Bartholomew County Emergency Management is giving away 20 weather radios this week as part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week.

The agency is urging you to have several ways to receive warnings of approaching severe weather, including radio, the county’s Everbridge telephone, text message and e-mail alert system and having a weather radio in your home.

To enter to win the weather radios you need to go to the Bartholomew County Emergency Management page on Facebook and both like and share the weather radio story that is on the page. Winners will be chosen randomly on Friday.

Correction: The accident happened Tuesday night. An earlier version of this story was incorrect on the time.

A 20-year-old Greenwood woman died in a crash with a train yesterday evening near Whiteland.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that they were called to the scene at Tracy Road and Emerson Avenue at 10:43 p.m. yesterday morning and found the car about 1,500 feet north of Tracy Road.

The driver, 20 year old Shauna B. Synesael was pronounced dead at the scene. Deputies say that the CSX train was pulling 83 cars with two locomotives and it appears that Synesael pulled in front of the train at the intersection.

A developer seeking the annexation of over 45 acres at 6970 West State Road 46 received initial approval during Tuesday night’s Columbus City Council meeting.

R.L. Rynard Development Corporation wants to build a retirement, nursing and assisted living facilities on 29 of those acres which would be rezoned from “Agriculture: Preferred” to “Residential: Multi-Family with Commitments.” The developer is proposing 56 independent-living spaces in 28 units, a 50-unit assisted-living facility and a 45 room skilled-nursing facility.

A few neighbors expressed concerns with proposed project, including increased traffic and drainage.

Council voted unanimously, 6-0, to approve both the annexation and rezoning. Both measures are set for a second reading on April 2nd.

A Seymour High School student took home the top honor at the 11th annual Jobs for America’s Graduates Career Development Conference in Indianapolis on March 15th.

Carina Muñoz won the Outstanding Senior Award at the event, which is the culmination of months of regional competitions focusing on several disciplines critical to future employment.

The top students in each category from the regional competitions advanced to state competition in Indianapolis for a chance to earn monetary awards by showcasing the employability skills they learned through the program.

JAG is a state-based, national not-for-profit organization that assists high school students by helping them overcome academic challenges and achieve graduation. JAG Indiana is administered by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Muñoz competed against 11 other seniors from throughout the state to win the Outstanding Senior Award. She is a member of the National Honor Society and plans to attend Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus. Her career goal is to be an elementary teacher.

Eastern Bartholomew Water Corporation has issued a Boil Advisory for customers in Waynesville. The utility stresses that customers outside of Waynesville are not affected. Any water that is to be consumed should be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute before consuming.

This boil advisory is in effect until noon on Friday, March 22nd.

Indianapolis Police have called for a statewide Silver Alert for a missing girl.

They are investigating the disappearance of 8 month old Amiah Robertson. She is white, 23 inches tall, 13 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Amiah is missing from Indianapolis and was last seen on Saturday, March 16th at 4:35 pm. She is believed to be in extreme danger and may require medical assistance.

If you have any information on Amiah Robertson, contact the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department at 317-327-6540 or 911.

Local farmers are being recognized for their achievements.

The Indiana State Fair and Corteva Agriscience are announcing that two Bartholomew County farm families have been selected as Featured Farmers for this year’s state fair.

The Gelfius family farms, who produce tomatoes and pork, and the Arnholt family farms, who produce corn and green beans, were selected for recognition from Bartholomew County.

The Featured farmers program is in its fifth year and 17 farms will be celebrated at the fair. Fair visitors can attend a live chat with a Featured Farmer to learn about their operations every day of the Fair .

This year’s state fair runs from August 2 through the 18th.

Lt. Gov Suzanne Crouch recognized Hoosier Homestead farm families last week including two Bartholomew County and two Decatur County families.

To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for more than 100 consecutive years, and consist of 20 acres or more, or produce more than $1,000 in agricultural products per year.

In Bartholomew County, the Franke-Thompson farm was started in 1898 and the Robert and Barbara Pruitt farm was started in 1919. They both received the Centennial Award.

Also receiving Centennial Awards from Decatur County were the Fry family farm started in 1916, and the S&G Seeds farm started in 1918.

The Columbus Redevelopment Commission is issuing a Request for Qualifications, or RFQs, from developers and/or development teams regarding the development of a conference center hotel on one of two sites downtown. In addition, officials say there is an opportunity for an urban grocery, as well a residential apartment component on the site.

In 2018, the Columbus Redevelopment Commission engaged the Hunden Strategic Partners Team, including design professionals from American Structurepoint, to conduct a market and financial feasibility analysis for the proposal. City officials say the Hunden market analysis revealed that Columbus could support a conference center hotel located with walkable access to the downtown amenities.

The primary elements of the project include a branded conference center hotel with the following elements:

 140 +/- Guest Rooms
 9,000 +/- Square Foot Divisible Ballroom
 4,000-5,000 Square Foot of Divisible Breakout Meeting Rooms (at least 5 divisions)
 3-Meal Restaurant
 Parking for Conference Hotel Center Estimated to be 380 +/- Spaces
 Additional Potential Element (preferred, but not required): Urban Grocery
 Additional Future Potential Phase (not required): Urban Apartments

Firms are invited to submit their qualifications no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, June 7th.

Officials say the current RFQ process will result in a short list of developers by this summer. They will be invited to the submit proposals. After reviewing proposals by the short-listed firms and conducting interviews, the developer is expected to be chosen by this fall.

Ginny Whipple, Bartholomew County Assessor, is reminding taxpayers that the deadline for filing Personal Property Forms is May 15th. In Indiana, personal property is self-assessed. It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to obtain the appropriate forms and file a return with the correct assessing official in the county where the personal property is located.

Assessor Whipple states that the staff at the assessor’s office can submit the forms electronically while the taxpayer is in the office. This only takes a few minutes and can save taxpayers the time and effort of filling out the forms themselves.

Indiana taxes both real estate and personal property. The taxpayer is responsible for reporting all tangible personal property used in their trade or business for the production of income or held as an investment. This includes among other things office equipment, office furniture and industrial and farm machinery.

Vehicles subject to excise tax are not considered personal property. Excise taxes are collected by the BMV at time of licensure. This includes cars, RVs, semis and farm trucks.

If the total acquisition amount of personal property county wide is under $20,000 the owner is exempt from taxation. However, the taxpayer is still required to file a return each year. Forms not submitted or postmarked by the May 15th deadline are subject to penalty.

If you prefer to complete the forms yourself, they can be obtained online at in.gov/dlgf. Forms and reminder postcards are no longer mailed to taxpayers.

For more information, call the assessor’s office at (812) 379-1505.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers has announced two staff promotions. They are:

Detective Jason Williams has been promoted to the rank of Administrative Sergeant and has returned to BCSO’s Road Patrol Division.

Williams previously worked as a Corrections Officer in the Bartholomew County Jail before becoming a merit deputy sheriff in August, 2003.

Deputy Dane Duke, who began his duties as a merit Deputy Sheriff in May, 2014, has been promoted to the rank of Detective and will begin his duties in BCSO’s Investigation’s Division on March 25th.

“These deputies have the experience they need for their new positions and I am pleased that they have accepted the opportunity to expand their leadership skills,” said Sheriff Myers.