Today is the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack and Gov. Eric Holcomb is ordering all government flags to half-staff from sunrise to sunset. He is also asking that businesses and residents lower their flags for the day.

Columbus Parks and Recreation will be unveiling its five-year master plan tonight.

Mark Jones, parks director, explains that the planning process has been going on for more than a year with many public workshops and surveys.

Jones says the master plan is important to show that the city is hearing what residents want from their parks.

Jones said that the master plan provides a road map for the parks department going forward and sets the community’s priorities as the department’s goals.

Tonight’s public session will be held at Donner Center beginning at 6 p.m. and you are invited. It is expected to last about an hour.

Rep. Luke Messer, a Republican representing Indiana’s sixth congressional district, voted Wednesday in favor of legislation he co-sponsored that he says protects the rights of law-abiding gun owners across state lines. Messer says that his bill is rooted firmly in the Second Amendment.

Messer spoke on the House floor in favor of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act before it passed the House of Representatives. Under the act, if a law-abiding person has a concealed carry permit in one state, they may carry their gun in any other state that allows their own residents to do so. The bill ultimately passed in the House by a vote of 231 to 98. There’s no word as to when the bill may come up for a vote in the Senate.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that its office, along with the Columbus Police Department, says that its officers issued 59 citations and made 21 arrests over a 24-day enforcement period. Sheriff Matt Myers says this was an effort to make area roads safer for families traveling over the holiday season. Federal highway safety funds administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute supported overtime patrols for more than 230 law-enforcement agencies across the state.

“Why do we enforce traffic laws? There is only one reason – to save lives,” said Sheriff Myers and Columbus Police Chief Jon Rohde. “Anyone who responds to a severe crash, or notifies next of kin, simply wants you and your family to buckle up and drive sober this holiday season.”

In every state, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. In Indiana, drivers under 21 with a BAC of .02 or higher are subject to fines and a license suspension for up to one year.

For more information about impaired driving visit http://on.IN.gov/drivesober and for more information about seat belts visit http://on.IN.gov/buckleup.

An India-based engineering and design firm has agreed to establish its North American headquarters in Columbus. Abby Gras, with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, says that Gov. Eric Holcomb and Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop met with Sudhakar Gande, vice chairman of AXISCADES and other key executives Wednesday as the company announced its plans.

“As a global company, AXISCADES had a world of options to expand. Choosing Indiana sends a clear message that the Hoosier state offers the pro-growth business climate and the tools companies need to thrive,” Gov. Holcomb said. “We’re pleased to extend a warm Hoosier welcome to another India-based company. With its growth here, AXISCADES is joining a network of more than 800 foreign-owned business establishments that provide good jobs across the state, and we look forward to watching the company’s story unfold here in Indiana.”

AXISCADES announced plans to locate in Indiana last month and will invest up to $10 million over the next five years to launch operations here. In Columbus, the company will initially lease space at 810 Brown Street to serve as its North American headquarters and house its management functions. Additionally, the IEDC says that the company plans to establish satellite offices in Indiana for customer-focused engineering teams.

“We are privileged to partner with Indiana and the city of Columbus to set up our North American headquarters. The state offers us a central location for our business and a strong pro-business environment under the leadership of Governor Holcomb,” said Gande. “The advanced manufacturing and high technology environment in Indiana also provides a key element in our selection. We are excited to leverage the availability of skilled engineering talent In Indiana as well as the state’s strong education system to meet the growing skill demands of the future.”

The IEDS says that AXISCADES anticipates creating up to 100 new jobs within the first year of establishing operations and up to 500 total, high-wage jobs by the end of 2023. In addition to its Columbus headquarters and satellite offices, the company, which is a provider of product engineering solutions to aerospace, defense, heavy engineering, automotive, energy, medical and health care companies, also plans to locate engineering associates at its clients’ facilities in order to better serve the needs of its customers.

Pending approval from the IEDC board of directors, AXISCADES was offered up to $4.3 million in conditional tax credits and up to $500,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. These incentives are performance-based, meaning that until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. The IEDC will also consider additional incentives up to one-million dollars through the state’s Industrial Development Grant Fund to support infrastructure needs.

The City of Columbus, at the request of Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation, has offered up to $50,000 of performance-based incentive support from its Economic Development Income Tax fund, to be used for relocation and start-up expenses.

“Columbus, Indiana, is known for being a community that welcomes foreign direct investment along with the best and brightest engineering talent in the world,” said Mayor Lienhoop. “We are exceptionally pleased to welcome India-based AXISCADES and their team members to Columbus, and we look forward to supporting their success.”

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says there can find no malice in the death of a dog whose owners live in Bartholomew County.

The two-year-old Riley, a German shepherd, died in November after being rescued from the local home and taken in by a shelter in Quincy, Ind..

The dog was severely underweight and suffering from infections by parasites. He soon died and the rescue organization owner filed a criminal complaint.

Sheriff Matt Myers says today that detectives investigated the allegation and could find no probable cause to make a criminal case or arrest regarding the dog’s death.

The number of overdose deaths in Bartholomew County have more than doubled over the past year and quadrupled from 2015.

The Bartholomew County Coroner’s office says that there have already been 26 overdose deaths in 2017. Deputy Coroner Jay Frederick said that all of last year had 12 overdose deaths, while there were only six in 2015.

The numbers were presented during a County Council work session earlier this week. Coroner Clayton Nolting will be asking the County Council for a $14,016 dollar boost to his budget for the year at Tuesday’s council meeting.

He told the council that only a small portion of the needed increase comes from the increasing number of drug overdoses. Much of the increase come from an increasing number of cases where doctors call in the coroner, rather than signing a death certificate themselves.

Frederick said that in the “courtesy cases,” where the doctor signs the death certificate, there is no expense to the coroner’s office. There have been 40 of those cases so far this year.

The larger problem, Nolting said, is that this year’s budget, which he inherited from his predecessor, only budgeted for 115 coroner investigations this year. However, there were 145 total cases last year. As of Monday, the coroner’s office had already handled 132 deaths this year, Nolting said.

County Council will hear Nolting’s request when it meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers at the Governmental Office Building at 440 Third Street.

An Ohio teen runaway hitched a ride on the outside of a semi yesterday.

Indiana State Police were called to the weigh station near Seymour at about 9 a.m. yesterday morning after a motor carrier inspector noticed the 17-year-old boy huddled on the catwalk between the cab and trailer of the truck. Although the teen tried to hide from police he was caught and taken to the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Center in Brownstown.

State Police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Wheeles says that the boy was reported as a runaway from Shelby, Ohio. State police believe he climbed aboard the truck overnight in Kentucky. The truck driver was unaware of his unwanted passenger, police say.

Customers of Columbus City Utilities won’t see a rate-increase in 2018, but they should expect one in the coming years. That, from Utilities Director Keith Reeves.

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Reeves explains that the utility is facing falling revenue and increasing infrastructure costs.

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Reeves says that there is a need for increased capital expenditures in the coming year for the water plants, as well as the wastewater treatment facility.

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Reeves says that work will begin next year. In addition, he explains that the budget calls for two additional employees to help accelerate the removal and replacement of lead service lines…

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Reeves stresses that the lead service lines don’t pose a hazard to customers, but says that in addition to the age of those lines, a big reason for replacing them is the anticipation of federal rules dictating that they be removed.

The total budgets for both water and wastewater is $14,388,124. That is a 1.5 percent increase over the 2017 plan. The city council unanimously approved them during its meeting Tuesday night.

Bartholomew County deputies arrested a man who fled the county courthouse after being sentenced to jail time yesterday.

The sheriff’s department reports that 28-year-old Benjamin Yaryan ran away after being sentenced to six months in the jail for a probation violation. That was at about 3:45 p.m. yesterday afternoon.

He made it into the downtown area before being arrested near the library, according to police reports. Off-duty Deputy Jon Lanning was at the library and went outside to see Yaryan running from officers on Franklin Street. He detained the man until other police arrived.

Yaryan is now facing new charges of fleeing from law enforcement.