A moped driver was seriously injured in a crash yesterday morning near the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds.

According to Columbus Police Department reports, officers were called to the 800 block of Jonesville Road after a crash between a car and a moped at just before 8 in the morning. The moped rider, 37 year old Ricky D. Stevens, of Columbus was seriously injured in the crash and was flown by Lifeline medical helicopter to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

The driver of the car was not injured. State Road 11 was closed for several hours to cleanup the crash scene.

The accident remains under investigation.

Other agencies assisting at the scene included Columbus Fire Department, Columbus Regional Hospital EMS, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office and Indiana State Police.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.

It is going to be a cold one tonight. The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for late tonight and early tomorrow morning.

Temperatures could dip as low as 29. The agency warns that the cold temperatures could kill crops or other sensitive vegetation. The agency recommends that you take steps today to protect your plants from the cold.

According to weather service records, the normal first day of below-freezing temperatures in Columbus is Oct. 15th. Shelbyville has a normal first cold day on October 12th, while Bloomington is Oct. 16th.

The Indiana Attorney General’s office is warning about scammers pretending to be with government agencies in order to take your money.

Scammers will call a potential victim, spoofing a Caller ID number that appears to be legitimate, and try to talk you into giving them money to sign up for a government service, to pay a fee or fine.

One of the keys to recognize the scam is that the callers will frequently require you to make a payment by pre-paid debit card or store gift cards, by cash app, wiring money or using cryptocurrency. No legitimate government agency will ever ask for those sorts of payment methods, especially over the phone.

Attorney General Todd Rokita warns that you should never give your financial or personal information to someone who calls, claiming to be with the government.

You can look for more information on the Indiana Attorney General’s website under the Consumer Protection section.

Columbus firefighters will be better able to communicate with community members with autism and other verbal communication limitations after the donation of communications boards for emergency vehicles provided by the Autism Society of Indiana and Today’s Champions.

The devices displays photos, symbols and pictures meant to aid people who have limited verbal language skills, so they can express themselves to emergency workers. Those who need help can use several methods to communicate using the boards, including gestures, pointing or blinking their eyes.

Columbus firefighters have been trained on using the boards. All front-line  emergency apparatus at all six Columbus Fire Department stations have been equipped with the boards.

Chief Andy Lay says that about two thirds of all the department’s calls are for emergency medical responses, where communicating with a patient or family member increases firefighters’ ability to assess and treat a patient.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.

Cummins says it is going online with the company’s second largest solar array, at its plant in North Carolina.

The Columbus based engine manufacturer announced yesterday that the solar array at Rocky Mount Engine Plant in North Carolina is second only to an array at the Cummins plant in Beijing, China, one of the company’s busiest plants. However the North Carolina plant is the largest solar installation owned directly by Cummins.

The plant is also unique to the company because it uses solar tracking panels which track the sun as it rises and sets, increasing efficiency.

Company officials see the solar farm as a way to support the company’s environmental sustainability strategy, using renewable power to reduce greenhouse gases.

The 3.62 MW solar farm produces power directly for the plant, reducing its commercial energy needs.

Cummins has completed 51 solar arrays installations at its locations around the world.

You can get more information here.

Photo: Cummins Rocky Mount Engine Plant solar installation. Photo courtesy of Business Wire

Ethnic Expo kicks off in downtown Columbus for lunch tomorrow.

The event will be the first major activity held behind Columbus City Hall since the start of the construction of the People Trail extension behind City Hall. Called the 1821 trail in recognition of last year’s Bicentennial, the work is nearly complete. Jody Coffman, with the city’s community development department explains.

The 1821 Trail extension runs along First Street behind the Bartholomew County Jail, Columbus City Hall and the former Republic building, all the way to the Robert N. Stewart Bridge on Second Street. It includes historical markers, mini-plazas, a gateway element and other amenities for a total cost of about $2.3 million dollars.

The trail expansion will mean some changes for the layout of this weekend’s festival. Instead of vendor and food booths lining both sides of First Street, they will only be operating on one side.

Ethnic Expo opens for lunch at 11 a.m. tomorrow. The festival runs through Saturday evening.

Authorities are warning about the danger of fentanyl-laced products that appear to be candy.

Jackson County Sheriff Rick Meyer shared a warning from the DEA that authorities are seeing the brightly colored pills which they are calling “rainbow fentanyl” the sheriff said. The DEA seized the brightly-colored drugs in 18 states according to the agency. Some of it was disguised in candy packaging and some was packed in blocks, looking like sidewalk chalk.

The danger is that the drugs could be accidentally taken or even touched by children. A lethal dose of fentanyl can be as little as two milligrams, the equivalent of a few grains of salt.

Meyer stressed the dangers of fentanyl, citing statistics that it is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.

Meyer suggested you talk to your children about the dangers of these illegal drugs. If you need more information you can go to dea.gov.

INDOT says that crews will be closing a section of State Road 135 in Brown County for a few days starting next week.

Crews will be replacing a quadruple drainage pipe south of State Road 46. The work is expected to start on Tuesday with the road remaining closed through Thursday. The final repaving and patching is expected to be finished by Saturday. The work schedule is dependent on the weather.

The work was originally scheduled for early August but had to be delayed.

INDOT reminds you to slow down, to use caution and to be alert to worker’s safety in all construction zones.

The Bartholomew County Jail will be changing how mail is delivered to inmates.

According to the sheriff’s department, the jail contractor will be partnering with a company called TextBehind. The company will photocopy all appropriate physical mail and deliver it digitally to the jail, where it will be reviewed and approved by facility staff.

The inmates will still receive their mail digitally through a kiosk provided by contractor HomeWAV. The county went all-digital with inmate mail last December.

There will be a new mailing address for those who wish to send mail to inmates, which will be in Phoenix, Maryland. The sender must provide their complete first and last name, complete return address, the inmate’s first and last name, inmate number and the name of the correctional institution. Initials and abbreviations are not acceptable.

Any envelope without the information and formatting will be rejected and discarded unopened.

TextBehind does not accept legal mail, money orders, personal checks, gift cards or cash in the mail. Those will be returned to the sender.

The changes will go into effect on Oct. 14th.

The new mailing address will be:

The correct address format is as follows:

Inmate First / Last Name and Inmate ID Number
Bartholomew County Jail
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Ivy Tech Community College Columbus Campus will be celebrating the official opening of its new building, Moravec Hall, today.

The festivities will be from 4 to 6 today at the facility off of Central Avenue. There will be a ribbon cutting followed by tours of the building.

Dr. Stephen Combs, chancellor at Ivy Tech Columbus:

Moravec Hall opened this summer replacing the aging Poling Hall, which has been torn down to make way for new landscaping and amenities. The nearly $33 million dollar Moravec Hall is a nearly 81 thousand square foot building with state-of-the art technology and modern simulation laboratories.

The building is named in honor of local businessman Tony Moravec and his family.

Combs explains Moravec’s involvement with the school.

The recently renovated Columbus Learning Center will also be highlighted during the ribbon cutting ceremony.