A report of a suspicious rental truck led to the arrest of two people on drug charges and the recovery of a stolen gun.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, a resident reported a suspicious vehicle in the area of Grandview Lake on Sunday. A deputy found and stopped the vehicle near State Road 46 and North County Road 325W. The deputy spoke to the occupants and smelled marijuana inside the vehicle. And found that the vehicle had been reported stolen from Hancock County.

A search recovered a handgun that had been reported stolen from Marion County as well as a bulletproof vest. Cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, marijuana, suboxone and drug paraphernalia were also found.

The driver, 45-year-old Gabriel Sarfaty of Indianapolis was found to be a habitual traffic violator who shouldn’t be driving. And he had a protective order in place against the passenger in the vehicle, 26-year-old Shelby Hudson of Indianapolis.

Sarfaty is being accused of possessing stolen property for the vehicle and gun, being a habitual traffic violator, invasion of privacy, maintaining a common nuisance and for possessing the drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Hudson is facing preliminary charges of possession of the stolen vehicle, maintaining a common nuisance and possession of a controlled substance.

Columbus Regional Health is outlining its plans for a large piece of farmland on the west side of the city.

Southeastern Indiana Medical Holdings, an affiliate of Columbus Regional Health, purchased about 790 acres of farmland on the west side of Columbus between downtown and Interstate 65, from Garden City Farms LLC., in 2018.

The hospital is proposing a comprehensive master site plan that officials say “outlines potential for an iconic, activated expansion” of the community. A market study suggests the best development opportunities include health care, residential, mixed-use commercial and retail, office space, hotel and tourism, as well as civic, community and green space.

The plan will now start the approval process with the city.

Schneck Medical Center in Seymour will be offering Safe Sitter classes starting in June, to teach babysitters how to keep their young charges safe.

There is no cost to participate. For sitters entering grades 6, 7 and 8, Safe Sitter is meant to teach babysitters life and safety skills and to equip them with the tools to handle emergencies

Safe Sitters is a one-day class held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Seymour classes will be held at the Schneck Professional Building. There will be a North Vernon session at the Jennings County Public Library.

Classes are limited to 12 students each.

For more information, you can call 812-524-4244 or register online at SchneckMed.org.

If you are job hunting, there will be a Career Fair this afternoon at the Columbus Learning Center.

According to IUPUC, about 50 employers will be attending the Career Fair, including Cummins and Toyota Manufacturing. Jobs are available in the business, education, engineering, health care, liberal arts and manufacturing sectors. The employers are located in Bartholomew County and surrounding counties.

According to the school, the employers are primarily looking for full-time employees, but some are also offering summer and part-time jobs and potential internships.

The Career Fair will be from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. today in the Columbus Learning Center on Central Avenue. It is free and you are invited to attend. You should bring several copies of your resume.

The next in the series of Great Decisions community discussions will be held tonight at Mill Race Center.

Great Decisions is a once a week program running on Thursday evenings through May 11th. Great Decisions is America’s largest discussion program on world affairs and developed by the Foreign Policy Association. It highlights the most thought-provoking foreign policy challenges facing Americans.

Thursday night’s discussion will focus on global famine including food shortages caused by the invasion of Ukraine, disrupting grain shipments.

The Great Decisions discussions are from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the evening. Registration is required. You can register or get more information by by calling Mill Race Center at 812-376-9241.

A local economic development official will be serving on a council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

The fed has announced that Jason Hester, head of the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp. will serve as an appointed member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Advisory Council on Small Business, Community and Economic Development, Agriculture and Labor.

The agency says council members provide their views on current economic conditions to senior Bank officials. Input on regional economic conditions helps contribute to national monetary policy decisions.

Advisory Council members meet twice a year and are from throughout the Seventh Federal Reserve District. That district includes parts of Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. They serve two year terms.

Hester said he has been asked to serve on the sub-council for Small Business, Agriculture and Labor. He said the group’s discussions lets him learn more about what’s happening elsewhere in the district.

You can get more information at ChicagoFed.org.

A Columbus man is being accused of recklessly firing a firearm near a neighbor’s home.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were called to the 7100 block of West State Road 46 about shots being fired at about 3:40 p.m. on Saturday. Witnesses said a neigbor was target shooting and the bullets were coming dangerously close to a home where children were playing in the front yard.

39-year-old Jason Burns of Columbus admitted to deputies that he had been shooting but as deputies took him into custody, he allegedly grabbed a firearm.

He is facing five preliminary counts of criminal recklessness with a firearm and a charge of resisting law enforcement with a deadly weapon.

A Bartholomew County man was seriously burned when his chair caught fire last week.

According to reports from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were called to a home on Dacia Street in Taylorsville last Thursday at about 2:13 a.m. in the morning by a woman who said her husband had caught his chair on fire. While she couldn’t get him out of the chair, the fire was out. However, the chair re-ignited as rescue workers were enroute.

Deputies found fire coming from the bottom and sides of the chair and the victim was incoherent and couldn’t stand. Using a fire extinguisher, deputies put out the fire, and carried the victim outside. They then used a blanket to carry him away from the house. According to police, the victim had extensive burns on several parts of his body.

Medics from German Township Volunteer Fire Department and from Columbus Regional Health arrived on scene to take over medical care, while Edinburgh Fire Department ventilated the house to remove smoke.

The victim was flown by Lifeline helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital for treatment.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation however a cigarette is believed to have been involved.

Sheriff Chris Lane said that the deputies actions saved the victim’s life and that this is the sort of public service he expects from his officers.

Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has declared an Air Quality Action Day today for parts of Indiana including Bartholomew, Brown and Shelby Counties.

An Air Quality Action Day means that the weather is expected to produce conditions where high levels of ground-level ozone emissions may exceed federally mandated standards.

High ozone near the ground acts a lung irritant. It can cause coughing and breathing difficulties for sensitive populations. Children, the elderly, and anyone with heart or lung conditions should reduce or avoid exertion and heavy work outdoors today.

IDEM recommends that you take actions to lower ozone levels, including walking, biking, carpooling or using public transportation; avoid going through drive-throughs; if your vehicle is going to be idling for more than 30 seconds, shut it off; combine your errands into one trip; avoid refueling your vehicle or using gas-powered lawn equipment until after 7 p.m. tonight.

The alert is in effect until midnight.

You can get more information at SmogWatch.IN.gov.

A new fundraising tour organized by the Columbus Area Visitors Center to benefit Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation will take visitors through several local school buildings.

The first of its kind self-guided tour will feature Schmitt Elementary designed by Harry Weese in 1957, Smith Elementary designed by John M. Johansen in 1969 and Richards Elementary by Edward Larrabee Barnes in 1965.

The school tour will be Saturday, April 29th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are $20 each with children free. All proceeds will benefit the school foundation.

You can find a link to more information here: https://columbus.in.us/bcsc-tour/

Photo of Schmitt Elementary courtesy of Columbus Area Visitor’s Center.