One proposed tax increase designed to help build and maintain county facilities is off the table, at least for another year. Bartholomew County has lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in reimbursements from the state because it does not have a Cumulative Capital Development Fund. Councilman Matt Miller says that this tax increase could hinder efforts to battle the area’s drug problem…

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Council member Evelyn Pence says noted that the council is made up of Republicans…

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Councilman Mark Gorbett took his fellow council members to task for not doing more to strengthen the county’s finances…

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Gorbett says the council recently spent over $30,000 on a consultant that determined that the county needed to increase revenue to better staff departments throughout county government.

Other council members said they wanted to wait to see how this year’s budget hearings play-out before they commit to a tax increase. The body will be considering an increase to the local income tax rate later this year to better fund public safety.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued an Air Quality Action Day and is forecasting high ozone levels for Wednesday in our area. This includes Bartholomew, Jackson, Brown, Johnson, Morgan and Shelby counties.

IDEM is encouraging you to take the following steps to reduce ozone:

• Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation
• Avoid using the drive-through and combine errands into one trip
• Avoid refueling your vehicle or using gasoline-powered lawn equipment until after 7 p.m.
• Turn off your engine when idling for more than 30 seconds
• Conserve energy by turning off lights or setting the air conditioner to 75 degrees or above

Health officials say that those sensitive to changes in air quality may be affected when ozone levels are high. Children, the elderly and anyone with heart or lung conditions should reduce or avoid exertion and heavy work outdoors.

A fundraising page has been set up to support a Columbus family who lost most of their belongings in a weekend fire on Lafayette Ave.

Firefighters fought the blaze Saturday afternoon that started in an upstairs scrapbooking room near an electrical outlet. Columbus firefighters say the cause of the fire is undetermined but it was accidental.

The family and three of their four children live in the home in the 1100 block of Lafayette Ave. Chris McCawley is an Indiana State Police trooper and his wife, Misty, is a nurse at Columbus Regional Hospital. The fire did $100,000 damage to the structure and an estimated $50,000 damage to its contents. That includes damage due to heavy smoke and due to the water used to extinguish the fire.

No one was at home at the time of the blaze, but a neighbor noticed the fire and called for help.  All four of the family’s dogs were rescued, along with three cats and a guinea pig. One cat is still missing.

You can help the family by donating at www.youcaring.com and searching for Misty McCawley.

Families with students in Bartholomew Consolidated Schools will have a new choice for a pathway for their children — one that includes classes taught mostly in Spanish.

The school board approved the new Two-Way Immersion program last night.

Dr. Laura Hack, Director of Elementary Education for the school district explains that young minds are more easily able to learn two languages. The program would launch next year at Clifty Creek Elementary with two pre-k classes and two kindergarten classes.

Each class would be a 50/50 split between native Spanish speakers and English-speaking students.

In the early years, 80 percent of the day would be taught in Spanish and 20 percent in English. But as students progressed through grade levels that would increase to a 50/50 ratio, Hack said.

Although the program will start at the very lowest grade levels in its first year, the plan is for it to expand with its first students, eventually offering an entire 12-year-education within the immersion program.

To get into the program, there will likely be a lottery system for applicants much like the school district does with the Columbus Signature Academy programs.

School officials said Clifty Creek was chosen because it had room for the classes. The district would work to provide transportation for families who want to participate but who live outside of the Clifty Creek Elementary zoning.

Hack said that the program would be entirely voluntary. It also will not replace the existing English as a Second Language classes.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the grant of summary judgment to Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department officials who interacted with a man who died in the county jail.

TheIndianaLawyer.com is reporting that In November 2013, Dennis Simpson reported to the Bartholomew County Jail to serve a weekend of confinement as part of his punishment for an earlier drunken driving violation. When he arrived at the jail, Simpson’s blood alcohol content was found it to be 0.23 percent. Later, when jail staff believed Simpson to be sober, the inmate was moved to a cell with bunk beds. That night, Simpson fell from the top bunk and hit his head on the concrete floor after experiencing an alcohol withdrawal seizure. He later died from his injuries.

Simpson’s son and sister filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in 2015 against the five officers who attended to Simpson and former Bartholomew County Sheriff Mark Gorbett, alleging they were deliberately indifferent to Simpson’s medical needs and that they subjected him to inhumane conditions. Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker granted summary judgment to all defendants on all claims.

The 7th Circuit then determined Simpson’s estate provided no evidence that he was still drunk when he was given a bed after 13 hours in a holding cell. Additionally, the appellate court said the estate failed to show how jail officials could have provided care or additional care for Simpson’s obesity or chronic alcoholism.

The Jennings County School Corporation is looking for substitute teachers for the upcoming school year. An orientation meeting for those interested is set for Thursday, July 27, at Jennings County Middle School from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. School corporation officials say the orientation meeting will be for both current and prospective substitutes.

Substitute teacher rates for 2017-2018 are:
Level I – $60.00 per day for high school graduates;
Level II – $65.00 per day for holding an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, or higher degree;
Level III – $70.00 per day for holding a valid Indiana Teacher’s License;
Level IV – $80.00 per day for retired teachers holding a valid Indiana Teacher’s License.

Jennings County School Corporation officials say they have modified requirements to include persons who have graduated from an accredited high school and have documented educational experiences. In addition to attendance at this meeting, prospective substitute teachers are also required to submit updated credentials and complete employment applications.

Jennings County School Corporation will be offering additional orientation meetings at the Central Office on the first Wednesday of each month at 9 a.m.

Columbus city officials are confident that the bridge taking vehicle traffic over the railroad at State Road 11 and Jonathan Moore Pike will be a reality sooner rather than later. On July 5th, Gov. Eric Holcomb visited Columbus to help celebrate a shared announcement about the bridge officially being added as an Indiana Department of Transportation project that would begin within the next five years.

John Dorenbusch, a member of the city’s redevelopment commission, serves on the Railroad Community Committee. He said Monday afternoon that the city and INDOT are currently hammering out a a first draft of an agreement to get the work underway. Dorenbusch says that the $30 million price tag will be split, 50/50. Fifty percent paid for out of state and federal dollars and the other half by the city. As for where Columbus will come up with $15 million for this project, Dorenbusch says it will come from the city, county government, CSX, the Louisville & Indiana Railroad and “local employers.” While those employers weren’t specifically named, the Redevelopment Commission, earlier in the meeting, approved a resolution amending where certain tax revenues captured through Cummins’ Tax-Increment Financing District could be allocated. This specific TIF district only affects Cummins. City officials say that more tax dollars are being generated than the company needs to repay a bond. Company officials have approached the city about putting that extra money into a fund that could be spent outside of the TIF district, with the approval of the city and Cummins.

The first draft also addresses the start date for construction of the bridge. Dorenbusch says that INDOT is floating a start date of no later than March of 2020. The city is countering with a start date of mid-2019. Dorenbusch says that he’s confident that construction will begin sometime in 2019, adding that the bridge will be built “the Columbus way.” George Dutro, also a member of the Redevelopment Commission, marveled at how quickly the project is coming together. “It’s a miracle that we went from a concept to a project in under a year,” he said.

Dorenbusch says that the next step is to hire a project manager. A working draft says that the project manager would be a part-time position being paid hourly to help facilitate the construction. Before construction can begin, much work needs to be completed, said Dorenbusch. This includes property acquisition, surveying and engineering work, among other needs.

There is still time to help the Columbus Boys and Girls Club build a makers space at Foundation For Youth.

Organizers have until the end of the week to raise the funds that would then be doubled by the Indiana Housing & Community Development program. They are hoping to turn $19,000 in local donations into $38,000 to build the space where kids can get hands-on learning about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. So far there have been more than 70 donors with donations approaching $16,000

The project is being organized by FFY and Exhibit Columbus.

If you would like to help out you can go online to patronicity.com/ffymakerstudio or contact FFY at 812-348-4558. The deadline to raise the funds is Friday, June 21st.

A Columbus police cruiser is dented. That’s after a suspect banged his head into the side of the car repeatedly during an arrest, police say.

21-year-old Derek R. Jordan of Edinburgh was driving in the 2400 block of Taylor Road at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning when he crashed into a curb and disabled his minivan, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police.

Jordan attempted to run away but two witnesses tried to restrain him until police could arrive. Harris says that Jordan then began fighting with the witnesses and an off-duty officer, and then fought with officers when they arrived — eventually leading to him leaving two large dents in the side of the patrol car.

After being taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment, he was arrested on charges of battery, driving without ever receiving a license, resisting law enforcement, leaving the scene of a crash, false informing and an outstanding Bartholomew County warrant.

Columbus police arrested an Edinburgh man on drug charges, after he was found driving his vehicle without a license plate.

The incident happened at just after 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon, when police stopped the vehicle near Eighth and Reed streets. The driver, 25-year-old Matthew R. Nelson of Edinburgh was wanted on a Jennings County felony warrant for possession of methamphetamine. While searching Nelson, officers found a needle and methamphetamine, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus police.

In addition to the warrant, Nelson is facing new preliminary charges of possession of methamphetamine and of a legend drug injection device.