Officials with the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation are celebrating recently completed projects at facilities throughout the district. Jim Funk, a principal at CSO Architects, shared an update on these projects, as well as others planned for this school year. They include:

Columbus North High School –
Construction of a new ADA stage access walkway in the auditorium. Officials say this work was done in conjunction with repair work after a fire in the auditorium last year that was caused by a blown light-bulb and melting plastic. BCSC says that improvements are 85 percent complete, as they are waiting on the delivery of 836 new seats that are expected to arrive this month. Additional proposed work for this year at Columbus North being bid includes gymnasium mechanical work to rebuild an air handler, replacement of an electrical switchgear, replacement of an emergency generator and other improvements to building controls.

Columbus East High School –
Upper-level reverse folding bleachers and glass guard railings were installed at the school. Lower-level bleachers are expected to arrive this month for installation. Additional proposed work at Columbus East includes improvements to the chiller and hydronic systems, improvements to building controls and extendeding emergency power circuits.

BCSC says that playground improvements are scheduled for 10 elementary schools this school year. Bids are slated to go out this month for projects at Clifty Creek, Fodrea, Rockcreek, Taylorsville, Richards, Southside, Smith, R.L. Johnson, Mt. Healthy and Schmitt.

Officials say that work already done over the summer include roofing and exterior improvements at Parkside Elementary. Interior improvements took place at Clifty Creek, Smith and Taylorsville elementary schools over the summer. Those projects included repairs, renovations and replacements in classrooms, restrooms, corridors and cafeterias. Work included painting, carpeting, casework, wall/window repairs and more.

A former reserve Nashville police officer has pleaded guilty in to a misdemeanor charge of False Informing. Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting that 25-year-old Leonard Burch, of Indianapolis, entered the guilty plea in Bartholomew Superior Court 2 as part of a plea bargain agreement that called for a charge of reckless driving to be dismissed. The case revolved around the August 29, 2016 pursuit of 18-year-old Xavier Scrogham, of Hope, which ended in Scrogham’s death after he crashed his motorcycle.

According to the paper, Burch admitted that he initiated the pursuit of Scrogham near U.S. 31 and Lowell Road and called 911 on a cell phone, telling dispatchers that the motorcycle had passed Burch going 120 mph, a statement he knew to be false. The report says that Burch was given a 180 day suspended sentence and placed on probation for 180 days.

For more on this story, visit therepublic.com.

Indiana Department of Transportation officials met with its contractor on Wednesday to discuss a recently awarded $1,153,832 bridge rehabilitation contract for structures on State Road 46 in Brown County. INDOT says that Ragle Inc., of Newburgh, plans to mobilize next spring for work that will impact motorists at three locations on State Road 46. They are:

State Road 46 culvert at tributary to Lower Schooner Creek –
INDOT says that the existing single-span slab-top structure adjacent to the intersection with Bond Cemetery Road/Shipley Hollow Road, just east of State Road 446, will be removed and replaced. Drivers will be restricted to a single 10-foot lane with alternating directions controlled by temporary signals at either end of the work zone.

State Road 46 three-span bridge over Salt Creek –
INDOT says that the bridge, just west of State Road 135 South, will receive a new bridge deck overlay to protect the structure and renew its driving surface. Removal of existing materials and installation of the new latex deck overlay will be done along one-half of the bridge at a time, allowing continuous single-lane traffic flow controlled by temporary signals at either end of the work zone.

State Road 46 metal arched pipe at Gnaw Bone –
INDOT says that the structure, located about five miles east of State Road 135 South near Brown Hill Road at Gnaw Bone, will be repaired and pavement patched. Two-way traffic should be maintained during this small structure paved invert operation.

Authorities say that clearing work at these sites will be done in advance. That work is tentatively scheduled for November.

An Elizabethtown man was arrested Monday night on drug charges. Judy Jackson, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, says that at about 7:18 p.m., Deputy Leah Burton responded to Bethel Baptist Church on West Deaver Road on a report of a suspicious person and vehicle. When the deputy arrived and approached the vehicle, she reported seeing the driver, 22-year-old Bryce Conner Love, slumped over in the driver’s seat with a straw in his right hand and a lighter in his left.

Authorities say that Love’s breathing was slowed and he was sweating profusely. When Deputy Burton woke Love, he denied being under the influence. In the passenger’s seat, the deputy reported seeing aluminum foil with burn marks. Jackson says that Deputy Matt Bush and K9 Diesel arrived to assist when the dog was alerted to narcotics inside the vehicle. After exiting the car, Love allegedly admitted that heroin had been in the aluminum foil.

Love was taken to Columbus Regional Health to be checked out. Once he was released, Love was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Heroin and Possession of Paraphernalia. Jackson says that he is being held on $60,000 bond.

Indiana University is changing the name of its School of Art and Design. The new name inserts architecture, making it the School of Art, Architecture + Design. The school says that the change is part of its bicentennial plan which calls for a culture of building and making at the university.

One of the biggest new components for the Art, Architecture + Design program is the master’s degree in architecture, which launches in the fall of 2018 and will have its primary focus here in Columbus. The school estimates that the need for architects in Indiana will grow by more than 20 percent through 2022.

Peg Faimon, dean of the School of Art, Architecture + Design says that the change will enable the school to “maximize the university’s potential for developing its inventions and innovations for the economic benefit of all Hoosiers.”

The university also changed the name of its former School of Informatics and Computing to the School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering.

The changes, approved by the IU Board of Trustees in June, took effect for the start of the 2017-18 academic year.

The Bartholomew Consolidated Schools transportation department is being recognized for its efforts to install seatbelts in school buses.

The Indiana Mills and Manufacturing organization recognized the district for installing lap-shoulder belts in about half of the district’s school buses. That effort started in 2008. Of 142 buses in the district, 62 general buses and 11 special needs buses have been outfitted.

About 8,300 students ride buses in BCSC daily and those buses travel more than 4,300 miles each day.

This Saturday, the Yellow Trail Museum in Hope will host the first of a series of new programs for kids presented by the Bartholomew County Historical Society.

“Chores on the Farm” starts at 10 a.m. This free, one-hour program will include a short history lesson, some hands-on activities, and a snack. It will last about an hour.

Each month, a new program will be presented at the museum on the first Saturday of the month.

The Yellow Trail Museum is at 644 Main Street, on the northwest side of the Hope Town Square.

The North Vernon City Council voted this week to affirm an agreement between the city’s redevelopment commission and the Jennings County Redevelopment Commission that will help to extend sewer service to a recently annexed area to the north. Greg Hicks is the president of the North Vernon Redevelopment Commission.

08-30 NV SEWER-1

Hicks says that agreement facilitates the extension of sewer services to the area of State Road 7 and State Road 750. Under the agreement, the city would install up to $610,000 of wastewater equipment to the area, allowing the construction of a Casey’s General Store to be completed. In return, the Jennings County Redevelopment Commission will return all tax-increment financing dollars collected from that are to be returned to the city redevelopment commission until the entire $610,000 is recouped.

Two people were arrested in North Vernon Monday after police there received a tip that a wanted man was a passenger in a vehicle sitting at a gas station. Sgt. Andrew Richmond, spokesman for the North Vernon Police Department, says that officers received the tip at 12:47 p.m. When police arrived on the scene, they recognized 21-year-old Jacob McCarty, of North Vernon, as the passenger. Richmond says that moments later, K9 Heros was alerted to the odor of drugs coming from the area. A search allegedly resulted in the discovery of six grams of heroin in a bag in McCarty’s shorts. Officers also found, and seized, multiple cells phones from the vehicles, along with $566 in cash and an open pack of rolling papers.

McCarty was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Controlled Substance and Maintaining a Common Nuisance, along with the outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court on a prior drug possession charge. The driver, 21-year-old Guy Yeager, of North Vernon,

was arrested on preliminary charges of Maintaining a Common Nuisance and Possession of Paraphernalia.

Police impounded the vehicle for having improper license plates.

Cummins has unveiled a new electric-powered semi tractor. Company officials say the “Class 7 Demonstration Urban Hauler Tractor” shows Cummins’ commitment to compete, and win, in the field of new and future technologies.

An unveiling ceremony was held Tuesday morning at the Cummins Tech Center on McKinley Avenue. Cummins says that the Concept Class 7 Urban Hauler EV includes a state-of-the art battery pack offering, allowing the vehicle to hold a longer charge for improved range and faster charging, reducing down time. The concept truck design includes an Engine-Generator option for extended range capabilities. Company officials say that engine options offer 50 percent fuel savings compared to today’s diesel hybrids, with zero emissions.

Jon Mills, Cummins’ director of external communications, says the announcement of this electric-powered vehicle compliments the company’s earlier announcements about the production of super-efficient diesel engines and future plans to introduce “a revolutionary heavy-duty diesel engine in 2022.” Company officials say these products and technologies add to Cummins’ portfolio of solutions and offer customers the latest in environmentally-friendly, cost-effective and powerful products to help them succeed in every market and every application. With these new innovations, Cummins says it will continue to provide connected customer support, including cloud-based solutions and big data analysis, in order to maximize up-time, safety and business optimization, increasing customers’ bottom line.

“These new technological innovations build on our 100-year legacy of bringing the best solutions to our customers, driving their success and meeting the evolving demands of their industries and markets,” said Jennifer Rumsey, Chief Technical Officer, Cummins Inc. “We will harness our global technical footprint to continue to develop a wide variety of power technologies to bring our customers the choice and solutions that enable their success and contribute to a sustainable future.”

“As a global power leader for the commercial and industrial customers we serve, with an unmatched service and support network, we are better positioned than any other company to win in new and emerging technologies and in new markets,” said Rich Freeland, Cummins President and Chief Operating Officer. “We will leverage our deep industry and customer knowledge and our scale advantage to win. Over the past century, our ability to innovate and adapt has fueled our success and we are confident we are on the right path to do it again.”

Local and state officials were on hand for the announcement. Jason Hester, president of the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation, says that this announcement illustrates the importance of Cummins to the local community. He praised company officials for their forward-thinking as it relates to the future needs of customers, as well as calls for cleaner, quieter engines. Hester’s statements were echoed by State Rep. Milo Smith. He noted that all of the testing technology developed for this new electric vehicle took place in Columbus. Smith compared Cummins to AT&T, noting that both companies were founded and established on one technology, but had enough foresight to make adjustments and prepare for the future.