North Vernon and Seymour are both going to receive grants to help low and moderate income homeowners improve and stay in their homes.
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced Monday that both cities will receive $250,000 to help those homeowners make needed repairs.
That is under the Owner Occupied Rehabilitation grants program, a pilot program, which awarded $1 million dollars this cycle.
The state agency’s Executive Director Denny Spinner said that the program is meant to help Hoosiers stay in their homes and raise their families in a safe environment. The money is used to provide essential home repairs such as roof repair or replacement, ADA accessibility, heating and cooling replacement, lighting and electrical upgrades, and water heater replacement.
Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant funds.
The other two communities receiving the grant dollars are Lawrenceburg and Jefferson County.
Shawn T. Gilley. Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department
A repeat offender was found to be carrying a large amount of drugs into the Bartholomew County Jail over the weekend, leading to a lockdown of the facility.
According to reports from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, deputies arrested 47-year-old Shawn T. Gilley of Clifford on a parole violation and he was brought to the jail at 12:12 a.m. Saturday morning. But when he was searched at the jail, staff discovered he was carrying 9 grams of fentanyl, 5 grams of methamphetamine along with suboxone pills.
Sheriff Matt Myers said that he was concerned about the amount of drugs that Gilley was trying to traffic into the jail. As a precaution, the jail was locked down and all the cell blocks and inmates were searched but nothing further was located, Myers said.
Myers said that Gilley has been in the jail multiple times since 2014, including on drug charges as well as for court orders and warrants.
Gilley was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to be checked out. He is facing new charges for possessing the drugs, but with enhanced charges for bringing them into the jail.
The sheriff said the investigation into the incident continues.
Photos courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
The Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office is helping Columbus firefighters try to find a cause for the overnight fire Saturday that destroyed the historic Irwin Block office building on Fifth Street in downtown Columbus.
According to Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the Columbus Fire Department, local firefighters and the state investigators spent about eight hours on Sunday digging through the debris looking for the cause of the fire. At one point, dogs trained in detecting human remains were brought to the scene but after a search no remains were found.
Wilson said that the investigation is being limited to the street level area believed to be the starting point for the fire. That’s because of the ongoing danger of collapse of the burned out building.
Neighboring businesses were largely protected from the blaze by a firewall, but still suffered smoke and water damage. Some of those neighbors were allowed to return to their offices briefly to retrieve belongings and equipment. Electric and water utilities are expected to remain out of service until life safety and building fire protection systems can be assessed and repaired, Wilson said.
Wilson estimated that 1.2 million gallons of water were used to put out the fire, which was first noticed shortly before midnight Saturday. Two portions of the building collapsed during the fire and the building at 422 Fifth Street is considered a complete loss.
Investigators are asking that anyone who might have information on the cause of the fire, contact Columbus Fire Department investigators at 812-376-2583.
There is dense fog out there this morning in some areas.
The National Weather Service is warning that visibility is reduced to less than a mile in some places. If you are driving, you should remain alert for sudden reductions in visibility.
Authorities suggest that you slow down, use your low beam headlights, allow yourself space for extra stopping distance and plan for a longer commute this morning.
Former Vice President and Columbus native Mike Pence says former President Trump seemed “genuinely remorseful” following the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Pence spoke on Fox News Sunday:
Pence said the former president asked about the Pence family’s well-being, as well as “lamented about what happened” in a discussion between the two, days later.
Pence has been a vocal critic of the former President since leaving office, but explains they reached an understanding in the final days of the administration. This comes as Pence considers whether to challenge Trump in a bid for the White House in 2024.
Christopher A. Riddle. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.
Editor’s note: The charges for Rachel A. Cardoso-Nelson have been updated due to our error.
Two people are facing charges after a police chase through parts of the east side of Columbus last week.
According to the Columbus Police Department, officers stopped a vehicle suspected of being involved in an earlier shoplifting incident at about 2:40 p.m. Thursday afternoon. But as police approached the vehicle, the driver took off. The driver tried to evade officers by ignoring stop signs and driving through yards on several streets, before stopping in a backyard on Wallace Avenue.
The driver and a passenger then tried to run away, before being caught by police.
A search of the vehicle uncovered narcotics, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, syringes, methamphetamine packaged for sale, scales along with items reported stolen from a store.
Rachel A. Cardoso- Nelson. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.
The driver, 43-year-old Christopher A. Riddle of Indianapolis and the passenger, 33-year-old Rachel A. Cardoso-Nelson of Columbus were taken into custody.
Riddle is facing preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement, dealing in methamphetamine, possession of the drugs and drug paraphernalia, reckless driving along with an outstanding Marion County warrant.
Cardoso-Nelson is being accused of theft, resisting law enforcement, dealing in methamphetamine and possession of the drugs and drug paraphernalia.
Stephanie Cain. Photo courtesy of Our Hospice of South-Central Indiana.
Our Hospice of South-Central Indiana is announcing a new leader for that organization.
Stephanie Cain has been chosen as the new president, replacing Laura Leonard who announced her retirement earlier this year.
Cain last served as statewide Director of Hospice for Indiana University Health, serving 39 counties and 16 hospitals across the state. She has previous experience in home health with Trinity Healthcare and Advocate Home Health Services.
Cain holds two masters degrees from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois.
She joined the organization a few weeks ago and will take over from Leonard upon her retirement at the end of the month.
Laura Leonard. Photo courtesy of Our Hospice of South Central Indiana
Leonard has led the hospice since 2013. Prior to Leonard, the hospice was led by Sandy Carmichael who served since the organization was founded in 1980.
The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce is announcing plans to operate remotely after a Saturday evening fire in the neighboring building caused some incidental damage to their offices.
The Chamber offices at 500 Franklin Street adjoin the Irwin Office block which burned down and partially collapsed in a weekend fire.
Cindy Frey, president of the chamber, said that their offices were not directly damaged by the fire, but they did sustain isolated water damage and extensive smoke damage. She said that will mean the chamber staff will be working off-site for the foreseeable future.
Frey expressed gratitude to city officials Mary Ferdon and Jamie Brinegar, who alerted the chamber to the fire at about 2 a.m. Sunday morning. And for the Columbus firefighters who risked their safety to protect the property along with Columbus police who secured the site and kept the public safe from falling debris.
She also thanked chamber members for calling and offering words of comfort and support.
Frey said that the Chamber has operated from the corner of Franklin and Fifth Street for 50 years and hope to continue to work there for five decades more.
Contact information for the Chamber staff:
Cindy Frey, President, 812.343.6119
Crissy Riley, Membership Director, 765.309.1163
Kami Adams, Director of Operations and Finance, 812.341.9922
Firefighters battled a blaze in two downtown Columbus buildings over the weekend that led to the two buildings collapsing.
According to reports from the Columbus Fire Department, firefighters were called to the 400 block of Fifth Street at about 11:50 p.m. Saturday after a passerby noticed the fire in a commercial building.
Firefighters discovered a well-involved fire at the rear of 440 Fifth Street. As firefighters prepared lines to battle the fire, a portion of the single story structure collapsed. They also found that the fire had spread to 422 Fifth Street.
Firefighters entered that building to look for occupants, and found high heat and heavy smoke. A cat fled from one office after firefighters broke into the room. But the fire was spreading quickly and conditions were deteriorating rapidly, leading firefighters to withdraw and attack the fire from outside.
Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the fire department, explains, that firefighters were using handlines and aerial trucks to fight the fire.
That fire engine had to be removed from service after the collapse.
When the façade collapsed onto Fifth Street it narrowly missing firefighters below. No firefighters were on the ladder at the time of the building collapse.
Columbus firefighters called in for help from several agencies including Hope and Seymour for their aerial trucks. Off duty firefighters were called in and about 40 firefighters from Columbus worked at the scene for more than four hours to get the fire under control. Other Bartholomew County fire agencies provided standby service for the city of Columbus during the incident.
Power was turned off in the area by Duke Energy and Fifth Street was closed between Washington and Franklin Streets until the debris could be removed from the street.
Firefighting was complicated by the below-freezing temperatures. Realty One opened their business to provide a warming shelter and hot drinks to ice-covered firefighters. The Salvation Army also arrived to provide food and beverages to the firefighters.
Both 422 and 440 5th Street are commercial office buildings with no residential occupants. The buildings house several businesses including; The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, Bailey and Wood Financial Group, Arnholt and Staggs Law Office and TD Advertising.
Three Columbus firefighters were slightly injured from falling at at the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. No damage estimates are yet available.
Other agencies assisting at the scene include the Columbus Police Department, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, Columbus City Utilities, Center Point Energy, Bartholomew County 911 Emergency Operations Dispatch Center, Bartholomew County Emergency Management and the city of Columbus Department of Public Works.
Photos courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.
Firefighters battled a blaze in two commercial buildings on Fifth Street in Columbus overnight. Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.Firefighters battled a blaze in two commercial buildings on Fifth Street in Columbus overnight. Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.Firefighters battled a blaze in two commercial buildings on Fifth Street in Columbus overnight. Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.Firefighters battled a blaze in two commercial buildings on Fifth Street in Columbus overnight. Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.
A Shelbyville man is going to prison for 40 years after his conviction for sex crimes against a six-year-old child.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, 38-year-old Justin R. Potts pled guilty to four charges related to the exploitation of the child. That happened while he was already required to register as a sex offender for previous offenses.
Potts had been convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor in Hancock County in 2014 and sentenced to 7 years in prison. he was required to register as a sex offender until 2026 but failed to register in 2019.
In December of 2021 and January of this year, Potts lived with the victim and while the victim was under his care recorded videos of sexual abuse. The video was uploaded to his google account which prompted a notification to the the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Indiana State Police and the United States Secret Service quickly investigated the account, traced it to Potts, and executed a search warrant leading to his arrest and detention.
Potts pleaded guilty to three counts of sexually exploiting the victim and to one count of committing those offenses while required to register as a sex offender.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana commended the U.S. Secret Service, Indiana State Police, the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office, and federal prosecutors for rescuing a child from ongoing abuse.
