Columbus police are announcing a plan to provide officers who are also military veterans with a special pin to attach to their uniform.

According to the police department, the pins will display the branch of military in which the officers served. The plan was brought to Columbus from a local officer who attended a conference in Tennessee. While speaking with a colleague at the conference, the Columbus officer found out about that department’s program to recognize veterans for the service and to possibly assist with crisis calls involving veterans.

Police Chief Michael Richardson said that 35 percent of the Columbus department’s officers are military Veterans or are currently serving. He said that “these officers possess courage and discipline that they continue to utilize in their careers in law enforcement.”

The pins are meant to recognize their hard work and service.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is sounding off on former President Trump and his role in last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In an interview set to air tonight on ABC News:

Pence said Trump’s actions endangered Pence, Pence’s family and everyone at the Capitol. The former VP noted he was “angered” over a tweet from Trump on January 6th. It said Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done” in reference to a lack of action regarding Joe Biden’s presidential win in 2020.

Story courtesy of TTWN Media Networks Inc.

Legal Aid will be holding an in-person walk-in clinic in Jennings County next week.

Legal Aid offers the clinics for low-income residents of its eight-county district.

If you take part you will have up to a 10-minute consultation with a volunteer attorney to answer general questions, to offer legal information or to receive other advice.

Legal Aid is hosting the walk-in legal clinic from 3 – 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Jennings County Public Library.

From 4 to 5 p.m. there will be a clinic on evictions, where you can get free legal advice on issues such as negotiating with a landlord, rental assistance, damages hearings and sealing of eviction records.

The Indiana University Division of Business at IUPUC is hosting its annual Indiana Business Outlook Panel Monday morning at The Commons.

For 50 years, experts from the Indiana Business Research Center, a part of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, compile, analyze, and interpret international, U.S., Indiana, and local economic data and prepare predictions for the coming year.

This years event will feature: US & International Outlook from Jennifer Lynn Rice, with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University; a financial markets Outlook with – Ryan Brewer, with IUPUC; a state of Indiana Outlook – by Phil Powell, Academic Director of the Indiana Business Research Center and a local outlook by Jason Hester, President of the Greater Columbus (Indiana) Economic Development Corporation.

The event is sponsored by Centra Credit Union and co-hosted by the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, the IU Division of Business, the Kelley School of Business, and the Indiana Business Research Center.

The event begins at 11:30 a.m. with check-in and lunch, followed by the speakers at 12:00 p.m.

Tickets are $30. you can find a link for more information or to buy a ticket at iupuc.edu/events/business-outlook-panel.

As control of Congress still hangs in the balance, newly re-elected Columbus Congressman Greg Pence is reflecting on what Republican control would mean for the country.

Speaking after Election Night celebrations with local Republicans at the Factory 12 Event Loft in downtown Columbus, Pence said that he has served in the minority since first taking office almost four years ago. He laid rising regulation and inflation on Democrats and said there is an opportunity to reverse those trends if Republicans take back control.

Election officials in Western states are urging patience as vote counting continues and control of the U.S. House and Senate hangs in the balance.

As of Thursday evening, around 540-thousand votes still hadn’t been counted in Arizona and 95-thousand were uncounted in Nevada. Both states are waiting to learn who will win Senate races that could decide control of that chamber. In California, more than a dozen House races are still uncalled and the counting there could go on for weeks.

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

Bartholomew County’s annual Veterans Day services will be held at 11 a.m. this morning at the veteran’s memorial on the courthouse lawn.

The event will feature a keynote speech by former Columbus Mayor Fred Armstrong, who served in Vietnam, where he earned the Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars. The Southern Indiana Pipes and Drums will also be performing and there will be services by the Bartholomew County Color Guard.

Retired Gen. Mark Pillar, an organizer of the event, explains:

The ceremonies are expected to last about 45 minutes.

Despite the holiday, Columbus trash, recycling, compost, loose leaf and brush collections are all running on schedule with no delays. Local government offices will be closed for the day, however.

Photograph from the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

The Bartholomew County Commissioners have declared a burn ban in the county, until further notice.

Citing continuing dry and dangerous conditions the commissioners enacted the burn ban yesterday. It specifically prohibits campfires and other recreational fires, open burning of any kind with the exception of grills fueled by charcoal briquettes or propane, the burning of debris, such as timber or vegetation and the use of burn barrels for any open burning at residential structures.

The burn ban also encourages you to make sure any charcoal is fully extinguished before removing it from a grill and discourages the use of fireworks.

First Financial Bank is providing nearly $40,000 in grants to area non-profit organizations.

According to the bank, First Financial provided grants totalling $39,500 to Foundation for Youth , Sans Souci, Southern Indiana Housing and Community Development Corporation, Turning Point Domestic Violence Services, and the Boys & Girls Club of Seymour.

The annual grant campaign is meant to help people and communities in the areas the bank serves to thrive and grow. 59 organizations in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois received grants. Total funding for this campaign is $494,000, making it the largest campaign in First Financial’s history.

This year’s campaign is focusing on neighborhood development, workforce development and education, and culture and the arts. There is an emphpasis on low income communities.

Since 2018, the campaign has made community donations to more than $18.3 million. That’s after originally setting a goal of $8.5 million for the four-year period.

Photo: Amy Kaiser, Jason Barbieri, Morgan Oesterling, Angela Byers, Brittany Diebolt and Tony Gambiani of the Columbus First Financial Bank with a check for local non-profit agencies.

The Columbus Parks and Recreation Department is announcing that the parks restrooms are closed for the winter.

The department says that employees have finished winterizing the drinking fountains and closing all of the outdoor restrooms through the city parks system. They will reopen in April.

For more information you can call the parks department at (812) 376-2599.

Tuesday’s election turnout in Bartholomew County was not record-breaking, but there were still long lines at many voting centers throughout the day and even when the polls closed in the evening.

Shari Lentz, the Bartholomew County clerk, says that the turnout Tuesday was 22,798 voters or just under 43 percent of the registered voters in the county. In the last mid-term election in 2018, there were 26,876 voters which was about 53 percent voter turnout.

Of Tuesday’s voters, 11,959 voted in person on election day. There were 1,792 who voted absentee via paper ballots and 9,047 who voted early by machine. The number of absentee voters stayed close to 2018, where there were 11,783 absentee votes. However, there were more than 3,000 more in-person voters four years ago.

Lentz said that the turnout was heavy at most of the county’s 13 voting centers. And when polls closed at 6 p.m. there were still long lines of people waiting to cast their ballots at many of the centers. The election board had to formally declare that those locations would stay open until the last people in line at closing time, were able to vote.

That meant a delay in finalizing the vote totals Tuesday night, but otherwise things went smoothly all day, Lentz said.