Bartholomew County Treasurer Barb Hackman says that property tax bills will be mailed out Thursday.

The tax bills are only sent out once a year, although tax bills are due in installments on May 10th and November 10th.

You have several options to make a payment:

• Through mail to Bartholomew County Treasurer, PO Box 1986, Columbus, IN 47202.
• In person at the Governmental Office Building on Third Street during office hours.
• At one of the two drop boxes located at the office building
• At local banks including Centra Credit Union, First Financial Bank, Jackson County Bank, Horizon Bank and German American.
• By phone by calling 844-278-9126
• Online at bartholomew.in.gov by clicking on paperless billing.

Photo courtesy of Columbus/Bartholomew County Planning Department.

Local government offices are closing this week 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 Clerk Shari Lentz says that the early voting site at NexusPark, the former Fair Oaks Mall, will be closed on Friday. It will reopen on Monday. Early voting will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays through April 29th, and until noon on May 2nd.

The Columbus City Utilities office will be closed on Friday.

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.

INDOT says that County Road 250W in Bartholomew County will be closing tomorrow.

That is due to a guardrail being removed as part of the Tannehill I-65 bridge replacement project that is closing County Road 650N or Tannehill Road until October. You can reach 250W by taking U.S. 31 and County Road 500N.

INDOT reminds you to use extra caution, to drive without distractions and to be alert to worker safety in all construction zones. The schedule is dependent on the weather.

A report of a suspicious person at a Columbus apartment complex, led to the arrests of two men on various charges including counterfeiting.

Columbus police were called to an apartment complex in the 4000 block of North County Road 150W on Saturday afternoon and located 23-year-old Cody J. Miller of Columbus, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant. As he was taken into custody, a search revealed he was carrying counterfeit money.

A second person at the scene, 22-year-old Jarell E. Bowers was in a nearby vehicle. But when police talked to Bowers they could smell marijuana inside his vehicle. A search revealed marijuana packaged for sale. And he was carrying a loaded .40 caliber handgun in the waistband of his pants.

Miller is facing a charge of counterfeiting in addition to the outstanding warrant. Bowers is being accused of dealing and possessing the marijuana and for possessing a handgun without a permit.

Two Indianapolis men were arrested Friday on drug-related charges after a Bartholomew County deputy noticed their vehicle swerving across the road.

According to reports from the sheriff’s department, a deputy was driving north on U.S. 31 near West County Road 500N, at about 12:52 a.m. Friday morning when he noticed the SUV in front of him swerving across both lanes of traffic and onto the shoulder of the road.

The deputy pulled the vehicle over and both the driver and passenger allegedly gave fake names to the officer. But once their real identify was confirmed, it was found that that both the driver, 27-year-old William E. Hayes and a passenger, 31-year-old Daron S. Croom had outstanding arrest warrants on charges of dealing methamphetamine and cocaine.

They were taken into custody and a search by a department police dog located fentanyl and more than $17,000 in cash in the vehicle.

Hayes is facing charges of false informing, possession of a controlled substance and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Croom is being accused of false informing and possession of a controlled substance.

Photo: Deputy Dylan Prather and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department police dog Frizko with evidence from a April 8th arrest. Courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

A Michigan man was arrested after driving the wrong way through downtown Columbus.

According to reports from the Columbus Police Department, an officer driving on Third Street shortly before midnight Saturday night noticed a vehicle headed right towards him, going the wrong way near Sycamore Street.

Police pulled over the vehicle and say that the driver, 31-year-old Andrew T. Chandler of Mason, Michigan had several alcohol containers in the vehicle and his speech was slurred. He failed several field sobriety tests and was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to have his blood drawn. He was then arrested on a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with endangerment.

A Vallonia woman died in a crash on Saturday on the west side of Seymour.

According to the Seymour Police Department, 28-year-old Alice Farris died in the crash at about 11:45 a.m. in the morning Saturday near the intersection of Tipton Street and Sycamore Drive.

Farris’ 6-year-old son, Samuel, and the driver of a second vehicle involved in the crash, 35-year-old Sehrish Sangamkar of Seymour, were taken to Schneck Medical Center and then flown by helicopter to regional hospitals. Their conditions are not available. ,

Farris’ 10-month-old daughter, Marina, was treated at the scene by Jackson County Emergency Medical Services and taken to Schneck for evaluation and treatment, police said.

Tipton Street was closed for several hours while the scene was cleaned up and investigators searched for the cause of the crash.

A project to create a Greensburg/Decatur County inclusion park is getting a boost from First Financial Bank.

The Cincinnati-based bank gave a $50,000 grant to the project. The goal is to make a park that is welcoming to everyone, including those with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Organizers say that the park will offer interactive equipment and accessible playsets to create a sensory-rich environment that encourages children of all abilities to develop physically, socially and emotionally. Brendan Bridges, who is working toward building the park in Greensburg, said that First Financial’s gift is one of the largest received so far and thanked the bank for helping to make the idea a reality.

Roddell McCullough, chief corporate responsibility officer for First Financial Bank, said that the bank shares the spirit of volunteerism and inclusion that is driving the project, which he called “a treasured place of joy for the community.”

Organizers hope construction of the park could begin as early as next year.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers is warning about an expected surge in highly potent drugs hitting the streets and associated overdose deaths.

In February, Myers attended a federal Homeland Security conference in Washington D.C. for county sheriffs and he said the upcoming danger was stressed there. As well as a recent letter from the DEA to federal, state and local law enforcement that warned of the danger of highly potent fentanyl and methamphetamine on its way from cartels.

The DEA warned that communities need to be aware of a possible surge in overdose deaths and even possible mass casualty events due to groups of people taking the drugs. ”

Myers said that you should make sure your family, friends and coworkers are OK. And to help them get the assistance they might need.

Myers said the incoming drugs are strong and “will grab you and swallow you up.”

A project to replace a bridge in Jackson County is being moved up after emergency pavement repairs last week.

INDOT says that crews closed the southbound lane of State Road 135 north of Freetown in Jackson County Friday for emergency pavement repairs. The location is about two miles south of the Brown County line between County Road 890N and County Road 1000N.

The road is being reduced to one lane with barrels. There are stop signs and portable message boards placed at each end while the repairs are made. A timeline for the work has not yet been set.

The State Road 135 bridge over Kiper Creek, just south of Friday’s lane closings, is scheduled to close for four months for a replacement project. That project’s timeline has been accelerated because of the pavement repairs to the north. That work is tentatively set to start on Wednesday this week.

During the closure, the detour will be State Road 46, Interstate 65 and State Road 58.

The project is part of a $2.3 million dollar construction contract, awarded in August of 2020.

INDOT asks you to slow down, to use extra caution, to avoid driving while distracted and to be alert for worker safety when you are driving through construction zones.