A Seymour man is being accused of ramming another person’s vehicle and firing a gun during an early-morning incident yesterday.

According to Seymour Police Department reports, a victim reported that after his vehicle was rammed, the other driver pointed a gun at him and fired several shots at about 2:01 a.m. Monday morning. The suspect was reportedly a resident of a trailer park in the 300 block of South Airport Road.

Police quickly found the suspect and his vehicle and 45-year-old George B. Simmons was taken into custody. The vehicle was towed and after receiving a search warrant, officers found a .22 pistol in the trunk with spent shell casings. It was taken into evidence.

Simmons allegedly admitted to police that he had fired the shots but said he wasn’t sure how many. He was arrested on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, criminal recklessness with a vehicle, intimidation and leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

The 1821 Trail Project behind Columbus City Hall and the Bartholomew County Jail is moving forward, but with scheduling changes due to material shortages.

Heather Pope, director of the city’s redevelopment department, updated the redevelopment commission yesterday on the progress of the trail project, being paid for in part by redevelopment funds.

Pope said that utility and infrastructure work was originally scheduled to be completed first but supply chain problems are leading to delays. While piping to replace 100-year-old water lines in the area have arrived, some construction materials are on back order, she said.

However, other work on the trail itself is moving forward. She said that staking for the trail boundaries has been done and fencing installed. And the first shipments of decorative bricks have arrived. She said there is still time to purchase engraved bricks for the project, but orders will have to wrap up by the end of May.

The goal is still to have the project substantially complete by August and for Ethnic Expo to return to the area around City Hall by October. When finished, the 1821 Bicentennial Trail project will stretch along First Street from Water Street to Lafayette Avenue.

Ordering Bricks

Bricks will be 4 inches by 8 inches and be placed along the 1821 Bicentennial Trail along First Street from Water Street to Lafayette Avenue. Each engraved brick is selling for $100. You can have up to three lines of text with a maximum of 16 characters per line. That includes spaces and punctuation.

You can find a link to a submission form here. If you have any questions, you can call Robin Hilber at 812-376-2522.

Columbus Regional Health will be working with local high schools for three upcoming sports physical nights.

Students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and must complete the IHSAA physical form.

The first will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Columbus North High School. The event is open to any high school students or incoming freshmen. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. and the cost is $30.

On May 11th, there will be a sports physical night at Hauser High School from 6 to 8 p.m.. That will be open to students in fifth through 11th grades. The cost is $25.

There will be another sports physical night from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 16th at Columbus East High School. The event is open to any high school students or incoming freshmen. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. and the cost is $30.

Proceeds from the physical fees will go to benefit the schools’ athletics programs.

A film written and produced by a Columbus native will be screened on Thursday at the University Library at IUPUC this week.

Columbus native Alyse Tucker Bounds wrote and produced the 40-minute documentary “Crossroads Stories” which will be shown at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. It is apart of a program called Communities at a Crossroads, examining race in small town America.

The film features interviews with Columbus community members who talk about what it is like to be Black in predominantly White spaces.

Bounds will be available for a question and answer session after the film.

The event will start with a presentation by George Towers, head of IUPUC’s Division of Liberal Arts. He will use maps to provide context on racial segregation in Indiana.

The event is free and you are invited to attend.

A senior project to gather stuffed animals for sheriff’s deputies to hand out during crisis situations widely exceeded its goals, according to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

North Senior Cole Hopkins was mentored by Deputy Sgt. Andrew Whipker in the project.

The sheriff’s department say that the pair garnered donations of more than 1,800 stuffed animals. Because of the surge in collected stuffed animals, Cole is extending his project to other area police agencies including the Hope Police Department, Edinburgh Police Department and the Indiana State Police.

Photo: Columbus North High School Senior Cole Hopkins and ISP Trooper Derek Eggers. Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

The Indiana National Guard says the Guardian Response Exercise will be returning to Muscatatuck Urban Training Center starting on Sunday.

The federal emergency response exercise simulates a national emergency in order to test the preparedness of federal emergency response teams. More than 5,000 responders will be stationed at the North Vernon Airport Contingency Operating Base and coming in from Camp Atterbury.

Muscatatuck will simulate a community hit by a disaster and debris including destroyed cars and old mobile homes will be deployed about the base, blocking roads to create the simulated disaster area.

There will be an increase of traffic in the area, both on local roads and in the air. You could see delays of 10-15 minutes with large convoys of vehicles or troops moving in the area.

The exercise will last through May 14th.

Bartholomew County will add Saturday hours to its early voting opportunities, starting this week.

Early voting continues this week at NexusPark, the former Fair Oaks Mall. That will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays through April 29th, and on Monday May 2nd until noon. Nexus Park will also host weekend voting hours on Saturdays starting this week and on 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 Saturday and April 30th from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The primary election is May 3rd.

The Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District will be celebrating Earth Day on Saturday with events at the Bartholomew County and Columbus Recycling Center on Mapleton.

Earth Day events will be happening from 8 to 3 on Saturday, April 23rd.

There will be an amnesty day to get rid of hard-to-dispose-of waste. You can turn in up to two refrigerant containing appliances, up to two propane tanks, up to four tires from personal vehicles, with the rims removed. All of those are at no cost.

Jessica Norcross, educator with the waste management district, explains:

If you need to get rid of an old television set or monitor, you can also drop those off but they will cost $20 each.

There will be educational displays including the RC Flyers, Bartholomew County Public Library Book Express, the Citizens Climate Lobby, Lions Club and Sans Souci.

Bartholomew County residents can pick up a free pickup load of mulch or compost from 8 to 12. Girl Scouts will be organizing children’s activities from 9 to 12 and there will be document-shredding from 9 to 11 a.m. provided by Speedy Shred.

You can get more information at bcswmd.com.

Local government offices are closing today for Good Friday, including those in Bartholomew County and Columbus. Offices will reopen Monday.

Columbus officials say that trash and recycling pick-ups still will be running on their normal schedule.

Bartholomew County early voting site at NexusPark, the former Fair Oaks Mall, will be closed today.

Columbus City Utilities office will also be closed. If you have a problem with your water or sewer service, you can call the business office at 812-372-8861 and follow the prompts.

There will be no Friday mulch or compost loading or recycling drop offs at the Columbus and Bartholomew County Recycling Center. The Bartholomew County Landfill will be open today.

White River Broadcasting is again organizing two Easter egg hunts tomorrow at Donner Park.

The 63rd annual WCSI Community Easter Egg Hunt for kids 8 and younger will start at 10 a.m. Saturday at the park. There will be separate areas for children under 2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8.

Bob Morrison, general manager for the White River Broadcasting stations explains:

WKKG will be holding the Egg-Ceptional Easter Egg Hunt at 11 a.m. for children with special sensory or mobility needs.

There will also be public safety vehicles on display from the Columbus Police, Bartholomew County Sheriff and Columbus Fire departments.

You should bring your own basket.

Click here for more information