Area police are asking for the public’s help in finding a suspect who escaped from police custody in Columbus.

Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox said the department is hoping to upset any Thanksgiving plans being made by 26-year-old Dustin Allen Evans. Evans is wanted on warrants from Johnson, Bartholomew and Scott counties.

About a week ago, he escaped from an Edinburgh officer near 8th Street and Central Avenue in Columbus while on his way to the Bartholomew County Jail.

Cox says that Evans is five feet, four inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes. But his most distinctive feature is a tattoo on his left temple that says “misunderstood.”

Police believe Evans is still in the central Indiana area. If you have any information on Evans whereabouts, you can call the Edinburgh Police Department at 812-526-3501.

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday most government offices and services are unavailable Thursday and Friday.

Columbus City Garage is announcing that trash/composting/recycling and brush collections will run one day behind with Friday’s collections on Saturday. Loose leaf collection will resume on Monday, November 30th.

The Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management district offices, the recycling center and the landfill will all be closed tomorrow. On Friday, the recycling center and offices will remain closed but the landfill will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

There are several opportunities for you to find a community Thanksgiving meal on Thursday.

First Christian Church and Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center will be serving at the church on Fourth Street from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.. Columbus Baptist Church is hosting a meal from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  at the church, which is at 4821 N. US Hwy 31.

The official lighting ceremony for the Christmas trees at Columbus City Hall and at The Commons has been set for 6 p.m. Friday.

Mike Nolting, spokesman for the city, says the families who donated the trees will be on hand to push the switch.

The 22-foot blue spruce at City Hall is being donated by Lee Ann Mitchell of Yellowood Court. She said she is donating the tree in memory of her late husband Greg, who died unexpectedly this fall from liver cancer.

Shelley and Jerry Coomer of North Gladsone Avenue donated a 15-foot tall blue spruce on display at The Christmas Village at The Commons. Nolting said the family has decorated the tree for many years, but it finally got too big for the family to decorate.

Nolting said that the ceremony won’t have the cookies and hot chocolate it has in the past, but the city suggests you can come downtown, enjoy shopping at local merchants and the holiday spirit.

Today is the last day to sign up for three agriculture related classes being organized by the Purdue Cooperative Extension Office in Bartholomew County for Dec. 1st.

To sign up for classes on Crop Diversification, Code Red planning and Applicator Training you can call 812-379-1665. The classes will all be held at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The Crop Diversification class will teach about crops to consider for small acreages in southern Indiana. It will be from 9:30 to 2 p.m. on Dec. 1st. The cost is $15 and includes a box lunch.

The Code Red class will help farm families and businesses continue to operate should something happen to a key member of the team. It will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Dec. 1st. The cost is $10 and will include refreshments and a flash drive.

The Private Applicator Recertification Program will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Private applicators should bring their license and $10 for the credit.

A local-beef chili dinner will be served at 5 p.m. for those attending Code Red or PARP.  You should bring a piece of farming advice to add to a projected display.

Columbus firefighters say that they stopped a burning vehicle from destroying a garage last night.

The call came in at 10:37 p.m. that a sports utility vehicle was burning in a narrow alley behind the 1600 block of Washington Street. According to Capt. Mike Wilson with the fire department, to fight the fire in the alley, firefighters had to unreel more than 250 feet of hose.

Firefighters sprayed about 100 gallons of water on the burning vehicle to extinguish the fire, which consumed the engine compartment and passenger area. The garage was undamaged but a basketball goal was burned. The damages were estimated at about $1,000.

The owner of the vehicle said he had bought the SUV a few days before and had noticed a few mechanical problems. After he parked it in the alley, a family member noticed it was on fire.

A website has chosen Columbus as the most architecturally impressive small town in America.

The website, www.windowsandsiding.net, ranked small cities of fewer than 100,000 residents. Each had to have at least one notable architectural attraction and they were chosen and ranked based upon their overall appeal to the average person with an interest in architecture.

Columbus ranked just above Santa Barbara and Palm Springs, California and St. Augustine, Florida.

The website lists its role as educating consumers about their options as they consider new and replacement windows and siding.

Deputies are reminding people about an ongoing scam that claims to be related to the Internal Revenue Service.

Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox says that a deputy took a report yesterday from a person who had received a call from a scammer who claimed to be from the IRS and also claimed that the would-be victim owed back taxes. If those taxes weren’t paid immediately, the victim would have been arrested, the caller warned.

But the resident realized the call was a scam and hung up.

Deputies say the caller appeared to be calling from the 317 area code.

Bartholomew County Commissioners have approved changes to the county employees healthcare plan that will raise those employees premiums and deductibles.

Some employees say the changes will cost them more than $1,000 a year. Among the changes, new deductibles will be $2,000 for an individual, and $4,000 for a family. Premiums are also doubling.

Commissioner Rick Flohr said the changes were necessary for the county to work within the budget numbers available. Commissioners president Larry Kleinhenz said the dramatic changes have some employees upset, but the new plan was the best that could be done.

Commissioners voted unanimously yesterday morning to approve the changes to the plan.

Columbus authorities believe that two children playing with matches led to a garage fire yesterday afternoon on Pence Street.

A neighbor discovered the fire in the 200 block of Pence Street and called 911 at 3:39 yesterday afternoon. When firefighters arrived flames were engulfing a garage at the rear of the home. Capt. Mike Wilson with the fire department says that firefighters stopped the blaze before it spread to the home, but there was minor smoke damage. A car and motorcycle inside the garage were also damaged.

Witnesses said that children were seen playing in straw in the garage shortly before the fire started. When Columbus police talked to the children they found that the kids had been playing with matches in the garage. Police said no criminal charges are pending.

No one was injured and the Red Cross is helping the family with shelter. The damage is estimated at $50,000.