The victim of a boating accident on the Flat Rock River in Shelby County has been identified as a Columbus resident.

35-year-old Raymond Sanchez was boating on the river yesterday near Geneva and planned to float downstream to Noblitt Park in Columbus, his girlfriend told Indiana conservation officers. He was unfamiliar with the river and not aware that there were low-head dams in the river, officers said.

Authorities say that at about 1 p.m. yesterday, witnesses saw a man in a Bass tracker Bantam boat go over the low head dam on the Flat Rock River in the Vandalia/Geneva area. The man was pulled from the water by Shelby County Swift Water Rescue Team.

Sanchez remains in critical condition at IU Methodist Hospital according to conservation officers.

Allison Griffith, a Columbus native and senior at Ball State University, is helping the college commemorate its past with the Centennial Documentary project.

Griffith is working with a team of 41 students led by Christopher Flook, telecommunications lecturer and faculty adviser for the project.

The Centennial Documentary, an immersive learning project, has been in production since the summer. The documentary is being filmed and will include interviews with historians, past presidents and notable alumni.

The team of students expects to release three products from the project: a full-length documentary, a shorter version of the documentary and promotional pieces designed to celebrate the university’s centennial.

Parents of young children in the Hope area will have a chance next week to learn about the options for pre-kindergarten care in the community. Hope Elementary School will be holding a pre-school fair from 5 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 28th in the school gymnasium.

Seven preschools will be at the event with educators explaining the benefits of preschool for children and the preschool operators talking about what their programs offer. There will be a bounce house and crafts for the children along with refreshments.

If you have questions, you can call 812-374-9925.

The school is at 9575 N. State Road 9.

If you want to work up an appetite Thanksgiving morning, Columbus Parks and Recreation will again be offering its Turkey Trot.

The 4k run/walk is a fundraiser for the parks foundation. Money from donations will e used by the Parks Foundation for the Chuck Wilt Youth Scholarship fund, says Kathy McPeek with the Columbus parks department.

Those scholarships cover program fees such as gymnastics, swimming, ice-skating or other activities.

The 5k Run/walk starts at 9 a.m. at Hamilton Ice Arena in Lincoln Park.

Columbus Baptist Church is offering a free Thanksgiving Day meal to the community on Thursday.

Pastor Chuck Kennedy says that meals will be offered at the church, located at 4821 N. U.S. 31 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

If you can’t attend, but would still like a meal, you can have meals delivered to your home. The deadline to request a meal delivery is tomorrow. You can call 812-371-1400, 812-344-1794 or 812-314-9767.

Indiana Conservation Officers need help identifying a man that went over a low head dam in Shelby County Monday afternoon. Authorities say that at approximately 1 p.m., witnesses saw a man in a Bass tracker Bantam boat go over the low head dam on the Flatrock River in the Vandalia/Geneva area. The man was pulled from the water by Shelby County Swift Water Rescue Team. He is currently in critical condition at Methodist Hospital.

The man is being described as a white male in his thirties and dressed in an orange jacket. If you know who this man may be, you are asked to call Indiana Conservation Officer Dispatch at (812) 837-9536.

The Columbus City Council is scheduled to take the first step Tuesday night to pay $10 million to the Indiana Department of Transportation for the railroad overpass project. Jamie Brinegar, the city’s director of finance, says that construction is slated to begin in 2019, much sooner than a typical project of this size.

Brinegar adds that preliminary work has already begun.

The overpass project is estimated to cost $30 million with the city picking up half of the tab, with help from Bartholomew County, Cummins and the railroad. If approved, the second reading of this ordinance is scheduled for early December.

Tuesday night’s meeting is at 6 p.m. inside council chambers at city hall. You are invited.

The city of Columbus is running about a day and a half behind on its loose leaf pickup schedule.

The city’s Department of Public Works reports that so many leaves falling all at once, as well as the Veterans Day holiday, led to the delay in the schedule. They ask that you rake your loose leaves to the curb, but not into the street so as not to block storm drains.

And they thank residents for their patience as they work through the backlog of leaves.

It will be easier to travel on State Road 58, starting this week. The Indiana Department of Transportation is reporting that the new bridge at Bee Creek is scheduled to open on Wednesday.

The bridge in western Jackson County is between Kurtz and Norman Stration and was rebuilt as part of a $954,355 two-bridge project.

Another bridge on State Road 58, this one at Buck Creek in northeastern Jackson County, opened on Friday.  That bridge was part of a separate $1.1. million project.