Election Day is coming up Tuesday but early voting continues in Bartholomew County.

Early voting continues at Nexus Park, the former Fair Oaks Mall, off of 25th Street in Columbus. You can vote there from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today There are signs up and greeters to direct you to the location inside the mall’s former Petals and Vines store.

Saturday voting continues tomorrow, from 8 to 3 either at the former mall or at the governmental office building on Third Street.

Early voting ends at noon on Monday. Election Day is next Tuesday and polls will be open in Indiana from 6 to 6.

The National Weather Service says we can see some windy weather over the next few days. A wind advisory is in effect from 8 a.m. Saturday morning to 8 p.m. in the evening.

The winds will start tonight and you can expect gusts of up to 40 mph.

According to the agency, Saturday will have south winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph expected.The winds could blow around unsecured objects, tree limbs could be knocked down and you could see power outages.

Forecasters say that you should use extra caution while driving, especially if you are driving a high-profile vehicle.

Cummins is reporting that its third quarter revenues of $7.3 billion were up 11 percent over the same quarter last year, not counting the acquisition of Meritor.

According to the Columbus-based engine manufacturer’s quarterly report, sales in North America increased 19 percent however international revenues decreased 1 percent compared to last year. That dip was caused by a market slowdown in China and the indefinite suspension of operations in Russia.

The company reported that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization for the third quarter improved year-over-year to $884 million. But they were down compared to the second quarter of the year. That was attributed to weaker joint venture earnings in China, a bonus paid to employees and cost associated with both the Meritor acquisition and the plans to break off the Filtration business.

Net income just for Cummins in the third quarter was $400 million. That compared to $534 million last year.

If the Meritor acquisition costs are removed, the company had income of $456 million. The company says the Meritor business had $737 million in revenue in the two months since it was acquired, but that was a $37 million net loss.

Based on its current forecast, excluding the Meritor business, Cummins expects revenue to be up 8 percent for the full year, which is in line with previous estimates.

Four Seasons Retirement Center will be holding an event at its new veterans memorial in Columbus to honor veterans just before Veterans Day next week.

According to the center, the new memorial features medallions representing the five branches of military service, as well as bricks bearing the names, branch and date of service of about 30 veterans. Several of those veterans who live at the center will be attending the ceremony.

The ceremony will be at 2 p.m in the afternoon on Nov. 10th at the memorial just north of the chapel on the north end of the campus on Taylor Road. The ceremony will feature the Bartholomew County Veterans Honor Guard, and will include a gun salute and the playing of Taps.

Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Retirement Center.

Local government offices will be closed on Tuesday, due to Election Day and on Friday because of the Veterans Day holiday next week.

In Columbus, city trash, recycling, brush and compost collections will be running on their normal schedule. The Columbus and Bartholomew County Recycling Center on Mapleton will be closed both days as well as the Solid Waste Management District offices.

Columbus City Utilities offices will be closed. If you have a problem with your water or sewer service, you can call the offices at 812-372-8861 to report an emergency.

The Indiana Department of Transportation is announcing that State Road 11 will close on the south side of Seymour Friday afternoon while final paving is done on the new roundabout.

The highway will close from about 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday between Steven Drive and Farmington Road, or County Road 300N. However access to businesses and homes in the area will be maintained.

The work schedule is dependent on the weather.

Once the paving is complete, you will be able to drive north and south on the roundabout, however the Burkhart Boulevard exits will remain closed to traffic.

This is part of the city of Seymour project to build a Burkhart Boulevard bypass over the railroad tracks around the south side of the city.

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

The Columbus Police Department will be holding Coffee with a Cop this morning.

The session where you can chat with local police officers will be from 9:30  to 11 a.m. this morning at the Chick-Fil-A restaurant on National Road.

In addition to getting to know the officers who patrol the community, and enjoying a free cup of coffee, police will also have information about the ongoing process to hire new officers.

A pitch competition for local entrepreneurs organized by the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce is returning this evening.

Ignite Columbus will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. this evening in the Helen Haddad Hall at the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic headquarters on Franklin Street.

The event allows local innovators and would-be entrepreneurs to hone their idea-pitching skills. The 12 participants will have to give their 5-minute pitches with a series of 20 slides that will advance relentlessly every 15 seconds.

The event will include cash awards, including a People’s Choice Award, Most Enlightening Award and Most Innovative. The MC will be Phil Luzius, entrepreneur and national trainer for Konica Minolta Business Solutions.

Previous sessions of Ignite Columbus have seen the first glimpses of concepts for Exhibit Columbus, Columbus Craft Beer Fest, the public library’s digital services, and ColumBike.

The event is free and you are invited to attend. You can find a link to register at columbusareachamber.com.

Bartholomew County continues to see record-high numbers of overdose deaths. It is the third year in a row for record deaths, with almost two months left in the year according to a recent report from The Republic newspaper.

The Bartholomew County Coroner’s office told the newspaper that there have been 35 people who have died from drug overdoses already this year. That compares to 33 overdose deaths for all of last year and 31 in 2020 — all new records at the time.

The coroner said that fentanyl was present in the overwhelming majority of the overdose deaths.

According to authorities, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. The unexpectedly powerful synthetic pain killer can easily kill a person with even a single dose.

Columbus City Council has approved new council district maps adding two new seats to the council after next year’s elections.

Earlier this year, the council approved a move up to become a second class city.

Under Indiana law, second class cities have nine council members instead of the current seven. Six of those will run for seats by geographic district, while three more are at-large seats where voters throughout the city chose their council members.

Council members stressed last night that the decisions on the size of the new districts, as well as their population were made with an eye to meeting state statutes and guidelines, keeping all things as even as possible between the six council districts.

Councilman Tom Dell explained that the new plan keeps all of the precincts intact without precincts split between different council districts. And the plan makes the districts as compact as possible.

Councilman Frank Miller stressed that the new districts would not take effect until after the results of the 2023 city elections and that until then, residents will still be represented by their current council members.

Council voted unanimously to approve the change.