Seymour will be celebrating the opening of its new Burkhart Boulevard Bypass over the Louisville and Indiana railroad tracks with a car-free street event on Oct. 31st.

You can walk or ride a bike on the bypass from noon to 3 p.m. that Sunday, with the trek starting on the O’Brien Street end of the bypass. Participants will be able to travel the whole two-mile route, then return for festivities. Those will include candy/treats provided by Milestone Contractors and city officials will be grilling and serving hot dogs.

You can park along County Road 340N just off of O’Brien Street.

The bypass will open to vehicles on Nov. 1st.

Photo courtesy of City of Seymour.

The third and final suspect into a 2014 Jennings County gun store robbery and murder has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern Indiana reports that 30-year-old DeJuan A. Worthen has been sentenced to 30 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in the robbery and murder of Scott Maxie in September of 2014.

Worthen, Darryl Worthen and Darion Harris cased the Muscatatuck Outdoors Gun Shop the day before they returned to rob it. Darryl Worthen shot Maxie and then the three stole 45 guns, while Maxie lay dying. They then sold and distributed many of the firearms when they got back to Indy, but did keep several for themselves.

Worthen pled guilty to Aiding and Abetting the Use/Carrying/Discharge of a Firearm Resulting in Death. He was sentenced on Friday.

In 2015, 32-year-old Darryl Worthen was sentenced to 60 years in prison, while 28-year-old Harris was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2019.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Indiana State Police, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jennings County Prosecutor’s Office.

A bone has been found in the SUV pulled from the Ohio River last week that belonged to an Ohio woman, missing for nearly 20 years.

According to state police reports, a search of the river using side sonar scan technology last week near Aurora, Indiana led divers to locate a vehicle at a depth of over 50 feet and about 300 feet from the bank of the river.

The registration plate matched a vehicle that was involved in a 2002 missing persons case out of Delphi Township in Ohio. 26-year-old Stephanie Van Nguyen and her two children, 4-year-old Kristina, and 3-year-old John have been missing since April 2002.

On Monday, anthropologists with the University of Indianapolis and Indiana State Police investigators examined the vehicle and discovered what they believe to be a human bone. The bone is being sent to a lab for testing in an attempt to determine the origin.

Information found during the initial investigation indicated that Nguyen planned to drive her 1997 Nissan Pathfinder into the river.

Last week, dive teams from the Hamilton County Police Association and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources with the assistance of Schaffer’s Towing worked to bring the vehicle to the surface.

Photo courtesy of Indiana State Police

Two Columbus residents wanted on warrants were arrested Monday night after police found them parked near Ninth Street Park.

According to Columbus police reports, officers noticed two people in a vehicle acting suspiciously at about 6:20 Monday evening. They identified the two as 27-year-old Kaylee D. Shuffitt and 44-year-old Jeffrey L. Watts, who were both wanted on warrants.

After taking them into custody, police found several baggies containing methamphetamine and marijuana, in Watts’ clothing, along with drug paraphernalia and several pills.

Shuffitt was arrested on an outstanding Bartholomew County warrant. Watts is facing new charges of dealing in methamphetamine, legend drug deception, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and giving a false identity statement, as well as the outstanding warrant.

The Bartholomew County Historical Society is looking for your family Christmas photos to help decorate the museum for the holidays.

In recognition of the historical society’s centennial, the museum is planning a Community Christmas Memory Tree. The tree will be decorated with photos from community Christmases past.

Diane Robbins, the society’s executive director, said the goal is to gather as many local photos as possible celebrating local holiday traditions from 1921 to 2020. They will be on display from November 30th through December 22nd.

You can email digital photos to Robbins at the Historical Society at [email protected]. Or you can bring them in to be scanned to the museum on Third Street. You should include the family name, dates and locations where the photo was taken. Images should be submitted by Oct. 31st.

The museum is open to the public Tuesday-Thursday; 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

For more information call 812-372-3541.

A motorcyclist was killed and a Good Samaritan seriously injured in the aftermath of a crash with a deer in southern Bartholomew County early Monday morning.

According to reports from Indiana State Police, 34-year-old Marcus Grayson of Indianapolis died in the accident on Interstate 65 south of the Walesboro exit shortly before 2 a.m. Grayson had been riding a motorcycle when he struck a deer and was seriously injured.

Several vehicles stopped to assist Grayson, including two in the driving lanes and one on the shoulder, driven by 37-year-old Adam K. Whyde of Beech Grove.

But while they tended to Grayson, a semi came on the scene driven by 45-year-old Lee H. Muller of Danville, Kentucky. Muller took evasive action, according to troopers, but still struck the two stopped vehicles in the roadway, the motorcycle, Grayson and Whyde.

Grayson was pronounced dead at the scene by the Bartholomew County coroner’s office. Whyde suffered serious injuries and was flown by medical helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital. Another of the stopped drivers suffered injuries after being struck by debris. He was treated.

The investigation into the accident is ongoing and toxicology results are pending. The northbound lanes of I-65 were closed for about four hours while the crash was investigated and the scene cleaned up.

Photo courtesy of Indiana State Police

Bartholomew County Commissioners say regular bridge inspections help prevent accidents that could lead to a school bus crashing through a failing bridge into the river below.

Commissioners approved an agreement with the Indiana Department of Transportation to fund bridge inspections throughout the community at their meeting yesterday. County Highway Engineer Danny Hollander said the agreement would be for more than $237,000 and would pay for 80 percent of the cost of bridge inspections over the next two years.

County Commissioner Tony London pointed out that under the agreement, the county would end up paying about $30,000 a year to have all of the county bridges inspected. Commissioners President Larry Kleinhenz said that the regular inspections discover problems that can be fixed before a bridge fails under the weight of a school bus or truck.

Kleinhenz said the inspections discovered dangerous conditions on a County Road 400W over East Fork White River earlier this year which led to an emergency closure of the bridge.

Indiana State Police will be holding Drug Takeback events around the state on Saturday in partnership with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

Unwanted medications may be dropped off at any Indiana State Police Post, except the Toll Road Post, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. This program is for liquid and pill medications. Vaping pens without batteries and vaping cartridges will also be taken. Needles will not be accepted for disposal.

You are encouraged to take the opportunity to dispose of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs which will be properly disposed of without threat to the environment.

This service is free and anonymous with no questions asked.

The Columbus Parks and Recreation Department is announcing that the Jolie Crider Skate Park at Clifty Park will be closed today and Wednesday for maintenance.

You can get more information at columbusparksandrec.com 

Nashville Utilities has issued a boil water advisory for some customers due to a water main leak on Orchard Hill Road.

The advisory affects customers in the 1700 through 1900 block of Orchard Hill Road.

Affected customers should boil any water for five minutes before drinking it or using it in food preparation. The advisory is in effect until 4 Wednesday afternoon.

If you have any questions, you can call Nashville Utilities at 812-988-5526.