The post office wants to remind you that their offices will be closed on Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday, and there will be no home mail delivery.

You can stop by and use automated kiosks at some post offices. Regularly scheduled mail delivery will return on Tuesday.

The city of Columbus will begin leaf collection routes on Monday running through Dec. 13th.

City officials say that leaves will be picked up curbside on public streets on the same day as your trash collection. You are asked to keep the leaves loose and out of the street. You need to have them out at the curb by 7 a.m.

Seymour’s Department of Public Works will begin leaf pick-up at residences on October 21st. Leaves should be raked as close to the curb as possible and should be free of branches and other trash items. The Seymour leaf pick-up schedule will be one day after your trash day as weather permits.

Four people were arrested after officers served a search warrant Thursday evening in Columbus.

According to police reports, the Columbus Intelligence Led Policing Unit and the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Team raided a home in the 1500 block of Union Street at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday night. During the search, officers allegedly found drugs, syringes and drug paraphernalia.

Police arrested Columbus residents 59-year-old Bobby J. Roberts, 33-year-old Sunshine N. Johnson, 35-year-old Erica D. Burton and 56-year-old David B. Copass on a variety of drug-related charges.

Those included:

Roberts:  Dealing in Methamphetamine, Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of a Syringe

Johnson: Dealing in Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Heroin, Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of a Syringe, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

Burton: Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of a Look-A-Like Substance, Visiting a Common Nuisance

Copass: Possession of Methamphetamine, Maintaining a Common Nuisance, Possession of a Syringe, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

If you have some hard-to-get-rid-of junk items lying around the house because they might contain toxic chemicals or components, the Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District will be offering an amnesty day next month, where you can dispose of some of the more common items.

You will be able to dispose of up to four tires with the rims removed, up to two appliances containing refrigerants and up to two propane gas tanks. You can also dispose of old TVs and computer monitors but those will cost you $20 each.

The amnesty day for Bartholomew County residents will be Saturday, Nov. 9th from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Columbus/Bartholomew County Recycling Center on Mapleton Street.

Ethnic Expo organizers have announced that they are moving the Friday entertainment to The Commons due to the weather.

Katherine Dunn, organizer for the city, “Please join us there tonight for Raices Folklore, Ballet Folklorico, Kids Yoga Class, Adult Yoga Class, and Kiran Ahluwalia!”

You can go to www.ethnicexpo.org for more information.

Communities in Bartholomew County will see almost $2 million in road improvement money from the state’s Community Crossings Matching Grant program.

The governor was in Madison yesterday to announce $99.2 million grants statewide across 229 communities.

Locally, Bartholomew County received $591,796, Columbus $1 million, Hope, $189,401 and Elizabethtown $118,730. Neighboring communities receiving grants included Edinburgh received $639,075, Westport $107,175, Princes Lakes $166,816, Greensburg with $504,601 and Greenwood $874,130.

The maximum allowed per community per year is $1 million dollars. The state requires that half of the money it awards go to communities with fewer than 50,000 people.

To qualify for the road money, communities had to put up matching funds. Larger communiteis must put up 50 percent match while smaller communities must match 25 percent.

And communities that apply must put together a list of all roads, streets and bridges along with a plan on how they will maintain them.

Ethnic Expo kicks off Friday morning in downtown Columbus in the streets around City Hall.

Katherine Dunn, organizer of the annual festival for the city, explains that this year’s host country is India, which will be represented by the Indian Association of Columbus.

There will also be Indian-themed performances on the main stage and sessions where you can take part in Bollywood style dancing and sample yoga.

Friday night’s headliner is musician Kiran Ahluwalia, who has both Indian and Pakistani influences in her music. She will take the stage at 8 p.m.

Saturday night’s headliner will be local favorite the Tiptoniana, Dunn said.

Ethnic Expo runs from 11 a.m. in the morning to 10 p.m. at night Friday and Saturday. If you are coming down to eat or shop, Dunn recommends bringing cash as many vendors will not be set up for credit cards.

The presenting sponsor, for the 10th year in a row, is First Financial Bank, for the tenth year in a row, and other sponsors including Coca-Cola, ERMCO Electric and Milestone. The festival is also supported by the Indiana Arts Commission, the Columbus Area Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

You can get more information at ethnicexpo.org.

Bartholomew County Road 525 West, between State Road 46 and Goeller Road will be closed to traffic today. That will be from about 7:30 until 2:30 while a culvert is replaced.

If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team powered by Crew Car Wash. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.

A Chicago-based business with local ties is planning a $16 million dollar investment in northwestern Bartholomew County. Bartholomew County Council approved a tax abatement for Peer Foods Group new facility this week.

Peer Foods, which also owns Mariah Foods in Columbus, is planning the new almost 54 thousand square foot facility on West Presidential Way in the Bartholomew County portion of Edinburgh. The building itself is expected to cost $13.6 million dollars and about $2.4 million dollars in new logistical and IT equipment will be added.

Construction is expected to start by next month and be completed next year.

The company estimated it would be bringing 11 jobs to Edinburgh, with eight being transport and material handling at an average wage of $13.50 an hour with benefits.

The company asked for a 10 year tax abatement which the County Council approved for the construction portion. A five year tax abatement was approved for the equipment purchase.

Under a tax abatement, rising property taxes due to new construction or equipment are phased in, with no property taxes paid in the first year.

The County Council also approved a tax abatement for the George Utz company in Edinburgh is planning a $3.4 million investment in new equipment.

Company spokeswoman Penny Grubbs said that the investment will retain 87 jobs and create 14 new ones. The new positions in production are expected to pay $16.75 per hour.

Columbus police say they arrested two wanted men Tuesday evening while serving warrants at a Nicholas Lane apartment complex.

When officers from the departments’ Intelligence Led Policing Unit arrived at about 5:50 p.m. they saw 45-year-old Christopher C. Mullins walking up to an apartment. He was wanted on two outstanding warrants and taken into custody. Inside a nearby apartment, police found 40-year-old Woody D. Bryant who had three outstanding warrants.

In addition to the warrants, Mullins is facing a new charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.