Columbus native Vice President Mike Pence was the keynote speaker at last night’s Republican National Convention. Speaking from Fort McHenry, site of the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner, Pence said that he joined the ticket with President Trump four years ago because he believed the president had the ability to Make America Great Again. He formally accepted the nomination to run as vice president again.

Pence pointed out that his 87-year-old mother, Nancy, was in the audience.

Pence said he and the president came by very different routes to their partnership, but he said he has learned about the president in their four years together.

Pence said that the president has taken the fight to radical Islamic terrorists. He said the president took down what he called the ISIS Caliphate without the loss of one American solder. In one of the biggest applause lines of his speech:

Pence said he and the president built the world’s greatest economy in their first three years.

Pence said former Vice President Joe Biden claimed there is no miracle coming to cure the pandemic. Pence disagreed.

Earlier in the evening, Second Lady Karen Pence spoke before the convention. She said the President and Vice President are fully behind military families.

Pence said military spouses experience frequent moves and job changes but still exhibit pride, strength, and determination to be part of something bigger than themselves.

She also discussed her initiative to help military spouses and veterans with PTSD, through a form of art therapy.

Updated Aug. 27th

Gov. Eric Holcomb is extending the statewide mask mandate for at least 30 more days and keeping the state at Back on Track Stage 4.5, he announced Wednesday afternoon.

Local governments may impose more restrictive guidelines.

The governor said that the state continues to monitor and respond to these four guiding principles:

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients statewide has decreased for 14 days
• The state retains its surge capacity for critical care beds and ventilators
• The state retains its ability to test all Hoosiers who are COVID-19 symptomatic as well as health care workers, first responders, and frontline employees
• Health officials have systems in place to contact all individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and expand contact tracing

The governor also announced that the state is updating its color-coded county positivity map to  score counties as blue, yellow, orange or red, more easily allowing local officials to determine the best course of action. The map will go live on the Indiana State Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard next week and be updated weekly.

Scoring does not trigger a state requirement of any action, but provides local information and recommendations. Holcomb said the scoring is based on:

• Number of new cases in the past week per 100,000 residents
• Percent positivity as determined by the number of positive tests divided by the total number of tests administered
• The change in percent positivity from the previous week

The new system is designed to help local and school officials understand and respond to the level of community spread in their county. The map will be available on the ISDH coronavirus dashboard next week.

The Governor also signed an executive order extending the public health emergency an additional 30 days.

Parents and community members urged Bartholomew Consolidated School board members to keep the physical schools open for classes, but also expressed concerns about how eLearning was being handled, the lack of social distancing in classrooms and the resources available to teachers.

At Monday night’s school board meeting, nine members of the public signed up to speak to the board and to air their concerns.

Barb Wills, a parent of five, said that four of her children opted for in-person classes, with one taking the Bridge eLearning option. She said she was encouraged by the plans for masks and the COVID-19 indicators.

Austin Hover, a parent of two children in BCSC schools, said that it was unrealistic to expect children to wear masks and social distancing is impossible in places such as the lunch room. Plus he said that he thought students should not be subject to rules the community isn’t following. However, he also said that his children need to be in school and not eLearning.

Tracy Kiser, a BCSC parent, said she represented Show Your Work Transparency Now, a group demanding more transparency from the school district on the COVID-19 metrics reporting and decision making. She praised the district for presenting more data on the spread in the schools, however she said more information is needed. Especially on how the metrics will inform decisions on whether to keep schools open and what those thresholds are.

North Vernon police say a broken taillight last night led to the arrest of three people on drug trafficking charges.

An officer was working traffic patrol near State Road 3 and Madison Avenue at about 10 last night, when he noticed the vehicle with only one working taillight. After pulling the vehicle over, the officer discovered the driver, 33-year old Sarah O. Brazzell of Mitchell, had a suspended license.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department’s police dog Axel was brought to the scene and alerted to the smell of narcotics in the vehicle. A search revealed individually wrapped baggies of methamphetamine in the vehicle totaling about 6 and a quarter ounces, along with drug paraphernalia.

Brazell and passengers 30-year-old Ryan D. Pierce of Mitchell and 38-year-old Bradly M. Randall of Batesville are facing charges of dealing in and possessing methamphetamine, possessing a hypodermic needle and visiting or maintaining a common nuisance. Brazzel is also being charged with driving while suspended.

Our Hospice of South Central Indiana will be offering opportunities to pick up homemade cookies, and buy raffle tickets to support the fundraising surrounding the annual Labor Day weekend concert.

The cookies, homemade by Our Hospice volunteers, will be available at a drive-through at Fair Oaks Mall from 11 a.m.  to 1 p.m.  and from 4 to 6 p.m. , Sept. 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

You can stay in your vehicle to purchase your favorite cookies and raffle tickets. Donations will be accepted for a bag of three cookies and a minimum donation of $10 for a box of three dozen cookies.

Raffle tickets $10 each for a chance to win $10,000. There will also be winners of first through fourth prizes starting at $500. Our Hospice hopes to raise $120,000 around the annual concert,

They will be accepting checks and cash only.

A Columbus man is facing a strangulation charge after an incident last night at a hotel.

Columbus Police were called to a hotel room in the 100 block of Carrie Lane at about 8:45 p.m. Monday night on a report of a disturbance. According to police reports a victim had bruising on her neck and said that 35-year-old Robert S. Grissom strangled her during an argument.

Grissom was located nearby and arrested on preliminary charges of strangulation and domestic battery.

Columbus and Bartholomew County are making an unwelcome appearance on a national list. According to USA Today, the community is number 18 on a list of places where COVID-19 is growing the fastest.

The story, published Monday, says that Columbus has seen in increase in the daily average number of new cases week over week of +8.3 per 100,000 people.

It compared the week ending Aug. 17th, which had 16.9 average new daily cases to the week of Aug. 10th, which only had 8.5.

The state average over the Aug. 17th week showed 14 new cases per 100,000 residents.

Bartholomew County has had 1,023 positive test results for COVID-19 as of yesterday and has had 50 deaths. The most recent death was on Aug. 20th.

On the USA Today list, the worst community in the country for increased spread was Merced, Calif., which had a week-to-week change of 57.7 per 100,000 people.

You can read the article here.