A seven-year-old was hurt in a two-vehicle crash Friday morning near County Road 550 South and Jonesville Road in Bartholomew County. Authorities say that shortly after 5 a.m., Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the scene where they found two vehicles that had been involved in a head on collision. The child was originally thought to have “significant” head injures and was transported directly to Riley Hospital for Children. The driver of the vehicle was taken to Columbus Regional Health for a consensual blood draw due to injuries from the crash. Other individuals involved in the collision were checked by EMS for injuries.

Authorities say that later in the morning, contact was made with the father of the injured child. It was then learned that seven-year-old had no major medical issues, besides glass in the forehead. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

North Vernon Police are investigating an attempted robbery at a convenience store in the 500 block of West Walnut Street. Sgt. Andrew Richmond, department spokesman, says that officers were call to the Country Mark Gas Station at 9:49 p.m. on Thursday. He says that the initial investigation revealed that an employee was outside cleaning windows when he was approached from behind by a masked assailant and struck with an object. A scuffle ensued, which ended in the suspect fleeing the area in a red car that was parked in the rear of the store. Richmond says the attendant suffered minor injuries in the attack.

Police say they were able to recover the suspect’s mask, as well as a flashlight. If you have any tips or information about this incident, you are urged to call North Vernon Police at (812) 346-2345.

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop says that 2017 has been an extraordinary year for the city.

He talks about a wide range of major developments including the news of a new overpass into downtown Columbus and the announce of Indiana University’s new school of architecture.

The mayor praised the success of the Columbus movie. He and others in a city delegation attended the film’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

Lienhoop praised the efforts of the organizers of the first annual Exhibit Columbus installations in the city.

Cummins made the announcement this year that it would be investing $50 million dollars in the downtown headquarters and that it is recommitting to keep operations in Columbus.

Other highlights for the mayor included Cummins electrification developments and Columbus native Mike Pence taking office as the vice president.

The mayor also has a holiday message for residents.

If you are still waiting for your presents to arrive by mail, Columbus police have a few suggestions to make sure that they don’t get stolen off of your front porch.

Officers say that it is not uncommon to have several reports of package thefts at this time of year.

They suggest that you should track your package and follow that tracking closely, so you know when it should be arriving. That will also allow you to be home, or to have somoene at home when it arrives.

They also suggest that you require a signature for the package upon delivery.

Police say if you know you won’t be home during delivery hours, you could have package delivered to your workplace or to the home of a friend or family member.

You should also talk to your neighbors. That way you all can be vigilant for any suspicious activity.

If you see anything suspicious, they suggest calling the police.

LIncoln Central Neighborhood Family Center and St. Peter’s Lutheran Church on Fourth Street are having a Christmas Day dinner for those who are less fortunate, lonely or who just want take part in some community spirit.

The home-cooked meal will be from noon to 2 on Monday, Christmas Day at the church at the corner of Fourth and Chestnut Streets in downtown Columbus.

If you have any questions call 812-379-1630.

The children and families of the Boys & Girls Club at Foundation For Youth welcomed Santa Clause on Thursday for the “Breakfast with Santa” event. Brittany Gray, FFY spokeswoman, says that Santa brought help along in the form of elves from NTN Driveshaft, a Cornerstone Partner of Foundation For Youth. After breakfast, she says the kids were able to visit with Santa before receiving a gift to celebrate the holiday.

“This is the first time we’ve organized Breakfast with Santa and we are excited about how much fun it was for the kids,” said Nathan Larrison, Boys & Girls Club Director. “The help from NTN employees made everything run smoothly. We hope to make this an annual event.”

The town of Hope has a new town leader, and he is immediately facing calls to investigate actions of a town employee.

The Town Council voted this week for Ed Johnson, a Democrat, to take over leadership of the council next year.

Several residents spoke up at this week’s council meeting urging an investigation into wrongdoing at a community organization, by an employee of the town. Outoing president Clyde Compton said the alleged incident was outside of town government’s purview and they were just allegations.

Town Attorney Cindy Boll urged the council to hold a closed executive session to discuss any personnel matters. At Tuesday night’s meeting, the last of the year, audience members asked Compton if he would schedule such an executive session and he said he would pass the decision on to his successor, Johnson, to handle next year.

Neither the name of the employee nor the alleged wrongdoing were specified at the public meeting.

Centra customers who’ve utilized certain ATMs are encouraged to keep an eye on their accounts. The credit union says that on December 17th, a skimmer was found on the ATM at 2165 Jonathan Moore Pike in Columbus. Centra employees also discovered a glue-like substance on the card reader at our ATM located at 11700 North U.S. 31, in Edinburgh. One week prior, Centra employees found evidence of ATM skimmers on three Centra ATM locations, with one ATM skimmer device recovered. The impacted locations were:

•2125 Veterans Parkway in Jeffersonville
•3010 State Street in Columbus
•651 Hamburg Way in Sellersburg

Centra says that they are reviewing security footage and collecting information to determine what, if any, impact this skimmer may have had on members. In addition, the credit union says that it has identified members who may have been impacted.

Anyone who has used these machines recently should closely monitor their account and immediately report fraudulent charges.

Bartholomew County deputies arrested two men suspected of burglarizing a home in the Taylorsville area, taking items including a shotgun.

Deputies were called to Taylorsville Elementary School at about 4 p.m. Tuesday on a report of suspicious people in the area, including one carrying the weapon. When officers arrived the man holding the shotgun dropped it and fled. As he ran he began dropping other items, which police later discovered had also allegedly been stolen,

The sheriff’s department police dog Diesel was brought in and began tracking the man, who was eventually found in the backyard of a nearby home. He initially resisted arrest and was bitten by Diesel, deputies report.

Police recovered items reported stolen from a residence in Heritage Heights Mobile Home Park including the double-barreled 20-gauge shotgun, handgun ammunition and a laptop.

40-year-old Joshua Prather of Paragon is facing charges of burglary and resisting law enforcement. 21-year-old Ricky Reed, who started to run but then surrendered to police, is facing a preliminary charge of burglary.

The Bartholomew County Treasurer’s Office is accepting early payments of property taxes that are not due until next year.

Treasurer Pia O’Connor says that the impending tax-reform bill in Washington includes changes to the deductibility of state and local taxes from federal returns. With that, some financial advisors are encouraging their clients to pre-pay taxes in order to avoid a potential tax hit next year.

O’Connor adds that while the 2017 taxes, payable next year, aren’t yet calculated, you can pay estimated taxes. She suggested that you should pay what you paid this year.

O’Connor adds that if you have questions, you can call her office, but she stresses that neither she, nor her staff, will provide tax advice.