The Bartholomew County Highway Department says that Carr Hill Road, between Terrace Lake Road and Morgan Willow, is closed until further notice. Crews are extending the sidewalk in that area.
If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a missing girl. Authorities say that 13-year-old Valentina Lacava, of Greenwood, was reported missing about 1 a.m. Friday. Investigators believe she may have runaway.
Lacava is a slender, white female. She is 5-feet 1-inch tall, and weighs about 110 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing dark jeans and a zip-up sweatshirt, possibly a hoodie, and black sneakers.
A few hours earlier, at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, a Greenwood man reported seeing a young girl matching this description get into an old, dirty, two-door Honda Civic with damage to its front bumper at the intersection of Watson Road and Possum Hollow Road, the same neighborhood the girl was reported missing.
Anyone with any information about the whereabouts of Valentina Lacava should contact the Johnson County Dispatch Center at (317) 346-6336.
The campgrounds, cabins and Abe Martin Lodge closures at Brown County State Park have been extended another day through at least Wednesday, June 26nd.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says that the park will continue with day use activities and services only through Wednesday. This includes such activities as sight-seeing, fishing and picnicking. Officials says that gates will be staffed, but no admission will be charged.
Abe Martin Lodge remains closed, as are the pools and drinking fountains. Modern restrooms are closed, but vault toilets are available. Guests who visit for permitted activities must bring their own drinking water. Bottled water and packaged snacks are now available at the park’s Country Store near the campground.
Possible closure of overnight facilities beyond Wednesday night will be determined.
Next week’s scheduled power outage in and around Hope has been cancelled.
Duke Energy officials had planned two overnight outages for the area in order to rebuild a transmission line. The first outage began on the evening of June 11th and lasted approximately seven hours as crews de-energized the power line. The second outage was set for the evening of July 2nd.
Duke officials say they’ve evaluated the work already done and determined their crews can safely complete construction without de-energizing the line again.
There will be a free Legal Aid Clinic from 3 to 5 p.m. today at the Bartholomew County United Way Center on 13th Street.
You can get a free 10 minute consultation with a pro bono attorney.
Legal Aid uses local volunteer attorneys to offer free legal consultations to low-income individuals. Consultations are available on a first come first serve basis and no reservations are required.
Bartholomew County deputies arrested a driver and a bystander in an incident Saturday night in Columbus.
Deputies report that they stopped a vehicle in the 1800 block of 10th Street at about 9:37 p.m. Saturday night and found the driver was wanted on a warrant. A search revealed drugs and 52 year old Paul Comstock was arrested on charges including obstruction of justice, resisting law enforcement and possessing methamphetamine, a look-alike substance, paraphernalia and legend drug injection devices.
But a woman who lives in the block and was watching the arrest was also found to be wanted on a warrant. 34-year-old Loretta Reed of Columbus was arrested.
The city of Columbus is hosting a meeting with the residents of the State Street area Monday evening. The Director of the Love Chapel, Kelly Daugherty, will be the guest speaker.
City Councilman Dascal Bunch, who represents the area, notes that this meeting is a follow-up to one held last fall. In that meeting, much of the concern among area residents and business owners was how homelessness was impacting those who live and work there. Addiction and discarded needles were also addressed.
While the meeting will focus on the State Street area, all city residents are welcome. It will begin at 6 p.m. in the Cal Brand Meeting Room at city hall.
The Columbus Area Visitors Center has won approval for its $1.4 million budget for next year.
The center is funded out of revenues from a 5 percent tax on hotel rooms called an innkeeper’s tax. The center announced that it has won approval this week for its proposal to the Bartholomew County Recreation, Convention, and Visitor Promotion Commission which oversees the distribution of those funds.
The visitors center also won approval from the commission for two grants to help local tourism efforts. That would include $100,000 for a new kidscommons exhibit and $100,000 for upgrades to the playground at The Commons. Those grants are contingent on other groups providing the rest of the funding for the projects.
The commission contracts with the visitors center to promote and grow local tourism.
North Vernon city officials are alerting residents that Duke Energy will be working in the area over the next few months, replacing customers’ meters with new, digital smart meters.
According to Duke Energy, the technicians drive white vans that have signs on the side identifying them as “Aclara-SGS – a Contractor for Duke Energy.” They will also be carrying ID.
North Vernon Police Department say that if you do suspect suspicious activity in and around your home you can call the police non-emergency number 812-346-1466.
Southern Indiana Rotary clubs are accepting applications for a $40,000 Rotary District Global Grant Scholarship. The scholarship is designed to help a southern Indiana student to study in a graduate program at any qualified university outside the U.S.
Rotary officials say the 2020-21 program is open to students who attend a four-year college in southern Indiana (or who maintain a legal residence in the district) and who plan to pursue graduate-level studies at an overseas university.
Officials say the program “supports exceptional scholars dedicated to pursuing a career in an area of great humanitarian need and who demonstrate a long-term commitment to measurable, sustainable change.” Scholars must present a plan of study and a career commitment that align with one of The Rotary Foundation’s six areas of focus.
For more information and for an application, visit
rotary6580.org/global-grant-scholarship.php. The deadline to apply is December 20, 2019.