Local farmers are being recognized for their achievements.

The Indiana State Fair and Corteva Agriscience are announcing that two Bartholomew County farm families have been selected as Featured Farmers for this year’s state fair.

The Gelfius family farms, who produce tomatoes and pork, and the Arnholt family farms, who produce corn and green beans, were selected for recognition from Bartholomew County.

The Featured farmers program is in its fifth year and 17 farms will be celebrated at the fair. Fair visitors can attend a live chat with a Featured Farmer to learn about their operations every day of the Fair .

This year’s state fair runs from August 2 through the 18th.

Lt. Gov Suzanne Crouch recognized Hoosier Homestead farm families last week including two Bartholomew County and two Decatur County families.

To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for more than 100 consecutive years, and consist of 20 acres or more, or produce more than $1,000 in agricultural products per year.

In Bartholomew County, the Franke-Thompson farm was started in 1898 and the Robert and Barbara Pruitt farm was started in 1919. They both received the Centennial Award.

Also receiving Centennial Awards from Decatur County were the Fry family farm started in 1916, and the S&G Seeds farm started in 1918.

The Columbus Redevelopment Commission is issuing a Request for Qualifications, or RFQs, from developers and/or development teams regarding the development of a conference center hotel on one of two sites downtown. In addition, officials say there is an opportunity for an urban grocery, as well a residential apartment component on the site.

In 2018, the Columbus Redevelopment Commission engaged the Hunden Strategic Partners Team, including design professionals from American Structurepoint, to conduct a market and financial feasibility analysis for the proposal. City officials say the Hunden market analysis revealed that Columbus could support a conference center hotel located with walkable access to the downtown amenities.

The primary elements of the project include a branded conference center hotel with the following elements:

 140 +/- Guest Rooms
 9,000 +/- Square Foot Divisible Ballroom
 4,000-5,000 Square Foot of Divisible Breakout Meeting Rooms (at least 5 divisions)
 3-Meal Restaurant
 Parking for Conference Hotel Center Estimated to be 380 +/- Spaces
 Additional Potential Element (preferred, but not required): Urban Grocery
 Additional Future Potential Phase (not required): Urban Apartments

Firms are invited to submit their qualifications no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, June 7th.

Officials say the current RFQ process will result in a short list of developers by this summer. They will be invited to the submit proposals. After reviewing proposals by the short-listed firms and conducting interviews, the developer is expected to be chosen by this fall.

Ginny Whipple, Bartholomew County Assessor, is reminding taxpayers that the deadline for filing Personal Property Forms is May 15th. In Indiana, personal property is self-assessed. It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to obtain the appropriate forms and file a return with the correct assessing official in the county where the personal property is located.

Assessor Whipple states that the staff at the assessor’s office can submit the forms electronically while the taxpayer is in the office. This only takes a few minutes and can save taxpayers the time and effort of filling out the forms themselves.

Indiana taxes both real estate and personal property. The taxpayer is responsible for reporting all tangible personal property used in their trade or business for the production of income or held as an investment. This includes among other things office equipment, office furniture and industrial and farm machinery.

Vehicles subject to excise tax are not considered personal property. Excise taxes are collected by the BMV at time of licensure. This includes cars, RVs, semis and farm trucks.

If the total acquisition amount of personal property county wide is under $20,000 the owner is exempt from taxation. However, the taxpayer is still required to file a return each year. Forms not submitted or postmarked by the May 15th deadline are subject to penalty.

If you prefer to complete the forms yourself, they can be obtained online at in.gov/dlgf. Forms and reminder postcards are no longer mailed to taxpayers.

For more information, call the assessor’s office at (812) 379-1505.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers has announced two staff promotions. They are:

Detective Jason Williams has been promoted to the rank of Administrative Sergeant and has returned to BCSO’s Road Patrol Division.

Williams previously worked as a Corrections Officer in the Bartholomew County Jail before becoming a merit deputy sheriff in August, 2003.

Deputy Dane Duke, who began his duties as a merit Deputy Sheriff in May, 2014, has been promoted to the rank of Detective and will begin his duties in BCSO’s Investigation’s Division on March 25th.

“These deputies have the experience they need for their new positions and I am pleased that they have accepted the opportunity to expand their leadership skills,” said Sheriff Myers.

DNR Law Enforcement Division director Col. Steve Hunter recently promoted three Indiana Conservation Officers to serve in Central Office headquarters in Indianapolis. Two of the officers promoted have local ties.

Maj. Jason Lee was promoted to Lt. Colonel/Executive Officer. DNR says that Lee began his career in 1998 as a field officer assigned to Johnson County, later transferring to Brown County. He was promoted to District 6 Lieutenant in 2009 before being promoted to South Region Captain in 2011. In 2016 Lee was promoted to Operations Major. He is a 2014 graduate of the FBI National Academy and a 2016 graduate of Police Executive Leadership Academy.

Capt. Tim Beaver was promoted to Operations Major. Beaver began his career as a field officer assigned to Bartholomew County in 2003. He was promoted to District 6 Lieutenant in 2011 and then to South Region Captain in 2016 to supervise the southern District 5 lieutenants. He is a 2011 graduate of the IMPD Leadership Academy.

Cpl. Jet Quillen, a public information officer for the DNR, was promoted to Public Relations Captain.

“These officers bring a vast amount of knowledge and experience to their new leadership roles,” Hunter said. “We are very excited for the future of the Law Enforcement Division.”

Bartholomew County deputies are not buying a woman’s story of another driver of her vehicle who left the scene of a Saturday morning accident.

Instead, 23-year-old Suni Landero Escalante,  of Columbus was arrested on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Deputies were called to the northbound lanes of Interstate 65 at about 4:51 a.m. Saturday after a vehicle allegedly rear-ended another vehicle, leaving one vehicle upside down. Witnesses say that a woman, later identified as Escalante, ran from the scene. Then returned shortly afterwards. They also said she was the only person in the vehicle.

However, Escalante claimed that the actual driver was picked up by a friend and had left the scene of the crash.

Columbus police are touting an active patrol effort that led to 20 arrests over the past week. Many of those arrested are now facing drug charges, but there were also arrests for drunk driving, theft and resisting law enforcement.

Sgt. Alyson M. Eichel with the Columbus police says that the proactive criminal patrols were focused on high-property crime areas of the city. In addition to the officers from the CPD intelligence-led policing unit, the department detectives, the K-9 units and the uniform division, the effort also involved the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team and the Indiana State Police also assisted.

Those arrested were:

1. David W. Sidwell, 41, Columbus; Bartholomew County Warrant, Possession of Paraphernalia
2. Travis D. Lyles, 36, Columbus; Possession of Heroin, Possession of Methamphetamine
3. Bethann L. Hill, 29, Columbus; Possession of Heroin, Possession of Methamphetamine
4. Gage R. Cossell, 22, Columbus; Possession of Heroin, Possession of Paraphernalia
5. Douglass H. Mitchell, 56, Columbus; Driving while Suspended- Prior
6. Raymond D. Sanchez, 36, Columbus; Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Paraphernalia
7. Kenneth A. Pulley, 32, Columbus; Bartholomew County Warrant
8. John C. Marshall, 27, Columbus; Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Paraphernalia
9. Jennifer A. Crow, 34, Columbus; Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamine
10. Curtis T. Phillips, 49, Columbus; Possession of Marijuana
11. Timothy M. Nickerson, 49, Columbus; Theft less than $750, Possession of Methamphetamine
12. Cody M. McNealy, 26, Edinburgh; Driving While Suspended- Prior
13. Loni L. Mosley, 43, Columbus; Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Paraphernalia
14. Carla L. Burton, 35, Columbus; Operating a Vehicle at HTV
15. Ashley N. Marsh, 28, Columbus; Theft left than $750
16. Jordan D. Wilson, 31, Columbus; Possession of Heroin, Possession of Methamphetamine over 5 grams
17. Samantha M. Bradley, 28, Columbus; Driving While Suspended- Prior, Possession of Marijuana
18. Billy Jo Parks, 36, Columbus; Theft Less Than $750
19. Maria A. Sampson, 43, Columbus; Possession of Paraphernalia
20. Kolt A. Kreinhagen, 35, Columbus; Resisting Law Enforcement

High rates of smoking in Bartholomew and surrounding counties are leading to higher rates than expected of lung cancer.

Columbus Regional Hospital has started a lung cancer screening program to try to find those cancers in their early stages and after more than 1,100 tests doctors there have noticed the higher rates.

Dr. Mark Henderson, a radiation oncologist at Columbus Regional Health explains that high smoking rates mean higher cancer rates.

Henderson explains that they are seeing twice the rate of lung cancer found in Bartholomew and surrounding counties than the lung cancer screening trial results would have indicated.

He said that area smoking rates range from 37 to 19 percent, much higher than your average county rate nationwide of about 14 percent.

Henderson says that the vast majority of lung cancers are directly related to smoking.

Henderson says that there can be other possible indicators, those pale in comparison to the correlation with smoking.

For those who need help quitting smoking, tobacco cessation classes start again Tuesday, March 19th, in Columbus. Those classes are being held through the Tobacco Awareness Program at Columbus Regional Health’s Healthy Communities initiative.

The classes will be in the basement of the Bartholomew County Public Library and they are seven weeks long. Those are held on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8 p.m.

The course is $35 per person and there are scholarships available. That fee covers the workbook, CD, and medication.

To sign up for the classes you can call 812-343-9840 or go through the website at crh.org. You can also email  healthycommunities@crh.org.

In just a few weeks, you will be able to cast your votes in the city of Columbus primary election.

Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps  explains that voter registration ends on Monday, April 8th and early voting starts on April 9th at the voter registration office in the courthouse. That will be during normal courthouse hours from 8 to 5.

On Monday, April 29th, early voting will expand to Donner Center from 10 to 6 on weekdays. The courthouse and Donner Center will be open on the Saturday before the primary from 8 to 3.

Donner Center will be the only satellite voting center open this election, due to the expected low voter turnout with only four contested races on the ballot.

All of the seats on Columbus City Council are up for election this year, as is the clerk-treasurer and the mayor.

However, the only contested races for primary voters are on the Republican ticket. Incumbent Republican Mayor Jim Lienhoop is facing challenger Glenn Petri. The City Council District 1 race representing the east Columbus area will see incumbent Dascal Bunch running against Chris Rutan. In District 3, which covers parts of eastern Columbus, recently appointed Councilman David Bush is running against Russ Poling. That seat had been held by Frank Jerome until he moved out of the city in December.

In the at-large Republican race, incumbent Councilwoman Laurie Booher is being challenged by Josh Burnett and John D. Councellor.

There are no contested races in the May primary on the Democratic ticket.

This is severe weather preparedness week and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security is urging you to check and to update your family’s plans for extreme weather conditions.

Emergency officials encourage you to build a disaster preparedness kit, to identify shelter locations and to practice emergency plans during this year’s preparedness week.

There will be a statewide tornado drill at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday morning. It is suggested that during the tornado drill you practice taking your family members to a safe location for severe weather such as a basement or an interior room with no windows on the lowest level of your home. You could also practice by moving under a sturdy table or desk, and covering up with pillows, mattresses, or heavy coats.

They also suggest you take time to go over possible evacuation routes from your home and neighborhood.

As part of a disaster preparedness kit, Indiana Department of Homeland Security suggests including:

• Food and water for three days (include one gallon of water per person, per day)
•  Battery operated all hazard radio (receives more than 60 types of emergency alerts)
• Flashlight
• Extra batteries for radio and flashlight, if needed
• First aid kit
• Extra clothing, sturdy shoes, rain gear, blankets and personal hygiene items
• List of emergency phone numbers
• Important documents (copies of photo ID, social security card, insurance and banking information)
• Cash (small bills. Power outages can limit ability to use ATMs and credit cards)
• Special items (baby formula, insulin, life sustaining medication, pet supplies)