Bartholomew and Jennings counties will be among the beneficiaries after the Southeast Indiana Workforce Board announced that it will receive $1.5 million from a $4.7 million federal Dislocated Worker Grant being awarded to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

The grant will help to provide services to eligible individuals and businesses impacted by the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction and overdose. The grant will enable area WorkOne Southeast offices to address the crisis by promoting and subsidizing positions such as community health workers, recovery coaches and peer navigators.

The grant is being awarded to DWD’s Region 9, which also includes Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jackson, Ohio, Ripley and Switzerland counties.

A press conference to discuss the grants is set for Friday, Aug. 30 at Honda Manufacturing of Indiana in Greensburg.

The Columbus Engineering Department says that County Road 350W, from State Road 46 West south to Pine Ridge Drive, will be closed Tuesday, Aug. 27th, to repair a culvert pipe. The work is expected to last two days with reopening on Thursday.

If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.

Indiana State Police will be looking for impaired and dangerous drivers this weekend in Jackson County.

Troopers from the Indiana State Police Versailles Post will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint at an undisclosed location in Jackson County on August 30th and 31st. Those drivers passing through the checkpoint area should have their licenses and registrations ready to present to troopers and will only be detained briefly while troopers determine whether further investigation is necessary.

If you see a vehicle exhibiting erratic driving behavior, call 911 with a description of the vehicle, its location, and direction of travel. These reports can be made anonymously.

Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, met Friday afternoon with local farmers at the Bartholomew County REMC to listen to their concerns. Young says that area farmers have been hammered by the weather.

Young adds that the U.S. must do all it can to protect intellectual property rights and curb other abuses by the Chinese government.

One area Sen. Young says can improve the lives of farmers would be the passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement to replace NAFTA.

Young says that Democrats on Capitol Hill aren’t interested in giving President Trump a win, but he holds out hope that the USMCA can get 60 votes in the Senate and that Republicans in the House can get enough Democrats on board to pass the measure.

Dan Arnholt, a local farmer, says that the trade dispute is impacting him and others. Arnholt shares his concerns.

Sen. Young says that federal officials are continuing to work to open up Chinese markets to farmers, while searching for other markets so that U.S. farmers aren’t at the mercy of the Chinese government.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department is looking for an area man. Authorities say the incident occurred Thursday in the Hayden area after James Helton allegedly pointed a gun at another person and made threats.

Prior to deputies’ arrival, police say Helton left the area and went to his home in Jackson County near the Jennings County line. Deputies arrived at Helton’s residence and found his vehicle in the driveway, the same vehicle Helton had driven to the incident in Hayden. Deputies attempted to make contact with Helton but could not get a response. After several attempts to call Helton out, members of the Jennings County SRT set up a perimeter around Helton’s residence.

A search warrant was obtained for Helton’s home, a camper. The Indiana State Police was contacted to execute the search warrant. After several attempts to call Helton out, the State Police SWAT made entry into the camper. Helton was not inside.

Jennings County Sheriff Kenny Freeman and Jackson County Sheriff Rick Myers are asking for your help locating Helton, who is wanted on preliminary charges of Intimidation with a Weapon and Pointing a Firearm.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of James Helton, contact the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office at 812-346-5111 or the tip line at 812-346-0342. Tips and information can be left anonymously.

Closures on State Road 7 in Jennings County will be moving north.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says the current closure, south of Turkey Run, will move north next week as crews begin work on the second of four box culverts between the Jefferson/Jennings County line and Vernon.

On or after Monday, August 26, State Road 7 will close three-and-a-half miles north of the county line at Turkey Run. The road will reopen at the location of the first culvert, about three miles north of the Jefferson/Jennings County line. The new closure is expected to last for approximately 30 days, though the work is dependent on the weather.

The official state detour for the closure is State Road 3 to State Road 256.

Additional closures are planned at the following locations, and will take place after completion of work at each culvert, moving south to north:

– 11.67 miles north of State Road 250, just south of Crosley Fish and Wildlife Area
– 5.71 miles north of Jefferson/Jennings County line, approximately one mile south of State Road 3/ State Road 7 split

The project is expected to be complete by October 31st.

If you drive around high-water barricades in Bartholomew County, the penalty is getting tougher.

If convicted, defendants in Superior Court II who have ignored road closure signs and driven around a barricade will now be given the option to pay a $500 fine or to have their driver’s license suspended for 30 days.

“The Court recognizes the potential dangers and has decided to take this action as an additional incentive,” said Superior Court II Judge Kathleen Coriden.

“This certainly provides another reason for people not to drive around a high water barricade,” said Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers.

“Judge Coriden understands the potential danger, not only for the driver but for my deputies and other first-responders, who have to rescue drivers who ignore high water signs. Sometimes people need a little more motivation. Hopefully we have that now,” added Sheriff Myers.

“Most of the money will go to the state but this remains a bold move, especially when it comes to public safety,” said Myers.

The announcement was made on Thursday, just days after the Bartholomew County Commissioners rejected a proposal to increase the fine. Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting that Commissioners Larry Kleinhenz and Rick Flohr voted against the proposal on Monday. Commissioner Carl Lienhoop was not present.

It’s that time of year when many local governments are putting together their budgets for 2020. That work is underway in Columbus. The city council on Tuesday night had the first reading of a salary ordinance for city employees and elected officials…

Lienhoop says this is the second year of implementing the changes suggested by that salary study. He says it’s important to him to make sure city employees are being compensated fairly.

City council approved a pair of ordinances. One adjusted the pay scale for city employees. The other gave elected officials a two-percent increase. Both ordinances were approved unanimously.

The second reading for each ordinance is set for Sept. 3.

A school bus manufacturer in Georgia says that more than 100 buses, powered by Cummins fully electric drivetrains, have been ordered from Blue Bird Corporation.

Blue Bird officials say that electric buses are already operating in California, North Dakota and Washington. Additional buses on order will transport students in California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York and Quebec by 2020.

“The amount of interest has been outstanding; people are very excited about a 100-percent electric-powered school bus,” said Phil Horlock, president and CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “The nation is increasingly influenced in electric vehicle transportation in general, and we anticipate rapid growth of electric school buses as more districts are educated on the zero-emissions and low-maintenance benefits they bring to their local communities.”

Blue Bird officials say the company has been working with electric technology in school buses since 1994 and has recently partnered with the Cummins Electrified Power business segment.

“Cummins and Blue Bird are committed to supporting customers and ensuring that we are safely transporting our children and improving air quality for communities,” said Julie Furber, vice president of electrified power at Cummins Inc. “Schools can count on Cummins to deliver the same level of support and service network for these electric buses that we’ve always delivered through our more than 200 wholly-owned branch locations and 3,200 service technicians in North America.”

The Blue Bird electric bus produces zero emissions and require less maintenance. Company officials say the buses are capable of up to 120 miles of range and can be recharged in approximately eight hours.

The Columbus Engineering Department says that crews with Dave O’Mara Contractors will be closing the intersection of Sixth Street & California Street Friday morning. Work to complete the tie-in of the new water main as part of the State Street Phase 2B project will be done.

The work is expected to be complete by Friday evening. Once the tie-in is complete, the road will be re-opened.

If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team powered by Crew Car Wash. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.