The small town of Hartsville will be having a community wide garage sale, volunteer firefighter fish fry and community cleanup on Friday and Saturday. Matt Mobley is an organizer of the community garage sale.

{06-13 Matt Mobley-1} :25 Q: couple of stones

Although homes throughout the community will be offering garage sales, Mobley said there is also room for those who have Hartsville addresses but who live outside of the town limits take part. They will be able to set up on the Town Square.

The fish fry starts at 1 p.m. Friday and at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Hartsville is on East State Road 46 almost at the Bartholomew/Decatur County LIne.

To sign up for the garage sale, you can call (812) 571-1029.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office and Columbus Police issued 281 citations and made six arrests over 24 days as part of the national “Click It or Ticket” mobilization effort.

More than 230 Indiana law-enforcement agencies joined thousands across the nation to enforce seat-belt laws in cars and trucks, for both children and adults, in the front seat and back, both day and night. The overtime, highly visible traffic patrols were supported with federal traffic-safety funds administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

“We enforce seat belts and other traffic laws to protect the lives of our community members on the road,” said Sheriff Matt Myers. “With the summer travel season now underway, remember to always buckle up – every trip, every time – and use a sober driver.”

Schneck Medical Center has been awarded its seventh consecutive ‘A’ for quality and patient safety from The Leapfrog Group—a national nonprofit organization committed to improving healthcare quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. Officials at the Seymour hospital say this designation recognizes Schneck’s efforts in protecting patients from harm and providing safer healthcare.

The Safety Grade is developed under the guidance of a national expert panel using 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data. The panel assigns grades of ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ or ‘F’ to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care.

“Earning an ‘A’ for seven consecutive years is a testament to Schneck’s dedication to our patients and our commitment to safety and quality of care,” said Warren Forgey, President/CEO, Schneck Medical Center.

“To be recognized nationally as an ‘A’ hospital is an accomplishment the whole community should take pride in,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Hospitals that earn an ‘A’ grade are making it a priority to protect patients from preventable medical harm and error. We congratulate hospital leaders, board members, staff, volunteers and clinicians who work so hard to earn this A.”

To see Schneck’s full grade details, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org.

A North Vernon man was hurt in a crash involving an off-road vehicle. Shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday, North Vernon Police were called to the scene on Hickory Circle East. Authorities say that 38-year-old Shane A. Spears was operating an ORV on Manor Road when the vehicle flipped on to its side, partially pinning Spears underneath.

Spears suffered abrasions to his head and shoulder. He was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital. His condition has not been released.

On the heels of last week’s Cummins announcement of June as the sixth annual company Environmental Month, officials say that Saturday’s downtown Columbus event will be clean and green.

Cummins employees and retirees will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the company Saturday with food, music and other entertainment in the area between Mill Race Park and Jackson Street. But the company is also committed to making sure that things stay environmentally friendly says Sally Leyes, director of internal communications.

Among the efforts will be banning of plastic water bottles. Instead, attendees will be asked to bring their own reusable water bottles or hydration stations in the area will be offering compostable cups.

The downtown celebration is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

On Thursday, Cummins will be holding its 9th annual Community Wide Recycling Day from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Columbus Engine Plant parking lot on Central Avenue, as part of its Environmental Month efforts.

The Bartholomew County Council has said “no” to a plan to add dispatchers to the Bartholomew County Emergency 911 Center. At least, for now.

Emergency 911 Center Director Todd Noblitt proposed the hiring of six new dispatchers. He noted that he currently has 24 dispatchers, a number that has been largely unchanged since 2002. Noblitt noted that during this same period, emergency calls went up approximately 58 percent.

Noblitt’s proposal included two hires this July, two in January of 2020 and the final pair in July of 2020. Under an interlocal agreement between the city and the county, Columbus would pay for 55 percent of these costs, while the county will cover the remaining 45 percent.

County Council rejected the proposal on a vote of 3-4. Mark Gorbett, Laura DeDomenic and Jorge Morales voted to approve the request. Scott Bonnell, Evelyn Pence, Bill Lentz and Matt Miller voted “no.” All four who voted against say they don’t disagree that the the help is needed, but they prefer to wait to consider new positions until the budget for 2020 is put together. Pence noted that a number of department heads have requested new employees, 13 thus far, and said that waiting would be the fair thing to do.

Council is set to begin budget work at the end of summer.

Monthly real estate stats from F.C. Tucker Company indicate a slight increase in homes sold as prices continue to rise in central Indiana. May 2019 pended sales increased 2.2 percent compared to May 2018 while the average year-to-date sale price for the 16-county central Indiana region increased 4.4 percent to $218,296.

In May, Bartholomew County homes sold 17.5 percent faster at an average sale price of $205,948. That’s down half-a percentage point from May of last year.

Jennings County home sale prices for May 2019 are up nearly 20 percent from last May to just under $134,000.

Decatur County home prices increased 13.7 percent over the same period to an average of just over $146,000.

Jackson County home prices increased six-percent to $135,525.

Brown County home prices were up 8.3% to an average of just over $234,000.

No one was seriously hurt after a dump truck crashed into a home. The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that at about 11 a.m. Tuesday, deputies were called to 10782 E County Road 450 N after a single-axle dump truck crashed into the side of a 100-year-old farm house.

Authorities say the dump truck, owned by Edge Construction, ran off the roadway and into the house, likely causing significant damage to the foundation of the home. Columbus Township Fire and Clifford Fire Departments are attempting to stabilize the home’s foundation.

The driver of the dump truck, 27-year-old Geoffrey Jones, received minor injuries. No one inside the house was hurt.

The investigation is ongoing.

A former Jonesville clerk-treasurer convicted more than a decade ago of stealing town funds could be facing time behind bars.

Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting that county prosecutors are considering three new felonies against 45-year-old Melissa Schultheis, of Jonesville.

Schultheis pleaded guilty to 10 counts of theft in 2009 and received a suspended 15-year sentence. The paper reports that Schultheis was ordered to pay back over $92,000 to the town with payments of no less than $300 a month.

The potential new felonies stem from a 2017 order that Schultheis complete 24 hours of community service per week whenever she is not employed at least 35 hours per week. Prosecutors allege that Schultheis produced a fake doctor’s note to avoid work and/or community service, says the report.

For more on this story, visit therepublic.com.

The Bartholomew County Health Department is holding a Hepatitis A vaccination clinic from 9 a.m. to noon on June 24th and 28th at Love Chapel, at 311 Center Street.

The Indiana State Department of Health says that those at risk include the homeless, those taking illicit drugs, people who have recently been in jail and those who have close contact with an infected person.