Monthly Archives: July 2020

Commiskey area under boil water advisory

The Stucker Fork Water Utility is reporting a boil water advisory in the Commiskey area after a water main break. The affected area is north of State Road 250, west of Highway 3, and south of County Road 700S. You should boil any water for five minutes that you plan for consumption or in food preparation. The boil water advisory is in effect until Friday morning.

Former Gov. Joe Kernan dies after long illness

Portrait of former Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan by Mark Dillman. Courtesy of State of Indiana.

Former Indiana Gov. Joseph Kernan died this morning following a long illness.

Kernan graduated from Notre Dame and was commissioned as a U.S. Navy pilot. He was shot down while on a reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam in 1972 and was a prisoner of war, including time in the infamous Hanoi Hilton.

He went into business after his return home, and entered local Democratic politics, serving three terms as mayor of South Bend.

In 1996, he ran for lieutenant governor under Frank O’Bannon and they won re-election in 2000. After O’Bannon’s death in 2003, he was sworn in as Indiana’s 48th governor. He appointed Kathy Davis as the state’s first woman lieutenant governor.

After losing in 2005 to Mitch Daniels, Kernan retired from politics and returned to South Bend where he worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame and in his own consulting firm.

He is survived by his wife, Maggie, and seven siblings.

Family representatives say that there will be no public services at this time, due to the pandemic.

Driver dies after crash in Interstate 65 construction zone

A driver was killed and a passenger critically injured in a crash in the construction zone on Interstate 65 near Southport Road yesterday.

Indiana State Police are reporting that 22- year-old Tyberious Freeman Garrett of Indianapolis was driving southbound when he lost control and slid sideways into a trailer attached to a construction zone at about 10 a.m. yesterday morning. The construction vehicle was parked inside of the construction zone marked off by orange barrels and signs.

Garrett was pronounced dead at the scene.

State police believe excessive speed contributed to the crash and the investigation is ongoing. Southbound lanes were tied up until about 1:30 p.m. yesterday.

State, IU to help Decatur County through COVID-19

The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and Indiana University will be working with a local county to get a handle on the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state agency will be working with IU’s Center for Rural Engagement and School of Public Health to help Decatur and Daviess counties manage health crises like the pandemic, by leveraging community networks.

Communications and collaboration will be the key to communities’ success said Matt Crouch, the interim director of OCRA.

In Decatur County, this initiative will establish a new community health improvement plan that addresses COVID-19 needs and plans for long-term health initiatives. The local networks will include the health, education, business and nonprofit sectors.

For more information, you can go to ocra.in.gov.

Courts to use space in The Commons for jury selection

Bartholomew County courts will be going across the street to The Commons, as a location for selecting juries.

Bartholomew County Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with the city of Columbus and the city parks and recreation department this week, making formal arrangements to rent out The Commons for those functions.

Tammy Johannesen, office manager in Bartholomew Circuit Court, said that it would be an understatement to say that the courts are backed up right now. All three county courts are now working out schedules for upcoming trials with the space available in The Commons to hold the jury selection proceedings, she said.

County Commissioners President Carl Lienhoop said that the agreement would allow the county to use space in The Commons on Tuesdays, and would pay $1,050 a day in rental and cleaning fees for the space.

County Auditor Pia O’Conner said that the expense would likely be reimbursed to the county through the CARES Act funds and County Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz pointed out that without that funding the costs would have to be absorbed by county taxpayers.

Columbus firefighters extinguish apartment kitchen fire

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department

A kitchen fire Sunday afternoon caused about $25,000 in damages to a Columbus apartment.

Columbus firefighters say that they were called to the Mapleview Apartments, in the 2900 block of Ninth Street at about 4:29 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Columbus police were already on scene, evacuating residents. Firefighters entered the building, which was showing heavy smoke, and located the flames in an apartment kitchen. The fire was quickly knocked down, limiting spread to neighboring units.

Firefighters say that an unattended cooking appliance may have been one of the causes of the fire, but the official cause remains under investigation.

Other agencies assisting at the scene included Columbus Regional Health paramedics, Duke Energy, Columbus City Utilities and Vectren Energy.

Driver injured in crash near Scott-Jackson line

Photo courtesy of Indiana State Police

A Scottsburg man was seriously injured yesterday afternoon in a crash on I-65 near the Jackson and Scott County line.

Indiana State Police say that a dump truck driven by 62 year old Robert L. Stidham was traveling southbound on I-65 at about 12:30 p.m. Monday afternoon when for unknown reasons, his truck entered the median.

The truck struck a guardrail before overturning, coming to rest on its side. He had to be rescued from the crashed vehicle by firefighters and paramedics. Stidham was flown by medical helicopter to a Louisville hospital.

Investigators believe Stidham may have suffered a medical episode which was a contributing factor in the crash.

Cummins sees fall in revenues, earnings in pandemic

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.

Cummins says its second quarter revenues were down 2.3 billion dollars from the same quarter last year and earnings were down almost half a billion dollars.

The company released its second quarter financial filings today. It reported that second quarter revenues were $3.9 billion, a 38 percent decrease since 2019’s $6.2 billion. And earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $549 million in the second quarter, down from $1.1 billion dollars a year ago.

Sales across the company were $8.9 billion, down from 2019’s $12.2 billion. The company said that weak economic activity and customer shutdowns due to the pandemic led to lower demand in markets except for China. North America sales were down 48 percent and international revenues were down 22 percent.

Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger said in a conference call that many of the company’s customers were completely shut down in March and April, leading to the declines. He said this is the largest decline in revenue in company history. Linebarger said that through restructuring, temporary salary reductions and spending cuts, the company was able to maintain what he called “reasonable profitability” considering the size of the sales decline.

He thanked the employees for their sacrifices that are supporting the company during these challenging times.

Although the company expects third quarter revenue to improve, it also said there is significant uncertainty due to COVID-19. The company is not providing full year revenue or profitability guidance for 2020.

You can find more on the quarterly report here.

You can find the conference call audio here.

Boil water advisory issued for Arrowwood Drive in Columbus

Columbus City Utilities is reporting that water customers on Arrowwood Drive from Ironwood Drive to Creekside Court will be under a boil water advisory starting this morning at 8 a.m.

The water utility says that they will be shutting down water in the area as crews make improvements to the water system, leading to the advisory.

You should boil any water you plan for cooking, drinking or other consumption for five minutes before using it. The advisory is expected to last until Friday, but customers will be notified when it is safe to drink the water again.

If you have any questions you can call the Water Service Hotline at 812-418-6435.

County police dog set to undergo second surgery Thursday

Deputy Leah Burton and Bravo. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department police dog Bravo is on the mend and set for a second knee surgery later this week.

The sheriff’s department updated the Bartholomew County Commissioners on Bravo’s injuries and the cost to the county to put him back into the field. Capt. Dave Steinkoenig said that the department was expecting the cost of the two surgeries to cost about $8,000, with an unknown amount for rehab after the surgeries are complete.

Steinkoenig said that those rehab costs are expected to be relatively low, because most of the training would be done by the dog’s trainer, Deputy Leah Burton.

Bravo, a Belgian Malinois, has been with the sheriff’s department since last September and has participated in five foot chases, nearly 90 drug arrests and multiple warrant services. He injured his knees including an ACL tear during the course of his service to the county, but it is hard to pinpoint exactly when the injuries occurred Steinkoenig said.

Bravo’s second surgery is set for Thursday, Steinkoenig said.

The commissioners retroactively approved the expenditures for the first surgery out of the sheriff’s department budget. Steinkoenig officials said that they have received public donations to his care costs, but the exact total was not available.

Bravo is one of three police dogs serving with the sheriff’s department.

In other sheriff’s department business before the County Commissioners, a notice to bidders was approved, seeking to purchase 57 body cameras for county deputies. The County Council approved that expense earlier this month, with the commissioners making the funds available by putting off some maintenance on the Bartholomew County Courthouse.