The Salvation Army’s iconic red kettles are feeling the impact of the short 2019 holiday season. With the last day of bell ringing set for Christmas Eve, many locations across Indiana are still far behind their fundraising goals. They are asking the community to help fill the kettles on these last few days to ensure that local programs aren’t affected by a shortfall.

Major Bob Webster, Divisional Commander of The Salvation Army in Indiana, says the late Thanksgiving hit the organization’s fundraising hard. “A lot of our best locations don’t even start until Black Friday, so we lost about a week of bell ringing this year. Many of our Salvation Army programs depend on those red kettle donations to keep going, so we’re asking our donors to make these last few days really count,” added Webster.

The Salvation Army has more than 450 red kettles in place across Indiana. Last year these kettles raised nearly $3.4 million in Indiana.

Webster asks for you to consider donating the next time you come across one of the Salvation Army’s red kettles.

Columbus firefighters went to work Thursday afternoon after the driver of a trash truck noticed smoke coming from his vehicle.

Capt. Mike Wilson, CFD spokesman, says that at approximately 1:39 p.m., firefighters responded to a report of a vehicle fire in the parking lot of IUPUC. The call came after a Best Way Disposal truck driver noticed smoke billowing from his trash compactor truck. According to firefighters at the scene, the quick thinking truck operator pulled into a vacant portion of the IUPUC parking lot, where he dumped the burning contents.

Firefighters from station #2, located less than 100 yards from the scene, arrived to find a large pile of burning trash. Firefighters doused the garbage from a nearby fire hydrant.

Wilson says that a representative of Best Way Disposal advised that the debris would be removed by one of their teams.

No one was hurt.

Deputies are warning about a phone scam that is making a return.

Jennings County Sheriff’s Department is warning that if you receive a call from someone who claims to be from a police agency or a family member saying that they need bond money, you should be on alert. The phone connection is usually bad, making it hard to hear the caller and the caller demands money be sent immediately.

Deputies suggest that you should verify that the situation is legitimate before you send money. But you should not ask the caller for return phone number. Instead, get the name of the person claiming to be an officer. Then locate a legitimate phone number for the agency and call that number to verify the situation. You will find out that it is almost certainly a scam.

You should never give out any bank info or personal info over the phone.

If you have doubts you can call the Jennings County dispatch center at 812-346-4911 and ask to speak to a deputy. The deputy will help you verify if the call is legitimate.

Columbus native and Vice President Mike Pence joined President Trump at a Merry Christmas Rally at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan. last night, speaking to faithful supporters even as the U.S. House voted to impeach the president.

Earlier in the day, Pence spoke in Saginaw, Mich. in support of the president:

Indiana House Republicans all voted against the impeachment including Representatives Greg Pence, Trey Hollingsworth, Jackie Walorski, Jim Baird, Larry Bucshon, Jim Banks, and Susan Brooks.

Columbus Republican and the Vice President’s brother Greg Pence said he supported the president. He released a statement saying that “The American people deserve a Congress focused on them, not Democrats walking around gloating and high-fiving each other for wrongfully impeaching President Trump, trying to undo the 2016 election”

Hoosier Democratic representatives Andre Carson and Pete Visclosky voted in favor of impeachment.

Seymour Mayor Craig Luedman has a job lined up for when he leaves office in a matter of days.

“The Tribune” is reporting that Luedeman has been hired by HWC Engineering in Indianapolis to serve as a community business development manager for the firm. He starts that job on Jan. 6.

Luedeman decided not to run for a fourth term as mayor. He’ll be succeeded by Republican Matt Nicholson, who will be sworn into office during a ceremony on Dec. 30. Nicholson officially begins his duties Jan. 1st.

For more on this story, visit tribtown.com.

A water leak has lead to the town of Nashville / Nashville Utilities to issue a boil order for the following are:

– 474 to 610 Artist Drive
– West Drive
– Oak Run

Those affected should boil all cooking and drinking water through 4 p.m. this Friday, Dec. 20.

A four-way stop is in place in Nashville at State Road 135 and Main Street after a traffic signal pole was struck Wednesday morning. The Indiana Department of Transportation says the pole is being removed and further investigation of the foundation structure will be conducted.

INDOT says all signals will be offline at this location until repairs can be completed. Street lighting and pedestrian crossing signals will also be inoperable.

Motorists should treat the intersection as a four-way stop. Both drivers and pedestrians should use extra caution when traveling through the area.

INDOT officials say it is unknown when repairs will be completed.

Congressman Greg Pence’s OORAH Act is on its way to becoming a law.

The act was incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act which was passed by the U.S. Senate yesterday, according to Pence’s spokeswoman. The Columbus Republican introduced the Oorah Act to get restitution from Iran for the families of Marines killed in the 1983 attack in Beirut. Pence is a former Marine who served in Lebanon.

The OORAH Act allows the families of the victims in that attack to access $1.68 billion in frozen Iranian funds

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are considering a plan to ask the taxpayers to help increase the pay for teachers and support staff. If approved by the school board, the voters would be deciding in May whether or not to add 19 cents to their property tax rate.

School Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts made the case to the school board this week, pointing out that even with the increase BCSC would still be below the state average tax rate and the rates of surrounding school districts.

For the owner of the average priced home in the school district, with standard deductions, that would mean an increase of about $120 a year in their tax bills. That was estimated on a home with an assessed value of almost $142,000 and including homestead, supplemental and mortgage deductions .

The overall percentage increase in tax bills will depend on the location of the property and its value, but it would be a 22 percent increase in the school districts’ share of the tax rate, which has hovered around 85 cents per $100 of assessed value for more than a decade.

The district expects the tax increase to raise about $9.3 million dollars per year. The proposal would put 81 percent of the new money into teacher and support staff salaries. The could mean $5 to $15 thousand dollars a year more for an individual teacher depending on experience and education.

The school board would consider the tax increase in January and if approved, it would go to the voters on primary election day next year.

A string of thefts from Seymour-Jackson Elementary School led to the arrest of a third-grade teacher.

“The Tribune” in Seymour is reporting that 46-year-old Meredith Charlton faces Class A misdemeanor charges of Theft after an investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

The paper says that earlier this month, a school resource officer was notified of a series of thefts at the school. Last week, surveillance cameras were placed in the office of the school. That same day, money was marked and placed in a desk in the office.

The paper says that Charlton was seen in the office going through an employee’s purse and desk that contained the marked money. She was arrested shortly thereafter.

For more on this story, visit tribtown.com.