Jennings County deputies will be tightening their procedures for transporting prisoners to court after an inmate escaped recently. The sheriff’s department announced yesterday that it had concluded the investigation into the escape of 41-year-old Kim Lynn Patton from the courthouse in Vernon on March 1st.

Sheriff Kenny Freeman says that a handcuff key was lost at the booking counter in the jail and ended up in Patton’s possession. While jail officers noticed the missing key, it was not recovered before Patton’s escape.

The department said that only a single officer was transporting prisoners on the day Patton escaped, due to staffing shortages. And because the department did not have video cameras trained on the prisoners in the transport cage, the officer did not see Patton undoing his restraints.

Because there was no marked parking spaces just for jail vehicles, the officer had to park farther away from the courthouse than normal to deliver the prisoner.

Freeman said old procedures from previous administrations will be replaced with new procedures and policies. Those changes include making sure all inmates at risk of escaping are transported with two officers, cameras will be used in the transport cage, and dedicated parking spaces close to the courthouse will be set aside for transport parking only.

Freeman also thanked the community for its support and the information that led to Patton being located.

Columbus police found an unconscious driver behind the wheel of a running vehicle early Saturday morning.

33-year-old Del L. Armstrong of Columbus was found inside the vehicle, stopped in the middle of the intersection of 11th and California streets, at about 4:20 a.m. Saturday morning. Police say that his foot was still on the brake pedal and the car was running, when they tried to wake him.

He failed several field sobriety tests and officers got a search warrant to test his blood alcohol level. He is facing a preliminary charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

A man suspected of shoplifting at the eastside Walmart in Columbus, is now facing drug possession charges.

Columbus police say that they were called to the store on Whitfield Drive at about 7:15 p.m. Friday night on a reported shoplifter. As the suspect, 31-year-old Dustin E. Howard of Trafalgar, attempted to leave the store he was confronted by police and ran away.

He was caught a short while later and found to allegedly be carrying goods stolen from the store as well as a small amount of methamphetamine.

He is facing preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement, theft and possession of methamphetamine.

Two people were arrested in North Vernon in what police are calling a “substantial” drug arrest following a traffic stop Saturday night.

The situation started at about 8:47 p.m. Saturday night when a North Vernon officer noticed a vehicle make a moving violation on Gum Street.  After the traffic stop, the officer became suspicious of possible criminal activity and the department’s police dog Zobi alerted to the odor of narcotics inside the vehicle.

A search allegedly revealed about 15 grams of methamphetamine in three bags. The driver, 41 year-old Jarel Haines of North Vernon, was also allegedly found to be carrying several small packages of heroin in his pockets. He was arrested and a search at the jail revealed another small bag of methamphetamine and a bag of pills identified as suboxone in Haines clothing.

Haines and a passenger, 18-year-old Ezra Engle of North Vernon, were arrested on charges including dealing in a controlled substance.

A Seymour man is being accused of murder after allegedly shooting his brother in law to death in the parking lot of a grocery store yesterday afternoon.

The Seymour Tribune is reporting that 61-year-old William Baker is accused of shooting 33-year-old Dustin Payne in the parking lot on Tipton Street at just before 6 last night. Payne was exchanging his children with his ex-wife when he got into an argument with Baker.

Payne was shot once in the chest with a revolver, according to the newspaper. Payne was taken to Schneck Medical Center before being airlifted to University of Louisville Hospital in critical condition and later died.

A local educator and previous candidate for Statehouse aims to improve awareness about the need for quality public education. Dale Nowlin is chair of the Math Department at Columbus North and Northside Middle Schools…

With that, Nolting is co-hosting a special screening of the documentary “Rise Above the Mark” with Chrystal Walcot of the IUPUC School of Education. He talks about what he hopes viewers will take away from the film…

Monday night’s screening is set for 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the Columbus Learning Center. Discussion will follow the 65-minute film.

The Indiana Department of Transportation is hosting public open houses to solicit input regarding the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) – Agency initiatives, programs highlighted during interactive, informal and informative sessions. STIP is a federally mandated four-year funding and scheduling document for surface transportation projects in Indiana.

Project types involving pavement and bridge facilities, projects addressing safety, congestion, mobility and emergency response can be found in the STIP. In addition, this document includes investment in various modes of transportation including transit, pedestrian trails, and bicycle facilities.

INDOT says that 12 public open houses are scheduled this spring to raise awareness of the STIP, its process and to solicit input from residents. During the open houses, INDOT team members will be available to address questions and solicit input related to a variety of topics.

An open house will be held in Columbus on May 15th at Columbus East. That’s scheduled for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Fans of comic books, anime, games and other pop culture activities have a chance to celebrate their fandoms tomorrow and to help youth literacy efforts.

Columbus New Tech High School Senior Noah Christian is the event organizer for Geek Mania, being held at Central Middle School. This event is Noah’s senior project.

He said there will be booths dedicated to all those hobbies, plus artists, conventions and people in costume.

In addition to booths from more than a dozen geek-friendly organizations and companies, there will be some hands on activities too.

Christian said that the event is free. Proceeds from concession sales and from donations will go to the Bartholomew County Public Library’s children’s section, he said.

The mini convention is in Central Middle School’s Grey Box Theater from 12 to 3 p.m.

You can go to the event’s Facebook page for more information.

For those who need help quitting smoking, tobacco cessation classes start again in Columbus on March 19th.

Those classes are being held through the Tobacco Awareness Program at Columbus Regional Health’s Healthy Communities initiative. The weekly classes are held in the basement of the Bartholomew County Public Library and they are seven weeks long. Those are on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8 p.m.

The course is $35 per person and there are scholarships available. That fee covers the workbook, CD, and medication

To sign up for the classes you can call 812-343-9840 or go through the website at crh.org. You can also email  healthycommunities@crh.org.

A statewide Silver Alert has been issued for a missing New Albany teen.

Authorities are investigating the disappearance of 16 year old Kevin M. Fultz Jr.. He is a white boy, 5 feet 6 inches tall and 130 pounds with sandy blond hair and brown eyes. he was last seen wearing a University of Louisville sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Authorities say he may be traveling in a 2011 Ford Focus 4 door sedan with Indiana plate 956 ZSQ. The vehicle has a red sticker with a white triangle on the trunk lid.