The JCB Neighborfest concert series in downtown Columbus will kick off its season with the Woomblies Rock Orchestra from Indianapolis.

The show will be Thursday, June 7th from 6 to 8 in the evening on Washington Street outside The Commons. The free community concerts are held on the first Thursday of the month, June through September and are organized by the Columbus Area Arts Council.

For more information on the Neighborfest concerts, or any Arts Council event, you can go to artsincolumbus.org.

The Bartholomew County Public Library and the Bartholomew County Literacy Task Force will be having their annual literacy festival starting at noon Saturday at Central Middle School.

Karen Garrity with the literacy task force explains that the free annual event will include entertainment and reading-related activities.

Those activities will include literacy booths, face painting and children’s authors.

There will also be door prizes, she says.

Garrity explains the work of the literacy task force.

The literacy festival is from noon to 3 p.m.. The sponsor is NTN Driveshaft.

You can get more information at bartholomewreads.org

Emergency officials in Bartholomew County say that they will be buying a new 911  system next year.

Earlier this week, the County Council approved a $6,000 contract with a consultant to advise the county on the best choices and to come up with numbers before the city and county prepare next year’s budgets.

Todd Noblitt, the 911 center director, said that the cost of a new system would be split 55-45 between the city of Columbus and the county under the interlocal agreement covering the operation of the center. He said that the consultant would be coming up with a worst-case budget number by July so that the county and city could work the numbers into their 2019 budget calculations this summer.

However, Noblitt said that there are some new developments expected to be available by the end of the year that could mean substantial savings for the county when it comes time to actually bid out and purchase the system.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department is involved in a death investigation in the Trafalgar area.

Sheriff Doug Cox says that deputies were called to a report of a elderly man’s body found in the grass, by the road near County Roads 500W and 700S at about 5:45 a.m. this morning. He says that initial indications are that this was a natural death as there were no signs of violence or an accident. However an autopsy will be performed on the victim, he said.

The Purdue Cooperative Extension Office in Bartholomew County will be offering a session next month for those who want to learn about local government budgeting in Indiana.

The free online seminar will be from 11 to 1 on June 7th at the Bartholomew County Public Library.

The discussion will focus on the recent changes to local income taxes in Indiana including last year’s legislation that allows counties to institute an income tax aimed at improving local jails.

The deadline to register is Friday, June 1st. If you have questions, you can call 812-379-1665. You can register online here.

Bartholomew County officials say they hope to be reopening County Road 800S in as few as two weeks.

The road has been closed since last month’s flooding undercut a bridge. The county highway department reports that concrete was poured for the bridge on Wednesday and that will take about a week to cure. Crews will still have to install the bridge approaches and guard rails.

The work depends on the weather and could still face delays.

A Decatur County school was the only area school to receive the Family Friendly designation from the Indiana Department of Education.

Greensburg Elementary School in the Greensburg Community Schools district received the second year designation, according to an announcement from the state.

The program, started in 2015, recognizes and honors schools that welcome all families into the school community, communicate effectively, support student success, speak up for every child, share power, and collaborate with the community.

For more information on the Family Friendly Schools, designation, you can go to doe.in.gov

A woman who tried to walk out on her restaurant check, was arrested by police after she allegedly gave officers a fake name.

According to police reports, 34-year-old Erica D. Burton, was arrested on preliminary charges of false informing and making a false identity statement.

Police were called about a woman acting suspiciously at a restaurant in the 300 block of Washington Street at about 5:50 p.m. Wednesday evening. After she falsely identified herself, police identified her as Burton and found she had an outstanding warrant, according to police reports.

A ceremony honoring fallen officers will be held Friday, May 18th in Columbus. The city’s police department says that the ceremony will be held in the Public Safety Plaza, located at 200 Brown Street, beginning at 9 a.m. It is meant to honor officers killed in the line of duty from across the nation as part of National Law Enforcement Week.

During the ceremony, local law enforcement officers will read a list of names of officers killed in the line of duty during 2017.

You are encouraged to attend.

Winners have been announced in Tuesday’s primary elections in Jennings County. In the Republican Primary for Sheriff, Wm. Kenny Freeman got 64 percent of the vote, defeating Joe Massie, who won 36 percent. Freeman will face Democrat incumbent Gary Driver in November.

In the Republican primary for County Commissioner District 3, Matt Sporleder defeated Jeff Burton, 60 percent to 40 percent. He will face Democrat Nick Megel in November. Megel was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

On the Democrat side, Sandra Vance got 56 percent of the vote, defeating incumbent Janice Ramey’s 44 percent in the race for County Recorder. Vance will face Republican Mary Kilgore in the general election for recorder.