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. 

Bartholomew County is agreeing to a proposal from the city of Columbus to turn over the county parking lot and court services building between 2nd and 3rd streets. City officials want to develop the property into a hotel with conference center and parking garage and a possible downtown grocery.

Commissioners President Carl Lienhoop explains that 100 spaces in the new parking garage would be reserved for county employees use and that two parking lots around the jail would be given to the county along with the former Eynon Law offices behind the county jail.

In exchange, the city’s redevelopment commission would put $1.5 million dollars towards the design and construction of a new court services building on First Street behind the county jail, Lienhoop said. There would also be two parking lots around the jail given to the county and 100 spaces in the new parking garage would be reserved for county employees use.

Commissioners agreed to the tentative memorandum of understanding at their meeting Monday. One change County Attorney Grant Tucker wants to the agreement would be to make sure the new building is complete and ready to move in before turning over the existing building and lot to the city.

Commissioner Ric Flohr voted against the proposal, saying that his first instinct when it was proposed was simply to tell the city “No.”

Vice President Mike Pence, a Columbus native, is officially being nominated for a second term.

Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker made the nomination today in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Republican National convention.

Delegates at the convention affirmed the nomination by acclimation.

Pence is scheduled to speak at the convention on Wednesday and his wife Karen will also address the nation.

Speakers today include President Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr.

This year’s overlay project for Columbus city streets is kicking off today.

Crews from Milestone will first be installing underdrain along Chapel Drive and storm sewers at the intersection of Mission and Chapel Drives.

Beginning Tuesday, crews will begin patching work in Flatrock Park North. According to the city engineer’s office, an overlay is a three part process: patching, then milling, and finally paving.

The scheduled work:

• Norwood Court from Norwood Drive to terminus
• Cottonwood Ct from N Cottonwood Drive to terminus
• Cottonwood Ct from S Cottonwood Drive to terminus
• River Road from Rocky Ford Road to 50’ N of Riverside Drive
• Woodfield Place from Rocky Ford Road to 37th Street
• Sycamore Drive from Sycamore Court to Willow Court
• Fairfax Drive from Muriel Place to Middle Road
• Cedar Ridge Drive from 2540 Cedar Ridge Road to terminus
• Haw Creek Avenue from 17th Street to 25th Street
• Midway Street from 175’ South of 22nd Street to 40’ North of 23rd Street
• Chapel Drive from Flintwood Drive to Fairlawn Drive
• 14th Street from Sycamore Street to Lafayette Avenue
• Countryside Addition
• Butternut Drive from Coles Drive to Coles Drive
• Coles Drive from Tipton Lakes Blvd to Carr Hill Road
• Cunningham Drive from 500’ East of Warren Drive to Central Avenue

The city asks that you be patient, reduce your speed and use extra caution in work zones. You should be alert for construction signs, workers with flags and obey all “No Parking” signs.

The city engineer’s office also points out that starting today crews for Dave O’Mara Contractors will be working on Gladstone Avenue from State Street to 10th Street as part of the City’s Community Crossings project.

Taylor Road in Columbus will be shutting down to through traffic today for a road improvement project expected to last into early next year.

The first phase of the project, from 31st Street to Rocky Ford Road, is expected to take about six months. The road will narrow to a single 11-foot-wide lanes in each direction, with an eight-foot wide concrete side path on the west side and a five-foot concrete sidewalk on the other side.

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop explains that the purpose is to slow traffic in the residential neighborhood.

The second phase, from 25th to 31st street, will begin late next summer.

Columbus Regional Health’s role in an experimental blood treatment program for COVID-19 will continue.

That comes after President Trump touted the use of convalescent plasma for treating coronavirus patients Sunday evening and rolled back an FDA announcement to stop the emergency use of the blood product.

Last week, the FDA paused the emergency use of blood plasma as a treatment for COVID-19. The treatment uses plasma from the blood of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat people who are ill.

Kelsey DeClue, spokeswoman for CRH, said last week that CRH’s program would continue, as it is part of an experimental, rather than emergency, use of the plasma.

The hospital announced in April that it had partnered with the Mayo Clinic and national blood research institute Versiti for a trial of the infusions.

Declue said CRH feels fortunate to be able to take part in the trials.

DeClue said the key is to remember that the therapy is still experimental.

National health officials last week said that there’s no proof the therapy works. However, President Trump said yesterday that studies of the treatment show that it reduced the COVID-19 death rate by 35-percent. DeClue said that CRH is seeing some very encouraging positive results from the trials so far.