A corrections officer for the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is out of a job after a drunk-driving arrest over the weekend.
Indiana State Police say that shortly after midnight on Friday morning, Aug. 16th, a Columbus Police officer executed a traffic stop on State Road 46. The officer reported seeing a Jeep swerving and making unsafe lane movements in the westbound lanes near Morgan Willow Trace.
Police say the driver, 42-year-old Kimberly Cruser, of Morgantown, showed signs of being intoxicated. The Columbus Police Department then requested the Indiana State Police take over the investigation after learning of Cruser’s employment with the county. An ISP trooper arrived and gave Cruser field sobriety tests, then transported her to Columbus Regional Hospital where a search warrant was served for her blood.
After the search warrant was served, Cruser was arrested on preliminary charges of Operating While Intoxicated and Operating While Intoxicated (Endangerment). She was also cited for an Open Container Violation.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that Cruser is no longer employed there.
Electronic smoking devices and vaping will be treated as cigarettes and smoking under a proposal that received final approval during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Columbus City Council. However, the change won’t take effect for 60 days.
Kylee Jones, tobacco awareness coordinator with Healthy Communities at Columbus Regional Health made a presentation to Columbus City Council in June, asking for the amendment. She was joined earlier this month by other supporters of the measure, including representatives from Columbus Regional Health and the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation. All of those who spoke in favor of the ordinance specifically said it is needed to insure the health of area youth.
Council members wrestled with the question for about 30 minutes after concerns were raised Tuesday night. There are three vape shops in city limits, according to city officials. Under current state law, smoke shops and tobacco stores are exempt from the smoking statute. However, there is no state law that specifically addresses vape shops. As currently written, the city ordinance would not exempt vape shops from the ban. In an effort to better serve the entire community, council voted to include the 60-day implementation phase with the idea that the city’s Ordinance Review Committee can fine-tune the ordinance and add vape shops to the list of exempted locations. That passed 6-1 with Councilman Dascal Bunch voting “no.” He expressed concerns that the 60-day implementation period will result in unforeseen circumstances for the city. If the committee fails to propose any changes to the ordinance, it will go into effect, as is, on October 16th.
The vote to pass the amended ordinance passed unanimously.
If you’ve been entering or leaving Columbus from the city’s west side, you’ve no doubt noticed that the area is being prepped for a new $30 million overpass taking vehicle traffic over the railroad tracks at State Road 46 and Indiana 11. During a recent edition of “All News in the Morning,” Mayor Jim Lienhoop says that utility relocation work is currently underway. He adds that everything is “on track,” schedule-wise.
The State of Indiana, city and county officials, along with the Louisville & Indianapolis Railroad and CSX Railroad came to together to fund this project.
Lienhoop says that construction is expected to start later this year and will likely be wrapped up, aside from some landscaping elements, by the fourth quarter of next year.
You can listen to John Foster’s entire interview with Mayor Lienhoop by visiting 1010wcsi.com/amcolumbus.
The National Weather Service has placed most of central Indiana, including Bartholomew County, in an Enhanced Risk for severe weather on Tuesday, Aug. 20.
Forecasters say a strong-to-severe line of thunderstorms will push east-southeastward into Indiana during the afternoon hours, with the potential for damaging winds and very large hail. Additionally, downbursts (sudden, strong collapses of air), will be possible and pose the threat for substantial straight-line wind damage at the surface.
The National Weather Service says that atmospheric conditions will be primed for severe weather earlier in the day than usual, with dew points reaching the lower to middle 70s by lunchtime, high instability, and a strong low level jet present.
Officials believe the storms will hit our area between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Tickets for the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce’s and Columbus Young Professional’s Next Gen Awards Luncheon are available. Cindy Frey, president of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, recently talked about the luncheon on our weekend “News & Views” program.
Categories including honoring a Next Gen business, innovator, educator and volunteer.
The keynote speaker will be Ellie Symes, CEO of the Bee Corp., an Indiana tech company that was founded in 2016.
Organizers say the award ceremony will recognize six individuals and one business selected for leadership, intelligence, exuberance and dedication to improving the community. They include:
YP Volunteer of the Year: This award is presented to a young professional whose extraordinary civic engagement, philanthropy, volunteerism, and public service has benefited the community.
2019 Award Winner – Tyshaun Allen, Taylor Brothers Construction. Allen has served on the Columbus Area Multi-Ethnic Association board of directors for five years and currently serves as its president. He also served on the team that led the Welcoming Communities survey and serves as technology consultant to African American Fund of Bartholomew County and the Columbus Enrichment Program.
YP Innovator of the Year: This award is presented to a young professional whose innovation, entrepreneurial vision, courage, and leadership has made a positive impact in the community.
2019 Award Winner – Joshua Carter and Adrian “Soca” Wibowo of Helix BioStructures, LLC. These Indiana University alums run a research services company.
YP Educator of the Year: This award is presented to a young professional who has demonstrated initiative, creativity and excellence in an education role, has taken on leadership roles in the community and acted as role model to those around them.
2019 Award Winner – Shane Yates, BCSC pre-kindergarten director, manages the early childhood education programs.
Unsung Hero: This award recognizes a public service leader who has operated behind the scenes, silently working in a dedicated and committed fashion, without the limelight, who has laid the foundation for stellar public service results and has created positive change in their organization and community.
2019 Award Winner – Tim Green, Foundation for Youth.
NextGen Business of the Year: This award is presented to a Columbus business or organization that complements workplace culture among millennial employees with a commitment to attracting, retaining and developing the young, professional workforce.
2019 Award Winner – Assisted Independence, Nathan Red. He created a business plan, with support from SCORE, and founded the company. Now he employs 50 people who serve clients in Indianapolis, Bloomington and Columbus.
Community Contribution Award: This award recognizes someone who is positively impacting this community, making Columbus a better place to live, work and play.
2019 Award Winner – Susana Villegas, Program Coordinator, Columbus Area Arts Council.
The awards luncheon is Sept. 13th at 11:30 a.m. at The Commons. Tickets are available at columbusareachamber.com.
Delfino Galacia; Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Dept.
A local man was arrested early Sunday morning after a Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputy spotted him in the area of State Street and Gladstone Avenue standing in the intersection and yelling at passing motorists.
Police say that 37-year-old Delfino Galacia, of Columbus, was uncooperative and aggressive. He allegedly kicked at officers and the windows from inside a patrol car. Galacia was found in possession of a large kitchen knife and drug-related paraphernalia.
Galacia is facing preliminary charges of:
Public Intoxication
Resisting Law Enforcement
Possession of Paraphernalia
Bartholomew County Warrant
Indiana American Water, a subsidiary of American Water Company on Friday announced it is investing $17.6 million to add additional water treatment capacity, storage, and pumping and water transmission capabilities to its system in Shelbyville.
“Shelbyville has grown over the last decade since we built the London Road water treatment facility in western Shelby County,” said Indiana American Water President Matt Prine. “The plant was placed in service in 2009 to serve our customers in Johnson County and was built so it could be easily expanded and eventually connected to our Shelbyville system as demand increased there. We have seen significant growth in demand since that time, and these investments will help us to continue to meet Shelbyville’s need for a high-quality source of water.”
The investment in Indiana American Water’s infrastructure serving Shelby County includes:
• Installing nine miles of 20-inch and 16-inch transmission mains to connect the London Road water treatment facility to the Shelbyville system.
• Expanding treatment capacity by 2 million gallons per day and adding two additional pumps at the London Road facility.
• Constructing a new 500,000-gallon storage tank and installing a transmission main near I-74 and State Road 44 on the city’s east side.
• Constructing a new pump station near an existing storage tank along East Michigan Road to create a new pressure zone to enhance system pressures and fire flows in the eastern portion of the system.
The company says these projects will help the company to meet current and future demand. The new treatment plant pumps and the transmission main connecting the Shelbyville system to the London Road treatment facility are expected to be in service early next year. The remaining projects will all be placed in service by mid-2021.
The 16-year-old female who was killed in Friday morning’s fatal crash has been identified as Sarah Starling of New Albany, Indiana. The original news release is listed below.
Five people were killed in a one-vehicle crash early Friday morning in Scott County.
The Scott County Sheriff’s Department responded to the crash on North Main Street near Rose Walk Road, just north of Scottsburg at about 2 a.m. Officers found an SUV in a field on the east side of the roadway. The vehicle had extensive damage and multiple occupants had been ejected.
The sheriff’s department requested the help of Indiana State Police crash investigators who assumed the investigation. Two of the seven occupants were trapped inside the vehicle requiring extrication before being rushed to Scott County Memorial Hospital. Both were later flown to University of Louisville Hospital and are in stable condition.
A preliminary investigation reveals that the SUV, for an unknown reason, left the east side of roadway at a high rate of speed. It overturned several times before coming to rest. None of the seven occupants were wearing a seatbelt, and all five of the ejected occupants were pronounced dead on the scene.
The deceased have been identified as:
– Sarah Starling, 16, New Albany
– Jeremiah James Akers, 18, Deputy
– Christopher Paul Dry, 18, Indianapolis
– Wandella Marie Brown, 22, Austin
– Elizabeth Michelle Wagner, 20, Lexington, Indiana.
It is believed Wandella Brown was the driver at the time of the crash.
State Police say that 20-year-old Adam Wayne Parker, of Austin and 21-year-old Shelby Lynn Griffin, of Dalhart, Texas have been hospitalized.
A number of area farming families were among the 96 honored with the Hoosier Homestead Award. Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler presented the award Friday at the Indiana State Fair. The 96 families set a new record in the program’s 40-year history.
To be named a Hoosier Homestead, the farm had to be kept in the family for at least 100 consecutive years, and consist of more than 20 acres or produce more than $1,000 in agricultural products per year.
Since the program was established in 1976, more than 5,600 families have received the award.
“The vast majority of farms in Indiana are family owned and operated,” Crouch said. “They are the foundation we rely on as a society, which is something we must never take for granted. It was an honor to recognize these families at the great Indiana State Fair.”
Families were eligible for three different award distinctions. Based on the age of the farm, they received the Centennial Award for 100 years, Sesquicentennial Award for 150 years or Bicentennial Award for 200 years of ownership.
The 2019 summer Hoosier Homestead Award recipients include:
It’s nearing time for collective bargaining for the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation and it’s educators. BCSC and and representatives from the Columbus Educators Association gathered Thursday evening at the BCSC Administration Building to listen to any public testimony on the subject.
Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts explains that official negotiations have yet to commence.
No public testimony was offered.
Roberts says that both parties have until Nov. 15th to come to an agreement.
