Former Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to appear next month at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

A Columbus native, Pence will be the second speaker in the “Time for Choosing” series on Thursday, June 24th, according to our news-gathering partners at TTWN Media Networks Inc.

Organizers say the series is a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement to address critical questions facing the future of the Republican Party. The event will be held in-person indoors on the library’s campus.

Pence spoke at a South Carolina gathering of evangelical voters last month, his first public speech since leaving office.

The Bartholomew County Health Department says it has 1,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine available at an upcoming two-day mass vaccination clinic to be held at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The clinics will be held from 9 to 4 on May 25th and 26th at the fairgrounds Community Building on County Road 200S. The vaccines will be available for those 18 and older and are free to those receiving them. There could be an administration fee charged to insurance. You should bring a photo ID and insurance card if you have one.

You must first register at ourshot.in.gov. If you don’t have Internet access, you can call 211, Thrive Alliance at 812-372-6918, Mill Race Center at 812-376-9241, or WellConnect at 812-376-5136 for help getting signed up.

Bartholomew County Road 400W will be closed down to one-lane, starting today and lasting through Friday.

According to the county highway department, crews will be doing soil borings. The work will be between County Roads 550S and 600S and will be from 8 a.m. in the morning until 6 p.m. in the evening.

Also, the county highway department reports that County Road 700 South will be closed today from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. for a culvert replacement.

You should avoid those areas, and find alternate routes.

A police call that began with a report of a loud noise, ended with the arrest of a man with outstanding arrest warrants.

Columbus police say that they were called to the 1100 block of Central Avenue on a report of a loud noise at about 4:15 a.m. Friday  morning. Officers spoke with a man identified as 31-year Jacob E. Mercer of Martinsville. Police found that he was wanted on warrants out of Bartholomew, Marion and Brown counties.

He was taken into custody and a search revealed a syringe containing methamphetamine in his clothing.

He was arrested on the outstanding warrants as well as for possession of a legend drug injection device.

Bartholomew County’s Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team arrested six people Friday morning in a drug-dealing investigation that also led to a local auto repair business being shut down.

According to police reports, officers from the Columbus and Bartholomew County SWAT team executed a search warrant at a home in the 700 block of Fairview drive at about 8:30 a.m. Friday morning. They discovered marijuana, methamphetamine, four firearms and a stolen Corvette.

A followup investigation led them to an auto repair garage in the 500 block of South Cherry Street which was later shut down by Columbus Code Enforcement.

Among those arrested, the most serious preliminary charges were against 33-year-old Alex De Arcia, of Columbus, including three counts of dealing Methamphetamine and two outstanding warrants.

38 year old Jeremy W. Sweet, of Columbus, is facing charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of a handgun by a serious violent felon.

Also arrested were 21-year-old Alexus M. Bush, 41-year-old Amanda J Cea, 33-year-old Eriberto S. Hernandez, and 21-year-old Nicholas J. Miller, all of of Columbus.

Charges included:

• Bush: Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of Marijuana
• Cea: Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana, Maintaining a Common Nuisance
• Hernandez: Warrant (Dealing Methamphetamine), Resisting Law Enforcement
• Miller: Visiting a Common Nuisance

The Columbus Fire Department and Columbus Code Enforcement also assisted with this investigation.

The investigation into the sale of illegal drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County continues and additional charges are possible in this ongoing investigation.

Photo: Jeremy Sweet is escorted to patrol car on Friday. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.

The first Cruise-In to Hope of the season will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. tonight on the Hope Town Square with cars and trucks on display and prizes for the oldest vehicle, people’s choice and musician’s choice.

The Night Owl Country Band will perform on the bandstand from 6 to 8 p.m. Food to-go will be available from restaurants on the square.

Organizers will also be accepting donations of food or money to help the Community Center of Hope food bank. The event is being organized by the town and by Main Street of Hope.

The Cruise-ins are being held on the first Fridays of the month, May through October.

The Southern Indiana Center for the Arts in Seymour is announcing its grand reopening with a kickoff event tonight.

There will be an opening reception tonight for Alexander Winch’s exhibit “Cursed Fate: Labors & Landscapes of Hercules” starting at 6 p.m. tonight at the center followed by the season opener for the Friday Night Live music series with Culdesac Rennaissance.

You will be able to tour the newly renovated gallery, classroom and studio space on the second floor of the center, at 2001 N. Ewing Street.

Work on the Deaver Road bridge over Interstate 65 south of Columbus will be restricting traffic next week, according to INDOT.

Contractors will be closing lanes on the highway while installing deck pans over the interstate between 9 p.m. at night and 6 a.m. in the morning, starting Monday evening.

The work should be wrapping up on Thursday, weather permitting. After the deck pans are installed, crews can begin pouring the concrete for the bridge deck in the weeks ahead. Deaver Road is expected to remain closed over the highway through mid to late June.

Force Construction is doing the work on the $65 million project that is adding travel lanes between Walesboro and Columbus. The whole project is expected to be finished in 2023.

INDOT urges you to slow down, use extra caution and drive without distractions in and near all work zones. The schedule is dependent on the weather.

Two people were arrested after a shoplifting incident Thursday morning in North Vernon.

The North Vernon Police Department is reporting that staff at Walmart called for assistance at about 10:15 Thursday morning after trying to stop a shoplifter. 41-year-old Rebecca Bowling of North Vernon allegedly took about $210 worth of merchandise, but only paid for about a third of it before fleeing the store.

Officers found her vehicle a short distance away. Bowling originally gave a fake name and birthdate to officers but police discovered her real identity and found she had an outstanding Jackson County warrant revoking her probation. A search revealed that she was carrying methamphetamine according to police.

She was arrested for identity deception, theft and possession of the drugs, as well as the warrant.

The driver of her vehicle, 45-year-old Bradley J. Oldham of North Vernon, was found to have a suspended license with a prior conviction and he was also arrested.

INDOT says you will see lane closures on Interstate 65 bridges over U.S. 50 at Seymour, starting Monday.

Contractors will be completing joint repairs and replacements on the bridges. Lanes will be closing on weeknights from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the morning. No lane restrictions are planned for the weekends.

The work is expected to take about 20 work days to complete and should be finished by the end of June. Law enforcement officers will be on hand as needed to assist with the closures.

This is part of a $250,000 contract awarded in January to Ragle Inc. The contract also included bridge repairs last week over Bean Blossom Creek in Brown County.

INDOT urges you to slow down, use extra caution and drive without distractions in and near all work zones. The schedule is dependent on the weather.