Thomas Venable. Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities say a Hope man shot his wife in the chest this morning with a small-caliber firearm and is now facing a charge of attempted murder.
70-year-old Thomas Venable was taken into custody without incident on the felony charge.
According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, the incident happened at about 8:20 a.m. this morning in the 2000 block of Neal Drive. The shooting victim, 68-year-old Linda Venable was alert at the scene and spoke with authorities. She was flown by Lifeline helicopter to the University of Louisville Hospital, where she is reportedly in stable condition.
Nathan Morton. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.
Columbus police say that they arrested two suspected drunk drivers in less than an hour this morning.
The first incident was around 2 a.m. near Thornybrook and Waycross Drives after a hit-and-run crash. Officers located the suspect vehicle nearby. The driver, 43-year-old Nathan K. Morton of Columbus had trouble keeping his balance and had the strong odor of alcohol on his breath.
He is facing charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction within seven years and leaving the scene of an accident.
Winston Cherry. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.
About 55 minutes later, officers stopped a vehicle for a minor traffic violation in the 300 block of Cleveland Street. The driver, 21-year-old Winston J. Cherry, had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath according to police reports. He is facing a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Vandalism at Columbus East High School has now led to three teens arrest on firearm charges.
Columbus Police Department is reporting that two windows were damaged at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning at the school. Video caught images of the juveniles in the act and Columbus police detectives and school resource officers identified the three.
They were also tied to a gun stolen from a vehicle around the same time near the school. Officers determined that the teens fired the weapon inside of Garland Brook Cemetery.
A 14-year-old, and two 16-year-olds were arrested on charges including:
14 year-old: Theft of a Firearm, Possession of a Handgun on School Property, Criminal Recklessness with a Firearm, Unlawful Entry of a Vehicle, Criminal Mischief .
16 year-old #1 : Theft of a Firearm, Possession of a Handgun on School Property, Criminal Recklessness with a Firearm, Unlawful Entry of a Vehicle, Criminal Mischief .
16 year-old #2: Possession of a Handgun without a License, Theft of a Handgun
They were taken to the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center.
The stolen handgun was recovered from the dumpster at an apartment complex near the school.
Amanda J. Maynard. Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
A speeding driver on Interstate 65 is now facing charges for driving a stolen vehicle after an early morning traffic stop by a Bartholomew County deputy.
The deputy noticed a car speeding on southbound Interstate 65 at about 1:52 a.m. this morning, and pulled the vehicle over. 43-year-old Amanda Maynard of Indianapolis did not have a valid driver’s license and the deputy smelled marijuana inside the vehicle, according to police reports.
A search revealed marijuana, methamphetamine and drug-related paraphernalia, police say. Officers also found that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Indianapolis.
Maynard is facing charges for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia, possessing a stolen vehicle and driving with a suspended license.
Columbus firefighters say a shipping container full of recycled cardboard burst into flames at a Columbus business Wednesday night.
Workers at Columbus Container in the 3400 block of Commerce Drive called for help at about 11:41 p.m. Wednesday night after a semi-trailer at the company’s loading dock was found to be burning. Crews had been cutting and loading cardboard into the trailer when they noticed the fire.
Firefighters said heavy smoke was coming from the fire when they arrived. And the roof and floors of the semi trailer were heavily damaged, making it hard to reach all of the burning cardboard. Firefighters cut openings in the trailer, so water could be sprayed inside. All told, firefighters were on scene for about four and a half hours.
The building had minimal damage because of the sprinkler system, however some rolled paper in the loading dock did receive some water damage. No estimates are available of damages and no one was injured.
Columbus Container fire. Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.Columbus Container fire. Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.Columbus Container fire. Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.Columbus Container fire. Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.
Columbus officials don’t know yet the exact impact the COVID-19 pandemic is going to have on city finances. But they are making plans to weather the upcoming changes.
Mayor Jim Lienhoop said that state revenue will likely be hit hard, because most of that money comes from income and sales taxes. With high unemployment and reduced spending, both of those areas will take a significant hit.
However city budgets will be somewhat more stable as they get their revenue from a different pool of taxes.
Lienhoop said that the city does get about a third of its revenue from income taxes, so there will be a hit. But the funding formula takes into effect a rolling average of income tax receipts over several years, which means the city won’t feel the pinch until probably 2022 from that revenue shrinking.
In the meantime, city officials are taking actions to reduce spending including deferring some capital projects and choosing not to rehire employees to fill some vacant positions.
According to the most recent update from the Indiana State Department of Health, there are 43,140 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indiana, an increase of 281 cases since Tuesday’s update.
There have been 2,386 deaths in Indiana as of Wednesday afternoon’s update, an increase of 9 since Monday.
Bartholomew County has had 568 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and has had 43 deaths.
In other area counties, Decatur County has had 241 cases and 42 deaths, Jennings 164 cases and 9 deaths, Jackson 433 cases and 3 deaths, Brown 37 cases and 1 death, Johnson 1,205 cases and 117 deaths, and Shelby 408 cases with 24 deaths
Indiana National Guard soldiers deploying overseas will be having a departure ceremony today at Camp Atterbury before they deploy to Qatar.
45 soldiers from the 939th Military Police Detachment will be performing law and order operations in Qatar. After leaving Indiana, the soldiers will report to Fort Bliss, Texas, for about 25 days of law and order training.
Since February 2019, the soldiers have been completing premobilization training including the law of war, weapons qualification, non-lethal weapons training, patrol operations, traffic accidents, and basic soldier tasks.
The company is led by Capt. Matthew Madden, of Fishers, and Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Herr from Avon.
The ceremony is reserved for guests of the deploying soldiers due to the pandemic.
The Columbus East Food Pantry will be having another food distribution Friday.
The pantry is distributing food to BCSC students and their immediate family. The pickups will be drive-up and will have no contact. The pickup point tomorrow will be at Door 31 in the west parking lot behind the school.
Families will receive one pre-bagged parcel of food.
Friday’s delivery is from 4 to 7. The next distribution day is Friday, July 24th.
INDOT says that drivers on the west side of Columbus will see the end to some construction work this weekend.
Between 8 a.m. and noon on Friday, Milestone Contractors will be switching eastbound State Road 46 to its new configuration, with the opening of those lanes of the overpass into downtown.
Eastbound drivers will be using the new bridge over State Road 11 and the new approach to the Robert N. Stewart bridge at Second Street. They will also see a new traffic signal, at the T intersection called a “Green T” or “Continuous Green T” intersection. According to INDOT, these types of intersections allow for free-flow traffic in one direction, on State Road 11 southbound, by using acceleration and merge lanes for left-turns to and from the intersecting road.
And State Road 11 will also be reopening between State Road 46 and Garden City on Friday, INDOT says.
Westbound State Road 46 will remain in its current pattern through mid-to-late July as work continues to prepare the bridge and ramps for traffic. Work will continue near the new overpass through the rest of the summer and fall into next spring, including removing the old State Road 46 roadway, seeding, sodding and project clean-up.
INDOT says you should slow down, use extra caution and drive distraction-free through all work zones, especially as drivers adjust to the new traffic patterns.
