A Hope area farmer was recognized earlier this month by a national organization for his corn yield.

Jim Daily of Hope placed third in the state in the Irrigated Class of the 2015 National Corn Yield Contest, sponsored by the National Corn Growers Association. Daily and his sons received the award at the association’s conference in New Orleans in early March.

According to the association, Daily had a yield of 282.8 bushels per acre. He was one of 407 state winners out of more than 7,700 entries. The average yield nationwide was about 217 bushels.

A Columbus teen driver died and a passenger was rushed to IU Methodist Hospital after a late-night crash on Marr Road Thursday.

Indiana State Police are reporting that 17-year-old Keegan Phillips died when he pulled out in front of an SUV on Marr Road at about 11:50 p.m. He had been driving eastbound on County Road 550N, when he pulled out in front of the SUV driven by 47-year-old Sheila I. Lee of Columbus. His car then veered in front of another SUV driven by 44-year-old Amy M. Fetter of Columbus.

Traffic on Marr Road does not stop at that intersection and police report that they don’t know why Phillips pulled out into the traffic.

Phillips was pronounced dead at the scene. 19-year-old Tierra Miller was a passenger in the car and was critically injured. She was taken to IU Methodist Hospital for life-threatening injuries the state police report. 18-year-old Blake Sinclair and 18-year-old Rachel Turner were also passengers and were treated for minor injuries at Columbus Regional Hospital. All of the teens are from Columbus.

Trooper Matt Holley was assisted at the scene by  the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Clifford and Columbus Fire Departments, Columbus Regional Hospital ambulance, the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office, and Lifeline Helicopter.

While there are many Easter egg hunts and activities aimed at younger children on Saturday, Columbus Parks and Recreation and Foundation for Youth will be holding an event for area teens at Mill Race Park tomorrow evening.

Kathy McPeek, the department’s recreation program manager, says the event is the “Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt.” Once the sun goes down, area teens will be searching for 800 to one-thousand eggs inside the park…

McPeek says that teens should check their eggs before leaving, as prizes will be given away and announced with a scrap of paper inside eggs.

Pre-hunt events, including music and games, will begin at 7 p.m. at the Mill Race amphitheater.

A company plans to relocate its headquarters from Memphis, Tenn., to Shelbyville and to bring with it jobs that pay about twice the state’s average wage. That’s according to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

Governor Mike Pence and Shelbyville Mayor Tom DeBaun joined Krone North America President and CEO Tommy Jones Thursday as the company announced the plans.

The state reports that the company will will invest $12.5 million to construct a 200,000-square-foot facility on 40 acres at the intersection of Highway 44 and I-74. Krone anticipates bringing 101 new jobs by 2021.

The facility will serve as the company’s primary distribution hub and training center in North America. The new facility will also house approximately 20,000 square feet of office space to accommodate Krone’s corporate headquarters team, which is expected to transition to Indiana in 2017.

“Krone is excited to become part of the Shelbyville community,” Jones said.. “In our search we were very impressed with the commitment and teamwork of the community and the state in helping us make this decision. The culture of Krone aligns very well with that of Shelbyville. We believe this transition is important to our growth strategy for North America.”
 

There will be plenty of chances to take your children out to local Easter egg hunts on Saturday in the area.

American Legion Post No. 24 on 25th Street will be having an egg hunt and breakfast with the Easter bunny starting at 8 a.m. Saturday. Breakfast is free for children 12 and younger.

The 57th annual community Easter egg hunt at Donner Park, sponsored by News Talk 10-10 WCSI, the Columbus Parks Department and Meridian Kiwanis starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. Also starting at 10 a.m., The Seventh Street Church of God will be holding its second annual kids community Easter Egg Hunt. The church is at 2005 Seventh Street in Columbus.

Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center will be holding its annual egg hunt starting at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Bartholomew Consolidated Schools administration building at 13th and Washington streets.

The Columbus Parks and Recreation Department is holding it’s annual “Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt” for teens on Saturday evening. Kathy McPeek, the department’s Recreation Program Manager, says that teens in Grades 7 and up are encouraged to take part. Pre-hunt activities begin at 7 p.m. at the amphitheater. The hunt begins at sundown.

Central Heights Church will be holding an egg hunt at 11 a.m. Saturday.

In Jackson County, Relay for Life will be having an Easter egg hunt and craft show, starting at 10 a.m. at Cortland Elementary. The Easter Egg hunt begins at 11:15 a.m.

And the Seymour Parks and Recreation Easter egg hunt will kick off with the arrival of the Easter bunny at 9:30 a.m. at Gaiser Park. The hunt begins at 10 a.m. New Life Assembly of God Church will have an egg hunt at 2 p.m. at the same park.

If you have an Easter egg hunt you would like listed, e-mail us at [email protected]

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is asking for your help locating its most-wanted suspect.

Sheriff’s Department Spokesperson Judy Jackson says that authorities are looking for 38-year-old Kenneth “Kenny” Dale McDonald. He is

described as a white male, five-feet, seven-inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. McDonald has brown hair, brown eyes and multiple tattoos.

Jackson says that McDonald is wanted on a number of outstanding arrest warrants. She asks that anyone with information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, to please contact Captain Dave Steinkoenig at (812) 565-5940. You can also call the department’s Tip Line at (812) 379-1712. Tips and information can be left anonymously.

Two people were arrested Wednesday evening after allegedly fleeing the scene of a crash.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department Spokesperson Judy Jackson says at approximately 6:24 p.m., Deputy Andrew Whipker responded to

the area of State Road 9 and County Road East 500 North after authorities received a number of calls about a vehicle being driven erratically in that area. A short time later, there were reports of a single-vehicle crash in which two occupants allegedly fled the scene.

Jackson says that deputies found two suspects in the area of the collision. They were identified as 28-year-old Thomas Thompson, of Seymour, and 22-year-old Tiara Wickliff, of Franklin.

Authorities say that Thompson is facing preliminary charges of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence, Leaving the Scene of an Accident and Public Intoxication, while Wickliff was charged with Public Intoxication and Resisting Law Enforcement. Jackson says that both were booked in the Bartholomew County Jail.

She says that Thompson is being held on $9,500 bond, while Wickliff remains behind bars on $8,500 bond.

Many local government offices are closing Friday or having limited hours in honor of Good Friday.

Offices closing at noon include Columbus and Bartholomew County government offices, Columbus City Utilities, the Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District Office and the Columbus/Bartholomew County Recycling Center.

Columbus city trash and yard waste routes will be running on their normal schedule and you should have your Toters out by 7 a.m.

The Bartholomew County Landfill will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The main Bartholomew County Public Library branch will be open normal hours Friday, but it will be closed on Sunday.

Seymour city offices will be closed all day Friday.

Do you have a closing to announce for Good Friday? E-mail [email protected]

Columbus City Council members would like to see the city crackdown even further on junk automobiles.

The city updated the junk car ordinance last year but several council members are saying they believe it needs to be tougher.

Councilman Dascal Bunch said that the city has had long enough to evaluate what isn’t working with the new ordinance and one of those is the amount it takes to work through the removal process.

“It has been around long enough to see what the glitches are,” Bunch said. “It is the amount of time… to address the issue. 30 days is a long time. Most people will put a tire or rims on the car, push it around the corner but it is the same vehicle.”

Bunch would like to see Columbus adopt deadlines similar to other nearby communities.

“We have got it narrowed down to a timely fashion where people know we are serious,” Bunch said. “Franklin has a five day and they will hook them and take them right off the property. That is the way their ordinance is written. Bloomington is very similar. Bloomington gives them 15 days, but they start fining them.”

Council members Tom Dell and Elaine Wagner agreed that the process has to be sped up and city employees need the tools to do their jobs.

The council members said a committee is looking into all the city’s ordinances that need updated, some of which haven’t been touched in more than 30 years. The council members said the ordinance committee has yet to meet this year.

Wagner said this goes beyond just cars and should include other areas, especially of code enforcement.

“We have had conversations before about all of the different ordinances in town which are outdated,” Wagner said. “It is more than just cars. It is housing. It is HOAs (Home Owner Associations). It is all kinds of things that we are definitely planning to take a look at.”

Dell and Bunch said that the city might have to look at adding more employees to pick up the pace enforcing local codes.

“Without cleaning up the ordinances and making them more efficient and more practical, I guess you would say, we have to make sure they are enforceable,” Dell said. “We, as a group, have to put together the funding to make sure that gets accomplished. Otherwise we will put ordinances on the book that we really can’t enforce because we are not willing to back it up with putting the enforcement people into place to get that done.”

Columbus Regional Health will be showing off its newly renovated and expanded Cancer Center at an open house today.

Kelsey DeClue, spokeswoman for the hospital, says the 6,600 square foot expansion to the center took almost two years to complete and $4.7 million dollars. It features many improvements that will benefit local cancer patients including new, state-of-the-art equipment called a linear accelerator, DeClue said.

“It is basically a radiation therapy machine,” DeClue said. “What we have got and the software associated with that really, really takes our radiation program to a completely different level. Treatments that people may have had to go out of the community before, on the radiation oncology side, will now be able to be done right here in their hometown. They won’t have to travel as far.”

DeClue said there are only three of these machines in the state and its capabilities are cutting edge.

“It is just mind-boggling what we are going to be able to do with this new radiation equipment,” DeClue said. “It is really humbling. And it is not just the technology, it is the providers, the physicians that go along with that. We have a couple of new radiation oncologists that we are introducing… that have the experience that is the best in the state, honestly.”

The expanded facility will also deliver a better patient experience and a better experience for their care-givers, DeClue said.

“The expansion provides more chemotherapy treatment bays, a brighter, more open feel to that area as well,” she said. “Which when we did customer service surveys was mentioned as something they wanted.

“We have an increased waiting area that is just off the existing waiting area. It is just another pocket, another waiting room with complimentary beverages and just a nice open space for those people. And then inside the chemotherapy and medical oncology side, the treatment bays, we have also added a few family and patient spaces there.”

Other improvements include an expanded pharmacy, DeClue said.

You will be able to tour the new space, meet the physicians and learn more about cancer care services from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. this afternoon. The center is part of the main hospital complex off of 17th Street.