Monthly Archives: December 2018

North Vernon Police make Christmas Day drug arrests

North Vernon Police arrested two people on drug-related charges after investigating a Christmas night disturbance in the 500 block of Hayden Pike. Once officers arrived on the scene, at about 7:17 p.m., they requested a search warrant for the home, which was granted.

NVPD arrested 47-year-old Tina Wilson, of North Vernon, on preliminary charges of Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of Paraphernalia, Possession of Cocaine, Disorderly Conduct, Legend Drug Violation and False Informing.

Officers also arrested 23-year-old Levi Eaton, of Columbus, on preliminary charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance, Disorderly Conduct, Visiting a Common Nuisance, Battery, Criminal Confinement, Possession of Paraphernalia, Possession of Marijuana and Legend Drug Violation.

Vehicle burst into flames, injuring driver, on Christmas Day

Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

A Columbus woman was seriously injured after her vehicle burst into flames in a Christmas Day car crash.

62-year-old Debra J. Stephens was driving east on Bartholomew County Road 300S when she ran off the road, through a chain link fence and then hit an embankment along Interstate 65. That was at about 3:30 Tuesday, say Bartholomew County deputies.

A passerby pulled Stephens from the burning vehicle. She was flown to Eskenazi Hospital’s burn unit.

Driver injured in Christmas Eve crash near Hope

Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

A driver was flown to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis with serious injuries after a Christmas Eve crash near Hope.

Bartholomew County deputies say that they were called to State Road 9 and East County Road 800N at about 4:06 p.m. Monday afternoon. A vehicle driven by 80-year-old Betty J. Johnson ran the stop sign at County Road 800N, and crossed over the state highway, hitting a concrete barrier.

She is in stable condition at the hospital with several broken bones, deputies report.

First Fridays brings Billy Shakespeare to life for kids

The New Year’s first First Friday for Families will be held Jan. 4th at The Commons. The free and family-friendly performance will be “The Magical Mind of Billy Shakespeare” performed by Mill Race Theatre Company

The performance is a light-hearted, engaging introduction to Shakespeare’s plays, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Richard III. Young “Billy” Shakespeare will take the audience through the ideas he has for plays. First Fridays for Families are organized by the Columbus Area Arts Council to introduce young audiences to a variety of performing arts.

First Fridays For Families start at 6 p.m. at The Commons. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The series is free due to the sponsorship of Old National Bank and the City of Columbus.

For more Columbus Area Arts Council events and information go to artsincolumbus.org

Exhibit Columbus designs to be unveiled in January

Exhibit Columbus will be holding the first public event of the 2019 exhibition next month: the J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Design Presentations .

During next year’s Exhibit Columbus the Miller Prize winners will create temporary outdoor installations at the sites of some of Columbus’ architectural and design landmarks. The locations for 2019 will include the AT&T Facility, Columbus City Hall, the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library Plaza, Central Middle School and the Bartholomew County Courthouse Lawn. The international designers taking part in the installations will present their concepts locally in January to give everyone a chance to see we what will be coming.

This year’s theme is “Good Design in the Community.” That refers back to 1986 when J. Irwin Miller became the first living American inducted into the National Building Museum Hall of Fame.

The designers taking part in the Miller Prize work this year are:

  • Agency Landscape + Planning from Cambridge, Mass.
  • Bryony Roberts Studio from New York City.
  • Frida Escobedo Studio from Mexico City, Mexico.
  • MASS Design Group from Boston.
  • SO-IL from New York City.

The events will start at 10 a.m. Saturday Jan. 19th at The Commons with presentations by the University Design Research Fellows. The Miller Prize Presentations will be from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

CRH financial officer recognized with statewide award

Columbus Regional Health’s chief financial officer recently received a statewide honor.
Marlene Weatherwax was chosen as Indianapolis Business Journal’s CFO of the Year.

Weatherwax received the award in the Not-for-Profit/Government category for organizations with revenues over $100 million.

Weatherwax joined Columbus Regional Health as director of finance in 1995 and was named CFO four years later. The IBJ awards program recognizes CFOs for outstanding performance in their roles as financial stewards of corporations and not-for-profit/government organizations.

Hope group chooses best holiday lights display

Photo courtesy of Main Street of Hope.

Main Street of Hope is announcing that the winner of the community group’s first Deck the Town holiday lights competition is the Dobbs Family at 444 South St. in Hope.

The family uses three laptop computers to program the elaborate, synchronized lighting display, which took 360 hours to set up. The display started on Thanksgiving night and will continue through New Year’s Eve. It runs from 6 to 10 p.m. each night.

Main Street of HOPE started the competition this year with the winner receiving a traveling, lighted leg lamp replica of the prop from the classic movie “The Christmas Story.” There were 14 nominations for the award from community members.

Site of four murders burns in weekend fire; Victim’s son facing arson charge

Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
Daniel Burton. Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

A Bartholomew County man is under arrest, accused of burning down the Waynesville home where his mother and three others were murdered on Mother’s Day weekend, more than five years ago.

33 year old Daniel Burton of Waynesville was arrested on a charge of arson after the Saturday morning incident.

Bartholomew County deputies report that firefighters were called to the home in the 2700 block of East Main Cross in Waynesville at just before 7 a.m. Saturday morning. Firefighters who spoke with Burton found out that another home, in the 2600 block of East Main Cross was also on fire.

Our news-gathering partners at The Republic are reporting that is the same Daniel Burton who is the son of Katheryn M. Burton who died in the second home in May of 2013 along with Thomas W. Smith, Aaron T. Cross, and Shawn L. Burton. Daniel Burton was the one who found the murder scene and the bodies, which happened while he was at work.

Sheriff Matt Myers told the newspaper that Daniel Burton admitted to starting both fires, saying that he was trying to get rid of evil spirits.

Samuel Sallee was convicted of the four murders in 2015 and is serving four consecutive life terms without parole.

Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

Purdue students head to NYC for human trafficking event

A pair of Purdue Polytechnic students will be speaking to the United Nations next year on the dangers of human trafficking.

Erica Gregg is a freshman at the Columbus school. She says the trip started as part of a class project to dissect a global problem and come up with local solutions..

She said her group will be preparing training materials for students and educators, aimed at helping runaways and those of low socio-economic backgrounds, who are more likely to become targets.

She said one of the goals is to reach out to local teens.

Gregg and her classmate, Zohie, Wagner will be attending a UN human trafficking summit in New York City in February.

The group is putting up a website with resources for community members, health providers and educators called endmodernslavery.org.

The group is also seeking community help to cover the costs of the trip. If you are interested in helping out, you can get more information at the Purdue Polytechnic campus.

Police crackdown underway, looking for distracted drivers

Local police are taking part in statewide and nationwide efforts to enforce traffic laws during the holiday season.

The national campaign is taking place through Jan. 1st and you will find police enforcing seat belt and child restraint violations, as well as cracking down on distracted driving and aggressive driving.

Overtime money for the patrols are being provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety administration and are distributed through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

Seymour Police Chief Bill Abbott says to make sure that you are there to open all of your Christmas presents. You can go a long way toward that goal by buckling up every time you get into in a vehicle and ensuring you you have a sober driver ready to take the wheel, should you take part in some holiday alcoholic cheer.

Police say that distracted driving is a major contributor to traffic crashes. Put down your phone and wait until you get where you are going to check e-mail, messages or calls, police say. They warn no message is worth causing injury or death.