Bartholomew County is making some changes to its COVID-19 restrictions to comply with new guidance from the state.

Effective at noon on Saturday, Bartholomew County bars and restaurants will no longer have strict capacity limits, but will instead have limits based on social distancing.

According to the order released by county health officer Dr. Brian Niedbalski, people from non-household parties must be spaced six feet apart at tables, counters, and other seating arrangements. Masks should be worn when not actively eating or drinking. He also strongly encouraged, frequent hand washing and proper sanitation.

Many business will still be limited to 50 percent capacity, including movie theaters, bowling alleys, and similar indoor entertainment venues, large retailers including groceries and hardware stores, and gyms, fitness centers, and personal services.

Gyms and similar businesses must screen employees daily, wear facial coverings, and equipment must be spaced to satisfy social distancing. Equipment must be cleaned after each use. Group fitness classes can take place, with social distancing.

Social gatherings, public meetings, and all other events will be limited to no more than 100 people and they must adhere to social distancing guidelines. The health department will not be taking submitted plans for larger events.

You can read the Bartholomew County order here.

Seymour’s Main Street program will receive a share of $205,000 dollars in grants through the state’s Taking Care of Main Street program, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced yesterday.

She said the goal is to support Indiana Main Street organizations that provide leadership and services to the public. The grant program is paying special attention to organizations that have been significantly impacted by COVID-19.

Seymour Main Street is receiving $15,000 to offset salary expenses. That is so other operational funds can continue to be allocated toward local grant programming.

Several local high school students took home cash awards for their business proposals in the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored Maverick Challenge regional event recently.

Students competing in the Maverick Challenge take their business ideas from a concept to a developed business plans, work with local mentors in improve those plans then pitch those proposals in multiple rounds of judging both at the local and regional level.

The challenge was launched in 2008 to further the innovative spirit in regional high school students. This year’s virtual event was held last weekend.

A team from Bloomington North High School took first place with a plan for a computer science app for students.

Trey Nebergall of Columbus North High School took second place with Aspire Group, his plan for a real estate media company that provides professional photography, video, drone, and 3D tours for real estate agents. He received $1,000.

Maggie Connell of Seymour High School received the Judges’ Choice for Research & Preparation for her project, Sunset Vistas, an independent retirement community in Seymour. Connell was awarded $175.

Columbus area educators and retired educators will be making their case to local legislators with an education-focused, virtual Third House session tomorrow morning.

Republican legislators, State Rep. Ryan Lauer and Sen. Greg Walker, will take part in the event at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning via Zoom. The Columbus Educators Association and Bartholomew County Retired Teachers Association are organizing the event focused on education-related legislation.

The event is expected to last an hour and will include both presentations by the legislators and the answering of questions submitted by viewers. You can sign up for the virtual session here.

Schneck Medical Center in Seymour is easing some restrictions on hospital visitors.

All visitors are required to complete a screening when they enter the facility. Anyone with fever and/or chills, sore throat, muscle aches, runny or stuffy nose, cough, fatigue, headache, vomiting or diarrhea can not visit patients.

Once screened, visitors will receive a wristband to wear while in the building. All visitors, older than 2, are required to wear a mask while in the facility and should practice social distancing.

Patients who are not in isolation are allowed to have two people visit at a time but those visitors must remain in the patient’s room.

In other changes:

• Isolation patients: Visitors are not permitted. End-of-life patients may have limited visitors, as determined by the nursing supervisor.
• Labor and delivery patients: Visitors are limited to two people at a time and must remain in the patient room throughout the visit.
• Newborns and pediatric patients: Parents/banded visitors are able to remain with the patient throughout the hospitalization. Additional visitors are limited to two people at a time.
• Visitors are limited to two at a time in the surgery visitor area.
• Visitors are limited to two during the patient’s stay in the Emergency Department and they must stay in the patient room at all times.
• Patients may have two visitors accompany them to their outpatient test or physician office visit.
• Patients may have two visitors accompany them to their Cancer Center clinic appointment.

A Columbus man was arrested early this morning after a traffic stop uncovered drugs in his vehicle.

According to reports from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, deputies stopped a vehicle after a traffic infraction at about 1:08 this morning near County Road 650N and U.S. 31. Police determined that the driver, 50-year-old Brian Bay had a suspended driver’s license, with court ordered specialized driving privileges that he was violating.

Department police dog Argo was brought to the scene and alerted to the smell of drugs in the vehicle. A search revealed methamphetamine, syringes, a scale and prescription medication that did not belong to Bay.

Bay was arrested on preliminary charges for possessing the drugs and for violation of specialized driving privileges.

Evidence photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

The town of Hope is once again on the hunt for a town manager.

The town has been without a manager since December of 2018, when the Town Council declined to renew the contract of the previous manager.

Earlier this month the council held a special meeting to iron out the responsibilities and job description of a town manager, and to ensure certain benchmarks such as semi-annual visits to all businesses in town and regular reports to the council on all the town manager’s activities.

After voting last month to reopen the search, the council had hoped to have applications in hand by the end of February. But with the job description revisions adopted this week and the recent bad weather, Council member Clyde Compton proposed extending the search deadline.

The council voted to approve the job description changes and to take applications until March 31st.

Gleaners Food Bank has again changed the location for the food distribution today at the Columbus Municipal Airport.

The location will once again be the corporate aviation hangar at 5175 North Warren Drive. That change was announced yesterday afternoon and is different than the previously announced alternate location. However it is a return to the usual spot for the pantry distributions.

The food distribution was originally scheduled for last week, but delayed because of the severe weather.

The Columbus event will be from 4 to 6 pm. today. Gleaners says you will still stay inside your vehicle and there are no early arrivals, or parking on the main streets in the area.

You can check for updates before the event on the Gleaners website at Gleaners.org.

Police agencies around Indiana are reminding Hoosiers not to hit the road if they have been drinking or are otherwise impaired during their celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day or the NCAA tournament.

Agencies will be cracking down on dangerous and impaired drivers in an effort that starts Friday and lasts through March 31st. You can expect to see officers conducting extra, highly visible patrols and they will be searching for those driving aggressively, over the speed limit or under the influence.

The overtime patrols are funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through an Indiana Criminal Justice Institute grant.

The agency issued a report showing that more drivers took part in dangerous behavior in 2020 and fewer drivers wore seatbelts. Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, 2020 turned out to be the third highest year in traffic deaths over the past decade for Indiana, with 850 fatalities.

Area agencies announcing their participation in the crackdown include North Vernon and Bloomington police departments and Indiana State Police.

Greensburg High School will be virtually hosting famous scientist Jane Goodall next week as part of the annual Greensburg Chautauqua.

History teacher John Pratt says Goodall is expected to give an uplifting talk from her home in England, followed by a question and answer session with the students.

Goodall was one of the first first women primatologists in the world and started researching chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute, a global wildlife & environment conservation organization.

Chautauquas started in the late 19th century as an educational movement and were usually an outdoor event where participants could hear a lecture or attend a concert under a tent. Greensburg hosted Helen Keller and William Jennings Bryan in those early events.

Pratt has been organizing the Greensburg Chautauquas for 26 years and this is the second year for a virtual event.

The Goodall event will be from 12:30 to 2 p.m. on Wednesday through the Zoom app. Pratt said other schools are also invited to participate.

Image courtesy of Jane Goodall Institute.