Two people were injured in a Labor Day crash near Hope.

Emergency crews were called to the crash on State Road 9 and County Road 450N at about 5:05 Monday afternoon.

Bartholomew County deputies say that a van driven by 69-year-old William Jett of Seymour was driving southbound when he had to brake heavily to avoid a crash with a vehicle that was turning westbound onto 450N. His van then spun into the northbound lanes where it was hit by a pickup driven by 45-year-old David Nickerson of Columbus.

Jett was taken to an Indianapolis trauma center by IU Health Lifeline helicopter and Nickerson was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital by CRH paramedics.

The crash is being investigated by Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. Hope Volunteer firefighters remained on scene to clean up the site once the investigation was completed.

Sheriff Matt Myers reports the road was closed for about an hour.

Cummins is announcing a collaboration with the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to produce filters for more than a million masks and respirators per day. Those masks will go to U.S. healthcare facilities.

Cummins has been exploring ways to use its air, fuel, and lube filtration products for heavy-duty engines to support healthcare providers during the pandemic. At the same time, Oak Ridge National Laboratory was searching for ways to scale up production of face masks with equipment used to produce precursor material for carbon fiber production at Cummins.

The two are collaborating on a technology called melt blowing to produce filter media for 9,000 N95 masks per hour.

Before two months ago, Cummins had never produced filter media for face masks. Today the company has shipped material for the production of millions of masks.

You can find more information here.

Seymour police have released more details of an incident last week where two people were shot.

The incident on South Vine Street happened at about 9:43 p.m. Tuesday night, when residents heard a knock on the door at around and a person wearing a hoodie displayed a weapon. That person then opened fire, shooting through the closed door several times.

Two people were shot.

Officers are identifying the victims as 23-year-old Cody M. Hurley and 25-year-old Riley R. Deaton, both of Seymour. They were flown by medical helicopter to the University of Louisville Hospital.

Police say there was an infant in the home at the time, who narrowly missed being shot also.

Investigators believe the incident was not a random act and that the shooting was drug-related. The case remains under investigation. If you have any information, you are asked to contact the Seymour Police Department at 812-522-1234.

A Louisville man was arrested last week after a traffic stop turned up almost 500 doses of Suboxone in his vehicle.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department reports that a deputy noticed a vehicle make a traffic violation while on southbound Interstate 65 near the Edinburgh exit on Thursday. The deputy stopped the vehicle after it left the interstate at a convenience store.

Bartholomew County police dog Jari alerted to the odor of narcotics inside the vehicle and a search revealed about 487 doses of Suboxone as well as a small amount of marijuana.

The driver, 31-year-old Joe J. Banks was arrested on preliminary drug possession charges.

Columbus police arrested a felon with a firearm on Saturday, but not before he bit an officer.

According to police reports, officers responded to a man reportedly waving a gun in the 1400 block of Sycamore Street at about 7:20 p.m. Saturday evening. Police found 43-year-old Ernest T. Nichols Jr. of Columbus standing near a parked vehicle. He refused to cooperate with officers and got into the vehicle, where he then reached toward a firearm inside.

Police struggled with Nichols, as he bit an officer twice. Police used a Taser to get Nichols out of the vehicle but he allegedly continued to struggle on the ground and tried to reach into the waistband of his pants.

After being checked out at Columbus Regional Hospital, Nichols was arrested on charges of possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, battery on a law enforcement officer, battery by bodily waste, resisting law enforcement and public intoxication.

Two people were arrested Wednesday as part of an investigation into a methamphetamine dealing ring in Bartholomew County.

The Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team along with the Columbus Police Intelligence Led Policing Unit stopped two vehicles Wednesday after receiving a tip about the drug- dealing.

53-year-old Curtis S. Reeve of Columbus, was arrested after authorities discovered drugs and paraphernalia in his vehicle including 85.5 grams of methamphetamine, 66.5 grams of marijuana, controlled substances, legend drugs and a digital scale. He is facing charges including dealing and possessing methamphetamine and marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and a legend drug.

The second driver, 30-year-old Nathan E. Jost, of Nashville was arrested on preliminary charges of dealing and possessing methamphetamine, possession of drug-related paraphernalia, maintaining a common nuisance and driving while suspended with a prior conviction.

A search warrant was also executed at a home in the 7900 block of West Goeller Road where authorities found about a quarter pound of methamphetamine, along with packaging materials, drug paraphernalia and a digital scale.

Bartholomew County is moving forward with a plan to spend nearly three quarters of a million dollars over the next five years on body cameras for deputies and for their patrol vehicles.

The County Commissioners approved the bid from Axon of Scottsdale, Arizona at a special meeting Thursday morning.

The county received two bids for the cameras and after adjusting for replacement costs and a fee that will not be charged to the county, Axon was the low bidder, Deputy Jim Stevens said.

County Commissioners President Carl Lienhoop said that Axon plans to deliver the cameras within 45 days. The company also provides the cameras for the Columbus Police Department, their cameras are compatible with the county GIS system, and the county prosecutor’s office already has the software to view Axon camera footage, Lienhoop said.

The commissioners approved the contract with Axon for just over $732 thousand dollars with a five year payment plan. The first year payment will be just over $224 thousand dollars.

More than 200 police agencies around the state are taking part in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement campaign aimed at catching drunk and impaired drivers. That includes the Indiana State Police, Columbus and Franklin police and the Bartholomew and Jennings County sheriff’s departments.

Through Labor Day, officers will be conducting overtime patrols seeking out dangerous and impaired drivers. The overtime costs are supported by funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration distributed by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

For over 20 years, law enforcement agencies across Indiana have been participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.

Police say that if you plan to consume alcohol this weekend, you should ensure you have a plan to get you home safely. If you encounter what appears to be an impaired driver on the road, you are encouraged to call 911.

Property owners hoping to build an equipment rental company on a rural section of U.S. 31 got the go-ahead from Columbus City Council this week.

Bright Property Management sought the rezoning of an eight acre piece of property on U.S. 31 between Base Road and County Road 300 E from light industrial uses to community commercial zoning. The lot is immediately north of Columbus Pawn on North National Road. The developers said in their application to the city that they plan to operate a Bobcat sales and rental store on the property.

The property is actually outside of the city limits, but falls within the city’s enhanced zoning jurisdiction. City County Planning Director Jeff Bergman explained to the council that when the area was under Bartholomew County zoning ordinances, it was designated for roadside businesses, however when it fell under city control, that transferred most closely to the light industrial zoning it has now.

The council unanimously approved the zoning change.

Seymour police are investigating a shooting Tuesday night on South Vine Street.

According to a witness, they heard a knock on the door at around 9:43 p.m. that night and a person wearing a hoodie displayed a weapon. That person then opened fire, shooting through the closed door several times.

Two people were shot. They were flown by medical helicopter to the University of Louisville Hospital. Their conditions are not available and their names have not been released.

After obtaining a search warrant for the home at 330 South Vine Street, police investigators discovered bullet casings, bullets and bullet fragments at the scene. They say they have also recovered other evidence.

The incident remains under investigation. If you have any information regarding the incident, you can contact the Seymour Police Department at 812-522-1234.