Napoleon State Bank has promoted Joseph Moorman to be its new president and chief executive officer.
Moorman went to South Decatur High School, Purdue University and the Wisconsin School of Banking. He has worked at Napoleon State Bank since 1984 where he served roles including being a lender, a branch manager at a Greensburg branch, executive vice president of lending and secretary of the board. He has also served as president of Decatur County United Fund and serves on the Decatur County Water Board.
The company has been locally owned since 1903 and serves Ripley and Decatur counties, with branches in Napoleon, Holton, Osgood and Greensburg. The company has 84 full and part-time employees.
While the city of Columbus has been going through a public process to identify how it plans to develop its share of Fair Oaks Mall, the vision for Columbus Regional Hospital’s section has been less defined in the public eye.
On preliminary conceptual drawings, the hospital will use the western portion of the facility including the Carson’s space but there have been no details on what that might include.
Hospital CEO Jim Bickel explained the hospital’s planning at a meeting this week. He said the goal is to provide more access and convenience to the community the hospital serves.
That will involve bringing together some functions that are now spread through various corners of the community including doctor’s offices, to imaging and rehab services.
Bickel said the hospital has been working to gather input from patients, their families, hospital employees and others in the community.
Bickel said the hospital’s goal is to finish up the information gathering in a few weeks and to have a design plan for the building by the end of the year.
A safety class on situational awareness for local high school seniors is expanding this year, adding a class for young men as well as women.
Sgt. Julie Quesenbery is a school resource officer and co-founder of the SAFE program, or Situational Awareness For Everyday.
She said the goal was to give advice to young women heading off into the real world after high school.
The course for girls is an all day event, with the first half of the day dedicated to situational awareness and the second involves hands on self-protection skills.
The boy’s class, SAFE – The Dude Version will be a half-day event. Deputy Teancum Clark, is a school resource officer and has been developing the course for the young men.
He said his goal was to communicate openly and freely with the young men who will be participating.
The first boy’s SAFE class will be held at Columbus East High School on Tuesday March 3rd, a girl’s course will be held March 4th at the school. A second girl’s class will be held at Columbus North High School on March 9th and a second boy’s class will also be held later this school year.
12th grade boys and girls from CSA New Tech, Columbus Christian School and Hauser High School are also invited to attend.
To sign up, forms are available at school guidance counselor offices
An accident early Thursday morning on U.S. 31 in Bartholomew County left one person dead.
Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department deputies were called to the scene of the two vehicle crash at about 4:55 this morning in the area of U.S. 31 and County Road 100S. When deputies arrived one driver, 72-year-old Gerald Henry, Columbus, had already died at the scene.
The Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office reports that his cause of death was blunt force trauma the head and chest.
The other driver was taken by paramedics to Columbus Regional Hospital with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries.
The names of the second victim not yet been released. A crash reconstructionist was called to the scene and the investigation is ongoing.
Columbus Police and Columbus Township Fire & Rescue Department assisted deputies at the scene.
Donna Mitchell. Photo courtesy of Indiana State Police.
A Silver Alert has been issued for a missing Hope woman.
The Hope Police Department is investigating the disappearance of Donna Mitchell. She is a 57-year-old white woman, 5 feet 3 inches tall, 115 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing glasses, a tan Carhartt jacket and blue jeans with a flower decal on the pant leg.
She is believed to be driving a maroon 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The front bumper is hanging by a coat hanger with Indiana license plate 902QAK.
She was last seen on Tuesday, at 7:30 pm. She is believed to be in danger and may require medical assistance.
If you have any information on Donna Mitchell, contact the Hope Police Department at 812-546-4015 or 911.
Donner Center would be largely replaced with an aquatics focused building, and the city Parks and Recreation staff would almost all be moved to Fair Oaks Mall, under suggestions unveiled at a community meeting on the future of the mall this meek
The city’s consultants, architectural firm Perkins & Will and MKSK landscape architects, outlined their suggestions for the two city-owned properties — Fair Oaks Mall and Donner Center.
Lindsey Peckinpaugh of Perkins & Will explained that the functional life of Donner Center is essentially over.
The building needs long-deferred maintenance that would be prohibitively expensive and the masonry construction does not allow for the flexibility needed for future use.
She said the new building would be focused on aquatics with larger pool locker rooms, space for classes and activities, and renovating the concessions building.
The only staff to stay at Donner Center under their proposal would be those tied to the pool itself. The rest of the city employees now at Donner, would be moved to Fair Oaks Mall.
The consultants also made recommendations for improvements at Donner Park itself, including adding more picnic shelters and playground space.
Cody Spencer. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.
A Columbus man is facing charges, accused of fighting with city police Wednesday morning.
According to police reports, Columbus officers were called Werner Avenue near 8th Street at about 6:10 a.m. Wednesday morning about a man walking in the street. Officers found 23-year-old Cody Spencer in the area and he refused to stop yelling or to comply with police orders.
He was arrested after a struggle during which he kicked a patrol car and slammed his head into a car window, according to police reports. After being checked out at Columbus Regional Hospital he was arrested on preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct.
Chief Bill Abbott; Photo courtesy of Seymour Police Dept.
Indiana State Police arrested two Seymour police officers today, including the former chief and a captain.
Former Chief William “Bill” Abbott and Capt. Carl Lamb are being accused of official misconduct, ghost employment, and theft.
The charges stem from hours they spent while on the clock for Seymour police, actually working for outside agencies to schedule off-duty jobs for officers.
The investigation began in October, after accusations against the two were made to the Indiana State Police Versailles post.
According to State Police, detectives discovered Abbott was working for Schneck Medical Center to schedule off duty officers to provide security at the hospital. Lamb worked for K4 Security out of Jeffersonville to provide off duty police officers for work in the construction zone on Interstate 65.
In both cases, the officers are accused of being paid for the duties to the outside agencies, while also being paid for their time by Seymour.
The investigation also revealed that Lamb was a part-owner and employee of BSafe Tactical in Seymour, which provided training to area schools, churches, and businesses. He allegedly took payments for BSafe Tactical while on duty for Seymour police.
Both were taken into custody without incident and booked into the Jackson County Jail.
Both Abbott and Lamb have remained on administrative leave from the Seymour Police Department during the investigation. Abbott went through a retirement ceremony in September, but was to stay on the payroll due to accrued leave for several months.
A photo of the home from 2018, taken by city officials. Photo courtesy of Columbus Code Enforcement.
The city of Columbus will be levying a $1,000 fine against a homeowner in an effort to clean up a property in the 700 block of Maple Street.
Fred Barnett, the city’s code enforcement officer, told the Board of Public Works and Safety Tuesday that he has personally been trying to resolve issues at this house since 2015.
Barnett said that there have been at least 48 police calls to the home over the past two years, ranging from reported fights to overdoses, making it a public nuisance. But there is also trash piled up on the property and back porch, making it a health issue. The property owner has been cited multiple times, but despite promises and appeals of previous fines, the property is still a mess, Barnett said.
The board approved the plan to fine the owners $1,000 in the hopes of getting resolution to the issues plaguing the neighborhood.
Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are reporting there was a threat made toward Columbus North High School this morning.
According to an announcement from the school district, a student reported an alleged threat on social media by another student against North before school this morning.
The district says that school resource officers were sent to the home of the student who made the threat. They say the situation was addressed immediately and students and staff were safe at all times.
