The town of Hope is holding off on a plan to implement a town-wide trash service.

The town accepted bids last month for the trash service, but town officials say that they are waiting to make a decision.

Town Council President Clyde Compton explains the wait:

Town Manager J.T. Doane said that the the town wants to see the effect of a recently enacted trash ordinance that requires residents to clean up their properties.

About two thirds of the people contacted have already cleaned up their property. But there are some who are in danger of getting the $25 a day fine the town agreed to levy in the new ordinance, Doane said.

Town officials are also waiting see whether a rate hike proposed by Eastern Bartholomew Water Company is approved. The water company has proposed a rate hike of almost 50 percent on its water customers, which includes the town of Hope. The proposed trash collection fee would have been added to the town’s water bills.

Compton explains:

He said that the bids from potential trash collectors actually came back even lower than expected. One bidder in particular would offer substantial savings for residents already paying for their own trash pickup, Compton said.

A hearing on the Eastern Bartholomew Water Corp. rate hike will be held tomorrow night in Taylorsville. That starts at 7 at Taylorsville Elementary.

The towns of Hope and Hartsville will be having cleanup days on Saturday.

In Hope, dumpsters will be available at the Hope Utilities Garage at 529 Mill St. from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.. You will be able to get rid of trash, cardboard, computers, printers, glass, plastic and up to four tires without rims.

In Hartsville, dumpsters will be also brought in from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the town square so residents can dispose of trash and other debris on their properties or in their own homes. There will also be a trailer taking items to Goodwill.

If you need help moving items in Hartsville, you can call 812-371-6572 or 812-371-8764.

For more on the Hartsville cleanup, go to Hartsville News and Happenings on Facebook.

A proposed annexation and rezoning for a new housing development on the west side of Columbus is on hold, for now. The city council heard proposals Tuesday night from Jeff Bergman, the city-county planning director, and representatives for Arbor Homes on a plan to set the groundwork for an approximately 300-home development near Princeton Parks.

The proposal includes the annexation of just over 154 acres, including adjacent road right-of-way. Just over 151 acres are the property of one owner, who requested the annexation. All of this acreage is currently zoned “Residential: Single-Family 2.” Arbor Homes, the company pursuing the development, is asking for the property to be rezoned “Residential: Single-Family 3,” which would allow them to build more homes on the property. In earlier dealings with the Columbus Plan Commission, Arbor explained that the development would consist of 312 lots. The Plan Commission ultimately voted unanimously in favor of Arbor’s request.

Tuesday night’s city council meeting drew several dozens of concerned residents, many from the Princeton Parks neighborhood. They objected strenuously to the development, expressing concerns about traffic, utilities, fire protection and the effect on schools.

Arbor representatives argued that many of the fears expressed by residents were unfounded, noting studies and communications with city departments like fire and utilities. They also noted that road improvements in the area are included in the development proposal. That did little to assuage audience members and members of city council who expressed many of the same concerns. Chief among them was fire service as train traffic in the area is slated to ramp up exponentially in the coming years.

The council ultimately voted to table both the annexation and rezoning requests in the hope of getting answers to their concerns. Both matters are scheduled to be heard again at the next council meeting on June 6th.

The investigation into a fire at a more than century-old factory in Shelbyville remains under investigation.

“The Shelbyville News” is reporting that the city’s fire department responded to the call at Old Hickory Furniture at 12:16 p.m on Monday. The factory is located in the 400 block of South Noble Street. Fire Chief Tony Logan told the newspaper that the blaze was under control within 50 minutes. The paper is reporting that the fire began around a paint booth in the factory.

No injuries were reported. Damage estimates to the business, which the paper says opened in 1899, have not been made available.

For more on this story, visit shelbynews.com.

A Decatur County man was arrested Monday night after Columbus Police say he led them on a chase. Lt. Matt Harris, department spokesman, says that at about 7:25 p.m., Officer Tony Kummer encountered a car traveling north on Central Avenue that failed to stop for a red light at 17th Street and nearly struck his patrol car. Kummer tried stopping the car, but he says the driver refused to pull over. Police say the driver fled through a nearby alley and escaped a short time later near 20th Street and Caldwell Place. Harris says that the pursuit was then terminated. However, Officer Kummer was able to get a the vehicle’s license plate number, which revealed that the vehicle’s owner lived in the 2800 block of 17th Street. When officers arrived a short time later, they found the vehicle parked in the driveway. They then reportedly found the suspect, 30-year-old Bobby Richards, of Westport, in the backyard. While searching Richards, officers reportedly found marijuana and a glass pipe in his clothing.

Richards was arrested on preliminary charges of:

Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle;
Operating a Vehicle Without Obtaining a License;
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia;
Possession of Marijuana

he Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is looking for the driver in a hit-and-run Monday night involving a young child. Judy Jackson, department spokeswoman, says that deputies were called to the Elkland Hills Mobile Home Park at 8:42 when a two-year-old girl tried to cross the roadway, only to be struck by a vehicle witnesses described as “driving at a high rate of speed”.

The driver, described as a skinny white male with dark hair, briefly stopped then fled the scene. Jackson says that a passenger in the vehicle, who originally identified herself to the child’s mother, has neither responded to telephone calls nor has she contacted authorities regarding the incident.

The child was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital where she was treated and released for a fractured left foot.

If you have any information about this hit-and-run, you are asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at (812) 379-1650. You may also send an email to sheriff@bartholomew.in.gov or adam.warner@bartholomew.in.gov. Tips and information can be left anonymously.

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce will be holding its annual Women in Leadership Lunch on Friday.

Chamber President Cindy Frey said four women will be honored for their work in the community, both professionally and privately.

Those honored will be Jean Donica, co-owner of ReMax Real Estate Professionals, School resource officer Julie Quesenbery, Cummins Vice President and Chief Technical Officer Jennifer Rumsey and Lisa Shafran, president of Turning Point, Domestic Violence Services.

The lunch will be from 1130 a.m. to 1 pm. at The Commons. You can get more information at columbusareachamber.com.

The Bartholomew County Highway Department says that Lowell Road will be closed starting today through Friday for road improvements.

That work will be from 8 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, says Danny Hollander, the county highway engineer.

That work will be from Lowell Bridge at County Road 325W to the interstate. Hollander said that the work would including widening the road from its current 19 to 20 feet, to 24 feet.

Hollander says that traffic on Lowell Road has more than tripled in recent years. He said a major overhaul project is in the works but because it is a federally funded project that won’t start until at least 2023.

Work on developing Columbus’ downtown riverfront district is ongoing. Heather Pope, the city’s redevelopment director, says that one method for gathering public information is already in the books. She explained that a public survey offered on the city’s website, as well as via mail, was recently completed.

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Next comes more work by the city’s consulting firm.

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Pope says that whatever is ultimately approved will have to take the limitations of the site into consideration.

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Pope says that information will then be forwarded to the Riverfront Steering Committee, then the Community Committee.

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City officials stress that no one suggestion is being considered at this time. They say it is all about gathering the information to determine the best use for the area that will benefit the community.

Two motorists were flown to hospitals in the Indianapolis area after they were injured in a crash Monday morning.

Sheriff Michael Carothers told “The Tribune” in Seymour that the driver of a pickup sustained severe head injuries in the wreck, which occurred shortly before 7 a.m. on County Road 700 East, about three-quarters of a mile east of U.S. 31.

The Sheriff told the newspaper that the impact of the crash knocked the cab of the pickup off of the frame. He added that the driver had to be cut from the vehicle.

The driver of the other vehicle reportedly sustained a severe leg injury.

The identities of the people involved in the wreck have not been made available and the crash remains under investigation.

For more on this story, visit tribtown.com.