The city of Columbus will help fund renovations of the former offices of “The Republic.” The city council on Tuesday night approved a proposal from the redevelopment commission where it will contribute $1 million towards work on the building.

The Indiana University School of Art, Architecture and Design plans to open the J. Irwin Miller Master of Architecture program in the building this fall. The school is asking for local help of $2 million toward the renovations, with half of that coming from the city and half from other community partners. Since the commission cannot spend more than $500,000 on a project without city council approval, the council had to sign off on the plan.

John Burnett, with the Community Education Coalition, explains that this program has been years in the making.

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Burnett went on to say that this is another public-private partnership that will benefit the community as a whole.

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City Council voted 6-0 to approve the funding out of the city’s downtown TIF district. Frank Miller was absent.

A Columbus man will have to repay more than $32,000 after pleading guilty to Unemployment Insurance Fraud.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development says that 44-year-old Kevin Golden pled guilty in Marion County Superior Court Criminal Division 4. Through the use of agency records, a state employee began an investigation and determined that Golden was working and receiving wages while claiming unemployment insurance benefits.

Golden was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to repay the department $32,760 for the benefits he fraudulently collected.

State officials say that you can help combat unemployment insurance fraud and abuse by reporting it online at www.in.gov/dwd/fraud. You do not need to provide your name or any other identifying information in order to file a complaint.

Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck Urban Training Center got its 38th commander and first female leader of the southern Indiana posts.

During a ceremony Saturday at Camp Atterbury, Col. Felicia Brokaw took command of the two training sites from Col. John Silva. She thanked him and Indiana National Guard Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Courtney P. Carr for the opportunity.

“I look forward to working with the command to ensure that we are ready, trained and equipped to execute any mission across the full spectrum of operations,” said Brokaw in her ceremony speech.

Brokaw will lead approximately 360 troops between Atterbury and Muscatatuck. Personnel at the Indiana training sites create and operate tailorable, contemporary, and realistic training and testing environments.

“To the civilians and service members of Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck, you are our most precious resource and our best hope for mission success,” said Brokaw.

Carr, the reviewing officer during the ceremony, noted the historic significance of the change of command.

“It is a historic day for Camp Atterbury, but in a broader sense Camp Atterbury is such a special facility. I mean this is a real gem,” said Carr. “So being able to be here today to see the passing of the flag from Col. Silva to Col. Brokaw is historic in and of itself between two great leaders.”

The two sites also host units with the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Navy, Indiana Homeland Security, Indiana National Guard Regional Training Institute and the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Columbus police officers arrested a local man for trespassing and drug possession after he was observed inside an east side Columbus store early Tuesday morning. Lt. Matt Harris, department spokesman, says that at approximately 2:20 a.m., officers were dispatched to Walmart in regards to a suspect who had been previously trespassed and was inside the store. Police found the suspect, 35-year-old Robert J. Norton, III, of Columbus and confirmed that a trespass warning was still valid. Norton was placed under arrest and while searching his clothing, officers allegedly found a crystal rock substance inside a pack of cigarettes that tested positive as methamphetamine.

Norton was booked in the Bartholomew County Jail on preliminary charges of Trespassing and Possession of Methamphetamine.

The Columbus Police Department has a new officer. Lt. Matt Harris, department spokesman, says that Jeffrey Gilliam was officially sworn in by Mayor Jim Lienhoop during Tuesday morning’s Board of Public Works and Safety meeting. The 22-year-old Gilliam is a graduate of Jennings County High School and later attended Indiana State University where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. Harris says that Gilliam is a member of the Indiana National Guard and will begin his police training at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield later this month.

Two people are under arrest after OnStar disabled the stolen vehicle they were in yesterday.

The vehicle was turned off on East Main Street in Newbern by the company, according to the Bartholomew County sheriff’s department and deputies along with Columbus police went to the area to recover the stolen vehicle. Two people were found hiding behind a garage.

Police report that 39-year-old Charles R. Barr Jr., who lives at the Newbern address, tried to run away but was caught. He is facing charges including auto theft/receiving stolen property.

The second person, 26-year-old Samantha J. Anderson of Columbus was also arrested on an outstanding warrant and a new charge of resisting law enforcement.

On Thursday, it will be 10 years since Columbus and Bartholomew County faced the community’s largest natural disaster.

According to the National Weather Service, the day before the Flood of 2008, storms dumped four to 12 inches of rain to the north of the community. That combined with heavy rain the morning of June 7th. leading to the devastating flood which damaged more than 1,500 homes, flooded the hospital causing $180 million dollars in damage, and left scars that are still visible today.

Then-Mayor Fred Armstrong said that he was  watching a movie with his family that day when the first alerts came in. He left his family at the theater and went to briefings before jumping into a helicopter. On the first pass over Columbus Regional Hospital, the facility appeared completely dry.

Armstrong said that the city emergency crews came together to deal with the disaster and received vital help from the state and federal government. However, at the first meeting with residents and officials, held at Northside Middle School, things did not get off to a good start.

Armstrong says that the city pulled through with cooperation.

The Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center did not yet have its Everbridge alert system at the time of the flood, meaning there was no way to target warnings to residents in the danger zone of the fast-moving floodwaters. Armstrong said it was a race to get people out of the danger zone, as the flood waters rose so quickly.

One of the two deaths in the flood came from a motorcycle accident and the second came from when a driver drove into flood waters.

The city will commemorate the flood anniversary Thursday with an event in the Pleasant Grove neighborhood, which was one of the most heavily hit parts of the city, destroying more than 40 homes. That will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the orchard in the former neighborhood.

Columbus city officials are expecting a big crowd at tonight’s city council meeting, as the council considers efforts to bring the pay of its employees in line with other, similarly sized communities.

The city finished a salary study that showed many city employees were underpaid compared to their equivalents in other communities. An adjustment to the salary ordinance would bring those pay rates more in line with the market average, meant as a way to improve employee retention especially among competitive jobs such as police officers.

When the salary changes were heard last month, a large crowd, made up mostly of city employees, turned out to support the measure.

The council will also be considering a measure to give $1 million to the renovation of the former Republic building, which Indiana University plans to use as the J. Irwin Miller School of Architecture starting this fall. That money would come from the redevelopment commission.

The council meets at 6 p.m. tonight and the meeting is being held in the Cal Brand meeting room at Columbus City Hall, to accommodate the expected large turnout.

Bartholomew County employees should expect a salary increase of no more than three percent in 2019, unless department heads can demonstrate a need for a larger increase.

During Monday night’s work session of the county council, the body debated preliminary figures as they provide guidance to department leaders preparing their 2019 budget requests. Council members indicated that they already know that some employees, specifically those working in public safety, will likely see larger increases. Council President Mark Gorbett mentioned that Sheriff Matt Myers will be asking for 14-percent increases for some of his staff. He says that many employees will take jobs with the county, get training and work for a short period of time before moving on to a higher-paying position elsewhere, sometimes with nearby departments. Gorbett, a former sheriff, noted that the Sheriff’s Department has been fighting the same problem for at least 20 years and added that now is the time to address it. Councilwoman Laura DeDomenic noted that the council last year had to adjust the county’s IT department salaries beyond the percentage approved for other employees in order to bring them up to closer to market value in an effort to stave-off losing staff. She noted that this is a step that leaders will need to take from time to time as highly-skilled, high-value employees enter the county’s employ.

Councilman Jorge Morales noted that the city of Columbus will be implementing new salary adjustments after a recently completed salary study and that the county would be wise to follow suit. This got the attention of Councilman Chris Ogle, who noted that while he would love to give similar raises to all employees, the county’s financial position is much different than that of the city’s.

The council will begin budget sessions in the coming months. A clearer picture of county finances, salary increases and how revenue from last year’s increase in the local income tax will need to be spent will be apparent then.

The council’s next regular session is set for Tuesday, June 12th.