A State Board of Accounts audit has found that former Columbus Township Trustee Ben Jackson made hundreds of thousands of dollars in purchases through improper, personal use of a township credit card.

The audit was sparked after tips about improper purchases including travel involving Jackson and his family members.

The audit was released last week. According to the state document, use of the credit card went from just over $1,650 a year in 2013 to just over $271 thousand in 2023. The audit found $1.1 million of Jackson’s personal expenses were made through the card and nearly another $40 thousand in expenses were questionable.

The largest category of expenses was nearly $658 thousand in travel expenses unrelated to township business that included Jackson, his wife and their three adult children. The dozens of trips ranged from visits to Disney World in Florida, to Germany and Abu Dubai and Australia and New Zealand.

The report also documents almost $91 thousand in spending for university expenses for the three children and nearly $40,000 in personal expenses such as utilities and almost $19,000 in home improvements.

Separately, the report also identified more than $17,500 in personal expenses through the township Sams Club credit card.

The state audit calls for Jackson to reimburse more than $1 million in unauthorized expenses as well as reimbursements of nearly $78 thousand from Jackson and his three children jointly.

Jackson resigned last fall after the launch of the investigation. The audit says that information on the purchases have been sent to the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office,, the Indiana Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. A criminal investigation has also been launched by Indiana State Police.

You can read the entire report here: Columbus Township Audit (PDF Download)

A reminder that there will be an open house Thursday at the Crump Theatre, to discuss the future of the historic downtown Columbus building and to unveil several design ideas for finishing the renovation.

In April, Heritage Fund: The Bartholomew County Community Foundation announced the launch of Project Encore, an effort to establish a formal charity to raise money to turn the theatre into the Crump Center for the Performing Arts. The goal is to finish revamping the theatre to make it viable for year-round live entertainment.

Thursday’s event will include an update on the current status of The Crump, introduction of its new Board of Directors and a discussion of the goals for the future. You will also be able to see three sets of design ideas for the projects.

The program is free and you are invited to attend. Doors will open at the theatre on Third Street at 5 p.m. and the program will start at 5:30 p.m.

You can get more information at thecrump.org.

The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution recently held its annual graveside memorial service in Garland Brook Cemetery, for Revolutionary War veteran Joseph Hart, the chapter’s namesake.

Originally from Virginia, Hart joined the military to take the place of his foster father who had been called up for service. During the war, Hart was seriously injured by a musket ball to the hip and discharged. After moving from Virginia and Tennessee to avoid slave-holding states, he and his family settled in Bartholomew County in October of 1820. Hart was a farmer and teacher and helped organize the Presbyterian Church of Columbus. Hart died in 1841.

During the ceremony, the Bartholomew County Honor Guard provided military funeral honors, including three rifle volleys, the playing taps and folding and presenting of the flag.

Next year is the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States. The Joseph Hart Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution are planning a campaign to celebrate all of the county’s Revolutionary War veterans in 2026. Hart’s contribution to the war effort will be recognized with the installation of a special informational marker, part of a national program by the Pomeroy Foundation that commemorates points of interest significant to the Revolutionary War.

Photo courtesy of Joseph Hart Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Mill Race Center will be hosting a day-long series of activities celebrating National Senior Health and Fitness Day on Wednesday.

Events will run from 8:30 in the morning to 8 at night. The will include fitness classes, a walk, line dancing and pickleball as well as two education sessions.

The first session, will be presented by Stephen Dishinger from Purdue Extension on plant based eating at 11:30 a.m. and the second will be about balance and vestibular conditions presented by Ascent Physical Therapy’s Bart Hudson at 1 p.m.

The activities are free and you are invited to attend.

Low-income area residents will have a chance for free legal advice today.

River Valley Legal Aid will be offering a walk-in legal clinic on Tuesday in Bartholomew County. If you take part you will have a brief consultation with a volunteer attorney to answer general questions, to offer legal information or to receive other advice.

The session will focus on general legal advice on civil matters such as family law, guardianship powers of attorney, protective orders, simple wills and small estates.

The walk-in clinic will be from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Bartholomew County Public Library on Fifth Street.

River Valley Legal Aid offers the clinics for low-income residents of its eight-county district to receive legal advice and assistance. Residents of all area counties are invited to attend.

Thrive Alliance, Fairlawn Presbyterian Church and Dementia Friendly Communities of Indiana are teaming up to offer social gatherings for those living with memory loss and for their caregivers.

According to Thrive Alliance, the programs are called the Memory Cafe, and are meant to offer a informal and supportive setting for participants. The first session will feature a flower planting program on Friday, June 13th. Participants will be able to share a snack, decorate flower pots, plant a flower to take home and learn gardening tips.

Other upcoming sessions will include Pet Therapy on Friday, July 11 and an Exercise Class on Friday, August 8.

The Memory Cafe program will be open the second Friday of every month from 1 to 2 at the church, on Fairlawn Drive.

To register or get more information, you can contact Jeni Moffatt with Thrive Alliance at 812-372-6918

Columbus officials will consider approvals tonight to move forward with a new affordable housing complex on 14th Street.

The developers of the planned Flats on 14th Street project. TWG Development, are requesting approval for several variances to Columbus zoning ordinances from the Columbus Board of Zoning Appeals. The project, to be built at 14th Street and Michigan Avenue would bring 110 housing units to the city.

The developers are asking the city board to approve the 110 units, 30 more than the normally allowed 80 units. They are also asking to only build 124 parking spaces, instead of the required 165, and to provide less than the normally require buffer space on the east and southwest property lines.

The city planning staff is recommending approval of all the variances. The property is already zoned Residential: Multi-family.

The board meets at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Columbus City Hall.

The smell of methamphetamine in the air led to the arrest of a North Vernon man last week, police say.

According to the North Vernon Police Department, officers were called to the Pine View Apartments on Henry Street last Tuesday after a suspicious odor was detected. Police talked with a resident, 63 year old Gordon C. Challies III and police say he agreed to let them search his backpack, where they discovered marijuana and drug paraphernalia. After getting a search warrant, officers discovered more drugs including methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Challies was arrested on preliminary charges for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia.

The head of Heritage Fund: The Bartholomew County Community Foundation is retiring.

Tracy Souza is announcing that she is stepping down effective in July. She has led the community foundation since 2011, taking over after Sherry Stark retired. She is only the fourth president and CEO of the organization, since it began in the 1970s.

Souza retired from Cummins after 32 years, serving most recently as president of the Cummins Foundation. She has served on various boards at the local, state and national levels.

Heritage Fund says that under Souza’s leadership the foundation’s charitable assets have grown from $50 million to $111 million and the foundation has awarded nearly $9 million in grants and scholarships.

The most recent Heritage Fund initiative to launch under Souza’s leadership, is Project Encore, meant to finish renovations and upgrades to the Crump Theatre, turning it into a state-of-the art performing arts center.

Heritage Fund’s Board of Directors has created an unrestricted grant fund to support her key areas of interest. Tracy’s Fund to Celebrate Diversity and the Performing Arts is being created through the Lilly Endowment’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow program.

A reminder that tonight’s Salute! concert in Columbus is moving indoors. The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic show will now be held at Columbus North High School’s Erne Auditorium.

The doors will open at 6 p.m. at the auditorium and the program will begin at 7 p.m. Seating will be available on a first come first served basis.

The show is free and you are invited to attend.