Columbus Regional Health’s Healthy Communities will be sponsoring a drive-up vaccine and testing clinic Wednesday at the former Fair Oaks Mall.

The event at Nexus Park will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the former JC Penney parking lot. The Johnson and Johnson one-dose vaccine will be available for those 18 and older and doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be available for children 12-18.

You can get more information at crh.org.

The Columbus Engineering Department says that crews will be paving portions of 8th and 10 Streets, between Central Avenue and McClure Road starting today and lasting through Friday. The work is being done as part of the Community Crossing Matching Grant program.

Contractors are also working on resurfacing streets in neighborhoods near Deaver Road this week as part of the city overlay project

You should use caution while traveling in the areas and plan to obey flaggers and traffic control signs.

Tonight will be the first BCSC school board meeting to be held virtually, in efforts to prevent out-of-order commentary and the ignoring of COVID-19 restrictions by some members of the public.

The school board made the decision to go virtual last week after members of the public opposed to COVID-19 restrictions repeatedly attended meetings and made personal attacks, interrupted and heckled speakers, exhibited threatening behavior and refused to wear masks and to social distance.

Indiana law does not require a public comment period during most public meetings. The meeting will be live streamed on the BCSC YouTube channel starting at 6:30.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is warning of fake pills circulating in the community that could lead to overdoses and deaths.

The department announced last week that the pills, meant to look like prescription medications such as Oxycodone, actually contain fentanyl. The unexpected powerful synthetic pain killer can easily kill a person, with even a single pill says Sheriff Matt Myers.

If you have any information, regarding the illegal possession, distribution, or production of illegal substances, you can contact the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office at 812-379-1650.

Two people were injured in a Friday afternoon home fire in Columbus.

According to Columbus firefighters, homeowners discovered a fire in the 700 block of California Street at about 4:05 p.m. Friday afternoon. A man at the home said he and a woman were napping when they noticed the fire near a space heater on the floor of the bedroom. He attempted to put the fire out, but burned his hands. He was later treated by medics at the scene. Both occupants escaped the fire but the woman suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment.

Firefighters entered the home and extinguished the fire. They also removed a window to ventilate the space. The fire damage was confined to a bedroom and damages are estimated at about $5,000.

There were no working smoke alarms in the home, according to firefighters. If you need assistance installing smoke alarms, you can contact the fire department at (812) 376-2679.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.

A man has been arrested after a murder in Seymour early Sunday morning.

According to Seymour police reports, officers were called to the 700 block of Miller Lane on a report of an injured person at about 6:34 a.m. Sunday morning. Police and medics were unable to save the person’s life and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

62-year-old Daniel L. Baldwin of Seymour was arrested on a preliminary charge of murder.

Additional details have not yet been released until the victim’s family is notified.

Seymour police say that this was an isolated incident and there is no further risk to the public. The investigation is ongoing.

[Christopher Green Jr.]

     Christopher Green, Jr.

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[Shanae Brown] 
     Shanae Brown

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[Helen Willis] 
      Helen Willis

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A Statewide AMBER Alert has been declared.

The Gary Police Department has requested the activation of an AMBER Alert from Gary, Indiana which is 150 miles northwest of Indianapolis. 

The victim, Christopher Green, Jr., is a 7 year old black male, 4 feet tall, 95 pounds, black hair with brown eyes, and last seen wearing black and red button up shirt with black pants.  Christopher was last seen on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 9:07 am in Gary, Indiana and is believed to be in extreme danger.

Suspect #1, Shanae Brown, is a 40 year old black female, 6 feet 1 inches tall, 250 pounds, black hair with brown eyes, last seen wearing a black shirt and blue pants. 

Suspect #2, Helen Willis is a 58 year old black female, 5 feet 3 inches tall, 240 pounds, black hair and brown eyes. They are driving a gray 2017 Toyota Camry with Maryland registration LJA617.

If you have any information on this incident, contact the Gary Police Department at 219-660-0000 or 911.

A missing boy who was the subject of a Silver Alert Thursday and Friday was found safe in Greenwood, but his mother and another woman were arrested.

Greensburg police had issued the alert for 8-year-old Ryan Turner. According to police reports, Ryan had been released from school on Wednesday at about 10 in the morning to a woman authorized to pick him up by his non-custodial mother, 34-year-old Alicia Turner of Greensburg. She was on house arrest at the time.

The woman was later identified as 39-year-old Lucy Boyer.

A missing persons report was filed Thursday and the statewide Silver Alert was issued late Thursday night.

Greenwood police Ryan who was at a hotel near County Line Road and Interstate 65 along with his mother and Boyer. They were both arrested on preliminary charges of kidnapping.

The Indiana Department of Child Services is working with law enforcement to find safe placement of the child.

Bartholomew County Road 200N (between 500W to 325W), will be closed to through traffic on Monday and Tuesday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

That will be so crews can do an asphalt overlay.  The work schedule depends on the weather. You should avoid the area if at all possible, or plan for delays.

The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County and Centerstone are joining together to hold a Community Wellness Event from 5 to 8 next Friday at the Doug Otto United Way Center

The wellness event is being held in conjunction with National Recovery Month. It will feature recovery resources, employment opportunities, harm reduction information, prevention materials, testing for HIV, AIDS and HEP-C, recovery coaching, and more.

Sherri Jewett, executive director of ASAP, says this will be a great opportunity for the Recovery Community to get together and celebrate Recovery Journeys, together.

The Doug Otto United Way Center is at 1531 13th St in Columbus. For more information on the event, you can contact the ASAP Hub at (812) 418-8705.