North Vernon police are joining with other agencies to crack down on drivers blowing through school bus stop arm signals and other unsafe driving.

Police say that disregarding a school bus stop arm is dangerous and a serious offense. You should always drive carefully around a school bus so that everyone makes it to school safely.

More than 200 agencies around the state are taking part in this spring’s enforcement campaign. High-visibility patrols will be conducted in the morning and afternoon along routes identified by local bus drivers and school transportation officials. And while the focus will be on stop-arm violations, officers will also be on the lookout for other violations.

The department says that the overtime patrols are being funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through Indiana’s Criminal Justice Institute.

In Indiana, it’s against the law for motorists to pass a bus that’s stopped and has its red lights flashing and stop-arm extended.

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are reporting that the Columbus East Food Pantry will be open from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. today for drive up pickups of pre-bagged collections of food.

The pantry will have enough to feed 240 families today. This month’s distribution includes five pounds of meat, ten pounds of potatoes, five pounds of apples, and brownie or cake mix, as well as canned and dry food items.

The pickup point will be in the west parking lot behind the school near the tennis courts at Door 31.

Jackson County authorities say a traffic stop yesterday led to the recovery of dangerous amounts of fentanyl.

A deputy noticed a pickup drive through a stop sign at about 1:42 a.m. yesterday morning in Vernon Township near the intersection of U.S. 31 and State Road 250. After stopping the vehicle, a police dog alerted to the smell of narcotics in the vehicle and a search revealed about 30 grams of fentanyl along with methamphetamine.

According to authorities, 2 milligrams of fentanyl is enough to kill a person, so the amount recovered in the pickup could kill 15 thousand people.

The driver, 31-year-old Erica M. Bannister of Scottsburg was arrested on preliminary charges of dealing narcotics and possession of methamphetamine.

The Yellow Trail Museum in Hope is planning to reopen to the public the first full week of May.

The museum announced yesterday that pending state COVID-19 guidelines, it plans to begin holding events and activities again with the first Sunday Social history event from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 2nd at the museum.

Further events will be announced on the Yellow Trail Museum’s Facebook page. Any individual or small group that wants to tour the museum can contact the museum at 812-546-8020 to schedule a visit.

Columbus State Rep. Ryan Lauer says his bill expanding Indiana’s Safe Haven Law has passed the legislature and is headed to the governor for his signature.

The bill will allow a parent to call 911 to surrender a baby less than 30 days old to medical service providers. Lauer said the bill would allow parents in crisis to call 911 anonymously to give up the newborn.

The Safe Haven Law already allows parents to anonymously surrender their babies without prosecution to any emergency room, fire station, police station or to a Safe Haven Baby Box.

Lauer said the bill is meant to fill the gap when a parent can not make it to a designated Safe Haven location.

North Vernon police arrested two people found unconscious in a vehicle at a local business yesterday.

The police department is reporting that officers were called to the business and after talking to the sleeping pair, concluded drugs were involved.

A search revealed half a gram of heroin and related drug paraphernalia.

25-year-old Tyler Shrum and 28-year-old Richard Shrum were arrested on preliminary charges for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia, public intoxication and maintaining a common nuisance.

Bartholomew County deputies arrested an Anderson woman early yesterday morning on drug-related charges after a traffic stop.

According to deputies, they pulled over a vehicle near State and Jones streets at 12:06 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The deputy smelled marijuana inside the vehicle and a search recovered two corner-cut baggies containing a white crystal substance in the purse of the driver, 37-year-old Desi Buckler of Anderson.

She was arrested on a preliminary charge of possession of methamphetamine.

Evidence photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

The City of Columbus Chipper and Yard Waste program starts on Monday.

Yard waste Toters and stacked brush will be collected the day of your regular trash collection. No limbs or anything woody go in the yard waste Toter. However, an armful of sticks/twigs can go in your brown trash Toter each week.

If you don’t have a yard waste Toter, you can buy one at Lowe’s Home Improvement Store.

The Columbus Department of Public Works will be holding a spring cleanup from April 5th through April 16th. You can rake loose leaves, grass or pine needles to the curb for collection on the day of your regular trash collection. Leaf vacs will only be collecting loose yard debris from April 5th thru April 16th during the cleanup.

INDOT says that contractors are continuing their work to upgrade traffic signals on U.S. 31 and State Road 11 in Bartholomew County.

Underground boring started in January at U.S. 31 and Lowell Road and that work continues at State Road 11 and Southern Crossing, also known as County Road 450S. You won’t see many traffic effects immediately, but paving operations will start next month and new signals will be installed later this spring. That work will include lane closures and flaggers on scene.

The Lowell Road intersection now has a two-way stop that will become a four-way signal. The Southern Crossing intersection has four-way stop signs that will be signalized. Both projects are expected to be finished by mid-June.

INDOT says that signals will help improve safety and reduce congestion at those intersections. Morphey Construction is doing the work on the more than half a million dollar modernization contract.

INDOT urges you to slow down, to use extra caution, and to drive distraction-free in and near work zones.

Most city of Columbus offices will remain mostly closed to the public until the start of May, officials announced yesterday.

The city laid out its reopening plans in the wake of the governor’s announcements on Tuesday.

City buildings that will continue to be available to the public by appointment only include City Hall and the police department offices, animal care services, Donner Center, City Utilities and the Columbus Municipal Airport aviation offices. City transit buses will continue to run and masks will be required.

According to the city, most city buildings will reopen to the public starting Monday, May 3rd. You will also continue to need to wear a mask within city facilities at least through April 30th.

Through the end of April, city government meetings will continue to be virtual, live-streamed through the city website for the public and available via Webex to participants. Should the governor’s order allowing the virtual meetings not be extended through the end of April, the city will go back to in-person meetings.