Bartholomew County is among the central and southeast Indiana counties for which the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued an Air Quality Action Day today, and is forecasting high ozone levels.

Brown, Johnson, Monroe, Shelby and Jackson are neighboring counties for which alerts were issued.

Anyone sensitive to changes in air quality may be affected when ozone levels are high. Children, the elderly and anyone with heart or lung conditions should reduce or avoid exertion and heavy work outdoors, IDEM said.

IDEM encourages everyone to help reduce ozone by making simple changes to their daily habits, such as:

• Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation
• Avoid using the drive-through and combine errands into one trip
• Avoid refueling your vehicle or using gasoline-powered lawn equipment until after 7 p.m.
• Turn off your engine when idling for more than 30 seconds
• Conserve energy by turning off lights or setting the air conditioner to 75 degrees or above

Staff Reports

BROWN COUNTY — The campgrounds, cabins and Abe Martin Lodge have reopened at Brown County State Park, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Modern restrooms and drinking fountains are open. The park’s public pool was expected to open at noon on its regular schedule. Abe Martin Lodge’s Little Gem restaurant was expected to resume its normal schedules for lunch and dinner, the DNR said.

The horsemen’s campground is open, but horse trails are still being assessed for storm damage. Mountain bike trails remain closed and are being assessed as well. Some hiking trails remain closed due to flooding damage to boardwalks and staircases, the DNR said.

Campsites and inn rooms are available for this weekend, and the inn’s aquatic center will be open.

Abe Martin Lodge, pools, modern restrooms, and drinking fountains have been closed since June 17 due to the amount of sediment that washed into Ogle Lake along with torrential rains. Ogle Lake is the park’s water supply, and sediment impacted the filters in the water treatment facility, the DNR said.

Limited day use was permitted beginning Monday, with no potable water supply. A team of DNR and IDEM staff and consultants have worked around the clock to filter out the sediment and produce enough potable water to reopen the lodge and campground.

Two mobile, pre-treatment units continue to filter the water before it reaches the park’s treatment plant. Water production capacity has returned to normal and all required potable water tests have been completed successfully, the DNR said.

Two Columbus Police Department officers were kicked by a handcuffed woman they had arrested following a report of a domestic disturbance.

At about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, officers responded to a disturbance in the 700 block of Wilson Street and observed Columbus residents Clarissa D. Johnson, 36, and Timothy K. Meadows, 39, both of 717 Wilson St., fighting outside a home, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.

Officers observed that a window at the residence was broken and a concrete block had been thrown through the windshield of a nearby vehicle, according to officers at the scene, Harris said.

Johnson and Meadows were arrested.

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Johnson requested to be taken to Columbus Regional Hospital. After she was seated in a patrol car, she attempted to break out its window, Harris said.

At the hospital, Johnson tried to remove her handcuffs and kicked the two officers, who eventually restrained her, Harris said.

Johnson and Meadows were transported to the Bartholomew County Jail.

Johnson was booked on preliminary charges of disorderly conduct, resisting law enforcement and battery on a law enforcement officer. She is being held on $16,000 bond, jail officials said.

Meadows was booked on a preliminary charge of disorderly conduct, and released on $3,500 bond, jail officials said.

Columbus Police Department officers patrolling along Cottage Avenue recovered a stolen vehicle from Rush County and arrested the car’s two occupants.

Shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday, a CPD officer observed a blue Chevy Camaro driving slowly in front of him in the 1900 block of Cottage Avenue. The officer checked the car’s license plate and determined that the vehicle was recently stolen from Rush County.

Police stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver, Timothy E. Barrow, 57, and his passenger, Kristi M. Schofner, 43, both of Rushville. Officers also confirmed a warrant for Schofner’s arrest.

Both Barrow and Schofner were transported to the Bartholomew County Jail.

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Schofner was booked on a preliminary charge of trespassing and Barrow was booked on a preliminary charge of theft.