Columbus police have recovered a nearly $4,000 dollar bicycle and arrested a suspect in the burglary.

Police were called to the Bicycle Station on 12th and Washington streets at 10 a.m. Saturday morning about the theft. According to store workers, a man came in to get his bike repaired on Friday then returned after hours and stole the $3,800 Trek mountain bike.

Police located the man, 63-year-old Roosevelt Holliday in the 2700 block of Brentwood Drive where they arrested him and recovered the missing bike. He is facing preliminary charges of burglary and theft.

Columbus-area customers of several banks are reporting that someone stole money from their accounts over the weekend, likely with an as-yet unidentified skimming device at an area store.

Chrissy Bailey, vice president of marketing for Centra Credit Union, said that the card skimmer affected a number of Centra customers. Many of the fraudulent transactions were caught by the credit union’s fraud monitoring program, but customers should carefully review their recent account transactions and quickly report any suspected fraud.

Bailey said that Centra had concluded that the source of the fraud is likely a card skimmer placed over a card reader at a merchant in the Columbus area. However, without a merchant finding and removing a card skimmer, it is impossible to positively identify the source of the fraud.

Customers from at least five local banks were up in arms on social media about hundreds of dollars in unauthorized charges on their accounts over the holiday weekend.

Bailey suggested you check for a card skimmer before using your card at local stores.

Signs of a possible skimming device include:

• Check for damage and/or white glue-like residue on the card reader slot. This can indicate a criminal has attempted to insert a skimmer into the card reader slot.
• If a card reader feels loose, try to move it back and forth. If it appears the reader is not secured to the machine, it may be a skimmer inserted over the top of the reader.
• If you have a tough time inserting, moving, or swiping your card, there may be an internal skimmer inserted into the card reader.

Any potential skimmer devices identified should be reported to the merchant, owner of the ATM, or police immediately.

Bailey said that in late 2017 and early 2018, new card readers were installed at all Centra ATMs to prevent skimmers from being installed.

If you believe you have been affected by the thefts, you should contact your bank and local police. Bailey said Centra customers can report any suspected fraud to their local branch or by calling 800-232-3642.

A Jennings County man was arrested last week after he was found to be carrying a pistol as a felon.

North Vernon Police report that they were called to a storage unit on O&M Avenue and West Walnut Street at about 7:50 p.m. Thursday evening after an argument between two people. Witnesses said that another man, 46 year old Perry Proctor, had a handgun. Proctor did not have a permit to carry the handgun and as a previously convicted felon was not allowed to carry a gun. But police also did not immediately find a gun on him.

However a search revealed a pistol buried under a pile of leaves near a fence at the storage facility. Witnesses said that was the gun Proctor was carrying and a search of the storage unit’s video confirmed that, police said.

Proctor was arrested on a preliminary charge of carrying a handgun without a license with a prior felony conviction. The gun was taken into evidence.

North Vernon police say that a complaint about smoking in a hotel room led to two arrests on drug related charges last week.

The incident started Tuesday morning when officers were called to the Quality Inn hotel on FDR Drive. Officers spoke with the residents, 24-year-old Angel D. Siler and 37-year-old Jasen E. Farris, both of North Vernon. But police smelled marijuana coming from the room. According to police reports, a search revealed a large number of syringes, smoking pipes, digital scales, about three and a half grams of marijuana, about an once and a half of methamphetamine, prescription clonazepam tablets and $2,952 in cash.

Ferris and Siler were both already out on bond for prior drug possession arrests from about a week ago. They are now facing new preliminary charges including dealing methamphetamine and possession of various drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Columbus and Bartholomew County honored its fallen service members with a ceremony Monday morning at the Memorial for Veterans on the courthouse lawn.

The featured speaker was Eli Edwards, a graduate of CSA New Tech High School, who will be leaving in a month for the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Edwards, said that he has learned much from his time volunteering at the the Bakalar Air Museum, taking advice from the veterans who work there.

U.S. Navy Lt. Commander E. Reeves Flint gave the opening invocation and the closing prayer.

Columbus North High School sophomore sang the National Anthem for the ceremony.

The Relay of Life for Hope will have a special guest this year — WISH-TV weatherman Randy Ollis.

Organizer Jonna Shepherd explains that Ollis will be the survivor speaker at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 2nd at the bandstand on the Hope Town Square.

Ollis, who has chronicled his battle with cancer on air, will speak at the bandstand on the Hope Town Square.  Shepherd says she reached out to Ollis personally to get him to attend.

Shepherd said she explained to Ollis the  importance of the Relay to her family and her family’s battle with the disease.

Shepherd has been involved with the relay since 2009. Her husband Larry had been diagnosed with breast cancer and at the time was in remission..

Her husband, Larry, later died of breast cancer.

The Relay for Life kicks off at 8 a.m. Saturday and runs until 11 p.m. The Survivor Breakfast will be at 8 a.m. to be followed by the Survivor Lap. A luminaria display will be held at 9 p.m.

There will be themed laps,  a silent auction and games. Other events that day include performances by Avery Tallent at 11 a.m., the Night Owls Country Band from 5 to 7:30 p.m., and a Fish Fry with the Hartsville Volunteer Fire Department from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A motorcycle ride, organized by Shepherd’s son,  will leave from the Hope Town Square. Registration for the ride begins at 11:30 a.m. and kickstands will go up at 12:30 p.m.

The small town Relay for Life hopes to raise $18,000 for the American Cancer Society.

You can look for more information at Relay for Life of Hope on Facebook or you can call 812-603-0351.

The Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corporation has issued a boil water advisory for a number of their customers. These areas include:

County Road 550 West – from CR 300S to CR 450S. This includes Deaver Road, Baldwin Addition, all of CR 300W and CR 500W off of CR 450S;
County Road 275 South;
Arian Trail;
Crossing Lane;
Sommerset Meadows;
State Road 58 to CR 525S
County Road 400 West – from CR 250S to CR 550S.

This advisory is in effect through 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 30th.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says that the contractor for a $4.3 million resurfacing project on State Road 46 between Columbus and Nashville plans to begin making pavement repairs on Wednesday, May 30th. Flaggers will be onsite to direct motorists around moving work zones.

INDOT officials anticipate that these asphalt patching operations will continue, weather permitting, for approximately one week.

Milestone, the state’s contractor, will soon mill the pavement before applying a new 1.5-inch lift of asphalt surface on this 15-mile section of State Road 46. Meanwhile, full-depth pavement replacement of a 1200-foot section of State Road 46 46 at Tipton Lakes Boulevard near Columbus has been rescheduled to occur after patching has been completed.

The Indiana Department of Transportation plans to close State Road 3 at a culvert replacement site, approximately 2.6 miles south of the State Road 7 junction at Vernon in Jennings County. INDOT officials say the closure will begin Monday, June 4, and last for 20 days. A signed detour will route motorists around the site via U.S. 50, I-65 and State Road 256.

INDOT says this small structure replacement operation is part of a $2,634,279 seven bridge/culvert improvement project on State Road 3 and State Road in Jennings and Decatur Counties.

A local man who was reportedly intoxicated at a restaurant drive-thru was arrested by Columbus police early Friday morning.

Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that at approximately 2:45 a.m., officers located a possible impaired driver at the drive through at a fast food restaurant in the 1600 block of North National Road. While speaking with 32-year-old Richard K. Battin, of Columbus, officers noted that Battin’s speech was slurred and the strong odor of alcohol was coming from the vehicle.

Battin allegedly failed several field sobriety tests in the parking lot and later provided a breath sample of .179 percent, more than twice the legal limit. Battin was arrested on a preliminary charge of Operating a Motor Vehicle with a BAC of .15 Percent or Greater.