Columbus police are looking for your help finding a vehicle and driver believed to have been involved in thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles at Schmitt Elementary yesterday.

School officials say that there was one confirmed theft of a catalytic converter from the school parking lot off of 27th Street and Home Avenue and a passerby saw a second theft in progress . The would-be thief fled the area. Police say the suspect vehicle is an early 2000s Oldsmobile Bravada with a “In God We Trust” Indiana license plate.

A catalytic converter is a piece of a modern vehicle’s exhaust system which contains platinum. If you have any information on the vehicle or the thefts you can call the Columbus police at 812-376-2600.

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Bartholomew County will be looking at proposals for companies to operate all or part of the county’s landfill and other solid waste management district operations such as recycling.

The hope would be that a change could save the county taxpayers $800,000 a year.

Although the county is under a current contract with Rumpke to operate the landfill, the contract is nearing the end of its three-year-life. There are a number of extensions still available.

Columbus City Councilman Frank Miller, the president of the county’s solid waste management district board, is pushing the idea of requesting proposals for the operation of the district’s functions.

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Miller said the county could find savings that could help take the operations off of the county taxpayer altogether.

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The benefit of a request for proposals is that it lets the county write a flexible framework that could then be responded to by interested companies with their own solutions. The county would not be tied to any particular proposal and could pick and choose from the different  submissions or even parts of them.

A formal bidding process is more rigid and if a bidder meets the specific requirements, the county would be obligated to pick that bidder, Miller said.

City and county officials decided to extend the life of the contract by at least one more year yesterday morning, but they also agreed to seek proposals from other companies. Miller said that he hopes to have that request out to interested companies by the end of the year.

Some members of the board said they were concerned about a loss of revenue if the county should move away from Rumpke. In addition to being the contractor that operates the landfill, Rumpke is also the largest customer and it pays fees for every truckload of trash that it dumps. For 2015, the county paid Rumpke $1.2 million to operate the Landfill, but Rumpke brought the county more than $850,000 in revenue.

The Historic Downtown Neighborhood Alliance in Columbus will be holding a coffee and conversation from 8:15 to 9:15 a.m. tomorrow morning at Gramz Bakery and Cafe.

The restaurant is at 409 Washington Street. This will be a chance for neighbors in the area to meet and chat. You are invited to attend.

For more information, call 812-372-9061.

Two Jennings County residents were hurt, one seriously, after a one-vehicle crash Wednesday night.

A spokesperson with the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department says that at 9:37 p.m., Jennings County Deputies and EMS responded to the 3000 East Block of County Road 600 North in reference to a flipped vehicle. When they reached the scene, deputies reported finding Chaena Perry, 30, of Scipio, who had crawled away from the SUV. Moments later, first-responders also found Kurtis M. Turner, 34, of Butlerville, who was reportedly thrown from the vehicle and found laying in a pasture.

Authorities say that Perry was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital, while Turner was flown to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. Updates on their conditions have not been made available.

Sheriff’s Department officials have not yet determined what caused the crash. They say that the investigation is ongoing.

The downtown Columbus building that has housed “The Republic” newspaper for 45 years has been sold to Columbus Regional Health. The hospital closed on the sale of the property, located at the corner of Second and Washington streets, on Thursday. CRH officials say they paid approximately $2,770,000 for the property.

Kelsey DeClue, spokeswoman for the hospital, said that CRH would be taking ownership of the property in October. She says that an exact use for the property has not been determined, but added that the hospital has numerous pent-up space needs in many support services and physician office areas.

The formerly locally-owned family newspaper chain was sold last year to a company out of Texas, but the newspaper offices on Second Street were still owned by the Brown family. The family announced its intention to sell the building earlier this year.

The building itself was designed by Myron Goldsmith of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the same company which designed Chicago’s Willis (formerly Sears) Tower. The glass and steel building was designed to include the newspaper operations, including the company’s presses, although those were moved to Walesboro in 1998. The building was the sixth in Columbus to be identified as a national historic landmark, according to the Columbus-Area Visitors Center.

DeClue says that the building’s standing as a national historic landmark played a part in CRH’s decision to purchase the property. She noted that architecture is an important part of life in Columbus and added that the hospital already owns architecturally significant buildings, including the Lincoln Park building that spans Haw Creek. DeClue adds that architecture and design is more than just nice buildings and a sign of stature. She says that architecture and design can also play an important role in the healing process of patients.

There has been no word yet on where the newspaper will be moving its offices.

Columbus police say that a local man is facing drug charges after a traffic stop this morning for not using his turn signal.

26-year-old Jack D. Bryant didn’t use his turn signal when changing lanes on Gladstone Avenue near 7th Street at about 12:45 a.m., says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the police department. After being pulled over by Officer Robert Michell, Officer Branch Schrader and his police dog Argo were called to the scene and Argo alerted to the smell of narcotics in the vehicle, Harris says.

After initially refusing to get out of the vehicle, Bryant was arrested. A search of the vehicle allegedly uncovered methamphetamine, marijuana, syringes and other drug paraphernalia inside a backpack, Harris says.

Bryant is facing charges of resisting law enforcement, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a legend drug injection device.

The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic’s annual SALUTE! concert will be on the Bartholomew County Courthouse lawn in front of the veterans memorial tomorrow night starting at 7 p.m.

Retired Major General Mark Pillar, an organizer for the event, says there will be a flyover by a military plane, weather permitting:

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Pillar, said the event means a lot for the soldiers and veterans who attend:

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Pillar says that food sales will start at 5:30 p.m.

The Columbus Area Arts Council will be bringing a cappella group “Naturally 7” to perform at Live on the Plaza on June 17. The free concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Bartholomew County Public Library.

Geri Handley, marketing manager for the arts council says that the band has performed world tours with Michael Bublé; played as special guests for Coldplay; and released their own CDs.

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Live on the Plaza is in its third year. The focus, says Handley, is to bring innovative musical performances to Columbus.

The rain location is The Commons.

A Columbus woman was arrested last night after allegedly trying to steal more than $900 from a local department store.

Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that officers were called to the Carson’s Department store on 25th Street at about 7 p.m.  A woman, identified as 39-year-old Tina M. Spears, had allegedly taken a large amount of merchandise out of the store without paying for it. She allegedly became combative with police when confronted.

She was also found to have several outstanding warrants for failing to show up in court. She is being accused of theft and being held on warrants including failing to appear in Bartholomew County courts on charges including unlawful possession of a syringe, driving while suspended, possession of drug paraphernalia, conversion and a probation violation.

A new festival planned for this fall will bring 25 craft breweries to northern Bartholomew County. 450 North Brewing Company and Indiana On Tap, the state’s craft brewing organization, are organizing the Corn Maze Beer Festival on October 1st.

You will be able to navigate through a corn maze behind Simmons Winery, with beer stations scattered throughout the inside of the maze serving free samples of craft beers, according to the brewery. There will also be food trucks and other activities.

The festival will be from 1 to 5 p.m. and there will be shuttle service available to the festival and special rates at local hotels. Michael Brookbank, organizer of the festival, says that the corn maze will also be open to the public after the festival.

Indiana On Tap