The town of Hope’s newly formed Actors Studio will be hosting a play based on the children’s book “Hot Fudge Pickles.”
The author, Marilyn Anderson, of Bedford said that this is only the second time her book has been turned into a play. And she will be on hand to play the piano during the performance.
Anderson says that the book, her most successful to date, features Alvin, a troublemaking child:
Children from Hope Elemenatry School’s fourth, fifth and sixth grades will be performing in the play, along with adults.
The first performance is Saturday at Willow Leaves of Hope on the north side of the Hope Town Square starting at 6 p.m. and a Sunday performance at 1 p.m.
Columbus officials are looking into the noise being produced by a company that tests engines. That’s after a complaint by a resident who says the noise, especially at night, has run her out of her apartment.
The resident, Nancy Routier, came to the city for help after moving into Central Park Place, a senior-living apartment complex off of 13th and Michigan streets. She said the noise from Indiana Research Institute’s engine testing lab is keeping her up at night, aggravating her health conditions and forcing her to sleep with family members in Greenwood.
Mayor Jim Lienhoop said the city is looking into the complaint and at current city ordinances to see if anything can even be done, legally.
He said the city will be testing the sound levels in the neighborhood and checking how those compare to other noise level limits in the city’s ordinances, and if those even apply to a factory.
Lienhoop said he was hopeful that a solution would be found.
The theme for this year’s “unCommon Cause” has been set and will focus on the 60s.
Geri Handley, marketing manager for the Columbus Area Arts Council, says that four people in attendance at Woodstock and who now reside in Columbus will head this year’s unCommon Cause, the Arts Council’s largest annual fundraiser. She says that Jesse Brand, Jeff Rhoades, Hutch Schumaker and Warren Ward will serve as co-chairs and help recreate the excitement and energy of that decade. Handley says that the event, called “The 60s Experience: from Mods to Motown, Buzz Cuts to Bellbottoms” is scheduled for Saturday, October 22 at The Commons.
Handley says that proceeds from unCommon Cause allow the Columbus Area Arts Council to enhance the quality of life in the community by stimulating interest in art and fostering creativity.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is asking for your help finding its most-wanted person.
Judy Jackson, department spokesperson, says that deputies are searching for 37-year-old Donald E. Kennedy. He is described as a white
Donald Kennedy; Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Dept.
male, five-feet, eight-inches tall and weighing 120 pounds. Authorities say that Kennedy has brown hair and blue eyes, along with tattoos on his arm and leg.
Jackson says that Kennedy is wanted for an outstanding warrant charging him with Failure to Appear in Court on a charge of Conversion.
If you have any information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, you are asked to call Capt. Dave Steinkoenig at (812) 565-5940. You may also call the Sheriff’s Department Tip-Line at (812) 379-1712. Tips and information can be left anonymously.
Columbus Regional Health’s new Emergency Department was the center of attention with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday afternoon.
CEO Jim Bickel was joined by other hospital officials, as well as Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop in celebrating the “sneak-peak” of the
Zack Ellison, CRH Board Chairman, speaks to staff and media
new department. Bickel explained that the project to build on to the hospital began in 2007. However, he explained that the historic flood of 2008 delayed those plans. Bickel says that money that was set aside for the expansion had to spent on items associated with the recovery of the flood. That included keeping hospital staff on the payroll for the five-months that CRH was shut down, either completely, or in part. Bickel noted that taking care of the staff was the correct decision and allowed the hospital to resume full operations once the cleanup from the flood was complete.
The new Emergency Department is located just east of the current ER, with an entrance at 17th Street. Bickel says that the new space is much larger than the current ER, which was built 25 years ago. He notes that the the current area was built to handle up to 25,000 cases per year.
Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop cuts the ribbon on CRH’s new Emergency Department
Bickel says that the department is currently handling 40,000 cases per year. The new Emergency Department, he says, was built to handle 50,000 cases per year.
Bickel cited a number of other improvements. These include an increased number of acute exam rooms, five trauma and critical rooms, a pair of isolation rooms, five rooms dedicated to psychiatric evaluations and safety, as well as a sexual-assault nurse evaluation room, which is aimed at helping victims of rape and sexual assault. Other improvements, said Bickel, include a larger ambulance bay and a helicopter pad located closer to the ER.
Bickel says that the new Emergency Department is scheduled to go into operation later this month.
Tom Morton, formerly with the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns will start the new job on June 1st. He got his start as town manager in Chandler, Ind., which he sees as similar to Hope.
He said he was impressed with Hope leaders efforts to improve the community.
“I am very impressed with the leadership here and that was part of the attraction for me,” Morton said. “I don’t know if there is a typical sleepy small town, but it is a town that has a lot of the things going. One of the things is the school system. Most small towns don’t have a high school sitting in them, so that is an advantage. It is a school system with a great reputation, which is also attractive.”
The previous town manager, Melina Fox, left earlier this year in part due to communication problems with the council. Morton talks about how he hopes to avoid a similar situation.
“I think it is just important to keep communications open — to try to communicate freely and openly,” Morton said. “And hopefully a situation like that won’t occur. . Sometimes things go wrong, that is just the nature of business whether you are in the government, private sector or or wherever. But hopefully we will start on the right foot and keep on the right foot.”
The Town Council approved Morton’s contract Monday night.
The project to improve State Street on Columbus’ east side continues to move forward. The city’s Redevelopment Commission met Monday night to consider whether or not to recommend that the City Council approve funding for one portion of the project.
Dascal Bunch, who represents the First District on the City Council, encouraged the Redevelopment Commission to approve the project. He noted that the State Street Revitalization Project was one that he has personally been a part of for the last four years. However, he added that residents of the city’s east side have been waiting on improvements for some 60 years. He says that it has gotten to the point to where many residents and businesses simply do not believe that improvements will ever come.
Commission members voted to included what is being called a “gateway entrance” for the bridge at State Street and Central Avenue. Heather Pope, Columbus’ Redevelopment Director, says the gateway is focused on pedestrian functionality and aesthetics…
Commission members voted to include the gateway, noting that the cost was nominal. It increased the cost of the project to $2.185 million, up from $1.937 million, without it.
The Redevelopment Commission approved the recommendation unanimously. Pope says that she is hopeful that the project will go before the City Council during it’s June 7th meeting. She explained that since this project exceeds the Redevelopment Commission’s $500,000 limit, it must be approved by the council before work can begin.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers wants to remind you about a community meeting set for Thursday in Clay Township.
The Sheriff has been holding these meetings since assuming office last year. He says that their purpose is to “strengthen the partnership between the community and the Sheriff’s Office.” Myers adds that these meetings allow residents to talk about the issues important to a specific area, as well as all of Bartholomew County. He says that these gatherings help the Sheriff’s Office better serve people and businesses in all areas of the county.
Sheriff Myers, along with other department personnel, are scheduled to be at the Clay Township Fire Department, at 9922 25th Street in Petersville, beginning at 6 p.m. Myers says that even though this meeting is being held in Clay Township, all Bartholomew County residents are invited to attend.
The Indiana Department of Transportation officials hope to begin chip-seal operations on State Road 135 in Bloomington this week. That work has been pushed back due to the wet weather.
Harry Maginity, INDOT spokesman, says that crews are being scheduled to chip-seal twelve miles of State Road 135 from Nashville to Morgantown this Thursday, as well as next Monday and Tuesday. He says that this project should begin in the northbound lane of State Road 135, one mile north of State Road 46 in Brown County, and continue to the Indian Creek bridge, about a third of a mile south of State Road 252 in Morgan County.
Maginity says that the tentative schedule calls for a second round of chip-sealing on State Road 135 between State Road 46 at Nashville and State Road 58 at Freetown. He explains that the 42.6 lane miles in Brown and Jackson Counties will require four days for surface treatment.
INDOT says that chip-seal applications coat the highway with liquid asphalt, which seals pavement cracks and protects the roadbed from harmful ultraviolet rays. Officials say that this extends service life and lowers overall maintenance costs.
INDOT stresses that this work is dependent on the weather.
Amy Pettit has been named Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Schneck Medical Center.
“Amy is a proven leader and we are extremely fortunate to have her wealth of experience, talent, compassion and enthusiasm for nursing,” said Warren Forgey, President/CEO of Schneck. “She is committed to developing, retaining, and recruiting excellent nurses to Schneck, and will continue to deliver the innovative, high quality of care for which Schneck is known.”
Stephanie Furlow, hospital spokesperson, says that Pettit will oversee all nursing departments and their patient care services and operations in her new position. This includes working with physician and hospital leaders and the entire nursing team to enhance clinical performance, quality, safety, and the overall patient experience, said Furlow.
Schneck officials say that Pettit has more than 20 years of healthcare experience and has served in a number of capacities throughout her career at the Seymour hospital.
