Some area organizations are among the recipients of more than $175,000 awarded to nonprofits.

Indiana Landmarks announced Thursday it has distributed $176,250 to nonprofit organizations in fiscal year 2019 to help preserve meaningful places across the state. Drawing from a variety of funds, the grants support projects ranging from structural analysis for endangered places to a documentary about the West Baden Colored Church and an effort to place a rural farmhouse on the National Register of Historic Places.

“Not only do these grants help with material costs associated with saving places important to communities, but they also often spark community action and inspire other giving,” said Marsh Davis, president of Indiana Landmarks, the country’s largest statewide nonprofit preservation organization. “In that way, they deliver a return that reaches well beyond a specific project and well beyond a dollar amount.”

Area groups receiving Indiana Landmarks’ Sacred Places funding include:

– First Christian Church in Columbus is receiving a $5,000 Sacred Places Grant for repairs to the tower skylight at the 1942 church.

– North Christian Church, Columbus, $25,000 for HVAC restoration at the 1964 church.

Indiana Landmarks’ Sacred Places program helps active congregations raise money and harness their houses of worship for outreach and growth.

Area groups receiving Efroymson Family Endangered Places Grants include:

– Main Street Greensburg, $3,500 for a reuse study of the 1885 St. Mary’s Catholic Church and 1917 school.

– Montgomery Township, Jennings County, $2,000 for a reuse study of the 1953 Paris Crossing Gym.

Efroymson Family Endangered Places grants can be used for architectural and structural assessments, rehab cost analysis, and reuse studies.

The mission of Indiana Landmarks is to help people rescue endangered landmarks and restore historic neighborhoods and downtowns.

You have options if you want to clear away some Christmas clutter. Officials at the Columbus/Bartholomew County Recycling Center say you can drop off Christmas Trees, Christmas lights and wrapping paper at their facility at 720 Mapleton Street during normal business hours, Tuesday through Saturday, through January 18th.

There are some restrictions. Trees must be live and free of all decorations and stands. They can be dropped off at the yard waste site adjacent to the recycling center. If you want to dispose of Christmas lights, they must be of the strand variety. Wrapping paper cannot be shiny and must be free of bows and ribbons.

For more information, visit bcswmd.com.

A new phone and video system will soon be in place at the Bartholomew County Jail. Authorities say that inmates, families and friends will now have more options for visitation and email.

The Home WAV (Home Web Access Visitation) system will allow an inmate to visit remotely. Inmates will be able to see more people more often and will be able to send and receive emails.

Jail staff say this system offers built-in security. Any and all incoming mail will be scanned at an offsite location and emailed to inmates. Officials say that on-station visitation will still be available, however you can now visit online. Attorneys will also be able to speak with inmates remotely if they choose to do so.

“This new system should increase revenue generated for the Technology Fund,” said Major John Martoccia, Jail Commander. “Some of the Tech funds were used to offset the cost of the recently purchased body scanner,” added Martoccia. That body scanner is used to check inmates and visitors at the jail.

The new system is expected to be installed and working sometime in February.

The Sheriff’s Department stresses that this system comes at no cost to taxpayers. Officials say there will be a service charge to those who use the system.

An Indianapolis woman is behind bars after a Jennings County homeowner found her in his garage.

On Dec. 28 at approximately 3:20 p.m., Jennings County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the area of State Road 7 and County Road 300 North for a suspicious person riding a bicycle in traffic. While responding to the call, authorities received a call from a homeowner in the area who had found a woman in his garage breaking into his vehicle.

When deputies arrived, they found an intoxicated female who matched the description of the woman on the bicycle. Investigators say the female had made entry into the garage and stole items out of the victim’s vehicle.

Police arrested 33-year-old Jennifer L. Price on preliminary charges of:

– Burglary
– Possession of Methamphetamine
– Residential Entry
– Theft
– Criminal Trespassing
– Unauthorized Entry to a Motor Vehicle
– Public Intoxication

The first half of the 2019-2020 school year is in the books. Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts explains that students return to class next week.

Roberts says that inclement weather causing delays and cancellations remain a concern.

Roberts adds that e-learning days remain an option if additional snow days are compiled. If there are more before Spring Break, they will be made up during the week of March 9th. Any closings after Spring Break will be made up online.

The school corporation’s website is bcsc.k12.in.us.

An auto lighting fixture manufacturer in Seymour plans to add on to its facility at Freeman Field Industrial Park.

“The Tribune” in Seymour is reporting that the Valeo North America asked for tax abatements on its planned investment of $22.4 million. The paper says the project will result in about 78,000 square feet of new floor space but will not create any new jobs at this time.

Seymour City Council approved the abatements last week.

Valeo is the largest employer in Jackson County.

For more on this story, visit tribtown.com.

A Seymour man convicted of child molesting in October received a 35-year prison sentence Friday in Jackson Circuit Court.

“The Tribune” in Seymour is reporting that a jury found 40-year-old Franklin E. Lee attended the first day of his trial, but not return for the second. Before the trial started, the paper reported that Lee had been out of jail on a $10,000 bond for nearly a year. He was arrested in April 2018 after an incident where he touched a child under the age of 14.

Judge Richard W. Poynter issued a warrant for his arrest after the jury reached its verdict.

The incident was investigated by Seymour Police Department and Indiana Department of Child Services after a child talked about the incident with a teacher at school.

For more on this story, visit tribtown.com.

A Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputy has graduated from the prestigious FBI National Academy. Chief Deputy Chris Lane graduated Friday after attending a ten-week training session at the academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Authorities say there is a highly competitive process that local law enforcement officers must go through to be selected for the program. That includes a nomination by a supervisor, interviews with the candidate and co-workers to determine leadership skills and abilities, a background check, a determination of physical fitness and the support of former National Academy graduates.

After retiring from the Columbus Police Department, Major Lane became BCSO’s Chief Deputy in 2015.

Major Lane is a graduate of Vincennes University and has completed numerous courses with the Police Executive Leadership Academy and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Currently, Lane administers and evaluates all Sheriff’s Office operations.

“I am extremely proud of Chief Deputy Lane and I am very thankful he was able to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity for law enforcement leaders in this nation,” said Sheriff Matt Myers. “I am looking forward to his return to the office where the information, knowledge, and skills he gained at the FBI National Academy will be used for the betterment of our organization and the community we serve,” added Myers.

Columbus City Councilman Frank Miller got a head start on his fellow council members after he was sworn into office on Thursday. Miller, who defeated Democrat Michael Schoumacher by 40 votes in the November general election, is not able to attend the swearing-in ceremony at city hall on New Year’s Day.

The oath was administered by Bartholomew County Clerk of Courts Jay Phelps. Miller took the oath on a bible given to his mother on Christmas Day of 1940 while accompanied by his wife, Jenny.

Miller is beginning his third term on the council.

The Salvation Army’s iconic red kettles are feeling the impact of the short 2019 holiday season. With the last day of bell ringing set for Christmas Eve, many locations across Indiana are still far behind their fundraising goals. They are asking the community to help fill the kettles on these last few days to ensure that local programs aren’t affected by a shortfall.

Major Bob Webster, Divisional Commander of The Salvation Army in Indiana, says the late Thanksgiving hit the organization’s fundraising hard. “A lot of our best locations don’t even start until Black Friday, so we lost about a week of bell ringing this year. Many of our Salvation Army programs depend on those red kettle donations to keep going, so we’re asking our donors to make these last few days really count,” added Webster.

The Salvation Army has more than 450 red kettles in place across Indiana. Last year these kettles raised nearly $3.4 million in Indiana.

Webster asks for you to consider donating the next time you come across one of the Salvation Army’s red kettles.