers say that the grand prize is a 2017 Chevrolet Stingray Corvette. The fundraiser kicked off on April 1st and will run until July 29th, the day of the drawing, or when all 999 tickets are sold.

The winner of the raffle will receive the car, valued at $55,000. Organizers add that the winner will have an option to order a custom vehicle through the dealer with upgrade options.

Tickets are $150 each and are not tax-deductible. The Philharmonic says it will pay the required state and federal taxes on the vehicle.

Due to the campaign’s national reach, the winner does not need to be present at the drawing to win but must be 18 years old to enter. To purchase a ticket, submit an entry form to the Philharmonic along with payment. Entrants can submit an entry form three ways:

1.) Mail to or drop off at 315 Franklin Street Columbus, IN 47201;

2.) Fax the completed form to 812-669-2336;

3.) Call (812) 376-2638, extension 1, with required information. Due to Indiana Charitable Gaming Commission Regulations, raffle tickets cannot be purchased online or with a credit card. Acceptable forms of payment include cash, check payable to Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, or debit card.

The deadline to purchase tickets is July 28, at 5 p.m. The drawing will take place at the Chevrolet of Columbus dealership, located at 2825 Merchant Mile in Columbus, on Saturday, July 29.

Organizers say that all proceeds netted from the fundraiser will be used to support the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic’s youth music education programming, to help provide student scholarship funding and continue to enhance concert season events.

For more information, visit thecip.org.

Ivy Tech is offering select students an opportunity to earn an associate degree in Business Administration in less than one year.

Officials at the school say the Associate Accelerated Program (ASAP) at Ivy Tech Columbus provides select students with an opportunity to complete an Associate of Science in Business Administration, traditionally a two-year program, in 11 months. The accelerated style of the program encourages students to think of college as a job, attending school full time for almost 40 hours per week.

Upon completion, students are eligible to transfer to any public four-year institution in Indiana with junior status once they are admitted to that college or university.

Ivy Tech says that guidelines for admittance into the ASAP program include a referral or nomination by a high school guidance counselor, a minimum 2.5 high school GPA, a strong high school attendance record, must be under 22-years-old and a parent or guardian agreement to provide room and board while the student is enrolled in the program.

Ivy Tech Columbus is accepting applications for next year’s ASAP class, which begins in June.

Two people were killed in a crash Tuesday morning on I-65 in Jackson County. Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, spokesman for the Indiana State Police, says events unfolded around 7 a.m. after a crash in the southbound lanes near mile marker 47 involving two tractor trailers. Moments later, a second crash near mile marker 48 occurred when a passenger vehicle ran into the back of of a stopped semi. Wheeles says that two people in that vehicle were killed. Their identities have not been released. We will have more details as they are made available.

A proposal to purchase body cameras for Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputies is on hold…possibly for some time.

Sheriff Matt Myers and Capt. Brandon Slate made a presentation during Monday night’s work session of the Bartholomew County Council. Capt. Slate went through a PowerPoint presentation which highlighted a pair of options aimed at getting all active county law-enforcement officials, as well as reserve deputies, outfitted with the cameras. The most attractive option, explained Slate, was the purchase of 35 cameras and accessories, along with software that would automatically activate the cameras when a deputy reaches for his or her Taser. Total cost was estimated at approximately $248,000.

Council members indicated that the money for the cameras simply isn’t there. Mark Gorbett, former Bartholomew County Sheriff, said that he would definitely love for the department to have the cameras, but there are other obligations that the county needs to tend to. Laura DeDomenic, council president, echoed Gorbett’s sentiment. That’s where the agreement stopped. For the past two-years, Gorbett has called for the council to take steps to increase revenue to the county. In the past, he has suggested a wheel-tax and public safety tax as a possible way to keep the county from scrambling for funds at budget time. Gorbett’s calls for increased taxes and/or user fees has consistently been rebuffed by a majority of council members. Nothing changed Monday night. Councilman Jorge Morales says that there shouldn’t be a tax-increase unless the county knows how much revenue will come in. DeDomenic argues that she isn’t comfortable taking on additional expenses, including staffing, until a consultant’s report on county finances is complete. She says that is expected in the coming months.

Some area residents were caught up in a statewide fraud investigation. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development announced on Monday that the agency’s unemployment insurance fraud investigation task force examines claims of individuals who intentionally provide false, misreported or unreported information in order to fraudulently claim benefits. As a result of the task force’s investigations, local courts have found 37 people from across the state guilty of Unemployment Insurance Fraud

Four area residents were among those convicted. They are:

• Ty L. Bush, of Greenwood, was sentenced to three-years of probation and ordered to repay $16,679 for benefits fraudulently collected.

• Ricky L. Frye, Jr., of Bloomington, was sentenced to one-year of probation and ordered to repay $8,000 for benefits fraudulently collected.

• Michael A. Peclet, of Flat Rock, was sentenced to four-years in jail, three-years of probation and ordered to repay $31,849.50 for benefits fraudulently collected.

• Clay D. Snyder, of Shelbyville, was sentenced to one-year in jail, three-years of home detention, three-years of probation and ordered to repay $42,719.33 for benefits fraudulently collected.

The Columbus Human Rights Commission has announced that its annual meeting has been scheduled for May 11th at the Commons. The HRC says that the 2017 William R. Laws Human Rights Award recipient, Larry Perkinson, will be honored at the dinner. The Commission selected Perkinson, Student Services Director for the Bartholomew County Consolidated School Corporation, at its meeting on March 29. Commissioners say they selected Perkinson for “his commitment to the community and his advocacy of all students.” This marks another recent accolade for Perkinson, who was inducted into the BCSC Education Hall of Fame last year.

Sheila Suess Kennedy, a professor of law and public policy at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, will address the gathering. The HRC says that Kennedy’s academic fields of expertise include constitutional culture, charitable choice, civil liberties and civil rights, religion and public policy, nonprofit organizations, and media and public policy. She is a former Republican candidate for the 11th Congressional District, former executive director of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, faculty fellow with both the Center for Religion and American Culture and the Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence, and the founder of the Center for Civic Literacy at IUPUI. Kennedy is slated to talk about civic literacy.

The HRC says that the winners of the 2017 Benjamin M. King Essay and the J. Irwin Miller Art Contests will also be honored at the dinner. The theme for this year’s art and essay contests is “Advocating for Others.” Those winners are expected to be announced soon.

The Human Rights Commission says that tickets for the dinner are $30 and must be purchased in advance. Ticket sales will begin on Wednesday, April 12 and can be purchased at the Human Rights Commission office inside of City Hall. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.columbus.in.gov/human-rights/. The deadline for purchasing tickets is 5 p.m. on May 5.

A Morgantown woman was arrested on drug charges police say she failed to stop at an intersection on Thursday afternoon. Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that Sgt. Ben Goodin saw the violation at Middle Road and Poshard Drive shortly after 2 p.m. During the traffic stop, Goodin said the driver appeared visibly nervous and did not make eye contact with him. The woman allegedly gave officers a driver license that belonged to someone else. Harris says the woman then falsely identified herself a second time. Officers determined a short time later that the driver was 37-year-old Samantha K. Gay. Harris says that Gay was taken into custody and told police that there were drugs inside the vehicle. During a search of Gay’s purse, officers reportedly found seven bags of methamphetamine. Police also allegedly found marijuana, pipes with drug residue, two digital scales, 70 syringes and other drug paraphernalia in the vehicle.

Gay was arrested and taken to the Bartholomew County Jail. While there, officers reported finding an additional bag of methamphetamine that Gay had tried to hide in her clothing. They also learned that the woman was wanted on a Brown County warrant for Dealing Methamphetamine, Unlawful Possession of a Syringe, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

As a result of Thursday’s arrest, police say that Gay is facing additional preliminary charges of:

Dealing in Methamphetamine Greater than 10 Grams (Level 2 Felony)
Possession of Methamphetamine 10-28 Grams (Level 4 Felony)
Trafficking with an Inmate (Level 5 Felony)
Possession of a Legend Drug Injection Device (Level 6 Felony)
False Informing (Class B Misdemeanor)
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Class C Misdemeanor)
Possession of Marijuana (Class B Misdemeanor)

A Decatur County teenager was arrested for rape and is facing prosecution as an adult. WRBI radio in Batesville is reporting that 17-year-old Paul W. Rose, of Greensburg, is facing charges of Rape, Sexual Battery, and Criminal Confinement against a younger girl.

The station is reporting that the incident happened in January. The following month, investigators met with the alleged victim. She reportedly told them that her encounter with Rose began as consensual, but as it escalated, she asked Rose to stop. In the report, police say that Rose refused to stop and wouldn’t let her leave.

WRBI is reporting that Rose’s bond was set at $10,000 and a jury trial has been scheduled for July 26.

For more on this story, visit wrbiradio.com.