Columbus police are looking for your help solving the theft of shipped packages off of the front porches of residents.

Sgt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the department, said that there have several reported thefts of packages.

To protect your packages, Harris suggested that you track the shipments electronically and make sure someone is home when packages are due to be delivered. He also urges you to be on the lookout for any suspicious people or activity in your neighborhood.

If you have any information on the package thefts, you can call the Columbus Police Department at 812-376-2600. Tips and information can be left anonymously.

Owners of mobile homes in Bartholomew County would pay a fee when they move or sell their homes under a plan considered Monday by Bartholomew County Commissioners. County Treasurer Pia O’Connor proposed the $10 fees for mobile home transactions.

O’Connor said that state law allows for the fees, but the county has never collected them before.  She said that many people expect to pay fees when they come in to make the transactions. Under state law, the county is allowed to charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs of providing services, she said.

The proposed fees are the same as those in Jennings County, she said.

O’Connor said there have been about 240 mobile home transactions this year, which would have raised $2,400. That money will go to the general fund, she said.

In the past, O’Connor has said that property taxes are so low on mobile homes that it actually costs the county more to collect the money than it brings in.

Commissioners approved the proposal on first reading Monday and will consider it for final approval next week.

In other business, Bartholomew County Commissioners recognized emergency management director Dennis Moats with a ceremony and proclamation Monday. The long-time director is retiring at the end of the year after more than 24 years with the county.

Employees of the town of Hope will receive a 2 percent pay raise and more holidays under plans adopted last night by the Town Council. But the town will also be looking to modernize its personnel policies, which have been unchanged since 2006.

Council member Clyde Compton pointed out that the town’s salary ordinance is inconsistent in several areas and needs updating. The town agreed to hire an outside human resources firm at a cost of $2800 to help update the policies and ordinance, before next year’s budget hearings.

Melina Fox, the town manager, said that she researched the number of holidays for state employees and those of both Bartholomew County and Columbus. Those government employees received between 14 and 15 paid holidays a year, while Hope employees only receive nine. The council voted 3-1 to approve more holidays for employees including Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Veterans Day.

A Columbus cosmetics company has announced it will be providing products for the gift bags to be given to stars at the 2016 MTV Movie Awards.

Dawn Andrews, President and CEO of garb2ART Cosmetics, says she began the company in early 2013. Andrews says the company is based on clean cosmetics and recycling. She says that garb2ART has kept over seven tons of material out of U.S. landfills since the company launched.

This year’s MTV Movie Awards Ceremony will be live on April 10. Andrews says that she will be attending a private party with celebrities and national media in Beverly Hills prior to the event. She says that she’ll be taking another local person with her to showcase her products, and the city she calls home.

Work is set to get underway on the first phase of redevelopment of property at the former airport in Walesboro.

Chris Hamm and Sean Downey, with HWC Engineering, made a presentation Monday evening during a meeting of the Columbus Redevelopment Commission and Aviation Board. The pair agreed that the property would be a good spot for a mix of manufacturing, research and development and a commercial district. They then spent the meeting discussing the original 2012 Master Plan for the former airport property, then unveiled HWC’s proposed development plan. Hamm did suggest a possible relocation of the commercial district from the north side of the property to the south.

HWC’s overall plan calls for the development of 509 acres over five phases at a total cost of $45,080,706. The Redevelopment Commission indicated that it was supportive of a plan to begin the first phase, Phase 1A, as soon as possible. HWC says that Phase 1A comprises 82.4 acres at a cost of $6,680,492.

The future of the project depends on a variety of factors. One that could cause it to be scrapped, or severely altered, is the property’s current designation of being in a flood plain. HWC representatives, as well as Mayor Kristen Brown, have indicated that they are fairly confident that the property will, ultimately, be removed from flood plain maps. However, they say that may require the need for all parcels on the property to have a storm water management plan in place. Another issue that could potentially threaten the project is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). City officials say that the federal government has ultimate jurisdiction over any, and all, airport property in the United States, even if the airport has been decommissioned. Again, city officials, including Aviation Board Chairman Caleb Tennis, have indicated that they don’t expect problems in getting approval to move forward with the project.

The Redevelopment Commission took no official action during its meeting on Monday night. More details, including an update on the project, is expected to be unveiled at the commission’s next meeting in January. All voting members of the Redevelopment Commission will see their terms end on Dec. 31. Some members may return under incoming-Mayor Jim Lienhoop, but it will ultimately be up the Mayor-Elect to fill three spots and the City Council to fill two. Robert Abrams, a non-voting member of the Redevelopment Commission, was appointed by the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation. His term last through 2016.

The Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team made four felony drug-dealing arrests Friday in a case that has been underway for about a year.

Sgt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, said that warrants were served Friday on the four men suspected in the sale of methamphetamine and cocaine. Harris said that 23-year-old, Erlin Lucero, of Clark Boulevard in Columbus and Jose R. Dominguez Cruz of Alan Drive were arrested on two preliminary counts of dealing methamphetamine. 29-year-old Albin E. Asencio, of Longshore Drive, is facing two counts of dealing in cocaine and 30-year-old Carlos M. Martinez of Joseph Cox Court is accused of one count of dealing in cocaine and two counts of dealing in meth.

Harris said that officers from the Indiana State Police and FBI assisted with the investigation. The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team is made up of deputies from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, officers from the Columbus Police Department, and the county prosecutor’s office.

Columbus Mayor-Elect Jim Lienhoop has selected a 28-year Columbus Fire Department veteran to serve as the city’s next fire chief.

Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Compton will become the city’s next fire chief on Jan. 1, when Lienhoop and his administrative team take office. That’s according to Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the department. Compton will be taking the reins from current Fire Chief Dave Allmon, who was appointed by Mayor Kristen Brown.

Compton has been battalion chief since 2014.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to serve as  chief of our department,” Compton said. “We have an outstanding group of firefighters that provide the highest level of service to the community. As a team, we will all work together with a unified vision for the future.”

Indiana State Rep. Eric Koch is announcing his hopes to move up to the Indiana Senate.

Koch, a Bedford Republican and attorney, says he plans to run for the Senate District 44 seat now held by retiring Republican Sen. Brent Steele. The district covers all or parts of Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson, Monroe and Lawrence counties. Koch has served in the Indiana House for 14 years representing District 65, which includes parts of Brown County, most of Lawrence County and parts of Monroe, Jackson and Johnson Counties. Until redistricting, the district also included part of Bartholomew County.

Among his legislative achievements, Koch cites the Military Base Protection Act, which he says helped save Crane Naval Base from closure. He was the author of the law that created the Indiana Arts and Cultural District certification program and the legislation authorizing Problem Solving Courts

There is still time to help local not for profit groups fill their needs for the coming year.

The Heritage Fund, Bartholomew County’s Community Foundation, is running its annual Grant-a-Wish program through Christmas Day. Local not-for-profit groups have made a wish list of things they need to better assist the community and you can take a look at those suggestions on the Heritage Fund’s website.

Kristin Munn, community grants and outreach manager with the Heritage Fund, said the program this year has already met the requirements for a $20,000 matching grant, but there are still needs yet to fill. Those cover a broad range of prices for any donation level, starting at $5.

You can look for more information, or make a donation by going online to www.heritagefundbc.org/grant-a-wish-2015, or by calling 812-376-7772

Columbus will be getting a bike share program next year and you can help choose the colors of the bicycles that will be for rent at locations around the city and help the city name the program.

An open house where you can see and try out the bikes will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at The Commons.

More information available here.