Decatur County authorities are looking for you help find a missing woman from Hope, just over three years after she disappeared.

Donna Mitchell was last seen on February 11th, 2020 at the Brown Bottle liquor store in Hartsville around 7:30 p.m. in the evening. After she went missing, Mitchell was believed to be in extreme danger, having not taken medication she was dependent on when she left her home in Hope. Mitchell was driving a maroon 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer when she went missing, which was never recovered.

In the past two and a-half years, searches have taken place all over the area where Mitchell was believed to have been traveling, with no results. Property owners in the area allowed investigators to search ponds and lakes in the area as well with sonar equipment, but again, investigators weren’t able to find anything.

Mitchell was born on January 2, 1963. She is a white woman, 5 foot 3 inches, 115 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing glasses, a tan Carhart jacket, and blue jeans with a flower decal on the pant leg.

Hoping to conclude the search, additional investigators have been assigned to the case and will be actively pursuing old and new leads, according to the Decatur County Sheriff’s Department.

If you have any information, you can call 812-663-8125.

The Bartholomew County Solid Waste Managment Disctrict is announcing some changes for paper recycling.

Starting soon, there will no longer be paper-only bin collecting at the Bartholomew County Landfill as well as the Petersville and Harrison convenience stations. Instead paper will be combined with plastics, metals, and glass in co-mingled bins.

At the Landfill, paper will be collected in the Yellow Recyclying compactor. At Harrison and Petersville paper will be collected in the red bins.

Separated paper will still be accepted at the Columbus/Bartholomew County Recycling Center.

Cardboard will still be separated out at all the locations.

The agency says the changes are due to changes in the vendor service.

For more information you can go to www.bcswmd.com, or call 812-376-2614.

Cummins Inc. and Arsenal Technical High School launched Cummins Technical Education for Communities (TEC) in Indianapolis last week.

The program aims to improve pathways for Black youth into prosperous careers.
Cummins and its partners have provided equipment to the schools’ Diesel Powered Equipment Technology and Automotive programs to enrich the students’ hands-on learning experience.

Cummins Advocating for Racial Equity (CARE), a U.S. strategic community initiative, supported the Cummins TEC team as they selected Indianapolis, and other U.S. cities to expand Cummins TEC.

The Indianapolis Cummins TEC program will be the fifth location in the United States and will become part of the 26 programs across the globe.

The Columbus Fire Department (CFD) is announcing the retirement of Lieutenant Scott Maley, a 29-year veteran of the department.
Lieutenant Maley joined the Columbus Fire Department in 1994 and is a certified Emergency Medical Technician and Hazardous Materials Technician.

Lieutenant Maley retires from his current assignment as the company officer of fire station # 3 on Battalion A.
Lieutenant Scott Maley’s official retirement date was on Saturday, (January 28th, 2023).

The Bartholomew County Highway Department advises motorists that a portion of County Road 400N will still be closed to traffic early next week.

County Road 400N, between Hartsville and County Road 1200E, will be shut down on Monday, January 30th, and Tuesday, January 31st, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., both days.

The highway department says the closure is so that workers can finish their tree removal project, which was interrupted by wintry weather last week.

2 Men were arrested in Edinburgh on drug charges after a narcotics investigation.
Edinburgh Police executed a Narcotics search warrant on a home in the 900 block of S. Holland Street after a 4 month investigation.
Edinburgh Police used two of their newly formed narcotics teams throughout the investigation to locate narcotics on traffic stops leaving the home.
K9 Kiara recovered 11 grams of Methamphetamine on one of the traffic stops and K9 Skye who was used on the search warrant execution helped officers locate approximately 234 grams of Methamphetamine and approximately 6 lbs. of Marijuana inside the residence.
Chief Doyne Little  arrested Thomas Burton and Donald Knight who were transported to the Bartholomew County Jail without incident.

Thomas Burton was charged with Dealing Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine over 28 grams, Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Dealing Marijuana with a prior conviction and Maintaining Common Nuisance.

Donald Knight was charged with Possession Of Methamphetamine and Maintaining a Common Nuisance.

Photos Courtesy of Edinburgh Police Department

United Way of Bartholomew County is offering free tax assistance through the VITA Volunteer Tax Assistance program.

The program offers free tax filings to Bartholomew County residents who make $64,000 or less and meet other eligibility requirements. IRS-certified volunteers provide confidential and secure basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. Taxpayers may call 812-375-2216 to see if they qualify.

Income tax assistance appointments will be conducted through mid-April at Nexus Park. Reservations for a tax appointment will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. Appointments can be made by calling 812-375-2216 anytime between 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Assistance is available by appointment only.

United Way has also partnered with two online companies for people to self-file. Tax Act is available for residents ages 20 to 58 with an income below $73,000 and to members of the military who make less than $73,000. OLT is available to residents who make $73,000 or less. Both of these online options are available by going to uwbarthco.org/taxes and clicking on their logos.

In 2022, The VITA Volunteer Tax Assistance program put over a million dollars back into the local economy by securing tax refunds and saving filing fees for residents. For more information, go to: www.uwbarthco.org/taxes.