According to the Bartholomew County Highway Department, County Road 500N at South Lakeshore Drive on Schaffer Lake will be closed from 8 a.m. until about 3 p.m. today for a tree removal, weather permitting.

The work was previously scheduled for yesterday.

You are asked to avoid the area if you can and to please be patient for crews working in the area.

Thrive Alliance will be holding a virtual information session next week for those interested in being volunteer advocates for seniors and incapacitated adults.

According to the agency, the VASIA program helps make decisions on the seniors’ or incapacitated adults’ behalf which reflect, as much as possible, the individual’s own choices and preferences.

To be a VASIA volunteer, you must complete a screening process which includes providing three references, the release of your criminal, driving and social services histories and be able to complete the required training.

There will be a virtual information session via Zoom at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 14th where you can get more information about the program and being a volunteer. You can reserve a spot by emailing [email protected] or by calling 812-372-6918.

The United Way of Bartholomew County plans to recognize Volunteer Appreciation Month with two tickets to see Billy Joel this summer.

Megan Pillar with the United Way explains that you can enter to win the tickets by donating $25 online between now and April 28 to the United Way campaign. Donations must be made by going to uwbarthco.org and clicking on “Donate.”

You can also enter to win the concert tickets by signing up for the United Way newsletter at uwbarthco.org, completing four volunteer hours before April 22nd or registering to volunteer during the agency’s Day of Caring, which is coming up May 20th.

Pillar says the United Way is 98 percent of the way to its $4.1 million fundraising goal for this year’s campaign and is hoping donors will push the totals over the top.

Pillar says the drawing for the tickets will be on April 29th on Facebook Live. The winner will also be notified by phone or e-mail.

The concert is June 25th at Notre Dame.

The University Library of Columbus and Ivy Tech Community College Columbus will be holding their sixth annual Comic Con convention from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Columbus Learning Center on Central Avenue.

This is the first in-person return of the Comic-Con since before the pandemic.

Abby Hilyard, with the Ivy Tech library, explains:

The event will include graphic artists, writers, comic book and gaming stores and other related displays. You will also be able to get food at the Serendipity Food truck.

Hilyard said that with the rise in comic book genre entertainment in recent years, there has been a surge in local interest.

At noon there will be a belly dancing demonstration, followed by a panel discussion at 1 p.m. and a cosplay showcase at 3 p.m.

She said the idea is for people to get together in a comfortable environment and have fun enjoying their hobby interests.

The event is free and T-shirts and lanyards will be given away until supplies run out.

Columbus Learning Center photo courtesy of the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Bartholomew County deputies are looking for your help finding a suspect in a home invasion that left a woman injured yesterday morning near Deaver Road in the southern part of the county.

According to police reports, the incident happened at about 8 a.m. in the area of South County Road 400W, Deaver Road and West County Road 450S. A woman said she was assaulted and appeared injured after the incident. She told deputies that the attacker displayed a handgun during the invasion.

Deputies searched the area on foot and with utility vehicles. They have also reached out to neighboring agencies to see if similar crimes have happened there.

Sheriff Matt Myers urges you to stay alert, to use caution and to report any suspicious activity in the area.

If you have any information about suspicious activity between 8 and 9 a.m. yesterday morning, no matter how seemingly insignificant, you should contact Detective Dane Duke at 812-565-5928.

Information can be left anonymously.

The Indiana Department of Transportation has rescheduled the U.S. 31 public open house originally set for last week at Taylorsville Elementary School

The agency says last week’s planned open house was canceled because of scheduling conflicts.

The open house is for a planned $3.1 million dollar project that will close the current intersections at Tannehill Road and at Bear Lane on U.S. 31, replacing them with two reduced conflict intersections.

INDOT says the new intersections enhance safety, improve traffic flow, and reduce crash frequency.

The event has been rescheduled to Wednesday, April 13th. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m.and a presentation will start at 5:30 p.m.

Graphic courtesy of INDOT

Mill Street in Hope will be closing at State Road 9 next week while crews work to rebuild a drain.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says the work will start on Monday and Mill Street will be closed on the west side of the highway. The work should be finished by the end of the day Friday, April 15th. The agency says traffic on State Road 9 shouldn’t be affected by the work.

INDOT asks you to drive with extra caution, to drive without distractions and to be alert for worker safety in all work zones.

The Columbus Downtown Merchant’s Association will be having a Spring Spritz event Thursday evening.

Downtown shops will be open late and have special deals available. Organizers say that shopping locally supports your friends and neighbors and keeps dollars in the community.

The Spring Spritz will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday evening.

Columbus city officials are ready to turn over Otter Creek Golf Course to someone who can return it to its previous glory.

City Council voted to sell the facility last night. Mayor Jim Lienhoop said that the decision doesn’t necessarily mean the course WILL be sold, but the city wants to pursue the option. The city hopes to find a buyer will return the course to its championship quality.

The decision comes after a February recommendation from the golf course’s oversight board to sell the facility. Board members said then that it isn’t possible for the city to make the capital investments to return the course to its former prominence, while still remaining financially viable.

The course, gifted to the city in 1964 by Cummins executive J. Irwin Miller and Cummins, serves as a destination golfing experience for the Midwest. But substantial improvements are needed to the golf course itself and to the club house. Needed course repairs include the cart path, the irrigation system, erosion control and tree removal. The clubhouse needs renovations inside and out as well as to its mechanical systems.

Council members Frank Miller and Elaine Hilber said they were concerned that the final decision would be approved by the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety and not by the City Council. But council voted unanimously to approve the sale.

The city is seeking proposals from interested buyers.

Columbus Regional Health recently announced that the hospital’s Breast Health Center has been named a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology.

The award recognizes that the center has earned accreditation in mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, and breast ultrasound. Evaluations by board-certified physicians and medical physicists  determined that CRH’s Breast Health Center has achieved high standards in image quality, personnel qualifications, facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs, according to the hospital.