Some Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corp. customers will be without water for part of the day on Monday, May 6th. Officials say customers on State Road 46 in Brown County west of the North Salem Church to Camp Moneto Road and a few customers on Old Nashville Road, Hoover Road and Lucas Hollow Road will be without service from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday.

Once water service is restored, a Boil Water Advisory will then be in effect through noon on May 9th for these same customers. As a precaution, customers should bring water to a full boil for five minutes before consumption or use in cooking and food preparation.

Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess says that his department is conducting an investigation into potential financial wrong doing at Center Grove School Corp.

The sheriff is releasing only a few details, but he did say that the investigation is criminal in nature and it doesn’t involve any students or children. he said it is a financial crimes investigation, and that it is being worked on diligently by investigators.

He said he will not be releasing any names or other information into the case until it comes to completion.

An Elizabethtown woman is under arrest, accused of drug dealing after being arrested within 500 feet of a school.

32-year-old Jessica A. Comstock is facing charges of dealing and possessing methamphetamine, dealing and possessing heroin, possession of a legend drug injection device and driving while suspended.

Columbus police say that they stopped her vehicle at about 3:15 Thursday afternoon in the 600 block of California Street after noticing it had a false registration.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department police dog Diesel alerted to the smell of drugs in the vehicle and a search found syringes and other drug paraphernalia. Comstock was arrested and during a search, officers found the drugs.

The police department says the preliminary charges were enhanced because she was within 500 feet of the school at the time of the traffic stop.

One of the biggest issues facing the city of Columbus is the ongoing opioid epidemic.

In the past few years, the city has taken several steps to fight the drug issue including partnering with Bartholomew County and Columbus Regional Health to form the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, and dedicating funds from local income taxes to pay for programs and other costs fighting the epidemic.

We asked the candidates in the contested Republican primaries in next week’s election for their thoughts on what more the city could do to address the opioid crisis.

Columbus Republican voters will be choosing candidates in three City Council races in the May 7th primary election – District 1, District 3 and the at-large races.

In District 1, incumbent Dascal Bunch is facing challenger Chris Rutan.

Bunch said:

Rutan said:

In District 3, incumbent Dave Bush is running against Russell Poling.

Bush said:

Poling said:

In the At-Large race, incumbent Laurie Booher is facing a challenge from John D. Counceller and Josh Burnett.

Booher said:

Counceller said:

Burnett said:

About the candidates:

Dascal Bunch, 64, is currently in his second term representing District 1 on the Columbus City Council. He also works part-time. Bunch has two adult childre, six grandchildren and a seventh on the way. He attended Ball State University. Bunch is involved with St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, specifically the church’s “Angels of Love” program.

Chris Rutan, 41, is a local property manager. He has previously run for city council, district 1, Columbus Townsip Trustee and the Columbus Township Advisory Board. Rutan is heavily involved with the Salvation Army.

David Bush, 34, currently serves District 3 on the Columbus City Council. He was selected by local Republican Party leaders to complete the term of former Councilman Frank Jerome, who moved out of the district. Bush is also a small business owner. He and his wife Katy are raising three children. Bush is a graduate of Columbus East and Purdue. He is involved with Turning Point and is a member of the operations board for St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.

Russell Poling, 56, is a quality manager at Cummins and a 20-year veteran of the Air Force. He and his wife Judy have two adult children and one grandchild. Poling has a degree in computer science from the the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is a mentor with the Bartholomew County Veterans Treatment Court and serves on the Bartholomew County Plan Commission and as vice president of the Columbus City Plan Commission. Poling previously ran for this council seat in 2015.

Laurie Booher is currently serving on the Columbus City Council At-Large. She is a small business owner that employs youths and adults with special needs. Booher has three adult children and a master’s degree in physical therapy from the Universtity of Indianapolis. Booher served as a member of the Columbus Service League, as well as on the boards of Turning Point and Riley Hospital Foundation.

John D. Counceller,72, is a local business owner. He and his wife have a blended family of seven adult children. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Trine University. Counceller ran unsucessfully last year to represent Indiana House District 59.

Josh Burnett, 31, is a small busines owner. He and his wife Katie are raising there young children. Burnett is a graduate of Columbus East and Cincinnatti Christian University. His is a member of Columbus Young Professionals, the local Rotary Club and the board of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation. This is his first run at elected office.

There are no contested primaries on the Democratic side.

Early voting continues ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Jay Phelps, Bartholomew County Clerk, says that as of late Thursday afternoon, nearly 800 early absentee ballots have been cast. That’s down considerably from the last election.

You can still cast an early ballot.

For Election Day on Tuesday, the following vote center locations will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.:

Flintwood Wesleyan Church

St. John’s Masonic Lodge on Rocky Ford Rd

Grace Lutheran Church on Central Ave.

Donner Center

Bible Church of Columbus on Tenth Street

The Commons

German American Bank on W. Jonathan Moore Pike

Terrace Lake Church

Phelps says determining Tuesday night’s primary winners shouldn’t take long once the polls close.

We’ll have live election coverage once polls close Tuesday night at 6 p.m. on News Talk 1010 WCSI and 98.1 FM.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers has been complaining loudly recently about safety concerns relating to the crosswalk in front of the jail. Those long-awaited improvements are on the way.

On Thursday, Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop’s office confirmed that the Indiana Department of Transportation has an active project to install a pedestrian signal at the crosswalk. City officials say that INDOT plans to install an overhead HAWK (High-Intensity Activated crossWalK) signal, similar to the signals on Lindsey Street at Fifth Street and on Washington Street at 17th Street.

The project is scheduled for bid letting on July 10th. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Another phone scam has been discovered locally. The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that the calling number is displayed as coming from its office. The scammer tells the person that they have missed jury duty and therefore must provide some type of financial compensation or risk being arrested. At least one of the callers was advised to take money to a local grocery store.

Authorities stress that no one from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office will call demanding money from anyone who missed jury duty. If you receive such a call demanding money, hang up. Do not give any personal information.

A report of a suspicious person near Sycamore Street in downtown Columbus led to a woman’s arrest on drug-related charges.

Columbus police say that a witness saw a woman acting suspiciously near a home in the 1000 block of Sycamore at about 10:30 yesterday morning. Officers spoke with the woman who identified herself as 23-year-old Hanna D. Hatton of Columbus, who had an outstanding arrest warrant.

She was taken into custody without incident, but a search revealed she was carrying marijuana, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. She was arrested on the warrant and on new charges for possessing the drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office and Columbus Police Department are announcing upcoming “Click It or Ticket” patrols looking for drivers who are not wearing seatbelts.

They will be joining law-enforcement agencies across the nation in the effort to increase enforcement of seat-belt laws. The agencies will be making highly visible patrols and watching for unrestrained passengers. They say the effort will include cars and trucks, children and adults, front seat and back, and during the day and night.

Click It or Ticket will run through the Memorial Day holiday and the start of the summer travel season. The overtime hours for the police patrols are paid for from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funds administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

According to the Institute, Indiana law requires the driver and all passengers to buckle up. Children under 8 must be properly restrained in a child car seat or booster seat.

Columbus Republican voters will be choosing candidates in three City Council races in the May 7th primary election – District 1, District 3 and the at-large races.

We asked the candidates for their thoughts on the city’s partnering with other local governments for projects affecting the larger community.

In District 1, incumbent Dascal Bunch is running against Chris Rutan.

In District 3, incumbent Dave Bush is running against Russell Poling.

In the At-Large race, incumbent Laurie Booher is facing a challenge from John D. Counceller and Josh Burnett.

About the candidates:

Dascal Bunch, 64, is currently in his second term representing District 1 on the Columbus City Council. He also works part-time. Bunch has two adult childre, six grandchildren and a seventh on the way. He attended Ball State University. Bunch is involved with St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, specifically the church’s “Angels of Love” program.

Chris Rutan, 41, is a local property manager. He has previously run for city council, district 1, Columbus Townsip Trustee and the Columbus Township Advisory Board. Rutan is heavily involved with the Salvation Army.

David Bush, 34, currently serves District 3 on the Columbus City Council. He was selected by local Republican Party leaders to complete the term of former Councilman Frank Jerome, who moved out of the district. Bush is also a small business owner. He and his wife Katy are raising three children. Bush is a graduate of Columbus East and Purdue. He is involved with Turning Point and is a member of the operations board for St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.

Russell Poling, 56, is a quality manager at Cummins and a 20-year veteran of the Air Force. He and his wife Judy have two adult children and one grandchild. Poling has a degree in computer science from the the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is a mentor with the Bartholomew County Veterans Treatment Court and serves on the Bartholomew County Plan Commission and as vice president of the Columbus City Plan Commission. Poling previously ran for this council seat in 2015.

Laurie Booher is currently serving on the Columbus City Council At-Large. She is a small business owner that employs youths and adults with special needs. Booher has three adult children and a master’s degree in physical therapy from the Universtity of Indianapolis. Booher served as a member of the Columbus Service League, as well as on the boards of Turning Point and Riley Hospital Foundation.

John D. Counceller,72, is a local business owner. He and his wife have a blended family of seven adult children. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Trine University. Counceller ran unsucessfully last year to represent Indiana House District 59.

Josh Burnett, 31, is a small busines owner. He and his wife Katie are raising there young children. Burnett is a graduate of Columbus East and Cincinnatti Christian University. His is a member of Columbus Young Professionals, the local Rotary Club and the board of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation. This is his first run at elected office.

There are no contested primaries on the Democratic side.