A St. Paul man was killed Wednesday in a head-on collision in Decatur County.

Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, Indiana State Police Spokesman, says that at approximately 11:30 a.m., ISP troopers responded to a two-vehicle crash on Old US 421, also known as Michigan Road, south of County Road 520 West in Decatur County.

Wheeles says that the initial investigation indicated that an SUV, being driven by 41-year-old Melissa R. Kilian, of Shelbyville, was traveling south on Old US 421 near St. Paul. Kilian’s vehicle collided head on with a second SUV driven by 28-year-old Bruce W. Parish. Parish was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Decatur County Coroner’s Office. Kilian suffered possible life-threatening injuries and was flown to an Indianapolis hospital. Her condition is unknown at this time.

Investigators say that it is not yet known if drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash. They add that the cause of the crash in not yet known, as investigators are still piecing the details together.

ISP say that the crash closed Old US 421 for approximately two hours.

The 33rd Ethnic Expo takes place this weekend in downtown Columbus. This year’s host country is China/Taiwan. Ali Crimmins is an organizer for the festival. ..

She talks about some of the entertainment scheduled for this year’s event…

Along with the food, vendors and entertainment, Crimmins talks about a couple of other favorites that attendees look forward to each year…

As always, Ethnic Expo will be held on the streets near City Hall. Crimmons says that the popularity of this event has led to the need for some changes…

Crimmins explains that this is being done in an effort to alleviate pressure and give people more room to move around. The Ethnic Expo runs Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Cummins rolled out the latest generation heavy-duty engine, the 2017 X15, at its Jamestown Engine Plant in New York on Wednesday. Company officials call the new engine a “game-changer in terms of reliability and fuel economy.”

Jon Mills, Cummins Director of External Communications, says the next-generation X15 heavy-duty engines exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2017 greenhouse gas and fuel-efficiency standards, with lower fuel consumption, extended service intervals, enhanced performance and the highest quality standards across a 400 to 605 horsepower ratings range. In addition, he says that the X15 introduces an innovative approach to duty-cycle optimization, with two configurations, available as the X15 Performance Series and the X15 Efficiency Series. Cummins says that both configurations are available in limited production through the remainder of this year, with full production beginning in January.

“I am proud of the innovative, hard work that has gone into this game-changing engine platform, and we are excited to see these important products rolling off the line,” said Srikanth Padmanabhan, President of Cummins’ Engine Business. “Attention to detail was paramount from product design, to our talented colleagues bringing them to life on the manufacturing floor, to every step in between,” he added.

Cummins says that the new X15 engines build on the current ISX15 product with the implementation of an optimized compression ratio, air handling system and combustion process to increase both fuel efficiency and performance capability. Company officials say that customers will realize big savings through lower operating costs with up to 20-percent better fuel economy and 40-percent lower maintenance costs than 2010 ISX15 engines.

Cummins says that the X15 Performance Series is rated at 485 to 605 horsepower and provides an ideal power match for heavy-haul needs. For line-haul and regional-haul applications, company officials say that the X15 Efficiency Series offers an unmatched level of fuel efficiency and payload productivity.

Due to a water main repair, Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corp customers on County Road 50 North, County Road 600 West, Wolf Drive and all customers east of 11540 West Baker Hollow Road will be without water until noon on Thursday.

Once service is restored, utility officials say that a Boil Water Advisory will be in effect through noon on Saturday for the same customers.

Officials say that, as a precaution, customers should bring water to a full boil for five minutes before consumption or use in cooking and food preparation.

Chickens will be allowed in the Columbus city limits under a compromise reached last night by Columbus City Council.

The changes to the animal care ordinance would allow some city residents to have up to four chickens on their property, although they must be in a back yard at least 20 feet from neighboring properties and must have eight feet of space for each chicken. Raising chickens would only be an option for property owners and would require registering with the state.

The council has been wrangling over the chicken restrictions since last fall and had formed a citizen’s committee to study the issue. That committee originally recommended up to six chickens on properties. Although several committee members disavowed the proposal, saying it came from city officials and not from citizens.

Councilman Dascal Bunch was the only one to vote against the changes to the ordinance.

A Jennings County inmate who walked away from a work crew is back in custody.

The sheriff’s department reports that 32-year-old Christopher D. Gullion from Rising Sun, was one of 10 inmates working at St. Anne’s Golf Course in North Vernon yesterday at about 2 p.m. when he allegedly left the area.

Jennings deputies and jail staff, North Vernon police and Indiana State Police arrived to secure the area and begin the search. The sheriff’s department new police dog, Vampir found a scent and pointed the search in the right direction.

Sheriff Gary Driver and Sgt. Jim Blevins found Gullion walking on the railroad tracks behind CPX Inc. at about 4:45 p.m. and the inmate allegedly ran away again. After a chase through a field and a shallow part of Muscatatuck River, Gullion was captured and is facing new preliminary charges of escape, resisting law enforcement and theft.

Deputies say that Gullion stole clothing and stashed his inmate uniform and orange hat. They are asking that if you have any information or find the clothing, to contact the dispatch center at 812-346-4911.

Bartholomew County Commissioners have closed on a building in Columbus that they’ve had their eye on for sometime. Rick Flohr explains the plans for the structure…

Flohr says that the county isn’t able to use the building right away…

Flohr stresses that the county is not on the hook for any utilities or damage caused to the building, at 785 South Marr Road, during this one-year period.

Portions of State Road 46 will be closed for this weekend’s Ethnic Expo.

The Indiana Department of Transportation has issued a permit to the City of Columbus for closing a single lane on State Road 46/Second Street, between Jackson and Franklin Streets, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. The closure continues through 11:30 p.m. Saturday to accommodate festival attractions, says INDOT.

On Saturday, State Road 46/Third Street will close between Franklin and Brown Streets from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to make way for the Ethnic EXPO Festival parade.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is asking for your help in feeding local families in need.

Beginning Saturday, at the Ethnic Expo parade, and running through November 18th, Sheriff Matt Myers is asking for your help in “Packing a Patrol Car” with non-perishable food items. Myers is asking everyone who attends the Ethnic Expo Parade to bring a canned food item and place it on the Sheriff’s Office float as it passes by. Sheriff Myers says that he, his leadership team and other Sheriff’s Office employees will be on hand to accept the donations.

Containers will also be located in the lobby of the Sheriff’s Office, 543 Second Street, for the public to drop off canned food and other non-perishable items at any time, says Myers. In addition, he says that deputies may also collect canned food and other non-perishable items during routine neighborhood patrols.

Once all items have been collected, the Sheriff says that deputies will “pack” a Sheriff’s patrol car with the donated food items and deliver them to Love Chapel’s Food Pantry in Columbus. He notes that last year’s food drive provided more than 8,000 food items to Love Chapel’s food pantry.

October is Crime Prevention Month and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office has launched a poster contest open to all Bartholomew County K-6 students.

“Young people are the future of Bartholomew County and we would like to educate them on community safety,” said Sheriff Matthew A. Myers.

If you are a Bartholomew County K-6 student, posters may be dropped off, through October 31, at the Bartholomew County Jail during regular business hours, Mon-Fri from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The deadline for submitting a poster is October 31, at 5 p.m.

Students must include their name, school, grade and telephone number on the back of their poster.

Posters should be on 8 ½ X 11 paper and must reflect a Crime Prevention theme. Students should feel free to use pen, pencil, colored pencil, crayon, paint, felt pen. No computer generated works will be accepted.

Winners will be selected by BCSO’s command staff and the winner, or winners, will be announced on or before November 10th. The winning students will have his/her photograph taken with Sheriff Myers and posters will be displayed in the jail’s administrative offices.

Students may submit more than one poster.