A Columbus man was arrested on drug charges after he ran from a traffic stop, according to police reports.

The incident started at about 9:50 Thursday night when Columbus police stopped a vehicle near Ninth and Chestnut Streets. After officers spoke to the driver, 43-year-old Travis L. Salsman, of Columbus, he allegedly got out of the vehicle and ran away.

Officers chased him behind a home where he jumped a fence. They caught up to him shortly afterwards.

Police say Salsman had a suspended driver’s license and he was arrested. A search of the vehicle revealed marijuana and drug paraphernalia inside. He was arrested on charges of resisting law enforcement on foot, and for possessing the marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corp. has issued a boil water advisory for some of its customers in the area of South County Road 550W, County Road 500W, Deaver Road and West County Road 300S. That includes Nasby Trail.

You are asked to bring your water to a rolling boil for at least 5 minutes before consuming it or using it for cooking.

The boil water advisory is in effect until 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

Tracked off-road vehicles helped Bartholomew County make rescues during this week’s snow storms.

According to the department, the vehicles were used to rescue a family stranded in a deep snow bank on County Road 100N last weekend. That was after efforts to reach the vehicle with large tow trucks and four-wheel drive vehicles failed.

Sheriff Matt Myers says that the department began using the vehicles, known as UTVs, in February of 2019 after a snowstorm prevented the use of the department’s regular patrol vehicles from reaching those in need.

Deputies say that the vehicles allow rescue workers to travel in conditions ranging from mud to snow and flooded areas. The UTVs are fitted with emergency lighting, Automated External Defibrillators and first aid equipment. They were bought with a Homeland Security Grant for $67,000 that was won with the assistance of the Bartholomew County Emergency Management Department. That funded two of the vehicles and their trailers.

A registered sex offender was arrested in Jennings County yesterday after allegedly exposing himself to a minor.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that earlier this month, deputies began investigating after a man allegedly exposed himself to a girl and offered to give her a ride home in his vehicle. The girl ran away and told her parents, who called to report the crime.

After an investigation, deputies identified a suspect as 29-year-old Brandon Cameron or North Vernon, who is a registered sex offender. A warrant was issued and he was arrested Thursday on charges of public indecency and inappropriate communication with a minor.

The sheriff’s department credited the victim and her family for quickly contacting authorities and giving detailed descriptions of both the suspect and the vehicle, saying the information was crucial to the investigation.

Story courtesy of our news-gathering partners at Network Indiana

Brown County State Park, Indiana’s largest state park, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

“This is a big deal for any historic place. This is like making it into the Hall of Fame,” said Patrick Haulter, the interpretive naturalist for the park.

Brown County State Park has been around since 1929, but really got its true start in the 1930s, when the Civilian Conservation Corps came in and helped build many of the facilities.

“The Civilian Conservation Corps was started by Franklin D. Roosevelt to get us out of The Great Depression,” Haulter said. “The CCC came here and helped build all types of structures all over the park.”

Those structures, including the Abe Martin Lodge, the overnight cabins, and the west lookout tower, still exist today.

Haulter says being added to the register will help the park in many ways, including national funding to help maintain and conserve the park for “future generations.”

Brown County State Park remains to be Indiana’s most popular state park. Haulter believes it’s because of great views across the 16,000-acre land.

“If you’re not from Indiana, and someone tells you ‘hey, we’re going to Indiana,’ you go ‘oh, cornfields and flat lands,’ but then you come to Brown County and think ‘wait a second, this is not what we think of when it comes to Indiana.'”

Haulter says Brown County also helps Hoosiers “escape Indiana” and think you’ve gone to the “mountains of Tennessee.”

“We have rolling hills, we have these amazing overlook vistas that you can see woods and hills for miles and miles,” he said.

Brown County State Park sees more than 1.3 million visitors every year.

Gleaners Food Bank is changing the location for next week’s already delayed food distribution in Columbus.

The event was rescheduled from earlier this week due to the bad weather and it will be now held from 4 to 6 pm. on next Friday, February 26th. But instead of its usual location at the Columbus Municipal Airport, it will be held inside the drive-through Columbus Fireman’s Cheer Fund Building on the airport property. That is at 2674 Verhulst St in Columbus. The new location will help protect patrons from the cold weather.

Gleaners says you will still stay inside your vehicle and there is no early arrivals, or parking on the main streets in the area. You can check for updates before the event on the Gleaners website at Gleaners dot org.

The newest Columbus police officer was sworn in yesterday during the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety meeting.

Officer Zachary Romero is a graduate of Seymour High School and served as a corporal in the Marine Corps Romero most recently worked at Valeo in Seymour.

Columbus police say that Romero will begin orientation and in service training with the police department. He will attend the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy later this year.

You will have another chance to talk virtually with your local legislators next week.

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce will be holding the second Third House session of the year Monday morning from 8 to 9 a.m. on Zoom.

Chamber president Cindy Frey explains:

Frey said that the switch to virtual has meant more people can participate.

In some ways, the virtual version of Third House is better than the in-person version of previous years, Frey said.

You can get more information at columbusareachamber.com.

Columbus is patching a hole in its budget for Fair Oaks Mall after COVID-19 related workplace changes affected Cummins plans.

Jamie Brinegar, the city’s director of finance, explained at this week’s City Council meeting that the company has been one of the major tenants at the mall, turning the former Goody’s store into spillover office space for its workers.

But Cummins declined to renew its lease on January 30th, Brinegar said. The loss of the tenant means an expected loss of up to $225,000 thousand dollars in revenue, Brinegar said. Because of the 75/25 cost-sharing arrangement the city has with its partner in the mall, Columbus Regional Hospital, that will mean a hit to the city of about $150,000 thousand dollars, Brinegar said.

Mary Ferdon, director of administration for the city, said the city is actively trying to find new tenants for mall spaces to offset the loss of Cummins.

Columbus City Council approved the additional appropriation as part of a package of COVID-19 related budget changes this week. The money will come from economic development income tax revenues.

You can expect some slick roads in spots out there this morning.

All of our area counties remain under travel restrictions. Brown, Jackson and Jennings counties are under a travel watch this morning, which means only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended. Bartholomew, Johnson, Shelby and Decatur counties are all under a travel advisory, the lowest level of travel restrictions.

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis is reporting a return to bitterly cold temperatures tonight, with real temperatures near 4, but winds of 5 to 7 mph will push the wind chill values below zero. You can expect a wintry mix of rain and snow over the weekend, with our area mostly getting rain.