Bartholomew County officials are recognizing the 200th anniversary of the birth of the county.

The county commissioners issued a proclamation at their meeting Monday, honoring the creation of the county on January 9th, 1821. The county was named after Gen. Joseph Bartholomew and it was the 36th county to form in the state of Indiana, which had been created five years earlier. The county commissioners first met in the newly established county in February 1821 in a cabin owned by resident Luke Bonesteel.

The proclamation recognized the fourth and current county courthouse, the founding of the city of Columbus in 1837 and the many residents who have made the county a special place to live.

The proclamation declared June 25th as “Bartholomew County, Columbus area, 200th Bicentennial Celebration” Day. Commissioners said that is the first day of the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair and they plan to read the proclamation again during the fair opening festivities.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Office is crediting newly purchased equipment with helping deputies and medics save a woman’s life on Sunday.

The department is reporting that Deputy Ian McPherson and Deputy Kyle Lee were called to a medical emergency in Country Squire Lakes at about 3:09 Sunday afternoon. They found a family member performing CPR on an unconscious woman with no pulse. Deputies took over CPR and used a new automated external defibrillator, that the department recently purchased, to try to restore her pulse.

Paramedics arrived and used a mechanical chest compression device, that had also recently been purchased, along with medication to save her. In the ambulance ride to St. Vincent Jennings Hospital the woman began to breath on her own. At the hospital, she was stabilized and taken to another hospital that specializes in heart treatment.

Bartholomew County REMC is alerting some of its customers of a planned power outage on Wednesday.

The outage will start at about 8:30 p.m. that night and last for less than two hours while crews perform repairs and maintenance on the Ogilville substation. about 1600 customers will be affected in southwestern Bartholomew County. The area will be west of Interstate 65 and south of State Road 58.

If you have any questions, you can call 812-372-2546.

An electrical fire caused more than $10,000 in damages to a California Street home Monday morning, according to Columbus firefighters.

The fire department reports that it was called to a home in the 1900 block of California Street at 1:53 a.m. this morning on a report of smoke. A smoke alarm had alerted the residents and they had evacuated before firefighters arrived. There was light smoke coming from the exterior gable vents. Inside, firefighters found smoke coming from a bedroom closet that had attic access. After getting through a kitchen ceiling and outside wall, firefighters found charred wooden joists, and heavily damaged electrical wires.

After about two hours, firefighters were able to return to their station. But about 9:25 a.m. they were called back again and found smoldering debris in the attic area.

Due to the damages, the occupants of the residence will be displaced until repairs are made.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.

Cummins Inc and energy giant Iberdrola are announcing plans in Spain to build one of the world’s largest plants to produce hydrogen.

The Columbus-based engine manufacturer would become one of the world’s leading suppliers of the system, called an electrolyzer. Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO of Cummins, said that the partnership with Iberdrola will position Cummins as a European leader in green hydrogen production.

He said this is the latest example of Cummins’ global effort to achieve carbon neutrality and accelerate the hydrogen economy. Cummins has already deployed more than 600 electrolyzers in 100 countries.

Iberdrola officials said this plant will create a new industry with high growth potential — the manufacturing of electrolyzer systems. A search is underway to find a site for the new $61 million dollar plant.

Iberdrola is the number-one producer of wind power, and one of the world’s biggest electricity utilities.

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Columbus East High School special education teacher Peggy Myers has been chosen for this year’s Edna V. Folger Outstanding Teacher Award.

Sponsored by SIHO, the Community Education Coalition, and the IUPUC Center for Teaching and Learning, the annual award is designed to raise awareness about the influence educators have on their students, as well as to recognize the image of educators as important community role models. It includes a stipend and a personal award from the Center for Teaching and Learning.

According to organizers, Myers is a committed advocate for her students, ensuring they have every learning and life opportunity possible. They said she designs individual plans for each of her students to help them reach their learning goals and fullest potential. And, along with the help of her staff, she patiently teaches social and job skills along the way.

She is active with the ARC of Bartholomew County and has served as president, vice-president, and secretary.

Myers was honored during a special presentation at Columbus East last week and will be recognized during the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting held this fall.

Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County is announcing $60,000 in grants to local nonprofit groups.

That includes $25,000 for the Columbus Area Arts Council to support the Sixth Street Arts Alley project, and $22,000 to Love Chapel for strategic organizational planning. Servants at Work are receiving $9,000 to support building ramps for low-income, disabled Bartholomew County residents and $4,000 to Family School Partners for strategic organizational planning

The grants are coming from Heritage Fund’s Community Fund. Heritage Fund annually distributes between $600,000 to $700,000 in grants to local nonprofits from the unrestricted Community Fund. It supports projects in the areas of Youth Development, Substance Abuse, Neighborhood Revitalization, Innovation and Creativity and making a Welcoming Community.

The Arc of Bartholomew County has chosen Kathy Auberry as its professional of the year.

The agency held its annual meeting virtually last week and chose Auberry, an IUPUC professor, for the award which recognizes a person serving those with developmental disabilities, and whose work has improved supports and services for those with disabilities and their families.

Auberry is a registered nurse with certification in developmental disabilities and has been practicing in the field of intellectual and developmental disability for 26 years. Since 2012, she has served as an Assistant Professor of Nursing in the Division of Health Sciences at IUPUC.

For more information about the Arc of Bartholomew County go to The Arc BC dot org. (www.thearcbc.org.)

The Columbus roundabout will be getting a facelift as part of the city’s bicentennial efforts.

Robin Hilber, with the city’s community development department, says that the city is landscaping the roundabout at the intersection of 11th, Brown and Lindsey streets. The roundabout is seen as one of the main entrances to the city’s downtown Arts and Entertainment District.

The city’s departments of Public Works, Parks and Recreation and Community Development have been working with the volunteer Columbus in Bloom group to redesign the entryway without compromising sight lines for traffic.

The landscaping will include portions of the old train trestle from Noblitt Park. It will include stone, grass, perennials and bushes and will be funded by Columbus in Bloom. Becky Church, who maintains the downtown flowers and foliage for the city, designed the project and is overseeing its installation.

A motorcyclist was slightly injured after a crash Thursday afternoon on U.S. 31 near Heflen Park Road in Bartholomew County.

According to reports from the sheriff’s department, a minivan being driven by a 76-year-old Edinburgh woman pulled out in front of the motorcycle being driven by a 24-year-old Columbus man.

The motorcyclist was wearing the appropriate safety gear and suffered an injury to his wrist, according to police reports. He was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for treatment. The minivan’s driver was uninjured.

Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane said that warmer weather means more cyclists on the road and drivers of larger vehicles should remain alert. He also stressed that motorcyclists need to follow the rules of the road as well.

May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.