Jennings County deputies arrested a wanted man over the weekend, with the assistance of police dog Axel.

According to reports from the Jennings County sheriff’s department, officers went to a Spencer Township home on Saturday to locate Dana L. Lewis Jr., of North Vernon. He was wanted on a Jennings County warrant for failing to appear in court on a charge of possession of methamphetamine and a Jackson County warrant for escaping home detention.

Residents told the deputies that Lewis was inside. Sgt. Cody Low ordered Lewis to surrender peacefully five times before letting Axel search for the fugitive. The dog found him hiding in a closet in the rear of the home and deputies and the dog removed him from the closet and took him into custody.

He was taken to St. Vincent Jennings Hospital for treatment of superficial wounds before being taken to jail on the warrants and on a new charge of resisting law enforcement.

The Red Cross is pulling out all the stops in a desperate call for donors amid a historic blood shortage. Anyone who rolls up their sleeves this month will have a chance to win tickets to the Super Bowl in Los Angeles. Other prizes include entry to the official NFL Tailgate and a 500-dollar gift card for game-day food.

The incentive comes as the Red Cross declares the first ever national blood crisis, with supplies so low, some hospitals are canceling surgeries. Officials blame the pandemic and winter storms.

Upcoming area blood drives include:

from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday at the Brown County YMCA in Nashville.

from 1 to 6 p.m. on Monday at First United Methodist Church in North Vernon.

from 2 to 7 p.m. Thursday Jan. 20th at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour.

from 1 to 6 p.m. on Monday January 24th at Hope Moravian Church in Hope.

You can schedule an appointment to give blood by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS

TTWN Media Networks Inc. contributed to this report

The Indiana Hospital Association is warning that the state will pass its record high for COVID-19 hospitalizations this week.

The group says hospital emergency departments are seeing up to 10-thousand visits per day, and have reached a “state of crisis”. They’re asking Hoosiers to avoid visiting the emergency room for COVID-19 testing. Instead, they urge people to get tested at primary care sites or urgent care centers, and to consider telehealth for non-emergency treatment.

Bartholomew County had 50 hospitalizations for COVID-19 according to the most recent figures available from the Community COVID-19 Task Force.

According to information released yesterday, Bartholomew County had 84 positive tests on Sunday, down sharply from last week’s pandemic highs of 223 positive tests on Friday and 185 on Thursday. During the worst of the pandemic last winter, the highest single day positive count was only 126.

TTWN Media Networks Inc. contributed to this report.

Former Vice President Mike Pence will be in northern Indiana next month to show his support for Republican State Senate candidate Ron Turpin.

The Columbus native and former Indiana governor will headline a fundraiser for the Fort Wayne businessman in Allen County on Feb. 1, reports WANE-TV.

Turpin is running in the Republican primary for State Senate in District 14. His opponent in the primary is Dr. Tyler Johnson, an emergency room doctor. The seat has been held for many years by Dennis Kruse.

The event will cost $1,000 per couple. The location is only being shared once you RSVP.

Story courtesy of Network Indiana

Gov. Eric Holcomb used his state of the state address last night to praise the work of the soldiers, volunteers and donors who helped thousands of Afghan refugees at Camp Atterbury.

He pointed out that in September, the training site was transformed into a temporary home for 7,500 evacuees, more than 40 percent of them children. He said Indiana saw an outpouring of donations and volunteers to help the refugees as they received medical care, meals, English lessons and learned what to expect in their new country.

Holcomb said that now, most of the refugees are starting their new lives somewhere in America, with about 500 calling Indiana their new home.

He called the work a “tremendous, uplifting effort.” Saying it as a great example of what Hoosiers are capable of accomplishing when they work together.

You will see some changes to the layout of the southbound lanes of Interstate 65 between Columbus and Walesboro starting Wednesday night, as crews put the highway into its final winter configuration.

INDOT says that Force Construction will be closing the left lane in each direction of the interstate between State Road 58 to just south of the Columbus exit starting at about 9 Wednesday night. Later in the night the right lanes will be closed, as the traffic is moved onto new pavement between State Road 46 and State Road 58.

Crews will continue to work on the bridges over Opossum and Denois creeks during the winter.

The new configuration will remain in effect until mid-March or early April when major construction starts again.

The $65 million project is expected to be complete next fall, with additional work expected through 2023.

The Columbus Police Department recently completed training a group of officers to form a Child Abduction Response Team.

According to police reports, 18 officers were put through the specialized course focusing on child abductions. The uniformed officers and detectives learned the importance of quickly determining the tasks to be completed in the event of a child abduction and the additional resources that could be needed.

The training was coordinated by Sergeants Matt Martindale and Courtney Plummer. Martindale said that time is critical in solving these cases and the department is developing a Child Abduction Plan to ensure all the proper steps are taken, leaving as little as possible to chance. Martindale praised the officers who took part, saying that they “have gone above and beyond to prepare themselves so not a minute is lost.”

Columbus police would like to expand the training later this year to include more CPD officers and neighboring law enforcement agencies.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce will again be holding its Third House sessions during this legislative session. Third House is a chance for you to hear from your local legislators on issues before the state legislature and to question them on your concerns.

The sessions will again be virtual through the Zoom app.

The first Third House will be Monday, January 24th at 8 a.m. There will also be sessions February 7th and February 28th at 8 a.m. in the morning

To register to receive the Zoom credentials, you can go to the Chamber website at www.columbusareachamber.com or call 812-379-4457. If you want to submit a question to the legislators, you can email to [email protected].

Third House sessions are free and you are invited to attend.

A wanted Edinburgh woman was arrested by Columbus Police Friday afternoon after a short foot chase.

According to Columbus Police reports, officers noticed 25-year-old Mary J. Craig inside a vehicle on Union Street at about 3:20 p.m. Friday afternoon and recognized that she was wanted on an outstanding Bartholomew County warrant.

Officers tried to pull the vehicle over, but Craig jumped out and ran away. She was captured a few blocks away. A search revealed that she had a small bag of methamphetamine hidden in one of her pants pockets.

She was arrested on new charges for possessing the methamphetamine and resisting law enforcement as well as the outstanding warrant.

Most of the 7,000 Afghans who were living at Camp Atterbury are now living in new communities.

The Indiana National Guard yesterday said just about 1,200 remain on the base. Relocation agencies across the state have been helping find Afghans new home. Hundreds have moved to Indianapolis or Fort Wayne, though there are also Afghan families now living in Bloomington and Muncie. There’s no timeline as to when all of the refugees will be relocated.

Story courtesy of TTWN Media Networks Inc.