The Indiana Department of Transportation plans to restrict traffic at two bridges on the west side of Columbus while bridge inspectors perform routine biannual inspections. INDOT says that those inspections are scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday, as well as Monday and Tuesday of next week. Officials say that traffic at Interstate 65 and State Road 46 will be affected during daytime hours, beginning daily at 9 a.m. The schedule is as follows:

Inspection of I-65 structure over State Road 46 – Thursday and Friday:

• All S.R. 46 ramps onto I-65 will close to traffic.
• Southbound I-65 to westbound S.R. 46 and northbound I-65 to eastbound S.R. 46 will remain open.
• Southbound I-65 detours to U.S. 31 at Taylorsville exit for eastbound S.R. 46 access.
• Northbound I-65 detours onto S.R. 11 for westbound S.R. 46 access.

Inspection of Second Street bridge (Robert Stewart Bridge) is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday (Oct. 2nd & 3rd)

• Eastbound S.R. 46’s right lane is scheduled to close at the Second Street bridge over White River on Monday to accommodate inspection engineers and equipment.
• Eastbound S.R. 46’s left lane is scheduled to close at the Second Street bridge over White River on Tuesday to accommodate inspectors and equipment.

INDOT says these inspections are dependent on the weather and could be rescheduled.

The Taste of Columbus is coming up next month at The Commons.

The event, organized by the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, features more than 30 restaurants, caterers and breweries providing samples off of their menu.

Cindy Frey, President of the Chamber, explains that this is a fundraiser for the Chamber.

The Taste of Columbus is from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 26th at The Commons. Tickets are on sale now for $20. You can get more information or buy tickets at columbusareachamber.com.

A local woman is being accused of attacking a police officer and a paramedic after creating a disturbance at a hotel last night.

47-year-old Sarah I. Boyd is of Columbus facing charges of battery of a public safety official, public intoxication and disorderly conduct.

The incident happened just before 10 p.m. last night at the Days Inn on Jonathan Moore Pike in Columbus, according to Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus police. Officers were called on a report of a drunk woman shouting in the hallway. Officers tried to get her to quiet down, but instead she became combative, scratching and kicking a CPD officer, Harris says. She was taken to the hospital to be checked out and allegedly spit at an EMT and scratched his arm, making it bleed, Harris says.

After being discharged from the hospital, she was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail.

A man missing from Columbus Regional Hospital was found unharmed overnight.

The Columbus police sent out an alert over the county’s phone, text and e-mail Everbridge alert system at about 1:30 this morning, saying that they were looking for a 46-year-old man in sweatpants and a hospital gown who had left the hospital while under emergency detention there. They said he had a heart condition that left him confused.

He left around midnight and had last been seen around the bus stop near the hospital on 17th Street.

About 20 minutes later, the county dispatchers signaled that the man had been found unharmed.

Bartholomew Consolidated families could see a shorter Thanksgiving break next year, but a later start to school and a guaranteed day off for Good Friday.

The school board was presented last night with the results of a recent survey of the community on the school calendar and recommended changes for the next three years, based on those survey results.

Teresa Heiny, assistant superintendent for human resources, says that the community recommendations were incorporated in the calendar proposed by a review committee. Major changes would include reducing the current five-day break around Thanksgiving to three days .

Spring break would also change slightly, with snow days coming off of the front of the two-week spring break instead of the end.

One of the  more popular survey questions was overwhelming support for keeping Good Friday as a school holiday and not using it as a snow makeup day.

More than 3,000 parents took part in a survey on the school calendar and about 4,800 people in all, Heiny says.

The school district is mandated to have 180 instructional days during the year, Heiny said. In the event of snow days, those can be made up by taking time off from spring break, or instituting e-learning days, where students connect by the Internet.

The proposed changes would be up for a vote at the Oct. 23rd school board meeting.  Heiny said that should the Legislature make any changes to the school calendar, such as mandating a start-date, the district would revise the calendar accordingly.

Columbus police arrested a man on auto theft charges after a stolen pickup was found in an alley off of Hughes Street.

28-year-old Damon L. Estes of Columbus is facing charges of auto theft and possession of a synthetic drug look alike substance.

A neighbor reported the pickup had been driving erratically and was left in the alley Friday morning. The pickup had allegedly been stolen earlier in the morning

Estes was found walking in the area after leaving the truck according to police reports.

Two people were flown to Indianapolis hospitals after a head-on crash Monday morning near the Hartsville curves. Judy Jackson, spokeswoman for the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, says that deputies were called to the 19000 block of State Road 46 East at 9:53 a.m.

Jackson says that three vehicles were involved in the crash and there were entrapment in two of them. Upon arrival, deputies found 28-year-old Micheal Leszcynski, of Columbus, entrapped in a pickup truck. Another man, 48-year-old August Kinker, of Greensburg, was entrapped in a SUV. Both men were freed from the vehicles by firefighters.

Leszynski was transported by Lifeline to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and Kinker was transported by Stat-Flight to St Francis Hospital in Indianapolis. A third driver, 32-year-old Gregory Hart, of Greensburg, was not injured.

State Road 46 was closed for approximately three hours while the accident was being investigated. Jackson says the investigation into the crash is ongoing.

North Vernon Police arrested two people Sunday morning after responding to a report of suspicious people in the 200 block of FDR Drive. Sgt. Andrew Richmond, spokesman for the police department, says that officers arrived shortly after 6 a.m. to find the man and woman walking around apartments in the area. He says that the pair ran away and Officers Todd Fleetwood and Scotty Willis caught them shortly thereafter.

Once the pair was in custody, the officers found they were in possession of masks and a bag of items. Some of the items belonged to two robbery victims who called in the crime shortly after officers had the suspects in custody. The victims reported that the two suspects entered their apartment, displayed a firearm and struck one of the victims with it before leaving with some of the victims’ belongings. The victims were transported to St. Vincent Jennings Hospital for treatment and later released. Police determined that pellet guns were used in the crime.

Police arrested 26-year-old Malinda A. Birge, of Dupont, on preliminary charges of:

– Robbery Level 2 felony
– Burglary Level 2 felony
– Battery Level 5 felony
– Theft A misdemeanor
– Resisting Law Enforcement A misdemeanor

Police arrested 22-year-old Terry A. Birge, of North Vernon, on preliminary charges of:

– Robbery Level 2 felony
– Burglary Level 2 felony
– Battery Level 5 felony
– Intimidation Level 5 felony
– Theft A misdemeanor
– Resisting Law Enforcement A misdemeanor

A Jennings County man is facing drug and gun charges after a Friday night traffic stop. Sgt. Andrew Richmond, spokesman for the North Vernon Police Dept., says that Officer Kyle Hall initiated a traffic stop on a pick up truck on North State Street just after 9:30 p.m.

During the traffic stop, Officer Hall requested the assistance of Jennings County Sheriff’s Sgt. Allen Ritchie and his K9 partner Vampir. Authorities say that Vampir was alerted to the odor of an illegal drug inside the vehicle. A search of the vehicle allegedly resulted in officers finding approximately 20 grams of methamphetamine, a .308 hand gun, one set of digital scales and a methamphetamine smoking device. Police say that the driver, 21-year-old Luke A. Bathory, of Paris Crossing, was found to have a 9mm hand gun on his person.

Bathory was arrested on preliminary charges of:

– Dealing in methamphetamine Level 3 felony
– Possession of methamphetamine Level 6 felony
– Possession of paraphernalia A misdemeanor
– Carrying a hand gun without a license A misdemeanor

A teen driver was seriously injured in a collision with a school bus Friday afternoon near 15th Street and Gladstone Avenue.

16-year-old Lynley Arnholt of Columbus was flown by Lifeline helicopter to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman with the Columbus police.

The crash occurred at about 3:45 p.m. Harris says Arnholt suffered serious head injuries when her vehicle slammed into the back of the bus and became lodged underneath it.

Harris says that there were eight children on the bus at the time of they crash. Neither they, nor the bus driver, were hurt.