Eastern Bartholomew Water Corp. has issued a boil water advisory for some customers along U.S. 31 between County Roads 300E and 100S.

The advisory area includes the Hilltop, Goldie Ann, Spring Valley and Woodlawn mobile home parks. Customers should bring water to a full boil for a minute before drinking it or using it in food preparation.

The advisory is in effect until noon on Sunday.

A Columbus man was arrested Thursday morning after allegedly making threats with a gun at a local business. At about 5:50 a.m., Columbus police were called to PMG, at 1751 Arcadia Drive, in regards to a man with an orange bandanna covering his face who was causing a disturbance and making threats with the weapon. Officers arrived moments later and found 40-year-old Keith P. Wilder outside of the facility. When officers conducted a search of the area, they reportedly found a gun wrapped in an orange bandanna. Wilder is not an employee of the business.

Wilder was arrested on preliminary charges of Intimidation with a Deadly Weapon and Carrying a Handgun without a Permit. He remains behind bars on a 48-hour hold as the investigation continues.

Local health experts are warning that e-cigarettes are not the harmless substitute for smoking that we may have been led to believe.

Kylee Jones, tobacco awareness coordinator, with Healthy Communities at Columbus Regional Health explains:

She said that the long-term health effects are not yet known, but the chemicals in the e-cigarettes cause several conditions.

For example, there are chemicals that leave residues behind in user’s lungs along with tiny medical particles.

She said that one of the more popular brands has as much nicotine in one pod as an entire pack of tobacco cigarettes. She said that the various flavors, along with the nicotine kick can be very attractive for teens. Even though they are not supposed to be able to purchase the products.

Because some models are about the size of a USB thumb drive, users can easily conceal them and use them in school. She said some students are even using them in classrooms, under the watchful eyes of teachers.

She said that e-cigarette use is up 78 percent among teens in recent surveys and have passed all other tobacco/nicotine related products in popularity among teens.

Although they are sometimes marketed as a healthy alternative to regular smoking, Jones said that they are not FDA approved as a smoking substitute.

Local educators are looking for your nominations for this year’s Edna V. Folger Outstanding Teacher Award.

Any full-time elementary or secondary school teacher or educator working in a public, private, or parochial school in Bartholomew County is eligible to receive the award. Nominations should include biographical information, reasons for nomination, letters of recommendation, and support materials. Anyone can nominate an educator to receive this award.

This annual award was created to raise awareness about the influence educators have on their students and to recognize the image of educators as important community role models. The award is presented at the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting.

The nomination deadline is 4 on the afternoon of Friday, January 18th.

You can pick up nomination materials at the IUPUC Center for Teaching and Learning, the Bartholomew Consolidated Schools Administrative Offices, and in the main office of schools throughout Bartholomew County. Nomination forms may also be downloaded at www.iupuc.edu/ctl.

Columbus City Garage crews are picking up residential Christmas trees.

You can leave your tree curbside and it will be picked up on the same day as your regular trash collections. Trees must not be in bags and should be free of hooks, stands, wires,  nails and other materials that would make it difficult to mulch the trees.

Collections will not be made on private streets, in alleys and no call-ins are being accepted. Christmas tree pickup will run through January 25th.

The 2018 overdose death tally for Bartholomew County is in and figures are much improved over 2017. County Coroner Clayton Nolting says that in the past week, there has been one new overdose death, while a second death was confirmed.

Nolting notes that there have been 16 confirmed overdose deaths in Bartholomew County in 2018. That’s down from 30 in 2017. He adds that Fentanyl was a factor in two deaths in 2018, a considerable decrease from the previous year. Nolting credits programs like ASAP and other outreach efforts for the drop in deaths.

The Columbus Fire Department is accepting applications for full-time firefighter. Department officials say that applicants must have an Indiana Emergency Medical Technician Certification by the application deadline date. Previously, CFD did not require applicants to hold an emergency medical technician certification at their time of hire, but did require that the certification be obtained during the firefighters first year of service with the department.

Fire Chief Mike Compton said that this new applicant requirement will be a benefit to the community and wells as the fire department. He adds that the department is also considering including additional minimum requirements for future hiring processes. Compton says additional requirements may be required for future hires, adding that the city wants the best firefighters possible.

Applications are available to download at columbus.in.gov/fire/. There is a $5 fee for applications obtained for the Columbus Fire Department administrative office, located at 1101 Jackson Street. Completed applications may be mailed or delivered to the administrative office before 4 p.m. on March 31st.