Monthly Archives: July 2018

Lake says she’s ready for Pence in November

Jeannine Lake (in pink) talks to Bartholomew County Democrats; WRB staff photo

The Democratic Party is about love. That’s the message from Jeannine Lake, who is facing Republican Greg Pence in November for the Sixth District Congressional seat being vacated by Luke Messer. Lake took aim at Trump Administration policies, including those on the southern border…

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Lake questioned President Trump’s psyche…

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Lake says that these mid-term elections are crucial for the country.

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Lake repeatedly took aim at President Trump, earning raucous applause from local Democrats.

Lake was the guest speaker at Tuesday night’s quarterly dinner of the Bartholomew County Democratic Party. She says that she knows her fight is an uphill one, but it’s one she believes she will win.

Wanted Seymour man arrested in North Vernon

An arrest warrant service ended with the arrests of two Jackson County residents. Sgt. Andrew Richmond, spokesman for the North Vernon Police Department, says that at about 7 a.m. Tuesday, officers received information about a possible location of a wanted person. He says that Officer Lucas Newsom and Detective Ivory Sandefur followed up on information that 34-year-old Brian Willman, of Seymour, was in an apartment in the 500 block of Brownstown Road.

Authorities say that Willman was found in the apartment. While taking Willman into custody, officers observed drug paraphernalia in plain view in the room he was in. A search of the room allegedly uncovered 1.5 grams of methamphetamine, eight methamphetamine smoking pipes and a set of digital scales among other drug paraphernalia.

Willman was arrested along with another occupant of the room, 27-year-old Kayleana Tungate, also of Seymour. Along with Willman’s outstanding warrant, the pair are facing preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Paraphernalia.

North Vernon Police arrest five people on drug charges

Five people were arrested early Tuesday morning after North Vernon Police responded to a report of possible drug activity in the area of Sixth Street and Summit Street. Sgt. Andrew Richmond, department spokesman, says that at approximately 4 a.m., officers arrived on the scene and detained three people in the initial investigation.

Richmond says that officers discovered drug paraphernalia and drugs among the trio. Arrested were:

Stacey R. Carrigg, 31, of Butlerville,
1. Possession of a controlled substance level 6 felony
2. Possession of a syringe level 6 felony

Jessie D. Russell, 23, of North Vernon,
1. Possession of paraphernalia A misdemeanor

Amberley R. Day, 29, of North Vernon
1. Dealing in a controlled substance level 5 felony
2. Possession of a syringe level 6 felony
3. Trafficking with an inmate level 6 felony
4. Obstruction of justice level 6 felony
5. Possession of paraphernalia A misdemeanor
6. Resisting law enforcement A misdemeanor

Authorities say that Day had concealed drug material that she attempted to consume when she reached the jail, leading to additional charges.

Sgt. Richmond says the investigation obtained information regarding an address in the 400 block of Sixth Street. A search warrant was granted which led to the arrests of two more people. During the search, officers reportedly found a large quantity of drug paraphernalia, prescription pills not in prescribed containers, a small amount of methamphetamine and five pre-packaged containers of suspected heroin. Arrested were:

Jeffery A. Bower, 36, of North Vernon
1. Dealing in a controlled substance level 5 felony
2. Maintaining a common nuisance level 6 felony
3. Possession of paraphernalia A misdemeanor

Calin Thomas, 31, of North Vernon
1. Dealing in a controlled substance level 5 felony
2. Maintaining a common nuisance level 6 felony
3. Possession of paraphernalia A misdemeanor

Filings slow for races on local school boards

Only five candidates have filed so far for school board seats in Bartholomew County.

County Clerk Jay Phelps announced the updated fillings this morning, saying that there are four seats up for election in Bartholomew Consolidated Schools and three seats open in Flat Rock-Hawcreek schools.

In BCSC, Rich Stenner has filed for re-election to the District 2 seat and Kathy Dayhoff-Dwyer is seeking re-election to the District 6 seat. No one has filed yet for District 1 or District 4 races.

In northeastern Bartholomew County, Chad Miller is seeking the Flatrock District seat, John Harker is running for re-election to the Hawcreek District seat and Pat Walters is running again as an at-large candidate.

The deadline to file for school board races is noon on Friday, Aug. 24th, Phelps says.

Cummins sets new record with $6.1 billion quarter

Cummins is announcing a new record-setting quarter this morning.

The company reports that it had second quarter revenues of $6.1 billion dollars. That’s an increase of 21 percent from the same quarter last year.

Company officials say that the demand for trucks , construction, mining and power generation equipment all improved.

Sales in North America improved by 22 percent, according to the quarterly report.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the second quarter were $897 million, or 14.6 percent of sales. That is up from $764 million or 15.0 percent of sales a year ago.

Based on the current forecast, the company expects full year  revenues to be up 15 to 17 percent.

The full report is available here.

Work continues on North Vernon pool complex

Work continues on a development for a new pool complex in North Vernon. Officials with HWC Engineering says that plans for the project, estimated to cost three-million dollars, should be ready in the next couple of weeks.

If the proposal comes in at under the estimated price tag, the site along State Road 7 and Franklin Street would include a pool, splash pad toy structure, a play area for toddlers, water slides, lazy river and water walk. The proposal also includes a new bath house and park office. Once the final proposal goes before city council, the next step is the bidding process. That’s expected in early September.

North Vernon officials decided in late spring to not open the existing pool this summer due to damage to the pool’s liner and the floor underneath.

YES Cinema Cafe to open for Christmas fundraiser

YES Cinema and the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center are inviting you to take part in a special event. Linda Allman is Events Coordinator for YES Cinema…

She says that for one day only, the YES Cinema Cafe will be open.

Allman says that the cafe will be open Wednesday, August 15th from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with some of your favorite dishes. All money raised goes toward the LCNFC Angels of Love Christmas Assistance Program, which serves over 700 children every year.

For more information, visit lcnfc.org.

Southwestern Bartholomew Water receives federal loan for improvements

Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corporation is receiving a federal loan to upgrade its services. Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett on Monday announced a historic commitment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to upgrade and rebuild rural water infrastructure. The announced focused on three Indiana projects totaling $17.4 million.

Federal officials say $2,305,000 loan will go to work to improve water pressure, which is high in some areas and low in others. These upgrades are also will provide additional storage capacity and allow for anticipated growth.

The USDA is providing the funding through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program. It can be used to finance drinking water, stormwater drainage and waste disposal systems for rural communities with 10,000 or fewer residents.

Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corporation supplies water to the majority of west central Bartholomew County and the far eastern portion of Brown County.

CPD shows off lip-syncing skills with Tony Stewart

The Columbus Police Department is showing off its lip-syncing skills with a new video. And it is getting help with a surprise appearance by NASCAR legend and Columbus resident Tony Stewart.

Lt. Matt Harris explains…

Harris adds that officers had some help from a pretty big name.

Harris stresses that no taxpayer money was spent on the video, which took 10 hours over two days to make.

Stewart is in the opening scene of the video, as officers chase his truck down a country road to the tune of Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55.” Harris stresses that no taxpayer money was spent on the video, which took 10 hours over two days to make.

The video was released yesterday on Facebook and You Tube and as of this morning, it has already been viewed 1.2 million times and shared more than 50 thousand.

You can link to the video here: http://bit.ly/2LEOBWW.

Police: Fake name lands wanted man in jail

Dustin Cross. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.

A wanted Columbus man is accused of giving a fake name to police when he was stopped Saturday morning.

Columbus officers report that 32-year-old Dustin Cross was riding a bicycle at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning in the 200 block of Gladstone Avenue when he was questioned by police. After initially giving a false identity, he was found to have an outstanding Bartholomew County warrant.

As he was arrested, police discovered a small amount of methamphetamine in his backpack. In addition to the warrant, he is facing new preliminary charges of identity deception, false informing and possession of meth.