10:30 a.m. update: Bicyclist identified by Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office.

Columbus police are looking for information on a driver in a hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist last night.

21-year-old Kyla Merri Ortlieb of Columbus was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash near 11th & Chestnut Streets Sunday night by deputy county coroner Charlie Deweese.

Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus police, says the crash happened at about 11:15 p.m. Sunday night. Officers found a GMC Jimmy abandoned about a block away, in the middle of the 1200 block of Union Street. It was heavily damaged.

The crash remains under investigation. Harris says that 11th Street between Chestnut  and California streets was shut down for about 3 and a half hours.

If you have any information about this case, you are urged to contact the Columbus Police Department at 812-376-2600.  Tips and information can be left anonymously.

The Division of Liberal Arts at IUPUC, in conjunction with the Liberal Arts Department at Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus, and the University Library will be hosting a series of events at the Columbus Learning Center during the week of October 28 – November 1 to celebrate Media Literacy Week.

Tables will be staffed throughout the week on Main Street of the Columbus Learning Center, providing students, faculty and staff with information about media literacy education, as well as answer questions about media and education.

Events include:

— Tuesday, October 29, 12–1 p.m. in the Summerville Room at the Columbus Learning Center – “Talkback: Digital Natives Talk Media with Educators.” A panel of students will tell the audience what they want us to know about their generation’s media use both inside and outside the classroom, and field questions from the audience.

— Thursday, October 31, 12–1 p.m. in the Lecture Hall at the Columbus Learning Center – “What the Internet Knows about You.” Dr. Pamela Morris, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at IUPUC will present areas of online privacy concern, show you how to see what data is known about you, and where possible, how to stop data collection.

Media Literacy Week is sponsored nationally by the National Association for Media Literacy Education with a mission to highlight the power of media literacy education and its essential role in education today.

All events are free and you are invited.

The Bartholomew County Health Department is inviting you to take part their next drive-thru flu clinic.

That’s set for Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of the Fair Oaks Mall where the farmers market is usually held. Cash price is $20 or $50 for the high-dose version. Cash, credit cards and debit cards will be accepted.

If are uninsured or if your insurance doesn’t cover the flu-shot, you are eligible to receive a flu-shot at no charge.

The Columbus Park Foundation held its annual Community Meeting Thursday night at the Fair Oaks Mall. Discussions about the mall property dominated the evening.

The city bought the mall property at the end of last year. Parks department offices now located in the aging Donner Center would be relocated to the mall property under preliminary plans. City officials also want to to develop sports and recreation opportunities there and to use the facility for community wellness purposes.

Mark Jones, director of Columbus Parks and Rec., says the work the foundation does is immeasurable.

{10-18 MARK JONES-1} :19.0 Q: we are.

Jones gives his thoughts on how the Fair Oaks project is coming along.

{10-18 MARK JONES-2} :19.0 Q: your community.

City officials expect to have a better idea on how to implement community suggestions at the next public meeting on November 12.

{10-18 MARK JONES-3} :06.6 Q: around it.

You can keep up to date on the Fair Oaks Mall project at reimaginefairoaksmall.com.

For more information on Columbus Park Foundation, go to columbusparkfoundation.org.

If you have unwanted or expired medications in your home, you have the opportunity to get rid of them, while helping a Columbus North student with her senior project.

On Saturday, October 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Healthy Communities, the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, Indiana Attorney General’s Office and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department will be joining student Sveni Thalorin her effort to prevent drug abuse and theft.

You are invited to bring your medications for disposal to the Doug Otto United Way Center, located at 1351 13th Street in Columbus. They cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps. Only pills and patches are being accepted. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Organizers say this effort is being led by Thalor, as part of her senior project to aid in decreasing the availability of prescription medications and provide environmentally safe drug disposal options.

Participants in this Drug Take Back Day will receive a home disposal kit provided by DisposeRX. The first 50 participants will receive a $5 dollar gift card for their disposal to local businesses, Lucabe Coffee, and Papa’s Deli. The gift certificates have been provided by Johnson Witkemper Insurance Services.

A traffic stop in Jennings County on Wednesday night ended with the arrest of a North Vernon woman on drug charges.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department says that a deputy stopped an SUV on South State Street or a registration violation. During the course of the stop, the deputy became suspicious of possible drug activity. Sgt. Cody Low and his K-9 Partner Axel arrived on the scene. Axel was deployed and alerted to the odor of narcotics coming from the vehicle.

During a search of the vehicle, deputies reported finding marijuana, paraphernalia, methamphetamine, pills and approximately two grams of fentanyl. The driver, 30-year-old Hannah Comb is facing preliminary charges of:

Possession of Marijuana – Level 6 Felony
Possession of Paraphernalia – Level 6 Felony
Violation of Legend Drug – Level 6 Felony
Possession of Methamphetamine – Level 6 Felony
Possession of Controlled Substance – Level 6 Felony
Possession of Narcotic Drug – Level 6 Felony

A Columbus man is facing charges after going into a condemned home early this morning.

Columbus police report that they spotted 48-year-old Timothy K. David inside the Union Street home at about 4 this morning. The home, in the 1500 block, was recently condemned.

Officers found methamphetamine, marijuana and pills on David. He was arrested on charges of residential entry and drug possession.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers will be at the Columbus Kroger store on National Road this Saturday and next, encouraging you do donate non-perishable food items to help feed the hungry.

The sheriff’s department is holding its fifth annual Pack-A-Patrol-Car food drive through Nov. 15th. Donated food will be given to Love Chapel and Salvation Army food pantries.

The sheriff will be at Kroger from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday Oct. 19th and 26th.

Collection boxes are set up in the lobby of the Sheriff’s Department offices on Second Street in Columbus. Containers will also be set up in the Bartholomew County Courthouse and the County Governmental Office Building on at Third and Franklin streets.

Authorities have issued a Silver Alert for a missing southern Indiana man.

The Sellersburg Police Department is investigating the disappearance of 28-year-old Adam Seth Persons. He is a white man, 5 feet 10 inches tall and 145 pounds with brown hair with hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt, black sweatpants and Fila shoes, and driving a green 2003 Toyota Camry with Indiana license plate number 614RJY.

Adam is missing from Georgetown, Indiana. He is believed to be in extreme danger and may require medical assistance.

If you have any information on Adam Seth Persons, you can contact the Sellersburg Police Department at 812-246-6996 or call 911.

North Vernon police recovered a stolen Jeep and arrested two Michigan men in an incident earlier this week.

According to police department reports, an officer pulled over the vehicle at 9:11 p.m. Tuesday night at a bank on North State and Franklin streets for an equipment violation. But after briefly stopping, the driver then took off down an alley.

The officer began driving down Elm Street to catch the vehicle when he saw two people running across the street and through yards. They were taken into custody and were tied to items left behind in the Jeep that had been abandoned in the back yard of a home. The Jeep had been reported stolen from Michigan and had damage to its steering column.

36-year-old Dustin N. Stump, of Quincy, Michigan and 33-year-old Matthew W. Farlin of Bronson, Michigan were arrested on charges including resisting law enforcement in a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and possession of a device to cheat a drug screen.

Inside the Jeep, police found a bottle of urine, which is illegal in Indiana.