A partnership between Jennings and Scott counties led to the arrest of four people on drug-related charges this week in the town of Underwood.

According to Scott County Sheriff’s Department reports, the emergency response teams from the Jennings and Scott county departments were involved in serving a search warrant and arrest warrants at a home on U.S. 31 in Underwood Tuesday night, based on tips about drug activity at the home. The search uncovered 24 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and about $1,000 in cash.

Authorities arrested 56-year-old Richard Bramer of Scottsburg and 32-year-old Vinnie Ferguson of Henryville on preliminary charges of dealing methamphetamine.

Deputies also noticed two people leaving the home before the warrants were served. After being stopped, they were also arrested on charges including possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia.

A Columbus East High School graduate was the victim of a shooting in Indianapolis this week, according to reports from The Republic newspaper.

The paper says 22 year old Luke R. Poindexter died in the Sunday shooting at an apartment complex. Poindexter was working for a delivery service. When police arrived on the scene of the shooting, Poindexter’s car was running and the trunk was open. Reports say Poindexter was shot multiple times and was unarmed.

He was a 2018 graduate of Columbus East according to the newspaper.

You can find more information at therepublic.com

Several local communities are announcing their trick-or-treating hours for Halloween:

In Columbus, trick or treat hours will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Hope will have trick-or-treating on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.

In Seymour, trick or treating will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Edinburgh trick or treating will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday and Prince’s Lake will be from 5 to 8 p.m. that night. The rest of Johnson County and its cities and towns will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

North Vernon’s Sweet Street at Stellar Plaza and Madison Ave and city trick-or-treating will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 31st.

If you want to share treats with trick-or-treaters you should leave your outside lights on.

Other Halloween activities include:

• The town of Hope will be hosting Goodies, Goblins and Ghost Stories on the Town Square from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday.

  The event will feature a campfire where visitors can make s’mores and a pumpkin painting station with free pumpkins supplied by Bush’s Market. WILLow LeaVes of Hope will be providing hot chocolate and caramel corn to participants. And Main Street of Hope will be organizing Halloween-themed games for all ages.
  This year’s event will not have hayrides, but will instead have hay bales on the square where storytellers will be spinning spooky tales.
  The event is free and you are invited to attend.

• Anderson Community Center on McClure Road  will be holding a Trunk-or-Treat at the center on Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m.
• 9th Street Park Neighborhood Watch will be holding a “Spook The Park” event at the park at 9th and Wilson Streets from 2 to 6 on Saturday.
  Activities will include a community cookout, giveaways of groceries and household items, a St. Franciscan Alliance Vaccine clinic and martial arts demonstration. Candy and food coupons will be given away by area restaurants.
• Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center will be having trick-or-treating at their Sycamore Street location from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

The City of Seymour says that West Brown Street will be closing in the 300 block at 8:30 a.m. this morning.

That is so contractors can cut the street for a sewer line replacement project. The street will be closed between Chestnut and Walnut streets.

You should avoid the area if you can.

Two people were arrested after a motorcycle chase and crash in Jennings County.

According to reports from the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, the incident started at about 12:30 a.m. in the morning on Saturday when a deputy tried to stop a motorcycle without a license plate on State Road 7. Instead of stopping, the driver took off on the highway at speeds of up to 100 mph. Deputies called off the chase at Country Squire Lakes because of concerns for public safety.

A short while later, a motorcycle accident was reported at the intersection of Country Manor and Country Squire Boulevard. But the two men on the cycle asked witnesses not to call the police. When deputies arrived there was no motorcycle to be found. But 22 year old Zachary T. Hamblen of Vallonia was lying on the ground. Hamblen told police that he had wrecked his bicycle and that his mother had already come to pick up the bike.

However, witnesses said that the motorcycle passenger had pushed the cycle away from the scene. Deputies soon found it about 100 yards away hidden in the grass. They also found 21-year-old Kaleb Root of North Vernon hiding behind a tree. A nearby jacket was found along with 3 and a half grams of heroin and fentanyl.

Root was arrested on charges of obstructing of justice and assisting a criminal.

Hamblen was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries and faces preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement by fleeing in a vehicle and possession of a narcotic drug.

Two people were arrested after a scuffle with Jennings County deputies Monday.

According to Jennings County Sheriff’s Department reports, deputies pulled over a vehicle because they recognized the driver had a suspended driver’s license. That was at about 2:20 a.m. in the afternoon on Park Avenue near South State Street.

But a passenger jumped out of the vehicle and attempted to eat a plastic baggie, suspected to be filled with narcotics. After refusing orders to stop, deputies used a Taser to subdue them man, identified as 38-year-old Andrew R. Golden of Versailles. Deputies were able to remove the baggie from his mouth and after a struggle he was put into handcuffs.

In the meantime, the driver of the vehicle, 31-year-old Josie E. Robbins of North Vernon, got out  of the vehicle and began to attempt to conceal more narcotics, police say. Robbins was also detained and the drugs were recovered.

Golden was taken to a medical provider to be checked out before being taken to jail on preliminary charges of Possession of Meth, marijuana and syringes, obstruction of justice and resisting law enforcement. Golden was also wanted on a Jennings County probation revocation warrant.

Robbins is facing charges of possession of meth, marijuana and syringes.

Columbus Regional Health is being recognized for its efforts to protect infants and maternal health. The hospital was recognized by the Indiana Hospital Association, Gov. Eric Holcomb and State Health Commissioner Kristina Box with the second annual INspire Hospital of Distinction award.

CRH earned the award based on six key areas, including infant safe sleep, breastfeeding, tobacco prevention and cessation, perinatal substance use, obstetric hemorrhage, and maternal hypertension.

INspire was developed to implement the delivery of best practice care for Hoosier moms and babies and to recognize hospitals for excellence in addressing the key drivers of infant and maternal health. It is funded by the Indiana Department of Health’s Safety PIN grant.

Columbus firefighters will be holding their annual chili cookoff on Friday, Nov. 5th at Fire Station #1.

The fundraiser for the Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund will be accepting free will donations. It will be a drive-in event and you can take your favorite chili home to support the Cheer Fund.

Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund is the oldest charitable organization in Bartholomew County. Money raised goes to provide Christmas gifts for the needy children of the community.

The chili cook-off will start at 6 and last until the chili runs out.

Fire Station #1 is at the corner of Jackson and Washington streets in downtown Columbus.

Two wanted Columbus residents were arrested and a handgun recovered during an incident Tuesday evening.

According to reports from the Columbus Police Department, officers were patrolling in the 700 block of Werner Avenue at about 10:20 Tuesday night, when they noticed two people next to a vehicle with its interior light on. Officers identified the two as 41-year-old Asa G. Wisler and 35-year-old Amber D. Morgan, both of Columbus, and both with outstanding warrants for their arrest.

Police took the two into custody and noticed Wisler had an empty holster at his waist. A search recovered a handgun laying on the ground, where Wisler had been standing. An inspection revealed that the serial numbers on the gun had been filed off.

Wisler was arrested on new charges of possession of a legend drug, obliterating the identifying marks on a handgun and an outstanding Bartholomew County warrant.

Morgan has three outstanding Bartholomew County warrants and one from Johnson County. She is also facing a charge of making a false identity statement.

A tenant was injured and an apartment damaged when a small explosion went off in Columbus Tuesday evening.

According to reports from the Columbus Fire Department, firefighters were called to the 600 block of Lafayette Avenue at about 7:20 Tuesday evening on a reported explosion in a kitchen. When firefighters reached the scene several tenants were outside of a 10-unit apartment building but there was no sign of smoke or fire.

The tenant in the apartment had burns to her arm. She told firefighters that she had been spraying bug spray underneath the kitchen sink when the spray ignited. An investigation revealed a damaged wall, blown out window and broken sink in the apartment. Investigators concluded that the cloud of spray was ignited by the pilot light on a gas stove causing a flash fire. Firefighters turned off the gas to the apartment and the water.

The woman was in stable condition and was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment.

Firefighters warn that you should use caution with any aerosol spray, as the hydrocarbon propellant is very flammable and can ignite when in the presence of a flame.

Columbus firefighters offer other safety tips for aerosol cans:

• Read safety warning prior to use.
• Puncturing cans causes a sudden release of pressure that may cause the can to become a projectile.
• Incinerating a can, even if it is empty, risks explosion.
• Aerosol cans that contain hazardous ingredients are required to have a warning label. Ingredients are considered hazardous if they have one or more of these characteristics: Flammable, Toxic, Caustic, Irritant, Sensitizer, Carcinogen, Nerve toxin, Reproductive toxin.
• Indoor use may cause eye and breathing irritation.