Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting says he is concerned that five infants died in the county last year. That is as many as the last two years combined.

There were three infant deaths in 2017. two in 2018, and last year had five.

Nolting said that number puts Bartholomew County among the highest infant mortality counties in the state.

Nolting said he and his deputies are committed to ending infant mortality, in part by educating parents of infants about safe sleeping procedures.

This week, Nolting released details of the death investigations that his office undertook in 2019. According to the report, his office investigated 143 deaths last year. The vast majority, 89, were deaths from natural causes and 35 were from accidents. There were 23 deaths by overdose, 16 suicides and five infants died last year in the county.

Nolting praised his staff and deputy coroners for their work in difficult circumstances.

Otter Creek Golf Course is now being governed by the city of Columbus.

According to our news-gathering partners at The Republic, the city-owned course has been managed by a not-for-profit group dominated by Cummins appointees, but the Cummins members of the board have resigned this week.

A new board made up of all city appointees is taking over and hopes to return the world-class course to financial solvency.

For more information, go to therepublic.com

A Columbus man is facing drug-related charges after allegedly throwing items out the window of his vehicle during a police chase.

Columbus police say that they tried to stop a vehicle for a minor traffic violation at about 12:30 Wednesday morning near State Street and McKinley Avenue . But rather than stop, the driver, later identified as 53-year-old Michael L. Lawles, took off. And as he drove down the road, he began throwing items out of the vehicle.

After he was stopped a short time later, officers searched the vehicle and discovered methamphetamine on the seat and floorboards. They also discovered marijuana in a bag he threw out the window. He is facing preliminary drug possession charges for teh meth and marijuana, as well as resisting law enforcement with a vehicle.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers wants people to stay safe from scammers.

The sheriff says that there are some basic facts about the way scammers operate that you should know. You can no longer trust a name or number that appears on your caller ID. To make their call seem legitimate, scammers use internet technology to spoof their area code and name – it may seem they are calling from Washington DC, when they actually could be calling from anywhere in the world.

You should never give out your sensitive information over the phone. Things like your bank account, credit card or Social Security numbers can all be used by scammers to defraud you. Even if you think you know who you are talking to, to make sure the call is 100 percent legitimate, hang up and call the agency or company directly from a number you find from a trusted source, such as a utility bill or an official web site.

Scam prevention experts also point out that you should never be asked to make a payment to anyone using pre-paid debit cards, or online store cards that you purchase at a physical store in town. Legitimate businesses and agencies will never ask for you to pay using those cards.

If you have any concerns, you should just hang up and call police.

Seymour police are working on a rash of thefts from cars that happened overnight.

The agency reports that two people are believed to have been out early in the morning pulling on door handles to find unlocked vehicles.

Police recommend several safety tips to make sure your valuables don’t get stolen from your vehicle. That includes making sure that you lock all of your vehicle’s doors anytime it is unattended and that you should remove any valuables from your vehicle including even pocket change. You should only park in well-lit areas and if possible, in areas with surveillance cameras.

Police also suggest that you remain vigilant. If you see any suspicious activity during odd hours, you can call the police department to report it.

The Yellow Trail Museum in Hope is hosting the next of its Sunday Social events this weekend.

This month’s session will feature retired teacher and Bartholomew County Historical Society volunteer Candy Carr, who will present letters written home from World War I veteran Don Norton of Nortonsburg.

The Sunday Social is at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the museum on the northwest corner of the Hope Town Square.

The Columbus Area Career Connection will be introducing its programs and courses to potential students and their families at an open house tonight.

C4 provides career and technical education to students in Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson, and Decatur counties and Edinburgh.

C4 teaches classes in nursing, cosmetology, welding, precision machining, criminal justice, engineering, graphic arts, electronics and education.

Students who will be in high school next school year are invited to stop by.

The open house will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. tonight at the C4 facilities at Columbus North High School.

The number of drug overdose deaths in Bartholomew County rose last year.

Bartholomew County had 23 drug overdose deaths, up from 17 in 2018, according to Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting. He released the 2019 figures yesterday.

Of the 23 overdose deaths, 14 involved an opiod of some sort, including heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone or other derivatives and of those 8 specifically involved fentanyl and three involved heroin. Stimulants including methamphetamine were part of the cause of death in 13 of the cases last year.

Nolting said that 11 of the overdose deaths involved multiple substances. In those cases it is normally very difficult to determine which drug actually caused the death, unless one in particular has an extremely high level.

The overdose deaths were still down substantially from the recent high in 2017, where there were 30 overdose deaths in the county.

Nolting said he was concerned about other trends in the county, including suicides and infant deaths. We will have more from the coroner’s office tomorrow.