Centra Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2020 Loretta M. Burd Scholarship Program. The program awards 25 graduating high school seniors with $2,500 scholarships this year. One scholarship will be awarded from each Centra branch.

Centra Foundation will also be awarding two $2,500 adult scholarships for adult or nontraditional students who have realized the importance of post-secondary education for their career and family and have returned to school to pursue an undergraduate degree or certification.

Named in honor of Loretta M. Burd, who retired from Centra Credit Union after 47 years of service, the Loretta M. Burd Scholarship Program is designed to help local students pursuing a college or technical school education. Awards can be used at two- or four-year colleges, universities or technical schools for the fall 2020 semester.

To qualify for a scholarship, the applicant or the applicant’s parent or legal guardian must be a member of Centra Credit Union with an account in good standing.

Applications will be accepted through February 29th at centra.org/scholarships/.

Scholarship recipients will be announced in April.

An event is coming up in a few weeks to mark the Holocaust. Entitled “Never Again! Two Perspectives of the Holocaust,” the program will be held Tuesday Jan. 28th at 6:30 p.m. in the Red Room of the Bartholomew County Library.

Holocaust survivor Esther Davidson and her husband Ed, a retired US Army officer, will offer a powerful and personal look at this dark portion of human history. Esther, born in Poland in 1941, shares childhood memories with words about and pictures of lost family, the trauma of separation, surviving a war and coming to America.

Ed, born in America but with direct links to the Holocaust, talks about the Nuremburg Trials and the WWII Nazi concentration camps, including a visual tour of the infamous Dachau Concentration Camp. Both speakers come to Columbus from the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis.

This event is being held to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is held on Jan. 27th.

A former Cummins employee accused of defrauding the Columbus-based company has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

“The Indiana Busines Journal” is reporting that 54-year-old David Hudson, of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan. According to the report, Hudson used to work for Cummins in New Hudson, Michigan. According to the plea agreement, the fraud took place between 2008 and 2017.

As part of his job, Hudson had the authority to transfer money to profit-sharing partners Cummins, K&S, Equibridge and Bridgeway. He also had the ability to write checks from these entities.

Prosecutors say Hudson used false pretenses to direct a subordinate to transfer company funds into an account that he would then write checks to himself from.

The IBJ says that as part of the plea agreement, Hudson was ordered to pay a total of $5.33 million in restitution to four companies, including $3.46 million to Cummins.

Hudson faces up to 63 months in prison. He is free on bond until his sentencing on April 15.

For more on this story, visit ibj.com.

Eastern Bartholomew Water Corp. has issued a Boil Advisory after service was interrupted on County Road 200 W between Abbey Lane and north to Lowell Road. The advisory also includes Drummond Drive and portions of the Carter Crossing Addition.

Once water service returns, a 48-hour boil advisory will be in effect.

Congressman Greg Pence (IN-06) released a statement Thursday following the Senate passage of President Trump’s new North American trade deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The Columbus Republican says:

“Signing USMCA into law will bring billions to our nation and tens of thousands of new jobs for Americans. This is a huge win for American workers, farmers and manufacturers, and it’s about time Congress got to the People’s work instead of a partisan impeachment circus,” said Congressman Pence. “I applaud the Trump Administration’s dedication to our nation’s farmers and manufacturers.”

A local education advocate was recognized at the Indiana State House Thursday for her efforts in the Latino community.

Luz Elena Michel, the Latino Education & Outreach Program Manager for the Community Education Coalition, received the Trailblazer Award at this afternoon’s 29th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Indiana Holiday Celebration.

John Burnett, president and CEO of the Community Education Coalition explains.

Burnett says that Michel is a passionate and caring servant leader.

Burnett says Michel has been leading a mentoring effort to help Latino students move from high school to higher education.

Michel has also been working to help Latino students and their families connect the link between education and economic opportunity, Burnett said.

Michel has been with the Community Education Coalition since 2011. The Indiana Civil Rights Commission’s Trailblazer Award recognizes those who are the ultimate pillar of their community and whose efforts have afforded rights and liberties that did not exist previously.

Recent Columbus Police Chief Jon Rohde is the first candidate to file for judge of Bartholomew Superior Court II in this year’s elections. Rohde filed his paperwork yesterday to run for the bench as a Republican.

Rohde stepped down from the chief’s role at the end of last year after six years and is now an administrative captain with the police department. He is approaching 20 years on the force. He earned his law degree from IU in 2007, taking classes while working the night shift on the police force.

Judge Kathleen “Kitty” Tighe Coriden plans to retire at the end of the year. Several other candidates have announced their intention to run for the seat, but Rohde is the first to actually file, according to the Indiana Secretary of State elections division.

In addition to judge, Bartholomew County voters will be chosing two members of the county commissioners this election year, along with at-large seats on County Council, surveyor and coroner.

If you want to file for election, you can drop off your paperwork at the voter registration office in the Bartholomew County Courthouse. You have until noon on Friday, February 8th. The primary election is May 5th.

The Ivy Tech Community College Criminal Justice Program will host a State of Indiana Court of Appeals hearing from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Jan. 28 at the Columbus Learning Center Auditorium.

The hearing, which is part of the court’s traveling “Appeals on Wheels” program, is open to the public, and community members are encouraged to attend to learn more about the judiciary and appeals process. The court will hear oral arguments from attorneys in a real appeals case.

Following the hearing, the court will take questions about the law and the judiciary in general, but not about the case they’ve just heard.

The Schneck Foundation Scholarship Committee is accepting applications for the Allied Health Scholarship and the Amanda M. Dick Honorary Scholarship for female medical students.

Applications for both scholarships are available online at schneckfoundation.org, schneckmed.org, or by contacting the Schneck Foundation at 812-524-4244. Applications for the Allied Health Scholarship will also be available from counselors at local high schools.

Applications must be completed and returned to the Foundation no later than March 15th to be eligible for consideration. For more information, contact the Foundation at 812-524-4244 or foundation@schneckmed.org.

C4 Columbus Area Career Connection will conduct an open house later this month. Organizers say the idea is to introduce its programs and courses to potential students and their families. The open house will be held Jan. 29th from 5 to 8 p.m. at the C4 facilities at Columbus North High School. C4 provides career and technical education to students in Jackson, Bartholomew, Brown and Decatur counties and Edinburgh.

C4 classes encompass a wide variety of fields, including nursing, cosmetology, welding, precision machining, criminal justice, engineering, graphic arts, electronics and education. Emphasis is placed on hands-on learning that prepares students for higher education and the workforce. College credits can be earned in many of the classes.

C4 students will lead tours of the facilities, taking visitors to classrooms and labs such as culinary arts, auto technology, early childhood education, engineering and automation and robotics. Displays from
classes such as criminal justice, dentistry and cosmetology will showcase classes at Columbus East High School and McDowell Education Center.

“There will also be representatives from colleges and businesses who will explain how C4 prepares students for careers after high school,” C4 director Gene Hack said. Students who will be in high school next school year, freshmen through seniors, are invited.

Visitors should enter at Door 15 closest to 25th Street.

For more information, visit bcsc.k12.in.us/c4.