A disturbance call led to the arrest of a Columbus man on drug charges. The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that deputies responded to a disturbance call in the 3000 block of South US 31 on at about 5 p.m. Wednesday.

During the investigation, deputies reportedly found 32-year-old Jeremy D. Morgan in possession of heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, Alprazolam, Lorazepam and Clonazepam.

A short time later, a Columbus Police dog responded to the scene and alerted to the vehicle in which Morgan was a passenger. Officers reportedly found syringes, spoons containing residue and a scale inside. Police say Morgan confessed that the paraphernalia belonged to him.

Morgan is facing preliminary charges of:

Possession of a Controlled Substance
Possession of Heroin
Possession of Marijuana
Possession of Methamphetamine
Possession of Paraphernalia
Legend Drug Injection Devices
Disorderly Conduct

He remains behind bars on $38,500 bond.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department welcomed a new jail chaplain to its ranks. Pastor David R. Burnett, with Waynesburg Christian Church in Westport, was sworn in by Sheriff Myers Wednesday.

“Our chaplains offer guidance and assistance to members of our agency and to BCJ inmates to provide comfort and counseling during tough times,” said Sheriff Myers. “Dave Burnett is a personal friend and an excellent addition to our jail program.”

Pastor Burnett joins fellow department chaplains Pastor Robert Vestor, Pastor David C. Bosley and Chaplain Keith Maddox.

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Greg Pence, a Columbus Republican, to help terrorist victims and their families collect financial judgments from the 1983 Marine Barracks Terrorist Attack in Beirut, has passed in the House of Representatives. That attack killed 241 Americans, including 220 Marines.

The “Our Obligation to Recognize American Heroes (OORAH) Act” was passed by the House 397-31 on Wednesday night. The measure would allow Iran financial assets to be utilized to pay the families of the victims. “The Washington Examiner” is reporting that $1.6 billion in Iranian funds being held by a Luxembourg-based firm is being targeted.

Pence was a Marine at that time. He had just left the area prior to the attack.

“My battalion shipped out 10 days before the bombing,” Pence said on the House floor Tuesday night. “I was able to come home to my wife, who was expecting our first child, and my family in Columbus, Indiana.”

The bill has already passed in the Senate and will need to go through conference committee before it makes it to president Trump’s desk.

A former Monroe County Chief Deputy Auditor has been sentenced on a child porn charge. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana says that 48-year-old James Hans Huffman, of Bloomington, was sentenced to 96 months in prison for Possession of Child Pornography. Huffman served as the Chief Deputy Auditor for Monroe County from 2017-2018 and Chief Deputy Treasurer for the county from 2009-2017.

Authorities say the case began when the Bloomington Police Department uncovered that Huffman and a 16-year-old male were sending nude pictures and videos to each other via social media. A search warrant executed at Huffman’s home a large collection of child pornography. Huffman’s collection included imagery of toddlers, as well as bestiality. In total, investigators say Huffman’s collection included 230,000 individual child pornography pictures and movies.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting children from predators like Huffman,” said U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler. “Anyone who preys upon a child, no matter what public office they hold, will be held fully accountable under the law.”

This case was jointly investigated by the Southern District of Indiana Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Indiana State Police and the Bloomington Police Department.

Huffman will be on supervised release for 10 years following his release from prison. In addition, Huffman was fined $5,000 and will have to register as a sex offender.

The Getty Foundation has announced that two buildings in Columbus are among the recipients of more than $1.6 million in architectural conservation grants. North Christian Church and Miller House and Garden, both designed by architect Eero Saarinen, are receiving funding as part of the foundation’s “Keeping It Modern” initiative.

Heritage Fund of Bartholomew County, on behalf of Landmark Columbus, will receive $150,000. With grant support, stewards will develop a conservation management plan to provide the historical context and strategic guidance needed for the church’s long-term upkeep. In addition, a team of designers, engineers and landscape architects will assess all aspects of the site’s condition and create an inventory of past changes. Officials say the results will be gathered into a detailed social, economic, and cultural study in an effort to protect and promote the future of the site.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Inc, owner of the Miller property, is receiving a $170,000 grant to address problems and call for a plan to prioritize conservation issues. Getty officials say the Indianapolis Museum of Art will work with experts to identify the most critical building systems and materials issues and establish protocols for
assessment, monitoring, and conservation treatment.

Getty says that work at both sites will pave the way for policy-based conservation planning for architecture in Columbus.

The other eight sites receiving funding from the Getty Foundation this year are:

– Buzludzha Monument, Hadzhi Dimitar Peak, Bulgaria (architect: Georgi Stoilov)
– Torino Esposizioni, Turin, Italy (engineer: Pier Luigi Nervi)
– Beira Railway Station, Mozambique (architects: Paulo de Melo Sampaio, João A. Garizo do Carmo, and Francisco José de Castro)
– Villa E-1027, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France (architect: Eileen Gray)
– Laboratory for Faculty of Chemical Technology at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania (architect: Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis)
– Uganda National Museum, Kampala (architect: Ernst May)
– Escuela Superior de Comercio Manuel Belgrano, Córdoba, Argentina (architects: Osvaldo Bidinost, Jorge Chute, José Gassó, Mabel Lapacó, and Martín Meyer)
– Paraninfo at the Universidad Laboral de Cheste, Spain (architect: Fernando Moreno Barberá)

“Keeping It Modern grants are making a collective impact, with stewards of modern buildings increasingly adopting comprehensive planning as a long-term strategy,” says Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation. “Our grantees are putting in the work, delivering fantastic results, and sharing their findings with the field to lift the level of architectural conservation practice worldwide.”

ColumBUS Transit will hold a second public open house to collect input for the ColumBUS Transit Route Study. That’s set for on Tuesday, July 23rd from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Cal Brand Meeting Hall at Columbus City Hall. A presentation will be made at 5:30 p.m., followed by opportunities for public input.

Officials say that maps of proposed transit routes will be on display during the open house. You will be encouraged to mark your preferences and suggest alternatives. Comment forms will be offered to those who wish to provide additional input. Transit staff and consultants for the study will be on hand to answer questions.

Copies of the draft study and maps of the proposed routes may currently be viewed in the lobby of Mill Race Transit Center at 850 Lindsey Street. You may provide comments at this location until August 2. The draft study is also available online here: columbus.in.gov/columbus-transit/2019/07/02/transit-route-study-open-house-july-23.

A Columbus man was arrested on several charges Monday afternoon after he reportedly fled from police on a motorcycle. At approximately 4:30 p.m., a Columbus police officer tried to stop 20-year-old Jayden M. Campbell near State and Brooks streets. Police say Campbell sped away and disregarded a nearby stop sign.

A short time later, the officer located Campbell’s wrecked motorcycle near Fodrea Elementary School in an alley near Brooks Street and Kentucky Avenue. During a search of the motorcycle and property left behind, officers reported finding meth, as well as a loaded handgun with the serial number removed.

Campbell was found a short time later outside of a home on South Hinman Street. He is facing preliminary charges of:

Possession of Methamphetamine (Level 3 Felony)
Obliterating Identifying Marks on a Handgun (Level 5 Felony)
Carrying a Handgun without a License on School Property (Level 5 Felony)
Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle (Level 6 Felony)
Leaving the Scene of an Accident (Class B Misdemeanor)
Operating a Vehicle without Receiving a License (Class C Misdemeanor)

The city of Columbus will start regulating pedal cabs under an ordinance that received final approval from Columbus City Council Tuesday night. Pedal cabs are used to shuttle paying passengers on a fixed route. They are powered by a single pilot with an electric motor.

The ordinance requires a $200 per pedal cab licensing fee, proof of insurance and a check of the criminal backgrounds of operators and company officials. In addition, all pedal cab operators must register each of their vehicles with the Office of Community Development.

The ordinance also bans commercial rental scooter operations in the city until such time as officials come up with rules covering their use.

Many larger cities have struggled with a surge of interest by businesses in providing the rental scooters to tourists and others. Issues in other cities have focused on the safety of the scooters, their use on sidewalks and the clutter they bring. Most scooter companies allow the devices to be abandoned once they reach their destination and until they are rented by another customer.

Council stresses that the ordinance doesn’t ban personal use of these scooters.

The council vote was unanimous.

A Nashville man is behind bars after authorities executed a search warrant for his Plum Creek Road home on Monday.

Indiana State Police and the Brown County Sheriff Department executed the warrant at the home of 35-year-old Christopher James. He is suspected of dealing “large amounts” of meth from that location.

Inside the residence, Troopers reported finding over 100 grams of methamphetamine, along with ecstasy, psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana, pills and dimethyltryptamine. In addition to the drugs, police found six long guns and four hand guns. Authorities say that of the hand guns had an obliterated serial number, while another had been reported stolen out of Lanesville, Indiana.

James is facing preliminary charges of:

• Dealing methamphetamine over 10 grams (with Firearm) – Level 2 Felony
• Possession of Methamphetamine over 28 grams (with Firearm) – Level 3 Felony
• Possession of Stolen Firearm – Level 6 Felony

A wanted Harrison County man was arrested Monday, July 15th, on additional drug charges after a traffic stop on I-65 in southern Jackson County.

At approximately 3 p.m. a trooper stopped a car on I-65 Northbound near the 43 mile marker for a violation. During the traffic stop, the trooper learned that a passenger in the vehicle, 35-year-old Cecil L. Stewart, of Elizabeth, was wanted on a felony warrant for Robbery out of Floyd County.

After being placed under arrest, troopers say Stewart was found to be concealing approximately five grams of suspected methamphetamine, along with syringes and additional drug paraphernalia. A search of the vehicle revealed approximately 85 grams of additional suspected methamphetamine.

Stewart was arrested on the warrant along with additional charges of Dealing Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of a Syringe and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

The driver of the vehicle and another passenger were released from the scene.