Bartholomew County continues to see a surge in COVID-19 with the highest single-day total of positive test results since the start of the pandemic.

According to information released yesterday by the Indiana State Department of Health and the Community COVID-19 Task Force, Bartholomew County had 170 positive tests on Wednesday. The previous high number came on Monday, with 138. During the worst of the pandemic last winter, the highest single day positive was only 126.

Bartholomew County is also seeing the highest numbers of tests administered so far in the pandemic.

According to the local task force, Bartholomew County has 51 people hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Wednesday The highest single day number of hospitalizations came in December of 2020 with 59 people hospitalized. The hospitalization numbers have stayed above 40 for all but one day of the last month.

About 57 percent of the population in the county is fully vaccinated, or almost 48,000 people. 20,480 are fully vaccinated and have taken a booster shot.

Indiana has also set another record for daily coronavirus cases. The State Department of Health yesterday reported over 15-thousand cases. That’s two thousand more than the previous record set on Wednesday. Almost all of the positive cases are omicron cases.

More than 3,000 people are in hospitals across the state with the virus.

TTWN Media Networks Inc. contributed to this report

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department has released more information about the autopsy of a missing girl found dead in East Fork White River over Thanksgiving weekend.

2-year-old Emma Sweet died from complications of hypothermia and asphyxia due to drowning according to the autopsy report. The manner of her death was determined to be a homicide.

According to reports from the sheriff’s department yesterday, the conclusion that it was a homicide came about because the girl was brought to a dangerous environment by her father, Jeremy Sweet. After being placed in the dangerous environment no actions were taken by the caretaker, her father, to rescue her from the environment.

The autopsy was conducted by forensic pathologist Thomas J. Sozio on Nov. 29th at Columbus Regional Hospital.

She was found dead in the river the Sunday after Thanksgiving after being reported missing with her father, 39-year-old Jeremy Sweet, on Thanksgiving Day. Duck hunters found Jeremy Sweet in his truck that was submerged in the river the Friday after Thanksgiving, but the girl was missing.

A search recovered her body in the river near Southern Crossing two days later.

Sweet is facing charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in death.

It is bitterly cold out there this morning. According to the National Weather Service the extremely cold temperatures and winds of up to 10 to 15 mph, means wind chills could reach -10 to -12 degrees throughout central Indiana.

With wind chill values below zero expected you should watch out for hypothermia and frostbite. Hypothermia symptoms include confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering. According to the weather service, immediate medical attention should be given to victims suspected of suffering from hypothermia. If no help is available, the victim should be warmed slowly with warm liquids along with dry clothing and blankets.

Frostbite symptoms include numbness, skin that looks flushed gray, white, blue or yellow or waxy feeling skin.

The Indiana Region of the American Red Cross offers safety tips if you must go outside in this weather. They say you should wear layered clothing, mittens or gloves, and a hat. Outer garments should be tightly woven and water repellent.

Any trips should be as brief as possible.

You should cover your mouth to protect your lungs from severely cold air. Avoid taking deep breaths and minimize talking.

Extreme cold is on its way tonight. The National Weather Service says you can expect to wake up Friday morning with temperatures in the single digits, the coldest weather so far this winter.

You can expect wind chills of zero to minus 11 in some spots around the state. In this morning’s forecast, the weather service is predicting wind chills of -2 in Seymour tomorrow, -5 in Greensburg, -6 in Bloomington and -7 in Shelbyville.

The House committee investigating last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol wants to talk with former Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence drew the ire of many of the rioters for his role in certifying President Biden’s victory, with some calling for his execution as they stormed the Capitol last January 6th. The panel wants Pence to come speak voluntarily about what he knew about then-President Trump’s efforts to get him to reject Biden’s win.

The former vice president, Indiana governor and Columbus native talked with the Christian Broadcasting Network in November about certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election and ignoring requests from then-President Trump that he object to the vote count.

Pence said he had some concerns regarding the vote but it was his oath of office to protect the Constitution and to go against Trump’s orders by certifying the results.

Trump was pushing Pence to reject the Electoral College tallies from key states, and said the election was clouded with fraud.

In June of last year, Pence said he doesn’t know if he and former President Trump will “ever see eye to eye” when it comes to what happened on January 6th.

Today marks one year since the Capitol building was attacked. Several events are planned in D.C. starting with a speech this morning from President Biden and ending with a prayer vigil.

Story courtesy of Network Indiana and TTWN Media Networks Inc.

Only Republicans turned out on the first day of filing for the May primary in Bartholomew County yesterday.

In the countywide races, Shari Lentz filed for her first election as county clerk. She was appointed to the position after former clerk Jay Phelps stepped down to take a position with the Indiana Secretary of State’s election division.

Pia O’Connor is seeking her second term as county auditor, and Tami Hines has filed to run again as county recorder. Barb Hackman has also filed to run for county treasurer again.

Maj. Chris Lane, the current chief deputy to Sheriff Matt Myers, filed yesterday to run for that office. Myers is finishing his second term as sheriff this year and is unable to run again due to term limits.

In the four Bartholomew County Council district races, Republicans Dave London and Greg Patterson filed for the District 1 race, while Jorge Morales filed for the District 4 race.

According to the Secretary of State’s election division, incumbent Republican State Representatives Ryan Lauer and Jim Lucas have filed again to run for districts representing parts of Bartholomew County.

The last day to file for the major party races is noon on Friday, February 4th in the county clerk’s office. The primary election is Tuesday May 3rd.

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are making changes to their COVID-19 policies, reducing the number of days that a person must isolate if testing positive or being identified as a close contact.

The district announced yesterday that after consulting with internal stakeholder groups and local medical professionals, it would be adopting the new standard of five days of quarantining instead of the previous 10 day guidelines. That lines up with recommendations from the Indiana State Department of Health and CDC guidelines.

Under the new BCSC guidelines, students and staff who have tested positive, can return to school on the sixth day after their results, assuming they are having improved symptoms and have been fever free for 24 hours without medication.

Those who have had close contact with an infected person will be able to return sooner, or avoid quarantining at all, depending on the distance apart from the infected person and whether or not masks were being worn by everyone involved.

You can find  more information here.

Columbus firefighters battled a blaze in a garage Tuesday evening, sparked by a cardboard box put down on a hot stove.

According to reports from the Columbus Fire Department, crews were called to a residential fire in the 2000 block of Sumpter Trail at about 6:54 p.m. in the evening. Firefighters found smoke coming from the home’s attached garage and the homeowner told firefighters that everyone had been evacuated.

Firefighters found burning material in the garage near the entrance door into the home and quickly put it out with water.

The homeowner told the firefighters that he grabbed the box off the stove when it began burning and tried to take it to the garage, but had to drop it when the flames grew too intense. The burning box then ignited other material in the garage. The homeowner and a neighbor tried to put out the fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher.

The fire did not extend past the garage, firefighters said. Damages were estimated at $10,000.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.

The Columbus Police Department is welcoming its newest officer.

Samuel Lucas was sworn in by Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop earlier this week at Columbus City Hall.

Lucas is a graduate of Clay City Jr./Sr. High School and IUPUC with a bachelors degree in sociology and criminal justice. While at IUPUC, he worked as an IU cadet officer. He later graduated from the IU police academy.

After a short orientation period, Lucas will begin the police department’s field training program.

Columbus City Utilities has been chosen for the wastewater treatment plant of the year award by a group of southern Indiana utilities.

City officials announced recently that the plant on South Jonesville Road was chosen for the award from the Southern Indiana Operators Association, which is meant to recognize excellence in the field.

A committee inspected the facility and rated it on appearance, operations and efficiency. The Columbus plant was built in 2010 and became operational in 2011.

For more information about Columbus City Utilities, you can go to columbusutilities.org.