Columbus firefighters fought a blaze Thursday morning between the floors of a townhouse apartment at the Two Worlds Condominium complex.

According to reports from the Columbus Fire Department, fire crews were called to the 2000 block of Abundance Drive at about 10:18 a.m. after a resident noticed smoke coming from the heating vents. The owner called 911 and alerted the residents in the other three units of the four-unit building.

All the residents of the three occupied townhomes had evacuated by the time firefighters arrived. Firefighters removed a dog from one of the townhomes and returned it to its owner.

Firefighters discovered heavy smoke inside and flames near the first floor ceiling in a heating vent. After dousing the flames with water, they went to the second floor where they found more flames coming from a heating vent near the floor. After extinguishing those flames, firefighters removed drywall in a search for any hidden fires.

The fire was marked under control by 10:35 a.m.

The fire damages were mostly concentrated near the heating system, between the first and second floors of the condominium and fire damaged the second floor, burning through in some places in the affected unit. Smoke damage also happened throughout the four units.

The cause of the fire is undetermined and firefighters don’t know if the heating unit itself was the cause of the blaze. Damages were estimated at $20,000 to $30,000. No one was injured.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department

Crews from the city of Columbus Department of Public Works will begin collecting live Christmas trees on Tuesday.

The trees must be out curbside, not in alleys, on the same day as your regular trash collection. Tree pickups will not be done on private streets and call-ins will not be accepted for Christmas trees.

The trees must be out of the bag, and free of ornaments, hooks, stands or nails.

Christmas tree pickup will run through Jan. 29th.

A southern Indiana man is being accused of battery and neglect of a dependent after an infant in his care was seriously injured.

The investigation started last Thursday after a two-month-old infant was taken to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour with injuries. Doctors at Schneck transferred the child to Norton’s Children’s Hospital in Louisville and state troopers and the Indiana Department of Child Services were contacted.

Investigators learned that the child had been at the family’s home in Austin that morning. At around 5:30 a.m., the child’s grandfather changed a diaper and everything was fine, police say. The child was then put into the care of the mother’s boyfriend, 23-year-old Spencer Faircloth of Jeffersonville and a few hours later, Faircloth woke the mother because something was wrong with the infant.

Faircloth was arrested at the State Police Post in Sellersburg Tuesday and is facing charges of aggravated battery, battery and neglect of a dependent.

Seymour State Rep. Jim Lucas is one of the Republican lawmakers reintroducing legislation to let Indiana residents carry handguns without a permit.

Lucas says it’s an infringement of constitutional rights to require someone to get fingerprinted and pay a fee in order to carry a gun. The “constitutional carry” or “permitless carry” measure would still prevent felons from carrying a gun. Last session, a bill to end the requirement for handgun carry permits passed in the Indiana House, but did not get a committee hearing in the Senate.

Story courtesy of TTWN Media Networks Inc. 

The city of Columbus is planning a groundbreaking for a new People Trail extension that is meant as a long-lasting legacy project of this year’s bicentennial celebrations.

The 1821 Trail expansion will run along First Street behind the county jail, City Hall and the IU architecture building all the way to the Robert N. Stewart Bridge on Second Street.

Robin Hilber with the city’s community development department says that the ground breaking will be held at 10:30 Tuesday morning on First Street, rain or shine. Parking will be available at First and Jackson Streets.

This comes right after the city’s 10 a.m. Tuesday Board of Public Works and Safety meeting, where city officials expect to award a construction bid for the estimated $2.3 million project.

Earlier this week the city’s redevelopment commission approved just over $1 million in funding for the project. That funding, along with donations, will largely cover the base construction costs. Further enhancements are expected to cost another $739,000 and the city is starting fundraising efforts to raise that money.

The city is offering a chance for you to buy engraved bricks for the project.

Bricks will be 4 inches by 8 inches and be placed along the 1821 Bicentennial Trail along First Street from Water Street to Lafayette Avenue. Each engraved brick is selling for $100. You can have up to three lines of text with a maximum of 16 characters per line. That includes spaces and punctuation.

You can find a link to a submission form here. If you have any questions, you can call Robin Hilber at 812-376-2522.

Photo rendering courtesy of Hitchcock Design Group.

Three Bartholomew County private school teachers are being honored with this year’s Reams Family Awards for Excellence in Teaching.

Libby Cravens, a fifth grade teacher at Whitecreek Lutheran School was the first place winner of a $5,000 cash stipend. She was nominated for holding her students to high standards, building relationships with students and their families and encouraging choice and responsiblity in school work.

Sue Breeding, a computer and first year teacher at ABC-Stewart Montessori School, received the second place award, with a $4,000 stipend. She was recognized for her work in transitioning to e-learning during the pandemic and for teaching a dulcimer camp.

Cheryl Thill, an English teacher at Columbus Christian School, received the third place award and a $3,000 stipend. Thill has a passion to see her students succeed, encouraging them them to reach beyond their boundaries.

The annual awards were established in 2007 by former residents Fred and Karen Reams and are administered by Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County. Recipients are nominated by their principals with additional recommendations from fellow teachers, parents and students.

Two people were arrested Tuesday after a traffic stop in Country Squire Lakes.

According to Jennings County Sheriff’s Department reports, a deputy noticed 22-year-old Zachary Hamblen of Vallonia riding in a vehicle, and recognized that Hamblen was wanted on several outstanding Jennings County warrants. After the vehicle was pulled over, Hamblen was taken into custody without incident.

But deputies also discovered that the driver, 19-year-old Kinnadi Skinner of North Vernon had a suspended driver’s license. She was also arrested and the vehicle searched, where deputies discovered methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and marijuana.

Hamblen is facing charges for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia, as well as four outstanding warrants. Skinner is facing a charge of driving while suspended.

Local communities are announcing holiday closings that could affect your trash pickup and other services.

Bartholomew County government offices will be closed Thursday and Friday for the Christmas holiday. However, the Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District says that the county landfill and recycling center will be open on Thursday. The recycling center will also close on Friday and the Bartholomew County Landfill will close at 1 on Friday. On Christmas Day Saturday, all district facilities will be closed including the Petersville and Harrison Township convenience sites.

Columbus city offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday However, trash and recycling pickups will be on their normal schedule. Columbus City Utilities says that if you have a problem with your water or sewer service, you can call 812-372-8861 and follow the prompts.

The city of Seymour is announcing that the city’s Department of Public Works as well as other city offices will be closed Thursday and Friday for the Christmas holiday. Normal Thursday trash and recycling routes will be picked up today instead. Normal Friday routes will be picked up on Monday.

The Seymour drop-off area will be closed Thursday through Sunday.

The Columbus Development Commission is approving funding toward the 1821 People Trail extension along First Street. That is the city’s major bicentennial legacy project and will help close the People Trail loop around the city.

The redevelopment commission heard a presentation on the project this week by Hitchcock Design Group. It laid out design elements for the project from Lafayette Avenue to the Robert Garton bridge on Second Street including historic signage, mini plazas and a gateway element behind City Hall. The project will also include weathered limestone blocks from the Noblitt Park bridge replacement.

The total project is estimated to cost $2.3 million dollars, with just over $1.7 million estimated for construction costs, almost $352,000 in contingencies and $159,000 for design and engineering.

The redevelopment commission approved spending just over $1 million for the project this week, with almost $684,000 coming from a former certified tech park fund that was reclaimed last month, and another $411,000 coming from property tax increment revenue funds.

Heather Pope, the city’s redevelopment director, said the project has already received $250,000 from the Columbus Parks Foundation, $10,000 from a Duke Energy grant and $50,00 in a grant from Kenny Glass. That would cover the base construction costs and the city will now begin fundraising to pay for $739,000 in project alternates.

Approval for a contractor to build the trail extension could come as soon as next week, Pope said.

Bartholomew County will be merging its smallest precincts.

County Clerk Shari Lentz asked the County Commissioners this week to approve the merger of three precincts into larger ones, at the request of state officials. She said the state recommended that precincts of less than 600 registered voters be merged with larger neighbors.

Under the order, Precinct 3000 will merge with Precinct 3100, Precinct 5300 will merge with Precinct 5400 and Precinct 5500 will merge with precinct 5700.

The changes will go into effect on January 2nd and will affect next year’s elections. The changes must still be approved by the Indiana Election Division, Lentz said.

Although Bartholomew County voters are grouped into neighborhood precincts, the county has moved to a voting center model, which means there are no longer precinct-level voting locations.