A Commiskey teen is facing charges after a shooting incident last week in North Vernon.

According to North Vernon Police, officers were called to a home near Noon Drive and Brownstown Road at just before 7 p.m. on Sunday, November 21st on reports of shots fired. Witnesses said that multiple shots had been fired in the driveway of a home and two vehicles left the scene. Both of the vehicles were stopped and the occupants detained.

Police gathered information at the scene including shell casings and interviewed those involved. Police identified 18-year-old Hunter Spicer as the person who allegedly fired between one and three shots. He was interviewed by police at the police station and then arrested on a preliminary felony charge of criminal recklessness with a firearm.

Police say that this incident was isolated to the residence and did not find any threat to the nearby area.

Investigators have determined this was an isolated event to the residence involved and have not identified any on going threat to the near by area.

North Vernon Police recovered a pickup stolen Saturday in Seymour, after sighting the vehicle near a gas station at State Road 7 and U.S. 50.

According to police reports, officers noticed the stolen vehicle at about 11 Saturday night. It has been reported stolen earlier in the day from a Seymour business.

Police pulled the vehicle over at an apartment complex at State Road 7 and Jennings County Road 300N. The driver, 29-year-old Robert A. Jackson of North Vernon was taken into custody. A search recovered a 12-gauge shotgun that had been in the vehicle when it was stolen. Police also found that Jackson was carrying drug paraphernalia containing methamphetamine.

Jackson is facing charges including possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia and driving while suspended with a prior conviction.

Bartholomew County residents in need of holiday help have until Friday to sign up through the United Way’s Holiday Helpline.

The helpline registers families and children for food and gift assistance with programs including the Community Center of Hope Angel Tree, Fireman’s Cheer Fund, Shop With A Cop, St. Bartholomew Giving Tree, Toys for Tots and Love Chapel Holiday Food Pantry.

Children may be registered for one gift program and households may receive one food box.

You can call from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., today through Friday at 812-375-2216. If you need help in Spanish, you can call Su Casa at 812-375-9370.

The city of Columbus is announcing that loose-leaf collection routes are running several days late this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Routes that would have normally run on Thanksgiving Day are being picked up today. Routes that would have been last Friday are being collected Tuesday.

The city says that normal Monday routes will be collected Wednesday, normal Tuesday routes will be collected Thursday and normal Wednesday routes will not be collected until Friday.

If you have any questions you can call the Public Works Department at 812-376-2509.

Rescue workers reported a tragic end to a search for a missing girl Sunday: Two-year-old Emma Sweet’s body was found in East Fork White River not far from where her coat was discovered yesterday.

At a Sunday press conference at the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, her uncle, Bryan O’Neal, thanked the rescue workers for their efforts.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers praised the efforts of the searchers who had been working since Thanksgiving to find the toddler.

She was last seen alive on Wednesday with her father, 39-year-oldJeremy Sweet of Columbus in his Ford F-150 truck. Duck hunters found her father inside of a submerged truck in the river at about 6 a.m. Friday morning near Beatty Lane and Blessing Road. He was suffering from exposure and hypothermia and was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital where he remains in critical condition.

Myers said that the father gave conflicting information to rescue workers, saying at one point that he left the girl at “Casey’s” but it was unclear whether he meant the store or a person’s home. The father also said that after driving the truck into the river, he put the girl on the hood of the truck and she was swept away by the current.

Myers said searchers were convinced that she was somewhere in the river. They searched all day Friday and Saturday, ending the search at nightfall and picking it up again this morning.

Capt. Jet Quillen with the Indiana DNR conservation officers, said that divers found the girl’s body near a debris pile, about half a mile from where her coat was recovered yesterday. Quillen said that river debris acts as a strainer, catching up items and endangering rescue workers.

The exact location where her body was found has not been announced but her coat was found near Southern Crossing, which is County Roads 400S and 450S. People walking along the bank found her coat, Myers said.

The area where the truck was found required going off road and around barriers to cross a steep embankment into the water, Quillen said. Myers said the embankment was 15-20 feet tall.

Myers said that a press conference Sunday was meant to update the public on the search results but the investigation is continuing.  He did not comment on any possible criminal investigation or charges.

The truck was removed from the water yesterday and a quick search of the inside and the area where it was found revealed no information. Investigators are seeking a search warrant to inspect the vehicle in more detail.

Divers from DNR and the Indiana State Police along with the state police helicopter were involved in the search, along with Wayne Township Volunteer Fire Department, Columbus Township Fire and Rescue Department, 31 Wrecker, Columbus Regional Hospital medics, and Columbus Fire Department.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.

A two-year-old girl remains missing after her father’s truck was found submerged in East Fork White River this morning.

Authorities are searching for two-year-old Emma Sweet. She is a white girl with brown hair and brown eyes weighing 23 pounds.. She was last seen wearing all black with a cream-colored jacket with butterflies on it.

She and her father, Jeremy Sweet, were last seen Wednesday afternoon in his black Ford 150 pickup truck. The truck was discovered submerged in the river off of a farm lane near Beatty Lane at almost 6 this morning by duck hunters. Jeremy Sweet was inside and suffering from exposure and hypothermia.

He was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment.

It is not known if she was in the truck when it went into the river. The two had been reported missing and were last seen at about noon on Wednesday.

Jeremy Sweet is currently out on bond for unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as well as possession of methamphetamine.

If you have any information on her whereabouts, you should call 911 or 812-379-1689.

Assisting in the search are Indiana State Police, Indiana Department of Natural Resources conservation officers, Wayne Township Volunteer Fire Department, Columbus Township Fire and Rescue Department, 31 Wrecker, Columbus Regional Hospital medics, and Columbus Fire Department.

This year’s Exhibit Columbus installation season is wrapping up this weekend.

There are more than a dozen temporary installations built around the city’s architectural landmarks. The theme of this year’s event is “New Middles: From Main Street to Megalopolis, What is the Future of the Middle City?”

On Sunday, the exhibition officially ends. But you can still take part in the final guided tour of the installation sites.

Richard McCoy, head of the Landmark Columbus Foundation, will be leading the evening tour starting at 5:30 Sunday and lasting about an hour and a half. The tour will begin as the Exhibit Columbus offices at 408 6th Street. You should dress for the weather and for walking.

To learn more about the exhibition you can go to exhibitcolumbus.org

A Columbus third grader is the state winner of a nationwide contest to grow the biggest cabbage.

Bonnie Plants is announcing that Myka Woods of Parkside Elementary School has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the company for growing a nearly 5 pound cabbage. Myka was selected by the company and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture as the Indiana winner of this year’s Bonnie Plants 3rd Grade Cabbage Program. The award was based on the student’s enthusiasm to participate and learn in addition to the size and overall appearance of their cabbage.

The contest was largely virtual. At the start of the program, Bonnie Plants sent each participating student a starter cabbage plant and the lessons needed to care for and nurture their plant. Students took a photo with their fully-grown cabbage and submitted it for a chance to win.

Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler praised the contest as a way to introduce children to agriculture. He said it was inspiring to see the impressive cabbages grown by Indiana students.

You can get more information on the program here.

Photo: Myka Woods with her 5-pound cabbage. Photo courtesy of Bonnie Plants. 

A former Columbus police officer, and Seymour-based state trooper is getting promoted.

The Indiana State Police announced recently that Sgt. Brian K. Wilson has been promoted to the rank of First Sergeant. He will serve as the Operations Center Section Commander in Indianapolis and oversee the various components of the center.

Wilson, who is originally from Whiteland, is a graduate of Whiteland High School, and earned an Associate’s Degree in Law Enforcement from Vincennes University. He began his law enforcement career in 1991 with the Columbus Police Department. He graduated from the 52nd Indiana State Police Recruit Academy in 1995 and was first assigned to the Indiana State Police Post in Lafayette.

He transferred to the Seymour Post in 1997, where he served as a trooper until being promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He continued serving as a District Squad Sergeant when the Seymour Post was closed and merged with Versailles in 2010. In 2018, Wilson transferred to the Operations Center in Indianapolis.

Wilson and his wife Melody are residents of Johnson County and have four grown children and one grandchild.

Columbus city offices remain closed today for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Trash and recycling collection will be running one day behind with normal Thursday routes running today, and normal Friday routes running on Saturday. Leaf collection will be running several days late. Normal Thursday pickups will be running on Monday, and normal Friday pickups are running on Tuesday.

You call the Public Works department with any questions at 812-376-2509.

Columbus city utilities says if you have a problem with your water or sewer service, you can call 812-372-8861 and follow the prompts.