The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will spend $320,000 to address contaminated groundwater in the Garden City area. Our news gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting that the plan includes wellhead treatment, filters for contaminated wells and protective easements, among other measures.

The paper says that the Garden City Plume site contains trichloroethylene (TCE), an industrial solvent, about 45 feet below the ground surface. The plume extends from the former Kiel Bros. Oil Co. property, at 850 Jonesville Road and a former gas station site. The EPA says that most Garden City residents have drinking water with a federally acceptable level of TCE.

According to the report, the Garden City Groundwater Plume site was placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List in December 2013.

For more on this story, go to therepublic.com.

Saturday, Oct. 13, is Log Cabin Day at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge. Organizers say the annual event, sponsored by the Refuge Friends Group, will be held at Myers Cabin from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a free ham and bean lunch, music, a blacksmith, crafts, a storyteller, wildlife exhibits and more.

For more information e-mail Muscatatuck@fws.gov or call (812) 522-4352.

A Columbus woman was seriously hurt Wednesday morning after she was struck by a car. Just before 7:30 a.m., Columbus Police were dispatched to a report of a person struck by a vehicle in the east bound lanes of State Road 46 at the intersection of Carrie Lane on Columbus’ west side. The victim was identified as 30-year-old Jessica D. Hays.

Officers spoke with the driver, 72-year-old Jayne H. Rogan. Witnesses say that Hays and another woman were attempting to cross State Road 46 while pushing shopping carts when she was struck. Hays was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital and later transferred to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for treatment.

The crash remains under investigation.

Classic cars, music and political speeches will be filling the Hope Town Square Friday afternoon.

Friday’s Farmer’s Market of Hope is the last one of the season. It will feature the usual vendors, live music and the cruise-in. Local political candidates will be making stump speeches from the bandstand

The market runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday on the Hope Town Square.

The Hope Farmer’s Market is hosted by the Town of Hope and Main Street of Hope.

A private equity company has purchased Columbus-based Grammer Industries.

Stellex Capital Management announced yesterday that it has completed the acquisition of the trucking company. Terms of the sale were not announced.

Grammer Industries was founded by Charles “Shorty” Whittington to haul anhydrous ammonia for agriculture. It has since grown to 17 facilities across the country, located near major chemical production hubs and company officials say it is the country’s premier provider of bulk hazardous transportation services.

The company employs 250 drivers and has a fleet of more than 350 specialty tankers to transport chemicals including anhydrous ammonia, liquefied petroleum gases, carbon dioxide, nitric acid, cryogenic liquids and others.

Stellex announced that Grammer’s management team, including Chief Executive Officer Bart Middleton and Vice President John Whittington continue to lead the business.

Company press release

Schneck Medical Center in Seymour will be offering free breast and cervical cancer screenings at the Schneck Cancer Center on October 27th.

Hospital officials say that they want to ensure that no woman in the community goes without regular pap smears and breast exams because of an inability to pay. The exams will include a clinical breast exam (not a mammogram) and a cervical exam with a pap test. All exams will be performed by qualified nurse practitioners.

To be eligible a woman must be at least 21 years old and not have had a breast or cervical exam during the last 12 months.

Screenings are limited and appointments are required. To schedule your screening, call the Cancer Center screening line at 812-522-0477.

Children who want to take part in the Columbus Fire Department’s poster contest still have until 4 p.m. this afternoon to drop off their artwork. The contest is sponsored by White River Broadcasting and the winner will receive tickets for Holiday World and Splashin Safari.

Local children, 12 and younger, can submit a poster they created to promote Fire Prevention Week” which runs Oct. 7-13. The theme of this year’s Fire Prevention Week is – “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware – fire can happen anywhere.”

Posters should be on 8 ½ X 11 paper and highlight the fire prevention theme. Posters may be created using pen, pencil, colored pencil, crayon or paint. Children must include their name, age and telephone number on the back of their poster.

Posters may be dropped off through 4 p.m. today, at the Columbus Fire Department Administration office at 1101 Jackson Street.

The winning poster will be announced on Friday.  The winner will receive 6 tickets to Holiday World & Splashing Safari courtesy of White River Broadcasting Company.

Posters will judged by a panel of firefighters and White River Broadcasting Company employees. The winning poster will be shared on the Columbus Fire Department and White River Broadcasting Company Station’s social media pages.

Organizers of last night’s canceled suicide prevention talk say that they will try to reschedule Kevin Hines appearance in Columbus.

Hines was not able to attend the events originally scheduled for last night at Columbus North High School, or other events at schools during the day, due to a medical emergency. Centerstone officials said they are working with Hines to reschedule because they want to share “his powerful message of hope and the impact it can have.”

His film, “Suicide: The Ripple Effect,” will still be shown on Tuesday evening at Yes Cinema and a second showing is being scheduled. Details of that screening are not yet available.

Columbus’ proposed budget for 2019 passed first reading at Tuesday night’s city council meeting. The council approved the nearly $61 million proposal unanimously.

Jamie Brinegar, the city’s director of finance, explained that the proposed 2019 budget is 4.3 percent higher than 2018’s budget. He explains that the lion’s share of that increase is due to the new local income tax passed by the Bartholomew County Council. Brinegar says this increased funding will allow the city to lower the property tax burden in the coming years.

Of the total 2019 proposed budget, $20.8 million will be used for public safety needs, $9.9 million would go to public works for things like engineering and public transportation, while $4.9 million will go to projects to improve roads throughout the city. Brinegar noted the city’s good financial position, pointing out that only $1.4 million will go towards debt service, a marked decrease from the 2018 budget. Other highlights he mentioned include the hiring of two additional School Resource Officers for coverage at middle schools, increasing employee salaries as the new salary study suggested. Brinegar noted that the school resource officers will be reimbursed by BCSC. As for the salary adjustments, eligible public safety officers will see an increase taking them to 50 percent of the “mid-point” of the new salary ranges. Eligible civilian employees will see increases to take them to one-third on the “mid-point” for their salary ranges.

Frank Miller, council president, expressed frustration with Brinegar and the administration for a perceived lack of transparency. Specifically, Miller says that there were some changes from the last round of budget discussions that made it into next year’s proposed budget that he had questions about. He noted that Tuesday night’s reading was the first he had seen of the changes. Miller asked that all future changes be given to the council well in advance. Brinegar agreed to do so. Miller also took aim at the state’s method for budgeting. He says that state officials aren’t doing enough to help cities make the best financial decisions. Specifically, Miller took issue with the fact that cities have to budget under a “proposed rate” instead of a “certified rate.” While Columbus has to have it’s budget submitted to the state by November 1st, the state approved certified rate won’t be known until early next year.

Council is set to hold a second vote on the proposed budget at its next meeting on October 16th.