Cummins is announcing a new deal with Navistar to develop a truck powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

The company announced the project to develop the Class 8 truck this morning, saying that it is being funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The award is one of two DOE grants awarded to Cummins, totaling more than $7 million dollars. Grant objectives include reducing the upfront capital costs by 35 percent to make the adoption of zero-emission fuel cell technologies viable for commercial fleets.

Amy Davis, president of New Power at Cummins, said the vehicle will feature a next generation fuel cell configuration and will allow the company to advance hydrogen technology for line haul trucks. The goal is to develop an integrated fuel cell electric powertrain for heavy duty trucks with a range of 300 miles or more and improved fuel efficiency over other heavy duty truck options.

The prototype truck will see a year-long field test and will be integrated into Werner Enterprises’ fleet of more than 7,700 tractors, operating out of Fontana, California.

You can get more information here.

Indiana is reporting more than 5 thousand positive COVID-19 test results, the highest in the state since the pandemic was first recorded here in March. The 5,135 positive test results is a positivity rate of just over 10 percent of those taking the test. The previous daily high was 4,951 on Friday.

There were also 31 new deaths reported statewide, bringing the state total since March to 4,512. The new deaths reported today dated back to Oct. 10th.

As predicted by local officials, Bartholomew County has moved into the orange category on the state color coded map, which means significant spread of the disease. Bartholomew joins surrounding counties in the orange category including Brown, Shelby, Jennings, Jackson and Johnson counties. Decatur County has moved into the red, or severe spread category as of today.

Bartholomew added 47 new positive cases in today’s numbers with 354 tests administered, a positivity rate of just over 8 percent. That brings the total cases since the pandemic started to 2,021 in Bartholomew County.

According to state figures, there are still more than half of the intensive care unit beds in the southern Indiana district 8 still open, with about half of the full beds being used for COVID-19 patients and the rest being used for other illnesses.

A family is setting up a charity fund for canine medical care after the loss of their dog, Nala, last month.

Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County said that Angie and David May wanted to help local veterinarians provide emergency medical care for dogs in need and those waiting to be adopted at local shelters. Heritage Fund is partnering with the Bartholomew County Humane Society to administer the fund.

Local veterinarians and shelters will be able to contact the humane society to request funds. The criteria for assistance will include financial need, treatment outcomes and potential for quality of life. Funds will be administered annually on a first-come, first-served basis.

The May family will be hosting a 5K Walk/Run and raffle at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21st at Noblitt Park and all proceeds will benefit the Nala Fund. Registration for the 5K is $15 by this Saturday or $20 afterwards. Raffle prizes will include a custom color sketch of your dog by artist Leslie Weaver.

T-shirts can be purchased for $10 and you can celebrate your own dogs or your dog’s memories by adding their names to the back of the shirt. A $10 donation per pet name will go directly to the Nala Fund. Names must be received by Nov. 15 to be included.

Participants can register for the 5K online at indianatiming.com

To support the Nala Fund directly, you can go to heritagefundbc.org/donate

The Bartholomew County Public Library is putting restrictions back in place as the community prepares for an expected spike in COVID-19 infection levels.

Both the main library branch in downtown Columbus and the Hope library branch will remain open their current hours. But starting after today, the library is moving all the chairs so that patrons will not be able to sit at tables for studying or other purposes. The use of all library meeting rooms is also suspended. A one-hour time limit will be in effect for computer use and availability will be at 50% capacity.

Library staff are encouraging customers to use the library’s curbside service. You can place holds online through my BCPL dot org or by calling the Reference Department at 812-379-1266. The Reference Staff is also available to answer questions either in person or via phone/email.

The library is also making home deliveries of materials to those quarantining at home, or those at high risk for the virus. You can get more information about the outreach efforts by emailing bookmobile@mybcpl.org or calling. 812-379-1278.

The changes are in effect until at least Nov. 27th and will be re-evaluated every Wednesday after that. If you have questions you can call the Main Library at 812-379-1255.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Area Visitors Center

Bartholomew County is reporting its 61st death from COVID-19. The most recent death came on Monday, according to details reported to the Indiana State Department of Health.

The county has had 73 new positive test results, bringing the total to 1,974. Under the state color-coded map, Bartholomew County remains yellow or showing moderate spread, while Johnson, Shelby, Decatur, Jennings and Jackson counties are all orange, showing high community spread. Brown County is coded as blue, showing minimal spread.

Statewide, Indiana reported 4,879 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, a new state record. That brings the state’s total to 219,338 since the pandemic began. There have been 4,481 COVID-19 deaths in the Hoosier state since the pandemic started after 64 more were announced yesterday. Those deaths were reported between October 14th and Monday.

Bartholomew County is reporting its 60th death from COVID-19.

The most recent death came on Friday, according to details reported to the Indiana State Department of Health. The county has had 40 new positive test results, bringing the total to 1,898.

Under the state color-coded map, Bartholomew County remains yellow or showing moderate spread, while Johnson, Shelby, Decatur, Jennings and Jackson counties are all orange, showing high community spread. Brown County is coded as blue, showing minimal spread.

The Bartholomew County COVID-19 Community Task Force is reporting the per-capita positive testing rate is 45.5, or red. Anything above a 10 is considered substantial spread under the county metrics. The positive rate has not been below the red level since mid-October.  The task force is also reporting 21 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Bartholomew County.

Statewide, Indiana reported 4,213 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. That brings the state’s total to 214,509 since the pandemic began. There have been 4,418 COVID-19 deaths in the Hoosier state since the pandemic started after 34 more were announced yesterday.

Bartholomew County will be taking over contact tracing duties for COVID-19 again.

The tracing work had previously been taken over by the state. Amanda Organist with the county health department, said that the state is unable to keep up with the COVID-19 contact tracing and has requested the work  fall to the counties again. She said that each positive case requires contacting the patient and going through about an 11-page questionnaire that attempts to identify details of their case including onset times and who the patient may have been in close contact with.

The contact tracer then has to follow up with those who had been in close contact. The goal is to identify and limit the possible spread of the disease. She said each case takes about 45 minutes per patient.

Bartholomew County Commissioners yesterday approved a six-month contract with a worker who would do the contract tracing for the county. The county expects to have the expenses for the work be reimbursed from CARES Act funding.