INDOT says that drivers on the west side of Columbus will see the end to some construction work this weekend.

Between 8 a.m. and noon on Friday, Milestone Contractors will be switching eastbound State Road 46 to its new configuration, with the opening of those lanes of the overpass into downtown.

Eastbound drivers will be using the new bridge over State Road 11 and the new approach to the Robert N. Stewart bridge at Second Street. They will also see  a new traffic signal, at the T intersection called  a “Green T” or “Continuous Green T” intersection. According to INDOT, these types of intersections allow for free-flow traffic in one direction, on State Road 11 southbound, by using acceleration and merge lanes for left-turns to and from the intersecting road.

And State Road 11 will also be reopening between State Road 46 and Garden City on Friday, INDOT says.

Westbound State Road 46 will remain in its current pattern through mid-to-late July as work continues to prepare the bridge and ramps for traffic. Work will continue near the new overpass through the rest of the summer and fall into next spring, including removing the old State Road 46 roadway, seeding, sodding and project clean-up.

INDOT says you should slow down, use extra caution and drive distraction-free through all work zones, especially as drivers adjust to the new traffic patterns.

IUPUC is outlining its plans for opening the campus for the fall semester.

Dr. Reinhold Hill, the vice chancellor and dean at IUPUC says that the fall semester will begin on August 24th with a combination of blended and online classes. The semester duration will be 13 weeks for many courses, ending on November 20th. There will be no fall break. For students in classes that need to maintain a 16-week format, students in courses that go beyond Thanksgiving will have a 10-day holiday break, finishing with three weeks of online-only study.

The spring semester will operate in reverse with online-only classes beginning on January 19th. On February 8th, the campus will re-open for blended instruction through the end of the semester. There will be no spring break.

IUPUC will use several strategies to minimize the COVID-19 risk to students and staff including new cleaning protocols, managing room capacities and schedules, maintaining safe distancing, wearing masks and personal health checks.

IU is partnering with IU Health to provide all IU students, faculty and staff with comprehensive COVID-19 symptom checking, virtual visits with a health care professional, and testing with continued monitoring when needed.

For more information visit https://fall2020.iu.edu/iupuc.

Hope Heritage Days will not be held this year. The organizers met last night and made the decision not to go forward with the annual festival in northeastern Bartholomew County, one of the largest events in the county.

Michael Dean, CEO of Heritage of Hope said that the organizers “delayed this inevitable decision for as long as we could, hoping and praying for COVID-19 conditions to improve.”

Dean said that the cancellation will be a major blows for Hope-area not-for-profits, many of which earn their entire annual budget at the food booths they operate in the Hope Town Square.

Dean said that many scenarios were considered to help minimize the loss of income for the not-for-profits, however each option brought health risks that could not be managed.

Heritage of Hope will not be out a lot of money after the cancellation, as many of the annual expenses have not yet been paid. However, Dean said that some operating costs, such as insurance, still must be paid despite the cancellation.

Cummins is announcing that it is entering into a partnership for hydrogen storage technology.

The company announced the joint venture Tuesday with NPROXX for hydrogen storage tanks. Cummins called the company a leader in hydrogen storage and transportation.

Cummins charman and CEO Tom Linebarger said Cummins is committed to leading the way and being the provider of choice for new power solutions including advanced diesel, natural gas, electrified power, fuel cells, hybrids and other technology. He said the addition of hydrogen storage allows the company to accelerate the viability for that technology in commercial markets.

The joint venture will produce hydrogen and compressed natural gas storage products for both on-highway and rail applications.

Cummins and NPROXX will each own 50 percent of the new joint venture.

Updated: This story has been updated with new information.

Columbus police say a local man is in jail after crashing into a mailbox, then fleeing the scene of the accident. But he is now also facing charges for violating requirements of the sex offender registry.

Columbus police say they have been investigating complaints from the public about 31-year-old Michael O. Kent.  Officers recently submitted their findings to the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office, which led to  warrants being issued for Kent’s arrest on felony charges of failure to register as a sex offender and a sex offender residency offense.

Kent was already in the Bartholomew County Jail, after being arrested on a charge of leaving the scene of a property damage accident for  allegedly crashing into a business mailbox in the 2400 block of West Jonathan Moore Pike. Police said the incident happened just after midnight Monday morning and they arrested Kent after a review of security footage.

After being arrested, Kent is being held without bond. Police say Kent’s bond was revoked for a May incident where he was arrested in for trespassing at a downtown Columbus business.

Kent is a registered sex offender, convicted in May of 2009 of second degree rape in Maryland. He is listed as homeless and unemployed in the registry maintained by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

Over the past three years in Columbus he has been arrested for trespassing multiple times, and accused of more serious crimes including theft, resisting law enforcement, battery with bodily injury, probation violations and trafficking with an inmate.

Bartholomew County Sex Offender Registry

Organizers of the Mill Race Marathon announced this morning that there would be no in-person marathon this year, but they are considering virtual events.

The committee announced on social media that “Because the health and safety of all our participants, volunteers and the community are our top priority, we are cancelling the live event.”

Organizers said they were concerned about the many unknowns surrounding COVID-19 including the chances of spreading the disease without ever showing symptoms, saying that makes it difficult to manage the spread in public situations and large gatherings.

For those already registered, organizers will be offering a refund or a transfer to the 2021 event.

Mill Race Marathon Facebook page

The Columbus Area Visitors Center is launching new initiatives to try to draw people to Columbus and Bartholomew County in the wake of the pandemic.

Karen Niverson, executive director of the tourism agency, says that the center is investing in an advertising blitz to try to draw day travelers to spend the night in the community.

Niverson said that across the tourism industry, communities are struggling after the shutdowns caused by COVID-19. In Bartholomew County, for example, hotel occupancy was as low as 17 percent one week in April, down from a normal 83 percent occupancy rate.

Niverson said the promotion will include billboards and digital ads within about a 100 mile radius. In a normal year, the center would be trying to draw tourists from as far away as Chicago and Detroit, she said.

Niverson said there is also going to be a campaign to get people to come out to dine, especially in downtown Columbus. That will take the form of a social media and radio advertising campaign to tout a return to dining-in at local restaurants.

You can hear more of our interview with Karen Niverson here.

A Scipio motorcyclist was seriously injured when his trike was hit from behind by a highway department truck Monday morning.

Indiana State Police are reporting that 66-year-old James Gholson was riding the Harley Davidson three-wheeler at just before 11 on State Road 3 near the intersection of County Road 675N. He had slowed to turn onto the side road when a Jennings County owned truck driven by 50-year-old Mike Ponsler of Butlerville hit the rear of the cycle, throwing Gholson off.

Gholson was treated by Jennings County paramedics at the scene and then flown to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis by Stat Flight helicopter.

Ponsler was uninjured. The investigation is ongoing.

Columbus firefighters battled a blaze on Werner Avenue Sunday afternoon that caused $45,000 dollars in damages and left a resident homeless.

According to firefighters, witnesses made multiple calls to 911 about smoke and flames coming from a home in the 800 block of Werner Avenue at 4:37 Sunday afternoon. Firefighters discovered flames shooting from a window at the front of the home when they arrived on scene.

Firefighters determined the fire started in a bedroom and then up into the home’s attic. The home suffered serious fire and smoke damage.

The resident of the rental home said he was outside at the rear of the home when the fire started.

Salvation Army is providing emergency shelter services for the resident.

An inspection showed no working smoke alarms in the home.

Seven people were arrested Friday morning by the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team after a warrant was served at a home on the east side of Columbus.

The warrant was served shortly after midnight Friday morning at a home on Reo Street. During the search, officers allegedly found prescription medications, marijuana, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and counterfeit money.

According to police reports, this is part of an ongoing investigation into narcotics in the community.

Charges for the seven ranged from drug possession, to visiting a common nuisance and forgery.  Those arrested include:

• Reggie K. Booker, 48, of Columbus- Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of a Schedule II Substance, Possession of a Schedule IV Substance, Possession of a Schedule V Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
• Danielle Allen, 30, of Elizabethtown, IN- Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of Counterfeit Currency, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of a Schedule III Substance, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Fentanyl
• Stefan T. Hartford, 30, Shelbyville, IN- Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of Counterfeit Currency, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of a Schedule III Substance, Two Counts of Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Fentanyl
• Jennifer A. Nichols, 46, of Columbus- Maintaining a Common Nuisance
• Janeta M. Kimball, 59, of Columbus- Forgery, Outstanding Arrest Warrant
• Dale A. Harris, 56, of Columbus- Visiting a Common Nuisance
• Keith Stevenson Jr., 49, of Columbus- Visiting a Common Nuisance