Columbus Parks and Rec. are inviting you to work up an appetite for a good cause on Thanksgiving morning. The fifth annual ‘Turkey Trot” is being held at the Hamilton Center at 9 a.m.
Organizers say this is a free 5k run/walk, but donations will be accepted to the Chuck Wilt Scholarship Fund. In addition, there will be a raffle for a turkey give-away at the event.
You can register online, here: bit.ly/2Fu3Zmz.
If you have no plans for this Thanksgiving, or if you’d simply like to celebrate with several others, the Lincoln Central Neighborhood Family Center invite you to take part in their annual free offering with First Christian Church. Diane Doup explains…
Doup says these meals are prepared by generous donors.
Meals will be served from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and you are welcome to attend.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers is asking local children to join him in the fight against bullying.
“If parents, school staff and other adults in our community talk to kids about bullying, bullying behavior can be stopped over time,” said Sheriff Myers. “Kids need safe environments and we need to create a county-wide bullying prevention strategy.”
Sheriff Myers is asking kids in Bartholomew County to “speak up” …” reach out” …and “be a friend” by signing an “Anti-Bullying Contract” and returning a copy to him.
These contracts will soon be available for downloading from the Sheriff’s Department website. Deputies will also be carrying contracts in their patrol cars.
Crews will be paving three Bartholomew County roads over the next few days. They are:
– Talley Road (350 North to 450 North) on Saturday, November 17th;
– 650 East (50 North to Base Road) on Monday, November 19th;
– 100 South (900 East to State Road 46) on Monday, November 19th and finishing Tuesday, November 20th
The County Highway Department asks that you avoid these areas on these days.
As of 7 p.m. about 4,400 local Duke Energy customers are still without power.
Current Customers out by county:
Bartholomew: 2406
Brown: 77
Decatur: 176
Jackson: 801
Jennings: 976
Duke Energy says that it still cannot set estimated repair times for those remaining in the dark. However, officials stress that they have brought in additional crews and contractors to assist with restoration efforts.
Customers can report an outage or view current outages online at duke-energy.com/outages.
Correction: Due to a source error, a previous version of the story was incorrect on the location of a salamander habitat project. It is in Harrison and Crawford counties.
The Duke Energy Foundation is announcing $154,577 in grants to 10 conservation organizations to enhance and improve Indiana’s environment.
“We understand the importance of maintaining a commitment to environmental responsibility in our communities,” said Melody Birmingham-Byrd, Duke Energy Indiana state president. “That’s why we work with a number of stakeholders to develop initiatives that lessen the impact of energy production on surrounding habitats.”
Area nonprofits receiving grants include:
A home on Wallace Street was damaged in a Thursday morning fire. Columbus Firefighters were called to 2263 Wallace Ave, at approximately 7:40 a.m. Firefighters from nearby Station 3 arrived on the scene and reported light smoke coming from the home’s eaves and attic vents.
The homeowner said she was alerted to the fire by her neighbor who told her that smoke was coming from her roof. The resident stated that at that time there was no smoke in the interior of her home, and that none of her three smoke alarms had sounded.
The neighbor reportedly told authorities that he saw the smoke while he was assessing a power disturbance at his residence. He told investigators that he heard what he believed was a large tree limb crash onto the roof of his home. This was followed by lights flickering. The neighbor told investigators that he saw several large tree limbs lying on his home and lawn. One tree limb had fallen on an electric utility line connected to a utility pole at the rear of his property. He reported that the utility pole transformer appeared to be sparking, as was the electric meter attached to his home. That’s when he saw smoke at his neighbors’ home and informed the residents.
While the official cause of the fire is undetermined, investigators believe electrical factors contributed to the fire. Fire Department investigators discovered melted electrical wiring within a wall space believed to be the origin of the fire.
Damages to the home, are estimated at $15,000. No one was hurt.
Two Columbus residents are in custody on felony charges after officers served a search warrant at their home, which led to the recovery of a large amount of stolen property, including guns, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and chainsaws.
Columbus Police Officers responded to the home at 1275 Jonesville Road on Tuesday evening after receiving a complaint of stolen property at the property. The arriving officers observed a stolen motorcycle and a large amount of additional suspected stolen property at the residence.
The officers secured a search warrant for the two acre property. Lt. Matt Harris, CPD spokesman, says that over a dozen officers and detectives from the Columbus Police Department and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department spent two days checking the serial numbers on hundreds of different items. During the investigation, the officers were able to track the stolen property back to thefts reported in Indiana and Kentucky.
The investigators also determined that several of the vehicles in question had false identification numbers. The officers recovered a number of guns, one of which was reported stolen and second that had the serial number scraped off. The officers also located part of a methamphetamine lab on the property as well as drug paraphernalia, marijuana and methamphetamine.
Arrested were:
Shawn K. Miller, 40, of Columbus;
Theft, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of a Syringe, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Manufacturing Methamphetamine, Possession of a Vehicle with an Altered VIN, Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number
Amie S. Chapman, 31, of Columbus;
Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
CPD says that both Miller and Chapman remain in custody on a 72 hour hold.
Columbus Regional Health is offering help with open enrollment for plans within the Affordable Care Act.
CRH is offering free enrollment services via Connection Specialists at WellConnect. Officials say that certified insurance navigators can help provide advice on ACA plans available, as well as enrollment services. WellConnect also offers a certified State Health Insurance and Assistance Programs (SHIP) navigator to assist with Medicare Open Enrollment.
Appointments for enrollment services are required and are available by calling WellConnect at 812-343-9840.
The Indiana Department of Education released the 2017-2018 School Accountability Grades. IDOE officials say that roughly 22-percent of schools improved one or more letter grades, with nearly nine-percent improving their letter grade to an A. Overall, close to 64 percent of schools received an A or B.
In Bartholomew County, school grades are as follows:
Clifty Creek Elementary – C
CSA Lincoln – A
Mt. Healthy Elementary – B
Parkside Elementary – B
Richards Elementary – A
Rockcreek Elementary – A
Schmitt Elementary – C
Smith Elementary – B
CSA Fodrea – B
Taylorsville Elementary – C
Central Middle School – C
Southside Elementary – B
Northside Middle – B
Columbus North – B
Columbus East – B
In Flat Rock-Hawcreek Schools, both Hope Elementary and Hauser scored “B’s.”
You can find other Indiana school grades here: http://bit.ly/2DEl9Mq.
“Our current accountability grades are an indication of the great education Indiana students are receiving,” said Dr. Jennifer McCormick, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction.“Our work is paying off and as a Department we will continue to partner with dedicated stakeholders to ensure every school and every student is successful.”