According to the most recent update from the Indiana State Department of Health, there are 48,331 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indiana, an increase of 330 cases since Sunday’s update.
There have been 2,505 deaths in Indiana as of Monday afternoon’s update, an increase of 6 since Sunday.
Bartholomew County has had 586 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 44 deaths. The last reported death in Bartholomew and surrounding counties was Wednesday in Jennings County.
Starting today, the Yellow Trail Museum in Hope is reopening.
According to HSJ Online, the Hope news website, the museum is going to be partnering with Main Street of Hope to operate the museum and visitors center on the northwest corner of the Town Square.
Regular hours will be Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from noon until 3 with other times available by appointment. For more information you can call 812-546-8020.
Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are laying out their first elements of a plan to reopen schools on August 6th. The plan assumes minimal to moderate spread of COVID-19 in the community.
Under the plan, school would operate five days a week, in regular school hours in BCSC school buildings but families could also choose a remote learning option. Cloth face coverings would be strongly encouraged for staff and students and screenings would happen for all staff and students when they enter a BCSC facility. Water fountains would not be used, but individual water bottles would be given out that can be filled during the day.
The schools will give frequent handwashing opportunities and hand sanitizer will be provided. Schools would be cleaned and disinfected according to CDC guidelines with frequently touched areas receiving additional attention.
Field trips would be postponed and only essential visitors would be allowed to enters chool facilities.
Parents are asked to review the plan and then fill out a survey by Friday with their concerns about reopening. A detailed plan and answers to the frequently asked questions will be available on Monday, July 13th.
Bartholomew County Council members remain skeptical of whether the county can afford cameras for deputies to wear and for their patrol cars.
The council heard a presentation from the sheriff’s department at their work session last night, held by Zoom conference call. Capt. Brandon Slate with the sheriff’s department said the department had identified the Axon company’s product as the one they would like to purchase. The cameras would turn on automatically when emergency lights are activated, or when an officer draws a weapon. All footage would be uploaded to the internet for cloud storage with no additional storage cost to the county. The Axon cameras are the same used by Columbus police officers.
The total cost of the project, over five years would be $738 thousand dollars with $280 thousand dollars in first year costs, including $50 thousand in installation charges, coming in the next few weeks, if approved by the council. After that initial outlay, the costs would be $127 thousand per year in years two through five.
Council members including former Sheriff Mark Gorbett, and Evelyn Pence said they did not support the spending right now because of the uncertainty over future funding for the county budget. The county is expecting large hits to tax revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Council president Matt Miller suggested the sheriff split off the car cameras from the body cams, as the car cameras are about twice as expensive as the body cameras. Miller also wanted the sheriff to come back with quotes from different body cam companies, with possibly lower costs.
The council did not vote on the proposal because it was a work session. But agreed to hear the sheriff’s formal proposal at next Tuesday’s regular council meeting.
Gleaner’s Food Bank will be having a drive through food distribution in Columbus Wednesday.
You can pick up food from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 8th at the Columbus Municipal Airport Aviation Bldg., at 5175 N Warren Drive. You will stay in your vehicle and the food package will be delivered to you. Organizers stress that there should be no early arrivals and there is no parking on River Road or Cunningham Drive.
You can get more information at gleaners.org
You can expect major traffic shifts in the Interstate 65 construction zone between Columbus and Seymour starting this week.
The Bartholomew County Emergency Management office says that starting Wednesday night, north bound traffic will be shifted over on the northbound side of the Interstate starting at the Seymour U.S. 50 exit to just past Jonesville Road. About half of that stretch of highway will have a full shoulder on the newly constructed roadway, but half will not have a shoulder.
Southbound traffic will be moving to the north side of the interstate on Friday night. Which means that northbound and southbound traffic will both be on the newly finished northbound interstate for about three miles.
This is all part of the ongoing project to widen Interstate 65 between Columbus and Seymour to three lanes in each direction.
The National Weather Service is warning that it is going to be a hot one this afternoon. You can expect a heat Index of 95 to 100 Degrees this afternoon and early evening.
The combination of temperatures in the lower to mid 90s and dew point temperatures in the lower 70s could lead to some dangerous conditions. You should drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and plan to limit your outdoor activity.
The heat index is also expected to reach 95 to 100 degrees during
the afternoon and early evening Tuesday through Thursday.
Four teens were hospitalized after a crash that stemmed from drag racing in Jackson County last week involving a Columbus driver.
According to Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, officers were called to the area of County Road 550 North in the 4000 block East Thursday around 10 p.m. on reports of a rollover crash. That’s about 4.5 miles west of downtown Seymour. When officers arrived they found a red 2006 Chevrolet pickup truck on its top in a field nearly 50 yards away from the road, according to our news-gathering partners at Network Indiana.
The driver of the truck, Brandon Stuckwisch, 17, of Vallonia, and a 15-year-old front seat passenger from Seymour were both ejected from the vehicle. A 15-year-old girl from Seymour and a 16-year-old girl from Freetown were also passengers in the truck.
Both Stuckwisch, who was listed in critical condition, and his front seat passenger were airlifted to nearby hospitals for treatment. The other passengers were also hospitalized for their injuries.
Investigators at the scene learned the crash happened after Stuckwisch and another driver, Sidney Williams, 23, of Columbus, were drag racing in the area. According to authorities, Williams’ white 2004 Dodge Ram and Stuckwisch’s truck made contact before Stuckwisch’s truck spun out of control and rolled over several times.
Neither Williams nor his two passengers were injured in the crash.
The crash remains under investigation.
Indiana has now topped 48,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2500 deaths in the state.
According to the most recent update from the Indiana State Department of Health, there are 48,008 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indiana, an increase of 596 cases since Saturday’s update.
There have been 2,500 deaths in Indiana as of Sunday afternoon’s update, an increase of 6 since Sunday.
Bartholomew County has had 585 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 44 deaths. The last reported death in Bartholomew and surrounding counties was Wednesday in Jennings County.
In other area counties, Decatur County has had 25 cases and 32 deaths, Jennings 176 cases and 11 deaths, Jackson 470 cases and 3 deaths, Brown 39 cases and 1 death, Johnson 1,278 cases and 118 deaths, and Shelby 425 cases with 25 deaths.
Seymour will be celebrating the opening of its newest park later this month, named after former Mayor John Burkhart.
Officials say they will be holding a ribbon-cutting and dedication for the park at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 16th. The park is at 101 South Chestnut Street. It was built in cooperation with Seymour Main Street and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
Burkhart served as mayor from 1990 to 2003. He died in December.