Bartholomew County will be looking into the condition of the county courthouse and county governmental office building in the hopes of anticipating future repair expenses.

The Bartholomew County Commissioners approved a contract with the DLZ Indiana engineering firm Monday to conduct the assessment of the buildings at a cost not to exceed $10,000.

County Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said that the commissioners are especially concerned with the condition of the county courthouse considering its age and prominence in the community. But the components require special skills to inspect and the county is looking to DLZ to perform a life-cyle analysis of the structure looking at the limestone, bricking, windows and roof.

The company will give a report in 60 days on the current conditions of the components and the expected life span of the materials, or whether they already need replaced.

Kleinhenz said he has personally been concerned about the condition of the limestone. About 25 years ago, the county performed a veneer replacement of some of the limestone, but he believes more work will be needed soon. He said he suspects the results of the study will show the need for a renovation project in 2025.

Bartholomew County authorities have arrested an Indiana man on a drug-related charges including the sale of counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl.

According to Columbus Police, the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team began investigating 35-year-old Antoine D. Ford of Bunker Hill after suspecting that he was dealing drugs in the community. Ford has a lengthy and violent criminal history and was released from prison in May, police say

Columbus police noticed a vehicle that Ford was riding in commit several traffic violations and stopped the vehicle on Thursday on Sawin Drive east of Marr Road. A police dog alerted to the smell of drugs in the vehicle and Ford was found to be carrying methamphetamine, fentanyl, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He also had a baggie containing 11 counterfeit Oxycodone pills packaged as if for sale.

The fake pills were small blue and round with “M” printed on one side and “30” on the other side.

Ford told police that he had recently taken narcotics and while he was being taken to the hospital, he passed out and had to be revived with Narcan. After being checked out at Columbus Regional Hospital he was arrested on preliminary charges of dealing in a narcotic drug as well as for possessing a narcotic drug, methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team is a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office. It targets the manufacturing and abuse of dangerous drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County.

A Norman is dead after a rollover crash Sunday in Jennings County.

According to the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were called to the scene of the single-vehicle crash Sunday between Butlerville and Nebraska on East U.S. 50. 50-year-old Terry Trowbridge was found unconscious and treated at the scene but was pronounced dead by the coroner’s office.

Investigators say that witnesses saw Trowbridge driving at high speed westbound and trying to pass another vehicle when he lost control and left the north side of the highway. His vehicle rolled several times and he was thrown from the vehicle.

Trowbridge was not wearing a seatbelt. Speed and aggressive drivign are believed to have been factors in the accident.

Also assisting at the scene were Jennings County medics and the Campbell Township Volunteer Fire Department.

Photo courtesy of Jennings County Sheriff’s Department.

Legal Aid is holding a Free Legal Aid Phone Clinic from 3 to 5:30 p.m. today.

Legal Aid offers the clinics for low-income residents of its eight-county district including Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings and Johnson counties..

If you take part you will have a brief consultation with a volunteer attorney to answer general questions, to offer legal information or to receive other advice over the phone.

To take part, you must first register between noon and 2 p.m. today by calling 812-378-0358.

A North Vernon man has been indicted by a federal grand jury — accused of illegally selling more than $400,000 in guns.

According to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, 51-year-old David J. Mull is facing a charge of unlicensed dealing in firearms. The indictment accuses Mull of buying guns at gun shows and then reselling them, knowing they would be transported to Mexico. One person bought more than 500 guns from Mull worth more than $350,000 and another buyer bought 90 guns worth nearly $57,000.

One of the buyers asked Mull why he didn’t have a physical store and he allegedly said “I don’t want nobody to know about it. Hopefully we can continue to do a bunch of business…”

In May of 2016, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued a cease-and-desist letter to Mull.

The government also wants Mull to forfeit over 1,000 firearms seized in the investigation.

If convicted, Mull faces up to five years in federal prison.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.

A worker was burned during a kitchen fire at El Nopal restaurant in Columbus Saturday afternoon.

According to the Columbus Fire Department, rescue workers were called to the restaurant on National Road at just before 1 p.m. Saturday. Columbus police were first on the scene and they saw flames coming from the commercial kitchen vent hoods on the roof of the building. The building was evacuated and the flames were extinguished when firefighters arrived.

Firefighters found smoldering materials near the food preparation area in the kitchen that were quickly extinguished.

An employee who was working in the kitchen when the fire occurred, had a serious burn injury to his arm. After being treated by Columbus Regional Health medics, he was taken to the hospital. Another employee suffered minor burns but declined to be taken to the hospital.

The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental. Investigators spoke with the restaurant managers and determined that water had been added to a pot containing hot cooking oil. That caused flames to erupt injuring the employee and igniting nearby materials. Another employee said that he used several fire extinguishers to put out the blaze.

The kitchen was equipped with a fire suppression system but investigators found no evidence that the system activated during the fire. Firefighters used large ventilation fans to remove remaining smoke from the building.

The kitchen suffered moderate damage but fire did not extend to any of the building’s structure. The restaurant was closed until repairs and inspections are completed. Damages were estimated at $25,000.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department

Seymour residents who have extra tires sitting around will be able to get rid of them this weekend.

The Seymour Department of Public Works will be holding a free tire collection event for residents from 8 to noon on Saturday.

Automobile and light truck tires can be disposed of, whether they are on or off the rims. There is no limit to the number of tires and the disposal is free. It is only open to residents and not businesses.

You can drop off the tires at the Department of Public Works facility on F Avenue on Freeman Field.

The event is sponsored by the Jackson County Recycling District and the City of Seymour.

Photo courtesy of Seymour Department of Public Works

Bartholomew County authorities say that a long-term investigation led to the arrest of a Columbus man on drug-dealing charges last week.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, the county’s Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team and Intelligence Led Policing Unit had been conducting surveillance on a man believed to be distributing crack cocaine and methamphetamine. While observing the man driving, police noticed a traffic violation and pulled over the vehicle on Wednesday. A search of the vehicle uncovered 97 grams of methamphetamine and 3 and a half grams of crack cocaine.

Police arrested 53-year-old Leonard Marshall on charges including dealing in and possessing methamphetamine and possessing cocaine. Authorities say that additional charges are possible and the investigation is ongoing.

The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team is a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office. It targets the manufacturing and abuse of dangerous drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County.

Crews will be starting a road milling project on rural 25th Street east of Columbus this week.

According to the Bartholomew County Highway Department, Milestone Contractors will begin the milling work on 25th Street from the city limits east to the junction with State Roads 9 and 46 starting on Tuesday

The crews will be closing one lane at a time and you should watch for flaggers in the area.

You should avoid the area, if you can.

Columbus firefighters, the American Red Cross and volunteers from Toyota Material Handling were helping residents in need install smoke alarms in their homes last week.

According to the Columbus Fire Department, the crews visited 34 homes and installed more than 80 free smoke alarms Thursday. Many of the homes had no working smoke alarms. According to the department, working smoke alarms in a home reduce the likelihood of fire deaths by half.

If you or someone you know is in need of working smoke alarms, you can contact Columbus firefighters to schedule a smoke alarm installation, by calling Captain Mike Wilson at 812-376-2584 or email at [email protected].

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.