Columbus Regional Health is offering a chance to learn more about one its major drug addiction treatment efforts next Wednesday. The hospital system will be holding a Lunch-and-Learn session to talk about the CRH Treatment & Support Center and the opioid epidemic.

CRH’s Treatment & Support Center opened on the hospital campus last month. Dr. Kevin Terrell the medical director for the center and CRH’s chief of staff, will be leading the conversation from 12 to 1 p.m. Wednesday at WellConnect in downtown Columbus at the corner of Washington and Third streets.

Lunch will be provided at the free session but you need to register. You can go to crh.org/events.

The Hub for the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County is on track to open on Monday, Aug. 26th — the same day as an ASAP community update planned for The Commons.

The Hub will be a centralized location where those with addictions can access all of the services they need to get into recovery. That center will be in the Doug Otto United Way building on 13th Street.

We talked recently with Nathan Walsh, director of the Hub, about the need for the facility.

ASAP was started over two years ago as a partnership by the city of Columbus, Bartholomew County and Columbus Regional Health to investigate and suggest solutions to the opioid epidemic. It has morphed into a not-for-profit group that will operate the Hub.

Although hopes were originally to open the Hub earlier this month, the alliance has been relying heavily on volunteer efforts to remodel the space. He said those volunteer hours have saved tens of thousands of dollars.

Walsh credited volunteers from Mission Columbus, who did much of the demolition and reconstruction work, from Cummins and from Columbus Regional Health for making the Hub construction financially possible.

ASAP will be updating the community on Monday, the 26th at The Commons. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the program will start at 6:30 p.m.

Low-income Bartholomew County residents can get free legal advice from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26th at the Legal Aid offices in the Doug Otto United Way Center in Columbus.

You can get up to a 10 minute consultation with a pro bono attorney to answer legal questions, to offer information or to receive other, limited, advice. Consultations are available on a first come first serve basis and no reservations are required.

Other upcoming Legal Aid clinics include from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Jennings County Public Library, and from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Blue River Community Foundation in Shelby County.

You can get more information by calling 812-378-0358.

The Hope Town Square will see new sidewalks, street lights and other upgrades after receiving a state grant.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced this morning that Hope will be one of 17 Indiana towns and cities to receive shares of $10 million dollars in grant funding.

According to the announcement, Hope is receiving  $428,360 for the downtown streetscape project.

“This project removes blighted conditions around the town square by replacing existing streetlamps, adding accessible sidewalks and other improvements that tie the interior and exterior of the square together.”

The grant funding comes through federal community development block grant funds and the Indiana Main Street Revitalization Program. It is meant to help rural communities long-term community development efforts such as  streetscapes, facade renovations and downtown infrastructure rehabilitation.

Crouch also announced that Prince’s Lake in Johnson County would be receiving $700,000 to improve its drinking water system including line replacements, a storage tank and a data system.

Tickets for the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce’s and Columbus Young Professional’s NextGen Awards Luncheon are available now.

Cindy Frey, president of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce explains the awards:

The NextGen Awards are meant to highlight the contributions of the young professionals who have demonstrated “selfless leadership, intelligence, exuberance and dedication to improving the community,” according to the Chamber’s description of the event.

Categories including honoring a NextGen business, innovator, educator and volunteer.

The keynote speaker will be Ellie Symes, CEO of the Bee Corp., an Indiana tech company that was founded in 2016. Frey  says that Symes is a great example of pursuing your passion:

The awards luncheon is at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 13th at The Commons. You can get tickets at columbusareachamber.com.

The NextGen awards are sponsored by JCB.

An Indianapolis man was arrested for allegedly trying to pass a fake $50 bill at a Bartholomew County business.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department reports that deputies were called to a report of a fraud in the 11000 block of North U.S. 31 at about 3:50 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

When deputies arrived, the suspect left the business parking lot and headed to the Edinburgh Outlet Mall where he tried to hide in landscaping, according to police reports. The suspect was caught after a short chase and allegedly gave authorities a fake name.

He turned out to be 44-year-old Antonio L. Cheatem. Cheatem is facing preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement and false informing. He was also wanted on outstanding warrants from Johnson and Hendricks counties.

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools have a new multi-cultural coordinator. Kimberly Easton was approved by the school board Monday night.

Easton is a Columbus native who had a more than 20-year- career in TV journalism. That included stints as a reporter or anchor in Virginia, Michigan, California, Pennsylvania and Illinois. She moved back to the area about four years ago, after her mother became terminally ill,  and started a consulting firm. The BCSC position is the first time she has been out of journalism, or consulting about journalism.

She said that she decided to seek the BCSC position as a way to reconnect to the community where she grew up and to give back.

As an African-American student in Bartholomew Consolidated Schools, Easton said she always felt safe.

She said BCSC educators helped her to navigate the cultural differences of different groups in the community and to gain a sense of purpose.

She said her goal in the BCSC position is to make sure that we see and embrace the variety of cultures represented in the school system today.

Easton said that her daughter and grandson have also recently relocated to Columbus and she expects that this will be her final career move.

Easton has received recognition from the National Association of Professional Women, the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Award and the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. She is a long-time member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

She hold a bachelors degree from Liberty University and a masters degree from Regents University according to her LInkedIN page.

The multi-cultural coordinator position was previously held by Tony McClendon. McClendon died in February and the position has been vacant since then while school officials looked for the right candidate, said superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts.

Update: This story has been updated with comments from Todd Noblitt, director of the Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center.

Bartholomew County will be receiving a $445,000 dollar federal grant that will go towards a $1.1 million dollars upgrade to the county’s 911 equipment, says Todd Noblitt, director of the Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center.

The new, Next Generation 911 equipment will allow the county to better locate those making 911 calls and will allow the center to receive texts, images, videos and other data, Noblitt said. The center will also be upgrading its recording abilities with new equipment.

Noblitt said the current 911 phone system is about 10 years old and has reached the end of its life, forcing the county to upgrade.

Noblitt said the county has been preparing to make the $1.1 million dollar upgrade for about 18 months. He said county officials are confident that the upgrade will have a minimal impact on local residents.

The Indiana 911 Board announced this week that it has received a $2.8 million dollar federal grant to help communities switch to a digital emergency network. The grants will be a 60/40 match for local agencies and will go to 29 communities around the state.

In addition to Bartholomew County’s emergency operations center, local agencies receiving the funds include Brown County and Shelby County Sheriff’s Departments and Decatur County Communications.

Ed Reuter, former Bartholomew County emergency operations center director and current executive director of the state agency, said that the upgrades will have a significant impact on 911 services around the state. A third of counties statewide are eligible for the grant funds.

You can read the entire press release here (PDF Download)

Several Indiana lakes are under a recreational advisory after high levels of blue-green algae were detected there.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management says nine recreation areas are included in the warning including:

• The Quakertown and Mounds areas at Brookville Lake
• Racoon Lake at Cecil M. Harden Lake
• Hardy Lake’s recreation area
• The Fairfax and Paynetown recreation areas at Monroe Lake
• Whitetown Memorial Park at Whitewater Lake
• Ouabache park at Kunkel Lake
• Potato Creek Park at Worster Lake.

IDEM says people should not drink the water and suggests taking a bath or shower with warm soapy water after coming in contact with lake water. You should also not  use lake water for cooking or bathing.

Avoid letting pets swim in or drink the lake water. The blue-green algae can cause liver failure in dogs and has been tied recently to three canine deaths in North Carolina and Georgia.

For more information click here

A school safety push that put deputies and police officers on local school buses led to 16 traffic stops. The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is reporting the results of their back-to-school safety efforts last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The goal was to crackdown on drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses and commit other violations that put students in danger. Deputies were on five school buses and made 28 school safety patrols during the efforts. Those safety patrols included the department’s two school resource officers and other deputies and they took place before, during and after school hours.

The 16 traffic stops included school bus arm violations and other safety issues.