Deputies are accusing a Taylorsville man of being passed out drunk in the yard in the middle of the night, while a child he was in charge of was crying nearby .

Deputies responded to a report of the child crying in the 9200 block of Tecumseh Street at 1:26 a.m. Saturday and found the man unconscious in the yard. According to police reports, 27-year-old Raul Velazquez-Gonzalez had an odor of alcohol on his breath and tested at .210 percent blood-alcohol level when he was woken.

Child Protective Services were called to take custody of the child and Velazquez-Gonzalez was arrested on preliminary charges of public intoxication and neglect of a dependent.

Seymour police are being credited with talking a suicidal and intoxicated man out of harming himself or others Saturday night.

According to reports from the police department, officers were called to a Schepman Avenue home at about 9:15 p.m. Saturday on a report of a suicidal man with a gun .

Sgt. Mike Cooper, Cpl. Devin Cornwell and Officers Mike Payne, Devlin McMindes, and Ben Miller secured the area around the home. For the next three hours, Sgt. Cooper talked with the suicidal man over the phone, eventually convincing the man to put down the weapon and get treatment.

Police say that after the man surrendered he was taken for professional help.

The Columbus wastewater treatment plant will no longer be dumping its sludge into the Bartholomew County landfill.

At least not until the landfill can catch up on an estimated two-year stockpile of the waste.

Frank Miller, president of the county’s solid waste management district board and a City Councilman, briefed the rest of the board on the situation last week, saying that the city has begun taking its sludge to the landfill in Medora, where the dumping costs are comparable to dumping it into the Bartholomew County site.

Miller explained that the city backlog has turned into a large pile of waste and only so much can be mixed in with each load of regular garbage dumped into the landfill.

Representatives from Rumpke estimated that it would take them two more years to mix in the already piled up sludge.

Authorities believe they have found the body of a man who went missing in the White Rock Park area in Shelby County Sunday.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says that a number of agencies had been searching in the St. Paul, for 20-year-old Christopher D. Easton, of Indianapolis. Easton was last seen on the park property at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Authorities say that Easton was visiting the park with friends when he took off alone to walk around the campground.

DNR officials say that a SCUBA diver found the body at 11:11 a.m. Monday and the victim was wearing clothing and glasses similar to the missing man’s.

Authorities are still waiting for a definitive identification and a cause of death in the case. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

Authorities are searching the White Rock Park area in Shelby County for a missing person.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says that Conservation Officers, Shelby County Detectives, Shelbyville Fire Department and

Decatur County Deputies are on scene at White Rock Park, in St. Paul, searching for Christopher Demarrco Easton, 20, Indianapolis. Easton is described as a black male who was last seen on the park property at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Authorities say that Easton was visiting the park with friends on Sunday when he took off alone to walk around the campground. He was last seen in the campground area by standards and his current whereabouts are unknown.

Easton was last seen wearing dark blue and white swimming trucks and glasses. He did not have a shirt on.

DNR officials say that conservation officers are searching the old rock quarry, by aid of boats and sonar. They note that is where a search dog last located Easton’s scent.

If you have any information on Easton’s whereabouts, or you think you have seen him since 5:30 Sunday evening, you are asked to call the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department at (317) 398-6661.

Columbus Regional Health is hosting a celebration for cancer survivors, their loved ones and those still battling the disease, in honor of national Cancer Survivor’s Day.

Kelsey DeClue, hospital spokesperson, says that the center will host “Cancer Survivor Superheroes,” from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, in the Innovation Center, which is located in the lower level of the main hospital. She says that the event will include inspirational speakers, prizes, food and refreshments. It is open to all current and past patients, their families and community members who have been diagnosed with cancer.

DeClue says that no registration is required and complimentary valet parking will be available at the main entrance of Columbus Regional Health.

For more information visit crh.org/cancer or call (812) 376-5550.

An electrical fire has temporarily closed a Columbus restaurant.

Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the Columbus Fire Department, says that firefighters were called to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant, at 2508 Herman Darlage, at approximately 11:15 a.m. on Sunday. He said that the call was made after employees at the restaurant smelled smoke inside the building and called 911.

Wilson says that a store manager told investigators that the store had opened at 11 a.m. and that the issue was discovered after the lights flickered inside of the building. The manager noted that he went to the electrical panel and smelled a strong odor of smoke, but no visible fire. The building was then evacuated.

Firefighters arrived on the scene and encountered a small fire on the exterior of the building near the electrical service supply, said Wilson. He said that crews removed about eight-feet of fencing to access, and extinguish, the flames.

Wilson says that a portion of the siding was damaged as a result of the fire, noting that visible damage to the building’s exterior has been estimated at $500. No injuries were reported. It is not known when the restaurant will be reopened.

Memorial Day has long been considered the “unofficial” start of summer. That is how the city of Columbus is treating it, as Tuesday marks the start of “Summer Hours” for a number of city departments. Mayor Jim Lienhoop’s office says that the following hours are in effect through July 29:

City Hall – 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Parks and Recreation Office – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

City Utilities – 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Columbus officials are also reminding you that the Memorial Day holiday will affect your trash pick-up for the remainder of that week. They say that there will be no trash/compost/recycling collection on Monday. Collections will run one day behind, with normal Friday pick-up falling on Saturday. You should have your toters out no later than 7 a.m. on the day of your collection.

An observant North Vernon Police Officer noticed what he called “suspicious activity” and investigated it. That investigation led to the arrests of four people and the recovery of a stolen gun.

A spokesman with the police department says that at about 2 p.m. on Friday, Sgt. Andrew Richmond stopped to investigate suspicious activity around an SUV parked at a gas station on State Street. During his investigation, Richmond reported finding a syringe cap nearby. This led him to deploy his police dog, “Heros”, to sniff around the area. The dog alerted to the odor of illegal drugs coming from around the SUV. Before officers could start searching the vehicle, one of the occupants, Garrett Peck, 20, of North Vernon, allegedly ran away, on foot. He was quickly captured in the area of Franklin Street and Shull Park.

Officers then searched the SUV and reported finding several syringes and other paraphernalia. Officers also allegedly recovered a loaded, lever-action .22 caliber Henry rifle that had been reported stolen from Switzerland county.

Police say that three adults and one minor were arrested. They are:

Nathan Beeman, 26, of North Vernon; He is facing preliminary charges of Possession of Stolen Property (Class A misdemeanor) and Possession of Paraphernalia (Class A misdemeanor);

McKee Young, 28, of North Vernon; Facing preliminary charges of Possession of Stolen Property (Class A misdemeanor) and Possession of a Syringe (Level 6 Felony);

Garrett Peck, 20, of North Vernon, He is facing a preliminary charge of Resisting Law Enforcement by Fleeing (Class A misdemeanor);

Unidentified 16-year-old female minor: She is facing preliminary charges of Possession of a Syringe (Level 6 Felony) and Possession of Paraphernalia (Class A misdemeanor).

A North Vernon woman died from injuries she received in a Friday morning crash.

Sgt. Andrew Richmond, spokesman for the North Vernon Police Department, says that at 9:11 a.m., officers responded to a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of State Road 7 and State Road 750. Investigators say that a car, being driven by 76-year-old Sonya Y. Craft, had entered the intersection at the same time that a semi truck was clearing the area. They say that Craft’s vehicle struck the semi trailer in the rear axle.

Richmond says that Craft was alive when first-responders arrived at the scene. She was taken to a hospital in Indianapolis, where she was pronounced dead. The driver of the semi, Michael F. Wright, of LaPeer, MI, was not hurt.

Authorities say that they do not believe that drugs and alcohol were factors in this colission, which Richmond says was the third crash at, or near, this intersection over a four-day period.