The Ivy Tech Foundation and Jackson County Co-op Credit Union will have a new scholarship available for Ivy Tech agriculture students in Jackson, Bartholomew and Jennings counties, the school has announced. Kristina McIntosh, CEO of the credit union, said that the scholarship reflects the importance of educating and training our agricultural workforce.

Students can apply if they are full or part-time student from Jackson, Bartholomew, or Jennings County pursuing a degree in agriculture. You must have completed at least one semester, have a minimum GPA of 2.5, and demonstrate your financial need.

You can apply online by visiting www.ivytech.edu.

The Sans Souci thrift shop is looking to clean out its inventory so it can restock for the spring.

Today everything in the store is half off and tomorrow everything in the store will be free. The not-for-profit thrift shop will be open only from 10 a.m. to noon tomorrow and then it will be closed until April 2nd.

For more information, visit sanssouci.org

The Columbus Historic Neighborhood Alliance will be hosting a chance Friday to meet with the city’s code enforcement officer to talk about problem areas in the community.

The “cocktails and conversation” event with Fred Barnett will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Inn at Irwin Gardens on Fifth Street. For more information you can call 812-372-9061.

The Indiana Department of Transportation will be trying out a new type of rumblestrip on local highways.

Rumble strips are the corrugated sections of pavement that are meant to alert you when you drift off the edge of the road by vibrating your vehicle and making a rattling noise.

The new strips are meant to alert drivers to danger while also reducing the noise for those on the outside of the vehicles. INDOT plans to begin installing the new strips in Bartholomew, Jennings, Johnson and Morgan counties starting April 4th, weather permitting.

The strips will be installed on State Road 7 around North Vernon and on U.S. 31 south of Columbus as part of an almost $250,000 dollar project.

Local veterans packed Columbus City Hall last night to hear Veterans Affairs officials explain how the new Wakeman Clinic at Camp Atterbury will help bring VA health care closer to the vets.

Dr. Jenny Creasman told the overflow crowd that there will be many more treatment and care options of veterans in this area, without the veterans needing to go to Indianapolis. The Wakeman VA clinic will be able to provide primary and mental health care, along with physical therapy and telemedicine. Other specialty services will be added as the clinic grows and the patients’ needs are determined.

The new facility has been open and serving veterans since February 1st. A formal opening ceremony and dedication will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

The Veterans Affairs Administration will be having a town hall meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at Columbus City Hall.

Pete Scovill, a spokesman for the VA’s Richard L. Roudebush Medical Center in Indianapolis, said the primary purpose will be to spread the word about the new Wakeman health care clinic for veterans at Camp Atterbury.

Helping prevent crime in your neighborhood can be as simple as deciding to leave your porch lights on.

Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that small step can make a big difference. He said criminals generally like to work under the cover of darkness and leaving outside lights on can frequently be enough to deter crime.

But it also has the side benefit of allowing observant neighbors to get a good view of goings on and to see suspicious activities on your property. Plus, with LED lighting the price to keep lights on all night has dropped dramatically and the bulbs are very long-lasting.

Harris spoke Tuesday night to the Ninth Street Park Neighborhood Watch group. Residents of the neighborhood talked about concerns such as graffiti, theft, abandoned cars and hypodermic needles being found in yards and sidewalks.

Harris said that if you find hypodermic needles, don’t touch them or clean them up yourself and risk injury or disease. He said you can call the emergency operations center non-emergency line at 812-379-1689 or the police department at 812-376-2600 to have the needles picked up. Harris said that in the event all officers are busy, the city’s park patrol has also been trained in needle collection and can be called in to help.

The town of Hope is going to continue to investigate whether there is a way to build a new town hall in the north-eastern Bartholomew County community.

A town building committee recommended that the community hire an architect to begin studying the feasibility of constructing a new town hall.

The current town hall is in a pole-barn-like building originally constructed as a garage in the 1970s. The existing building has problems including lack of ADA-accessible restrooms, little storage space, wiring issues and a lack of insulation.

The Town Council agreed to move forward by seeking bids from architects who might be interested in helping the town with the feasibility study. The town’s grant adviser, Trena Carter from ARA, said she had no idea how much such a study would cost.

Lincoln Central Neighborhood Family Center will be hosting its annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday starting at 11 a.m on the grounds of the Bartholomew Consolidated Schools administration building at 13th Street and Central Avenue.

There will be hunt areas for three age ranges of children. One for children 3 and younger, one for 4 to 6 year olds and one for 7 to 10 year olds.

In the event of bad weather, the eggs will be handed out at the door.

For more information, call 812-379-1630.

Seymour Police arrested two people on drug charges early Monday morning, including one for charges of trying to sneak drugs into the Jackson County Jail.

Officers stopped a car near East Tipton Street and Commerce Drive at about 1:14 a.m. Monday, according to police reports. 40 year old Seymour resident Michelle Root, and 48 year old James Hess, also of Seymour, were allegedly found with more than 35 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and drug packaging materials in the vehicle.

Hess is also being accused of trying to sneak 20 grams of methamphetamine into the jail in a bodily orifice. The drugs were discovered by a Jackson County deputy.

Root faces preliminary charges of Dealing in Methamphetamine over 10 Grams, Possession of Methamphetamine, Maintaining a Common Nuisance, and Possession of Paraphernalia.

Hess faces preliminary charges of dealing in methamphetamine over 10 grams, trafficking into the jail, possession of methamphetamine, visiting a common nuisance, and possession of paraphernalia.