IUPUC is looking for some local homeowners who need help with yardwork and will provide volunteers free of charge.

IUPUC has scheduled its annual service project, The Big Event, for Saturday April 11th and is looking for residents who need the student’s help. Yard work could include projects such as raking, weeding or mulching.

The annual event is being organized by the Office of Student Involvement and the Student Government Activities board at IUPUC. The Big Event originated at Texas A&M University in 1982. This is the sixth year for the community project in Columbus.

The deadline to apply for assistance is March 23rd. You can apply online at www.iupuc.edu/events/thebigevent, or call (812) 375-7504 for more information.

Several local students qualified for the National History Day in Indiana state contest after their success at the south regional competition Saturday at Franklin College.

Mackenzie Jacks of Columbus East High School was selected for the senior category for her individual exhibit, The Famous Life of Mary Cassatt. Brown County High School students Chloee Robison and Mattie Satter were also selected in the senior category for their individual exhibits. Robison’s project was on the The Thalidomide Tragedy: Breaking Barriers in Politics and the Placenta, while Satter’s project was about Breaking Barriers for Women in Agriculture.

In the group exhibit category, Brown County Junior High School students Wesley Arndt and Kai Koester were chosen for their project on the Chinese Exclusion Act. And Brown County intermediate school student Kendra Earnshaw was chosen in the individual performance category for her work on Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed.

About 65 students took part in Saturday’s regional competition according to the Indiana Historical Society. The state competition will be April 25th in Indianapolis.

National History Day in Indiana is presented by the Rooker Family Foundation with support from the Vigran Family Foundation and TCU Foundation. State Contest support is provided by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.

A Columbus woman is facing drug related charges after a traffic stop early this morning by Bartholomew County deputies.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department deputies pulled over the vehicle at 12:53 a.m. this morning at 10th Street and Marr Road in Columbus. The driver, 38-year-old Allision Teipen, was found to have a suspended driver’s license and was wanted on outstanding warrants from Bartholomew and Johnson counties.

A police dog alerted to the smell of narcotics in the vehicle and a search revealed methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. She was arrested for possession of the drugs and paraphernalia as well as driving while suspended with a prior conviction and the outstanding warrants.

A Seymour theft was foiled after the suspects got their stolen rental truck stuck in the mud Friday.

Seymour police say that they were called to a truck sales business in the 1200 block of South Commerce Drive at about 11:47 a.m. Friday morning after suspects reportedly took more than 60 used vehicle batteries, but their U-Haul truck got stuck in the mud at the business. The two men then ran from the area, with one fleeing across both lanes of the Interstate.

Police arrested 39-year-old Jeremy Brooks of Indianapolis, and 35-year-old Glen R. Etheridge of Boggstown. A search of the truck revealed that the ignition was seriously damaged and the truck had been reported stolen out of Jacksonville, Florida.

They are facing two counts of theft each.

Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police assisted in the investigation.

One of the Columbus police officers arrested last month on charges including ghost employment, has now retired.

The Columbus Police Department reports that Dan Meister retired effective Sunday. Columbus Police Chief Michael Richardson was planning to ask the Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety this week to suspend Meister without pay.

Meister and officer Ron May were arrested in February on charges of official misconduct, ghost employment and theft. They are accused of working hours at Columbus Regional Hospital at the same time they were on duty at the Columbus Police Department.

The police department reports that Meister has been working in a non law-enforcement capacity in the police department since the start of the investigation in 2018.

Employers will have a chance to learn more about hiring workers who are recovering from substance abuse disorders at a session Tuesday at the Columbus Learning Center.

Doug Leonard, executive director for the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County,  explains the the Indiana Workforce Recovery session is aimed at employers and human resources staff interested in hiring those in recovery

Leonard said that the seminar will offer several views of programs that are working.

The seminar will include legal guidance from an employer’s perspective and discussion with local leaders on the treatment and recovery efforts An optional segment on administering Naloxone in an overdose emergency is also included.

Indiana Workforce Recovery was created two years ago by the state to prepare Hoosier employers to deal with public health crises that impact the Indiana workforce. The local visit is being organized by ASAP and the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce.

Tuesday’s session will be from 8:30 to 2:30 at the Columbus Learning Center. The event is free, but you are asked to register. You can find a registration link on the chamber’s website at columbusareachamber.com.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department merit board will be bringing three proposals to the County Council tonight, meant to aid retention of deputies.

Susan Thayer-Fye, president of the merit board explains that one of the proposals would raise payouts to family members, should there be a deputy’s death in the line of duty. They are currently set at $200 per month for a deputy’s spouse, and $30 a month for each dependent, underage child.

Thayer-Fye said the proposed change would raise the spouse benefit to $1,000 a month and the minor child benefit to $200 a month. The council will also be asked to approve a DROP program, which allows retirees to take a lump sum payment from their benefits.

More controversial will be a request to reduce the time needed for a deputy to qualify for partial retirement benefits. The current situation effectively penalizes a sheriff, like current Sheriff Matt Myers, who comes to the sheriff’s department from outside and will only have 8 years of service at the end of his second term. The county currently only pays out benefits to deputies who work at least eight years and a month.

Council members have been reluctant during previous discussions to make the change which would allow the sheriff to have earned retirement pay while serving as sheriff.

Thayer-Fye said that the change are all recruiting tools, meant to make the department look more attractive to new deputies or in retaining existing deputies.

The Council will hear and discuss the proposals during its work session tonight at the Governmental Office Building on Third Street in Columbus starting at 6 p.m. Any vote would have to come on Tuesday next week during the regular council meeting.

A driver who crashed into the speaker box in the drive through at a Columbus fast food restaurant last week is facing drunk driving and other charges.

Columbus police report that the incident happened at about 9:20 p.m. Thursday night at the restaurant in the 2000 block of National Road. 38-year-old Robert A. Wisely of Columbus allegedly crashed his SUV into the box and appeared to be under the influence when police arrived.

He failed several field sobriety tests and after having blood drawn at Columbus Regional Hospital he was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and possession of a syringe. He was also wanted on an outstanding Jennings County warrant.

Two dogs were saved from a burning home by German Township Volunteer firefighters over the weekend. That came after an alert 10-year-old noticed the blaze and alerted their family

The fire department was called in at 9:43 p.m. Saturday night to the fire on Bonesteel Drive near Taylorsville. A resident had tripped into a table, knocking a burning candle to the floor and didn’t realize a fire had started until the child alerted everyone. The family escaped the home but had to leave behind their pets.

The firefighters rescued the two Boston terriers from the home and they were treated with oxygen for smoke inhalation, but are expected to make a full recovery, firefighters said. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze in the living room and pulled down walls and insulation to check for any other spreading fire.

Captain Cody Melton, the Incident Commander, wants the public to know that once you exit a burning building, no matter how small the fire is, to never try to reenter to save property or pets.

“Most fire fatalities happen from someone reentering the house trying to save something and are overcome by smoke or heat,” Melton said.

Two parrots died in the fire.

The home suffered an estimated $25,000 in damages plus another $25,000 in damages to belongings inside.

Also on scene of the fire were firefighters from Columbus Township, Clifford and Edinburgh Fire Departments, Columbus Regional Hospital paramedics and Bartholomew County Sheriffs Department.

Two people were injured in a crash on Interstate 65 near Crothersville Sunday morning, including a six-year-old girl.

Indiana State Police are reporting that the crash happened at about 10 yesterday in southern Jackson County, as a result of traffic that was backed up from a 6 am crash in the area. Troopers report that a Jeep being driven by 46-year-old Connie A. Anderson of Crothersville failed to slow for the stopped traffic and crashed into the rear of a stopped semi. She was taken to Scott Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The girl was a back seat passenger in Anderson’s vehicle and was also taken to the hospital with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.

Troopers say that proper seat belt use likely saved the two from more serious injuries.

The driver of the semi was not injured.

I-65 southbound was closed for nearly two hours.

Agencies assisting at the scene of the crash include: Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Crothersville Police Department, Jackson County EMS, Vernon Township Fire Department, and 31 Wrecker Service.