In just under two weeks, area voters will be choosing from a handful of contested races on the ballot. Indiana House District 59 encompasses a large section of Bartholomew County. Voters will be deciding between Republican Ryan Lauer, Democrat Dale Nowlin and Libertarian Clyde Myers.

Lauer, 41, is an engineer in Engine Testing at Cummins. He is married to wife Blair. They have three young children with a fourth on the way. Lauer has a degree in bio-chemistry from Indiana University. Lauer previously served on the Bartholomew County Council, serving as President in 2014.

Nowlin, 61, is an educator with the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation. He serves as math chair and administrator for both Columbus North High School and Northside Middle School. Married to wife Issabelle for 42 years, they have three adult children and four grandchildren.

Myers, 41, is an information technology manager. He is married with two daughters. Myers has two degrees in the IT field.

We asked the candidates what the state’s role should be when it comes to funding local roads.

Lauer says he has reservations about the recent increase in the state gas tax.

Nowlin says the gas tax increase was controversial. He has concerns.

Myers says its important to be financially responsible.

We asked the trio about their thoughts on funding public education.

Lauer says that parents need to have more control over their kids’ education.

Nowlin says that school vouchers have gone too far beyond what they were originally designed for.

Nowlin adds that too much taxpayer money is going to private schools with a “D” or “F” grade.

Myers strongly supports school choice and vouchers.

We asked the candidates about the state sending low-level felons to serve their time in county jails.

Lauer says this arrangement is not beneficial to the county.

Nowlin says there doesn’t appear to be any benefits for taxpayers.

Myers says this wouldn’t be an issue if we fixed the laws on the books.

Early voting has been underway at the Bartholomew County Courthouse. Additional early voting locations open Monday at Donner Center, Flintwood Wesleyan Church and the German American Bank on Jonathan Moore Pike. Election Day is Nov. 6th.

A Johnson County woman was arrested for allegedly trying to traffic with an inmate. The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that on Sept. 27th, Tasha A. Harrison, 26, of Nineveh, attempted to provide tobacco and several Suboxone pills to an inmate while at the Bartholomew County Courthouse.

Harrison was arrested at her home on Oct. 19th and charged with:

Attempted Trafficking with an Inmate – Level 5 Felony
Dealing in a Schedule III Controlled Substance – Level 6 Felony

Harrison is also being held in the Bartholomew County Jail on a felony probation violation. She remains behind bars without bond.

The governor is ordering flags be flown at half-staff to honor a Jennings County Korean War veteran whose remains were recently returned to the states..

Army Master Sgt. Charles H. McDaniel of Vernon was 32 at the time of his disappearance. He was a medic and went missing in action Nov. 2, 1950.

In July, the North Korean government handed over American remains in 55 boxes. The boxes were then flown to a military laboratory in Hawaii for analysis and identification. At the time, McDaniels dog tag was among the remains.

Governor Eric J. Holcomb is directing flags in Jennings and Johnson counties be flown at half-staff Saturday to honor McDaniel on the day of his funeral. Flags should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset.

The Hope Chapter of the FFA won a national award for leadership yesterday at the national FFA convention going on in Indy at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The national FFA says that the Hauser High School program is the winner of the 2018 National Premier Chapter:  Growing Leaders award. The award was based on the chapter’s efforts to counter teen suicides.

The team members in Hope realized that suicides were being sensationalized and were hearing offhanded comments about suicides. So they worked with the school administration to encourage students to be better friends, partners and leaders through the “Go Live Yourself” campaign. They also learned coping strategies and how to help themselves and others.

Early voting hours in Bartholomew County expands tomorrow with hours from 8 a.m.  to 3 p.m. at the voter registration office in the county courthouse this Saturday and next.

Next week, three satelite early voting centers will open. Those will be at Donner Center, Flintwood Wesleyan Church and the German American Bank on Jonathan Moore Pike. Hours at the satellite sites are Monday through Friday from 11 am.  to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Early voting also continues at the voter registration office during normal office hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., next week and ends at noon on Nov. 5th, the Monday before the election.

County Clerk Jay Phelps is reporting record high early voting numbers. He said that turnout this week had already passed 3,000 early voters, about five times the number in the 2006 and 2010 mid-term elections and four times that of 2014.

On Saturday, the Drug Enforcement Administration is sponsoring the 16th nationwide “Prescription Drug Take Back” initiative.

Collection sites will be set up nationwide for expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs which will be properly disposed of without threat to the environment. Locally, you’ll be able to drop off medication at the Jay C store, located at 2325 North Highway 3 in North Vernon, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This program is for liquid and pill medications. Needles, new or used, will not be accepted for disposal. This service is free and anonymous with no questions asked.

Ivy Tech Community College is inviting you to visit “Ivy Republic”. Described as an “upscale garage sale,” the event offers gently used professional and casual clothing and accessories for a very low cost.

A two-day event, Ivy Republic will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. November 6th and 7th in the Poling Hall Student Commons on the Ivy Tech Columbus campus, located at 4475 Central Ave. The event includes gently used professional and casual clothing and accessories that are donated by Ivy Tech faculty and staff and sold for only $1 per item. All funds raised provide scholarships each year for Ivy Tech students.

Ivy Republic is held twice each year, once in the fall and once in the spring. This event also features a silent auction with prizes that can be bid on by students, staff, faculty, and the public. Proceeds from the silent auction also contribute to the student scholarships.

The event is open to all.

It’s time to recognize a teacher, former teacher or administrator for outstanding service and extraordinary contribution to the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation.

Officials are encouraging you to nominate your choice for the BCSC Education Fall of Fame. The school system that your nominee must be a licensed teacher or administrator and have worked for BCSC for at least of 15 years.

Nomination forms are available online at bcsc.k12.in.us. You may also call the Superintendent’s Office at (812) 376-4220 or email [email protected]. Nominations will be accepted by the Superintendent’s Office at the Administration Building, 1200 Central Avenue, until November 1st.

Two people were arrested Thursday morning on drug charges after a traffic stop. At approximately 1 a.m., Columbus Police stopped the vehicle near Third and Lindsey streets for a minor violation. Officers determined that the driver, 39-year-old Gregory A. Ferrell, of Shelbyville, did not have driver’s license. He was then placed under arrest.

Officers also observed prescription medication inside the vehicle while speaking with Ferrell’s passenger, 28-year-old James M. Stewart, of Franklin. After confirming that the pills were a Schedule II Controlled Substance, Stewart was also placed under arrest. While searching Ferrell’s vehicle, police reported finding drug paraphernalia, including a digital scale and methamphetamine.

Ferrell was arrested on preliminary charges of:

Possession of Methamphetamine
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
Operating a Vehicle Without a License

Stewart was arrested on a preliminary charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance with an Enhancing Circumstance.

Voters in Jackson, Jennings, Jefferson and southern Bartholomew County will be voting for Indiana House District 69. Republican incumbent Rep. Jim Lucas of Seymour is facing Democrat Steve Schoettmer of Elizabethtown.

Lucas, 54, is a Seymour business owner.  He has been married to his wife, Lynn, for 24 years and they have three children. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps, right after high school. He has held the House seat for six years and before that was on Seymour City Council for five and a half years. He is is a life member of National Rifle Association, the Gun Owners of American, the Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, the American Legion and is an elder at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour.

Schoettmer, 63, retired from the U.S. Postal Service. He is single and his long-time girlfriend died last year after a long illness. He was an officer in the American Postal Workers Union for 35 years, where he served as president of the Columbus union local and a district agent for southern Indiana and state president and a national arbitration advocate.

We asked the candidates about the need for hate-crime legislation in Indiana.

Lucas said the current laws are sufficient.

Schoettmer says hate crimes are a larger issue than a single incident.

We asked the candidates about legalizing medical marijuana or even recreational use of the drug.

Lucas has been one of medical marijuana’s biggest advocates in the legislature.

Schoettmer says he and Lucas are on the same page.

We asked the candidates about the state’s role in local road funding.

Schoettmer says the state needs to do more to help, possibly by dipping into the surplus.

Lucas said the state has already taken responsible action to help the situation.

Early voting is going on now at the Bartholomew County Courthouse voter registration office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 .m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The general election is Nov. 6th.