Contractors in Jackson County are set to begin work to replace a box culvert on U.S. 31, north of Uniontown, next week. Officials with the Indiana Department of Transportation say the road will close one mile north of State Road 250 for approximately 30 days while work is completed. If the weather cooperates, work is slated to begin June 24th.
INDOT says that the official state detour for all U.S. 31 closures in Jackson County will be I-65 NB to U.S. 50.
Classes may be out of session for the summer, but work continues for the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation. Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts says that 21 facilities have to be maintained and improved. Part of those improvements include energy efficiency efforts.
Roberts says that money is coming from the 2019 general obligation bond. He noted that this bond will not increase the local tax rate, as other debt has been paid-off and energy savings are expected to save the school district around $500,000 per year.
Roberts notes that regular maintenance issues also need to be addressed.
BCSC students return to class August 7th.
Columbus city leaders are being asked to ban vaping in public places and businesses in the same way cigarettes have been banned.
Kylee Jones, tobacco awareness coordinator with Healthy Communities at Columbus Regional Health made a presentation to Columbus City Council this week, asking for the amendment. She says that use of e-cigarettes is skyrocketing among the youth in our community and the devices are possibly as harmful to public health as actual cigarettes.
The request will now go the mayor’s ordinance advisory committee for consideration and could come back to the council soon for a vote. Council members generally seemed in favor of the change when it was presented Tuesday.
A man led Hope police and Bartholomew County deputies on a low-speed chase through the northeastern part of the county yesterday,
A Hope officer tried to pull over an SUV for an unsafe maneuver at about 3:47 p.m. yesterday afternoon but the driver allegedly refused to stop. He then continued to drive slowly on town streets and roads in the surrounding area, while police pursued him.
Eventually the driver, identified as 42-year-old Randy S. Colburn of Edinburgh, drove into a creek bank on a farm and then tried to run away. After a short chase, he was captured by a deputy.
He is facing charges of resisting law enforcement, criminal mischief (greater than $750 damage), driving while a habitual traffic violator and an outstanding Bartholomew County warrant.
The Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center reports that several area roads remain closed due to high water. That includes:
High water is running over Jonesville Road/State Road 11 near Jonathan Moore Pike but it is considered passable.
Dispatchers also say that there is high water at Second and Franklin streets.
Authorities warn that you should never drive onto flooded roadways. They say, Turn around and don’t drown.
A flash flood watch remains in effect in our area through tonight with the potential for heavy rain this morning, according to the National Weather Service. Another 1 to 2 inches of rain is possible in the area. That rain will be falling on already saturated ground, leading to the danger of flash flooding.
Rivers have returned to normal levels in Bartholomew County, but East Fork White River in Seymour is still running in the moderate flood stage.
Brown County State Park and Abe Martin Lodge will remain closed through this weekend.
Officials with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources explain that the sediment level from last weekend’s heavy rainfall still remains too high in Ogle Lake to allow the production of potable water.
Closure beyond the weekend will be evaluated on a day-by-day basis.
This weekend’s American Cancer Society “I Relay, What’s Your Superpower” Relay For Life of Columbus has been moved. Organizers explain that expected poor weather has moved the event to the air-conditioned main and auxiliary gyms at Central Middle School. The relay runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 22nd.
This public event, begins with opening ceremony, followed by the survivor lap. Survivors should arrive on site by 10:30 a.m. for registration. Survivors are also encouraged to stay for a taco lunch in the school cafeteria at noon.
Organizers say that teams should decorate their area with a superhero theme, bring silent and live auction items to the event, and make name tags for team members. Tables are available for teams to use at the school, and participants are encouraged to bring chairs. If weather permits, teams may also walk outside on the track.
Organizers say that Saturday’s agenda is as follows:
7 a.m.: Doors Open for Team Site Set-Up. Drop-Off at gym entrance in Bus Lot on Seventh Street until 10 a.m.;
11 a.m.: Opening Ceremony with Survivor, Survivor & Caregiver, and Sponsor Laps
11 a.m. -1:30 p.m.: Silent Auction
Noon: Survivor Lunch
12-1:30 p.m.: Entertainment–Dre’s Story & Dance
12:30 p.m.: Captain America’s Shield Throw
1:30 p.m.: Real Life Hero Lap
2 p.m.: Black Widow’s Puzzle Code
2:30 p.m.: Survivor Ice Cream Social & Thor’s Chugging Contest
3 p.m.: Fight Back Ceremony with Fight Back Challenge participants and Speaker Brad Davis
3:30 p.m.: Columbus Regional Hospital Sponsor Lap
4-6 p.m.: Live Auction
4:30 p.m.: Iron Man’s Challenge
5:30 p.m.: Hawkeye’s Memory Challenge
6-7:30 p.m.: Entertainment
6:30 p.m.: Hulk Smash
7:30 p.m.: Defeat Thanos!
8 p.m.: Luminaria Ceremony immediately followed by Closing Ceremony
An arrest has been made after a Tuesday night incident in Jennings County.
Authorities say that at approximately 9 p.m. that night, dispatchers received a 911 call from a resident on Derbyshire Court advising a male was causing a disturbance and had a firearm in his pocket. The caller stated the man fled from the home on foot when the 911 call was made.
After speaking with the complainant, a deputy searched the area and found the subject, 19-year-old Jeremiah Littrell, of North Vernon, in the area of Big Pine Drive. As the deputy tried to make contact with Littrell, he allegedly fled on foot into a wooded area near County Road 500 West and escaped.
The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department says that at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sgt. Cody Low observed a vehicle leaving a home where deputies had previously received information that Littrell may have been headed to. Sgt. Low conducted a traffic stop on on County Road 300 North. Littrell was found in the back seat and was arrested without incident. No gun was found.
Littrell was arrested on a preliminary charge of Resisting Law Enforcement. Bond is set at $1,155.
The investigation is ongoing.
The Bartholomew County Jail’s Residents Encounter Christ program received a $3,500 Regional and Local Impact grant from the Indiana Sheriff’s Association. Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers accepted the check from ISA Director Stephen P. Luce while they were attending the National Sheriff’s Association’s annual conference in Louisville earlier this week.
REC is a three-day experience where teams of trained Christian volunteers come into the jail to minister to residents. All supplies and equipment are provided by and set up by the REC community. Men and women’s weekends are held separately. The teams usually consist of around 40 members. If space and numbers allow, a REC weekend typically ministers to about 50 inmates.
Sheriff Myers was attending the national conference following his appointment to the National Sheriff’s Association’s Homeland Security Committee earlier this year. The non-profit organization is dedicated to raising the level of professionalism among those in the law enforcement field.
An Edinburgh woman was arrested at the Bartholomew County Library following a dispute over a backpack.
At approximately 9 p.m. Monday, off-duty Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Dougan, who was working security at the library, arrested 22-year-old Chasity Galbraith after a male patron alleged she had stolen his backpack. During the investigation, Galbraith, who police say falsely identified herself twice, told Deputy Dougan that the backpack belonged to her. However, the deputy witnessed the male enter the library wearing the backpack. Property missing from the backpack was located in a trash can and returned to the owner.
While taking Galbraith into custody, she allegedly made a run for the exit. Following a brief struggle, she was arrested on preliminary charges of False Informing and Resisting Law Enforcement. She remains in the Bartholomew County Jail in lieu of $8,500 bond.