In recognition of their services to veterans and their families, 11 Bartholomew Consolidated schools have been chosen for the Indiana Department of Education’s Purple Star designation.

The Purple Star was created in 2020 and recognizes schools that demonstrate a significant commitment to service members, veterans, and their families. The state recognized 102 schools this year.

Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner said it is an honor to recognizes schools that celebrate and support military families and students who might be considering military service.

Schools receiving the Purple Star must have a dedicated point of contact for military families, host annual military programs, maintain a public military display, and ensure job interview opportunities for military service members and their families.

The BCSC schools honored with this designation are:

• Clifty Creek Elementary
• CSA Fodrea
• CSA Lincoln Elementary
• Smith Elementary
• Schmitt Elementary
• Mt. Healthy Elementary
• Parkside Elementary
• Rockcreek Elementary
• Southside Elementary
• Taylorsville Elementary
• Richards Elementary

You will see several state roads closed in Jackson County starting next week as crews replace culverts.

According to INDOT, the closures will start on Monday on State Road 258 between Seymour and Cortland, and on Tuesday on State Road 258 between Freetown and Cortland. On Wednesday the work will move to State Road 235 between Medora and U.S. 50.

The work will be going on from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day and is expected to take one day at each site, weather permitting.

You should avoid these areas.

INDOT asks you to slow down, to drive without distractions and to be alert to worker safety in all work zones.

The National Weather Service is warning about an enhanced risk of wildfires this afternoon.

According to the agency, the very dry air, low moisture of possible fuel and a light breeze later today will make for dangerous conditions.

The weather service urges you to consider putting off any outdoor burning to another day. If you have had an outdoor fire such as a campfire or agricultural burning, make sure it is completely extinguished.

A former state legislator who represented part of Bartholomew County has pled guilty to felony charges in federal court.

According to documents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana obtained by the Times of Northwest Indiana newspaper, Sean Eberhart of Shelbyville entered the plea late yesterday afternoon and faces up to five years in prison,  a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

Eberhart has agreed to pay $60,000 in restitution, the equivalent of his salary as a legislator according to the documents.

According to the documents, the FBI collected evidence against Eberhart that he engaged in a conspiracy to commit honest services fraud while in office. That evidence included but was not limited to:

•  text message communications to and from Eberhart
• call records involving Eberhart
• digital images of documents sent to and/or received from Eberhart and others
• covert recordings of conversations with Eberhart and audio and video recordings and other records of statements and actions in the Indiana legislature.

His district included northeastern Bartholomew County including the Hope area. He left office last year after not seeking re-election. Previously he served on the Shelby County Council.

TTWN Media Networks contributed to this report

Note: This story has been updated

An acid spill Thursday morning led to a lengthy evacuation of Rightway Fasteners in the Walesboro area and traffic snarls nearby.

According to the Columbus Fire Department, firefighters were called to the factory on South International Drive at about 9:40 a.m. about a large chemical spill in the building. What they found was a small spill in a chemical locker of a potentially explosive picric acid.

Capt. Mike Wilson with the fire department explains:

The building was evacuated and South International Drive was shut down.

About 200 employees were working at the factory when it was shut down and many had to leave their car keys and personal belongings inside while the situation unfolded.

Wilson said that the bomb squad slowly and delicately moved the entire storage locker outside where a trench was dug, road flares were added to the pit and the chemicals were then burned.

An environmental services company contracted by Rightway Fasteners will collect the unburned materials and sample the burn site to make sure no dangerous chemicals remain.

The entire operation took about five hours.

According to the fire department,  picric acid is a compound commonly used in the production of explosives , matches and electric batteries. It is also used to etch copper and used in the manufacturing of colored glass. Rightway representatives said that previously, the acid was used during quality testing processes.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department

First Christian Church in Columbus will be hosting an event Sunday afternoon celebrating the work to refurbish the church tower.

The church and tower were designed by architect Eliel Saarinen in 1942 and it is recognized as one of the first Modernist church designs in the United States.

The 165-foot tall tower has been repaired several times over the years, including the last major effort in 1976. The current effort came after a 2019 assessment of the condition found significant cracking, delaminating of the veneer, rust and other problems. The repairs were a $3.2 million project including community donations, and grants from the National Parks Service, the National Fund for Sacred Places and the Jeffris Family Foundation.

Sunday’s event will be a thank you celebration to those who made the plan a reality.

Other famous towers will also be celebrated such as the Eiffel Tower, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, the London Bridge Tower, and Rapunzel’s tower from the movie ‘Tangled.’ Instrumentalists and soloists from Columbus will join with the church’s iconic organ to present a selection including music from those countries and the film.

Towering Achievement: Community Celebration will be at 5 p.m. at the church on Fifth Street downtown.

The event is open to the community and you are invited. It will be free, but but registration is requested. You can find a link to register here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1038061587210838

First Christian Church photo courtesy of Landmark Columbus Foundation.

The Park Theatre Civic Center will be rocking into the holidays with a show this evening.

The concert will feature Terry Lee Ridley and his Million Dollar Band. Ridley has performed before at the Park Theatre, with shows featuring rock-a-boogie music paying tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and others. Friday’s show will include many popular Christmas songs from the 1950s and 1960s.

Tickets are $10 and are available in advance at the Park Theatre box office, on Madison Avenue in North Vernon or at the door Friday night, if they are still available. The box office is open  from 2 to 5 p.m. on Friday.

Friday night’s show starts at 7 p.m.

The Park Theatre opened in 1916 with shows ranging from vaudeville acts to silent films but closed in the 1960s. A not for profit group was formed in the 1990s to renovate the venue and to reopen as a civic center.

You will have a chance to hear from Jackson County elected officials and legislators at a breakfast event next week.

The Jackson County Chamber and Brownstown Ewing MainStreet are hosting a Legislative Breakfast on Friday, November 17th.

Among those attending will be staff from the offices of Congresswoman Erin Houchin and Senator Todd Young, State Senator Eric Koch, State Representatives Jim Lucas and Dave Hall along with the Jackson County Council and County Commissioners.

The breakfast will be at 8:30 a.m. at WR Ewing in Brownstown. The event is free but registration is required. You can sign up or get more information at jacksoncochamber.com.

The Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department in Decatur County will be getting trained in grain bin rescues and receive a piece of life-saving equipment, as part of a program from Nationwide Insurance.

Nationwide is announcing that 66 fire departments will receive the awards this year. The Grain Bin Safety Campaign has provided 332 grain bin rescue tubes since the start of the program of 2014.

Nationwide, in partnership with the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety provides fire departments with a grain bin rescue tubes and hands-on training. That will include state-of-the-art grain entrapment simulators able to hold about 100 bushels of grain each.

Nationwide says at least seven lives have been saved by the equipment and training since the program launched, including one this year in Ohio.

Photo courtesy of Nationwide Insurance.

Centra Credit Union is giving out grants to 15 local non profit agencies.

The organizations were nominated by Centra Team Members for the $2,500 awards. Two organizations, Sans Souci and Turning Point Domestic Violence Services were nominated twice and will receive $5,000 grants.

Other organizations receiving the grants are ASAP Bartholomew County, Bartholomew County Humane Society, Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund, Community Center of Hope Inc, Council for Youth Development in Bartholomew County, Firefly Children & Family Alliance, Horizon House Homeless Shelter, Ivy Tech Foundation, Lincoln Central Neighborhood Family Center, the NAACP of Bartholomew/Columbus, Our Hospice of South Central Indiana and REACH Columbus.

Centra Director of Community Involvement Jenni Carr said that Centra Team Members “love being able to support the causes they care about each year.”

This year, Centra and the Centra Foundation have given back more than $300,000 to their communities.