A Columbus man led police on a high-speed chase that included a drive through a farmer’s field early yesterday morning.

Columbus police are reporting that an officer tried to pull a vehicle over for a loud muffler at about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday morning near 11th and California streets. But the driver took off, eventually driving into the rural parts of the county. He ran off the road and into a field near County Roads 250W and 100N, where he turned around and started to drive off again. But officer deployed a tire deflation device and his vehicle soon was disabled.

19-year-old Tyler L. Howard of Columbus was driving on a suspended license. He is facing new charges of criminal recklessness with a vehicle and resisting law enforcement with a vehicle.

You can get free help with your taxes through the United Way of Bartholomew County if you meet certain criteria.

The VITA/AARP Volunteer Tax Assistance Program is underway and is available to help Bartholomew County residents who make less than $64 thousand dollars, who have disabilities, who are elderly or who have limited English skills. IRS-certified volunteers provide confidential and secure basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals.

The sessions are being conducted at Fair Oaks Mall through mid-April. Assistance is available by appointment only. Reservations are on a first-come, first serve basis. Appointments can be made by calling 812-375-2216 anytime between 9 and 4, Monday through Friday.

The United Way is also partnering with three online programs that will allow you to self-file. You can get more information at uwbarthco.org/taxes.

The Bartholomew County Council for Youth Development is getting a big boost from the Mark & Wendy Elwood Foundation. The organizations yesterday announced a $100,000 grant to support children, teens and young adults in the community.

The grant will be over a three-year period and will help the council expand its youth empowerment efforts. Those efforts include finding more opportunities for adolescents and teens to get engaged with their community outside of school. Wendy Elwood said that the Council for Youth Development uses a positive approach to help teens make healthy choices and live their best life.

Heather Carson with the Council said that the grant money will advance the work of empowering young people to discover their purpose, connect to the community and reach their full potential.

Columbus and the community bicentennial commission are announcing that the People Trail system will come nearly full circle this year with what they are calling the 1821 Trail extension along First Street.

Columbus and Bartholomew County were both founded in 1821 and are celebrating their bicentennial this year.

The project will add to the 26 miles of the city trail system that currently ends at Lafayette Avenue by connecting trails to Water Street. Officials say that the trail extension will also include architectural and art elements reflecting the community 2021 Bicentennial theme of “Common Ground.”

Mayor Jim Lienhoop outlined the project during his State of the City speech this week.

A design firm for the project will be chosen in March, and a groundbreaking is planned for September. The project will be funded by the city’s redevelopment department, the Columbus Park Foundation and private donors. Columbus is also applying for an Indiana Destination Development grant through the Indiana Department of Tourism.

After completion of the 1821 Trail, the final piece to close the citywide trail loop would be part of the riverfront development project that would connect the 1821 segment to the trail that ends on the northern side of the Robert N. Stewart Bridge at Second Street.

You can get more information on local bicentennial plans at columbusarea200.com

The Town of Hope is narrowing in on the role the town council wants to see for a new town manager. And what qualifications the town manager should bring to the office.

The council held a special meeting yesterday to discuss the job description for a new town manager. At last month’s town council meeting the members agreed to begin seeking to fill the town manager position, which has been vacant since December of 2018.

The council will want the town manager to provide weekly reports on town projects and the manager’s activities. The council also discussed asking for background checks including criminal records and financial activities.

Council member Clyde Compton also suggested rolling together the position of town manager and executive director of Main Street of Hope. But other council members said that that could be too much work for a single position. And Council member Ed Johnson said he would like to see the town manager be a resident of the town.

The council also agreed that the town manager should call on every business in the town at least twice a year.

The town extended the deadline to receive applications of the position until the March 16th council meeting.

The COVID-19 outbreak at the Bartholomew County Jail has given the county an unwanted designation by the state of Indiana. It has been flagged as one of two counties in the state with a large number of COVID-19 weekly cases being attributable to congregate settings.

Congregate settings are locations where people live, meet or gather in close proximity and can include homeless shelters, group homes, prisons, detention centers, schools and workplaces.

Bartholomew County joined Orange County as the only counties currently in that category. Local health officials have not heard specifically from the state about the flag, but believe it is because of the recent outbreak at the jail and at Hickory Creek, a local extended care facility.

Last week, the sheriff announced that nearly half of the jail’s inmates had tested positive for COVID-19.

Early in January, Brown County received the same flag after a surge in cases centered around Helmsburg Elementary School.

In Tuesday afternoon’s update to the state’s COVID-19 figures, Bartholomew County had 23 new cases and three new deaths with a 7-day positivity rate of 18.6 percent, just over 10 percentage points higher than the statewide average of 8.1 percent. Since the start of the pandemic in March, Bartholomew County has had 6,877 positive tests and 107 deaths.

A Columbus man is being accused of drug dealing after a traffic stop Monday night.

Columbus police report that they stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation near McKinley and Gladstone Avenues at about 11:45 Monday night. A police dog was brought to the scene and alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle. A search revealed plastic bags of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and digital scales. Those were found near where 42-year-old Sean E. Hunter of Columbus was sitting.

Hunter was arrested on preliminary charges of dealing and possessing the methamphetamine and a narcotic drug.

Police say additional arrests are possible and this is an ongoing investigation.

Columbus-based diesel engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. is announcing that Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Marya Rose is retiring, effective in April.

Rose joined Cummins in 1997 and became general counsel in 2001. She was named Chief Administrative Officer in 2011. Tom Linebarger, chairman and CEO of Cummins, said that Rose’s work was critical as Cummins became a more global and diverse company.

Rose will be replaced by Vice President and General Counsel Sharon Barner. As chief administrative officer, Barner will lead several of Cummins’ largest global groups, including communications, marketing, government relations, compliance, facilities, security, Cummins’ global shared services organization, and legal.

Prior to joining Cummins, Barner served as Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She and her husband live in the Indianapolis area.

Legendary groundhog Punxsutawney Phil at Gobbler’s Knob, in Pennsylvania and newcomer Hope, at Bartholomew County’s Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators are in agreement — six more weeks of winter. Both of the groundhogs saw their shadow yesterday morning in the annual tradition.

Hope-area resident David Miller introduced the local groundhog:

Hope resident Donju Taylor read the local groundhog’s proclamation:

Kathy Hershey with Utopia, explained the life of a groundhog in Indiana.

Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators have posted the full video of the local festivities to their Facebook page.

Photo courtesy of Susan Thayer Fye

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop touched on many of the city’s achievements over the past year during last night’s State of the City address, but he also recognized the realities and limitations brought about by COVID-19.

The mayor touted project such as the finished State Road 46 Overpass, and continuing progress on the riverfront, downtown housing and mixed used development, a hotel conference center and a new court services building. And touched on ongoing projects including Fair Oaks Mall, Otter Creek Golf Course and street improvements.

But he also cited Columbus and Bartholomew County as an orange dot in a sea of red on the state’s COVID-19 spread map. He thanked the healthcare community, leaders of educational institutions, local industry and clergy for their collaboration and efforts to protect the health and well-being of residents.

But the mayor said the pandemic isn’t over, despite the start of vaccinations.

Looking forward, the mayor said the city is celebrating its bicentennial this year and can expect the city to celebrate successes and share a vision for the future.