Filing continues for school board elections in Bartholomew County. Since last week, two candidates have filed to run in Bartholomew Consolidated and Flat Rock-Hawcreek school board races.

Anakarina Hurtado is running for the District 1 seat on the BCSC School Board, while John D. Harker has filed for re-election to the Hawcreek District seat on the the Flat Rock-Hawcreek school board.

To run, candidates must submit petitions with 10 signatures from residents. After the petitions are checked and approved by the clerk’s office, the candidates then file to become certified.

The filing period runs through August 26th.

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a candidate debate between statehouse candidates, before the November general election.

Incumbent State Rep. Jim Lucas, a Republican, and his challenger Democrat Chad Harmon have agreed to participate in the event October 6th at Seymour High School’s Earl D. Prout Auditorium. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the debate starting at 7

Dan Robison, director of the Jackson County Chamber and Araan Banks, direct of the Jackson County Visitors Center will moderate the event.

The event is free and you are invited.

The United Way of Bartholomew County is planning a week of activities next month to raise awareness of child poverty in the community.

According to the agency, nearly 1 in 5 children live in poverty in Bartholomew County.

The activities will coincide with the Live United Week, which is September 6th through the 9th.

Toyota and Centra Credit Union will be sponsoring a raffle that week, where you can win a meal prepared by a Toyota chef or two tickets to the Indiana Pacers season opener.

On Tuesday, Sept. 6th at 2 p.m., there will be a poverty simulator exercise at the Columbus Municipal Airport to help users understand what it might be like in a low-income household trying to make ends meet.

On Wednesday, Sept. 7th at 7 p.m. there will be Philanthropic Society Open House at Savory Swine on Washington Street where you can learn more about the United Way’s newly launched Philanthropic Societies initiative.

On Thursday, Sept. 8th there will be a kickoff event at Amazing Joes’s on Central Avenue starting at 11 a.m.

September 9th will be a day of service in the community, where volunteers help agenices and organizations complete needed projects.

The United Way is also partnering with several local restaurants to provide more information about the United Way and what the agencies do. Participating restaurants include: Bucceto’s Pizza and Pasta, The Savory Swine, Amazing Joe’s Grill, Gramz Bakery, Fresh Take Kitchen, Ramen Alley, 4th Street Bar and Grill and Thai Connection.

You can sign up for any of these events by going to uwbarthco.org and clicking on the Celebrate Live United Week with Us link. The signup for Day of Service activities will start Aug. 15th.

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Bartholomew County officials say a camera system allowed them to recover a stolen vehicle and arrest the driver Thursday morning.

According to Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department reports, the county’s Flock camera system identified a reportedly stolen vehicle heading into Columbus from West Old Nashville Road at about 7:53 a.m. Thursday morning.

A deputy found the vehicle near 2nd and Jackson Streets and tried to pulled it over. After turning onto Brown Street the driver stopped. 18-year-old Antwaun T. Jones Jr., was arrested on preliminary charges of theft of a vehicle and operating a vehicle without ever receiving a license.

Deputies say Columbus police contacted the vehicle’s owner to retrieve the car.

The Flock camera system was purchased by Bartholomew County last year. The cameras have the ability to read license plates and quickly process those against a database to alert police via a computer program in their vehicle, when they encounter a suspect vehicle.

Bartholomew County Commissioners will soon be getting a proposal to regulate the placement of solar farms in the county. That comes after the county plan commission’s approval of the plan yesterday.

Under the proposal recommended for approval by the commissioners, commercial solar energy systems would be allowed under two zoning categories: Agriculture: Preferred and Agriculture: General Rural.

The rules would also establish setbacks, where solar farms could not be built within 1/2 of a mile of municipal boundaries or within 500 feet of residential districts, homes in agricultural districts or farm dwellings.

The county plan commission also recommended several options including separation distances of 250 feet from schools, health care facilities, churches and cemeteries. The options would also include requirements that the property be returned to its previous state when the solar farm is decommissioned.

The city-county planning department will work with the county commissioners on a time to put the changes up for discussion and a vote.

You can get more information on the Bartholomew County solar farm proposal here. Solar PC Materials

Image: Sample distances from the REMC solar farm array off of Interstate 65. Courtesy of Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department.

Seymour police are taking part in a statewide effort to cack down on drivers who don’t stop for school buses with their stop arms extended.

According to the department, it is joining with more than 200 agencies around thr state in the Stop Arm Violation Enforcement campaign, or SAVE. The department will be taking part in overtime patrols in the mornings and afternoons, looking for offenders.

The campaign is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through grants administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

According to police, stop arm violations are mostly caused by drivers who are not paying attention, or who are speeding. A one-day survey by police and school bus drivers in April counted more than 2,000 stop arm violations in Indiana.

When the overhead lights on a school bus turn yellow, you should slow down and prepare to stop. Once the lights turn red and the stop arm extends, you are required to stop unless you are on a highway divided by a physical barrier such as a grassy median or wall. However even then, drivers going the same direction must stop.

Organizers of this year’s free Our Hospice concert on Labor Day weekend at Mill Race Park, are planning more than a week of activities leading up to the big fundraiser.

Yacht Rock Revue will be performing live at the event on Saturday, Sept. 3rd which starts at 6:30 p.m. in the evening. The concert, in its 36th year, is the largest fundraiser for Our Hospice of South-Central Indiana.

On Friday August 26th, organizers will be holding a drive-through or dine-in fish fry to support the Hospice at the American Legion Post on 25th Street in Columbus. Donations will be accepted at the fish fry.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, August 30th and 31st, there will be sale in the parking lot of Nexus Park, where you can buy cookies, T-shirts and raffle tickets. Raffle tickets are $10 each, cookies will be $15 for a box of three dozen, and concert shirts will be $20.

There will also be a chance for a VIP experience of the concert for $100 per ticket. The Skyview experience will include a buffet catered by Big J.T.’s Craft BBQ at the Mill Race amphitheater, a special parking pass and a closeup viewing of the concert performance.

You can get more information, make a donation or buy tickets for the Skyview experience at  care.ourhospice.org/skyview or email [email protected].

An exhibit celebrating African American contributions to the community will be on display at The Commons in downtown Columbus this month in recognition of Black Philanthropy month.

The Soul of Philanthropy exhibit recognizes the philanthropic efforts of more than 20 local African Americans along with an electronic slide show recognizing others.

The local exhibit is sponsored by the African American Fund of Bartholomew County, a part of Heritage Fund. The purpose of the fund is to inspire and to educate the community, by demonstrating the ways citizens can share their time, talent and treasure.

For more information on the African American Fund or to make a gift, you can visit heritagefundbc.org

A Johnson County man is being charged with attempted murder after a Sunday shooting near Morgantown.

Rescue workers and Johnson County deputies were called to the 6700 block of South Johnson County Road 800W at around 9 p.m. Sunday on a reported shooting.

Deputies’ investigation led them to a Jennings County home near Elizabethtown where they arrested 19-year-old Nicholas R. Saunders of Morgantown on preliminary charges of aggravated battery for the Johnson County incident and Jennings County charges including resisting law enforcement and criminal mischief to a sheriff’s vehicle.

After review of the case by the Johnson County prosecutor, a probable cause affidavit was filed Tuesday by the sheriff’s department on an additional charge of attempted murder.

The victim, 38-year-old Jerry Jones of Morgantown was taken to an Indianapolis hospital and was in critical condition

19-year-old Miranda D. Lawson of Morgantown was also arrested after a search of a Morgan County home on a charge of false informing.

A Seymour arts group will be bringing back its largest annual fundraiser next month, including an acoustic performance by John Mellencamp.

The Southern Indiana Center for the Arts recently announced the return of its Artful Affair fundraiser, set for September 17th at Chateau de Pique Winery and Brewery in Seymour. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

In addition to Mellencamp, the event will feature music from Indianapolis folk duo Lilly & Madeleine, an art auction and refreshments. The auction will feature works by by Marvin Cherney, Alexander Winch, Silas Cheo, Speck Mellencamp and John Mellencamp.

Speck Mellencamp, executive director of the center, said that COVID-19 led to two years without the primary fundraiser.

Tickets went on sale last week, including VIP meet and greet tickets for $250, general admission tickets for $150 for members and $175 for non-members.

You can get more information about the center and the fundraiser at soinart.com or by emailing [email protected] (soinart.com)