The Columbus Engineering Department says the westbound lanes of 11th Street between Washington Street and Jackson Street will be closed Thursday morning beginning at 8:30 a.m. Jackson Street between 12th Street and 11th Street will also be closed.

Officials say that was recently a water main break in this area and now that the repairs are complete, the area is ready to be repaved.

You are asked to avoid this area on Thursday.

If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team powered by Crew Car Wash. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.

A Statewide Silver Alert has been declared.

The Boonville Police Department is investigating the disappearance of Donna Gail Hatfield, a 72 year old white female, 5 feet 4 inches tall, 125 pounds, with grayish brown hair and hazel eyes.

Donna is missing from Boonville, Indiana which is 169 miles southwest of Indianapolis and was last seen on Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 9:09 am.  She is believed to be in extreme danger and may require medical assistance.

If you have any information on Donna Gail Hatfield, contact the Boonville Police Department at 812-897-1200 or 911.

This concludes this Silver Alert.

Schneck Medical Center has announced a new member of the leadership team at the Seymour hospital. Dr. Eric Fish has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In addition, Susan Zabor’s role as Vice President of Clinical Services has been expanded to include Chief Quality Officer.

Dr. Fish brings nearly 15 years of leadership experience at Schneck, including Medical Director of Schneck Obstetrics & Gynecology, President of the Schneck Medical Staff, Chairman of the Board of Managers for Inspire Health Partners, and most recently, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer.

Schneck officials say that Dr. Fish earned his medical degree at Indiana University School of Medicine and completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. He joined the medical staff at Schneck in 2005 and founded Schneck Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2006. He is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology. In 2013, he received his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee.

In addition to managing all operational aspects of Schneck’s physician practices as well as maintaining his role as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Fish will oversee all aspects of the Schneck’s strategic planning initiatives. In his new role, Dr. Fish will no longer practice at Schneck Obstetrics & Gynecology.

“Dr. Fish brings to this position a strong commitment to our mission and patients, excellent strategic insight, a broad perspective, and strong working relationships with leaders both at Schneck Medical Center and in our community,” says Warren Forgey, President/CEO of Schneck. “He is dedicated to improving the healthcare experience for patients and their families and will provide Schneck with the opportunities to shape the future of healthcare in the communities we serve.”

Susan Zabor has been promoted to Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Quality Officer.

As Vice President of Clinical Services, Zabor plays a critical role in developing, communicating and driving organizational strategy, while overseeing clinical operations. In her expanded role as Chief Quality Officer, she will focus on the continued improvement of the medical center’s quality metrics. Zabor will also work to improve processes that result in providing value for patients through the delivery of effective care.

Zabor earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Purdue University, and her Master of Science in Nursing with a specialty in Nursing Management and Leadership from the University of Southern Indiana. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration in healthcare administration from the University of Southern Indiana.

“Susan has been integrally involved in projects to improve the quality of care and the effectiveness of operations, all for the benefit of our patients and the communities we serve,” said Forgey. “That commitment and level of attention to every detail in the care process makes her the perfect fit for chief quality officer.”

A fire alarm at Columbus North High School Wednesday morning was caused by a sprinkler.

Columbus firefighters responded to the school at approximately 11:24 a.m. Capt. Mike Wilson, department spokesman, says that firefighters arrived on the scene and learned that the alarm was caused by the sprinkler system activation in a second floor chemistry classroom. No fire was present.

Firefighters were able to stop the flow of water shortly after arrival. Wilson says that a significant amount of water was released inside the classroom before the water flow was stopped. The water flooded the classroom floor and hallway, and also flooded the classroom directly underneath.

No damage estimates are available at this time. Students remained outside the building for about an hour before classes resumed.

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are considering a policy to formally ban vaping in the schools.

Individual schools have already been enforcing rules against vaping under existing anti-tobacco and nicotine policies but the school system has not had a district-wide policy, says Dr. Jim Roberts, school superintendent.

The policy change is meant to address changing technology and current trends. Unlike alcohol and cigarettes, which are seeing a decline among students, vaping is on the rise.

Roberts said that coaches of athletic teams have already been taking action against vaping among players.

The school board had a look at the new policy at its meeting earlier this week and will consider it for approval when it meets again on Sept. 9th.

A pedestrian was seriously hurt this morning after being hit by a truck while walking on State Street in Columbus.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that 59-year-old Ronald Jones of Columbus was flown by helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital after being struck at about 5:38 a.m. this morning while walking in the 3700 block of East State Street.

Deputies say Jones was allegedly walking in the street when he was hit by the pickup driven by 61-year-old Roger Kretzer of Columbus. Kretzer was treated at the scene for injuries and released.

There is no word on Jones’ condition.

The accident remains under investigation.

Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting that 33-year-old Christopher Purdy of Columbus was found dead in a vehicle at a Taylorsville gas station Friday afternoon and the woman who drove him there was arrested.

The paper is reporting that Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies received word of a possible impaired driver in the Taylorsville area. They found the vehicle at a gas station and spoke with the driver, 27-year-old Emily A. Clarence of Columbus. Purdy was a passenger in the vehicle and appeared pale and blue. Purdy was pronounced dead at Columbus Regional Hospital by Coroner Clayton Nolting.

An autopsy was performed and toxicology results are due back in a couple of weeks.

Clarence is facing a preliminary charge of Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated – Drugs.

For more on this story, visit therepublic.com.

India will be the host country for this year’s Ethnic Expo, the city of Columbus announced today. This year’s festival is Oct. 11 and 12th in the streets around Columbus City Hall.

The Indian Association of Columbus will represent the host country, there will be a corner of the festival set aside for the country at the corner of First and Washington streets and the country will be represented as the lead float in the Ethnic Expo parade that weekend.

Instructors from the Columbus yoga community will lead a children’s and adult’s yoga class Friday evening. Bollywood Unlimited will teach an energetic Bollywood dance class Saturday afternoon.

The Friday night headliner will be Kiran Ahluwalia, who represents the vocal traditions of India and Pakistan. Ahluwalia has won two JUNO Awards (Canada’s Grammys), two Canadian Folk Music Awards, and a Songlines Award in the U.K.

Saturday night’s headliner will be The Tiptonians, a Columbus-based pop/alt rock style band that won the 2015 Columbus Got Talent competition.

Ethnic Expo is from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days. The deadline to apply to participate as a vendor for the International Food and Bazaar is Aug. 31. You can get more information at www.ethnicexpo.org.

Ethnic Expo is organized by the City of Columbus and First Financial Bank is the main sponsor for the tenth year in a row. Other sponsors include Coca-Cola, ERMCO Electric and Milestone Contractors.

Nearly three years of work to establish drug recovery efforts in Columbus and Bartholomew County are coming to fruition. The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress provided an update to the community Monday evening at The Commons.

In 2016, representatives of the city of Columbus, Bartholomew County and Columbus Regional Health created ASAP as a collaborative effort to develop a community-wide response to the opioid epidemic. ASAP started a three-pronged approach to the abuse problem, assessing local prevention, criminal justice and recovery responses to the epidemic and making recommendations on areas for improvements. That has led to more than 40 projects and changes like the creation of a drug court, the recruitment of treatment options to the community and funding through income taxes of many of those efforts.

A Substance Abuse Advisory and Accountability Committee, made up of representatives from all three groups, assess funding requests and make recommendations to the Substance Abuse Public Funding Board. If the funding board recommends action, it will kick the request to the Columbus City Council and Bartholomew County Council for funding approval. Each government body must agree on any funding.

In recent months, the alliance has transitioned to a new role as a not-for-profit group operating the ASAP Hub Recovery Resource Center, which is now open at the Doug Otto United Way Center on 13th Street. The Hub is meant as a central location to get someone into treatment. Organizers say the idea is that when someone with a substance use disorder asks for help, they need services right away. The Hub is expected to be fully operational by April of 2020.

Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin addressed the gathering. She talked about the Drug Recovery Court, a voluntary program designed to provide motivation and skills to high-risk, non-violent offenders. The program currently has a maximum cap of 30 participants with the average time taken to complete the program being 18 to 24 months.

Jeff Jones, former volunteer executive director of ASAP, says that much work has been done, by much more remains. He received a standing ovation from the crowd for his efforts in helping to combat the opioid epidemic. Jones was also honored by Mayor Jim Lienhoop, County Commissioner Carl Lienhoop and Jim Bickell, CEO of Columbus Regional Health at the end of the program.

The trio unveiled the “Jeff Jones Fund.” Lienhoop explained that friends, coworkers and other supporters of Jones contributed to this fund, which is designated to help ASAP cover certain expenses. That fund totals $63,763.17.

Jones is re-entering retirement and has been succeeded by new executive director, Doug Leonard.

You can get more information on ASAP and their community report at asapbc.org.

Cummins has announced a multi-year partnership with the University of California San Diego and its battery validation lab. The agreement allows the university to analyze viable business and technical approaches to effectively reuse and repurpose electric vehicle batteries.

Under the agreement, UC San Diego will perform accelerated testing and real-world application testing, and will develop an outdoor second-life demonstration system comprised of Cummins battery modules. Cummins officials say this allow the company to acquire valuable data on the aging behaviors of its battery modules, test integration solutions for second-life battery systems and validate stationary energy storage system performance under grid energy storage applications.

“Electrification has the potential to play an enormous role as we move toward decarbonization of many industries, but in order to maximize that potential, it’s crucial that we focus on the sustainability of the entire product life cycle,” said Julie Furber, Vice President – Electrified Power, Cummins. “One piece of the puzzle that requires additional research is the second-life of batteries, and Cummins now has a highly-skilled and capable partner in UC San Diego as we move towards the development of reuse solutions.”

Cummins says that batteries retired from electric vehicles still maintain significant battery capacity. While that capacity may no longer meet the need for vehicular use, they could be utilized in less-demanding applications.

“Cummins is the nexus between the transportation and stationary energy storage sectors,” said Mike Ferry, Director of Energy Storage and Systems at the Center for Energy Research, University of California San Diego. “Battery module design is a crucial aspect to making second-life more feasible and their experience will be invaluable as we continue to develop solutions. Given their reputation, global footprint, and all they’ve accomplished in the last century, it’s a real privilege to partner with them on this project.”

Cummins says this partnership with UC San Diego represents one of the first lithium-ion battery projects to exclusively study second-life battery capabilities with batteries that were designed for commercial applications.