Online enrollment for kindergarten in the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) for the 2022-2023 school year is open now. To be eligible, the child must be five years of age by August 1st, 2022.
To enroll, parents/guardians must present the child’s birth certificate, immunization records, and proof of residency.
For questions, contact the BCSC school your child will attend.
Kindergarten online registration is available by going to the BCSC website..
The National Weather Service in Indianapolis has issued a Flood Watch for several counties in south-central Indiana, including Bartholomew, Jackson, Jennings, Decatur, and Brown. The Flood Watch is in effect through late tonight.
Rain amounts of one to two inches are possible by the end of today.
Residents are advised to monitor local weather reports and be alert for possible Flood Warnings
Bartholomew Consolidated Schools will be making masks optional in its buildings, based on new state guidance yesterday.
According to the school district, Indiana Department of Health,COVID-19 control measures are being revised. Now, all decisions regarding COVID-19 mitigation strategies are being made locally.
Based on that guidance and a decrease in positive cases around the district, BCSC will move from “masks required” to “masks optional” starting on Tuesday. Students are not in school on Monday, due to the president’s day holiday.
Due to federal requirements, masks will still be required for students and staff on school buses.
School officials say despite the change to optional masks, parents should keep their children home if they are feeling ill. Additionally, school nurses will continue to assess students that are not feeling well once at school and send them home as necessary.
Legal Aid is holding a Free Legal Aid Phone Clinic from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Legal Aid offers the clinics for low-income residents of its eight-county district. That includes Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson, Rush, and Shelby Counties.
If you take part you will have a brief consultation with a volunteer attorney to answer general questions, to offer legal information or to receive other advice over the phone.
To take part, you must first register between noon and 2 p.m. Tuesday by calling 812-378-0358.
Many local government offices will be closed on Monday due to the President’s Day holiday. That includes the city of Columbus.
The Columbus City Utilities office will be closed but if you have a problem with your water or sewer service you can call 812-372-8861 and follow the prompts.
Although the Columbus Department of Public Works offices will be closed, trash and recycling routes will be running on their regular schedules Monday.
A Columbus woman is facing drug-dealing charges after a traffic stop Wednesday evening turned up about 13 grams of fentanyl, police say.
According to Columbus Police Department reports, this is part of an ongoing investigation involving the Columbus Police Intelligence Led Policing Unit. A car was stopped at about 7:40 p.m. Wednesday night near Tally Road and Valley Forge Avenue. A police dog alerted to the odor of drugs inside.
The driver, 45-year-old Cindy I. Adorno was found to have the fentanyl hidden in her clothing. She was arrested on preliminary charges of dealing in a narcotic and possession of a narcotic.
The Intelligence Led Policing Unit is a combined unit consisting of officers from CPD and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office.
An areal flood warning has now been extended for our area until 10 a.m. this morning.
The National Weather Service is warning that heavy rain is causing runoff and flooding. Forecasters say that you will see flooding of low-lying and flood-prone locations.
Another flood warning goes into effect Friday evening to late Sunday morning for rivers in our area.
The weather service says East Fork White River at Columbus is expected to rise above its 9 foot flood stage overnight and to peak at about 9.6 feet on Saturday.
East Fork White River in Seymour passed the 12-foot minor flood stage over night and is about two feet above minor flood stage. It is expected to crest at about 16.2 feet over night, shy of the 17 foot moderate flood stage.
Minor flooding is expected. In Seymour, the river isn’t expected to drop below the minor flood stage again until Tuesday morning.
Driftwood River at Edinburgh entered the minor flood stage overnight and is expected to crest at 13.8 feet, just below the 14 foot moderate flood stage by Saturday afternoon.
You can see local river flooding levels here.
Columbus Parks and Recreation Department is reporting that several portions of the People Trail system including State Road 46, Mill Race Park, and Noblitt Park are closed due to high water.
More sections of the People Trail may become inaccessible due to rising water.
All areas will be reopened after the water has receded and crews have cleaned any mud and debris left behind.
According to the Bartholomew County Emergency Management Department, you could find some slick roads and high water in places out there this morning.
Shannan Cooke, emergency management director for the county, says following last evening’s precipitation, untreated roads are likely to be slick this morning, with subfreezing temperatures continuing until at least midday today.
You should use caution if traveling.
High Water
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The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department has been gifted an eight-wheeled assault vehicle.
Sheriff Kenny Freeman posted on social media, explaining that the light assault vehicle donation came from Scott County and has grown out of the partnership between the two counties. He noted that the counties have conducted several high risk search warrants together. And the two SWAT teams have partnered to pool resources in order to be more effective and to have more manpower.
Scott County received the light armored vehicles through the federal Law Enforcement Support Office through which the Department of Defense makes equipment available to local law enforcement.
Freeman thanked Scott County Sheriff Jerry Goodin for the partnership and said the sheriff’s office “will continue to build teams with other agencies to increase our capabilities.”
Photos courtesy of Jennings County Sheriff’s Department.
The city of Columbus is taking the next steps to build a new fieldhouse at the site of the former Fair Oaks Mall, with Columbus City Council giving its first approval this week to a lease agreement to finance the construction.
The lease with the Columbus Municipal Facilities Building Corporation would obligate the city to pay about $1.8 million annually from the city’s economic development income tax to repay about $29 million in bonds issued by the corporation for the demolition and reconstruction. That would take about half of the city’s annual economic development income tax revenue.
The city’s financial adviser, Andrew Lanam with Stifel Financial Corp, said that the project would not increase taxes. The city does not have the ability to increase the income tax rate, and there is no property tax backup for the lease payments.
The city envisions a roughly 150,000 square foot indoor sports complex on the north side of the former mall. The project itself would cost about $25 million.
The agreement recognizes that the city needs the fieldhouse to meet demand for indoor sports activities but doesn’t have the finances to construct it.
The fieldhouse costs would be in addition to the cost for the parks and recreation department administrative and community spaces in the mall, which would be repaid through a $11.5 million bond through the parks department that is working its way through the approval process.
The approval passed 6-1 with Councilwoman Elaine Hilber voting against the lease agreement, after expressing concerns about tying up so much of the income tax revenue for so long.