A wanted man was arrested this week after he was found by Columbus police riding a bicycle near Fair Oaks Mall.

According to police reports, officers noticed 44-year-old Micah E. Fisher of Columbus riding his bicycle at about 10:45 Monday night and realized he was wanted on an outstanding Bartholomew County warrant for dealing methamphetamine. He was taken into custody without incident, but while searching his backpack police discovered several containers of narcotics, plastic baggies and a digital scale.

He was arrested on the warrant and new charges of dealing methamphetamine, plus possession of meth, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Columbus and other metropolitan statistical areas in Indiana will keep their federal designation which will help keep federal funds flowing.

Columbus Congressman Greg Pence announced the decision by the Office of Management and Budget this week, saying that the agency would keep the population threshold in place, after early discussions to lift the number. Many communities in Indiana would have fallen out of the metropolitan area category, reducing the opportunity for federal funding. Those included Columbus, Muncie, Kokomo, Terre Haute and Michigan City.

Pence’s office says he led bipartisan opposition against the change. He said that “Hoosier cities and countless others across the nation would have unnecessarily lost out on federal resources because of bureaucratic shortsightedness.”

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop said Columbus relies on federal funding. The money goes to areas such as community development, transportation and planning, as well as local street, transportation and neighborhood projects. Lienhoop said he appreciated “the assistance from Congressman Pence and our other representatives in Washington.”

In January, the OMB announced a proposal to raise the population threshold from the current 50,000 residents to a 100,000 resident bottom line.

The driver of a dump truck died in a rollover crash on a rural Decatur County road Wednesday.

Indiana State Police are reporting that 69-year-old Gregory S. King of Greensburg was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on County Road 850E by the Decatur County Coroner’s office.

According to the state police investigation, King was driving northbound, just south of County Road 400N at about 6:30 Wednesday evening, when his vehicle ran off the edge of the road for unknown reasons. It returned to the roadway and then rolled over and caught fire. King sustained fatal injuries in the crash.

The Indiana State Police-Versailles Post Crash Reconstruction Team reconstructed the crash. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Organizers of Hope Heritage Days have chosen the grand marshals for this year’s parade, Randy and Tonja Sims.

According to the announcement yesterday from Heritage of Hope, the two have served for decades on the Heritage of Hope Board and its festival and bandstand division, with the Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp., on numerous Town Council committees and have supported other community causes.

The proclamation called the Sims a wonderful example to others and said they have made it possible for many generations in that corner of Bartholomew County to enjoy a richer, more fulfilling life.

The parade is on Sept. 26th, the last day of the annual festival in Hope.

Photo: Randy and Tonja Sims. Courtesy of Heritage of Hope

The Columbus Fire Department is announcing the promotion of three firefighters.

Lieutenant Josh Allman has been promoted to the rank of Captain. Allman is a 20 year veteran of the department and was promoted to Lieutenant in 2016.

Firefighters Andrew Jordan and Ben Whiteside have both been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Both have served 14 years with the Columbus Fire Department.

All three officers will be given their shift and station assignments beginning next week.

Jennings County Sheriff Kenny Freeman is recognizing citizens who helped police catch a fleeing suspect last month.

The sheriff’s department reports on social media that deputies and North Vernon police officers were trying to catch a suspect in June. Resident Mike Wick chased the suspect through several back yards in his neighborhood, while Wick’s son Dylan ran down the street to alert police on the direction his dad and the suspect were heading.

On Thursday night, Freeman met with the Wicks, thanking them for their help and presenting them with a Jennings County Sheriff’s Office coin.

Photo courtesy of Jennings County Sheriff’s Department. Mike Wick an Sheriff Kenny Freeman

The Georg Utz company is planning a more than $19 million dollar investment in its facilities in the Edinburgh area.

Bartholomew County Council agreed to provide tax breaks for the project this week.

Company officials told the council that they are planning a more than 135,000 square foot expansion to the facility at a cost of $11.8 million dollars along with $7.5 million in new manufacturing equipment. Company spokeswoman Penny Grubbs said the project would add 46 new jobs with wages of $25.13 per hour by December of next year. It would also retain 180 jobs that already exist.

About 10,000 square feet of the new space would be turned into the company’s North American headquarters.

The council approved a tax abatement for the project, phasing in taxes on the purchases over 10 years for the property and five years for the equipment.

Earlier in the evening, the council gave its final approval to make a large area of northwestern Bartholomew County into an economic revitalization area, which opens up the area to tax abatements.

The council also approved a tax abatement for Force Construction this week in the same area. Force plans to construct an empty shell building in the area, for use by companies looking to relocate or expand in Bartholomew County.

The U.S. Small Business Administration will be closing two outreach centers dedicated to helping those affected by last month’s severe weather.

Friday is the last day of operations for the centers in Bloomington and Madison set up to help people apply for low-interest loans in affected counties, including Brown, Jackson and Jennings counties locally.

Last week the agency declared a disaster area for those affected by the June 18th and 19th severe storms and flooding. That opens up the opportunity for disaster recovery loans for residents, business owners and not for profit groups. The main affected areas were Monroe and Jefferson Counties. Other affected counties include Clark, Greene, Lawrence, Morgan, Owen, Ripley, Scott and Switzerland counties.

The Disaster Loan Outreach Centers are at the Monroe County Convention Center, 302 S. College St., Bloomington, IN 47403 and the Madison Area Chamber of Commerce, 301 E. Main St., Madison, IN 47250. They are open today and tomorrow from 8 to 5 and will be closing permanently on Friday.

You can also apply online. 

Organizers of the Columbus and Bartholomew County bicentennial celebrations note that we are already halfway through this 200th anniversary year with several initiatives underway and events still coming up.

A major initiative is the 1821 Trail extension of the People Trail along First Street in Columbus. The project will come close to completing the loop of the city by building onto the 26 mile trail system. The city recently chose Hitchcock Design Group and American Structurepoint to complete designs for the trail including historical elements.

The Columbus Area Bicentennial Commission encourages you to check out the group’s social media feeds for several initiatives including Moments in History, which details both anecdotes and significant events in county history, and Profiles in Leadership, which looks at influential community members in Columbus and Bartholomew County history.

Columbus Area Bicentennial Commission on Facebook

You can also find links to the film series It Began with Bartholomew, which is now available on YouTube.

Upcoming bicentennial events include Family Fun on the Farm at the Henry Breeding Farm presented by the Bartholomew County Historical Society on July 24th. And Celebration on the River at Upland Columbus Pump House on Aug. 13–14th.

Cummins is announcing a plan to help solve the global water crisis through sustainable, large scale water projects around the world to be called Cummins Water Works.

The company will initially support the project with $8 million in Cummins grants. It will focus on five of the most water-stressed countries: Mexico, Brazil, India, South Africa and the U.S.

The company says that by 2025, Cummins Water Works will bring fresh water to 20 million people. The company will also work to produce net water benefits that exceed Cummins’ annual water use in all Cummins regions by 2030, and in all Cummins communities by 2050.

Cummins plans to work with The Nature Conservancy on projects in Brazil, the U.S. and India focused on improving, repairing, and strengthening primary water sources that communities depend on. Working with Water.org, Cummins will work on projects in Mexico, Brazil, and India focused on improving water cost, quality, and availability in communities.

Submitted photo: Cummins employees work in Indianapolis on Indy Do Day.