Monthly Archives: January 2022

Central Indiana to see biggest hit from upcoming winter storm

The National Weather Service says a new blast of winter weather is about to leave several more states shivering, with the largest impact hitting central Indiana.

Freezing rain and ice are expected to hit from Missouri into Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan Tuesday through Thursday. The Indianapolis office says there is a high level of uncertainty on where the storm will hit. But our area is at the south end of a band crossing central Indiana that could see major impacts.

Current forecasts would see rain Tuesday night into Wednesday night, with a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain possible as cold air moves in Thursday. You could see significant travel problems across the area.

The Bartholomew County Emergency Management Department warns that now is the time to prepare. Shannan Cooke, director of the office, says you should ensure that you have a full tank of gas in your vehicles. You should check to make sure your emergency kits are stocked and ready to go. And don’t forget to check the batteries in your weather radio and flash lights.

The next major storm moves in tomorrow, dumping snow on Colorado and New Mexico. A historic storm already hit the East Coast over the weekend, burying parts of Massachusetts in up to 30 inches of snow and leading to three deaths in New York.

TTWN Media Networks Inc. contributed to this story.

Cummins, Werner working toward zero emissions trucks this year

Cummins is announcing that Werner Enterprises will begin validating and integrating Cummins’ new natural gas and hydrogen internal combustion engines in its vehicles.

Specifically, Cummins will be offering the recently announced 15-liter natural gas and 15-liter hydrogen internal combustion engines in its vehicles.

The 15-liter natural gas engine announced in October of 2021 will offer up to 500 horsepower and 1,850 foot pounds of torque, while not requiring selective catalytic reduction to meet California or EPA emission standards. If the engine is powered with renewable natural gas, it can provide a carbon-negative solution.

The 15-liter hydrogen engine can use zero-carbon green hydrogen fuel, produced by Cummins-manufactured electrolyzers.

Derek Leathers, Chairman, President and CEO of Werner Enterprises says the company has a longstanding focus on sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint. He said Cummins understands the priority Werner places on using technology to minimize its impact on the environment.”

The Columbus based engine manufacturer will begin integrating these new powertrains in Werner trucks in the second half of the year.

For more information, click here.

Reverse Raffle on track to benefit CRH’s VIMCare Clinic

Columbus Regional Health Foundation plans to hold its 27th annual Reverse Raffle in person again this year after two years of virtual events.

The annual event is the largest fundraiser for VIMCare Clinic. Proceeds from the annual raffle make up about a third of the clinic’s budget.

The 2022 Reverse Raffle is scheduled for Sept. 23 and will be held at an outdoor venue. Organizers plan to have the specific details for the event finalized by early spring.

In 2020 and 2021 the CRH Foundation hosted the Reverse Raffle in a virtual format.

The VIMCare Clinic provides medical services for the uninsured and underinsured patients in the community. While a doctor and two nurse practitioners are paid through insurance, Medicaid and Medicare, other services are not covered and must be paid through community generosity. That includes help navigating insurance paperwork, prescription assistance and mental health counseling.

The clinic was previously called Volunteers in Medicine.

Hope the groundhog to offer winter insights Wednesday

The Town of Hope will be looking to a groundhog named Hope for her weather forecasting skills this week.

The groundhog is a resident of Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators and will be giving her winter weather prognostication again at Ground Hog Day festivities starting at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, with polka music on the Town Square. The groundhog ceremony will be at 8:30 a.m., followed by picture taking and celebration at Willow Leaves of Hope on the north side of the square from 8:45 to 11.

The celebration is organized by Main Street of Hope and you can get more information on their Facebook page.

Photo courtesy of Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators

Tenbarge chosen as local conservation officer of the year.

Joe Tenbarge. Photo courtesy of Indiana DNR conservation officers.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources law enforcement division is announcing that Conservation Officer Joe Tenbarge has been selected as the District 6 Officer of the Year.

Tenbarge is assigned to Brown County and has been a conservation officer since 2011. He has served as a public safety diver, background investigator, sonar operator, standard field sobriety test instructor, certified boating instructor, and field training officer.

District 6 includes Bartholomew, Brown, Johnson and Shelby counties in our area, in addition to others.

The district award puts Tenbarge in the running for the Pitzer Award, which is given to the top overall conservation officer in the state. The Pitzer award is named after Conservation Officer James D. Pitzer, who was fatally shot while investigating illegal hunting activity on Jan. 2, 1961, in Jay County.

BCSC seeks nominations for Teacher of the Year

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are now accepting nominations for Teacher of the Year.

Students, staff, friends and families are asked to nominate a teacher from a BCSC school that you would like to recognize. Nominations are open through Friday, February 25th. Each school will select one nominee as their school’s teacher of the Year.

The overall local teacher of the year will be able to compete at the state level.

You can find a link to the application form here:

Teacher of the Year Nomination Form (English)

Formulario de nominación de maestro del año (español)

North Vernon woman facing drug, neglect charges

Natashia M. Jackson. Photo courtesy of Madison Police Department.

A North Vernon woman is facing drug and child neglect charges after a traffic stop Monday in Madison.

According to Madison Police Department reports, officers pulled over a vehicle for an expired license plate at about 9:01 Monday morning. They say that 29-year-old Natashia M. Jackson of North Vernon was in the back seat and a small child was in her care. Police found that Jackson was wanted on warrants including battery against a public official in Jefferson County and neglect of a dependent in Marion County.

A search of the vehicle found that Jackson, the driver and another passenger were all carrying methamphetamine and Jackson was carrying a syringe.

All three were taken into custody. Jackson is facing preliminary charges for possessing the drugs and syringe and was also charged with neglect of a dependent because of the child in the vehicle.

The Department of Child Services assisted at the scene.

Old National Bank donates $59k to Columbus area groups

Old National Bank is announcing that last year’s charitable giving totaled more than $1.5 million in central Indiana and more than $59,000 in Columbus.

The bank said its total charitable giving across its five state region totaled $6.1 million dollars. That went to more than 1,100 organizations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Additionally, Old National team members donated 40,000 hours of volunteer time to about 1,500 community organizations last year.

In Columbus, Old National donated $59,500 to 15 area organizations. Other central Indiana communities to receive funds include Anderson/Muncie, Bloomington, Indianapolis, Lafayette and Terre Haute.

According to bank officials, Old National has been focused on strengthening the communities it serves through team member volunteerism, corporate sponsorships, Foundation grant awards and financial education initiatives since the bank started 187 years ago.

You can get more information here.

Columbus unveils new site for Nexus Park updates

The city of Columbus is unveiling a new website and logo for Nexus Park, the former Fair Oaks Mall.

Columbus officials yesterday said that the site will be used to provide updates on developments at the location as the city and Columbus Regional Health remodel and expand the facility.

The city and CRH purchased the 35-acre mall site at 25th Street and Central Avenue in 2018 with an eye to making the property into a health, wellness, sports and recreation center for the city.

When completed, the facility will include administrative offices for the city parks and recreation department, flexible spaces that can be used for sports, fitness and meetings, a 150,000 square-feet indoor field house, and CRH facilities for physician, diagnostic and therapy services. Plus there will be restaurant and retail areas.

The Nexus Park logo was developed last year by marketing agency and branding consultant Cronin.

The Nexus Park website includes current hours of operation, updates to the facility, indoor walking options, Frequently Asked Questions and a contact form.

You can find the new site at nexuspark.org.

Final Afghan refugees leave Camp Atterbury

The Department of Homeland Security is announcing that the last Afghan refugees have relocated from Camp Atterbury.

According to the agency, Camp Atterbury is the fifth of eight Department of Defense installations supporting the resettlement of Afghan nationals to complete operations. More than 66,000 Afghan evacuees have been resettled in communities across the country. About 700 of them plan to live in Indiana permanently.

At the height of the operation last fall, more than 7,000 Afghan refugees were evacuated to Camp Atterbury after the U.S. pulled out of the country.

Earlier this week, the governor and other dignitaries celebrated the success of the mission. At the time there were only 15 refugees left on the base.