Indiana has now passed 12 thousand deaths from COVID-19.

There were 44 new deaths added to the Indiana State Department of Health tally Tuesday, dating back to Dec. 1st. That brings the total to 12,025.

In our area, Johnson County reported a single death in yesterday’s report, the only surrounding county to record a death.

All of our area counties are currently showing a moderate spread of the disease and are yellow on the state’s color coded map. However Bartholomew, Johnson, Decatur and Jackson counties all remain under the orange, or serious spread advisory level. Counties much remain at a lower 7-day score for two consecutive weeks to move down to a lower advisory level.

State officials are opening up eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines to people who are between 60 and 64. There are nearly 432,000 people between those ages in the state, and nearly 91,000 of them have already made vaccine appointments. Anyone older than 64 has already been eligible.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies used a department pickup truck to pull a burning truck away from a home this morning, saving the home from damage.

Deputy Sgt. Andrew Dougan and Sgt. Jarod Aspenson were called to the 5000 block of Brush Creek Drive at about 3:08 a.m. this morning on a report of a vehicle fire. They found the burning truck just a few feet from the home. After trying to put the fire out with extinguishers failed, Dougan hooked up a tow strap and pulled the burning truck away from the home.

Firefighters from Columbus Township Fire and Rescue Department and Elizabethtown Volunteer Fire Department arrived and quickly extinguished the blazing truck according to police reports. Most of the personal items inside the truck were able to be salvaged.

Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department

Columbus-based diesel engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. is announcing a partnership with Daimler Truck AG that will lead to the production of medium duty commercial vehicle engines for the German company’s trucks and buses around the world.

Under the partnership, Cummins will establish an engine plant at the Mercedes-Benz Mannheim German campus. The company would then produce medium duty engines compliant with European emissions standard for Mercedes-Benz. In all other regions, including North America, Cummins will use local production and supply chain networks for Daimler Trucks’ brands.

The production of the current medium duty engine generation by Daimler will end with the start of production of the Cummins engines at Mannheim.

The global production and delivery of medium duty engines by Cummins for Daimler trucks and buses would begin in the second half of the decade.

The companies also plan to work together on alternative and emerging technologies, including non-diesel engines.

You can read more about the agreement here.

A redevelopment area in the northwestern corner of Bartholomew County could see some new business soon. The county redevelopment commission was updated yesterday on several possible projects in the district in the Taylorsville and Edinburgh area.

The county originally set up a tax increment financing district in the northwestern corridor in 2015 between U.S. 31 and Interstate 65 along County Road 800N. An expansion in 2019 increased that to about 1,200 acres including property to the north and south.

Jason Hester, with the Greater Columbus Indiana Economic Development Corporation, told the redevelopment commission yesterday afternoon that what he called Project A is getting close to making announcements about their plans. Although under a non-disclosure agreement, he said that Bartholomew County is a national finalist to draw the unnamed company to the community. Discussions of an exact site are ongoing and he expected discussions of incentives to start soon.

Two other projects are also in the works, Hester said.

The city of Columbus is moving ahead with plans for an apartment complex and grocery on land next to the Bartholomew County Jail on Second Street.

Yesterday afternoon, the Columbus Redevelopment Commission approved the process to sell that city-owned property so it could be used for the $40 million dollar project. Developer Flaherty & Collins of Indianapolis is proposing to build 200 apartments and a 12,000 to 15,000 square foot grocery at the property just east of the jail. The project would open in about three years.

Heather Pope, redevelopment director for the city, asked the commission to give her the authority to begin seeking two appraisals for the property, putting together an offer sheet and advertising the sale in the newspaper.

The commission also approved a plan to start the process of extending the life of the tax increment financing district for that specific parcel for 25 more years, so that the redevelopment commission can be reimbursed for its investment in the project. The city’s central tax increment financing district is otherwise set to phase out in 2036.

The process would include approvals by the Columbus Plan Commission and City Council and then would come back before the Redevelopment Commission.

The Town of Hope will be holding this month’s Town Council meeting tonight.

The meeting was originally scheduled for last Tuesday, but was delayed due to the snow. Among the topics to be discussed is consideration of a town manager position. The town last had a manager in December of 2018, when the council opted not to renew the previous manager’s contract.

The council meets at 5:30 and you can watch the proceedings livestreamed on the Town of Hope Facebook page.

Bartholomew County deputies say an intoxicated semi driver nearly hit a patrol car on Interstate 65 in an incident over the weekend.

Deputies received reports of a possibly impaired semi driver a few miles south of the Columbus exit at about 3:03 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The driver came close to hitting a deputy’s vehicle when the semi swerved into the deputy’s lane.

The vehicle was stopped south of the Edinburgh exit and the driver, 49-year-old Brian Crawford of Hampton, Georgia, was taken into custody. His vehicle was towed and animal control was called to take custody of a dog in the vehicle.

He is facing a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .15 percent or greater.

Two unconscious drivers were arrested at two separate fast-food restaurants in Columbus early Sunday morning, less than an hour apart and a block away from each other.

Columbus police are reporting that the first incident happened in the White Castle drive-through on National Road at about 3:30  a.m. Sunday morning. A witness told police that they saw a vehicle crash into snowbanks and drive recklessly prior to pulling into the restaurant. Police found the driver, 29-year-old Paris Prophete of Columbus asleep behind the wheel of the vehicle. He blew a .163 percent on a field sobriety test, more than twice the legal limit. He was arrested on a charge of operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .15 percent or greater.

In the second incident, officers were called to the McDonalds on National Road at about 4:15 a.m. in the morning, about an unconscious person in the drive-through. They found 23-year-old Jared B. Schoen of Columbus unconscious with the car in gear and his foot on the brake. After moving the vehicle to safety, Schoen was arrested on a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Bartholomew County Commissioners are praising the county highway department and Columbus city crews for keeping the roads and streets clear during last week’s snow storms.

During yesterday’s meeting, Commissioner Carl Lienhoop commended highway superintendent Dwight Smith and his crews, stressing that mid-day storms are particularly challenging because vehicles pack down the snow, making it harder to remove. And he contrasted local efforts to the crisis facing southern cities he encountered during a recent trip to Memphis, Tennessee.

Commissioner Tony London also said that the highway department’s work in the last week has been very impressive.

Danny Hollander, the county highway engineer, suggested the county’s stores of salt and sand are getting low after years of hardly getting used. He said he is left hoping that the area doesn’t get any more snow this winter.

A Columbus woman was arrested early Sunday after rolling her vehicle on Interstate 65.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that deputies were called to the southbound lanes of Interstate 65 north of the Edinburgh exit at about 4:24 a.m. about an accident.

Deputies discovered a vehicle upside down off of the roadway. The driver, identified as 23-year-old RileyRae Mitchell of Columbus said she was initially trapped inside the vehicle but was able to climb out of the open passenger side door. Deputies noticed a strong smell of alcohol coming from the vehicle. A field sobriety test revealed a blood alcohol level of .139, according to police reports.

She was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment, where drug paraphernalia was discovered during a search of her purse.

After being treated for her injuries, she was arrested on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and possession of paraphernalia.