Schneck Medical Center in Seymour is inviting you to take part in a ceremony to recognize those who have battled colorectal cancer.

The Schneck Sparks of Strength will be held on Friday, March 3 at 10 a.m. in the main lobby of Schneck Medical Center. During the ceremony, participants will receive a blue tea light, the color representing colorectal cancer awareness, to honor those who have been touched by the cancer and remember those lost to the disease. Participants are asked to encourage another person to get a screening colonoscopy.

March 3 is also National Dress in Blue day and you are encouraged to wear blue for the event.

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States—but 90 percent of colorectal cancer cases are curable if caught early.

The Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation will be hosting a fundraiser next month featuring the Harlem Wizards exhibition basketball team.

The King Arthur squad of the Wizards will face off against local principals and teachers to raise money for the schools in a hilarious basketball performance, organizers say.

The game will be Sunday March 5th starting at 2 p.m. at Columbus North High School.

Entrance times for fans will be staged, with courtside plus ticket holders arriving at 12:30pm at Entrance 36 along Maple Street. Those with disabilities will be provided floor seats behind the basket closest to the gym entrance. They should arrive at Entrance 36 at 1 p.m. General admission and reserve seats should enter at Door 40 at 1 p.m.

Organizers encourage you to purchase tickets online. You can find a link on the web at bcsfstars.org. Tickets sold at the door will be cash only.

A Columbus man was found guilty of murder Friday after only an hour of jury deliberations.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department and Prosecutor’s Office, Patrick Doyle was found guilty Friday in Bartholomew County Circuit Court for the 2021 murder of 37-year-old Heather Ann Steuver. Due to extensive media coverage of the case, the jury consisted of jurors from Shelby County.

Doyle was found to have killed Steuver at a home in the 5500 block of East County Road 800N on Aug. 22nd, 2021.

Steuver’s parents reported her missing four days later. Authorities say that Doyle admitted to killing Steuver while being interviewed by a sheriff’s department detective while he was being held on child pornography charges.

Steuver’s body was later found in a shallow grave at Doyle’s place of employment, Nugent Sand and Gravel Co. According to the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office, Steuver’s death was a homicide by blunt force trauma.

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce is announcing the winners of its annual awards.

Among the award winners are small business of the year, Skaggs Builders, Medium Business of the Year – Centra Credit Union and Large Business of the Year Covered Bridge Health Campus. Committee Member of the Year is Leah Branaman and Brittany Percival has been chosen as Young Professional of the Year.

They will be honored at the 92nd Annual Awards Dinner coming up on March 3rd at Pewter Hall in Brownstown. A social hour will start at 5:30 and dinner at 6:15 p.m.

Tickets are $50. The deadline to register is February 24th. You can get more information on the web at jacksoncochamber.com.

Local government offices will be closed on Monday due to the President’s Day holiday.

The Columbus Department of Public Works and Safety reports all city trash and recycling collections will be running on their normal schedule without delays. However the public works offices will be closed.

If you have any questions you can check out the city website at columbus.in.gov/public works. Or you can use the Columbus Collects and Curbcycle apps.

Columbus City Utilities officew will be closed Monday. If you have a problem with your water or sewer service, you can call 812-372-8861 and follow the prompts.

The Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District offices will be closed on Monday, including the Bartholomew County and Columbus Recycling Center. The commercial cardboard routes will also not be available.

Columbus native and former Vice President Mike Pence is polling at fourth among the leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, if he decides to run. But he is still far behind the leaders

Former President Trump is slightly leading Republicans after announcing another bid for the White House in 2024. A poll from Quinnipiac  University shows the former President with 42-percent of the vote and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has 36-percent. DeSantis hasn’t announced a run for President

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced that she is running for president on Wednesday and she’s receiving five-percent of the vote.

Voters were asked about eleven other potential candidates, but only former Vice President Mike Pence got more than four-percent of the vote. Pence has not yet announced if he has decided on a presidential run.

In a hypothetical general election, it would be a tossup between President Biden and DeSantis or Trump.

The poll also found Americans are split on opinions over the search for classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in south Florida.

Story courtesy of TTWN Media Networks Inc.

Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County is announcing more than $138 thousand dollars in grants to local organizations from its Community Fund this quarter.

Each year, Heritage Fund distributes between $600 and $700 thousand dollars in grants from the Community Fund. The unrestricted funds are meant to meet needs in the areas of Youth Development, Substance Abuse, Neighborhood Revitalization, Innovation and Creativity and creating a Welcoming Community.

Among the grants this quarter were just over $31 thousand to Su Casa Columbus to support a Taylorsville pilot program, $28 thousand to the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation to support a community delegation to Myoshi, Japan this year, nearly $23 thousand to the Bartholomew County Public Library to support a Growing Readers program for children

Servants at Work is receiving over $19 thousand to build ramps for disabled Bartholomew County residents, $15 thousand will go to the Arc of Bartholomew County to support a card program to help people with communication difficulties. IUPUC is receiving just over $12 thousand to support its summer civics camp for kids. And Reins to Recovery will receive $10 thousand for its program.

The next quarterly grant application deadline is March 1st. For more information you can call Heritage Fund at 812-376-7772.

Columbus Police Department is issuing new ballistic shields to officers.

According to the police department, the new devices will be issued to the department’s three patrol shifts as well as to school resource officers. The shields allow officers to have more protection when responding to emergency calls where ballistic weapons are involved in high-risk situations such as an active shooter or an armed robbery.

The shields can also be used to cover officers while they render aid to victims or evacuated the wounded, according to CPD.

The new shields are lighter and more maneuverable than previous generations. They also feature a viewport .

Every Columbus police officer will receive training on the proper use of the shields in the event they would ever need to be deployed.

Columbus Police Chief, Michael Richardson said that “In critical situations, our officers are expected to face unknown dangers head-on and without hesitation.”

Richardson thanked the mayor’s office and Columbus City Council for the equipment to help officers keep the community safe.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department. CPD School Resource Officer Sgt. Julie Quesenbery displays the new shields.

First Financial Bank contributed more than $163,000 in donations and over 680 volunteer hours in Columbus during the last year.

According to the company, First Financial and its Associates gave more than 12,000 hours and $4.3 million to communities it serves in 2022. That was spread over First Financial’s four-state footprint of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois. And even beyond those states thanks to virtual and remote volunteering.

First Financial’s Give First program enables full-time associates to take 8 hours of paid time off to pursue volunteer activities during work hours.

The company outlined a goal of $8.5 million in donations when it established its Community Benefits Agreement for 2018-2022. However it actually has provided $19.25 million since 2018. The bank received an outstanding rating from the Federal Reserve Board for its performance under the Community Reinvestment Act in 2021, the highest rating available. That showed an excellent level of qualified community development donations and investments.

The U.S. Postal Service will be having a job fair today for Columbus and the surrounding area.

Positions to be filled include city carrier assistants, rural carrier assocatees and assistant rural carriers with pay of more than $19 per hour.

Applicants for driving positions need to have a valid state driver’s license, a safe driving record and two years of unsupervised driving experience.

The job fair will be from 10 to 4 at the main post office at 450 Jackson Street.

You can get more information at usps.com/careers.