Legal Aid District 11 has scheduled another free Legal Aid phone clinic for residents in its eight-county district this Tuesday, August 8th. The district includes Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson, Rush, and Shelby Counties.

The free clinic for low-income residents is from 3 to 5:30 p.m., however, registration is required between noon and 2 p.m. that same day by calling 812-378-0358.

Individuals in Legal Aid District 11 who call the phone clinic on August 8th will receive a 10-minute consultation where lawyers will answer general questions, offer legal information, and give other limited assistance or advice.

As part of the 2023 City Overlay project, Milestone crews will begin patching local
streets starting today.
Work for the Overlay project is a three-step process:
patching, milling and paving. There may be times between stages when there will be no work activity on the streets.
City Officials ask the public to Please be patient, reduce speeds and use extra
caution while in these work zones.
Be sure to follow construction signage, obey flag personnel and obey posted “No Parking” signs.

The following streets are included in this Overlay project however; the work will
not be done in this order:

13th Street (from Gladstone Avenue to McClure Road)

16th Street (from Lafayette Avenue to Sycamore Street)

7th Street (from Lafayette Avenue to Werner Avenue)

California Street (from 17th Street to 8th Street)

Chestnut Street (From 11th Street to 16th Street)

McKinley Avenue (from Gladstone Avenue to Hope Avenue)

Middle Road (from Cessna Drive to Arnold Street)

Fairlawn Drive (from 29th Street to 31st Street/Chapel Drive)

Fairlawn Drive (From 31st Street/Chapel Drive to Taylor Road)

Terrace Lake Road (from Shields Drive to Goeller Blvd.)

A Columbus man was arrested last week after allegedly threatening to use a firearm during a family argument.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were called to the 1300 block of Jonesville Road at just before 7 a.m. Friday after a neighbor heard the threats. Deputies discovered three people had been involved in the argument and all had minor injuries. But they concluded that 35-year-old Braden Kleinhenz was the aggressor, battering the others, pointing a firearm and making a threats.

A firearm was also located at the scene.

After being checked out at Columbus Regional Hospital, Kleinhenz was arrested on preliminary charges including Pointing a Firearm , Intimidation with a Deadly Weapon , Battery with Bodily Injury and Domestic Battery with Bodily Injury.

Indiana’s near-total abortion ban that prohibits the procedure with only a few narrow exceptions will go back into effect after the Indiana Supreme Court upheld the law Friday. Justices did leave the door open for the possibility for other challenges in the future, however.

In a split decision, the high court nixed a preliminary injunction that has kept the ban on-hold since September.

Justices stated that the plaintiffs — which included Planned Parenthood and multiple other health care providers, unsuccessfully brought a “facial” challenge to the entire law, alleging that the abortion ban is always unconstitutional and should therefore be voided.

The state Supreme Court said the providers “cannot show a reasonable likelihood of success” with that challenge, however.

The five Indiana justices heard oral arguments over the constitutionality of the new law in January.

The court challenge was originally filed in Monroe County Circuit Court in August by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on behalf of health care providers and a pregnancy resource center.

A special judge in Owen County later ruled that the ban likely violates the Indiana Constitution. An injunction issued by Judge Kelsey Blake Hanlon, a Republican, halted the state’s new abortion law one week after it took effect. Under the injunction, the state’s previous abortion law stood — allowing abortions up to 20 weeks.
However with this latest action, the abortion ban once again takes effect.

That makes Indiana the first state in the nation to approve such legislation since the high court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.

INDOT contractor Force Construction plans to restrict I-65 NB late next week to perform full-depth concrete patching at Columbus.

Starting at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 7th, the right lane of northbound I-65 is scheduled to close near S.R. 46 (MM 68). The right lane will remain closed through 6 a.m. on Monday, July 10th. This work will be rescheduled to the following weekend if necessary due to inclement weather.

Motorists are reminded to slow down, use extra caution and drive distraction-free in and near construction zones. All work is weather-dependent and schedules are subject to change.

Legal Aid is hosting a free legal clinic for Brown County community members on Wednesday July 5th from 3 to 5pm at the Brown County Public Library in Nashville. The clinic is free for low- income residents.The Legal Aid Clinic and Pro Bono Program utilizes local volunteer attorneys, offering free legal consultations
to low-income individuals for the provision of legal advice and assistance in furtherance of equal access to
justice within our community who might not otherwise be able to afford the counsel of an attorney.
From 3 to 4pm there will be a General Advice Clinic and from 4to 5pm there will be a Clinic on Eviction.

For more information on Legal Aid or to look for future clinics visit www.legalaidpbi.org/services

On June 28th, 2023, at approximately 1:08 PM, Seymour Police Department Investigations received a call from Home Depot Asset Protection advising that an individual had walked out of The Home Depot in Seymour with a large amount of Milwaukee cordless tools. The information was relayed to patrol officers.

A short time later, a trooper with the Indiana State Police located the suspect vehicle traveling South on Interstate 65 around the 42-mile marker. Troopers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver disregarded and attempted to flee. Troopers pursued the vehicle South and into Scott County. The pursuit went through the Scottsburg area and continued East toward Jefferson County. At one point, the driver threw a handgun from the vehicle in a construction area. The handgun was later recovered. The vehicle ultimately struck a barrier and came to a stop around SR 3 and SR 350 in Scott County.

The driver of the vehicle, Charles Lester Dexter Jr. age 44 of Jeffersonville, Indiana was taken into custody. Dexter was arrested for resisting law enforcement in a vehicle, a handgun charge, and several outstanding warrants out of Harrison County.

Seymour Police Department investigators did recover the stolen property from The Home Depot. Dexter removed a total of fourteen Milwaukee cordless items with a value of over $3,000.00 from The Home Depot.

Investigators will forward the information to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office requesting Dexter be charged with theft.

Celebrate Independence Day with a firework spectacular at Ceraland on July 4th. Fireworks begin once it becomes dark, usually around 9:50pm-10pm.

There will be games, activities, live music, food and drink vendors, cornhole, basketball, bounce houses, swimming, and so much more!

For more information visit
https://www.ceraland.org/july4th

Severe Weather rolled into the area Thursday afternoon blowing in gusty 60-70MPH winds that caused thousands of local residents to lose electricity. The winds also knocked out power at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair  forcing them to cancel activities for the rest of the evening.

Similar outages took place across the state due to the severe weather.

Bartholomew County REMC and Duke Energy are at work helping residents to get their power back on.

Customers of Bartholomew County REMC should report outages to their office at (800) 927-5672 or through their SmartHub app. Remember to have the service address and account number ready for quick and accurate reporting.

Duke Energy customers can report their outage by texting OUT to 57801, reporting online or by calling 800-343-3525.

The threat of severe weather continues into the holiday weekend on Friday and Saturday.

Photos Courtesy of Bartholomew County Emergency Management

Bartholomew County and its surrounding areas are under a Marginal Risk of severe weather tonight through the next several days into the holiday weekend.

Along with the stormy weather the Hazy/smoky conditions from the past few days will continue today impacting visibility and air quality.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has already declared yet another Air Quality Action Day for Today, meaning the unhealthy air will be sticking around a little longer.
WISH TV reports that Indiana along with Dubai and Cleveland continues to be plagued by some of the worst air quality in the world currently.

People with respiratory issues including asthma, and people doing heavy work outside have had to be especially cautious.

Air quality will start to slowly filter out of the southwest Today and Tomorrow and will help erode the unsafe levels of smoke in the lower parts of the atmosphere.