Columbus Meridian Kiwanis Coolest Pet Contest is underway.
For $10 you can register your dog, cat, or for the first time this year you can nominate other unique pets. Then invite your friends and family to cast ballots for $1 for each vote.
Proceeds will benefit the March of Dimes; Riley Children’s Foundation Be the Hope Now campaign; and the Healthy Communities Infant Mortality Prevention Team of Columbus Regional Hospital.
The contest is open until April 19th. You can register your pet here.
Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are continuing to follow normal schedules and procedures, but are also working with other local agencies as the coronavirus threat continues to slowly expand.
The school district staff issued a statement at the end of last week saying that they continue to monitor and prepare for potential illnesses that may compromise the health of staff and students. The school district said it has been coordinating community preparedness with the county health department, emergency management, Columbus Regional Health, the Columbus mayor’s office and major employers.
The district also emphasized normal precautions such as staying home when sick, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes with tissues and disposing of the tissues, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.
State health officials say two cases of the virus have been confirmed in Indiana.
An SUV and a school bus collided head-on Saturday morning, injuring the SUV driver and a coach of a high school girls gymnastics team.
The New Castle gymnastics team was on its way to a regional competition at Columbus East High School at about 9:19 Saturday morning and was passing through eastern Bartholomew County near County Road 900E on State Road 46, when the accident happened according to Bartholomew County deputies.
The driver of the SUV was trapped in the wreckage and had to be freed from the vehicle by Hartsville and Columbus firefighters. He was flown to IU Methodist Hospital by Lifeline helicopter. An assistant coach of the team was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital after suffering rib injuries.
Hartsville firefighters report that many of the girls were asleep at the time of the crash and were uninjured.
Firefighters report that East delayed the start of the gymnastics meet, and sent a bus to pick up the New Castle team. The regional has been postponed until 7 p.m. tonight.
Indiana State Police say that they will be holding a sobriety checkpoint at an undisclosed location in Decatur County on March 13th and 14th.
Troopers say that the purpose of sobriety checkpoints is to remove those motorists from the highways who are alcohol or drug impaired. If you come across the checkpoint, you should have your license and registration ready to present to troopers. State police say you will only be detained briefly while troopers determine whether further investigation is necessary.
If you see a vehicle exhibiting erratic driving behavior, call 911 and give a complete description of the vehicle, its location, and direction of travel. These reports can be made anonymously.
Jackson County drivers on State Road 250 will see some more disruptions as INDOT continues to work to replace culverts in the area.
Tree and brush clearing work along with utility relocation is going on as the crews prepare for the work replacing the culvert at the Vernon Fork of Muscatatuck overflow about a mile and a half east of State Road 11. The culvert replacement is expected to start on March 16th.
Following that work, crews will replace the State Road 250 bridge over Rider Ditch, which is about two miles east of State Road 11. You can expect for the highway to be closed through August for that work.
Other culverts will be replaced east of State Road 39 and at Pond Creek. The bridge over Vernon Fork of Muscatatuck River is also going to be replaced as part of the same project.
The $3 million contract was awarded to Dave O’Mara Contractor in December and is expected to be complete this fall.
A Brownstown man and his son were accidentally shot in the legs during an incident at their home Thursday morning.
Indiana State Police say that the 40-year-old father and his 5-year-old son came to Schneck Medical Center shortly after midnight with gunshot wounds. The boy was transferred to IU Riley Hospital in Indianapolis and the man was released from Schneck after treatment.
State police say their investigation indicates that the man was handling a gun in the living room of a home on Oak Street when it went off. The bullet passed through the father’s leg and then into his son’s.
The investigation is ongoing, state police report. Details will be turned over to the Jackson County prosecutor’s office for consideration of any charges, state police say.
Bartholomew County deputies arrested two people after a traffic stop on U.S. 31 this week.
Deputies stopped the vehicle at about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday morning in the 12000 block of North U.S. 31 and discovered that a passenger, 37-year-old John D. Wilson, of Westport was wanted on an out-of-county warrant for dealing marijuana. A police dog alerted to the smell of drugs in the vehicle and the driver, 51-year-old Lori R. Hawk of Edinburgh was found to be carrying marijuana and what appeared to be fentanyl.
Hawk was arrested on preliminary drug possession charges and Wilson was arrested on the outstanding warrant.
Columbus police want to remind you that legitimate businesses and government agencies will never ask you to send a payment via gift cards, pre-paid debit cards, wireless transfers or with internet currency.
The agency passed on tips via social media from the FBI office in Indianapolis, warning that scammers can make it appear that they are from an official government agency over the phone or through e-mail and will try to trick you into giving them money or divulging your personal information.
The FBI says that scammers are sending their scam attempts they may look legitimate. They may even threaten you with arrest or other legal actions, if you don’t pay them. If you receive such a call you should not give out any personal information, do not give them a payment, hang up and report the scam attempt to authorities.
Correction and update: Sources originally reported this loan would improve broadband service but it is for electric service.
Decatur County REMC will see a $6.5 million dollar loan to improve local electric services, the electric cooperative is announcing.
Brett Abplanalp, CEO of Decatur County REMC, said electric cooperatives have long benefited from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service Electric Program through access to low-interest loans. These low-interest loans allow DCREMC to strategically manage long term debt for capital improvement projects while balancing equity and impact to the member-consumer. DCREMC will tackle a number of electric infrastructure improvement projects as part of DCREMC’s mission to provide reliable electric service to our members and communities.
The loan was announced this week by Congressman Greg Pence, a Columbus Republican. Abplanalp said the cooperative appreciates Pence’s support and advocacy of rural communities.
“It is exciting to know that our legislators, namely Congressman Pence, are supporting the initiatives of electric co-ops and the rural communities we serve,” he said.
Decatur County REMC serves almost 8,000 customers with more than 1,000 miles of line in Decatur, Bartholomew, Franklin, Jennings, Ripley, and Rush counties.
The USDA announced $900 million in funding this week through its Electric Loan program to build, preserve or improve rural electric infrastructure across 16 states.
The city of Columbus is going through the process to turn the area just north of Central Middle School into an economic revitalization area. That would allow developers of new townhomes to request tax breaks from the city.
Robin Hilber, the assistant director of community development for the city, said that the city’s Economic Development Commission approved a request Thursday from Central Townhomes LLC, to establish the new target area on the north side of 7th Street between Sycamore and Chestnut Streets.
The company plans to build 16 townhomes for sale at the location. With the commission’s approval, the request will next move to the Columbus City Council at its March 17th meeting for the council’s first consideration, Hilber said. Assuming that goes well, the builders would return at the April 7th meeting for final approval and to request a tax abatement for the properties.
Under a tax abatement, taxes on new development are phased in gradually, normally over a 10 year period, instead of being paid immediately