A rental home in the East Columbus neighborhood was a total loss after a fire Wednesday morning.

According to reports from the Columbus Fire Department, firefighters were called to the fire in the 200 block of North Ross Street at about 9:11 a.m. yesterday morning after neighbors had noticed the blaze and called 9-1-1. Firefighters found the front of the single-story home showing heavy flames.

Firefighters attacked the outside flames before moving inside, where they had to remove ceilings and drywall to extinguish flames that had spread into the structure. A neighboring home suffered from heat damage, melting some of the vinyl siding, but the damage was confined to the exterior.

No one was at home at the time of the fire, however while firefighters were on scene a resident returned and then suffered an unspecified medical emergency. Paramedics took the tenant to Columbus Regional Hospital to be evaluated.

The home is a total loss and damages to the home and contents are estimated at $60,000.

Photos courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.

The Columbus Area Visitors Center is offering grants to support 2022 events, with the next application deadline coming up later this spring..

According to the center, grants are intended to develop events such as festivals which generate out-of-county visitor spending in Bartholomew County. Awards will be made for events taking place this year and must be submitted prior to the event.

Applications for the next grant cycle are due April 15th. First time applicants must attend a brief orientation with the center via Zoom on March 8th at 3 p.m. in the afternoon, or make other arrangements. .

If you have an event and are interested in applying for a grant, you can request an application by calling  the Visitors Center at 812-378-2622 or by email at [email protected].

Columbus firefighters battled a fire in a shed that caused about $10,000 in damages Tuesday evening on the east side of the city.

According to reports from the Fire Department, firefighters were called to the 1700 block of Timbercrest Drive at about 7:29 p.m. Tuesday evening after witnesses saw the shed fire. Firefighters were on scene within three minutes and the shed was showing heavy flames. The building was about 20 feet from the residence.

Firefighters used a hose line to extinguish the fire within minutes. The flames were confined to the building and didn’t damage the home.

The homeowner said that shed had power and several tool power charging stations were near the area of origin. There were also flammable liquids inside. A portable space heater was in the shed but was not plugged in.

The shed and its contents are a total loss. Investigators say the cause of the fire will likely remain undetermined.

A reminder that comedian comedian Drew Hastings will be having a special show and book signing event at 6 p.m. in the evening Thursday at YES Cinema.

The one-hour show will feature Hastings sharing stories and reading excerpts from his newly-released book, “Chasing Drew Hastings.”

Admission is $5 and will go to benefit the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center’s Angels of Love gift program.

You can get more information at www.yescinema.org.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch recently announced that Brownstown would be receiving $700,000 in grant funding to work on the Jackson County town’s sanitary sewer lines.

Last week, Crouch and the Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced 20 rural Indiana communities will be awarded over $12.2 million in federal grant funding. The money is coming from the Community Development Block Grant funds to rural communities. The grants assist local governments with community projects such as infrastructure improvement, downtown revitalization, public facilities and economic development.

The Brownstown grant is coming from the Wastewater/Drinking Water Program. Brownstown plans to address needed upgrades within the sanitary sewer lines and manholes throughout the entire community. The project also will make improvements within the existing wastewater treatment plant and two existing lift stations.

The Columbus East Food Pantry will have a community food distribution on Friday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

You can drive-up for pre-bagged collections of food, with enough for approximately 200 families. Due to strong demand, organizers will be limiting the number of packages per vehicle to two.

Columbus Animal Care Services will also be distributing limited amounts of pet food.

The Columbus East Food Pantry is available to the entire community and is not limited to BCSC families.

The pickup point is at door 31 in the west parking lot behind the school near the tennis courts. Vehicles should not enter the west parking lot until after 4 p.m. to ensure student safety during pickups.

The Columbus East Food Pantry is a Gleaners school-based food pantry.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is recognizing Lt. T.A. Smith for 40 years of service to the department and community.

Sheriff Matt Myers said that Smith comes into work with the same presence the sheriff remembers from when he was 13 years old. Myers said that even after serving 40 years and under seven sheriffs, Smith still cares about the agency and the people of Bartholomew County.

Smith said that since he started with the department in 1982, he has seen the agency grow from what he called Mayberry RFD. He said “we have realized that (the agency) is no longer a small community’s Sheriff’s Office.”

Smith said he is proud of the increased community interaction and he looks forward to continuing to serve the agency and the citizens of Bartholomew County.

Photo: Sheriff Matt Myers, Lt T.A. Smith, Maj. John Martoccia and Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane at Tuesday ceremony celebrating Smith’s 40 years with the department. Photo courtesy of Sheriff’s Department.

The National Weather Service is warning that heavy rain tonight into Thursday morning could lead to runoff and flooding.

The agency has issued a flood watch for central Indiana from 7 p.m. this evening to 7 p.m. Thursday evening. Forecasters say that you could see flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.

More than 2 inches of rain is possible tonight and Thursday morning.

Our area is also under a wind advisory from 7 a.m. this morning until 7 p.m. tonight. The weather service says south winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph are expected.

Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects, so you should secure them. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages might result.

The weather service says you should use extra caution when driving, especially if you are in a high profile vehicle.

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop released his video State of the City address last night. While outlining positive developments including the former Fair Oaks Mall being transformed into NexusPark, the downtown grocery project and riverfront developments, he also said he saw challenges ahead.

The pandemic has meant a move to remote work, which means less of a need for employees to relocate here, he said.

Another paradigm shift is the move to electric vehicles. Much of Columbus’ industry is centered around combustion engines and parts, he said.

The mayor also praised the continuing efforts to improve the Columbus Police Department and a reduction in many crimes over the past five years.

Over the past five years, the city has seen reductions of:

• Theft from buildings decreased 43%
• Theft from vehicles decreased 61%
• Vehicle theft decreased 45%
• Burglary decreased 71%
• Vandalism decreased 19%

You can find watch the video below:

The Indiana State Department of Health has updated the hours for a COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinic to be held starting tomorrow at NexusPark.

According to the state website, the clinic now will be held Wednesday through Saturday at  the former Fair Oaks Mall from 2 to 6 p.m. in the former J.C. Penny location in the mall.

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available as well as PCR and rapid antigen COVID-19 testing.

No appointment is necessary.