As snow, ice and cold temperatures become more commonplace, people will start doing more to heat their homes. Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the Columbus Fire Department says it is important to be safe.
Wilson reminds us that we’re also in the holiday season.
Fire officials urge you to remember one rule of thumb…
Other safety tips include never using an extension cord on your heaters and never using an oven to heat the inside of your home.
An Edinburgh man was arrested after he reportedly broke into a home early Saturday morning. The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that deputies were called shortly after 5 a.m. to the 7900 block of North Harvest Lane in reference to a possible break-in. On arrival, deputies found an open side garage door with damage to the lock and items strewn across the floor.
The homeowner reported that he had also heard noises in an upstairs bedroom. While checking the bedroom, deputies found 34-year-old Jose Manuel Irizarry Rivera asleep on the floor. Irizzary Rivera was wanted on six Bartholomew County warrants. He is facing a new charge of Residential Entry.
The Town of Nashville/Nashville Utilities has issued a Boil Order due to a water main break at East Main Street and Old School Way. The affected areas are:
– 145 E Gould St.;
– 85 Locust Ln.;
– 55 -79 N Van Buren St.;
– 1 – 191 S Van Buren St.;
– 157 & 169 Old School Way;
– 62 E Washington St.
Residents and businesses affected in these areas are asked to boil their drinking and cooking water until 4 p.m., Friday, November 16th.
Bartholomew County officials have given approval to borrow up to $6 million dollars to build a new highway garage.
The county commissioners have proposed building a new highway facility on rural 25th Street on property currently owned by the county’s solid waste management district. The 11.25 acre property is next to the Clay Township Volunteer Fire Department station.
The current facility on State Street built in the 1950s is in poor condition, has maintenance facilities that are too small for modern vehicles and the property is not big enough to expand the current building. County Commissioners hope that a new garage could be built and ready to move into by the spring of 2020.
Tuesday night’s action by the council allows for the preparation of the bonds. The total cost for the proposal won’t be known until February. Then, the council must decide how much they want to bond. County officials say those funds would be repaid from existing income tax revenue, meaning no tax increases were necessary.
Our Hospice of South Central Indiana employees were recently recognized at the Columbus Regional Health All Workforce Event. Hospice staff and volunteers were recognized with award for Scholarship, Service Excellence, Quality and Safety Achievements, Growth and a special recognition for the Our Hospice Volunteer of the Year.
Robert Borczon Scholarship winner: Kim Napier, RN, Inpatient Facility Shift Supervisor
This scholarship is awarded in honor of Robert Borczon, former chief administrator at CRH from 1967-1985 for those seeing professional development in a health-related career through post-secondary education. Napier is working toward her certification as a Nurse Practitioner.
Marion Dietrich Service Excellence North Vernon Office
Sandy Downs, Patient Care Manager
Amanda Blackburn, Administrative Assistant
Cathy Betz, RN
Andrea Weiler, RN
Kristen Miller, RN
Jennifer Asche, RN
Jenny Asche, RN
Kelli Carter, RN
Kim Oliver, RN
Ray Vaughn, RN
Betty Owens, RN
Linda Garrity, Home Health Aide
Jeff Curry, Chaplain
David Caldie, MSW
Courtney Wagner, RN
Chris Hall, Administrative Assistant
The CAHPS-Hospice Experience of Care Survey is sent to primary caregivers after a patient passes away. Based on responses from caregivers, the North Vernon office received the best rating of care from nearly 91-percent of the respondents.
Quality and Safety Achievement Award – Our Hospice Care Coordination Project Team:
Christina Alvis, Administrative Assistant
Stacie Gilmore, Administrative Assistant
Amanda Blackburn, Administrative Assistant
Molly Jenkins, Clinical Documentation Analyst
Kelly Brinson, Administrative Assistant
Tammy Miller, Administrative Assistant
Katie Flinn, Administrative Assistant
The Quality and Safety award rewards best practices in achieving quality outcomes.
The Hospice team worked on a process to better coordinate care between nursing facilities and the Our Hospice team. The process is now guided by Our Hospice Administrative Assistants and scores have improved to above the 90th percentile.
Growth Achievement – Our Hospice Resource Development Department Ellen Brunner, Director of Major Gift Planning
Brigitte Halvorsen, Team Coordinator, Resource Development
Julie Davis, Event Specialist
Lissa Fischer, Prospect Research Analyst
Tabitha Saltzman, Administrative Assistant
The Growth award is given to a team that showcases best practice in achieving growth or innovation.
The Our Hospice Resource Development Department established and grew an annual fund direct mail appeal with results increasing by 75-percent year over year and implemented a major gift process increasing major gifts by over 65-percent year over year to increase the on-going support for Our Hospice of South Central Indiana.
Our Hospice Volunteer of the Year – Don Meyer for 25 years of service
This award is given to a volunteer who does an outstanding job representing the mission and goals of Our Hospice.
“We are proud of all our staff who work daily to make every moment count for our patients and families,” said Laura Leonard, President. She continued, “Don Meyer has been a volunteer with Our Hospice for 25 years. His caring spirit and compassion to help others has brought peace and comfort to many patients and families over the year, we celebrate with him as the Volunteer of the Year.”
A new Bartholomew County Historian has been appointed. The Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana Historical Bureau have announced the appointment Dr. Tamara Stone Iorio.
The County Historian Program was established in 1981 in an effort to improve the historical communication network across the state. In this role, Iorio acts as a liaison between statewide agencies and local organizations. She also answers questions from the public about local and family history.
Dr. Iorio is a pediatrician and published author who has written three books on Columbus history. Iorio has been involved with the Bartholomew County Historical Society since 2005, serving six years on the executive board and two years as board president.
As the new Bartholomew County historian, Dr. Iorio follows in the footsteps of the late Harry McCawley, who served in the volunteer position for 25 years until his passing in September 2017.
More information about the County Historian Program, as well as a directory of local county historians, is available online at indianahistory.org or by calling IHS at (317) 232-1882.
A local man was arrested after he allegedly stole a truck with the owner’s dog inside. Columbus Police say it happened Sunday morning while the truck was parked in front of a home in the 300 block of Center Street. At approximately 10:30 a.m., the truck’s owner told officers that he left his truck running in front a friend’s home while he was carrying groceries to the house when an unknown person stole the vehicle. The owner also stated that his dog was inside the truck at the time it was stolen.
Officers from the Columbus Police Department and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department spotted the stolen truck a short time later and tried to stop it. The truck crashed through two locked gates at a business on South Gladstone Avenue where the truck came to a stop. The suspect, 43-year-old Richard L. Gahwiller, of Columbus, was taken into custody. The dog was unharmed and both it, and the truck, were returned. Gahwiller is facing preliminary charges of Auto Theft, Theft and Leaving the Scene of an Accident.
Columbus is ranked as one of the safest cities in Indiana. According to SafeWise’s annual “20 Safest Cities in Indiana” 2018 Report, Columbus was listed as the eighth safest city in the state. That ranking was based on a violent crime rate of .44 per one-thousand residents. Columbus’ property crimes rate is considerably higher, at 41.15 incidents per one-thousand residents.
The safest city in Indiana, according to SafeWise, is St. John.
You can view the entire list here: http://bit.ly/2z3VCsg.
Columbus Firefighters are investigating an early Friday morning fire that destroyed a storage building in the 900 block of Union Street.
Crews arrived on the scene around 4:37 a.m. to find a fully engulfed wood storage shed behind 926 Union Street. The fire was located at the rear of the rental property, away from other homes or buildings. Portions of the roughly 8’ x 10’ building had collapsed prior to firefighters arrival. Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames within minutes.
The cause of the fire is undetermined and damages are estimated at less than $1,000. No one was hurt.
Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the Columbus Fire Department, says that CFD firefighters have responded to three detached storage building fires in this area since August. Authorities ask you to report any suspicious activity to 911.
The body of a missing Trafalgar woman was quickly found in a pond on her property. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department says that deputies were called to a home in the 7800 block of South Sawmill Court at about 1:45 p.m. on Thursday to assist Trafalgar Fire Medics.
Deputies arrived as medics were performing CPR on the woman on the rear boat dock of the property. The victim, 73-year-old Judith Metcalfe, had reportedly been suffering from Dementia and wandered off.
While the death is not considered suspicious, Johnson County officials say an autopsy will take place.