The Women’s Giving Circle of Bartholomew County will have their annual fall event at The Commons in Columbus from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. October 4th.
That will include networking, a presentation by Tracy Souza, president and CEO of The Heritage Fund and the announcing of 2016 Women’s Giving Circle grant winners.
The annual event is hosted by the Women’s Giving Circle, a program of Heritage Fund —The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, which raises funds granted annually to women, children and family issues throughout Bartholomew County. The mission of WGCBC is to engage women of all generations and means in philanthropy.
For more information or how to join the Women’s Giving Circle of Bartholomew County, you can visit www.heritagefundbc.org or call Heritage Fund at 812-376-7772.
The Interstate 65 southbound exit ramp onto southbound U.S. 31 at Taylorsville will be closed this weekend, weather permitting, while INDOT contractors repair the bridge deck.
That’s part of a $797,273 project to work on four bridges on I-65 at U.S. 31 and at the Louisville and Indiana railroads just to the north.
The 76A exit ramp will be closing at 9 p.m. Friday and it is expected to reopen by 6 a.m. Monday. INDOT is recommending that you use either exit 80 or exit 68 during the delays, but the 76B exit ramp to northbound U.S. 31 will also remain open but you will have to turn around on surface streets to get to southbound U.S. 31.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is warning of heavy traffic next week near Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Jennings County.
Crews from INDOT’s LaPorte and Fort Wayne districts will be at the base along with Ohio Department of Transportation personnel training to respond to simultaneous earthquakes on the New Madrid and Wabash Valley fault lines.
They will be performing road and bridge assessments as if there had been a 7.0 earthquake and they will also be practicing clearing roadways for emergency responders.
There will be increased traffic around the base all week, but especially on Tuesday and Thursday INDOT officials say.
North Vernon area residents seem OK with the idea of adding two roundabouts to U.S. 50 on the east and west sides of the city. That was the consensus of those who took part in a public input session by the Indiana Department of Transportation Wednesday night at Jennings County High School.
INDOT held the meeting to educate and hear feedback about a proposal to turn a pair of intersections on U.S. 50 into roundabouts. Specifically, the intersection with State Road 750 on the west side of North Vernon and the intersection with Buckeye Street on the city’s east side.
Rickie Clark, with INDOT’s Office of Public Involvement, led to the session. He explained the benefits of converting these intersections to roundabouts. The main one he stressed was safety. Repeatedly referring to the proposed changes as “safety enhancements,” Clark cited INDOT statistics that showed that conventional intersections account for 45-percent of all traffic crashes and one-third of all fatalities. By implementing roundabouts, he says that crashes go down 44-percent, while fatalities drop 82-percent. Clark cites the lower speeds needed to negotiate roundabouts, as well as the reduced angles of possible collisions when crashes do occur for these improved figures.
About three-dozen people turned out for the presentation. Most who spoke had little issue with the roundabouts, but with the lack of signage. Specifically, these people were upset with the lack of signage at the intersection of State Road 750. They relayed instances of semi-trucks and other vehicles executing u-turns in tight spaces due to the lack of signage pointing out how to get to North Vernon, Seymour and other areas.
Clark told those in attendance that these concerns would be passed on to decision-makers at INDOT, but he implored them, and other residents and travelers, to contact the agency with their written comments and concerns.
Those comments can be made by calling the Seymour District Office at (877) 305-7611, or by email at secommunications@indot.in.gov. Clark says that the deadline to submit your questions and/or concerns is Friday, Sept. 30.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department had to serve a search warrant to a company to get access to the dashboard video of a Nashville patrol car involved in a chase that led to a Hope teen’s death.
18-year-old Xavier M. Scrogham died the night of Aug. 29th after being chased through Bartholomew County by a Nashville patrol car driven by Leonard Burch, at the time a reserve officer for the Brown County town’s police force. Burch has since resigned and Bartholomew County deputies have opened a criminal investigation into his actions that night.
According to a report from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Nashville authorities had immediate reservations about whether Burch was allowed to instigate a traffic stop and chase because he was off duty. But they did not pass those concerns on to Bartholomew County officials investigating the crash for several days. The concerns were only brought up on Sept. 2 when the Nashville police chief and assistant chief met with Bartholomew County investigators to request a criminal investigation, according to the sheriff’s department.
Further, when Bartholomew County authorities asked for the in-car camera recordings from Burch’s car they were told that the video was not retrievable. Nashville police had sent the camera to a company to see if the recording was corrupt or could be recovered. Bartholomew County investigators served a search warrant on the company and received copies of the video recording.
The video was released to the media Wednesday night. The date and time stamps shown on the video are incorrect, showing the chase taking place at 6:03 p.m. on May 16th, rather than around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 29th It shows Burch starting the chase of Scrogham on U.S. 31 near Lowell Road after Scrogham speeds away from him.
The Sheriff’s Department also released the 911 call made by Burch, which starts as the chase crosses Central Avenue. He said that Scrogham’s motorcycle had just passed him going 120 mph. Burch said he was calling 911 because Nashville police are not on the same radio system as Bartholomew County dispatch.
The video shows the chase proceeding down National Road through the city of Columbus, with the officer nearly catching up to the motorcycle at 25th and National Road before Scrogham speeds away again.
Burch eventually lost sight of the motorcycle in eastern Bartholomew County near 25th Street and County Road 650E, according to police reports.
Bartholomew County Deputy Dane Duke was called to help in the search and found a motorcycle track on Sunland Road which led off into a soybean field, where Scrogham was found dead after striking a guy wire for a telephone pole. Bartholomew County deputies did not take part in the chase.
An investigation into the actions of Burch, the former Nashville reserve officer, is expected to conclude soon and will be forwarded to the Bartholomew County prosecutor for review by the middle of next week, the sheriff’s department reports.
The Bicentennial Torch Relay will go through Jackson County on Thursday. According to the state’s website, the torch is expected to arrive there at 10 a.m. from Lawrence County. “The Crothersville Times” reports that The torch will travel from Brownstown to Seymour, where Mayor Craig Luedeman will present a proclamation at One Chamber Square about 10:45 a.m. The paper reports that the “Bicentennial Experience,” the state’s mobile Indiana museum, will be located near One Chamber Square from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The torch will wind its way through Jackson County for two-and-a-half hours, before entering Washington County.
The relay hits Jennings County on Friday. The torch is scheduled to be there from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. To mark the occasion, a “Bicentennial Blast” will be held on the Stellar Plaza in North Vernon from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Organizers say that the celebrations will include special presentations, along with food, live music and a beer garden.
In Decatur County, 26 residents will have the honor of being a torch bearer when the Torch Relay rolls though the county at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. The county’s Facebook page says that Decatur is the 28th county to receive the torch, which will cover 31.3 miles in two hours before entering Bartholomew County.
Faurecia will be hosting a food drive Friday to support the Love Chapel food bank. Organizers say that the food drive will take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the south parking lot of Fair Oaks Mall in Columbus.
The food drive will be a “drive-thru” event where people can drop off food and/or money to support the food bank.
Love Chapel Requested Donations Include:
• Canned Fruit & Vegetables
• Cereal
• Granola bars or other breakfast bars
• Macaroni & Cheese
• Pasta
• Peanut Butter
• Pork & Beans
• Ramen Noodles
• Soups – low salt
Faurecia says that this drive is part of Faurecia’s annual FUELS (Faurecia Unites with Employees for Local Service) campaign, where more than 20,000 Faurecia employees across North America will aim to collect 800,000 meals for food banks in the communities where the company has a presence. Since the program launched in 2010, organizers say more than 4.35 million meals have been donated to local communities.
Authorities are warning about a new scam and theft that happened in Bartholomew County and that led to a resident losing cash.
The sheriff’s department is reporting that two men went to a Bartholomew County home and claimed that they were there to check the water and electricity. After flipping switches and faucets on and off, the men left and the resident discovered that cash was missing from the home.
The men were tall, thin and in their 20s and driving a newer model single cab white GMC or Chevy truck. They were last seen headed south on U.S. 31.
The sheriff’s department warns that if these men come to your home you should call 9-1-1 immediately. Authorities say you should never let a stranger into your home unless you have requested service and they provide proper identification.
The public will have a chance to weigh in tonight on two roundabouts that the Indiana Department of Transportation is considering for U.S. 50 on the west and east sides of North Vernon.
INDOT will be hosting a public information meeting tonight to discuss the proposed intersection improvements. Specifically, the intersection at State Road 750 on the west side of North Vernon and the intersection with Buckeye Street, on the east side of the city.
Organizers say that an open house begins at 5:30 p.m., while the formal presentation begins at 6 p.m., in the Jennings County High School Auditorium.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers has scheduled his final community meetings for this year.
The next meeting will be held Thursday in Ogilville, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Southwest Volunteer Fire Department. The last meeting is set for Wednesday, Sept. 21 at the German Township Volunteer Fire Department.
The sheriff is stressing that residents do not need to reside in these particular areas in order to attend. All Bartholomew County residents are welcome.