Emergency workers, city officials and residents celebrated the opening of the new Evolution Training Center for Columbus and area firefighters, police and other first responders at ceremonies yesterday morning at the Columbus Air Park.

Fire Chief Andy Lay explains the capabilities of the new center at 2670 Verhulst Street.

Lay said the city’s goal is to be able to rent it out to other first responders in neighboring communities, helping pay off the cost of the facility and pay for future upgrades.

The new building includes two large classrooms, a simulated firing range for police, office space for the fire department’s training officer and a large open training space. Lay talks about other training equipment on site.

The new center opened Tuesday morning with speeches from Lay, Mayor Jim Lienhoop, former Columbus Fire Chief Mike Compton and Sgt. Tom Foust, from the Columbus Police Department.

At the end of last year, the city of Columbus along with partners Columbus Regional Health and the Heritage Fund, bought the Fair Oaks Mall property on 25th Street. Since then the city has been going through a planning process to decide on the best uses for the property.

We asked the candidates for Columbus City Council in next week’s election about their thoughts on the future of the property and how the city can afford to renovate the space.

Elaine Wagner, the incumbent Democrat in City Council District 2 is running for re-election against Republican Jim Hartsook.

Hartsook said he’s not quite sure how everything is going to be paid for.

Wagner says she’s excited for the possibilities.

In City Council District 3, incumbent Republican Dave Bush is facing Democrat Katea Ravega.

Ravega said the purchase should have been thought out a little better.

Bush said the city was right to purchase the property.

Frank Miller, the incumbent Republican in City Council District 4 is running for re-election against Democrat Michael Schoumacher.

Schoumacher says the property can provide a lot of options for city residents.

Miller said purchasing the property will likely turn out to be a brilliant move.

In City Council District 5, incumbent Republican Tim Shuffett is facing Ross Thomas, a Democrat.

Thomas said more thought should have been put into the purchase.

Shuffett said that it may take several years for the property to reach its full potential.

In the four-way race for the two at-large seats on the council, incumbent Republican Laurie Booher and Democrat Tom Dell are running against Republican Josh Burnett and Democrat Grace Kestler.

Kestler said accessibility for all residents should play an important part in determining how the mall property is used.

Booher said she wants the property to be accessible to all.

Dell said that the city has the opportunity to create something special.

Burnett says that area of the city is important to residents.

Early voting continues this week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays at the courthouse. A satellite voting center is open at Donner Center from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. You can also vote on Saturday at both locations from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Early voting wraps up on Monday from 8 a.m. to noon at the courthouse.

Election Day is Tuesday Nov. 5th, and polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cummins Inc. on Tuesday reported results for the third quarter of 2019.

Third quarter revenues of $5.8 billion were down three percent from the same quarter in 2018. The company says lower demand for trucks and construction equipment drove the majority of the decline. Sales in North America were flat while international revenues decreased eight percent.

Net income attributable to Cummins in the third quarter was $622 million ($3.97 per diluted share), compared to net income of $692 million ($4.28 per diluted share) last year.

“Despite weakening conditions in a number of our largest markets, Cummins delivered strong profits, record operating cash flow, and returned a record $910 million of cash to shareholders in the third quarter,” said Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger. “While we expected to see a moderation of demand in the second half of the year, sales have weakened even faster than we anticipated. Cummins is taking actions to align our cost structure with the lower revenues while maintaining investment in products that will deliver sustainable growth and profitability.”

Based on the current forecast, Cummins now expects 2019 revenue to decline two percent compared to prior guidance of flat. The company says reduction in revenue forecast is driven by lower truck production in North America, India, Brazil and Europe. In addition, there was lower demand in off-highway markets, including North America construction and global mining markets.

City officials in North Vernon are considering measures to better serve city employees and help out those who need it most.

City Council voted Monday night to adopt a 2020 salary ordinance that sets pay ranges for city employees. Council also discussed a proposal to to standardize the percentage of which the city pays for vision and dental benefits. City officials say that currently, some employees are paying more than others. The idea would see the city cover 90 percent of the insurance premium costs, while the employee picks up the remaining 10 percent.

The council is also considering developing a “sick time leave bank” for city employees. Clerk-Treasurer Shawn Gerkin explains that he spoke with Jennings County Schools officials, as they have a similar program, to identify a pathway to implementation. The idea is that employees could donate a portion of their earned time off to other employees who have suffered injury or illness and are not collecting a paycheck. The council discussed the proposal and indicated support, if certain measures were put in place to avoid abuse of the system.

Council took no action on either proposal, but members indicated they would be open to considering them.

An initial hearing for a driver accused of hitting and killing a bicyclist and leaving the scene has been delayed.

Our news-gathering partners at “The Republic” are reporting that Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin rescheduled an initial hearing for 27-year-old Eric M. Winship, of Columbus, for 9 a.m. Friday. That came about after technical difficulties resulted in the judge having to stop a string of initial hearings being broadcast from the jail on Tuesday morning.

Winship is accused of driving a pickup truck that struck and killed 21-year-old Kyla Ortlieb, of Columbus, on Oct. 20 near 11th and Chestnut streets.

For more on this story, visit therepublic.com.

Ivy Tech Community College will build a new main campus building in Columbus.

The design of the new building will benefit from the Cummins Foundation Architecture Program, which will recommend architects for consideration and provide funds for the design portion of the College’s new campus building.

Ivy Tech officials say the $32 million, 80,000-square foot structure will be built at the Columbus Air Park behind the College’s current main campus building, Poling Hall. The new building will replace Poling Hall with a facility that caters to modern technology, collaboration, academics, student learning and Ivy Tech’s advanced programs.

“A new campus facility will significantly improve the learning and collaborative environments for our students and employees,” Ivy Tech Columbus Chancellor Dr. Steven Combs said. “We are sincerely grateful to the members of the Indiana legislature for funding and to the Cummins Foundation for its generosity and assistance as we prepare for this pivotal milestone. We have a lot of planning to do, and we look forward to sharing and engaging our communities in this process.”

The new Ivy Tech Columbus building will represent the first building project sponsored by the Cummins Foundation Architecture Program since the design of the neighboring Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Columbus Air Park in 2009. The Ivy Tech Foundation will receive the grant from the Cummins Foundation.

“We truly appreciate this meaningful gift from the Cummins Foundation,” said Therese Copeland, Executive Director of Resource Management at Ivy Tech Columbus. “The Architecture Program will help us thoughtfully shape our campus as we serve our communities and our students.”

A team from the Cummins Foundation will generate a list of five architects for the College to consider. Once the College selects an architect, the Cummins Foundation will provide funds for the design portion of the architect fees. Ivy Tech anticipates breaking ground in 2020 with completion in 2022.

Heritage Fund is launching a new campaign that will match donations 2 to 1 to help build the fund’s grant-making ability.

The Bartholomew County community foundation says the Love Where you Live Campaign seeks to raise $100,000 for the long-term benefit of the community through the Community Fund. Lilly Endowment will be matching donations $2 for every $1 donated – tripling the impact to the donations.

Heritage Fund organizers say the Community Fund donations are invested and annual returns allow Heritage Fund to make grants to address community needs.

Donations can be made in person at the Heritage Fund office, by mail or online at heritagefundbc.org. For more information, you can contact Kristin Munn, HFBC director of development, at 812-376-7772.

The Columbus Police Department was recently the target of an open records complaint by the former mayor. Both the state public access counselor and the judge ruled against the city.

We asked the candidates for Columbus City Council in next week’s election if there a problem with transparency in the police department or across city government?

The race in City Council District 1 pits incumbent Republican Dascal Bunch against Democrat Jerone Wood and independent Michael Kinder.

Bunch said that he sees the problem as being one where different officers fill out paperwork differently. That has been corrected.

Wood said that he thinks the city needs to do a better job showing the public how it is being transparent.

Kinder said he thinks the city should be following the laws on what can be shared.

Elaine Wagner, the incumbent Democrat in City Council District 2 is running for re-election against Republican Jim Hartsook.

Wagner says the dispute took too long to settle and it cost too much. .

Hartsook said the city needs an electronic retention policy for its records.

In City Council District 3, incumbent Republican Dave Bush is facing Democrat Katea Ravega.

Bush said the city takes care to follow all the laws on open meetings and records.

Ravega said that as a health care attorney she has filed many open records requests and they can be hard for agencies to process.

Frank Miller, the incumbent Republican in City Council District 4 is running for re-election against Democrat  Michael Schoumacher.

Miller said in the recent case, the city police were still in the investigative phase, where records are not yet public.

Schoumacher said the city has a perception problem with transparency that he would like to address

In City Council District 5, incumbent Republican Tim Shuffett is facing Ross Thomas, a Democrat.

Shuffett said that city is doing more than most communities to ensure transparency.

Thomas said that as an attorney, the first response should be to follow the law and to err on the side of being open..

In the four-way race for the two at-large seats on the council, incumbent Republican Laurie Booher and Democrat Tom Dell are running against Republican Josh Burnett and Democrat Grace Kestler.

Booher said she believes in the value of being open to the public.

Dell said that police thought they were following proper procedures.

Burnett said that personal issues should not be part of the open records decision making

Kestler said the city needs to better communicate with the public.

A wanted man had to be chased down twice by a Jennings County police dog before deputies could arrest him.

Deputies report that they tried to serve an arrest warrant on 32-year-old Thomas Burton, of North Vernon, at a home on Kensington Square Sunday evening. But deputies say Burton fled out the back of the home.

Deputies cordoned off the area and found him hiding nearby. Police say Burton failed to comply with their commands and ran away again. Sgt. Cody Low and his K9 partner, Axel, were waiting nearby and the dog subdued Burton.

As deputies attempted to take Burton into custody, he make it to his feet and tried to run away again. Axel grabbed Burton again and deputies were then able to make the arrest.

Burton was first taken to St. Vincent Jennings Hospital to be treated for injuries and then to the Jennings County Jail, where jail staff found he was carrying methamphetamine.

In addition to the outstanding warrant, Burton is now facing preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement and possession of methamphetamine.

Two people are facing drug-dealing and other related charges after shots were fired at a Columbus apartment complex last week.

Officers evacuated nearby apartments after reports of shots being fired in the 2400 block of Charlestown Place at 1:10 Thursday morning. Columbus police say they found bullet holes in two  apartments.

Police say that 24-year-old Papa M. Sylla, a resident at one of the apartments, told them that he was at home when two men in ski masks tried to push their way inside. Shortly afterwards, several shots were fired into his apartment door, but no one was hit by gunfire.

Two others in the apartment, 25-year-old Alhadj Diaw and 21-year-old Kedisha Brown were coaxed outside and police searched the apartment, where they discovered hundreds of THC vape cartridges, approximately two pounds of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms, as well as over $13,000.00 in cash.

Sylla and Diaw are facing charges of dealing in and possessing marijuana, maintaining a common nuisance and possession of a controlled substance.  Brown is being accused of visiting a common nuisance.