Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus will be helping people build up their wardrobe of professional clothing, Wednesday and Thursday.

The campus will be having its Ivy Republic sale, which school officials call an upscale garage sale that offers buyers low cost prices on gently used professional clothing.

Clothing and accessories are being sold for $1 per item. Money raised goes to benefit a scholarship fund.

The Ivy Republic sale will be going on from 9 to 4 tomorrow and Thursday in the student commons area of Poling Hall on the Ivy Tech Columbus campus on Central Avenue.

Organizers say the event is open to all Ivy Tech students, staff, faculty, and you are also invited to take part.

North Vernon city employees will not have to worry about an increase in health insurance costs for 2017.

The city was initially looking at a potential 14-percent increase in premiums with SIHO when the city council agreed if that increase couldn’t be lowered, it would look into other options for city employees.

The council received notification during its meeting Monday evening that SIHO has agreed to a rate hold for the coming year after reassessing the city’s needs.

The organization credited the city’s efforts to address employee wellness for its decision to eliminate the cost increase.

An Edinburgh man was arrested early this morning after Columbus police noticed him behaving suspiciously in Lincoln Park.

According to police reports, an officer saw the man in the park at about 2:30 a.m. and when the officer approached, the man allegedly ran away. After a chase, the man was captured by police and then allegedly gave a fake name to officers, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department.

He was eventually identified as 27-year-old Jesse A. Murphy. Murphy had an outstanding warrant out of Johnson County. He is also now facing preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement and false informing.

Bartholomew County voters will be choosing next month between two candidates for County Commissioner District 3 — incumbent Republican Rick Flohr and Democratic challenger Brad Woodcock.

Flohr, 66, is finishing his first term as county commissioner. He is part owner of a tool and die business in town and has been in that business for 38 years. He is also a part-time farmer. He is married to Debra and they have four married daughters and 11 grandchildren. He graduated from Columbus North High School and attended Indiana University. He is a member of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Waymansville.

Woodcock, 48,  is a small business owner. He is married to Ellen, and they have a son, Ryan, daughter, Kristin, and a granddaughter.  He graduated from Columbus East High School.

We asked Flohr and Woodcock:

• The budget negotiations for 2017 were especially harsh this year between the County Council and Commissioners. What needs to happen to improve that relationship?

Flohr said the relationship isn’t as bad as it may have seemed.

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Woodcock said better communication would help:

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We also asked the candidates about repairing or replacing the county highway garage on State Street

• The Council scuttled plans for a new annex building on State Street. Now the commissioners are looking at the county highway garage, which sounds like it is falling apart. How can that building be repaired or replaced?

Woodcock said a cumulative capital development fund would help the county pay for the project:

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Flohr said that the decision to give up on the annex plans was a joint one between the commissioners and council. And he agreed that a cumulative capital development fund was needed.

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Both candidates said they support the creation of a cumulative capital development fund, which would allow the county to build up money over several years for big projects.

We asked the candidates:

• Some current County Council members say the county needs more revenue. Do you support the commissioners creating a cumulative development fund?

Flohr did have a concern:

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Woodcock said he thinks the county should consider establishing the fund:

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Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz, a Republican, will also be on the November ballot, for District 1. He is unopposed.

Ivy Tech Community College has selected Kathleen Mote as Interim Chancellor of its Columbus/Southeast Region. Christopher Schilling, spokesman for the Columbus campus, says that Mote fills the vacancy created when former Chancellor Chris Lowery was named the College’s Senior Vice President of Workforce Alignment.

Ivy Tech’s Columbus/Southeast Region has campuses in Batesville, Columbus, Lawrenceburg and Madison with an enrollment of nearly 5,000 students.

“It is truly a blessing to work side by side with so many dedicated colleagues who help change the lives of our students and their families,” Mote said. “I am humbled to have been selected to help lead these talented professionals in our region.”

Schilling says that Mote began her career with Ivy Tech as an Adjunct Professor of general education in 2009. In 2011, she became Assistant Professor and Chair of the regional Criminal Justice program. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2014 and in November of that year was named President of the Madison Campus. Prior to Ivy Tech, Mote practiced criminal law as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Marion, Jackson, and Jefferson counties. Mote was honored in 2014 as Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year by the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“Katie has proven to be a wonderful collaborator, pulling together the faculty and staff at the Madison Campus to work alongside our community and K-12 education partners to help change the lives of our students,” Lowery said. “The commitment she exhibits each day to her students, faculty, and staff and to the southeastern Indiana region will be invaluable as Ivy Tech continues its work in meeting the workforce needs of our communities and increasing the levels of educational attainment throughout the state.”

A Franklin Police Officer and his wife were arrested Sunday night after an alleged domestic disturbance.

Franklin Police Chief Tim O’Sullivan says that officers from his department responded to a home in the 1000 block of Spring Meadow Court on an incident involving Officer Bryan Burton. The chief says that once it was learned that an FPD officer was involved, he requested that the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department take over the investigation.

Johnson County authorities say that when deputies arrived they spoke with Jordan Burton, the officer’s wife. She allegedly told officers that her husband had grabbed her by the arm when she tried to leave with their 7-month-old baby. She also alleges that Officer Burton took her keys, and then began removing the battery from her car.

Another witness, a teenage male son of Officer Burton, reportedly told police that his father was trying to keep Jordan Burton from leaving with the baby because there was no car seat in the vehicle and that she was handling the baby “like a football.” He added that his father tried to stop his step-mother from leaving by “shuffling in front” of her. The teen also told deputies that the woman had struck his father with a closed fist during the altercation, noting that he didn’t see his father grab the woman.

Both parties were arrested. Franklin Police retrieved all department owned property, including Burton’s service weapon, from him. Chief O’Sullivan says that Officer Burton is on unpaid leave pending a merit commission hearing. He adds that he is “disappointed” in the arrest, adding that “incidents of this nature simply cannot be tolerated in our community.”

Hope police likely saved a woman’s life over the weekend, according to HSJ Online.

According to the report from the Hope news website, 25-year-old Erika Hurt, of Hope, allegedly overdosed in a store parking lot with her baby in the car. Marshall Matt Tallent told the site that the incident happened Saturday afternoon in the Dollar General Store parking lot.

“When officers arrived, she actually had the needle in her hand,” Tallent is quoted as saying. The report says that officers used two doses of Narcan to revive Hurt, who was then taken to Columbus Regional Hospital. She was arrested at the hospital that evening and is facing preliminary charges of Possession of Paraphernalia, Neglect of a Dependent and a Probation Violation.

The site says that Hurt’s 10-month-old son was released to the custody of her mother.

For more on this story, visit www.hsjonline.org.

Columbus police made another meth arrest over the weekend.

Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department Spokesman, says that that just after midnight Saturday morning, Sgt. Josh McCrary reported seeing a speeding vehicle near Second and Sycamore Street. After stopping the vehicle, McCrary became suspicious of the vehicle’s occupants. Officer Branch Schrader arrived with his K-9 partner, Argo, who alerted to the odor of narcotics inside the vehicle. A search of the vehicle allegedly produced two syringes in a cup where 26-year-old Nathan F. Ingram, of Columbus, had been sitting. Officers also reported finding methamphetamine that fell out of Ingram’s clothing while he was being searched.

Ingram was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of a Legend Drug Injection Device.

A Columbus man was arrested after he allegedly broke into a north side Columbus business on Sunday night.

Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department Spokesman, says that approximately 11:45 p.m., officers responded to an alarm at Rural King, at 2985 North National Road. After officers arrived, they reported hearing the sound of a saw cutting into the building. A short time later, Harris says the suspects saw the officers and ran back inside the building. Moments later, 34-year-old Jeremy S. Vanantwerp was caught by police after he allegedly fled from the scene. Harris say sthat the second suspect in the burglary was not found.

Vanantwerp was arrested on a preliminary charge of Burglary and is being kept on a 48-hour hold. Anyone with tips or information about this case, including the second suspect, are asked to call Det. LaShawn Tyler at (812) 376-2661.

A Columbus teenager was arrested Friday on gun and drug charges.

Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman, says that officers arrested 19-year-old Skye N. Bailey after he was allegedly found passed out in a vehicle with a handgun on his lap. At approximately 1:50 p.m., Officers Ben Quesenbery and Eric Kapczynski responded to a parking lot in the 2000 block of Merchants Mile in regards to two suspicious men in a vehicle. Harris says that when the officers arrived they found Bailey inside the vehicle. Officers reportedly took the handgun and arrested Bailey after waking him up. A second person in the vehicle was taken into custody but later released. Harris adds that police reported also finding a small amount of methamphetamine and Xanax in the vehicle.

Bailey was arrested on preliminary charges of Carrying a Handgun Without a Permit, Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Methamphetamine.