A wanted man from Indianapolis was arrested in Johnson County yesterday morning after a standoff in a county government parking lot.

According to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, at about 9:40 Wednesday morning, deputies and Franklin police were called to the Johnson County Government Annex about a suspicious SUV with a man inside. Deputies were able to determine that the driver, 42-year-old Tyrone Bunnell was wanted on multiple felony warrants from surrounding counties.

Deputies attempted to communicate with Bunnell and to get him to leave the vehicle, but he refused to cooperate. After several minutes, deputies opened the rear hatch and threw tear gas inside the SUV. Bunnell then left the vehicle and complied with authorities’ orders.

Bunnell is facing a new charge of resisting law enforcement. He was already wanted on warrants for theft and for possession of cocaine out of Delaware and Marion counties.

Sheriff Duane Burgess praised the deputies and police officers for bring the situation to a resolution with no injuries to the suspect while safeguarding the community.

Columbus Regional Health is unveiling a new text messaging service to send you updates about your appointments and health information.

According to the hospital, they are now using Hello World to send messages. The benefits of the new system are that the messages are more customizable and will be used to provide information such as appointment confirmation and reminders, medication follow-ups and billing schedules. You will be able to customize the messages you receive including your language preferences, subject matter of the texts and how frequently they come.

The hospital says that the new services works seamlessly with the MyChart record service, but you don’t have to be on MyChart to sign up.

The new service went into effect yesterday. If you haven’t received a message about the change yet, you can ask your care provider about signing up at your next visit, or you can text START to 6 4 6 9 3

The hospital does say that any text messaging costs or data rates will apply to the HelloWorld messages.

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a preview of the upcoming legislative session next month.

The luncheon for chamber members will be December 2nd and will be an opportunity for business leaders to hear and ask questions of local legislators. The chamber says Sen. Greg Walker, and State Representatives Ryan Lauer, Jim Lucas and Jennifer Meltzer have confirmed they will attend.

You will be able to find out more about how upcoming legislation may affect your business and workforce.

The legislative preview lunch will be at 11:30 on Dec. 2nd in the Cal Brand meeting room at Columbus City Hall. The cost is $20.

You can register and get more information at https://business.columbusareachamber.com/events/details/legislative-preview-5583

The Columbus Parks and Recreation Department is announcing that the parks restrooms are closed for the winter.

The department says that employees have finished winterizing the drinking fountains and closing all of the outdoor restrooms through the city parks system. They will reopen in April.

For more information you can call the parks department at (812) 376-2599.

Products from five area companies are advancing to the third round of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Coolest Thing Made IN Indiana contest.

Initially 90 products from 50 communities were nominated for the fourth annual competition. The second round of voting ended last night.

Local products making it to the third round of the competition are Hiker Trailers from Columbus, Guardian Bikes and SpaceGuard Products in Seymour, Hard Truth Whiskey Co and Bear Wallow Distillery both from Nashville.

Companies do not need to be headquartered in Indiana to enter, but the product must be manufactured here.

The third round of voting started Tuesday and will last through Friday. The finals will wrap up December 5th with the winner announced at the 2024 Best IN Manufacturing Awards Luncheon on December 11 in Indianapolis.

You can find more information and cast your vote here: www.indianachamber.com/coolestthing.

An Indiana State Police trooper from Franklin is retiring and will take up a new role for the state in Seymour.

According to the Indiana State Police, Master Trooper Kelly Lazzell has retired after 36 years with the department. His final shift was Sunday and he will turn in his gear tomorrow.

Lazzell is a graduate of Franklin High School and attended Indiana State University. After returning to Johnson County, he was hired as a deputy in the sheriff’s department. He became a trooper in November of 1988 and was assigned to the Indianapolis district, where he primarily patrolled in Johnson County. Additionally he served as a firearms instructor for 21 years, a member of the Mobile Field Force, a field training officer, a commercial vehicle inspector and worked with the Franklin Schools on safety training.

Starting in January, Lazzell will continue his career in law enforcement, as an Indiana State Police Motor Carrier Inspector at the Seymour scale-house.

A man has been arrested, after an October shooting outside of a Columbus nightclub led to another man’s death.

According to the Columbus Police Department, officers were called to the 2200 block of State Street at about 3:30 in the morning on Sunday, October 27 after gunfire erupted. Witnesses said that an argument had broken out and 43-year-old Pedro Luis Rivera Ayala fired a gun. One of the bullets struck 32-year-old Alexander K. Brooks who was nearby.

A friend drove Brooks to an Indianapolis hospital to be treated, but he died of his injuries on Saturday, November 9th.

Rivera Ayala was arrested on October 28th and he remains in the Bartholomew County Jail. He was originally facing preliminary charges of Pointing a Firearm, Intimidation with a Deadly Weapon, Aggravated Battery, Criminal Recklessness with a Deadly Weapon, and Operating a Motor Vehicle without ever Obtaining a License.

Police say that they are now working with the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s office to amend those charges to include homicide.

Low-income area residents will have a chance for free legal advice today.

River Valley Legal Aid offers phone clinics for low-income residents of its eight-county district to receive legal advice and assistance. The district includes Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson, Rush, and Shelby 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.

The phone clinic will be from 3 to 5:30 p.m. To take part, you must first register between noon and 2 p.m. by calling 812-378-0358.

Bartholomew County recognized its veterans with a ceremony Monday morning at the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans on the courthouse lawn.

The featured speaker, Kent Anderson is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and after his time in the Navy, joined the Army National Guard, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2002. He talked about the lessons he learned in his life and his service, particularly about Ronald Reagan and the former president’s restoration of America’s strength and pride.

But he also challenged the veterans in attendance to take up one more mission.

He encouraged them to keep themselves mentally strong by fighting back against the tide of misinformation and division in our country today.

He urged veterans to be a voice uniting America, rather than dividing. And reminded veterans they took an oath to bear true faith and allegiance to the country.

You can hear the entire Veterans Day ceremony here:

Photo: Bartholomew County’s color guard fires a volley during Monday’s services at the memorial on the courthouse lawn. White River Broadcasting photo

A reminder that First Christian Church and the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center are taking orders for Thanksgiving meals to be delivered.

The deadline to register is Monday, Nov. 25th by 4 p.m. and the meals will be delivered on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28th.

You can make arrangements to have meals delivered by calling First Christian’s office at 812-379-4491. If you are interested in volunteering or need any further information, you can call Lincoln Central Neighborhood Family enter at 812- 379-1630.