Indiana State Police have two new troopers assigned to the Versailles district including one with local ties.

The two new officers graduated from the 82nd Indiana State Police Recruit Academy in June. They will serve in the Versailles District which includes Bartholomew, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings and six other south-central Indiana counties.

23-year-old trooper Payton Utterback is the son of Indiana State Police Lieutenant Ty Utterback. He graduated from Franklin Community High School and Indiana State University. He also serves in the Air National Guard. He and his wife live in Bartholomew County and his patrol area will include Bartholomew and Jackson counties.

28-year-old Trooper Brian Weigel graduated from East Central high School, Vincennes University and Indiana University East. He previously served with the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Department, where he lives with his family. He will patrol Dearborn and Ripley counties.

The two will be paired with veteran troopers for 13 weeks before receiving their own patrol cars and assigned to solo patrols.

The city of Columbus will be holding its Public Safety Family Fun Day on Tuesday in the south parking lot of NexusPark.

The event will feature Columbus police and firefighters, their equipment and other public safety personnel as well. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, talk with the emergency workers and see their equipment close-up.

Several local businesses and not for profit groups will have information tables set up at the event.

The event will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday evening at the former Fair Oaks Mall on 25th Street. It is being organized in collaboration with the National Night Out program.

Nine Indiana counties are now at high risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus.

The CDC map that measures community risk listed Blackford, Clay, Dubois, Fayette, Floyd, Harrison, Henry, Vermillion and Wayne counties in the “high” category on Thursday. Forty-three Indiana counties are in the “medium” risk category including Bartholomew, Brown, Johnson and Shelby counties.

According to the most recent Bartholomew County COVID-19 Community Task Force report, the community had five new cases reported on Tuesday and there were 12 people hospitalized with COVID-19

Indiana has recorded over 6,800 new COVID-19 cases in the past week.

Our news-gathering partners at TTWN Media Networks Inc. contributed to this report.

You have a chance to learn more about local biology and our environment with a series of nature hikes featuring Ivy Tech Community College Columbus biology professors.

The nature hikes will be held on the first Saturday of every month with the next hike on July 9th collecting and identifying insects at Mill Race Park. Those interested can gather at the parking lot near the covered bridge and basketball courts. The hike will start at 10:30 a.m.

Hikes are open to all community members. Ivy Tech will be providing nets, collection supplies and several pairs of binoculars will be available but they encourage you to bring your own if you have them.

The ramp at the southbound Interstate 65 rest stop near Taylorsville will be closing today for repairs.

INDOT says that the shoulders near the entrance ramp will be closing this morning, with the ramp itself closing at about 8 tonight until about 7 Friday morning. The ramp will be repaved.

The work schedule is dependent on the weather and will be moved to Friday/Saturday if needed.

The work is being done by Force Construction and is part of the $65 million dollar project adding travel lanes on Interstate 65. The addition of more lanes and the repaving of the interstate is expected to be finished this fall with some additional work taking place through next summer.

INDOT reminds you to slow down, to drive without distractions and to be alert for worker safety when you are traveling through construction zones.

Columbus firefighters say a discarded battery caused a fire in a trash can at the city post office yesterday morning.

According to Columbus Fire Department reports, firefighters were called to the post office on Jackson Street at about 8:46 a.m. for a rubbish fire. Postal service workers had collected a spilled powdery substance and dumped it into a rubbish container on the loading dock that had a canvas trash bag. Light smoke then began coming from the container. Workers used a chemical fire extinguisher to put out the smoldering material in the canvas bag.

Firefighters and workers determined that the powdery material was a pool treatment product that is not considered a hazardous chemical and is not combustible. A further search found two 9-volt alkaline batteries, one of which showed damage indicating a short circuit.

Firefighters believe that the battery came into contact with metal items or other batteries in the trash, creating the smoldering fire. Damage was limited to the canvas bag and no injuries were reported.

According to firefighters, if you are discarding batteries in the trash, you should cover the battery posts with masking or electrical tape. 9-volt batteries are particularly dangerous.

More battery safety tips from Columbus firefighters:

• Never store batteries in a drawer that contains metal items such as paper clips, pens or coins.
• Keep batteries in their original packaging until they are ready for use.

Photos courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.

The entire city of Columbus would be an economic revitalization area under a plan considered by City Council this week. The change would be part of an effort to consider a tax break for a company to bring affordable high-speed internet across the city.

Hoosier Networks, through Meridiam, plans to build a fiber optic network across the city with an investment of about $28 million. The network will be for residential and business customers and will include an emphasis on providing high-speed internet to low-income residents, subsidized by the federal government.

The company will be asking for a tax break which would see it pay only 5 percent of the normal property taxes on the investment for 20 years.

But because this is a citywide project, the company asked the city to declare all of Columbus an economic revitalization area. Going forward, other companies buying new equipment and making investments would be able to ask for tax breaks without requesting a patchwork of revitalization areas around the community.

City Council approved the initial resolution at its meeting this week and will be scheduled to hold a public hearing on the change, and to consider the  final resolution and the tax abatement request at its meeting in two weeks.

Donner Aquatic Center will be closing for the season early in order to make repairs to the pool.

The Columbus Parks and Recreation Department announced yesterday that the last day of operations will be Sunday, July 17th. According to the announcement the repairs are necessary to ensure that operations at the pool can continue for years to come. The timeline for the repairs call for the pool to be ready for next summer’s season if the repairs start now.

The work will not change any of the pool features or amenities.

Season pass holders will be able to request a partial refund, based on the number of usable days left in the season. You can ask for more details by emailing [email protected] or by calling 812-376-2680.

A Columbus man has been arrested, accused of battering an inmate while he worked at the Jennings County Jail.

According to Jennings County Sheriff’s Department reports, 24-year-old Chaz Coan is facing charges of battery and official misconduct. According to the report, deputies were made aware of an incident involving a Taser that was used inappropriately. The report says that the incident was not an act of aggression and the inmate did not require medical treatment.

Sheriff Kenny Freeman says his officers have “a responsibility to protect the inmates who are being held in the Jennings County Jail and any misconduct by any member of the staff will not be tolerated.”

Seymour police are looking for your help identifying a suspect in a home invasion.

Police say that the incident happened on Sunset Parkway at about noon yesterday, when a man walked into a home then left when he found someone was there. The man is described as being a white man in his 30’s, about six feet tall, bald with a goatee. He was wearing blue jeans and a white shirt.

If anyone has any home surveillance video of someone matching the description you are asked to contact the Seymour Police Department at 812-522-1234 and speak with someone in investigations.