Congressman Luke Messer, a Republican representing Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District, had a proposal to help veterans impacted by the closure of ITT Technical Institute. It passed the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Wednesday, as part of a larger GI Bill reform package.

The Congressman’s office explains that Messer’s proposal retroactively restores GI Bill benefits to veterans who were attending Indiana-based ITT Tech, which closed its doors in September 2016. The closure impacting 40,000 students nationwide, including more than 7,000 veterans.

Messer’s provision provides full restoration of GI Bill benefits within 90 days to students who attended ITT Tech, if they were not able to transfer their credits to a new institution. It also helps veterans who may be impacted by a school closure in the future.

Rep. Messer says this was a bipartisan effort, noting that he worked with Rep. Mark Takano, a California Democrat.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers says he needs more money to operate the jail. During Tuesday night’s county council meeting, Myers explained that he needed an additional appropriation of $50,000 to cover overtime costs at the jail.

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Myers talks about some of the accounting measures his department has taken to cover costs.

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As for how the department plans to handle overtime at the jail for the rest of the year…

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The Sheriff explained that an increase in inmates has been a factor in the overtime expenses at the jail.

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A state statute, which took effect this year, requires counties to house Level 6 felons in their jails instead of sending them to the Indiana Department of Corrections. While the state reimburses the counties some money for every Level 6 inmate, Myers says that the county, on average, has to spend much more than is received.

The county council approved Myers’ request for the additional $50,000 appropriation in the hopes that it will be enough to cover overtime costs at the jail for the remainder of the year. The Sheriff is expected to ask for a substantial increase in staffing when preparing this year’s budget.

One proposed tax increase designed to help build and maintain county facilities is off the table, at least for another year. Bartholomew County has lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in reimbursements from the state because it does not have a Cumulative Capital Development Fund. Councilman Matt Miller says that this tax increase could hinder efforts to battle the area’s drug problem…

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Council member Evelyn Pence says noted that the council is made up of Republicans…

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Councilman Mark Gorbett took his fellow council members to task for not doing more to strengthen the county’s finances…

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Gorbett says the council recently spent over $30,000 on a consultant that determined that the county needed to increase revenue to better staff departments throughout county government.

Other council members said they wanted to wait to see how this year’s budget hearings play-out before they commit to a tax increase. The body will be considering an increase to the local income tax rate later this year to better fund public safety.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued an Air Quality Action Day and is forecasting high ozone levels for Wednesday in our area. This includes Bartholomew, Jackson, Brown, Johnson, Morgan and Shelby counties.

IDEM is encouraging you to take the following steps to reduce ozone:

• Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation
• Avoid using the drive-through and combine errands into one trip
• Avoid refueling your vehicle or using gasoline-powered lawn equipment until after 7 p.m.
• Turn off your engine when idling for more than 30 seconds
• Conserve energy by turning off lights or setting the air conditioner to 75 degrees or above

Health officials say that those sensitive to changes in air quality may be affected when ozone levels are high. Children, the elderly and anyone with heart or lung conditions should reduce or avoid exertion and heavy work outdoors.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the grant of summary judgment to Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department officials who interacted with a man who died in the county jail.

TheIndianaLawyer.com is reporting that In November 2013, Dennis Simpson reported to the Bartholomew County Jail to serve a weekend of confinement as part of his punishment for an earlier drunken driving violation. When he arrived at the jail, Simpson’s blood alcohol content was found it to be 0.23 percent. Later, when jail staff believed Simpson to be sober, the inmate was moved to a cell with bunk beds. That night, Simpson fell from the top bunk and hit his head on the concrete floor after experiencing an alcohol withdrawal seizure. He later died from his injuries.

Simpson’s son and sister filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in 2015 against the five officers who attended to Simpson and former Bartholomew County Sheriff Mark Gorbett, alleging they were deliberately indifferent to Simpson’s medical needs and that they subjected him to inhumane conditions. Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker granted summary judgment to all defendants on all claims.

The 7th Circuit then determined Simpson’s estate provided no evidence that he was still drunk when he was given a bed after 13 hours in a holding cell. Additionally, the appellate court said the estate failed to show how jail officials could have provided care or additional care for Simpson’s obesity or chronic alcoholism.

The Jennings County School Corporation is looking for substitute teachers for the upcoming school year. An orientation meeting for those interested is set for Thursday, July 27, at Jennings County Middle School from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. School corporation officials say the orientation meeting will be for both current and prospective substitutes.

Substitute teacher rates for 2017-2018 are:
Level I – $60.00 per day for high school graduates;
Level II – $65.00 per day for holding an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, or higher degree;
Level III – $70.00 per day for holding a valid Indiana Teacher’s License;
Level IV – $80.00 per day for retired teachers holding a valid Indiana Teacher’s License.

Jennings County School Corporation officials say they have modified requirements to include persons who have graduated from an accredited high school and have documented educational experiences. In addition to attendance at this meeting, prospective substitute teachers are also required to submit updated credentials and complete employment applications.

Jennings County School Corporation will be offering additional orientation meetings at the Central Office on the first Wednesday of each month at 9 a.m.

Columbus city officials are confident that the bridge taking vehicle traffic over the railroad at State Road 11 and Jonathan Moore Pike will be a reality sooner rather than later. On July 5th, Gov. Eric Holcomb visited Columbus to help celebrate a shared announcement about the bridge officially being added as an Indiana Department of Transportation project that would begin within the next five years.

John Dorenbusch, a member of the city’s redevelopment commission, serves on the Railroad Community Committee. He said Monday afternoon that the city and INDOT are currently hammering out a a first draft of an agreement to get the work underway. Dorenbusch says that the $30 million price tag will be split, 50/50. Fifty percent paid for out of state and federal dollars and the other half by the city. As for where Columbus will come up with $15 million for this project, Dorenbusch says it will come from the city, county government, CSX, the Louisville & Indiana Railroad and “local employers.” While those employers weren’t specifically named, the Redevelopment Commission, earlier in the meeting, approved a resolution amending where certain tax revenues captured through Cummins’ Tax-Increment Financing District could be allocated. This specific TIF district only affects Cummins. City officials say that more tax dollars are being generated than the company needs to repay a bond. Company officials have approached the city about putting that extra money into a fund that could be spent outside of the TIF district, with the approval of the city and Cummins.

The first draft also addresses the start date for construction of the bridge. Dorenbusch says that INDOT is floating a start date of no later than March of 2020. The city is countering with a start date of mid-2019. Dorenbusch says that he’s confident that construction will begin sometime in 2019, adding that the bridge will be built “the Columbus way.” George Dutro, also a member of the Redevelopment Commission, marveled at how quickly the project is coming together. “It’s a miracle that we went from a concept to a project in under a year,” he said.

Dorenbusch says that the next step is to hire a project manager. A working draft says that the project manager would be a part-time position being paid hourly to help facilitate the construction. Before construction can begin, much work needs to be completed, said Dorenbusch. This includes property acquisition, surveying and engineering work, among other needs.

We are less than three-weeks away from the start of a new school year for the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation. Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts says it’s time to start shopping for school supplies.

Roberts says that there are resources available to help those families who need help purchasing school supplies.

Roberts explains the partnership.

The first day back for teachers in Tuesday, August the 1st. Students return on Wednesday, August the 2nd.

The Board of Directors of the Jackson County Visitor Center recently awarded developmental grants to three county organizations, totaling $20,000.

Those receiving grants were the City of Seymour Park and Recreation Department, Brownstown Ewing Main Street and Save the Medora Brick Plant.

Officials say the projects include:

* Prepping Kasting Park baseball diamonds to accommodate softball tournaments.
* Beautifying downtown Brownstown and Ewing with concrete flower planters and hanging baskets.
* Assist Save the Medora Brick Plant organizers in funding Phase II of a planning study, including concept plans.

The developmental grants were established to offer 1:1 funding match assistance to not-for-profit groups; a city, county or public organization; tourism related business; or an organizational combination thereof for new projects or enhancements designed to have a direct impact on Jackson County and tourism.

A Columbus man was arrested on five counts of child molesting. Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting that these incidents are alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2009.

The paper is reporting that 61-year-old Bruce W. Giggy, who resides on River Road, was arrested by Columbus Police Wednesday evening. The newspaper is citing documents filed in Bartholomew Superior Court 1, which accuse Giggy of molesting three different children younger than age 14 within that time period.

According to the report, Giggy is being held on $175,000 bond.

For more on this story, go to therepublic.com.