Columbus Regional Health is receiving accreditation for its chest pain center.

The hospital announced recently that the American College of Cardiology has recognized CRH with the Chest Pain Center Accreditation with PCI and Resuscitation. That came after an onsite evaluation of the staff’s ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack.

Hospitals that have earned the accreditation have proven their competency in treating patients with heart attack symptoms and have coronary angioplasty available around the clock every day of the year.

A drug treatment program is up and running in the Bartholomew County Jail, providing treatment that would cost tens of thousands of dollars in the outside world.

Sheriff Matt Myers said that the program has officially launched this week. It provides qualifying inmates with treatment at no cost.

Theresa Patton, drug treatment coordinator for the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, said that the inmates, a literal captive audience, will be able to get treatment that few could afford outside of the walls of the jail. She talks about the cost just to get started in a treatment program on the outside.

Many insurance programs will only pay for two weeks of partial hospitalization, instead pushing patients to outpatient treatment. Further steps in the treatment process continue to add thousands of dollars to the cost, she said. For example, three hours of group therapy can cost $250 each session.

Insurance also is reluctant to pay for second rounds of treatment after a relapse, Patton said.

Medicaid can pay for the poorest addicts to get treatment, but it only pays about a 100th of the cost of a program, meaning many programs will not accept the assistance, she said.

For addicts young enough to still qualify for their patient’s insurance program, they can try to get treatment while still eligible for that coverage.

Patton said the jail treatment will be at least a 90-day-program, with individual counseling and group therapy for 10 hours a day. She said the program will eventually grow to include 24 men and 24 women at a time.

For many who have fallen into addiction, and gone through relapses, jail becomes their default detox center and a last chance at escaping from their drug abuse, Patton said.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department has released more information about a fatal crash Tuesday morning.

Investigators say that at about 1:37 a.m., deputies responded to the 17000 block of East State Road 46 for a single-vehicle traffic accident. Upon arrival, deputies found a car inverted onto its top in the yard of a residence. Two people were located away from the vehicle. It is believed that both had been ejected from the vehicle during the crash. On arrival, an area resident was performing CPR on one of the subjects. Further life saving attempts were made by first responders, but one person, 18-year-old Ethan Matthew Nielsen was pronounced dead at the scene. Coroner Clayton Nolting says that Nielsen’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and neck.

The other person was flown by Stat Flight medical helicopter to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis with serious injuries. Their identity has not yet been released.

The incident remains under investigation.

The Arby’s restaurant on 25th Street is serving a limited menu after a fire Tuesday morning.

Columbus Firefighters responded to the scene at approximately 9:30 a.m. on a report of fire. When firefighters arrived on the scene they were advised by restaurant management that a small fire had been extinguished by employees.

Arby’s management told firefighters that restaurant employees reported hearing a popping sound from the area of the grease fryer station. As the employees tried to determine the source, they saw an orange glow on the wall behind the fryer. Employees disconnected power to the fryer and pulled the fryer away from the wall. At that time, small flames were visible behind the grease fryer. Using a damp towel, employees were able to smother the flames and extinguish the fire.

Arby’s staff says that the restaurant is open. They can only serve sandwiches and drinks. Fried items are unavailable for now.

No injuries were reported.

An 18-year-old local man was killed in a Tuesday morning crash. The Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office says the crash happened on State Road 46 between Newbern and Hartsville at 1:37 a.m.

Coroner Clayton Nolting says that Ethan Matthew Nielsen died at the scene. The cause of death has been revealed as blunt force trauma to the head and neck. Toxicology results are pending.

The crash is being investigated by Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. We’ll have more details of the crash as they become available.

The state House district covering Columbus and most of Bartholomew County will be a contested race this fall.

Democrat Dale Nowlin has announced that he has filed for election to State House District 59. Nowlin is an educator and the chairman of the math department at Columbus North High School.

Republican incumbent Rep. Ryan Lauer has also filed to run for re-election in the district.

Bartholomew County is split into three state House districts, with Republican incumbent Rep. Jim Lucas filing last week to run for re-election to the District 69 seat representing the far southern portion of the county.

District 57 covers the eastern portion of Bartholomew County and has been represented by Republican Sean Eberhart. No one has filed yet for that seat, according to the Indiana Secretary of State’s election division.

Voters throughout the Bartholomew Consolidated School district will see a property tax hike on their May primary ballot. That’s after the school board approved the tax hike last night.

The property tax increase would add  15.6 cents per $100 of assessed value on a property, or less than $95 a year for the average home owner in the school district. If approved by voters the money raised would go to increase salaries for teachers and staff and to improve school safety.

School officials say that none of the funds would go to raises for school administrators.

Five residents gave their opinions to the school board last night, with three speaking in favor of the referendum and two speaking against the tax increase. Opponents said they were concerned about the effect on budgets for seniors and retirees on fixed incomes. And an opponent questioned how the district chooses to spend taxpayers’ money.

The proposed referendum question now goes to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance for approval, including the wording of the question. Assistant Superintendent for Finance Chad Phillips said last night that the actual phrasing is mandated by statute and the state provides a prepared format the referendum must follow.

Three Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputies have been suspended after an internal investigation into the failure to properly serve an emergency detention order that may have resulted in the death of a local man.

In the early-morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 4th, 38-year-old Derek Henderson, of Columbus, died after being shot in the head, chest and abdomen. He apparently entered the home of a neighbor he didn’t know, while armed with a baseball bat. When the homeowner was confronted by Henderson, he opened fire. Henderson was pronounced dead at Columbus Regional Hospital.

Authorities says that Henderson was under an emergency detention order and any officer who encountered him should have taken him into custody for emergency treatment.

Columbus Police report that they were called to Henderson’s home in the 1800 block of Home Avenue three times on Friday. The first trip at 11:08 a.m. Friday morning, was requested by the VA to take Henderson to the hospital for treatment. But officers could not find Henderson. He refused assistance during a police visit later that afternoon.

The emergency detention order was issued at just before 5 p.m. Friday afternoon. But a third call came at 6:21 p.m. Friday evening with Bartholomew County deputies called to the home and assisted by Columbus police.  Police did not take Henderson into custody and left after determining they were no longer needed.

Sheriff Matt Myers says that it was after those unsuccessful efforts that Henderson left his home and was later shot to death.

Sheriff Myers say the investigation revealed that visual and verbal contact was made with Henderson in his home, but he refused to leave his home or allow the deputies inside. The deputies eventually left the scene and made no further attempt to serve the emergency detention order. Myers says the deputies should not have left the scene until Henderson was detained. As a result, Lt. Gary Knoef, Sgt. Jason Lancaster and Sgt. Jason Williams have all been suspended for 15 days without pay for their roles in the failure to detain Henderson. They will also be demoted from their Sheriff appointed positions. Deputy Gary Knoef will return to his position as a merit sergeant. Deputies Lancaster and Williams will return to their positions as merit patrolmen.

Sheriff Myers says that one of the biggest challenges facing police officers nationwide is the challenge of policing the mentally ill. He says that ongoing training is necessary. With that, Myers and two members of his leadership team had previously committed to attending the Indiana Sheriff’s Association’s Winter Meeting at the end of January where mental health issues and training will be discussed and studied.