Brown County organizations are partnering with Fifth Third Bank to offer a class to first-time homebuyers, educating them on the buying process.

Brown County Community Foundation, Brown County Habitat for Humanity and the local Fifth Third Bank will be offering the course in Nashville on Feb. 16th.

The class will cover topics including whether you’re ready for homeownership, budgeting and money management, assessing your creditworthiness, determining the type of home you can afford and other topics. Kathryn Callahan from Fifth Third Bank will lead the class.

The class will be held in the community room of the foundation offices at 209 Van Buren St North in Nashville starting at 5:30p.m. on February 16th.

To register or for more information you can call 812-200-4002

Exhibit Columbus will be unveiling the designs for this year’s installations at Columbus landmarks at an event coming up on February 25th at The Commons in downtown Columbus.

Exhibit Columbus, launched in 2016, has two-year cycles with a symposium hosted one year, and the installation of exhibits around the city the next year. This year is an installation event. The theme for this year’s installations is Public by Design.

You will be able to preview the design concepts for the 13 installations that will open on August 26th this fall. Those will include the four J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Recipients, seven University Design Research Fellows, the High School Design Team, and Communication Designer. The designers will unveil their proposals and discuss the process that led to the designs.

This month’s event will include a presentation by Chris Grimley of the Signals studio about the graphic identity, experiential graphics, and wayfinding system for this year’s exhibition.

The design presentations will be from 8:30 to 5:30 on February 25th at The Commons.

You can get more information at exhibitcolumbus.org.

IUPUC is announcing a new program to fast-track those who already have a bachelor’s degree in obtaining their teaching certificate.

According to the school, the IUPUC Division of Education in partnership with IUPUI will be offering the fast-track teaching certificate starting this fall. You can complete the program with just 24 credits. And those who complete the program with a B or higher can apply 18 credits towards a masters degree in elementary education.

The District-Based Alternative Certification Program is made up of both in person and online classes.

Crystal Walcott, Head of the IUPUC Division of Education, said that once a license is granted, many secondary content area licenses can be added with only an assessment required. That means elementary education program graduates can teach K-12 with only one degree.

She said there are several graduates now teaching high school subjects such as language arts and math with the elementary education degree and content area licenses.

For more information go to iupuc.edu/education.

The Indiana Immunization Coalition will be holding a community immunization clinic at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Columbus next week.

The church is at 2651 California Street in Columbus and the clinic will be from 9 to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11th.

Everyone who takes part will be vaccinated with all of the CDC recommended vaccines. The clinic will consult the state immunization registry to see what vaccines you are missing.
You can register online at patients.vaxcare.com/registration and use the enrollment code IN 65942.

You should bring your insurance card as the coalition will accept and bill all insurance carriers. There is no cost for anyone without insurance, except for the Shingles vaccine.

Indiana State Police are warning of an ongoing scam that tries to get you to pay money to solve an outstanding warrant, claiming to be a phone call from state troopers.

According to state police reports, scammers are spoofing caller ID, making the call appear to come from a state police post, and with the state police post phone number. The scammers then pretend to be troopers telling you that there is a warrant for your arrest and then they try to get you to disclose personal and financial information to supposedly take care of the fake warrant.

But state police will not call asking for your social security number, bank account or credit card numbers. The recent calls claim to come from State Police Post 52 with a 317 area code.

State police say that these these types of phone scammers are persuasive and technically savvy. Scammers will often play on your emotions and fears to get to your money.

The easiest way to protect yourself from being scammed over the phone is either to ignore unsolicited calls from unknown callers or just hang up when something doesn’t seem right.

You should NEVER provide any information over the phone to an unknown caller.

If you feel you may have fallen victim to a phone scammer immediately report the incident to your local law enforcement agency.

A new black history exhibit will be displayed in The Commons through February in recognition of Black History Month.

The exhibit “And Still We Rise” is meant to give a comprehensive overview of the history of African Americans in Columbus. Organizers say it documents the local Black community’s resilience, perseverance, faith and love.

An unveiling of the exhibit, remarks from the program manager for Black History Month in Columbus and a reading of a proclamation declaring Black History Month here by the mayor, will happen at a ceremony starting at 4 p.m. this afternoon at The Commons.

The event is free and you are invited to attend.

You can get more information at blackhistorycolumbus.com

The local NAACP branch is announcing the award winners from this weekend’s Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance and Awards Gala.

NAACP Branch 3071 in Columbus honored Paulette Roberts and Ron Thompson with the Outstanding Citizen Awards and the Outstanding Business Awards were presented to Trainer Connect and Cabrina’s Safe Haven.

Jaxson Scruggs received the Outstanding Athlete award and Zacaria Scruggs was the recipient of the Outstanding Student award. The NAACP Distinguished Service Awards went to Roxanne Stallsworth and Heritage Fund of Bartholomew County.

The event was held Saturday evening at Mill Race Center.

Jennings County Jail officers have completed training in Mental Health First Aid for public safety.

The sheriff’s department announced last week that officers had finished the training, an 8-hour program that gives officers the skills to provide initial support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance abuse problem and help to connect them to appropriate care. The training focuses on the needs of public safety personnel, and is a valuable resource that can make a positive difference in officers’ lives and their communities, according to the sheriff’s department.

The program is offered by Advanced Correctional Healthcare, Inc. through a partnership with Freedom Behavioral Health, Inc. Dr. Melissa Caldwell, with Freedom Behavioral Health said that detention facilities are facing rising suicide rates and officers need tools to maintain personal wellness while deescalating crises in the workplace.

Jennings County Jail employs 39 staff members.

The city of Columbus is making plans to pull back portions of its two-mile zoning authority, giving control back to Bartholomew County.

Under Indiana law, cities can extend their zoning control into areas outside of city limits, up to two miles. Those in that expanded area must seek approval from the city before making changes regulated by zoning ordinances such as land use, despite living in the county. The current zoning limits were put in place in 1999 and refined in 2000.

Next week, the Columbus Plan Commission will be considering two areas to draw back areas under its control, including the area around Otter Creek Golf Course, and to the Colony Parke and Oakcrest subdivisions in the Taylorsville area.

As of last year, Otter Creek is no longer owned by the city of Columbus, leading to the suggested change there, while the northern subdivisions were accidentally split between city and county control when the original boundary lines were drawn, leading to that suggested change.

The Columbus Plan Commission meets at 4 p.m. next Wednesday at Columbus City Hall and the meeting can be attended remotely.

Image courtesy of Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department.

News Release (PDF Download)