The popular Pioneer Village at Hope Heritage Days will be open two days this festival, Saturday and Sunday.

The Pioneer Village is put on by the Yellow Trail Museum and features hands-on activities for the young, and the young at heart, says Barb Johnson, director of the museum:

Those activities include everything from blacksmiths to knitters, cooking over an open fire to learning to play the autoharp.

Johnson said that the events are all hands-on and are meant to help stimulate an interest in and appreciation for history.

The Pioneer Village will be going on both Saturday and Sunday on the north side of the Hope Town Square in the empty lot. The village will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The Yellow Trail Museum will be holding an open house tonight from 6 to 8 p.m.  tonight at the museum on the northwest side of the Town Square to welcome the Indiana Bicentennial Barn Quilty and a new exhibit about Hope-area veterans.

The booths on and around the Hope Town Square are open from 5 to 10 p.m. tonight, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Those booths include arts and crafts, as well as flea markets and food booths benefiting local not-for-profit groups.

You can get more information on events at hopeheritagedays.org.

Indiana legislators are announcing the disbursement of funds for the Community Crossing Grant program, which matched up to $1 million from local governments for work on roads and bridges.

Republican Sen. Greg Walker of Columbus announced this morning that his district will receive $3.9 million in this extra road funding. Of that, the largest part will go to Bartholomew County, which will receive $836,011. Other Bartholomew County communities receiving funding include:

• Columbus — $349,816
• Hope — $211,504
• Elizabethtown — $59,325
• Hartsville — $36,946

Smaller counties and towns have to put up 25 percent of the matching funds, while larger communities provide 50 percent to be matched.

Other area communities receiving funds include:

• Nashville — $181,082
• Decatur County — $730,569
• Greensburg — $701,715
• Westport — $139,860
• Seymour — $706,731
• Crothersville — $423,406
• Jennings County — $731,636
• North Vernon — $753,838
• Vernon — $72,801
• Johnson County — $337,013
• Franklin — $602,894
• Greenwood — $512,396.36
• Shelby County — $564,388

The Community Crossing Grant program was started by the General Assembly in 2016. For more information, go to www.in.gov/indot

The Mill Race Marathon weekend kicks off tonight with the Kids Fun Run at Mill Race Park.

Organizer Randy Stafford says organizers expect more than 1,000 kids to take part.

You can register for the kids run run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Commons today and from 4:45 to 5:45 tonight at the park.

Stafford says this is a way for kids to learn to enjoy healthy activities.

Public safety officials remind you that there will be road closures downtown today and all around the city tomorrow for the full marathon. They are asking for your patience and for you to be extra observant for runners in the area.

The Saturday public activities start with opening ceremonies at 7 a.m. and the marathon start at 7:30 a.m..

For more on this weekend’s events, including maps of the street closings, you can go to millracemarathon.com.

A Columbus man will spend five years behind bars for throwing chairs across a courtroom in February. One of the chairs hit a Bartholomew County prosecutor on the leg. Network Indiana is reporting that 21-year-old Jordan Rhoades, who admitted to the judge that he has used meth and heroin, has also been ordered to go through a drug treatment program.

Rhodes is facing additional charges for an incident earlier this month where he allegedly damaged a cell door at the Bartholomew County Jail and used metal rods from it to attack Jail staff. That incident was followed by other inmates flooding their cell blocks. Sheriff Matt Myers says the incidents caused thousands of dollars in damages.

Officials from Bartholomew County REMC and Jackson County REMC dedicated a new solar array Thursday in Ogilville. Jim Turner, CEO of the Bartholomew County REMC, says that the solar array is the product of work done by Hoosier Energy, the electric cooperatives’ power supplier.

Turner explains the goal of the array.

Officials say that additional solar and wind projects are needed to reach the 10-percent renewable energy mark. Turner says that one mega-watt is capable of producing enough electricity to power about 150 homes annually.

Turner says the site is visible from the Interstate, just south of Columbus.

Turner notes that the array is very efficient.

While the official ribbon-cutting ceremony was Thursday, Turner says the site has been producing electricity for the last few weeks. He added that everything is working smoothly.

The Columbus City Cemetery will be holding one of its semi-annual cleanup events on Monday, Oct. 2nd.

The cemetery is located just south of Donner Park. City officials say that you should remove any graveside items that you would like to save by Sunday, Oct. 1st. The city parks department will be removing worn and out of season decorations. The next cleanup is set for April.

If you have any questions you can call 812-376-2599.

Indiana State Police say they will be holding a sobriety checkpoint in Jennings County today at an undisclosed location.

The agency says that drivers passing through the checkpoint should be prepared to show license and registration to the troopers. They say that drivers will only be detained briefly while police determine if further investigation is necessary.

State police say that the sobriety checkpoints let them check for intoxicated and impaired drivers and get them off of the road.

If you see a vehicle driving erratically, you should call 911 and give a description of the vehicle, its location and which direction it is heading. You can do that anonymously.

Hope Heritage Days kicks off tomorrow night with booths on the town square and music on the square and at Hauser High School.

Craft and food booths are open on the Town Square from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday. The gospel show at the high school will feature Brian Free & Assurance starting at 7 p.m. at Hauser.

The Jackson Way will be performing on the Town Square bandstand from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and Sand Creek Soul will be the bandstand entertainment from 8:30 to 10 p.m. Friday night..

The festival continues Saturday with events all day and fireworks at 9:30 p.m. on the Town Square. And Sunday is the annual parade, which starts just after the 2:15 p.m.  flyover from World War II military planes.

For more information you can go to hopeheritagedays.org

The Columbus Area Arts Council is distributing grants from its role as the regional partner of the Indiana Arts Commission’s Region 9 arts district. 15 arts organizations, including several local programs are receiving grants from the group.

Among the local grant recipients are the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Dancer’s Studio Inc., Ethnic Expo, the Columbus City Band and the Columbus Scottish Festival. Our Heritage Inc. in Jennings County, and Jackson County’s Southern Indiana Center for the Arts, Jackson County Community Theater and Actors Community Theatre of Seymour are also grant recipients.

Thear arts council will hold an awards ceremony on Oct. 11 at the Columbus Area Visitors Center to recognize the organizations.

You can get more information at artsincolumbus.org

The Columbus Police Department is now accepting applications for prospective police officers. Department spokesman Matt Harris says that applicants must be at least 21 years of age and less than 36 years of age when hired. Prospective applicants must have a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent and complete all aspects of the hiring process and training program. Harris says that college graduates and military veterans are encouraged to apply.

Officials say the starting salary for a Patrol Officer is $48,458. Benefits include: assigned “take home” patrol car, 8.5 hour shift with two weekends off per month, vacation time and paid holidays, shift differential pay, college credit allowance, military incentive pay, longevity pay, clothing allowance and specialty unit pay. PERF retirement is available after 20 years of service.

Additional details can be found online at columbus.in.gov/police/about/careers/. Applications will be accepted until October 31st. The first step of the testing process, a written test, will be offered on Saturday, November 11th.

Harris says that applications can be downloaded online or picked up in the Personnel Office and the Columbus Human Rights Office inside of Columbus City Hall.