Crews from Omega Mapping Services will be starting work at the Seymour Old City Cemetery today to collection burial information on the more than 400 bodies interred there.

The company will be using ground penetrating radar and GPS to create maps showing the locations of marked and unmarked graves.

The data will allow the city to have precise records of all burials and surface landmarks to help preserve the city cemetery.

The Seymour Old City Cemetery was founded in 1816 on land originally owned by the Shields family, Seymour’s founding family, and was active for 111 years. After 90 years of inactivity, city officials say the mapping project will help preserve the legacy of the cemetery. But it will also allow the city to offer open spaces for future burials. The sale of new burial spaces will provide funding for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Omega Mapping Services expects to be on site today through October 18th.

Duke Energy Foundation is announcing more grants in Bartholomew and surrounding counties through its “Powerful Communities” awards program.

The foundation will provide $5,000 to the Columbus Redevelopment Commission for the downtown riverfront project. The project will remove the low-head dam; ensure accessible pedestrian routes; provide safe and secure access to the river; and will be designed to reflect reasonable and responsible development of the riverfront.

Landmark Columbus Foundation will receive $3,500 for a project to create free public programs next year and to purchase and plant 1,300 plants in the community.

Decatur County Community Foundation will be receiving $25,000 to help a project to create a memorial walking trail. Funds will be used to purchase trees native to Indiana, as well as items for a weather and music station.

Vice President Mike Pence is getting the all-clear to participate in tonight’s vice presidential debate. In a statement, CDC Director Robert Redfield said the agency determined that Pence isn’t considered a close contact with anyone in the administration who has COVID-19, including President Trump.

According to our news-gathering partners at TTWN Media Networks, Redfield also notes that Pence has continued to test negative for the respiratory illness. Redfield notes that CDC regards someone as “close contact” as being within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes.

The Columbus-native Pence and vice presidential hopeful Kamala Harris are sparring over whether there will be a protective divider between them at their debate. The dividers are being put up to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. But Pence’s campaign doesn’t want plexiglass on his side of the debate stage tonight, saying it’s not needed since both candidates will be 12-feet apart.

The 90-minute debate will happen at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and will be moderated by USA Today’s Susan Page. You can listen to the debate live  at News Talk 1010 WCSI and 98.1 FM starting at 9 p.m. tonight.

The 2021 City of Columbus budget would provide funding for the Par 3 and Greenbelt Golf Courses, directly from the City Council, rather than through the Parks and Recreation Department budget.

City Council gave its first approval last night to next year’s budget. Jamie Brinegar, finance director for the city, said some of the highlights of next year’s proposal are the final steps in a five-year project to bring city employees pay up to the same level as similar positions in other communities, a 1 percent increase in base pay for public safety employees and reinstating $176,000 in funding for the golf course that was cut by the parks board in its department budget.

The total budget is about $80 million dollars, but that includes a new budget requirement from the state to pre-budget some $14 million in health and life insurance costs that have normally been paid from the health trust fund as they come up. Brinegar said he is projecting the city’s property tax rate will dip slightly after all the approvals and adjustments are finished from the state.

The Columbus Walk to End Alzheimer’s raised more than $53,000 dollars on Sunday, according to organizers.

More than 200 people took part in the event, with the walking being done individually or in small groups on community tracks and trails due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Together they raised $53,686.

Natalie Sutton, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Indiana Chapter said the result shows how invested Columbus residents are in the mission, and said that the association is grateful to each and every one of them.

The money raised through the Walk to End Alzheimer’s funds local education programs and caregiver support groups, as well as the 24/7 Helpline.

You can still make a donation by going online to act.ALZ.org/ Columbus.

There will be a drive thru flu clinic from 10 to 4 today in the Fair Oaks Mall parking lot, featuring low cost or even free vaccines.

The Bartholomew County Health Department will be providing flu shots to the community in the farmers market area in the mall lot. They will be accepting cash, credit and debit cards with the cost of $20 for Quadrivalent.

If you are uninsured or your insurance does not pay for flu vaccines you can received the vaccine for free. The free offer does not apply to the high dose of FluBlok which are $55.

Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent of guardian. The health department suggests that everyone 6 months old or older, should get a flu vaccine.

INDOT says that you will see slowdowns and intermittent closures on Interstate 65 starting tonight, just south of the Columbus exit as contractors set the beams for the new County Road 200S bridge.

The stoppages will begin Tuesday evening and will last up to 20 minutes at a time. Southbound traffic will be stopped Tuesday and Wednesday nights, while northbound traffic will have stoppages Thursday and Friday nights. Work will be done between 9 at night and 6 in the morning.

The following week there will be overnight lane closures as deck pans are installed prior to pouring the concrete deck. Bartholomew County Road 200S will remain closed while the bridge is replaced, a project that should last until late November.

You are encouraged to take alternate routes or allow yourself extra travel time during this work. All work is dependent on the weather.

Students at Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus who have earned an associate’s degree in several areas, will have guaranteed admission to IUPUC to continue their education.

Starting this fall, the Guaranteed Admission Agreement will be for students who hope to enter IUPUC’s biology, criminal justice or psychology programs, the schools announced recently. With some provisions, the Guaranteed Admission Agreement spells out necessary coursework toward degree requirements at both schools. And admission will come with an application fee waiver.

School officials are painting this as an affordable pathway to a bachelor’s degree, by eliminating any loss of credits while minimizing cost to students and ensuring they are able to complete their bachelor’s degrees on time.

Dr. Steven Combs, chancellor of the Ivy Tech Columbus campus, said the collaboration will mean a seamless path way to an affordable bachelors degree.

To take part, students must enroll at Ivy Tech Community College and complete all course work for the Associate of Science degree and the Statewide Transfer General Education Core requirements. They must also earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or higher, and meet any other eligibility requirements for their specific program.

Once students transfer to IUPUC, they will be awarded no less than 60 semester hours of transfer credit toward their bachelor’s degree. They will be required to complete an additional 60 credit hours or more at IUPUC to complete the degree. Students must also meet IUPUC’s minimum grade requirements for specific courses and program requirement grade point averages.

Students who want to take part should work with their Ivy Tech academic advisors to confirm that their academic plan.

Today is the last day to register to vote in the November election, and in-person early voting will start tomorrow.

Bartholomew County will have a single early voting location. Voters will only be able to cast early ballots at Fair Oaks Mall in the former Carson’s store.

Voting will be going on at the mall Mondays through Fridays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with Saturday voting on Oct. 24th and Oct. 31st also from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In person early voting will wrap up at noon on Nov. 2nd.

Bartholomew County voters will be deciding on contested races including six seats on the County Council, three seats on the Bartholomew Consolidated School Board and a Hope Town Council seat, among others. At the top of the ticket are races for president, governor and lieutenant governor, attorney general, representatives to Congress and the Indiana House and state senators.

There will also be questions to retain retain judges on the state court of appeals, and the Indiana Supreme Court.

Election Day is Nov. 3rd and on that day there will be 12 vote centers around Bartholomew County, where you can cast your ballot.

Vice President Mike Pence continues to test negative for the coronavirus and will be on the campaign trail this week including a debate in Utah.

A White House official says the Columbus-native Pence and his wife, Second Lady Karen Pence, also tested negative. The Vice President is scheduled to debate California Senator and Democratic VP nominee Kamala [[ COMMA-la ]] Harris in Utah on Wednesday. That’ll be followed by a trip on Thursday to Arizona for a rally.

On Fox News Sunday, Steve Cortes says precautions will be taken as the Vice President travels across the country this week.

The President and First Lady tested positive for the coronavirus last week and he has been receiving treatment at Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. On Sunday, the president appeared in a video on Twitter just before driving by his supporters outside the hospital. The President was seen waving and wearing a mask as his motorcade slowly drove past.

He said he’s getting “great reports” from his doctors.