A section of the People Trail in Columbus will be closing today while crews repair the asphalt.
According to the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, the work will be going on from 25th Sreet and National Road, north of the bridge, to 32nd Street and Marr Road. The trail is closing this morning and should be reopened by Saturday morning.
For more information you can call the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department at 812-376-2599.
Brown County authorities say an investigation has recovered guns, stolen vehicles and drugs.
According to the Brown County Sheriff’s Department, deputies executed search warrants Thursday at three separate locations. The searches revealed illegal items including more than 100 grams of methamphetamine, non-labeled prescription pills, marijuana, firearms, and other items related to the investigation. Deputies also located and recovered a stolen firearm, a stolen vehicle, and a stolen motorcycle.
The sheriff’s department is witholding the exact locations searched and the individuals invovled, as the investigation continues.
The sheriff’s department reports that deputies were assisted by the Nashville Police Department, Indiana State Police, and the Brown County Prosecutor’s Office.
Photo courtesy of Brown County Sheriff’s Department.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department is taking over the investigation into the death of a student Tuesday at Whiteland Community High School’s swimming pool.
According to the sheriff’s department, the agency has been working with the family of the victim as well as the Clark-Pleasant School’s police and administration and all parties thought it was better for the sheriff’s department to lead the investigation. Having an outside agency investigate the death will ensure transparency, according to Sheriff Duane Burgess.
Multiple detectives are meeting with school officials and are transferring all information and evidence to the sheriff’s department. Investigators were present during the girl’s autopsy.
The sheriff says that the department is aware of rumors, theories and false information being spread on social media. The department is asking the public to respect the privacy of the family and to allow deputies to conduct the investigation thoroughly and efficiently.
School officials have identified the girl who died Tuesday as 15-year-old Alaina Dildine.
Students at Ivy Tech Community College Columbus’ Cyber Academy placed among the top teams in the nation in a collegiate cybersecurity competition.
The National Cyber Leage Spring Season runs from the end of January to the last week of May and tests students against practical cybersecurity challenges they may face in the workplace. The challenges include identifying hackers from their forensic data, testing and auditing vulnerable websites and recovering from ransomware attacks.
The Ivy Tech team, calling themselves “TheHackStreetBoys at Ivy Tech Community College MUTC” ranked 5th in the Center of Academic Excellence colleges category and 7th in the overall Cyber Power Rankings.
The Cyber Power Rankings were created by Cyber Skyline and represent the ability of students to perform real-world cybersecurity tasks on the Cyber Skyline platform.
The National Cyber League competitions run twice a year, in the spring and fall. More than 10,000 students from more than 500 colleges & universities and 100 high schools take part in the competitions.
Team members also competed individually with Breyson Hendren being the top local competitor, finishing in 20th place.
The Ivy Tech Columbus Cyber Academy, which operates at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, allows students to earn a two-year associate degree in cybersecurity in 11 months. Signups for the next semester, which starts in August, are ongoing.
To register or for more infomation you can go online to https://www.ivytech.edu/locations/columbus/local-partnerships-special-programs/cyber-academy/
A Seymour man is facing drug dealing charges after he was found semi-conscious in a shed.
According to the Seymour Police Department, officers were called to the 800 block of Jackson Street on Monday to check on a person in shed believed to be on drugs. Police discovered that 23-year-old Braden S. Jackson was lethargic.
A search of the location revealed methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms, various prescription medications, drug paraphernalia, and three firearms.
Jackson was arrested on preliminary charges of dealing in methamphetamine, narcotics and marijuana, maintaining a common nuisance and for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia.
Two Washington State residents were arrested by Seymour police working on stopping drugs coming into the community.
According to the Seymour Police Department, interdiction officers stopped a car for a moving violation on Interstate 65 about two miles south of the Seymour exit on Tuesday. A police dog alerted to the smell of drugs in the vehicle. A search revaled methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The driver and the passenger were taken into custody and a search discovered the driver was carrying more methamphetamine.
Police arrested the driver, 44-year-old Alayna Chavert of Lake Stevens, Washington and the passenger, 47-year-old Lucky Morris of Everett, Washington on charges for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia.
A driver died after a crash yesterday near Edinburgh.
According to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were called to the scene of the crash at about 5:14 p.m. Wednesday afternoon at County Road 800E south of County Road 650S. Rescue workers found that a box truck had gone off the side of the road, down an embankment, striking several trees before bursting into flames.
Deputies say that the accident started in Johnson County but the vehicle came to rest in Shelby County.
One occupant died at the scene. The Shelby County Coroner’s Office will make identification of the victim.
The accident is under investigation.
Photo courtesy of Johnson County Sheriff’s Department.
A food bank for struggling IUPUC students is expanding its efforts thanks to a partnership with Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana.
The school’s Pride Pantry is expanding both its stock and its reach. According to school officials there will be more fresh produce and healthier options along with the benefits of lower, bulk pricing that Gleaners can offer.
The partnership started in March and every other Monday the food bank made deliveries, averaging about 700 pounds of food each time. The food bank will scale back deliveries during the summer session. Summer hours for Pride Pantry are Tuesdays and Thursdays or by appointment.
Fred Glass, President and CEO of Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana said that it may surprise people that college students face hunger but they and other organizations are seeing increasing food insecurity on campuses.
The pantry displays produce and bakery items in the main area of The Landing area in the Columbus Learning Center to help draw in patrons and to make sure perishable items are taken.
Pride Pantry relies on donations from fundraising and food drives. To make a donation click here. https://give.myiu.org/iupuc/I320015214.html
A Scottsburg resident will serve more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal weapons charge and for failing to register as a sex offender.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Indiana, 42-year-old Franklin Gomar, then from Kentucky, was convicted of manslaughter and sexual abuse of a child in 2001.
In 2020, he had moved to Scottsburg, where he failed to register as a sex offender. Officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided his home that year and found he was carrying a loaded pistol. He also had a rifle in the bedroom that had been reported stolen from Louisville.
Gomar is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to his previous felony convictions.
He pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a firearm and failing to register as a sex offender and was recently sentenced to 87 months in federal prison.
Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County is announcing more than $400,000 in grants to local organizations from its Community Fund this quarter.
Each year, Heritage Fund distributes between $600 and $700,000 in grants from the Community Fund. The unrestricted funds are meant to meet emerging needs in the community.
Among the grants this quarter was $225,000 to the newly formed Office of Downtown Development in Columbus to support its pilot program for three years. Family Service Inc is receiving more than $160,000 over two years to support a youth-focused mental health counselor.
All The Kingz Men will receive $8,000 to remodel space for youth programming and kidscommons will receive $7,500 to support design fees for a new exhibit.
The next quarterly grant application deadline is June 1st. For more information you can call Heritage Fund at 812-376-7772.