The Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would address Brown County’s Solid Waste Management District board member assignment issue, according to the bill’s sponsor State Rep. Chris May, a Bedford Republican.

Senate Bill 300 would amend a mandate in Indiana law requiring that one of the seats on a solid waste district board be appointed by a municipality that is not the largest in the county. Brown County is unique in this situation, as it is the only county in the state with just one municipality: Nashville.

“This legislation resolves a requirement in state law that Brown County is technically unable to meet,” May said. “It codifies the current arrangement to fill the seat on the Brown County Solid Waste Management District Board, which replaces the appointment with a seat representing a conservancy district.”

In the case of counties with only one municipality, the bill specifies the smaller municipality seat must instead be appointed by a conservancy district located entirely within the county with a freeholder resident of that conservancy district.

The Brown County Solid Waste Management District is a government agency that was established in 1991 to serve all of Brown County, including Nashville and Cordry Sweetwater. They work to reduce the amount of recyclable materials going to landfills and educate the public about waste reduction, reuse, and recycling, and to implement programs in these areas.

The bill passed the House of Representatives and Senate and can now be signed into law by the governor.

The Seymour Police Department announced the completion of the March 2017 dangerous and impaired driving enforcement campaign. During the 24-day enforcement period, department officials say that 41 tickets were written, 248 warning tickets were issued and six arrests were made within the city of Seymour.

“Dangerous and impaired driving kills,” said Chief Bill Abbott. “We all play a part in keeping Indiana’s roadways safe, and campaigns such as this ensure each and every driver and passenger understand their role and the importance of staying vigilant behind the wheel. Even one less dangerous or impaired driver off the road is a success in which we all can share.”

The six arrests made by Seymour Police Officers included one warrant arrest and three for possession of marijuana.

Increased enforcement during March is a statewide effort supported by federal highway safety funding. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute distributes funding to more than 250 participating Indiana law enforcement agencies.

A Clinton County family parked their 17-year-old daughter’s mangled car at the Statehouse on Tuesday to warn Hoosiers of the dangers of texting while driving.

As April marks Distracted Driving Awareness Month, State Rep. Milo Smith, a Columbus Republican, joined Jill Biddle to call attention to the issue with the goal of saving lives. Biddle lost her daughter, 17-year-old Maria Droesch, in a car crash last June Maria veered into oncoming traffic while texting and driving.

Smith says that Maria’s last text was to her mother about making plans with her friends, but it was never sent. Authorities say the teen was only 10 minutes from home when she crossed the center line and struck a pick-up truck. Biddle now uses her daughter’s wrecked car to send a message that distracted driving can be a life-altering decision.

“We bring this car all over the state to show people what texting and driving can lead to,” Biddle said. “If we can help save just one life, then we have accomplished our goal.”

Indiana has a statewide texting while driving ban for all drivers, and prohibits drivers under 18 years of age from using handheld and hands-free cellular devices except to dial 911. Despite these laws, Smith says the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration found 10 percent of teens involved in fatal crashes were reported as being distracted at the time of the crash.

“Individuals who drive while sending or reading text messages are 23 times more likely to be involved in a car crash than other drivers. Texting and driving remains a significant problem, and we have to do more to educate our friends and families about its dangers,” Smith said. “The Biddle family is using their personal tragedy to help send a message and warn others that driving distracted isn’t worth risking your life or someone else’s life.”

Smith authored legislation this year, which would have required all Hoosier drivers to use only hands-free devices. The bill didn’t receive a hearing, but Smith said he would try again next year.

A crash by a suspected drunk driver yesterday scattered debris for more than 150 yards in Seymour as the vehicle rolled repeatedly and crashed into another vehicle.

Seymour police say that the driver, identified as 26-year-old Ian Gardner of Seymour, appears to have been driving extremely fast near the Taco Bell on East Tipton Street, when he left the road, struck a culvert and then was struck by an oncoming vehicle. That was at about 5:35 a.m. yesterday morning.

Police say that Gardner was taken to Schneck Medical Center to be checked for injuries. He is facing preliminary charges of possession of stolen property, operating a vehicle while Intoxicated and driving while never having a license.

Officials at Our Hospice of South Central Indiana are hoping that a Thursday film screening will help people in the community talk openly about their own mortality.

Laura Hurt, president of the hospice, says that that there will be a screening of “Being Mortal,” a documentary based on a book by Atul Gawande. The tagline for the film is “Hope is not a plan” and it focuses on end-of-life decisions and discussions.

The idea is getting people talking about a subject they normally wouldn’t want to discuss, Hurt said.

Hurt said that having conversations about the inevitable, can make the passing of you or of a loved one more comfortable.

The film will air at noon Thursday, March 29th, at Well Connect. That’s at 237 Washington Street. It will be followed by a discussion with representatives from hospice and lunch will be provided.

To register for lunch you can call 800-699-1019 or go online to www.crh.org/events

A local high school senior is working to save lives of heart attack victims.

Jennifer Gutman, a senior at Columbus North, is using her senior project to catalog all of the automated external defibrillators in town and making their locations available through an app on your phone. The medical devices, known as AEDs, let even a lay person help stabilize the heartbeat of a person in a cardiac incident.

The app, called, Pulse Point AED will show the location of the emergency defibrillators closest to your current location and identify others within a mile, Gutman said.

Gutman said she worked during her spring break cataloging AEDs and adding them to the application.

Gutman said she was inspired to tackle the project after her grandfather’s bouts with heart problems.

Gutman explains that people can help, by downloading the app from the Apple or Android app store and adding any emergency defibrillators they know of. They can also upload a photo of where the medical devices are stored and give detailed directions on how to find them.

Her efforts were praised by members of the Bartholomew Consolidated School board during its meeting this week. Board member Kathy Dayhoff Dwyer works for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and said she is unaware of any other communities undergoing a similar project.

Photo courtesy of Seymour Police Department.

Seymour police are looking for two suspects after a string of thefts at a local Cracker Barrel.

Police have released photos of the two women, who they say stole from at least seven vehicles.

If you have nay information you can call the Seymour PD at (812)-522-1234

Officials in North Vernon are considering applying for a grant that is aimed at helping keep area seniors in their homes. The North Vernon City Council was approached with the idea of applying for the “Aging in Place” grant during its meeting Monday night.

Debra Lilly, with the Administrative Resources Administration, helped the city in obtaining its Stellar Community grant funding. She says that North Vernon seniors would benefit from this new grant opportunity. Though the grant is “highly competitive,” Lilly says that trying to obtain the funding would be a net positive for the community.

The grant is federal in nature and supplies funding to residents age 50 and older for needed repairs and remodeling that will allow the resident to continue living in the home. The grant requires a 10 percent matching grant from the city, which can be covered by area non-profit groups. Lilly suggested the city apply for $300,000. With a limit of $15,000 per household, she says that a minimum of 18 to 20 homes could benefit.

Along with the matching local monies, Lilly says that there are some restrictions on the funding. She explained that, along with the age requirement, there is also an income limit. Lilly says that is to ensure that the neediest of the community are helped. In addition, any home that receives funding must be owner-occupied and the resident must live their for a minimum of three-years after the work is completed. If the home is sold within three years, the homeowner must pay back a pro-rated portion of the grant.

Members of city council said they were interested in the idea, but weren’t sure that they have the money available to cover the city’s portion of any grant it may receive. The body indicated that it may be a better idea to wait on applying until next year when they can budget for it. The council voted to table the request until its next meeting to see if Clerk-Treasurer Shawn Gerkin could scrape up the necessary funding.

The city of Columbus will be requesting bids for companies to perform work on the next phase of the State Street Revitalization Project. The Board of Public Works and Safety approved the request during its meeting on Tuesday. This phase of the project, estimated to cost $2.6 million, received initial approval last week from the Columbus Redevelopment Commission. Due to the cost, final approval will be determined by the city council. That is expected to be discussed at the council’s April 4 meeting.

Companies interested in working on this phase of the project will need to have their bids in by April 18.

North Vernon Mayor Mike Ochs and Police Chief James Webster are honoring five people for their actions saving a life.

On the morning of Feb. 27, there was a crash at State Road 7 and County Road 750 involving a vehicle and a semi. Chief Webster says that the vehicle ended up wedged under the semi’s trailer. A fire then broke out in the engine compartment.

Due to the severity of the crash and the driver’s injuries, he was unable to get out of the wreckage. As the fire continued, Webster says that a group of people leapt into action, working together to hinder the flames and rescue the man while police and firefighters were still en route. Webster says that without their help, the driver would have been consumed by the fire.

James Swartz, Nicholas Earl, Jeff Dettmer, Dan Rennekamp and Joey Howard were honored with certificates of appreciation from the city at last night’s City Council meeting Webster noted that the last time civilians were honored in this way was in 2012.