A first-year teacher for the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) has been suspended after her arrest over the weekend on drunk-driving charges.

Columbus Police Department (CPD) Spokesman Lt. Matt Harris says that 56-year-old Mary B. Ream, of Hope, had pulled out of the parking lot of a

Columbus liquor store in the area of 25th Street and Taylor Road Saturday night when one of her vehicle’s wheels came off. Harris says that Officer Lucas Nibarger arrived on the scene at approximately 8 p.m. and spoke with Ream, whom he says had a strong odor of alcohol on her breath. Columbus Police say that Ream failed a number of field sobriety tests at the scene, as well as provided a portable breath sample of .219%, more than two-and-a-half times the legal limit. Police also allegedly found a half-empty bottle of whiskey and an unopened beer in Ream’s purse.

Harris says that Ream was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital, where officers obtained a warrant for a blood sample. She was then booked in the Bartholomew County Jail on a preliminary charge of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated with a Previous Conviction within Five Years (Level 6 Felony).

Larry Perkinson, with the BCSC, says that the arrest is unfortunate. He added that that school officials are thankful that no one was hurt. Perkinson says that BCSC suspended Ream, who was teaching at the Columbus Signature Academy (CSA) – New Tech campus, immediately after learning of Saturday night’s incident. He added that the administration is recommending that Ream’s contract not be renewed.