An Edinburgh company is planning a $2. 9 million dollar expansion.

Georg Utz Inc. will be asking the Bartholomew County Council tonight for a tax abatement on their planned expansion. Jason Hester with the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation laid out the proposal to buy new equipment during a council work session last week.

Hester said the company will be filling seven jobs before the end of the year to meet the terms of a previous abatement and plans to add seven more for the current abatement. The company has 63 workers already, he said.

Hester explains the way a tax abatement works:

The County Council meets at 6 p.m. tonight in the Council Chambers at the Governmental Office Building on Third Street in Columbus.

Camp Atterbury is planning to open its gates to the public for the annual Community Day on the base early next month.

The event will include displays of military vehicles, helicopters, performances by the Southern Indiana Pipes and Drums and the 38th Infantry Division Band. And there will be live fire demonstrations including howitzers, grenade launchers and machine guns. Weather permitting, the 122nd Fighter Wing will provide demonstrations of the firepower of their A-10 aircraft and there will be a helicopter extraction demonstration.

There will also be food vendors and information booths.

Community Day at Camp Atterbury will be Sept. 8th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting at Building 722. The static display area opens at 10 a.m. Live fire demonstration begins at 2 p.m.

Camp Atterbury on Facebook

Columbus City Council will be discussing next year’s budget this week.

Jamie Brinegar, the city’s finance director, said that the biggest change year over year will be made to accommodate the changes recommended by a recently completed salary study. For example, the 2019 budget is seeking almost $274,000 more for city police officers than the 2018 budget. Firefighter salaries would increase about $285,000 over this year’s level.

The council will hold two special meetings this week for budget negotiations. The first will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and the second will be Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. Both are scheduled to be held in the council chambers at Columbus City Hall.

Bartholomew County say a vehicle’s passenger gave them a fake name when the driver, who didn’t have a license, was pulled over for a traffic stop Friday.

The traffic stop happened Friday in the 6000 block of Jonesville Road. 25-year-old Edwin H. Berrera was the driver of the car and told county deputies that he did not have a license. His passenger gave a name to police that turned out to be fake. Police discovered that he was really 23-year-old Edward Velarde of Seymour.

A sheriff’s department police dog alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle and deputies allegedly discovered marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Both men are facing preliminary charges of possession of marijuana. Berrera is also being charged with driving without ever receiving a license, and Verlade is being accused of false informing.

Columbus native Greg Pence made his case to local Republican supporters Saturday for election to the Sixth Congressional District — protecting the work of President Donald Trump.

Pence, took the stage in a barn at Hackman Farm Market Saturday along with Mike Braun, a businessman hoping to unseat Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly. They both stressed the importance of Republicans getting out to vote this fall and donating to candidates they support.

Pence expressed frustration with the insurance provided through Obamacare.

He said that Democrats would work to weaken U.S. security.

Pence also touted the Republican president’s work on the economy.

And Pence said that the country is once again on the right path.

Pence is running against Democrat Jeanine Lake for the seat in Congress that was formerly held by his younger brother, Vice President Mike Pence.

A Northbrook Drive home was seriously damaged in a Sunday afternoon fire sparked in a bedroom.

Smoke alarms alerted the 83-year-old homeowner, who had been napping, and she found heavy flames coming from the bedroom of her adult grandson. She fled and the grandson returned home to fight the fire with a garden hose, slightly burning his arm, says Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the Columbus Fire Department.

Firefighters arrived at about 3:30 and battled the fire. After extinguishing the flames they found that the bedroom was extensively damaged, and the fire burned through the floor. It also extended into the attic and smoke and fire damage was found throughout the home. Wilson estimated that the damages were $84,000.

The grandson said he had been in the bedroom about three hours before the fire started. Firefighters looked through the debris for several hours but the cause of the fire remains undetermined, Wilson said.

A tip from an East State Street business led to the arrest of four people on drug-related charges Friday afternoon in Columbus.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that three people entered the business and acted suspiciously including taking photos of the business at about a quarter til 3 Friday afternoon. They then drove off down State Street.

A deputy pulled over the vehicle a short time later at U.S. 31 and State Road 46. A police dog alerted to the odor of narcotics inside the vehicle and a search revealed a detergent bottle containing pills and a crystalline substance according to police reports. Baggies, scales and other drug paraphernalia were also found.

The driver, 40-year-old Ryan L. Chandler of Edinburgh was arrested
along with passengers, 33-year-old Leslie Houchin of Columbus, 36 year old Amy McPherson of Indianapolis and 47-year-old William Carey of Greenwood.

Preliminary charges include:

• Chandler – Maintaining a common nuisance and possession of paraphernalia
• Houchin – Visiting a common nuisance
• McPherson – Visiting a common nuisance and possession of paraphernalia
• Carey – Possession of a controlled substance, possession of methamphetamine and visiting a common nuisance.

Columbus firefighters battled a blaze in the detached garage of a vacant home early Sunday morning.

Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the fire department, says that firefighters were called to the home in the 900 block of California Street at just before 12:25 a.m. Sunday morning and found the garage fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters quickly knocked out the flames using hand lines.

The garage was a complete loss and the heat of the fire damaged neighboring garages and the vinyl siding on nearby homes, Wilson said.

Damages are estimated at $15,000 and there were no injuries.

Schneck Medical Center is looking for volunteers. Stephanie Furlow, the hospital’s director of marketing and public relations, says that due to the growth at Schneck, the medical center needs more people willing to donate their time. Volunteers are asked to work one four-hour shift per week, but can work more if they would like.

Furlow says that Volunteers serve in various areas of the hospital including the gift shop, admitting and information desks, and various hospital departments. They also transport patients, deliver patient and interdepartmental mail and patient flowers.

For more information on the volunteer opportunities at Schneck, call Amy Cockerham, Volunteer Coordinator, at (812) 522-0439.

A Wednesday night traffic stop led to the arrests of two people. Judy Jackson, spokeswoman for the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, says that at about 10:37 p.m., Sgt. Kris Weisner initiated a traffic stop on southbound US 31 at Lowell Road.

While speaking with the driver, 26-year-old Caren Lea-Ann Piper, of Seymour, authorities reported seeing drug-related paraphernalia inside the vehicle. K9 Bolt was deployed and alerted to narcotics inside the vehicle. A search allegedly uncovered methamphetamine, marijuana and nine meth pipes.

Piper was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Paraphernalia and Operating a Vehicle while Never Obtaining a Driver’s License.

A passenger, 21-year-old Christian Najera, of Columbus, was arrested on a preliminary charge of Possession of Paraphernalia.