The library at Ivy Tech Community College Columbus will be hosting the last of its three-part series on Columbus’ Past, Present and Future next week.

The Columbus Future discussion will feature panelists including: Mary Ferdon, the city’s executive director of administration and community development; Cindy Frey, president of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce; Richard McCoy, the director of Landmark Columbus; Andy Pajakowsi, director of business development and electrification at Cummins and David Harrell, Assistant Professor of Crop Production at Ivy Tech

Bethany Messersmith, the Ivy Tech library director, talks about the panel’s appeal:

But in addition to the panel, futuristic desserts including rolled ice cream will be available from Oh Sweetie Specialty Treats.

The ice pops are sold as Flip Flop Popsicles in the community.

The event will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 29th in the Lecture Hall at the Columbus Learning Center on Central Avenue. It is free and you are invited to attend.

A Columbus man is accused of threatening people with a machete outside a local gas station last night.

32 year old Marc A. Anderson is facing preliminary charges of intimidation with a deadly weapon.

Police say that Anderson was arguing with customers and waving the machete in the air near the gas pumps at the Village Pantry convenience store on North Washington Street at about 7:10 p.m. last night. He then threatened the witness with the machete before taking off.

Police found his vehicle and stopped it on Washington Street. He was arrested without any further incident, says Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus police.

The covered bridge in Mill Race Park is set to get a new roof after action taken during Tuesday night’s meeting of the Bartholomew County Council. County Highway Engineer Danny Hollander requested an additional appropriation of $30,350 to help cover the cost of the project, which he anticipates will cost around $45,000 in total. The rest, he says, will come out of the county’s cumulative bridge fund.

Hollander says this project has been needed for three or four years, but tight finances have pushed the project down on the list of priorities. He says that each county with a covered bridge gets $1,300 per year from the state to help maintain them. Hollander says that money stays in one fund until spent, adding that Tuesday night’s action will bring that balance to zero. Hollander added that the recent increase in the gas tax has brought money into the county that was not appropriated, making this project easier to fund.

County Council Jorge Morales questioned if this is a good use of county taxpayer funds. He argued that since the bridge is in a city park, and is “not used for a bridge,” the money could be better spent elsewhere. Hollander corrected Morales, noting that since the bridge is on a public road and is used for vehicle traffic, the county is obligated to maintain it. Council member Laura DeDomenic says that construction in the area has made the route more popular with motorists in recent weeks.

There has been no word as to when work on the covered bridge will commence.

Schneck Medical Center’s Chief Medical Officer has been named one of the nation’s best.

Stephanie Furlow, spokeswoman for the hospital, says that Dr. Eric Fish, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer has been named as one of the nation’s “100 CMOs to Know” for 2018 by Becker’s Hospital Review. Furlow says that Dr. Fish is one of only three CMOs from Indiana named on the list.

The list features national physician leaders who are “dedicated to strengthening their organizations through physician leadership development, patient safety initiatives and quality improvement.” Furlow says that Dr. Fish joined the Schneck Medical Staff in 2005 and founded Schneck Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2006.

The Town of Nashville and Nashville Utilities have issued a Boil Order for a number of customers after a water leak at 30 Hawthorne Drive. Affected area are:

51 State Road 46 East to 551 State Road 46 East;
30 Hawthorne Drive to 111 Hawthorne Drive;
51 West Chestnut;
75 West Chestnut;
50 Willow Street to 107 Willow Street;
51 East Chestnut
52 East Chestnut

Residents and businesses in these areas should boil all cooking and drinking water through 4 p.m. Thursday.

The Muscatatuck Urban Training Center will now be a center for cybersecurity. The Indiana National Guard is annoucing that the first class will start in August for the new Muscatatuck Cyber Academy.

The program is a cooperation between the National Center for Complex Operations and Ivy Tech Community College-Columbus. Through an accelerated 11 month program, military and civilian students can earn a Cyber Security/Information Assurance associate of applied science degree.

The first class will be limited to the the first 40 students who register.

You can get more information at www.in.gov/igr/cyber-academy.htm

Indiana Department of Transportation personnel met with Greenwood officials, consulting engineers and contractor representatives last week at Seymour District offices to discuss plans roundabout construction at the intersection of Smith Valley Road and Madison Avenue, located east of U.S. Highway 31.

INDOT says that Greenwood is paying 20 percent of the project’s $2,882,875 total cost. The Federal Highway Administration funds the remaining 80 percent. Dave O’Mara is the prime contractor.

Utility work is set to begin early next month. INDOT says that actual roundabout construction is tentatively scheduled to begin June 1st. A 90-day closure is anticipated at the worksite during Phase I. A closure of up to 30 days will occur during Phase II at Meridian Street.

As part of the project, a “jug handle” loop will be built linking eastbound Smith Valley Road with northbound U.S. 31. Crossroad Engineers of Beech Grove is scheduled to provide day-to-day onsite supervision.

A North Vernon man was arrested Sunday afternoon on theft and drug charges. North Vernon Police say they were called St Vincent De Paul on O&M Avenue at 2:49 p.m. after 34-year-old Jason Perry was seen sorting through items in the donation area. After an investigation, Perry was arrested on preliminary charges of Attempted Theft and Possession of Methamphetamine.

Police say that Perry was booked in the Jennings County Jail on $1,055 cash bond.

Ivy Tech Community College Columbus is honoring two of its faculty members. School officials say the pair are responsible for “outstanding classroom instruction that has helped students succeed in their education.”

Dr. Rich Lamborn, associate professor of psychology and assistant chair for social and behavioral sciences, has received the President’s Award for Excellence in Instruction for Ivy Tech Columbus. Andrew Strawn, an adjunct mathematics instructor, has received the Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence in Instruction for Ivy Tech Columbus.

Ivy Tech says the awards are annual recognition of full and part-time faculty members who “typify excellence in instruction and in representing the mission of Ivy Tech.” The awards also nominate Dr. Lamborn for the Ivy Tech Founder’s Award, the highest honor the College can bestow upon full-time faculty members, and Strawn for the Gerald I. Lamkin Award, the highest honor for an adjunct faculty member.

A Columbus man was arrested after an incident with a loaded gun early Monday morning. Judy Jackson, spokeswoman for the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, says that deputies were called to a home in the 3500 block of North County Road 250 West at approximately 1:41 a.m. on a report of a domestic violence with a deadly weapon.

Authorities say the caller, who had left the home, told police that 37-year-old Brian Titara was pointing a shotgun at people inside the house. Investigators say that Titara had become irate before breaking several items, removing a shotgun from his gun cabinet, and pointing it at those inside his home.

Titara was arrested on preliminary charges of Domestic Violence in the Presence of a Minor, Pointing a Loaded Firearm and Intimidation with a Deadly Weapon. He is being held on $30,000 bond.