Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers swore in three new deputies yesterday, Mark Helms, Joseph Pugh and Grant Carlson.

Because all three have already completed their law enforcement training, they will be able to quickly move to work in the Road Patrol Division, after a field training phase with an experienced deputy, the sheriff said.

The 58-year-old Helms is a retired State Police trooper. The 28-year-old Pugh previously served with the Evansville Police Department.

Carlson is 21 and graduated with honors from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce will be celebrating its 110th annual meeting on Thursday.

Cindy Frey, president of the chamber Frey says that the event is both a celebration of the past year in local business, but also a call to action to make things better.

She explains that this year’s keynote speaker is John McDonald, CEO of ClearObject. The company helps others connect their products to the Internet of Things. He will be talking about what this new technology means for you and your organization.

McDonald’s company is based in Fishers and Frey said that community has been very successful in helping grow local entrepreneurship.

The event will also feature the presentation of several annual awards including the Edna Folger award for outstanding educator and the Maverick Challenge award, which goes to a local high school team of young entrepreneurs.

The lunch meeting is Thursday, March 28th from 1130 to 1:30 at The Commons. You can buy tickets at columbusareacchamber.com

The City of Columbus and Columbus Municipal Airport have announced that the Canadian Forces Snowbirds flight demonstration team will be headlining the “Birds & Brews” event on September 18th from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

City officials say Birds & Brews will replace Columbus Aviation Day for 2019, which is traditionally held in June. Organizers say this will be the first time the Canadian Forces Snowbirds have ever been in central Indiana. This event is free and the public is invited to attend.

In addition to the Snowbirds, Birds & Brews will also offer a beer garden. In celebration of this event, Zwanzigz Brewery of Columbus will be creating a one-of-a-kind Canadian brew only available at the event.

There are also scheduled to be food vendors, a U.S. military flight demonstration and parachute jump, children’s educational activities and a Hot Air Balloon Glow.

North Vernon Police arrested a local man over the weekend for Military Desertion. At about 12:20 p.m. Saturday, officers conducted a traffic stop on Buckeye Street. During the stop, officers learned that 37-year-old Scott Burton, of North Vernon, was wanted on the warrant, out of Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Military officials say Burton went AWOL more than 14 years ago.

A man accused of shoplifting alcohol at a Columbus Walmart was also allegedly carrying a handgun when police chased after him.

Columbus police report that the incident happened Thursday evening when officers were called to the shoplifting report at the east side Walmart. Police say that 32-year-old Stephen A. Banks, of Indianapolis, was carrying a silver handgun when police confronted him, and as he ran away he dropped the weapon.

Officers found the .45 caliber pistol was loaded and had a round chambered. A search allegedly revealed Banks was carrying heroin in his clothing.

Banks is facing preliminary charges of Resisting Law Enforcement with a Deadly Weapon, Possession of Heroin, Possession of a Handgun by a Serious Violent Felon and Theft.

A Crothersville woman has been arrested, after admitting she was hiding drugs in her body.

The incident started at about 12:40 a.m. Friday morning when Columbus police stopped a speeding vehicle at State Road 11 and Jonathan Moore Pike. A police dog alerted to the odor of drugs inside the vehicle and police determined that a passenger, 38-year-old Amanda D. Spencer was in violation of her parole.

Police suspected she was hiding drugs and she was taken to Johnson County Jail to have a body scan done, when she allegedly admitted she was carrying narcotics in a body cavity. A search at Columbus Regional Hospital allegedly discovered she was carrying heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. .

In addition to the probation violation, she is also being charged with dealing heroin, and possessing heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and a controlled substance.

Legal Aid will be having a free clinic in Bartholomew County at the Legal Aid Offices in the Doug Otto United Way Center on 13th Street from 3 to 5 p.m. today, March 25th.

You can get up to a 10 minute consultation with a pro bono attorney to answer legal questions, to offer information or to receive other, limited, advice.

The sessions are available on a first-come first-serve basis and there is no need to register in advance.

Crews will be working on State Road 3 between Vernon and North Vernon this week. INDOT says contractors will be removing and replacing curb ramps and resurfacing the road from State Road 7 south of Vernon to U.S. 50 at North Vernon.

The work is due to start today and you will see flaggers during the paving operations. This is all part of at $787,000 pavement improvement project as part of Indiana’s Next Level Roads program.

INDOT is urging you to remember that when driving in work zones you should slow down, avoid distractions, and use extra caution.

If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team powered by Crew Car Wash. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.

Time is running out to apply for scholarships provided by the Indiana Sheriff’s Association. The organization will be awarding college scholarships to qualified high school seniors or college students who are pursuing a degree in criminal justice studies.

Approximately 40 $750 scholarships awarded to qualifying students throughout the state. The deadline to apply is April 1st.

To qualify, the applicant must be an Indiana resident, be a current member of the association or a dependent child or grandchild of a current member of the association, attend an Indiana college or university, major in a law enforcement field and enroll as a full-time student (12 hours).

Applications needed to apply for the scholarships are available from area high school counselors and the Sheriff’s Office front desk during regular business hours. The scholarship application can also be downloaded at indianasheriffs.org.

As Severe Weather Preparedness Week wraps up emergency officials say that the biggest danger of death from natural disasters in the U.S.  is drowning and half of those deaths come from people driving or walking into floodwaters.

According to the National Weather Service, it doesn’t take much fast-moving water to sweep you away. Six inches of water can knock an adult off their feet, 12 inches can carry off a small car and if you have two feet of swift water, vans, pickups and SUVs will be swept downstream.

They are urging you that if you encounter high water over the roadway, turn around and don’t drown. Even if you think you know the area, when you come across high water on the road, you don’t know what is happening underneath. The road could be swept away.

Severe Weather Preparedness Week wraps up Saturday.