Several downtown Seymour streets are closed as city crews prepare for Oktoberfest.

The streets closed last night and will remain closed until the end of the festival Saturday. Affected streets include: Second and Third streets from Walnut Street to Indianapolis Avenue. Chestnut Street and Indianapolis Avenue will be closing from U.S. 50 to Fourth Street. There will also be a section of St. Louis Avenue blocked.

This is the 48th Seymour Oktoberest. Activities will be going on from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day.

Schneck Medical Center will be hosting a walk-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Oktoberfest this weekend in downtown Seymour.

The clinic will be at the corner of Tipton and Walnut streets in the grassy lot across from the hospital. You will be able to get vaccines from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

The clinic will offering the Pfizer and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The booster dose of Pfizer will also be available. Those who want the booster dose will be required to attest to their eligibility. If you are eligible, bring your vaccination record to your appointment.

A Greendale man is being accused of stealing a vehicle from a Columbus gas station.

According to Columbus police reports, the owner of the SUV left it unlocked and the keys in the console at a Central Avenue gas station last week, only to find the vehicle gone when he returned at about 6:05 in the evening. A Bartholomew County deputy spotted the vehicle soon afterwards during a disturbance at a west Columbus gas station, however the driver took off, striking a fence and driving into a nearby field to avoid police.

The suspect returned to the original gas station later in the evening, where an off-duty Columbus officer recognized the stolen vehicle and detained the driver until officers arrived.

28-year-old Dustin W. Cothron was arrested on preliminary charges of theft of a vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator and resisting law enforcement.

A reminder that INDOT will be closing State Road 58 in Jackson County next week for five weeks, starting on Monday.

Contractors will be installing a culvert replacement between Jackson County Roads 950N and 1075N, north of Spraytown. You should take an alternate route. The official detour follows State Road 258 to State Road 11 and then Interstate 65.

You are asked to slow down, to use extra caution and to drive without distractions in all work zones. The work schedule is dependent on the weather.

Legal Aid is holding a Free Legal Aid Phone Clinic from 3 to 5:30 p.m. this afternoon

Legal Aid offers the clinics for low-income residents of its eight-county district.

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 over the phone.

To take part, you must first register between noon and 2 p.m. today by calling 812-378-0358.

Bartholomew County Commissioners are entering into discussions to bring broadband Internet to most of the rural areas of the county.

Commissioners agreed Monday to a letter of intent with Meridiam Infrastructure North America Corporation to provide countywide broadband. Revisions to the agreement suggested by Commissioners President Larry Kleinhenz would require a plan that brings broadband internet to 90 percent of the homes in the county that are not in a municipal area. And the county would not be on the hook for payment of any money until 80 percent of that goal is met.

The county currently has $4 million set aside from COVID-19 relief funds that would be used to bring fast internet to the county, and plans to use that money as a carrot to entice developers such as Meridiam to bring the service.

Commissioner Tony London said the Meridiam plan is to bring fiber optic access to the homes in the county rural areas, an infrastructure that should not degrade over 40-50 years and that would allow hardware upgrades to keep the service fast for years to come. The service would start at 1 gig speed upstream and downstream.

The letter of intent is only a first step toward the eventual contract, commissioners stressed. And the agreement does not rule out any other developers that want to come into the county to bring internet service.

Indiana State Police have arrested a Columbus man on drug charges after a more than year-long investigation into a death at the suspect’s home.

According to police reports, the investigation began in August of 2020, when authorities began investigating the death of Jeremy Ronsheim, who was found at a home on Prairie Stream Way in Columbus. The investigation uncovered fentanyl amidst drug paraphernalia found in the home.

Troopers also discovered that the resident 29-year-old Stephen Moore had allegedly attempted to discard evidence before rescue workers arrived on the scene.

A warrant was issued for Moore’s arrest last week and he was arrested Saturday on preliminary charges of obstruction of justice, maintaining a common nuisance and possession of a narcotic drug and drug paraphernalia.

Nashville Utilities has declared a boil water advisory for some customers after a water main break at West Washington Street and South Bittersweet Lane.

Affected areas include some customers on Van Buren, West Washington and South Johnson streets.

Affected customers should boil any water before using it for drinking or in food preparation until 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

If you have any questions you can contact Nashville utilities at (812) 988-5526.

A Columbus man was arrested Sunday evening on drug related charges after a traffic stop.

According to Columbus police reports, officers stopped a vehicle for a minor traffic violation at about 6:55 p.m. Sunday evening. Officers smelled marijuana in the vehicle and a search revealed an electronic smoking device, two digital scales and cocaine in the center console.

The driver, 20-year-old Zackary K. Torres was arrested on preliminary charges of possessing cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Ivy Tech Community College and IU are expanding a partnership guaranteeing admission to community college students in five areas of study.

The agreements will allow Ivy Tech students who have earned an associates degrees in those five areas to transfer as juniors and choose from among nine related bachelor’s degree programs at IU Bloomington. The degrees include four in psychology, two in biology and one each in elementary education, informatics and criminal justice.

Students who enrolled at Ivy Tech after June 1st, are eligible for the guaranteed admission option at IU. Admitted students will be awarded at least 60 semester hours of credit toward their bachelor degree.

More information is available on Ivy Tech’s guaranteed admissions webpage.