Bills co-authored by local legislators are heading to the governor’s office for his signature.

According to the Indiana House Republican press office, legislation is moving toward becoming a law that was co-authored by State Rep. Ryan Lauer of Columbus and Rep. Jim Lucas of Seymour. Lauer co-authored a bill to create new grant programs for pediatric and breast cancer research and Lucas worked on a bill to increase penalties for drivers who are on the road without ever receiving a driver’s license.

Lauer’s bill would provide funding for innovative research into novel forms of treatment through the Pediatric Cancer Research and Treatment Grant Program and the Breast Cancer Research Fund.

According to the Indiana Department of Health, more than 30 children died in Indiana from cancer each year between 2016 and 2020 and more than 300 new cases of pediatric cancer occur each year in Hoosier children.

Lauer said that Indiana cancer research could help the state and could also lead to treatments used throughout the U.S.

The bill passed the Indiana General Assembly unanimously.

Lucas’ bill will add two new criminal enhancements for those who drive without ever receiving a license, causing bodily or catastrophic injury or deaths. Those incidents would become Level 5 or 6 felonies, where under current law the crashes would only be a Class C misdemeanor or, if the driver has a previous unrelated conviction, it would be a Class A misdemeanor.

The bill came about after 27-year-old Brad Castner of Holton died in a head-on crash last year with an unlicensed driver. The unlicensed driver could only be charged with a misdemeanor.

Lucas said the hope is that enhancing the penalties would keep unlicensed drivers off of the road.

Indiana Statehouse photo courtesy of iga.in.gov

The City of Seymour is warning that milling and paving is going to be starting today on several streets around the community.

Affected streets scheduled to start today include 9th Street at the railroad tracks, Shields Avenue from 9th to 16th Streets and 16th street from Shields Avenue to Ewing Street.

Work is expected to start on Thursday on Arvin Avenue, and Vine, 14th, Pine, Poplar, Brown and Laurel streets.

The work is expected to take up to two weeks, and the work schedule is dependent on the weather.

You should avoid the areas if you can.

Indiana Congressman Jefferson Shreve says that economic uncertainty is a real danger for area manufacturers but he also urges companies to be patient as the administration works to strike trade and immigration deals advantageous to America.

Shreve said that the current trade negotiations are causing uncertainty that global manufacturers face as they look to the costs of materials and sub-parts as well as access to foreign markets due to tariffs. But he said the country has a skilled negotiator leading the way to better deals that will ultimately benefit central Indiana.

Shreve said he would counsel businesses in the Sixth Congressional District he represents to try to stomach the uncertainty with an eye to a brighter future, with more manufacturing returning to the U.S. He used Honda in Greensburg as an example, as the company announced plans recently to bring the Civic Hybrid production here.

Shreve said that many manufacturing companies in our area rely on skilled engineers from overseas, especially India.

You can hear more of our interview with Shreve about manufacturing in the Sixth Congressional District:

Indiana State Police posts will be taking part in a national drug takeback event on Saturday.

Troopers say that between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday you can drop off any unused, unwanted or expired medications at Indiana State Police posts statewide, except for the Toll Road post. In southeastern Indiana you can drop off medications at the Versailles, Bloomington and Sellersburg posts.

The service is free and anonymous with no questions asked.

This program is for liquid and pill medications. Vaping pens without batteries and vaping cartridges will also be taken. Needles, new or used, will not be accepted for disposal.

State police say that old medications left in medicine cabinets are susceptible to being stolen, misused and abused. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends.

You can find more organizations taking part in the drug takeback day here: https://www.dea.gov/takebackday#collection-locator

The Bartholomew County Soil and Water Conservation District will be giving away 1,300 trees on Friday as a celebration of Arbor Day.

According to the agency, the trees will be available on a first-come first-served basis starting at 5 p.m. Friday afternoon at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds. The event will be a drive-thru event.

Trees to be given away include white oak, white pine, American plum, persimmon and buttonbush. Each person is limited to five trees.

Donations are not required but will be accepted. The district will be accepting donations for Beloved Bags, a non profit that provides bags for children who are separated from unstable or dangerous living conditions, so that they don’t have to carry their belongings in garbage bags. The main donation request is for individual toothbrushes and full-sized toothpaste tubes.

You can get more information by calling the conservation district office at 812-378-1280.

Emergency officials say that area NOAA weather radio channels will be offline for several days next week while the alert system is going through maintenance.

According to the Bartholomew County Emergency Management Department, the outage will affect all the weather radio broadcasts that cover central Indiana. The outage will start on Monday and is expected to last through at least Wednesday, however it could go as long as Thursday or Friday while the channels go through a mandatory system upgrade.

Shannan Cooke, director of emergency management for the county, says that you should make sure you have several ways to receive emergency weather notifications while the radio system is down. She suggested signing up for the Everbridge alert system in Bartholomew County, using the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s or American Red Cross mobile apps, and listening to local news stations.

You can find a link to sign up for the Everbridge alert system here: https://member.everbridge.net/index/453003085611297#/login

Once you sign up and identify which types of alerts you want to receive, in the case of an emergency it will send important alerts by phone call, text message or email.

Wings Over Muscatatuck, an annual festival celebrating the birds of Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge near Seymour, is coming up this weekend..

According to organizers, festivities at the refuge will be from 8 a.m. to noon on Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Events will kick off with a guided birding tour in a van on Friday morning. On Saturday there will be children’s activities including birdhouse building, face painting, watercolor and plein air painting, and a scavenger hunt.
Birding activities on Saturday will include bird walks, a crane program, hawks and owl program, a wetlands/woods guided walk, and guided tour of the refuge’s closed area.

You can find a link for more information you can visit the Muscatatuck Wildlife Society and refuge Facebook pages, or the refuge website at www.fws.gov/refuge/Muscatatuck, or call 812-522-4352 ext. 12.

Photo courtesy of Muscatatuck Wildlife Refuge Facebook page

Two parents were arrested in Bartholomew County Sunday after deputies found more than 15 pounds of marijuana and related products in their vehicle, along with two young children.

According to the Bartholomew County Sherriff’s Department, a deputy noticed a vehicle cross the centerline on North Indianapolis Road at about 7:03 p.m. Sunday night and continue to swerve in the lane. Suspecting the driver could be intoxicated, the deputy stopped the vehicle near the intersection with Carl Miske Drive.

The deputy spoke with the driver and noticed signs he was impaired. The deputy also noticed the smell of marijuana in the vehicle, along with a female passenger and two children who were 3 years and about two months old.

A search of the vehicle uncovered about 16 pounds of marijuana, more than 2,000 THC vape pens, about 1 pound of THC wax and other marijuana related items. Authorities also found $4,775 in cash.

The driver, 19-year-old Trevor H. Kennedy and the passenger, 20-year-old Justice F. Goodwin, both of Columbus, were taken into custody. The children were taken into the custody of the Department of Child Services who made arrangements for their care by family members.

A search warrant was served at their home in the 4000 block of North County Road 150W. During that search 10 more pounds of marijuana was located along with a firearm, additional marijuana/THC products and further evidence that indicated that they were dealing marijuana.

Kennedy was arrested and is facing preliminary charges of: Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated with Endangerment, Dealing Marijuana, Neglect of a Dependent and Maintaining a Common Nuisance as well as for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia.

Goodwin is being accused of Dealing Marijuana, Neglect of a Dependent and Maintaining a Common Nuisance as well as for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia.

Evidence photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. 

First Financial Bank is kicking off a book donation drive next month at its local locations to help raise financial literacy.

According to the bank, you can donate books about personal finance or other subjects at bins in the Columbus, Edinburgh and Hope branches from May 5th through the 31st. Once collected the books will be donated to local schools, libraries and other non profit groups in the community.

First Financial will also offer at each financial center during the book drive a list of recommended books to help with financial literacy.

To take part you do not have to be a client of First Financial Bank.

First Financial’s 2024 book drive led to more than 500 books donated at local branches and more than 4,000 books donated at branches in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois.

Photo from the 2024 book drive courtesy of First Financial Bank

A reminder that Bartholomew County and Columbus will be celebrating Earth Day on Friday, giving you a chance to get rid of some unwanted materials and to spruce up your yard.

Earth Day events will be happening from 8 to 3 on Friday at the Bartholomew County and Columbus Recycling Center on Mapleton.

There will be an amnesty day to get rid of hard-to-dispose-of waste. You can turn in up to two refrigerant containing appliances, up to two propane tanks, up to four tires from personal vehicles, with the rims removed. All of those are at no cost.

Bartholomew County residents can pick up a free pickup load of mulch or compost from 8 to 12.

There will also be plant swap and a tree giveaway. Toyota Material Handling is sponsoring the tree event and there will be tulips and redbuds given away.

The event is for Bartholomew County residents only. Out of county residents and businesses can not participate. You can get more information at bcswmd.com.