The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce and SIHO Insurance Services are partnering to offer local businesses health insurance for their employees.

The two announced this morning that Chamber members will have access to a variety of endorsed fully-insured health plans through SIHO. The plans are available for employers with two to 50 eligible employees.

Cindy Frey, president of the Chamber, says that than half of the Columbus workforce is employed by a Chamber-member business and more than 70 percent of those members have 50 or fewer employees.

Thirteen variations of health benefit plans are available with effective dates of Jan. 1 of next year.

The complete announcement:

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce and SIHO Insurance Services have joined forces to address the challenge many businesses face in finding local, high-quality, and affordable healthcare benefits for their employees.

Chamber members in good standing will have access to a variety of endorsed fully-insured health plans through SIHO Insurance Services with January 1, 2020 effective dates. The plans are available for employers with two to 50 eligible employees. Employers with 51 or more eligible employees will have access to similar endorsed plans.

In Columbus, more than half of the workforce is employed by a Chamber-member business. The sweet spot for this newly-launched SIHO plan is companies with 50 or fewer employees. More than 70 percent of the Chamber’s members fall into this category. Another 22 percent employ between 50 and 100 employees.

“Employers recognize that a healthy employee is not only more satisfied, but is also better able to make positive contributions to the organization’s success. And, employers know that offering a competitive benefits package allows them to hire and keep the best workers,” according to Cindy Frey, president of the Chamber. “Finally, we believe there will be a bottom-line benefit to our members as they ought to experience a cost savings.”

Thirteen variations of health benefit plans are available, including both Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and Health Savings Account (HSA) plans. Additionally, the partnership provides options for dental, vision, and life insurance, online diabetes management, telemedicine and wellness screenings at the Chamber. Additionally, SIHO’s mobile app makes it easy for its customers to access healthcare information.

The SIHO plans are supported by the Inspire clinically integrated network and Columbus Regional Health, providing outstanding local care. Columbus Regional Health is a member of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce and is one of the five largest employers in Bartholomew County.

“The partnership with the Chamber along with the support of Columbus Regional Health and Inspire Health Partners has allowed us to develop a unique offering for employers in our community and their employees. We are truly excited about this opportunity to help local businesses thrive” states John Sadtler, President and CEO of SIHO Insurance Services.

Companies who are interested, should request a quote from their insurance agent. For more information, contact an independent agent or consult the Chamber’s website at www.columbusareachamber.com,  or visit http://www.siho.org/ColumbusChamberEndorsed.html

Southwestern Bartholomew Water Corp. has issued a boil water advisory this morning for customers in all of Brown County served by the utility, along with Bartholomew County customers in the Bethany area, on Baker Hollow Road and on Georgetown Road.

A water main was cut in the area. You should bring any water to a full boil for five minutes before drinking it or using it in food preparation. The advisory is in effect until 4 p.m. Tuesday.

A chance coming up Saturday to help the Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund. Ben Noblitt is an organizer for this event, being held at Kroger on National Road.

Noblitt says that money raised from the sale of food will benefit the Cheer Fund.

In addition, Columbus East Senior Matthew Sizemore will set up boxes to receive toy donations at both entrances to Kroger as part of his senior project. Those boxes will remain open for donations until December.

Saturday’s event runs from 10:30 to 2 p.m. at Kroger.

The body of a white male in his 30s was been found in a cornfield east of Indianapolis Road.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department says that deputies were called to the scene Thursday afternoon. Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting that the body was discovered by a farmer harvesting his corn.

The sheriff’s department knows the identity of the male, but is not releasing the name until his family is notified.

The cause of death is currently unknown.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.

A Richards Elementary School student was arrested Thursday after allegedly telling people he was bringing a gun to school.

Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department says that the incident began after other students overheard the sixth-grader make the claim on the way to school. Upon arrival, those students informed a teacher. School officials then contacted CPD.

Harris says an officer arrived and spoke with the student. No gun was found, but the child was taken into custody and is facing a preliminary charge of Intimidation.

No one was hurt.

Ivy Tech Community College will unveil its Mobile Agriculture Classroom at a special event next week.

The Ivy Tech Mobile Agriculture Classroom, known as Ivy MAC, is a self-contained mobile classroom with interactive workstations for students, community members, and employer partners to conduct activities related to agriculture. Officials at the college say the 38-foot-long trailer is packed with ag-related labs, tools, and experiences to reach students and the community beyond the classroom and provide engaging, hands-on agriculture lessons. More than 40 donors contributed to the goal of $170,000 to establish the lab.

You are invited to check out the lab Thursday, Oct. 10th at 4:30 p.m. at the Ivy Tech Columbus Agriculture and Industrial Technology Center, located at 2565 Grissom Street.

The Jolie Crider Memorial Skate Park at Clifty Park will be closing down Friday afternoon while crews work on the improvements, turning the park into Skate Park 2.0

The Columbus Parks and Recreation Department says the Skate Park will be closing at 3pm on Friday. It will reopen on Saturday morning. You can learn more about the project to improve the park at columbusparkfoundation.org.

Our Hospice of South Central Indiana is reporting that its recent Broadway Memories event raised more than $35,000 for the center’s Music & Memory program.

That program provides personalized music treatment for patients with dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The Saturday night event was at Judson Erne Auditorium at Columbus North High School and featured five Broadway stars. Local high-schoolers also took part in two songs during the show. About 500 people attended the event.

For more information on Our Hospice, or to help with the Music & Memory program, you can go to ourhospice.org.

A Freetown man is under arrest, accused of giving a fake name to Columbus police this morning.

Columbus police were called to a report of a man acting suspiciously around a vehicle at 11th and Washington Streets at about 6:50 a.m. this morning. While talking to him, officers realized that he had given them a fake name. A search by police revealed that the man, 22 year old Donovan A. Martin was also found to be carrying methamphetamine. He was arrested on preliminary charges of drug possession and false informing.

Interstate 65 was a mess yesterday afternoon between Columbus and Seymour after a pair of accidents closed both the northbound and southbound lanes. And police say one of the crashes appears to have happened intentionally.

Sgt. Stephen Wheeles with the Indiana State Police says that the first accident was at about 1 in the southbound lanes in southern Bartholomew County. An SUV flipped over into the middle of the intestate, blocking all southbound lanes for about an hour. No one was injured.

The second crash was north of Seymour on the northbound lanes minutes later where an RV crashed into concrete barrier in the median and then burned down to the frame. Wheeles said that investigators received information that the crash was intentional. The driver, 37-year-old Clarence Hampton, of Orlando, Florida was seriously injured. He was first taken to Schneck Medical Center and then flown to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. Two passengers in the RV were uninjured.

Wheeles said the northbound lanes were shut down for about three hours during the crash cleanup and investigation.