Jennings County deputies have arrested a man they accuse of raping a child.
According to reports from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, deputies began investigating the reported sex crime involving a child between the ages of 14 and 17 on August 17th.
The investigation led authorities to arrest 65 year old Ronald J. Brown of North Vernon on preliminary felony charges of rape, sexual misconduct with a minor and contributing alcohol to a minor.
New restrictions on visitations at Columbus Regional Health go into effect today, due to the spread of COVID-19.
Non-COVID-positive patients and those that are not suspected of being positive are now allowed only one visitor at a time. Others waiting to visit a patient must now wait outside the hospital, such as in their vehicle or at home, until visitation is available.
The change is meant to prevent crowding in waiting and common areas in the hospital.
Rules remain in place limiting visitors for non-critical COVID-positive patients and those patients suspected of being positive, to one a day, between 4 and 6 p.m.
COVID patients in the ICU are still not allowed visitors except under special circumstances such as the end of their life.
Our Hospice of South Central Indiana is announcing that the annual Labor Day weekend concert at Mill Race Park has been canceled.
The show, featuring, Yacht Rock Revue, was scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 4th.
Organizers worked with local health officials and the Bartholomew County COVID-19 Task Force on the decision. Laura Leonard, president of Our Hospice said that the rising number of COVID-19 infections and increasing hospitalizations were the primary factors in the decision. She said “We cannot risk the health and safety of our community members.”
Bartholomew County Health Officer Dr. Brian Niedbalski said that even though it was to be an outdoor event, the large number of people gathered together presented a great risk for transmission of the Delta variant of COVID-19.
The $10,000 raffle drawing will still take place on September 4th at 7 p.m. Winners will be notified by phone that evening and the results will also be posted on the Our Hospice Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/OurHospice) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/OurHospice.)
The event has been the largest fundraiser for Our Hospice. Leonard said that the support is needed now, more than ever. There are still several ways to support the not-for-profit community hospice.
• Make an additional donation directly online at www.crh.org/hospiceconcert or you can contact Julie Davis at (812) 371-7973, [email protected].
• Purchase Raffle tickets for $10 each for a chance to win $10,000. Tickets can be purchased online using direct debit at www.crh.org/hospiceraffle until 5 p.m. on Sept. 4th.
• Raffle Tickets can also be purchased at drive in events at Fair Oaks Mall, from any employee, or on Saturday, Sept. 4 from noon to 5 p.m. in front of the Hospice Center (drive thru)
• There will be a fish fry supporting the hospice at the American Legion Post 24 in Columbus from 11 to 8 on Friday.
• Purchase fresh-baked cookies, T-shirts or Raffle tickets at drive thru events on Tuesday, Aug. 31, Wednesday, September 1 and Thursday, September 2 in the Fair Oaks Mall Parking lot from 11 to 1 and from 4 to 6.
•You can bid on the original concert art by local artist Donna Rosenberg. Online bidding takes place until Thursday, September 9 at www.32auctions.com/OurHospiceArt2021
• Purchase a $20 concert T-shirt by emailing [email protected]
A flat tire Monday morning led to the arrest of three people on drug related charges in Jennings County.
According to police reports from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, a deputy on patrol stopped to help a woman with a flat tire in the area of County Road 200N and U.S. Highway 50 at about 1:38 yesterday morning. But the deputy became suspicious of possible criminal activity. A search revealed methamphetamine, marijuana, syringes, and other drug paraphernalia.
The driver, 25-year-old Sonia Slone of Whitesburg, Ky. had an outstanding Jennings County warrant on a misdemeanor theft charge. She was arrested on the warrant and on a charge of possession of marijuana.
Passengers, 36-year-old Aqueilah Hardesty of Commiskey and 28-year-old Devon McFall of North Vernon were arrested on preliminary charges for possessing methamphetamine, marijuana and the drug paraphernalia. They are also facing charges of neglect of a dependent after an 11-month-old baby in the vehicle was turned over to the Indiana Department of Child Services.
An Anderson man is facing charges after Columbus police found a catalytic converter in his trunk.
According to police reports, an officer stopped a vehicle driven by 35-year-old William Streeval near 16th Street and Lafayette Avenue at about 2:22 a.m. Monday morning. The officer noticed the smell of narcotics in the vehicle and a police dog alerted to narcotics in the vehicle.
A search found five syringes and a reciprocating saw inside the vehicle, along with a handgun, two magazines, a GPS unit, a credit card and the catalytic converter. The GPS unit and credit card had been reported stolen to Columbus police.
Streeval is facing preliminary charges of possession of legend drug injection device, possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.
Seymour police recovered a gun believed to have been stolen from Bartholomew County during a Saturday incident.
According to police reports, a resident in the 1300 block of West Second Street reported a bullet hole in the windshield of a vehicle Saturday evening. The resident said that the shot likely happened at about 4 a.m. Saturday because there was a lot of noise in the neighborhood and car alarms going off.
Police collected evidence from the vehicle. During the investigation, police talked to 34-year-old Tyson Marshall of Seymour and they confiscated a handgun Marshall was carrying that he did not have a permit for. A search of his home recovered weapons, ammunition and marijuana.
Marshall was arrested on preliminary charges of possession of a handgun without a permit and with a felony conviction, as well as for possession of the marijuana. He also had an outstanding warrant out of Shelby County.
Police will be further investigating to determine if the recovered handgun is, in fact, the same one reported stolen.
Indiana Department of Transportation says that State Road 9 will be closing on the south end of Hope starting Thursday and lasting through next month.
Crews from Paul H. Rohe Company will be replacing a drainage structure over Horse Creek. The road will be closed between Schaefer Drive and Hartsville Pike through late September.
The official detour will follow State Road 252, Interstate 65, U.S. 31 and State Road 46.
An Indiana State Police trooper from Brownstown will be in charge of all of the state police underwater search and recovery teams.
Trooper Christopher R. Lockman is being promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He became a trooper 10 years ago and has served with the Versailles post since graduating from the Indiana State Police Recruit Academy in 2011. Lockman has served on the Underwater Search and Recovery Team-South Squad, where he has been the Assistant Team Leader and the Team Leader.
In his new role, he will serve within the state police Special Operations Command as the underwater search and recovery team coordinator.
He is a graduate of Brownstown Central High School and a warrant officer in the U.S. Marines Corp. Lockman, along with his wife and three children are residents of Jackson County.
Bartholomew County Health Department will be working with Windrose Health to offer COVID-19 vaccines at Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus from 9 to 11 on Friday.
The shots will be available in Room 200 at the campus at 4475 Central Avenue in Columbus. Vaccines will be available for those 12 years and older.
The National Weather Service is warning of extreme heat today across central Indiana. You will see peak heat indexes in our area of 100 to 101 degrees this afternoon.
The weather service says that the heat can cause heat illnesses with prolonged exposure. You should limit your time outside during the hottest part of the day, drink plenty of water, and wear light-colored clothing. You should also check on those vulnerable to heat illnesses, including young children, the elderly, those with chronic medical conditions or those without air conditioning.
And make sure that outdoor pets have plenty of water and a cool place to rest.
A heat advisory is in effect from 2 to 8 p.m. this afternoon and evening.