The Getty Foundation has announced that two buildings in Columbus are among the recipients of more than $1.6 million in architectural conservation grants. North Christian Church and Miller House and Garden, both designed by architect Eero Saarinen, are receiving funding as part of the foundation’s “Keeping It Modern” initiative.

Heritage Fund of Bartholomew County, on behalf of Landmark Columbus, will receive $150,000. With grant support, stewards will develop a conservation management plan to provide the historical context and strategic guidance needed for the church’s long-term upkeep. In addition, a team of designers, engineers and landscape architects will assess all aspects of the site’s condition and create an inventory of past changes. Officials say the results will be gathered into a detailed social, economic, and cultural study in an effort to protect and promote the future of the site.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Inc, owner of the Miller property, is receiving a $170,000 grant to address problems and call for a plan to prioritize conservation issues. Getty officials say the Indianapolis Museum of Art will work with experts to identify the most critical building systems and materials issues and establish protocols for
assessment, monitoring, and conservation treatment.

Getty says that work at both sites will pave the way for policy-based conservation planning for architecture in Columbus.

The other eight sites receiving funding from the Getty Foundation this year are:

– Buzludzha Monument, Hadzhi Dimitar Peak, Bulgaria (architect: Georgi Stoilov)
– Torino Esposizioni, Turin, Italy (engineer: Pier Luigi Nervi)
– Beira Railway Station, Mozambique (architects: Paulo de Melo Sampaio, João A. Garizo do Carmo, and Francisco José de Castro)
– Villa E-1027, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France (architect: Eileen Gray)
– Laboratory for Faculty of Chemical Technology at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania (architect: Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis)
– Uganda National Museum, Kampala (architect: Ernst May)
– Escuela Superior de Comercio Manuel Belgrano, Córdoba, Argentina (architects: Osvaldo Bidinost, Jorge Chute, José Gassó, Mabel Lapacó, and Martín Meyer)
– Paraninfo at the Universidad Laboral de Cheste, Spain (architect: Fernando Moreno Barberá)

“Keeping It Modern grants are making a collective impact, with stewards of modern buildings increasingly adopting comprehensive planning as a long-term strategy,” says Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation. “Our grantees are putting in the work, delivering fantastic results, and sharing their findings with the field to lift the level of architectural conservation practice worldwide.”

ColumBUS Transit will hold a second public open house to collect input for the ColumBUS Transit Route Study. That’s set for on Tuesday, July 23rd from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Cal Brand Meeting Hall at Columbus City Hall. A presentation will be made at 5:30 p.m., followed by opportunities for public input.

Officials say that maps of proposed transit routes will be on display during the open house. You will be encouraged to mark your preferences and suggest alternatives. Comment forms will be offered to those who wish to provide additional input. Transit staff and consultants for the study will be on hand to answer questions.

Copies of the draft study and maps of the proposed routes may currently be viewed in the lobby of Mill Race Transit Center at 850 Lindsey Street. You may provide comments at this location until August 2. The draft study is also available online here: columbus.in.gov/columbus-transit/2019/07/02/transit-route-study-open-house-july-23.

A Columbus man was arrested on several charges Monday afternoon after he reportedly fled from police on a motorcycle. At approximately 4:30 p.m., a Columbus police officer tried to stop 20-year-old Jayden M. Campbell near State and Brooks streets. Police say Campbell sped away and disregarded a nearby stop sign.

A short time later, the officer located Campbell’s wrecked motorcycle near Fodrea Elementary School in an alley near Brooks Street and Kentucky Avenue. During a search of the motorcycle and property left behind, officers reported finding meth, as well as a loaded handgun with the serial number removed.

Campbell was found a short time later outside of a home on South Hinman Street. He is facing preliminary charges of:

Possession of Methamphetamine (Level 3 Felony)
Obliterating Identifying Marks on a Handgun (Level 5 Felony)
Carrying a Handgun without a License on School Property (Level 5 Felony)
Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle (Level 6 Felony)
Leaving the Scene of an Accident (Class B Misdemeanor)
Operating a Vehicle without Receiving a License (Class C Misdemeanor)

Correction: An earlier version of this story had the time incorrect.

A Hope man is facing drunk-driving charges after crashing into two vehicles Tuesday morning.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department reports that witnesses saw a vehicle weaving, speeding and disregarding other traffic at about 8:42 a.m. Tuesday morning. The vehicle left the road, hitting a pickup, a car, a mailbox and a tree in the 600 block of Marr Road.

The driver,  26-year-old Chanceton M. Daniels was checked out at Columbus Regional Hospital before being taken to Bartholomew County Jail on preliminary charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and driving while suspended.

Columbus police arrested a burglary suspect, after he left his billfold behind at the crime scene.

A homeowner called police at about 7:50 a.m. Tuesday morning after finding that his garage had been broken into overnight in the 1000 block of Pearl Street. About $4,000 worth of belongings had been taken. But the homeowner also presented police with a wallet he found, belonging to 24-year-old Chaz G. Berger.

Police found Berger passed out in a truck in an apartment complex parking lot. And the truck had items taken from the garage. More stolen items were found inside an apartment along with items believed to be taken from other recent garage burglaries.

Berger is facing a preliminary charge of burglary.

The Student’s Fund of Hope is using strategically placed toilets to pay off families’ school lunch debt.

Whitney Budd, one of the organizers of the Flush Out Hunger fundraiser says that tfour toilets are being placed on people’s property.

For a $10 donation you can get rid of the toilet, for $20 you can send it to someone else and for $30 you can make it sure it doesn’t come back. The four toilets are painted in food-related themes and bright colors.

The goal is to raise $2,000 to pay off past due lunch accounts for students at Hope Elementary and Hauser Jr. Sr. High School. Throughout last school year, the fund paid for almost $3,000 in overdue lunch accounts.

The fundraiser runs though July 29th. In the first day, the fundraiser has already raised more than $400 and required 10 toilet moves by volunteers.

You can get more information on how to send a toilet, by going to the Student’s Fund of Hope Facebook page.

The city of Columbus will start regulating pedal cabs under an ordinance that received final approval from Columbus City Council Tuesday night. Pedal cabs are used to shuttle paying passengers on a fixed route. They are powered by a single pilot with an electric motor.

The ordinance requires a $200 per pedal cab licensing fee, proof of insurance and a check of the criminal backgrounds of operators and company officials. In addition, all pedal cab operators must register each of their vehicles with the Office of Community Development.

The ordinance also bans commercial rental scooter operations in the city until such time as officials come up with rules covering their use.

Many larger cities have struggled with a surge of interest by businesses in providing the rental scooters to tourists and others. Issues in other cities have focused on the safety of the scooters, their use on sidewalks and the clutter they bring. Most scooter companies allow the devices to be abandoned once they reach their destination and until they are rented by another customer.

Council stresses that the ordinance doesn’t ban personal use of these scooters.

The council vote was unanimous.

A Nashville man is behind bars after authorities executed a search warrant for his Plum Creek Road home on Monday.

Indiana State Police and the Brown County Sheriff Department executed the warrant at the home of 35-year-old Christopher James. He is suspected of dealing “large amounts” of meth from that location.

Inside the residence, Troopers reported finding over 100 grams of methamphetamine, along with ecstasy, psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana, pills and dimethyltryptamine. In addition to the drugs, police found six long guns and four hand guns. Authorities say that of the hand guns had an obliterated serial number, while another had been reported stolen out of Lanesville, Indiana.

James is facing preliminary charges of:

• Dealing methamphetamine over 10 grams (with Firearm) – Level 2 Felony
• Possession of Methamphetamine over 28 grams (with Firearm) – Level 3 Felony
• Possession of Stolen Firearm – Level 6 Felony

A wanted Harrison County man was arrested Monday, July 15th, on additional drug charges after a traffic stop on I-65 in southern Jackson County.

At approximately 3 p.m. a trooper stopped a car on I-65 Northbound near the 43 mile marker for a violation. During the traffic stop, the trooper learned that a passenger in the vehicle, 35-year-old Cecil L. Stewart, of Elizabeth, was wanted on a felony warrant for Robbery out of Floyd County.

After being placed under arrest, troopers say Stewart was found to be concealing approximately five grams of suspected methamphetamine, along with syringes and additional drug paraphernalia. A search of the vehicle revealed approximately 85 grams of additional suspected methamphetamine.

Stewart was arrested on the warrant along with additional charges of Dealing Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of a Syringe and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

The driver of the vehicle and another passenger were released from the scene.

An unaccompanied two-year-old led to the arrest of a North Vernon man. The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department says that at approximately 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, deputies were dispatched to the area of Bending Willow Way and Wildwood in Country Squire Lakes after the child was found in the roadway. Upon deputies’ arrival, the child was located and officials from the Division of Family and Children were contacted to take custody of the toddler while deputies searched for the parents.

Deputies went knocking door to door seeking information about the child and might live. At approximately 11 a.m., Sheriff Kenny Freeman was able to make contact with an individual that knew where the child belonged.

Investigators determined that the boyfriend of the child’s mother was supposed to be watching the toddler when the child left through the back door. Also during the investigation, it was determined that the boyfriend, 30-year-old Eddie Swindall II, was in possession of prescription drugs that were not prescribed to him. Swindall is facing preliminary charges of:

– Possession of Controlled Substance – Level 6 Felony
– Neglect of a Dependent – Level 6 Felony
– Violation of Legend Drug- Level 6 Felony
– Possession of Paraphernalia – B Misdemeanor