A group of concerned residents and representatives of area organizations gathered at Columbus City Hall yesterday with the mission of keeping loaded and unlocked guns out of the hands of children in the community.

The Be SMART for Kids campaign seeks to educate and encourage gun owners to make sure that all guns in homes with children are kept locked up and unloaded. Supporters of the initiative include the city and county governments and law enforcement, Columbus Regional Health, schools and businesses.

Julie Wagner, an organizer of the local Be Smart campaign, explains what the program is about:

• Secure: all guns in your home and vehicles
• Model: responsible behavior around guns
• Ask: about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes
• Recognize: the role of guns in suicide
• Tell: your peers to be SMART

County Commissioner Tony London, a gun owner, said that he supports the efforts to keep kids safe.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department gave out cable gun locks at the event. Sheriff Matt Myers said that the department will be happy to deliver gun locks to anyone who needs them and will provide enough for all of an owner’s guns.

Myers talked about how in his first weeks as sheriff, a six year old in Hartsville grabbed an unlocked, loaded gun and shot his father in the chest. The man later died.

Myers said he supports the initiative so much, that he pledged to donate $5,000 from the sheriff’s department commissary funds to the effort, and asked community members to match that donation.

Moms Demand Action launched Be SMART locally to address unintentional shootings by children. The public education campaign seeks to reduce the number of shootings, suicides and homicides that come with an unsecured gun in homes with children and teens.

Dr. Kathy Smith, a local family medicine specialist and attendee yesterday, said that she is an NRA member and heads up a local guns right group for women. Normally she does not see eye-to-eye with Moms Demand Action. But on this cause, she said she is fully in agreement with this initiative.

A Seymour man is being accused of having sex multiple times with a six-year-old.

According to reports from the Seymour Police Department, the agency was alerted in November by the Round Lake, Illinois police department that a possible sex offense had occurred in Seymour. Investigators interviewed the victim, including an interview at the child advocacy center, Susie’s Place in Bloomington, who said that the man had sex with her at least twice.

38-year-old Luis Armando Lopez-Calvo of Seymour was arrested at his home on Thursday. He is facing two preliminary felony charges of child molesting.

Both the Round Lake, Illinois Police Department and the Indiana Department of Child Services assisted in the investigation.

The Edinburgh Police Department’s police dog Kira will get a bulletproof and stab protecting vest. And the vest will honor former Bartholomew County police dog Diesel.

Diesel died after getting hit by a vehicle on Interstate 65 while chasing a fleeing suspect just over two years ago. Kira’s vest will be embroidered with the phrase “In memory of K9 Diesel, Bartholomew County, IN, EOW 11-14-2020.”

The vest is thanks to a donation from the not-for-profit Vested Interest in K9s group from Massachusetts. The organization was founded in 2009 and provides the vests to dogs working in police and other agencies. Vested Interest in K9s has provided over 4,800 vests to K9s in all 50 states.

The custom-fitted armor weighs about 5 pounds and is valued at between $1700 and $2300 dollars. The agency accepts donation and $960 will sponsor one vest.

You can get more information at www.vik9s.org

Kidscommons, the downtown Columbus children’s museum, will soon have new leadership.

The museum announced yesterday that Ben Wagner is stepping down to take a position as executive director with the Tipton Lakes Community Association. Wagner has been with the children’s museum since 2014, serving previously as director of the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department.

Kidcommons board president Erin Hawkins praised Wagner’s leadership, saying that the museum is in the strongest financial shape in its history.

Assistant director Whitney Hartwell will be serving as interim executive director of the museum starting Jan. 1st.

Ivy Tech Community College and the state of Indiana are partnering to make it easier for state employees to get their degrees.

The agreeement announced today will mean that state employees will have no upfront tuition costs to attend the community college classes.

According to school officials, the state is joining Ivy Tech’s Achieve Your Degree program. Employees will not have to pay tuition expenses at the time of enrollment. Instead, the state will pay Ivy Tech directly upon an employee’s successful completion of a course.

State employees already have education reimbursement of up to $5,250 per year. Ivy Tech’s full-time annual tuition is less than $4,500. Additionally, the College will provide the state with a rebate of up to 5% of the net tuition paid, which means the state will benefit from an even lower education cost.

All Ivy Tech campuses across the state are participating in the program.

Columbus City Utilities is announcing that its offices will be closed for part of the day Friday, Dec. 16th.

City employees will be taking part in the annual Christmas luncheon. The offices will be closed from 10:45 a.m. to about 1:15 p.m.. If you have a problem with your water or sewer service during that time you can call 812-372-8861 and follow the prompts.

The Columbus City Utilities lobby is closed due to renovation, and all business transactions are being conducted at the drive-up window.

A Sunman man is facing child solicitation charges in Johnson County after making sexual advances to what he thought was a 14-year-old online.

According to reports from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, 26-year-old Ordis Daniel Gilbert Perry took part in the conversations with the supposed teen starting in November and made arrangements to meet in person at a location in Franklin on Tuesday. That’s when he was arrested by investigators with the sheriff’s department on preliminary charges of child solicitation, dissemination of harmful matter to a minor and patronizing a prostitute.

Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess praised the Franklin Police Department and the Johnson County Prosecutor’s office for the continuing work to protect the children in Johnson County.

A group of concerned residents and organizations are launching a new initiative to make sure adults lock up their firearms, keeping them out of the hands of kids.

The Be SMART for Kids campaign will launch at noon today in the Cal Brand meeting room at Columbus City Hall. Supporters of the intiative include the city and county governments and law enforcement, Columbus Regional Health, schools and businesses.

Bartholomew County Sheriff-elect and current Chief Deputy Chris Lane explains the sheriff’s department will be handing out gun locks at today’s event.

Moms Demand Action is launching Be SMART To address unintentional shootings by children. The public education campaign seeks to reduce the number of shootings, suicides and homicides that come with an unsecured gun in homes with children and teens.

Two Columbus East High School seniors have been chosen as the recipients of the 2023  Lilly Endowment Community scholarships in Bartholomew County.

Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County announced yesterday that Hallie Randle and Ariana Simpson would be receiving the scholarships.

Randle is the daughter of Andrew and Suzanne Randle. She plans to major in Speech Language Pathology. She has been active in Student Assembly, East soccer and track and field, Key Club, National Honor Society and St. Peter’s Church and Youth Group.

Simpson is the daughter of Martha Rosalba Dominguez Barradas. She plans to pursue a biology major. She has been active in Show Choir and Multicultural and Theatre/Drama clubs.

The two were chosen from 48 applications this year to Heritage Fund. Other finalists were Jessica Meza Sanchez, Tymon Ferguson, Ella Fisher, Matina Maharjan and Paula Ramos Perez from Columbus North, Briana Dwenger and Jaclyn Shaw from Columbus Signature Academy – New Tech and Gracie Greene from Hauser Jr-Sr High School.

Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees and up to $900 per year for required books and equipment. They are meant for students planning four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis leading to a bachelor’s degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university.

Photo courtesy of Heritage Fund. HFBC LECS Committee members Robin Hilber, Erin Hawkins, Aida Ramirez, Jeanette Marsh, Carl Lienhoop, Scott Poling and Matt Kirr congratulate 2023 Lilly Scholars Hallie Randle and Ariana Simpson Wednesday at Columbus East High School

A lightning strike sparked a fire in a Columbus home during Tuesday night’s storms.

According to reports from the Columbus Fire Department, a homeowner heard smoke alarms sounding and found smoke inside the two-story house on Pawnee Trail when he returned home at about 8:13 p.m. Tuesday night. Two dogs had been behind a gate upstairs but had escaped to the first floor when the homeowner entered.

Firefighters arrived on scene a few minutes after the call and found no smoke on the first floor, but heavy smoke and high heat upstairs. They found the fire in the home’s upstairs laundry room and had it under control in less than 10 minutes. Firefighters used thermal imaging cameras and searched the attic to look for more hot spots, and discovered heavy charring in the ceiling joints above the fire.

Investigators believe that a lighting strike damaged a gas supply line to the clothes dryer. The fire was fed by natural gas after electrical arcing damaged a gas supply line. Plastic water supply lines melted, causing water damage on the first floor and in the basement.

All utilities to the home were disconnected and the homeowner said that they would be staying with family members.

No one was injured, including to the two dogs. Damages to the home are estimated at $100,000.

Agencies assisting at the scene included Columbus Police Department, Columbus Regional Health Emergency Medical Service, Columbus City Utilities, Duke Energy and Center Point Energy.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.