Columbus Regional Health is putting plans on hold to require all employees, volunteers and others affiliated with the hospital be vaccinated for COVID-19.

Under a mandate from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, all members of the workforce were originally required to receive their single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the first dose of the Moderna and Pfizer two-dose vaccines by December 5th. However, court cases have put that mandate on hold.

Kelsey DeClue, spokeswoman for the hospital, said yesterday that due to the current legal injunctions against the CMS mandate, CRH is suspending its compliance efforts..

She said the health system continues to encourage vaccination among its workforce. However, the hospital has suspended efforts to mandate and track workforce vaccination status.

DeClue said that should the injunction against CMS be overturned, the health system will resume its previous efforts to comply with the mandate.

She said the hospital continues to closely monitor the situation and is committed to “safety for our patients, employees and the community.”

A North Vernon man is facing charges after allegedly holding a knife to a woman’s throat in an incident at the Seymour Wal-Mart Distribution Center over the weekend.

According to Seymour Police reports, officers were called to the center on Tipton Street on Saturday. A supervisor told police that a male employee had grabbed a female employee’s necklace, ripped it off and said he was going to kill her. He then held a knife to her throat.

Police say that the two employees used to be in a relationship and the victim claimed the suspect continues to harass, follow and threaten her. Investigators interviewed the suspect, 33-year-old Jose Arnaldo Membreno Montes of North Vernon, who told police that he was jealous and said he did hold a knife to the victim’s throat.

He was arrested and the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office is filing charges of intimidation with a deadly weapon and battery with a deadly weapon. He is also being charged with forgery and identity deception when it was discovered that he was working at the center under someone else’s name.

The Indiana Senate is now accepting applications for next year’s Senate Page Program.

Students in grades six through 12 can tour Indiana’s Statehouse, listen to debates and help staff with age-appropriate tasks. Students also have the opportunity to meet with their state senator in the all-day program. Serving as a page is considered an excused absence from school.

The 2022 Senate Page Program begins in January and runs through early March. Pages are scheduled for Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. They begin their day at 8:30 a.m. and are dismissed at 3:30 p.m. Groups serve together on Wednesdays.

You can get more information and apply online.

Photo: Indiana State Capitol. Creative Commons photo license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en

Congressman Greg Pence is announcing his office’s nominations for the U.S. Service academies.

Last month, the Sixth Congressional District’s Service Academy Advisory Board interviewed high school candidates from across the district. Pence said last week that he has the honor of nominating the 13 best and brightest high school students from the district.

Among the local nominations:

Conner J. Sims of Columbus, a Trinity Lutheran student was nominated to attend the Military Academy at West Point.

William K. Kiel, and Matthew Newell, both from Columbus and both students at Columbus North High School, were nominated for the Naval Academy at Annapolis.

Kiel, Richard W. Kang of Columbus, a student at Culver Military Academy, and Zachary N. Wager, of Columbus, a Columbus North High School student were nominated for the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs

Newell was also nominated for the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.

Other nominations included:

Military Academy at West Point

• John Thomas Hicks, Muncie, IN – Yorktown High School
• Nathaniel B. Myers, Lawrenceburg, IN – East Central High School

Naval Academy at Annapolis

• Payton L. Plank, New Castle, IN – New Castle High School
• Carter F. Schutte, Madison, IN – Madison Consolidated High School

Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs

•  Taylor A. Lynch, Madison, IN – Madison Consolidated High School
• Addison M. Moore, Richmond, IN – Richmond High School
• Payton L. Plank, New Castle, IN – New Castle High School
• Rory M. Powers, Yorktown, IN – Yorktown High School
• Ashton L. Rasnake, Lawrenceburg, IN – Lawrenceburg High School
• Carter F. Schutte, Madison, IN – Madison Consolidated High School

Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY

• Taylor A. Lynch, Madison, IN – Madison Consolidated High School
• Rory M. Powers, Yorktown, IN – Yorktown High School

Students in an Ivy Tech leadership program raised more than $900 to purchase winter coats and other items for children among the refugees at Camp Atterbury.

The Student Leadership Academy collected the donations during an eight-week campaign they called “Helping Camp Atterbury: A Winter Drive.” The money was used to purchase winter items for children, including socks, sweatshirts, gloves, and jackets.

Donation boxes were set up at Ivy Tech campuses in Columbus, Franklin, and Shelbyville.

Each year the class completes a service project. Knowing that nearly half of the refugees at the base were children, the group set out to shower those children with warmth, says Dr. Neil Bagadiong, the class facilitator and Director of Student Life.

The class was scheduled to graduate Friday afternoon and then deliver the items to Camp Atterbury.

Photo: Ivy Tech students Jean Berber, Abigail Wittekind and Courtney Rhoads purchase items for the winter clothing drive. Photo courtesy of Ivy Tech Community College.

A North Vernon man has been arrested and fired as a Johnson County correctional officer and special deputy after accusations he had sexual relations with a jail inmate.

According to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, the sheriff received a tip last week that 28-year-old Zachariah B. Johnson was possibly engaged in a relationship with an inmate. Investigators spoke with the inmate and her attorney and after results of that discussion, Sheriff Duane Burgess asked the Morgan County sheriff to further investigate the situation to ensure transparency.

Two Morgan County detectives interviewed Johnson on Thursday afternoon and he was arrested on preliminary charges of sexual misconduct, official misconduct and trafficking with an inmate.

The case is being forwarded to Johnson County Prosecutor Joseph Villanueva for review and the filing of formal criminal charges.

Burgess said this type of action will not be tolerated by the Sheriff’s Office.

Two people were arrested after a chase early Friday morning on Interstate 65 started near Seymour.

According to Indiana State Police reports, a trooper pulled over a car just south of the Seymour exit at about 2 a.m. Friday morning for a traffic violation. The trooper noticed signs of criminal activity inside the vehicle and the driver asked for an ambulance to be called to take care of his passenger.

But while the trooper waited for an ambulance and Seymour police to arrive to assist, the driver took off, headed south on the highway at high speed.

The chase ended south of Scottsburg when the driver hit tire deflation devices deployed by authorities.

The driver of the vehicle, 28-year-old Lavonte C. Conn, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the passenger, 23-year-old Aundrea L. Rodgers of  Montgomery, Alabama were taken into custody.

Conn is facing preliminary charges of of Resisting Law Enforcement, Reckless Driving, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of a Handgun without a Permit, and Obstruction of Justice.

Rodgers is being accused of Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and an outstanding warrant.

The Versailles Post of the Indiana State Police is welcoming a new police dog and saying goodbye to a retiring dog.

According to state police reports, Trooper Jordan Craig and his four-legged partner, Franky recently graduated from the state police K-9 Academy in Indianapolis.

Craig, a six year state police veteran, and Franky, a 1 1/2 year old Dutch Shephard and Malinois mix completed 12 weeks training together. They accumulated more than 400 hours learning obedience, narcotics detection, and other K-9 patrol functions. He is now certified in the detection of Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Crack, Heroin and Ecstasy.

Craig and Franky are beginning their work together in the Versailles District, which covers Bartholomew, Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland Counties.

Craig’s graduation from academy with Franky means that Craig’s previous K-9 partner, Krieger, who is now 10 1/2, will be retiring and will live at home with Craig and his family. Since 2017, Krieger recovered more than 77 pounds of illegal drugs, assisted in 700 plus arrests, recovered 46 firearms, and assisted in seizing more than half a million dollars.

Indiana State Police have 36 patrol K-9 teams and six explosive detection K-9 teams.

Photo: Retired Indiana State Police dog Krieger. Photo courtesy of Indiana State Police

The Indiana Department of Transportation says that Johnson Boulevard will be closing today for several hours for maintenance.

The street will be closing from 9 to noon today at Jonathan Moore Pike.

INDOT suggests that you find an alternate route.

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he knows he did the “right thing” when it comes to his role on January 6th and the ensuing Capitol riots.

The former vice president, Indiana governor and Columbus native talked with the Christian Broadcasting Network this week about certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election and ignoring requests from then-President Trump that he object to the vote count.

Pence said he had some concerns regarding the vote but it was his oath of office to protect the Constitution and to go against Trump’s orders by certifying the results.

Trump was pushing Pence to reject the Electoral College tallies from key states, and said the election was clouded with fraud.

In June, Pence said he doesn’t know if he and former President Trump will “ever see eye to eye” when it comes to what happened on January 6th.

In November, Trump defended the January 6th rioters who chanted “Hang Mike Pence.”

In an interview with an ABC reporter, Trump called the reaction by rioters to Pence certifying Biden’s win as “common sense.”

Story courtesy of TTWN Media Networks Inc.