Two Columbus residents were arrested in Franklin County Wednesday on more than 30 counts involving theft and conspiracy to commit identity theft.

According to a report from the Franklin County Sheriffs’ Department, 33-year-old Dustin A. Hurley and 31-year-old Amanda L. Zeigler, both of Columbus were arrested on 37 preliminary charges for their role in a series of vehicle break-ins over several weeks there. That comes after a week-long investigation into the crimes.

The two are being held in the Dearborn County Jail on unrelated charges. Deputies say more charges could be forthcoming from other counties.

Police urge you to lock your vehicles and to remove any valuables from inside.

Seymour State Rep. Jim Lucas made a trip to the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre Haute yesterday. That’s after a social media post quoting a Nazi mastermind raised outrage.

Earlier in the week Lucas had posted a screen shot, supposedly by the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels on his Facebook page talking about spreading the Big Lie. The image included a link labeled “The Jewish Question”.

The social media post drew condemnation from the museum and from Democrats.

But on Thursday, CANDLES released a statement saying that Lucas had traveled to the museum to learn about the lessons of the Holocaust, the museum and its founder, Eva Kor.

Museum executive director Troy Fears said that it was a positive visit, and Lucas and the museum shared a conversation about the importance of Holocaust education in Indiana.

Fears said “We are always happy to engage in conversations that lead to a greater understanding of the Holocaust.”

Lucas wrote on Facebook that when there is a misunderstanding, you should meet face-to-face to fix it. He said he spent two hours touring discussing and learning about the museum and its purpose.

Lucas said that he made the drive “Given the amount of misunderstanding and subsequent ensuing hysteria generated by too many in the media and those simply looking for an opportunity to bash me over a recent social media post I made involving history.”

Photo courtesy of CANDLES Holocaust Museum. State Rep. Jim Lucas met with the staff and toured the CANDLES Holocaust Museum in Terre Haute on Thursday. From left to right, Trent Andrews, CANDLES staff; Troy Fears, CANDLES Executive Director,  Rep. Jim Lucas; Gwen Montgomery, CANDLES Staff and Catie Hann, CANDLES Staff .

Schneck Medical Center is announcing eight graduates from its Nurse Residency Program.

Schneck’s Nurse Residency Program is a one-year program that includes monthly training sessions designed to support the new graduate nurse’s transition from advanced beginner to competent professional. It focuses on leadership, quality outcomes, and the professional role of the nurse.

The August Nurse Residency Graduates are:

• Ashlee Luhn
• Shawna Chatman
• Alesha Prewitt
• Emily Hoevner
• Ariel Goodpaster
• Casey Begner
• Andrea Ferrer Jasso
• Samantha Barnette

To learn more about Schneck’s Nurse Residency Program you can call 812-522-0712.

Seymour State Rep. Jim Lucas is again facing controversy for his social media posts.

Lucas changed his cover page photo to a screenshot of a quote supposedly by the famous Nazi Joseph Goebbels on his Facebook page. In part, it said:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it…”

Above the image of the quote on Lucas’s page was the title, “Joseph Goebbels: On the ‘Big Lie’” and underneath that was a link labeled “The Jewish Question”.

The CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre Haute issued a statement Wednesday, condemning the quote and the link posted by Lucas.

“We are shocked and horrified that an Indiana lawmaker would make such a statement about Hitler’s chief architect and purveyor of hate speech, ultimately leading to the murder of over 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.”

CANDLES statement urged Indiana House Speaker, Todd Huston to condemn Lucas’s actions.

Lucas’ Democratic challenger for District 69, Chad Harmon, made a social media post calling out the sitting state representative for posting a Nazi quote.

The Indiana Democratic Party also condemned the post.

Soon after the controversy started, Lucas removed the quoted image from his Facebook cover page.

On his Facebook page, Lucas said he was posting a historical quote to educate people on how to recognize how evil begins.

He wrote: “If we don’t learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it. How else are we to learn from history if we can’t even discuss history?”

Previous social media controversies involving Lucas have included images of a noose hanging from a gallows and of black children dancing in their underwear.

In addition to Jackson County, Lucas’ district also includes part of southern Bartholomew, Jennings and Jefferson counties.

Our news-gathering partners at Network Indiana contributed to this story.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, a Columbus native, is condemning Republican attacks on the FBI over the search of ex-President Trump’s estate in Florida.

Speaking at a breakfast event in New Hampshire yesterday, Pence noted FBI agents were executing a search warrant from the Justice Department.

At the same event, in response to a question, Pence said he would consider testifying before the January 6th House committee, but would have to be asked first.

Story courtesy of our news-gathering partners at TTWN Media Networks Inc.

Photo courtesy of Pence Twitter feed.

The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County will be holding a Faces of Recovery – Stigma Awareness Walk and Party on Friday starting at the Doug Otto United Way Center on 13th Street.

The walk will head north on the sidewalk along Central Avenue to 22nd Street and then back to the center. Organizers say you should bring your homemade signs that display pride in your own recovery journey or support for others in their recovery.

After the walk there will be a party at the center parking lot including free food, face-painting, games and activities for children, live music and inspirational guest speakers.

The events will start at 5 p.m. and last until 8:30 p.m.

The Bartholomew County Historical Society will be holding the annual Reeves Festival at the Historic Breeding Farm near Edinburgh next weekend.

The event will be from 11 a.m. to dusk on Saturday Aug. 27th at the farm which is at 13730 North County Road 100W.

The event celebrates the Reeves family and the role the Reeves Companies played in Columbus. There will be live music, rides on Reeves steam engines, hands-on history displays, farm animals, blacksmithing, antique cars, garden tours and wagon rides. There will also be food trucks and beer and wine provided by Upland Brewing Co.

The evening will conclude with fireworks at dusk.

Tickets are $10 per car and are available at the Bartholomew County Historical Society Museum on Third Street, at Viewpoint Books or at the gate on Saturday, Aug. 27th. Historical Society members will get in for free.

You can get more information at bartholomewhistory.org.

A local sheriff’s department is warning of thefts targeting credit cards and big-box store membership cards in vehicles.

According to a report from the Brown County Sheriff’s Department, local residents have been affected by the nationwide incidents of theft and fraud. Thieves have broken into vehicles, stolen the cards locked inside and then used them at stores such as Sams Club and Costco to buy thousands of dollars of gift cards.

The department says vehicles have been targeted in communities at gas stations, parks, golf courses, fitness centers and other locations.

The sheriff’s department suggests that you leave nothing of value unattended in your vehicle.

The Community Education Coalition plans to request $100,000 from the city of Columbus to help revamp the corner of the Air Park Campus that used to contain Ivy Tech’s Polling Hall.

The hall was demolished earlier this summer, leaving a 12-acre space to be redeveloped. Ivy Tech has now moved into the new Moravec Hall.

John Burnett, head of the Community Education Coalition, said that the $100,000 would be for the last piece of a more than $13.4 million project that restructured the Columbus Learning Center and the wider campus on the Columbus Municipal Airport property. The coalition made a presentation to the Columbus Redevelopment Commission this week, prior to a formal request for funds at next month’s meeting.

The funding would come from the tax increment financing district that encompasses the airport and would go toward infrastructure improvements, Burnett said.

The space on the southwest corner of the campus will include a combination of green space, landscaping, walkways and parking. Burnett said the goal is to make the space as inviting as possible for those entering the campus and authentic to the spirit of Columbus. The community has already raised $2.3 million toward the corner project, he said.

Design on the corner project is slated to start next month with construction expected next spring and summer.

Long-term visualization of the Columbus Airpark Campus courtesy of the Community Education Coalition.

Columbus City Council approved a tax break last night that will allow Applied Laboratories to expand its facilities just off of Indianapolis Road.

Applied Laboratories and Moravec Realty are planning $4 million of real property improvements and $3 million in personal property including new equipment at the facility on Brian Drive.

Company President Jeff Logston explained that the company’s surging business in the sale of nasal saline products requires more warehouse space and packaging and filling equipment.

The Council approved a tax abatement that lets the company phase in new property taxes on the investment over 10 years.