Bartholomew County officials are closing in on a deal with Columbus Regional Hospital that could give the hospital property on State Street in the East Columbus neighborhood where the county annex building used to stand.

County Commissioners Preisdent Rick Flohr said the deal is nearly finished to possibly trade the State Street property for the Fox Pointe Drive medical offices the hospital is purchaing. Those offices now house the county health department.

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That comes after last week’s ratification of a deal by the commissioners that would allow the county to buy another east side property. The commissioners are planning to purchase the former Premier Ag headquarters on Marr Road to house the Purdue cooperative extension office.

Both the health department and the extension office were left without a permanent home after the county razed the State Street annex building.

That $700,000 purchase of the Premier Ag property still must be approved by the County Council and has a few more steps before completion, including appraisals.

County Council meets at 6 p.m. tomorrow at the governmental office building on Third Street and is scheduled to consider the Premier Ag building purchase.

A cooking fire led to the evacuation of eleven people on Friday afternoon from the Willowood/Applegate Apartments, according to Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the Columbus Fire Department.

Wilson said that authorities were called to the scene at 5:22 p.m. and found heavy smoke and flames in a kitchen. The resident had been cooking earlier and left the apartment for a short time, thinking she had turned off the stove. When she returned, she found the fire and suffered from smoke inhalation. She was treated at the scene but refused transportation to the hospital.

Wilson said nine tenants were allowed to return to their apartments and damage is estimated at about 15,000. The fire victim is being helped by the Salvation Army.

The Columbus Fire Department wants area residents to be aware that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of 500,000 hoverboard scooters.

Capt. Mike Wilson, fire department spokesman, says that the scooters are being recalled due to risk of fire, personal injury, and property damage. He says that there have been 99 reported incidents of the lithium-ion battery packs overheating leading to sparking, smoking and fire. In some cases the battery pack exploded, causing injuries and property damage.

Wilson says that hoverboard owners should stop using them and return them to the manufacturer for a refund, free repair or replacement. These products were sold in department stores nationwide from June 2015 through May 2016 and may have been purchased online.

If you need help determining if you have one recalled models, Wilson urges you to call the Columbus Fire Department at (812) 376-2679.

The Bartholomew County 4-H Fair kicks off Friday. Law-enforcement will be on the scene, including deputies with the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. Chief Deputy Chris Lane says that kids, and their parents, need to take steps to insure their fair experience is a safe one, especially on the midway…

Lane says that’s is also important for parents and their children to make a plan, should they become separated…

Lane says that the Sheriff’s tent is a large yellow and white one next to the midway.

Lane adds that, with it being in the middle of summer, dehydration among fairgoers is a concern…

Health professional say that you should stick to water and sports drinks, while minimizing soda intake, especially on a hot day.

This year’s Bartholomew County 4-H Fair officially opens at 5 p.m. Friday and runs through July 16th.

Two Jennings County residents were arrested in Jackson County after allegedly stealing people’s mail.

A spokesperson with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department says that, on Wednesday, they received reports of a car, with a homemade “FedEx” sign attached to a door, stopping at people’s mailboxes between Seymour and Dudleytown. The caller told authorities that someone inside the car was taking items from the mailboxes.

The spokesperson says that Deputies Rob Henley, Adam Nicholson, Bob Lucas and Ben Rudolph searched the area, with Henley locating the vehicle near the intersection of County Roads 100 South and 600 East near Dudleytown. The deputy says that he witnessed the pair place a flyer into a mailbox, then pull away. When deputies ran a check of the car’s license plate, it came up as stolen from Johnson County.

The vehicle was stopped and deputies arrested the occupants, 34-year-old Billy Joe Ellis and 30-year-old Stacy Ann Lucas. After receiving a search warrant, the deputies searched the car, where they reported finding several pieces of mail belonging to residents of Seymour, Columbus and Jennings County.

If you think you may have been a victim in this case, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is urging you to call them at (812) 358-2141. Authorities add that victims should also contact their local post office to make them aware of this incident.

North Vernon Police arrested four people after receiving complaints about suspicious activity.

A police department spokesperson says that officers were first called to to the 2400 block of Madison Avenue at 7:18 a.m. on Wednesday. Officers reportedly spoke with all four and told to leave the property. At 8:01 a.m., officers were called to the 2400 Block of Highway 3 North in reference to the same four people. A business reportedly told police that the group was trying to buy items with a credit card that did not belong to them.

North Vernon Police were able to find the vehicle, which was stopped on Madison Avenue. They say that Lane M. Luhn, 20, of North Vernon, was arrested for Possession of Stolen Property, Driving While Intoxicated and Driving While Intoxicated / Endangerment. Police adds that three juveniles were also arrested for Possession of Stolen Property. During the investigation, authorities learned that some of the stolen items were from Seymour. The NVPD says that the Seymour Police Department was notified about the thefts.

Luhn was booked in the Jennings County Jail, while the three Juveniles were taken to the Juvenile Detention Center in Brownstown.

The United Way of Bartholomew County and the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center say that they are distributing free fans to Bartholomew County households who do not have air conditioning.

Organizers say that the fans are being handed out at the LCNFC office, at 1039 Sycamore Street. Fans are limited to one per household. In addition to the requirement that recipients must not have air conditioning in the home, those requesting a fan must show proof of Bartholomew County residency. Organizers say that there is a limited number of fans available, adding that they and are being given on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, call the LCNFC at (812) 379-1630.

A Columbus woman allegedly driving on a suspended license ended up in jail on drug charges yesterday.

Members of the Columbus Police Department’s Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving unit saw 33-year-old Mariah D. Crowe driving on California Street at 8:40 p.m. last night and officers say they knew she had a suspended license.

She was pulled over and officers discovered during a search that she was allegedly carrying marijuana and another controlled substance. She is facing preliminary charges of driving while suspended, and possession of marijuana and a controlled substance.

The Columbus Area Arts Council is hosting this month’s JCB Neighborfest concert, starting at 5:30 p.m. this afternoon downtown in front of the Commons.

The show will feature Jai Baker, with a country and alternative rock sound. According to Geri Handley with the arts council, Baker began performing with his family’s Indiana-based band at the age of 7, playing everything from Waylon Jennings to Fleetwood Mac, George Straight to the Beatles and Travis Tritt to Matchbox 20.

Baker is now focusing on country music. He nearly made the finals on both “The Voice” and “American Idol,” Handley said. He has recently opened or shared the stage with Luke Bryan, Justin Moore, Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Gretchen Wilson and Phil Vassar to name a few.

The show is free through the sponsorship of Jackson County Bank. Neighborfest is in its 27th year.

Columbus Township board members are considering cutting the paid firefighting staff for the Columbus Township Fire and Rescue Department.

The township board began discussion of next year’s budget at a meeting this week. Board members Jimmy Green and Mike Shireman, the majority of the three-person board, said they had made promises to taxpayers to lower the tax burden from Columbus Township firefighting.

Township Trustee Ben Jackson said the township will finish paying off a fire loan this year and can put that income tax money toward the fire department, reducing the tax rate:

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Shireman said he did not think that would be enough to satisfy taxpayers.

Green said that he was interested in hearing proposals on ways to cut the budget without cutting firefighters.

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The township fire department uses a paid staff of six firefighters in addition to volunteers to provide fire coverage to the areas of the township that are outside of the Columbus city limits. The total cost for the fire service each year is almost $650,000.

The fire department recently received an upgraded insurance rating due to the paid staff and improved response times.

Fire Chief Dave Thompson, a paid staff member, said that the department went to paid staff because not enough volunteers could be found to make fire runs during the daytime. Although the department has mutual aid agreements with other departments, that usually means the Columbus Township firefighters are providing responses to all the other rural fire departments in the county, he said.

The Columbus Township Fire and Rescue Department was formerly known as the East Columbus Volunteer Fire Department.