Four people, including three Columbus residents, were arrested after a traffic stop Tuesday night in North Vernon.

North Vernon Police say that an officer stopped a vehicle in the 2600 block of N SR 7 at about 9:30 p.m. They arrested 27-year-old Emily Clarence, 24-year-old Tyler J. Shrum and 27-year-old Daniel Runge, all of Columbus, as well as 23-year-old Triston Barlow, of Elizabethtown, on preliminary charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Paraphernalia and Visiting a Common Nuisance.

The Columbus Fire Department has announced another father-son pairing after the hiring of Jordan Maley to the position of Firefighter. Maley was sworn in by Mayor Jim Lienhoop at Wednesday’s Board of Public Works and Safety meeting at city hall.

Maley is a 31-year-old Columbus resident and a 2007 graduate of Columbus East High School. He attended Murray State University where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Advertising & Real Estate, and was a member of the Murray State Racers football team. Maley is a member of the Columbus East football coaching staff.

Maley and his wife, Andrea, have a four month old son, Dawson. Jordan Maley is the son of Scott and Janet Maley of Columbus. Scott Maley is a 25 year veteran and Lieutenant actively serving the Columbus Fire Department.

Jordan Maley is an Indiana certified emergency medical technician. Jordan will undergo a fire department training program before he receives a shift and station assignment.

Capt. Mike Wilson, CFD spokesman, says the department currently has five father-son pairs actively serving.

A four vehicle crash Tuesday in Bartholomew County sent one person to the hospital.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that at approximately 8:37 a.m., deputies responded to N US 31/E 150 S in reference to a traffic accident with injury. Investigators determined that 20-year-old Kyle Peele, of Westport, was traveling north on US 31 in his pickup when he failed to stop behind stopped traffic due to construction at US 31/E 100 S.

Police say Peele struck 37-year-old Patricia Stacy, of North Vernon, in the rear of her SUV causing her to hit 64-year-old Terry Biehle, of North Vernon, in the rear of her SUV. Biehle then struck the rear of a car driven by 44-year-old Ernesto De La Cruz-Comacho, of North Vernon.

Stacy was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other three drivers were not hurt.

The accident remains under investigation.

An Illinois man is behind bars after nearly crashing into a local deputy.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at about 3 p.m., off-duty Deputy Brandon Sellers was traveling southbound on I-65, near the 76-mile-marker, when a vehicle came into his lane and just missed hitting his patrol car. Sellers initiated a traffic stop at the southbound rest park on southbound I-65.

While speaking with the driver, 37-year-old Daniel Malnar, of St. Charles, IL, Deputy Matt Bush arrived on the scene with his police dog Diesel. The K-9 alerted to narcotics inside Malnar’s vehicle. A search allegedly uncovered syringes, a spoon and several pills.

Malnar was arrested on a preliminary charge of Possession of Legend Drug Injection Device.

He remains in the Bartholomew County Jail on $57,500 bond.

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are updating the social media policy governing how staff members use those services.

The members of the school board got their first look at the new policy this week. Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts explains that the existing policies were lacking.

Roberts says that the existing policies were out of date and inadequate for current social media use.

Roberts said that the policy update discourages the use of school district logos, graphics and other materials on private social media accounts and suggests that staff members ensure that their own opinions are not mistaken as the schools’.

The changes are not meant to limit the staff’s First Amendment rights.

The proposed policy would also regulate and prohibit staff members private communications between staff and students. It also encourages staff to consider the public nature of their social media posts.

While the policy does not specifically outline any morality guidelines for activities portrayed on social media, Roberts said the district already has ethics policies in place that govern staff members off-duty activities.

Seymour Mayor Craig Luedeman is recommending to his city’s department of public works and safety that it put Police Chief Bill Abbott on leave. The mayor made the announcement Tuesday at the request of Indiana State Police investigators.

This action comes on the heels of another investigation by Indiana State Police into the activities of Capt. Carl Lamb. The 32-year department veteran is facing accusations of official misconduct, including ghost employment. Results will be forwarded to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office for consideration.

Specifics of the allegations have not been released and there has been no indication that the Abbott and Lamb cases are related.

A long-awaited public training facility in Columbus is set to open next week. Jamie Brinegar is the city’s director of finance. During an appearance on ‘AM Columbus” on WCSI, he explained that a special meeting of the Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety will be held at the Evolution training facility Tuesday, Oct. 29th at 10 a.m. After the meeting…

Brinegar explains the “Evolution” name.

You are invited to Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting and open house.

You can listen to John Foster’s complete interview with Brinegar at 1010wcsi.com. Click on “Shows,” then “AM Columbus.”

Cummins Inc. is being honored with the 2019 Centennial Business Award from the Indiana Historical Society. The award recognizes the Columbus-based business for its long history of service. IHS will present the award during the annual Founders Day dinner on Nov. 4, at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center in downtown Indianapolis.

The Centennial Business Award is part of the Historic Business Register, founded in 1992 by trustees and members of IHS. It provides special recognition to Indiana companies continually in business for a century or more, encourages the preservation of historically significant business-related archival materials and develops increased awareness of Indiana’s rich business and industrial heritage.

Cummins’ roots date back to 1919 when Clessie Cummins and William G. Irwin built a company focused on the diesel engine.

To learn more about the Centennial Business Award, visit indianahistory.org.

Jennings County will be home to the nation’s fifth National Guard cyber battalion. Gov. Eric Holcomb made the announcement Tuesday.

“With our National Guard’s current cyber resources and Indiana’s top notch academic institutions, our state is a natural fit for one of the country’s first cyber battalions,” Gov. Holcomb said. “Warfare is becoming increasingly digital and it’s an honor for Indiana to be home to those who protect our country from computer-generated threats.”

Holcomb says the 127th Cyber Protection Battalion will be made up of nearly 100 soldiers focused on cyber security and cyber warfare.

The soldiers will have access to the U.S. Department of Defense’s only live, full-scale cyber range at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Jennings County. The center is unique with its realistic simulations with live environments for cyber and electronic warfare testing and training.

“I am excited about the opportunity of stationing a cyber battalion in the Indiana National Guard. Indiana is well suited to build and generate mission readiness with this critical force structure,” said Indiana’s Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. R. Dale Lyles.

The initial four battalions are located on the east coast. Two are in Virginia, one is in South Carolina and another is in Massachusetts.

A Monday afternoon semi crash closed the northbound lanes of Interstate 65 for about four hours Monday.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that at about 3 p.m., deputies were dispatched to the 71.7-mile marker. Authorities say a semi-tractor trailer left the roadway and struck a tree. The driver, 25-year-old Wilburn Jackson of Missouri, was pinned inside the cab. He was ultimately extracted by fire department personnel.

Jackson was life-lined to a trauma center in Indianapolis. His condition is unknown.