Three people were injured, one seriously, after a propane explosion this morning at Faurecia’s Columbus plant.

Columbus firefighters were called to the plant on South Gladstone Avenue at 2:08 a.m. this morning and were told by witnesses that there had been explosion when an employee was filling a propane tank for a forklift.

One employee is believed to have serious burns and was flown by medical helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital. Two others received minor injuries and were treated at the scene.

The explosion caused a fire at the propane filling station, outside of the main manufacturing facility, according to firefighters. The facility’s sprinkler system activated, significantly reducing the possible damages caused by the fire. No damage estimate is available.

Faurecia evacuated the building prior to firefighters arriving on scene.

Fire crews were on scene for more than two hours.  The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department

The Columbus and Seymour offices of Kemper CPA Group are merging with accounting firm Agresta, Storms & O’Leary, ASO announced yesterday. The staff of the two Kemper offices will join the ASO staff when the the Columbus offices of ASO move to the Kemper offices on Washington Street at the start of the year.

“We are excited for the opportunity to add these offices as this acquisition supports ASO’s strategic growth plan,” said Shawwn Storms, partner at ASO. “Acquiring these locations will allow our firm to be in a better position to provide a broad suite of tax, accounting, and business consulting services to companies throughout South Central Indiana. We believe this acquisition will make us stronger and ensure our clients have access to more capabilities, capacity, and resources.”

ASO was founded in 2009, and operates a full-service accounting firm with offices in Indianapolis, Martinsville, Batesville, Greensburg, Columbus, and Seymour. You can get more information at ASO CPA dot com.

The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County is temporarily closing the ASAP Hub due to the spike in local COVID-19 cases.

Doug Leonard, ASAP’s executive director, said that that the most responsible step is to close the physical location to help ensure the safety of clients and staff. ASAP plans to continue to monitor the local situation and will announce a return to normal when the COVID-19 spike ends.

As of today, the ASAP Hub will be operating remotely. Clients can visit the Hub online at asapbc.org and start a videocall from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. or can fill out the contact form online and an ASAP Hub staff member will get back with you.

If you heed to reach the Hub you can call and leave a message at (812) 418-8705, and an ASAP Hub staff member will contact them.

Indiana saw its second highest number of new cases of COVID-19 in yesterday’s report from the state Department of Health.

The state had 7,420 new positive cases, with a 7-day positivity rate of 12.1 percent. The state also had 59 newly reported deaths from the coronavirus.

Bartholomew County showed 98 new cases, the second highest day since the start of the pandemic in March. There were 33 new cases in Jennings, 54 in Jackson, 3 in Brown, 139 in Johnson, 38 in Shelby and 37 in Decatur counties. Shelby County had three new deaths from the disease, and Jackson had one.

There are 46 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Bartholomew County according to the most recent numbers from the local community task force.

According to the state color coded map, Bartholomew, Johnson, Shelby, Jennings and Jackson counties are all show as orange, or serious spread of the disease, while Brown and Decatur counties are red, showing severe spread.

Columbus Congressman Greg Pence honored Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department’s fallen police dog Diesel on the floor of the House this week.

Memorial services for Diesel are planned for tomorrow in the Fair Oaks Mall parking lot. The public services will be from 1 to 3 and law enforcement memorial services will be from 3 to 4 p.m. Hundreds of police canine officers from around Indiana and the region are expected to attend.

If you are planning to attend, entrance to the services at the mall parking lot will be in the westbound lanes of 25th Street.

Diesel died Saturday after being hit be a vehicle while chasing a suspect near Interstate 65.

Columbus police say a woman suffered a broken leg and other injuries after a crash with a drunk driver Wednesday evening on Indianapolis Road.

The crash happened at about 8:45 p.m. in the 2500 block of North Indianapolis. The driver of an SUV, 47-year-old Jerome E. Collier Jr. had to be cut from the wreckage of his vehicle. Police say he had alcohol on his breath and slurred speech. He refused a DUI test and was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to have his blood drawn.

The second driver, 25-year-old Madison McCarty was taken to CRH for treatment of a possibly broken leg and then flown to an Indianapolis hospital by medical helicopter for additional treatment.

Collier was arrested on a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with serious bodily injury with a prior conviction.

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis is warning of high winds today and an elevated risk of fires this afternoon.

According to the agency, you could see wind gusts of up to 50 mph with continuing winds from the southwest of 20 to 30 mph. You can expect to see out door objects blown about, tree limbs knocked down and some power outages.

The winds, combined with low relative humidity levels of 25 to 30 percent, could cause fires to quickly get out of control. Outdoor burning is not recommended today.

A wind advisory is in effect from 10 to 5 today.