Two Edinburgh residents are facing drug dealing charges after a raid last week by town police.

According to Police Chief Doyne Little Jr., police executed a search warrant at a home in the 400 block of South Main Street after a two-month long investigation on Thursday. Officers found 13 grams of methamphetamine and marijuana on the kitchen table.

When they searched the pockets of a man at the home, Shawn Park, they allegedly discovered 79 grams of methamphetamine in a baggie. Drug paraphernalia, syringes and prescription narcotics were also found inside the home.

Park is facing a charge of dealing methamphetamine.

A woman at the home, Monica Gilp, was arrested on preliminary charges of dealing methamphetamine, and possessing a controlled substance and marijuana.

Columbus firefighters are urging you to be careful this holiday season as the danger for fires increases along with the holiday cheer.

Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the department, explains

Wilson said to be extra cautious while cooking, as kitchen fires increase this time of the year.

Wilson also said to make sure that you keep fresh Christmas trees well-watered. They need to drink a gallon of water a day. And it is a good time to check to make sure your smoke detectors are all in working order.

Wilson said not to overload your outlets when stringing together strands of Christmas lights and make sure you don’t leave any lit candles unattended.

A missing 10-year-old girl from Wisconsin was found safe in Hartsville and her father taken into custody.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department 10 year-old Jocelyn Van Duyn was found safe by law enforcement in Hartsville at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

She had been reported missing on Sunday from Walworth, Wisconsin.

She was found in the company of her father 33-year-old Jonathan J. Van Duyn. The FBI’s Indianapolis Division SWAT team and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office took him into custody without incident. He will be held at the Bartholomew County Jail until he is extradited to Illinois where he is wanted on an active warrant for failure to appear.

Family members are traveling to Indiana to reunite with the girl.

Donna Browne has been chosen as the winner of this year’s Joan Pearcy Senior Citizen of the Year award from Mill Race Center.

The center announced yesterday that Browne has been privately honored for her work in the community. She is the leader of the Lasting Impressions Show Choir at the center. She is a member of the Bartholomew County Retired Teachers Association and in 2018 received that group’s volunteer of the year award for her work with the choir.

The Senior Citizen of the Year award has been given out since 1957 and in 2011 was renamed in honor of Pearcy. It recognizes a senior citizen for their service to the community and is meant to encourage continued achievement and service from seniors in the community and reinforcing the contributions that seniors make.

Today is the deadline to enroll for Bartholomew Consolidated elementary students parents who want to send their children back to class next year through the Bridge online learning option.

At this week’s school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts said that a survey of teachers wrapped up on Monday, finding out which educators want to take part in the Bridge program. The assumption is that the schools will start in person learning again on Jan. 5th, but some parents will want to continue online learning. The district is working to gauge not just the teachers’ interest but also the parents intentions.

Enrollment forms have been sent to all those parents, Roberts said.

A North Vernon man is being accused of battering a two-month-old girl.

Jennings County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that Child Protective Services contacted investigators after the infant was taken to an area hospital with severe injuries last week.

After four days of gathering evidence and talking to witnesses, deputies arrested 22-year-old Buddy W. Woods on charges of neglect of a dependent, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A driver ended up with his car in the Mill Race Park pond after losing control Monday night.

Columbus police say that they were called to the scene at about 8:40 p.m. last night to find the car submerged in the pond. The driver, 20-year-old Christian D. Sconce fo Columbus told police that his brakes had failed. Witnesses said that they saw the car speeding through the park before it lost control, hit a tree and launched into the pond.

The Bartholomew County Dive Team was called in to remove the car from the pond and assist with the investigation.

No one was injured.

An endowment fund benefiting northeastern Bartholomew County has hit a major milestone. The Hawcreek- Flat Rock Area Endowment fund has passed $1 million in its nest egg for the community, according to HSJ Online, the Hope news website.

According to the site, the benchmark was hit on Dec. 4th.  Tim Andrews, a St. Louis Crossing native, and now a business executive in New Jersey promised to donate $25,000 to the endowment if the community could raise $975,000 by the end of next year. However the community fundraising reached that total a year early, and Andrews made the final donation to push the fund over the top.

The money in the fund is held in trust through Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County. Each year, earnings from the endowment are used to support programs and projects in the two townships in northeastern Bartholomew County. This year the endowment awarded grants of almost $33.000. The endowment is set up so that the nest egg will never be dipped into, with grant funds coming from the earnings on the investments.

You can get more information at hsjonline.org

Bartholomew County deputies are reporting that a two-vehicle crash on Sunday morning sent five people to the hospital.

Emergency workers including deputies, Columbus Regional Hospital paramedics, Columbus Township Fire and Rescue Department and the Indiana State Police were called to the crash at about 11:17 a.m. Sunday morning at U.S. 31 and East County Road 100S.

According to deputies, five people including one juvenile received minor injuries and were taken to Columbus Regional Health.

Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department