Columbus City Utilities is reporting that water customers in the area of 8th Street and Werner Avenue will be under a boil water advisory starting Monday morning at 8 a.m.

The water utility says that they will be shutting down water in the area as crews make improvements to the water system, leading to the advisory.

You should boil any water you plan for cooking, drinking or other consumption for five minutes before using it. The advisory is expected to last until Thursday, but customers will be notified when it is safe to drink the water again.

If you have any questions you can call the Water Service Hotline at 812-418-6435.

Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess says his deputies will not be enforcing the governor’s mask mandate. In a social media post Thursday, Burgess said they will continue to enforce the law as guided by the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Indiana, and those laws put into place by elected legislators.

The sheriff said that you should not contact his office or county dispatchers regarding a violation of the mask mandate, set to go into effect Monday. Instead, he suggested contacting the Indiana State Department of Health. He said the department would not respond solely over a mask complaint.

However, he said that if a dispute or disturbance arises at a business or organization over refusing service, deputies would respond as normal. And it is within a businesses rights not to serve someone who refuses to wear a mask.

Burgess suggested that everyone remain respectful and tactful about the use of a mask.

Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers said on his personal Facebook page that people should play it safe and wear a mask. But that education is the key and he would like people to individually comply, rather than have a state mandate.

Today is the deadline for Bartholomew Consolidated School families who want to take part in the online learning Bridge Program or the Columbus Virtual Pathway for the start of the school year.

School officials say that you need to sign up at bcscchools.org/online by 5 p.m. this afternoon to take part in the virtual classrooms when school reopens on Aug. 6th.

The district will be offering three options at the start of the school year, either in-classroom instruction, a short-term virtual option until families feel comfortable sending their children back to the classroom, or the semester long virtual pathway learning.

An online drive is underway to provide protective gear and sanitizer in Columbus classrooms.

City Councilwoman Elaine Hilber said the idea is that if you have extra money in your Venmo account, you can help purchase masks and sanitizer. A $1 donation will provide a disposable surgical mask, a $2 donation will provide a KN-95 mask and $4 will provide isopropyl alcohol sanitizer.

To take part you should Venmo @MasktoSchool including your school and teacher name and what you want to provide. The supplies will be delivered to the classroom and any extra money raised will go to provide additional masks for schools, non-profits, emergency and health care workers.

Columbus police arrested a driver Wednesday morning after he crashed into a fence at Garland Brook Cemetery.

According to police they received a report of a driver leaving the scene of a crash at Central Avenue and State Street at about 9:40 Wednesday morning. The same driver then crashed into the cemetery fence. After finding the vehicle, the driver 33-year-old, Nicholas Marino of Athens, Ohio allegedly tried to kick an officer and was otherwise uncooperative.

He was taken into custody and then to Columbus Regional Hospital to have his blood drawn. He allegedly continued struggling at the hospital and assaulted an officer, who was not injured.

He was arrested on preliminary charges of leaving the scene of a property damage crash, resisting law enforcement, battery on a law enforcement officer and operating a vehicle while intoxicated with endangerment.

With protests over police action still going on nationwide, Columbus has only had two complaints this year about officers’. And the department determined both were unfounded complaints.

The Columbus Police Review Board met Thursday night and Chief Mike Richardson updated the community on the status of police complaints. In the quarter that just ended, there was one police complaint out of more than 12 thousand interactions with the public. Richardson said that stemmed from a domestic dispute on April 27th.

The complaint alleged that police gave the girlfriend a leather case belonging to the complainant and she stole $2,000 dollars from it. The complainant also said police gave the woman access to his residence, despite her being barred for previous trespassing and he felt unsafe, that officers used unnecessary force during his arrest including forcing his hip out of place and failed to provide him medical treatment.

However, Richardson said that the person making the complaint inventoried the leather case, saying that everything was in place, the girlfriend had never been prohibited at the residence and that the complainant OKed the woman having access, there were no injuries found of the complainant during a check at Columbus Regional Hospital and no sign that his hip was injured, including video footage of him walking normally.

Members of the committee talked about finding ways to publicize the police complaint process, so that anyone who feels they have an issue can make the formal complaint. Forms are available at the police department, in City Hall and at the Columbus Human Rights Commission office. The review board meets quarterly to oversee any complaints or concerns about Columbus police.

IUPUC is planning to host a series of online discussion forums, they are calling “Timely Topics” starting in August.

The forums are sponsored by the Division of Business and the Center for Business and Economic Development at IUPUC.

The first forum will be a Mid-year Economic Outlook at noon on August 5th. Dr. Ryan Brewer and Dr. Steven Mohler will provide updated information from the Business Outlook Panel discussion held last November.

Dr. Kevin Jones and Dr. Jon Padfield will hold a discussion on Privacy in the Digital Age at noon on August. 12th.

You are invited to take part, however registration is required . For more information and to register, go to iupuc.edu/events/timely-topics.