A suspect in a Bartholomew County traffic stop, allegedly dropped a baggie of methamphetamine when he got out of the vehicle to talk with deputies.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that a vehicle was stopped at about 8:43 p.m. Tuesday night in the 900 block of North Dellasburg Road. A police dog alerted to the odor of narcotics coming from inside the vehicle.

The driver, 47-year-old Ronnie Richardson of Columbus got out of the vehicle and a small white baggie fell to the ground containing what police believe is methamphetamine. A search found Richardson was carrying four other similar bags. A search of the vehicle also recovered a small amount of marijuana and and drug paraphernalia.

Richardson was arrested on preliminary charges of:

• Dealing methamphetamine
• Possession of methamphetamine
• Possession of marijuana
• Possession of paraphernalia

Bartholomew County’s Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team arrested a Columbus man recently as part of an ongoing investigation into methamphetamine dealing in the community.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department reports that the JNET team was assisted by the community intelligence led policing unit in serving arrest warrants at about 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 17th on 40-year-old Christopher Hubbert.

Hubbert was found to be carrying additional narcotics and paraphernalia and is facing new charges including:

• Three counts of dealing methamphetamine
• Possession of methamphetamine
• Possession of paraphernalia
• A court order
• Two Bartholomew County Warrants

His bond was set at $1.8 million.

The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team is a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department, and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office. targeting the manufacturing and abuse of dangerous drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County.

Now that the Bartholomew Consolidated School Board has approved a referendum to address teacher and staff pay, the school district will begin making its case to the public.

The referendum would add just over 15 and a half cents per $100 to local property taxes. School officials estimate that the proposal would add $7 dollars and 79 cents a month to the property taxes of the average home owner in the district. Nearly 87 percent of the new revenue would go to add pay boosts for teachers and support staff, with the remaining 13 percent going to school security measures.

The issue will appear on the May primary election ballot.

We talked recently with Dr. Jim Roberts, superintendent of the school district on the restrictions the school administration faces in making those points to the public.

Roberts said that  said there are only three school district employees allowed to campaign for the referendum during the school day including himself and his two assistant superintendents.

Under state law, all other school district employees are prohibited from advocating for the referendum while at work.

BCSC has scheduled a series of public information sessions on the referendum to give out details and to answer questions from residents. The first is set for Thursday, Feb 6th at Taylorsville Elementary starting at 6 p.m.

Other upcoming public information sessions include:

• Thursday, Feb. 20, 6 p.m.  at Columbus North High School
• Thursday, Feb. 27, 6 p.m.  at Rockcreek Elementary
• Tuesday, March 24, 6 p.m.  at Mt. Healthy Elementary
• Tuesday, March 31, 6 p.m.  M at Central Middle School

You can get more information on the referendum on the BCSC website at bcsc.k12.in.us.

A Statewide Silver Alert has been declared.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the disappearance of Laila Davis, a 16 year old white female, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 170 pounds, black hair with blue eyes, last seen wearing a t-shirt, ripped black jean, and Van shoes or light gray boots. Laila has a rose tattoo on her right forearm.

Laila is missing from Brookville, Indiana which is 75 miles southeast of Indianapolis and was last seen on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 4:00 pm. She is believed to be in danger and may require medical assistance. 

If you have any information on Laila Davis, contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department at 765-647-4138 or 911.

The United Way of Bartholomew County is offering tax-assistance to low-income individuals who live in Bartholomew County. Whitney Loyd recently spoke with John Foster on “AM Columbus” to talk about the VITA program.

The United Way will begin accepting appointments for tax preparation on Monday. You can make an appointment then by calling 812-375-2216. Actual appointments will begin the first week of February.

You can get more information at uwbarthco.org.

A youth minister for a Seymour church has died from complications from the flu.

“The Tribune” is reporting that 36-year-old Allison Williams, of Seymour, who had worked at Reddington Christian Church since 2008, passed away earlier this week at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour.

The paper quotes a family member as saying that Williams contracted the flu after attending the Tennessee Christian Teen Convention in January. She never recovered.

For more on this story, visit tribtown.com.

A water main break in the 3400 block of Grandma Barnes Road has resulted in the Town of Nashville and Nashville Utilities issuing a Boil Order for customers from 3403 to 3787 Grandma Barnes Road.

Affected residents and businesses should boil all cooking and drinking water through 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24.

Indiana Conservation Officer Zach Walker, who serves Jennings County, has been selected the 2019 District 9 Officer of the Year.

Walker was raised in Marion County and has been serving as a conservation officer for 10 years.

He is a member of the canine program, working with his dog Libby. He is also a member of the cave rescue team, a field training officer, a boat accident investigator and a background investigator.

District 9 covers Rush, Fayette, Union, Decatur, Franklin, Jennings, Ripley, Dearborn, Ohio, Switzerland and Jefferson counties.

Officer Nick Wilson, who serves Hendricks County, has been selected as the 2019 District 6 Officer of the Year. District 6 includes Bartholomew, Brown, Johnson and Shelby counties.

Walker and Wilson are now each in the running for the Pitzer Award, which is given to the top overall conservation officer in the state of Indiana and selected from the 10 district award winners.

The Pitzer award is named after Conservation Officer James D. Pitzer, who was fatally shot while investigating illegal hunting activity Jan. 2, 1961 in Jay County.

A wanted Columbus man was arrested after police found him outside a downtown home.

Columbus Police report that they noticed 53-year-old Michael A. Coleman outside a home in the 1000 block of Chestnut Street at about 6:40 p.m. Tuesday evening.

After confirming an outstanding Bartholomew County warrant for Coleman, he was taken into custody without incident. A search found marijuana and a methamphetamine pipe in his clothing. He is facing new charges for possessing the drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Rightway Fasteners is planning a $12 million investment to increase production at its facility in Walesboro.

Representatives for the company went before the Columbus City Council Tuesday night to request a tax-abatement. Rightway Fasteners is purchasing and installing two cold forging machines, a heat treatment furnace, three coating lines and three shot-blast machines. The company asked for a 10-year tax abatement on the purchase and installation of this new equipment. Rightway Fasteners will pay over $425,000 in new property taxes over the next decade. The abatement will save the company over $633,000 in property taxes over the same period.

The investment is expected to retain 410 jobs and create nine new ones.

Council approved the abatement on a vote of 6-0.