Bartholomew County REMC is warning about scammers who pretend to be the utility and threaten to cut off your power if you don’t pay immediately over the phone.

The utility says that you should not be deceived. Bartholomew County REMC will never demand immediate payment over the phone. Instead the utility will offer several bill payment options and will send disconnect notices through the mail before shutting off your services.

Police warn that you should ignore unsolicited or unknown callers, hang up if things don’t seem correct and never provide any information over the phone such as your identity, social security number, bank account or credit card numbers. And experts say that any caller’s attempt to make you buy prepaid credit cards or gift cards for payment is always a scam.

If you have any questions about a caller claiming to be from Bartholomew County REMC, you should hang up and call the power company directly at (812) 372-2546.

A woman suspected of shoplifting at a Seymour store while carrying hundreds of dollars in cash, turned into an arrest on drug-related charges.

According to Seymour Police Department reports, officers were called to Wal-Mart at about 11:23 p.m. Monday night about two people who took merchandise through the self-checkout but did not make a payment.

Police stopped the two, identified as 28-year-old Lacey A. Mousa and 32-year-old Scotty A. Barker, both of Seymour. A search found that that Mousa was carrying more than 44 grams of methamphetamine, along with marijuana, drug paraphernalia and a large amount of cash.

Mousa was arrested on charges of dealing methamphetamine, theft, and for possessing the meth, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Barker is facing a preliminary charge of theft with a prior conviction.

Bartholomew County and Columbus officials want you to be aware of some upcoming street and road closings in the community.

According to the Bartholomew County Highway Department, County Road 500N at South Lakeshore Drive on Schaffer Lake will be closed from about 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. today for a tree removal, weather permitting.

In Columbus, Terrace Lake Road will be closed from Knolltop Drive to Goeller Boulevard, starting today through Friday evening. Crews from the Department of Public Works will be repairing a collapsed storm drain pipe under the road. Only local traffic will have access via Terrace Lake Road north of Knolltop. There will be no access from Goeller.

Decatur County REMC will be closing Bartholomew County Road Road 1200 East, between 300 North and the Hartsville Town Limits from 9 a.m. until noon on Friday.

Bartholomew County Road 400W between 550S and 600S will be closing Monday for two bridge replacements. The road will remain closed until both bridges are replaced.

You should avoid these areas if you can and plan alternate routes.

A serial killer, responsible for the death of two Indiana women along Interstate 65 and an assault on a Columbus woman in 1990, has been identified through DNA and ancestry records.

Harry Edward Greenwell of Iowa is believed to have been the “I-65 Killer” also known as the “Days Inn Killer.” He died in 2013 of cancer.

Indiana State Police are reporting that Greenwell was identified through investigative genealogy.

The killer was responsible for attacks from 1987 to 1990 that targeted clerks at motels along the Interstate. According to police those included:

• February 21, 1987 – Vicki Heath, murdered at the Super 8 Motel in Elizabethtown, Kentucky
• March 3, 1989 – Margaret “Peggy” Gill, murdered at the Days Inn in Merrillville, Indiana
• March 3, 1989 – Jeanne Gilbert, murdered at the Days Inn in Remington, Indiana
• January 2, 1990 – Jane Doe, sexually assaulted and left for dead at the Days Inn in Columbus.

The Indiana State Police lab matched ballistic evidence linking the Gill and Gilbert murders. State police also connected the Heath and Gilbert murders, and the Columbus victim, through DNA analysis.

State police say that Investigative Genealogy combines the use of DNA analysis with traditional genealogy research and historical records to generate investigative leads for unsolved violent crimes. Crime scene DNA profile is uploaded to genetic genealogy databases in an attempt to located the offender’s relatives and locate the offender within their family tree.

Police say that a match with one of  Greenwell’s close family members was made and they estimate that it is a 99 percent probability that he was responsible for the attacks.

In 2019, the Indiana State Police requested the assistance of the FBI’s Gang Response Investigative Team  and say that agents in the Houston FBI Field Office provided invaluable assistance in solving the case.

Firefighters say a blaze last week at Church of the Lakes in Brown County was intentionally set.

Cordry-Sweetwater Volunteer Fire Department is reporting that firefighters were called to the scene last Monday morning at just before 7 a.m. when a school bus driver turning around in the church parking lot noticed smoke coming from a storage building.

Firefighters arrived on scene to find a small fire in the center of the building, which was quickly put out. Investigators said that the fire was intentionally set.

On their way to the fire scene, a firefighter noticed a suspicious person walking along Nineveh Road and called for a deputy. Firefighters kept in contact with the person who was walking until police could arrive on scene.

According to an interview with the person, they admitted to setting the fire while they were staying in the storage shed overnight and thought it was out when they left.

Photo courtesy of Cordry-Sweetwater Volunteer Fire Department.

A city-wide cleanup to Make Seymour Shine is underway. The week-long effort started yesterday and ends on Friday.

You can put out a pickup-sized load of trash on your regular trash day and city crews will haul it away for you. The Department of Public Works reports that it is using four trucks with clam-shell scoops to do the work this week, including one on loan from the county.

Crews will likely be working past 3:30 each day this week. Organizers ask for your patience as they make their rounds. Officials said the trucks will fill up more quickly, which means they will have to take more frequent breaks to dump their load.

You can set out your trash at the curb on your regular trash day. There will be no alley pickups. You will need to separate trash, metal and yard waste. Landscaping, wood debris, drywall and remodeling debris are also to be separated from regular yard waste.

Four passenger vehicle tires will be picked up from households. No semi-truck or agricultural tires will be allowed.

This is for residential and small business customers only.

Bartholomew County officials believe they have found a partner to bring broadband internet to rural parts of the county.

Bartholomew County Commissioners yesterday accepted a proposal from Meridiam Infrastructure North American Corp. to bring the gig-speed fiber optic service to almost 12,000 homes in unincorporated, unserved and underserved parts of the county. That was about 3,000 more homes than the second-place proposal from AT&T

The county is providing a $4 million carrot for the project, but the company itself plans to invest more than $30 million dollars. Commissioner Tony London said that while Meridiam will own and maintain the network, the actual work will be done by a Brown County based company called Mainstream Fiber, which is owned by Columbus residents. That company operates in 10 counties in Indiana.

In December, the county commissioners sought proposals from companies that were willing to provide rural broadband to the county, with a $4 million incentive set aside from federal COVID-19 relief funds. Two companies submitted proposals, AT&T and Meridiam.

The next steps will be to finalize the contract and to get started on the work. Commissioners want to see the project get started in three months, but the buildout could still take up to 30 months to complete under the contract, they caution.

Columbus city officials are inviting you to a ground-breaking ceremony, for the new $40 million dollar development planned on Second Street beside the Bartholomew County Jail.

The city-chosen developer, Flaherty & Collins of Indianapolis, closed on the property in January, also when the city’s $9.9 million dollar bond sale to get the project rolling was finalized.

The project at the intersection of Lafayette Avenue and Second Street will bring 200 market rate apartments and a 10,000 sq. ft. urban grocer to the formerly city-owned location. Construction is expected to take about 18 months.

The ground-breaking will be on Thursday, April 21st at 3 p.m.

Illustration courtesy of Flaherty & Collins via Columbus and Bartholomew County Planning Department.

Early voting starts today for the May 3rd primary election. In Bartholomew County, while there will be a few contested races on the Republican ticket, many local officials are facing no opposition.

Republican candidates without opponents in the primary or so far in the general election include County Commissioner Carl Lienhoop, Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin, County Treasurer Barb Hackman, County Recorder Tami Hines and Chris Lane, who is running for sheriff.

The primary election is May 3rd. Early voting begins today at NexusPark, the former Fair Oaks Mall. That will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays until May 2nd. Nexus Park will also host weekend voting hours on Saturdays April 23rd and April 30th from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building on Third Street will also offer early voting on April 23 and April 30th from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Ivy Tech Science Club is organizing a cleanup of the Flat Rock River this weekend.

The club at Ivy Tech Community College Columbus is welcoming anyone who wants to help cleanup the river. Snacks will be provided and Ivy Tech biology T-shirts will be given away while supplies last.

The cleanup will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Owens Bend Park. Parking is available on County Road 25E near County Road 550N.

If you have any questions, you can contact Dr. Tom Sobat by email at [email protected].