The November Seymour elections will see Republican Matthew Nicholson running against Democrat Rexanne Ude for the mayor’s office.

They were the top vote-getters in their party’s primaries Tuesday. That was an eight way race with five Republican candidates and three Democrats.

The clerk-treasurer’s race will see Republican Darrin Boas running against Democrat Robin Carpenter, who both won their primaries.

Chad Hubbard defeated Joshua Dailey in the Republican primary for the District 3 Council race, while Seth Davidson upset incumbent James Rebber for the Republican District 4 nomination.

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop has won the Republican primary election over his challenger Glenn Petri 71 to 29 percent.

There is no Democrat signed up for the November general election. Lienhoop faced a similar situation four years ago, where he had an uncontested path to mayor after winning the Republican primary.

In other contested primary races in Columbus tonight, incumbent Dascal Bunch has defeated challenger Chris Rutan by 55-44 in the District 1 Council race, while incumbent Dave Bush has defeated Russell Poling 52-48 in the District 3 council race.

In the three way race for the two nominations for the at-large seats on Columbus City Council. Josh Burnett drew the most votes with 43 percent, followed by incumbent Laurie Booher with 38 percent and John Counceller with 19 percent of the vote.

Incumbent Republicans Frank Miller and Tim Shuffett were in uncontested races today, as was Republican District 2 candidate Jim Hartsook and and Clerk-Treasurer Luann Welmer.

There were no contested Democratic races in today’s primary election. Council candidates Elaine Wagner, Michael Schoumacher, Ross Thomas, Grace Kestler and Tom Dell are all headed to the November election.

Just over 4,000 ballots were cast this election, about 14 percent of the 29 thousand registered voters in Columbus.

Four nurses at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour were honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to “recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day.”

Award recipients are: Heidi Wheatley, Intensive Care Unit; Belinda Bowman, Obstetrics; Romy Trueblood, Emergency Department; and Kaylee Massey, 3 North.

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, an auto-immune disease. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.

“We are proud to be among the healthcare organizations participating in The DAISY Award program. Nurses are heroes every day,” said Amy Pettit, Vice President of Nursing Services and Chief Nursing Officer, Schneck Medical Center. “It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides a way for us to do that.”

Purdue Polytechnic Columbus will honor its graduating students Wednesday, May 8th at the Columbus Learning Center.

Organizers say that festivities begin at 4:30 p.m. with a pre-commencement celebration. Weather permitting, the Boilermaker Special will be on-hand to give rides to graduates and their families. Commencement begins at 6 p.m.

Students will receive their Bachelor’s degrees in various areas of study, including mechanical engineering technology, computer information technology and robotics engineering technology. School officials say the three students receiving degrees in Robotics Engineering Technology will be the first to receive this degree at Purdue Polytechnic Columbus.

Purdue Polytechnic Columbus – Class of 2019:

COMPUTER AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Isaiah Lee Bowman, Indianapolis
Aaron P. Jones, Columbus
Nathan Michael Lewis, Columbus*
Raul Luciano Mulato, Shelbyville

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Christina Marie Douglass, Shelbyville*
Tobi Levi Ferguson, Nineveh
Matthew Lowry Scott, Columbus
Scott Ryan Stuck, Columbus

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Samuel B. Ayres, Brownstown
Dayne Robert Causey, Needham
Tyler J. Combs, Columbus
Jeremy Scott Fishback, Batesville**
Charles Albert Hendershot, Bargersville
Aubree P. Hilderbrand, Columbus
Levi Dean Johnson, Columbus
Taylor Leslie Johnson, Aurora
Adam Joseph Kurtz, Columbus
Shelby Lynn Kushner, Columbus
Uriel Martin Lopez, Columbus
Leonardo Lua Mendoza, Shelbyville
Paul Robertson Najmon, Brownstown**
Seth M. Niese, Greensburg
Andrew Rediker, Columbus
Jordan Blake Schoenfelder, Seymour
Robert Francis Sullivan, Hayden
Ericka Elizabeth Vega, Columbus
Tristan Andrew Watkins, Columbus

ROBOTICS ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
Cody Michael Getha, Guilford
David Paul Schroeder, Franklin
Cody J. Speaker, Columbus

*Distinction
**Highest distinction

A wanted man was arrested Sunday afternoon after he allegedly tried to from Columbus Police during a traffic stop. Shortly before 2 p.m., officers stopped a vehicle in the 2000 block of Central Avenue driven by Tony D. Shuffitt Jr., 29, of Columbus. The officers confirmed Shuffitt was wanted and asked him to step out of his vehicle. After exiting his vehicle, police say Shuffitt fled on foot.

Officers pursued Shuffitt on foot as he jumped several fences in the 2100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. He was apprehended in the backyard of a nearby residence a short time later. In addition to the warrant, Shuffitt is facing new preliminary charges of Resisting Law Enforcement and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Columbus voters will be choosing today between the two Republicans running for the city’s mayor — incumbent mayor Jim Lienhoop and his challenger Glenn Petri.

There is currently no Democratic opponent for the fall election, meaning whoever wins today is likely going to be the mayor, come next January. Lienhoop faced a similar situation four years ago, when he defeated incumbent Kristen Brown during the primary election, and ran unopposed in the fall.

We asked the candidates for any final thoughts on the campaign and their run for election.

Mayor Jim Lienhoop:

Glenn Petri:

Republicans will also be choosing fall candidates in three Columbus City Council races. In District 1, incumbent Dascal Bunch is running against Chris Rutan. Incumbent Dave Bush is running against Russell Poling in District 3. And in the at-large races, Councilwoman Laurie Booher is running against challengers John Counceller and Josh Burnett for the two spots on the November ballot.

There are no contested Democratic primaries in Columbus today.

The polls are open until 6 tonight. There are eight vote centers in the city today, and you can cast your ballot at any of them. They are:

• Flintwood Wesleyan Church
• St. John’s Masonic Lodge on Rocky Ford Rd
• Grace Lutheran Church on Central Ave.
• Donner Center
• Bible Church of Columbus on Tenth Street
• The Commons
• German American Bank on W. Jonathan Moore Pike
• Terrace Lake Church

We’ll have live election coverage once polls close tonight on News Talk 1010 WCSI and 98-1 FM.

Republicans on the ballot today in Columbus:

• Mayor: Jim Lienhoop, Glenn Petri
• Clerk-Treasurer: Luann Welmer
• Council District 1: Dascal Bunch, Chris Rutan
• Council District 2: Jim Hartsook
• Council District 3: Dave Bush, Russell Poling
• Council District 4: Frank Miller
• Council District 5: Tim Shuffett
• Council at-large: Laurier Booher, John Counceller, Josh Burnett

Democrats on the ballot today in Columbus:

• Mayor: None
• Clerk-Treasurer: None
• Council District 1: None
• Council District 2: Elaine Wagner
• Council District 3: Nancy Hoover (although she is pulling out of the fall race)
• Council District 4: Michael Schoumacher
• Council District 5: Ross Thomas
• Council at-large: Tom Dell, Grace Kestler

In North Vernon, there will be only one contested primary race in today’s city elections.

That’s between Democrats Matthew York and Annie Payne. The winner in today’s election will face incumbent Republican Jerry Lamb for the At-Large seat on the council.

While not facing a primary challenge, several incumbents are already facing opposition in the November general election:

• Republican Mayor Mike Ochs will face Democrat Colleen J. Malone.
• Democrat Councilwoman Connie Rayburn is being challenged by Republican Baron Wilder.

Republican District 1 Councilman Jack Kelley, Democrat District 2 Councilman Trent Wisner and Republican District 4 Councilman Brian Hatfield are all running unopposed. Democrat Clerk-Treasurer Shawn Gerkin also has no challengers.

Five Republicans and three Democrats are facing off in Seymour today for a chance to run as mayor on the November ballot.

Republicans will choose between Bridget Jacobi, Thomas Joray, Matthew Nicholson, Nate Otte and Matt Rowe. The Democratic candidates are Tyler Henkle, James Kelly and Rexanne Ude.

Current Mayor Craig Luedeman announced in November that he would not be seeking re-election. He served for three terms.

In the races for clerk-treasurer in Seymour, Republicans Darrin R. Boas, Sarrah Hodapp and Dovie Stidham are running. Robin Carpenter and Kristine Hackman are running on the Democratic side for clerk-treasurer.

Current Clerk-Treasurer Fred Lewis has held that seat since 1991.

Republicans Joshua Dailey and Chad Hubbard are competing for the City Council District 3 seat, while Seth Davidson is challenging incumbent James Rebber for District 4 in the Republican primary.

Polls are open until 6 tonight for the city elections.

A total of six new hires are proposed for the Emergency 911 Center to work as dispatchers, serving Columbus and Bartholomew County. Director Todd Noblitt explained his proposal during Monday night’s work session of the Bartholomew County Council.

Noblitt noted that, according to some metrics, the E-911 center should have 29 to 52 dispatchers. Currently, he has 24. In addition, Noblitt notes that the same number of dispatchers have seen a 52 percent increase in calls.

Noblitt’s hiring proposal includes two hires this July, two in January of 2020 and the final pair in July of 2020. He explains that these hires will allow him to have one dispatch position covered year-round. Estimated costs, including salaries and benefits for these new hires, would be $73,000 for this year and approximately $378,000 in 2020. Under an inter-local agreement between the city and the county, Columbus will pay for 55 percent of these costs, while the county will cover the remaining 45 percent.

County council took no action, but Noblitt is scheduled to give a similar presentation to the Columbus City Council on Wednesday for a vote. County council is scheduled to take up the matter at it’s meeting next week. Both bodies would need to agree on the proposal before any hiring can take place.

Early vote totals for Tuesday’s primary for Columbus city elections are low. Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps says that approximately 1,261 absentee ballots have been cast. Based on these totals, Phelps says he anticipates around 10 percent of eligible voters will have cast ballots by the end of voting Tuesday.

For Election Day, the following vote center locations will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.:

Flintwood Wesleyan Church

St. John’s Masonic Lodge on Rocky Ford Rd

Grace Lutheran Church on Central Ave.

Donner Center

Bible Church of Columbus on Tenth Street

The Commons

German American Bank on W. Jonathan Moore Pike

Terrace Lake Church

We’ll have live election coverage, once polls close, on News Talk 1010 WCSI and 98.1 FM.