Sertoma’s Christmas Miracle Angel Trees are up in Jackson County and ready to help fulfill a child’s Christmas wishes.

You can find the trees with requests from the children in need at the Jackson County Public Library, Shoe Sensation and the Jackson County Visitors Center. Unwrapped gifts purchased for Christmas Miracle can be dropped off at Suite 211 at Shoppes of Seymour on Tanger Blvd. The headquarters are open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, from 6:30 to 8:30 Mondays through Fridays and from noon to 4 on Saturdays.

If you need to apply for presents for your child, you can find applications at at the Jackson County Health Department, WIC office, Seymour City Hall, Jackson County Department of Child Services, the Human Services office and all branches of the Jackson County Public Library, including Crothersville, Medora and Seymour.

The application deadline is Dec. 18th.

If you have any questions you can call 812-498-2275.

Several area communities will receive a share of $119 million in Community Crossing Grants announced yesterday by INDOT.

Communities submitted applications for funding during a call for projects in July and August in a competitive process.

Among the local awards, Johnson and Brown counties received $1 million dollars and Jennings $498,507. Columbus was awarded $334,057, Greenwood $1 million, North Vernon $511,786, Shelbyville $782,146 and Hope $107,565.

Local governments must provide matching funds of 50 percent for larger communities or 25 percent for smaller communities.

Correction: A previous version of this story had the phone number incorrect.

The deadline is coming up Friday to seek holiday assistance for many Bartholomew County programs.

The deadline includes the Community Center of Hope Angel Tree, the Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund, Shop with a Cop and Toys for Tots. Children may only be registered for one holiday gift program and duplicate assistance will not be given.

You can register from 9 to 4 through Friday by calling the holiday helpline at at 812-375-2216.

Columbus Police will be holding their final Coffee with a Cop session of the year on Thursday.

That will be from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. at the Columbus Chick-Fil-A.

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.

Legal Aid will be holding an in-person walk-in clinic in Jackson County today.

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 clinic from 3 to 5 p.m. at the law offices of Montgomery, Elsner & Pardieck, at 308 W. 2nd Street in Seymour.

From 4 to 5 p.m. there will be a clinic focused on evictions.

Cummins and Toyota Material Handling are teaming up to help local not for profit groups.

According to the United Way of Bartholomew County, the two companies presented $5,000 checks to four local charities this week.

The affected agencies are Just Friends. Community Center of Hope, Advocates for Children and Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund.

Just Friends plans to use the funds to help at their Christmas Bazaar and on initiatives that support caregivers. The Community Center of Hope will use the gift to help address increased need in their food pantry. Advocates for Children is using the funds to help support the CASA program. And the Cheer Fund will use the money to buy gifts for children whose families need holiday assistance.

Mark Stewart, President of the United Way of Bartholomew County said Toyota and Cummins’ donation is in addition to their strong support for United Way’s campaign, agencies, and community. Stewart said. “We couldn’t do what we do without the generosity, advocacy, and care they have for people in our community.”

Some tenants of the burned out Irwin Block building in downtown Columbus are finding relief. That comes after their office cat, Prila, was found alive and unharmed at the site Tuesday.

Capt. Mike Wilson, spokesman for the Columbus Fire Department, says that Prila came out of the ruins to her owner, Debbie Spurgeon, at about 3:40 yesterday afternoon. Prila, the office cat for Arnholt & Staggs Law offices, had no obvious injuries after the weekend fire which destroyed the commercial building on Fifth Street.

Firefighters searched the building during the blaze, but did not find the cat. They left the law office door open in the hopes that the 14-year-old calico cat would escape if she could.

Tuesday, Spurgeon asked Columbus firefighters if she could leave food and treats at the entrance to the law office, to lure the cat out if she was still alive. As firefighters placed the food down, Spurgeon shook a container of the cat’s favorite treats and firefighters soon heard a “meow” from inside.

Prila appeared uninjured but firefighters suggested a veterinarian visit to check for smoke inhalation or other injuries.

Prila was the second cat rescued from the two buildings involved in the fire. Firefighters rescued Shimmer from the offices of JAKKS Inc. Saturday evening. She was also uninjured.

Photo courtesy of  Tim Staggs.

Deputies say a Columbus man wanted on drug dealing charges was arrested after running from authorities over the weekend.

According to Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department reports, deputies attempted to serve a warrant for dealing in methamphetamine at about 4:41 p.m. Sunday afternoon in the 4300 block of West County Road 500S. The man, 42-year-old Sean Cobb was seen walking near a garage but rather than stop, he ran into a cornfield according to police reports.

Several deputies chased Cobb before he could be taken into custody. A search revealed that he was carrying narcotics police say. Although he was uninjured in the chase, Cobb was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to be checked out because of recent suspected drug use.

In addition to the original warrant, Cobb is facing new charges of resisting law enforcement and drug-related charges. Detective Dane Duke, spokesman for the sheriff’s department, said that Cobb is being held without bond due to the warrants and the new charges.

The Council for Youth Development in Bartholomew County has a new director.

The organization is announcing that as of last week, Columbus resident Sara Dunlap as the organization’s new leader.

Dunlap spent 12 years as a teacher with Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation. She also served as a Career Development Advisor for Ivy Tech Community College, the 4-H Youth Development Educator in Decatur County, and as a Diversity Training Coordinator with Cummins.

According to the agency, Dunlap’s education, enthusiasm, and love of sharing tools and resources with families in the community led to her selection.

The previous director, Heather Carson, moved out of the community earlier this fall.

The Council for Youth Development is a coalition that works to create positive youth development in Bartholomew County. The agency’s goal is that every young person in Bartholomew County should be healthy, safe, educated, engaged, and supported.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, a Columbus native, is speaking out against former President Trump’s claim that the Constitution should be suspended over the 2020 election.

In an interview with a South Carolina radio station, Pence said everyone who aspires to serve in public office should make it clear they’ll support and defend the Constitution. Pence said he believes he upheld his oath to do so during his time as Vice President, particularly in the final weeks as Trump pushed him to reject the 2020 election results. Trump’s comments came after the release of internal Twitter communications showing company officials choose to limit the reach of a New York Post article about the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Story courtesy of TTWN Media Networks Inc.