Rightway Fasteners is planning a $12 million investment to increase production at its facility in Walesboro.

Representatives for the company are scheduled to appear Tuesday night before the Columbus City Council to request a tax-abatement . Rightway Fasteners is purchasing and installing two cold forging machines, a heat treatment furnace, three coating lines and three shot-blast machines. The company is asking for a 10-year tax abatement on the purchase and installation of this new equipment. If approved, Rightway Fasteners will pay over $425,000 in new property taxes over the next decade. The abatement will save the company over $633,000 in property taxes over the same period.

The investment is expected to retain 410 jobs and create nine new ones.

Council meets Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. at the former J. Nicole store inside of Fair Oaks Mall. You are invited.

A South Drive home in Columbus was a complete loss after a fire over the weekend.

A homeowner was awakened by a smoke alarm at about 4:08 a.m. Saturday morning in the 1500 block of South Drive and found heavy smoke coming from the basement. He escaped with a dog and a cat before firefighters arrived. Columbus firefighters tried to fight the blaze in the basement but with no visibility and increasing heat and smoke, firefighters backed off to attack the fire from outside.

The fire burned through the basement into the ground floor and eventually the attic and roof, says Capt. Mike Wilson with the Columbus Fire Department.

After getting the fire under control at about 6:30 in the morning, firefighters stayed on scene for a total of about 10 hours fighting hot spots and flare-ups, Wilson says.

The homeowner’s wife and children were away from home at the time of the incident and no injuries were reported. One cat remains unaccounted for. Damages are estimated at $270,000.

Sheriffs and other authorities in two area counties are declaring their community as safe havens for guns and gun owners. Jennings and Decatur county sheriffs made the announcement in recent days.

Jennings County Sheriff Kenny Freeman held a press conference Friday afternoon at the Sheriff’s Office with State Rep. Jim Lucas, North Vernon Mayor Mike Ochs, Vernon Town Marshal Britt Burgemier and Vernon Mayor Dan Wright. Local officials signed a resolution declaring Jennings County a sanctuary county for the Second Amendment.

Decatur County Sheriff Dave Durant made a similar announcement yesterday on social media, saying he is an unwavering Second Amendment supporter. He said your constitutional rights will be protected as long as he is Decatur County sheriff.

There will be a contested race for judge in Bartholomew County in May. Local attorney Dominic Glover has filed to run for Superior Court 2 as a Republican.

Glover graduated from Columbus North High School, Wabash College and Indiana University School of Law – Bloomington. He lives in Columbus and has practiced in Bartholomew County for 23 years handling civil and criminal cases in local courts.

He joins former police chief Jon Rohde in the race to replace Judge Kathleen “Kitty” Coriden, who is retiring.

Bartholomew County voters will also be choosing county commissioners in Districts 1 and 3, along with county coroner, surveyor and the three at- large seats on the county council.

That already crowded race for county council at-large, picked up another candidate when Bill Read filed Friday afternoon. That makes seven Republicans including four current council members seeking those three seats.

At the state level, representing Bartholomew County, Republicans State Sen. Eric Koch of Bedford filed for re-election in District 44 and Rep. Sean Eberhart of Shelbyville filed for statehouse District 57, representing eastern Bartholomew County.

Democrats will have a contested primary in Statehouse District 59, which covers Columbus and most of Bartholomew County. Cynthia Wirth joined the race last week and will face Dale Nowlin in the Democratic primary election. The winner will face Republican incumbent Rep. Ryan Lauer who is unopposed.

The deadline to file for office is noon on Friday, Feb. 7th.

IUPUC will be hosting a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event from 11 to 1 today at the campus.

The event will feature a screening of part of the film “”Lifting Up a Voice…An Oral History of the Civil Rights in Columbus, IN” followed by a panel discussion. That will feature several Columbus residents including City Council members Elaine Hilber and Jerone Wood.

There will be a luncheon including a discussion about diversity presented by Imagine Columbus. And the university will also be presenting its annual Excellence in Diversity Awards, which have been given since 2010.

Events will take place at the Columbus Learning Center on Central Avenue. You are invited to attend.

Work is expected to begin in a few weeks on two superstructure replacement projects over I-65 in Bartholomew County. The Indiana Department of Transportation says that crews will begin with tree clearing and utility relocations on Carr Hill Road, followed by work at County Road 200 South.

INDOT says that Carr Hill Road is scheduled to close in mid-February when bridge work begins and will remain closed through mid-July. County Road 200 South will close in mid-July through late November, once work is completed on Carr Hill Road. Nighttime lane restrictions will also take place on I-65 during bridge demolition and beam setting operations.

Additional details will be announced prior to each closure. The project completion date is November 30, 2020.

The Bartholomew County Health Department will offer A1C and Cholesterol screening next week. They will be offered, by appointment only, on the morning of January 28th at 2675 Foxpointe Drive, Suite B.

Cost is $10 for the A1c screening and $15 for the Cholesterol screening. Cash, debit, or credit card will be accepted. If a card is used there is an additional transaction fee.

Participants must fast 12 hours prior to the Cholesterol screening. Fasting is not required for the A1C. Participants may schedule for both screenings.

To schedule an appointment, call 812-379-1555, Option 1.

An 18-year-old Flat Rock-Hawcreek School student was arrested Thursday afternoon after a School Resource Officer for FRHC received a report that an 8th grade student had been recorded while using the restroom.

The SRO, along with the school’s Dean of Students, reviewed school cameras and identified 18-year old Erik Coy, of Hartsville, as the suspect. He was arrested on a preliminary charge of Voyeurism, a level 6 felony.

A Columbus man is facing drug-dealing charges after a traffic stop Thursday afternoon downtown.

Columbus police stopped a vehicle near 16th and California streets being driven by 62-year-old Harold R. Jordan of Columbus at about 3:15 p.m. yesterday afternoon. A police dog alerted to the odor of narcotics inside the vehicle and a search revealed nearly 58 grams of methamphetamine concealed in his sweatpants.

Jordan was arrested and is facing preliminary charges of dealing and possessing methamphetamine.

The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation is accepting nominations for “Teacher of the Year.”

Students, staff, friends and families are asked to nominate a teacher from a BCSC school that you would like to recognize. Nominations are open through Friday, Jan 31st. Each school will select one nominee as their school Teacher of the Year. School nominee recognition will take place at the school board meeting on March 2nd.

“We believe that our school corporation has the best teachers in Indiana. We would like to recognize our teachers by participating in the state’s Teacher of The Year Award program,” said Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Teresa Heiny. She continued, “In order to compete for recognition at the state level, we will be helping our candidate create a portfolio to submit to the state for this award. We would appreciate the community’s assistance in determining a teacher to represent our district at the state level. This nomination is the first step in this process.”

For more information, including nomination forms, visit bit.ly/2G8ygF7.