The Jennings County Sheriff’s Office says two jail officers were injured during an altercation with an inmate at the jail last Wednesday.

The inmate, Andrew Carpenter, of Indianapolis, was supposedly being unruly and creating a disturbance.

When jail officers attempted to move Carpenter, he allegedly initiated a fight with them. During the skirmish, one of the officers was struck in the head twice with a closed fist and the other was bitten by the inmate.

The prisoner was eventually detained and moved to an isolated area. Both officers were treated by medical professionals and returned to work on their next shift.

Carpenter was originally booked for domestic battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of intimidation. Two more charges of battery on law enforcement were added to his list of crimes.

At least six Bartholomew County residents died from COVID-19 over the past week – matching the total number of deaths reported over the last four months, according to the Indiana Department of Health.

So far, 167 Bartholomew County residents have lost their lives to the virus.

State health officials have reported 935 positive COVID-19 tests in Bartholomew County so far this month, including 100 on September 10^th.

As of Friday morning, there were 30 people hospitalized with COVID-19 at Columbus Regional Hospital, including six patients listed in critical condition.

Bartholomew County Sheriff deputies arrested a local man on drug-related charges after a traffic stop early Thursday morning in the 13000 block of North U.S. 31.

A Sheriff’s deputy made the traffic stop, and during the stop, a K-9 unit alerted to the odor of narcotics coming from inside the vehicle.

The driver, Darrin Bryant of Columbus, exited the vehicle and told the deputy that illegal drugs and a syringe were inside the vehicle.

Bryant was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail and held on multiple drug charges.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers swore in 14 new Bartholomew County Jail Correction Officers on Tuesday morning.

The corrections staff is responsible for ensuring that statutory requirements from the state are met for all inmates. Some of the duties include booking inmates in and out, passing meals, supervising/giving out  medications, and performing security detail.

The Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Coroner’s office are still investigating the discovery of a dead body found on Wednesday afternoon.

The unidentified person was found near the People Trail on Marr Road, in the Rocky Ford Road area.

Authorities say that the body is a male and that he was most likely in his 20s or 30s.

The investigation is still ongoing and authorities are not releasing any more details at this time.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has announced that Hoosiers in 76 counties across Indiana, including Bartholomew, may resume feeding birds.

DNR recommended the statewide moratorium on bird feeding June 25th to slow the spread of a still-undetermined illness killing birds across the state.

Hoosiers were asked to remove feeders, clean birdbaths and submitted more than 3,400 reports of sick or dead birds into the state.

DNR officials recommend seed and suet feeders should be cleaned at least once every two weeks by scrubbing feeders with soap and water, followed by a short soak in a 10% bleach solution.

The Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Coroner’s office are investigating the discovery of a dead body found near the People Trail on Marr Road near Rocky Ford Road Wednesday afternoon.

A death investigation is being conducted and no further details are being released at this time.

Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. is sticking by its original COVID-19 preparedness plan adopted in July which allows students to attend in-person classes with or without a mask.

In July, the school district announced masks will be optional for both students and staff in most situations at Hauser High School and Hope Elementary schools. However, adults and children are required to wear the masks on school buses, due to a current federal mandate.

Superintendent Shawn Price said that there would be no changes at this time to the policy and that they will continue to monitor the district numbers and make adjustments to the plan if necessary.

Authorities with the Columbus Police Department took a 17-year-old juvenile into custody shortly before noon Wednesday after he reportedly made threats which resulted in Columbus East High School taking lockdown procedures for a couple of hours as a precaution.

CPD school resource officers were made aware of a supposed, non-specific social media threat of violence involving a gun on Wednesday morning and began an investigation with the assistance of police detectives.

During the investigation, law enforcement determined that the alleged threat was directed towards a person who is not a student, so the lock-out procedures were lifted at the school.

Investigators located the suspect at a Columbus residence shortly before noon and the boy was taken into custody.

The juvenile was transported to the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center where he was held on the charge of intimidation.

The Indiana State Department of Health reported 2,234 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. In total, the state has confirmed 788,468 cases of the virus since the beginning of March, 2020.

The State Department of Health also reported an increase of 27 deaths since last Friday. A total of 13,661 Hoosiers have died from COVID-19

According to our news gathering partners at The Republic, COVID-19 hospitalizations at Columbus Regional Hospital have soared over the past two weeks – including the number of patients requiring intensive care — reaching their highest levels since this past winter due to the spread of the delta variant.

On Monday, there were 18 people hospitalized with COVID-19 at Columbus Regional – up from four hospitalizations two weeks ago and the highest since Feb. 5.