A Columbus man is accused of firing a shotgun at a vehicle Monday evening.

Bartholomew County deputies were called to a home in the 5800 block of North County Road 330W at about 8:23 p.m. They were told that a suspect, 44-year-old Brian A. Hoover, fired the weapon at the vehicle of a person leaving the home. Hoover then fled the area, police say.

With the assistance of a police dog and drone deployed by the Columbus Fire Department, Hoover was located and taken into custody.

He is facing a preliminary charge of criminal recklessness with a firearm.

Duke Energy is making a $7,500 donation to Bartholomew Consolidated Schools to improve science, technology, engineering and math learning in the school district.

Chip Orben with Duke presented an over-sized check to the school district at last night’s school board meeting.

Orben says that this makes just under $100,000 thousand dollars in STEM donations from the energy company’s foundation to BCSC since 2015.

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are accepting nominations for “Teacher of the Year” through the end of the week.

Students, staff, friends and families are asked to nominate a teacher from a BCSC school that you would like to recognize. Nominations are open through Friday, Jan 31st. Each school will select one nominee as their school Teacher of the Year. School nominee recognition will take place at the school board meeting on March 2nd.

Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Teresa Heiny said the local teacher of the year will be able to compete at the state level.

“We will be helping our candidate create a portfolio to submit to the state for this award,” she said. “We would appreciate the community’s assistance in determining a teacher to represent our district at the state level. This nomination is the first step in this process.”

For more information, including nomination forms, visit bit.ly/2G8ygF7.

The flu is impacting visitation at a Seymour hospital. Schneck Medical Center has implemented visitor restrictions, effective Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 7 a.m., to help protect patients, staff, and the community from the spread of influenza.

Schneck officials say that no more than three visitors may be admitted to a patient’s room at one time. Visitors must include immediate family and significant others as identified by the patient. Visitors must also be at least 18 years-old.

Anyone with the following symptoms is asked to refrain from visiting patients:
• Fever and/or chills
• Sore throat
• Muscle aches
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Cough
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea

All visitors must wash their hands with soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, before and after visiting a patient. Hand sanitizer can be found throughout the hospital as well as outside each patient’s room.

“We’ve seen an increase in the number of patients with flu-like symptoms in the last week prompting us to implement visitor restrictions,” said Stacy East, Infection Preventionist at Schneck. East says, “If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, please seek medical attention. If you are sick and are not getting better, contact your healthcare provider for further treatment.”

For more information on how to protect you and your family, visit cdc.gov/flu.

A Columbus woman is being accused of anonymously mailing prescription drugs to her ex-husband’s workplace, in a scheme to get him in trouble.

The Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team arrested 58-year-old Lafern K. Gibson Friday afternoon after a four month investigation into the mailings.

Police say that Gibson began mailing the drugs to her ex because she was upset that he had a new girlfriend. After starting the mailings, she then contacted the JNET squad to report that he was having drugs shipped to his workplace. The packages had no return labels.

Local officials worked with the Post Office to gather video of Gibson mailing four of the packages from the Columbus post office.

She was arrested on preliminary charges of dealing in a schedule IV drug.

The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office. It targets the manufacturing and abuse of dangerous drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County.

Six people were arrested on methamphetamine related charges in Jennings County after an investigation that started with a traffic stop for an expired registration.

The Jennings Sheriff’s Department is reporting that a deputy stopped a vehicle near County Road 800N and County Road 200E in Sand Creek Township at about 6:25 Friday evening. The deputy became suspicious that illegal drug activity was going on and called for the department’s police dog, Vampir, who alerted to the smell of narcotics in the vehicle.

A search revealed more than an ounce of Methamphetamine, Fentanyl and various items of drug paraphernalia. The driver, 51-year-old Rodney Mead, and passenger, 42-year-old Heather Cheesebrew, both of North Vernon, were arrested on charges including dealing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine (10 or more Grams), possession of a syringe, possession of a narcotic drug, maintaining a common nuisance, possession of paraphernalia, theft, and possession of a controlled substance.

Mead is also being charged with driving while suspended with a prior offense.

The traffic stop led to a search warrant being served at a Spencer Township home by the SWAT team at 3:24 a.m. Saturday morning. Deputies discovered methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia at the home as well as a box trailer that had been reported stolen from a North Vernon business in November.

Two North Vernon residents, 23-year-old Michael Redkey and 49-year-old Richard Jackson, and two Seymour residents. 39-year-old Joel Shands and 43-year-old Tony Taylor, were arrested at the home on possession charges for the methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, as well as maintaining a common nuisance.

Jackson was also wanted on an outstanding warrant.

A Seymour man was arrested Thursday on child molesting and battery charges in regards an incident that happened last month.

“The Tribune” is reporting that 62-year-old Mark Alan Hurley is facing preliminary charges of Child Molesting – Fondling or Touching a Child under 14 and Battery on a Person Less Than 14. The paper says that Hurley’s arrest stems from an investigation that started Dec. 13, when Seymour Police Department was notified of an incident involving Hurley and a 10-year-old girl at an apartment complex in the 1300 block of West Second Street in Seymour.

If convicted, Hurley faces up to 14-and-a-half years in prison.

For more on this story, visit tribtown.com.

A free workshop for first-time home buyers is coming to our area.

Apprisen, in partnership with First Financial Bank, Southern Indiana Housing and Community Development Corporation, and the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Home Buyer Program, is sponsoring a free First Time Home Buyer Workshop. It will be held on Saturday, Feb. 29, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at YES Cinema in downtown
Columbus.

Workshop topics include:

– Preparing for home ownership
– Working with a real estate agent
– Understanding budgets and credit history
– Finding and working with a lender
– Home inspections and home maintenance
– Preventing loan default

Each attendee will receive a HUD home buyer certificate of completion at the end of the workshop. Registration is required.

For more information or to register, contact the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center at (812) 379-1630 or by email at info@lcnfc.org.

We have entered a new decade, meaning the United States is conducting a census count to determine the number of people in the country.

Robin Hilber, chair for the 2020 Census Complete Count Committee in Columbus, says the actual census date is April 1st. Hilber says the hope is that every person residing in Bartholomew County will either fill out the questionnaire or respond online. This is only done once per decade and helps to determine government funding for education, health care, housing, roads and other needs.

Those who do not respond in April by mail, phone or on online will have a Census worker visit them in May or June to make sure they are counted.

Hilber says that census jobs are available for those interested. For more information, visit 2020census.gov/jobs.

A special event Saturday, Jan. 25 in Jennings County to benefit area veterans. Niki Hartwell is a marketing consultant for White River Broadcasting and an organizer for this event.

Cost to take part in the brunch is $7.

Hartwell says that money raised during the brunch benefits the Vet to Vet program of North Vernon.

There is no cost for vets to take part in the physicals.

Hartwell adds that all area veterans are invited, not just those in Jennings County.