Bartholomew Consolidated Schools have released more details of the district’s plans to reopen schools on Aug. 6th.

School officials said that the use of masks has been one of the biggest concerns of parents and the community. Under the guidelines issued last night, students and staff will be provided two washable cloth face coverings. Students and staff should carry face coverings with them at all times and they are expected to wear the coverings. Face coverings are required when physical distancing is not possible, such as during group activities, in hallways and on buses. The district also recognizes that some students and staff may be exempt from wearing masks due to health needs.

The district is also changing the way attendance will be calculated. Student will be considered present whether attending in person or engaging remotely. The district is also going to discontinue the use of attendance incentives for this school year.

Students will still have recess, according to the plan. Playground equipment will be cleaned at least daily and students will be required to wash their hands before and after recess.

You can find the current draft of the plan at bcscschools.org.

If you have questions, you can submit those to reopening at reopening@bcsc.k12.in.us.

Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash is asking the County Council for $30,000 to pay for translation services in an upcoming murder trial.

Nash told the council at last week’s work session that none of the people allegedly involved in an east Columbus shooting earlier this year speaks English, so every interview has required a translator. So far the 14 batches of interview transcripts have run into the thousands of pages, before the first trial has even happened.

Nash said that about half of the money will go to pay for the work already done, with the other half going toward expected future translation expenses. Nash said that the Columbus Police Department and the prosecutor have an agreement where the city is already paying for half of the cost.

37-year-old Leonardo Rodriguez Flores was found dead from a gunshot wound to the face in a factory parking lot on South Marr Road in February.

31-year-old Eliel Avelar of Midlothian, Illinois was arrested on a charge of murder at a Chicago hotel by U.S. Marshalls.

Council will also be considering a $284,238 request from Sheriff Matt Myers for body and vehicle cameras for deputies.

The council meets at 6 p.m. tonight.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has declared an Ozone Action Day for part of our area today including Jackson County.

During an Ozone Action Day, a combination of high temperatures, light winds and other factors combine to produce conditions where ozone levels exceed federal standards. Anyone sensitive to changes in air quality may find it hard to breathe when ozone levels are high. Children, the elderly and anyone with heart or lung conditions should reduce or avoid exertion and heavy work outdoors. If you have to be outside, drink plenty of water and take frequent breaks.

IDEM recommends that you take actions to lower ozone levels, including walking, biking, carpooling or using public transportation; avoid going through drive-throughs, if your vehicle is going to be idling for more than 30 seconds, shut it off; and combine your errands into one trip; avoid refueling your vehicle or using gas-powered lawn equipment until after 7 tonight.

You can get more information online at www.in.gov/idem/airquality/

Bartholomew County deputies used the state’s Red Flag law to confiscate firearms from a man who was making threats to harm himself or others Friday.

The person’s name and address is not being released.

Deputies report that the incident started at about 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon when they were contacted by a woman was said she was concerned and fearful over her husband’s mental state. He was making statements about harming himself or having others harm him, and he had a history of mental health and medical issues, she said..

He had placed numerous firearms around the home and asked his wife to shoot him, according to reports. Deputies say he also threatened to draw a weapon so that responders would open fire on him.

Deputies talked to the man through an open window and saw the staged firearms, as well as a gun on his hip. After about a half hour with no progress toward a resolution, deputies grabbed the man through the window and secured him. He was then taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for evaluation.

Under the Red Flag Law, authorities are allowed to confiscate a person’s guns if it is determined that the subject is dangerous or mentally unstable. Deputies took 20 firearms from the home.

Sheriff Matt Myers said that he and his deputies support the Second Amendment but in this case they saw no other choice.

It has been a week since a death from COVID-19 was reported in area counties.

According to the most recent update from the Indiana State Department of Health, there are 51,612 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indiana, an increase of 560 cases since Saturday’s update.

There have been 2,567 deaths in Indiana as of Sunday afternoon’s update, an increase of 4 since Saturday.

Bartholomew County has had 601 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 45 deaths. The most recent death in Bartholomew and surrounding counties was July 6th in Jennings County.

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools plan to announce more details of their return to school plans today. The school district is planning for students to return to in-classroom instruction on Aug. 6th.

Dr. Jim Roberts, superintendent for BCSC, explains that last Monday the district released what they are calling an executive summary of the plan. After a week’s worth of feedback from parents and the community, today they will have more details on their plan.

One of the major concerns of parents was the issue of masks, Roberts said.

Part of the information gathering over the past week has focused on finding out how many families are planning to return their children to in-person teaching next month.

Roberts said they are planning to offer two forms of distance learning for families who do not want to send their children back into the physical school buildings. The first is meant to be short-term, no more than four weeks, while the second is meant to last all semester. The short-term distance learning plan would also be used for any student’s who test positive for COVID-19 and who need to be quarantined away from the rest of the students.

Roberts said that the details of the plan will also be discussed at next week’s school board meeting. That will be Monday, July 20th at 6:30 in the Terrace Room of the school district headquarters on Central Avenue. The number of people who can attend the meeting in person will be limited but you can watch it streaming live on the school district’s Facebook page.

You can hear more of the interview with BCSC Superintendent Jim Roberts here.

Our Hospice of South-Central Indiana is reporting what they are calling a “transformational gift” — the largest ever received by the hospice.

Sherry Risk Stark, former deputy mayor of Columbus and former leader of Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, made the donation in the name of her parents as The James Kirby Risk Jr. and Caroline Robinson Risk Fund for Palliative Support. Although the amount was not disclosed, hospice officials said the donation is a strong addition to a $4 million goal needed for long-term sustainability of the palliative support program at the hospice.

About 85 patients are currently in the Palliative Care program at the hospice. Palliative Care is a medical specialty that offers relief from symptoms for individuals with a serious illness such as chronic or acute illnesses of the heart, lungs, liver, and kidney, as well as cancer patients. Palliative Care differs from hospice care in that it can be provided at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided together with curative treatment. it fills a in the gap in the continuum of care when an individual is suffering with unresolved symptoms or side effects during treatment, said Laura Leonard, president of the hospice.

Leonard said that Stark’s donation will bring stability to the long-term sustainability of the program. Although it is a needed service, is is only minimally reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid or insurance at only 14 to 17 cents on the dollar.

Stark said she first learned about the Palliative Care concept while going through training provide to hospital trustees and saw it is exactly the sort of service her parents would have wanted to support.

You can get more information at ourhospice.org.