The deadline is coming up next week for nonprofit organizations to apply for the city of Seymour’s Quality of Life grants.

The grants, funded through the city’s redevelopment commission, are meant to provide partial funding for projects that improve the quality of life for Seymour residents through downtown beautification, education, or industrial projects.

The city is accepting the grant applications through Wednesday.

For more information you can call 812-522-4020 or email [email protected].

The city of Columbus is postponing a session originally scheduled next week to educate the public on tax increment financing districts and how they work.

The TIF District 101 session was meant for new city officials and the public to learn more about how TIF funds are captured, financing options for TIF funds, and a preview of legislation related to TIF districts. The information session was scheduled on Wednesday at Columbus City Hall.

According to the city redevelopment department, a presenter is not able to attend due to an emergency, requiring the change to plans. The session will be rescheduled.

The United Way of Bartholomew County says there are opportunities to help the community during an upcoming Day of Service honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jur.

The agency will be holding its annual MLK Day of Service on January 15th. Signups for volunteer roles that day will open on Monday on the United Way web site. There will be a variety of roles available that day, assisting the United Way and its member agencies.

Alicia Monroe, director of the United Way’s Volunteer Action Center Director said the goal is to “honor our community and this national event by organizing and encouraging volunteerism that helps make Bartholomew County a better place to live.”

Sign ups for the day of service can be made at https://uwbarthco.galaxydigital.com/need/

Many organizations post their volunteer needs through the United Way’s Volunteer Action Center section of the website year round, if you are looking for a place to serve the community.

Magen Pillar, spokeswoman for the United Way, explains

A local author and political candidate says his family was the victim of a dangerous prank that led to police breaking down their door over the holidays.

Paul Hoffman of Columbus says that he and his family were away in Wisconsin when he receive a call from a relative who is a Bartholomew County deputy that their house in Columbus had just been the victim of what is known as a “SWATing” attack. Hoffman says that officers knocked down their front door after receiving a spoofed call, claiming that someone had been murdered and a dangerous situation was unfolding in the home.

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Lt. Matt Harris with the Columbus Police Department said this is the second such incident in Columbus in the last year. An earlier incident in June involved juveniles and an argument over a video game. He called the pranks extremely dangerous because officers have to take the calls seriously and respond not knowing what is actually going on. In the most recent case, officers entered the Hoffman’s home with weapons drawn.

Harris said the incident at the Hoffman home is still under investigation. Neither Hoffman nor Harris could identify a reason their home was targeted by the pranksters. Hoffman has run twice recently as a Democrat, unsuccessfully seeking seats on the county and city councils.

Columbus City Council members Grace Kestler and Frank Miller had history-making roles for the first Council meeting of 2024 Tuesday night, serving as the first council members to lead the meeting as a second class city.

Under the new second class city status with the state, Columbus has moved from a seven-person Council that was led by the mayor, to a nine-person council led by a council president. The council president will set the agenda and control the meetings under the new arrangement.

As the last president of the council in 2023, Kestler, a Democrat, led the meeting, overseeing the approval of the minutes and the election of Miller as her successor as council president.

Tuesday night also marked the turnover of the council from control by Democrats 4-3, to again being controlled by Republican majority 5-4 under the new structure. The switch four years ago drew national attention because Democrats had taken control of the council in then Vice President Mike Pence’s home town.

Three-term Councilman Miller was elected as president of the new council and newcomer Kent Anderson will serve as the vice president of the council in the new year.

Miller thanked the council for putting their trust in him with the new council format, and said his 2024 motto is “opportunities to lead together.”

The council voted in 2022 to move the city up to the Class 2 status. At the time it was the largest city of Indiana, still under class 3 governance. By population the city had been eligible to move up for more than 20 years. In July of 2022, when the change was approved, Miller voted against the measure.

Customers of Eastern Bartholomew Water Corporation in the Lowell Addition are under a boil water advisory after a water main was struck by a utility company working in the area.

According to the utility, a company installing fiber optics cable in the area struck the water main Tuesday.

Under a boil water advisory, you should bring water to a full boil for three to five minutes before drinking it or using it in food preparation.

The advisory is in effect until 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

If you have any questions you can call the utility at 812-526-9777.

Note: This story has been updated 

Two drivers died in a New Years Day head-on crash in Jennings County.

According to the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, 31-year-old Hauley Reynolds of Columbus and 32-year-old Billy L Sexton III of North Vernon were pronounced dead after the crash on U.S. 50.

Deputies say that Reynolds car was heading westbound on the highway near County Road 20W, when it crossed the centerline at about 6:30 p.m., colliding with Sexton’s vehicle. A passenger in Sexton’s vehicle suffered life-threatening injuries and was flown by medical helicopter to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

The highway was closed for about two and a half hours during the investigation and to clear the wreckage.

Deputies were assisted at the scene by the Indiana State Police, Rescue 20 EMS, North Vernon Fire Department, North Vernon Police Department, Jennings County Coroner’s Office and Lucas Towing.

Police say that the investigation is ongoing and toxicology results are pending on both drivers.

A Columbus woman was arrested on drunk driving charges after speeding down 25th Street early Tuesday morning.

According to Columbus Police Department, officers noticed a vehicle speeding near Chestnut Street at about 12:45 a.m. yesterday morning. After stopping the vehicle, officers spoke with the driver 21-year-old Sara E. Rutan. They noticed a strong odor of alcohol on her breath and found open alcohol containers in the vehicle. She blew a .193 percent on a breath test, more than twice the legal limit.

She was arrested and is facing a preliminary charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of greater than .15%.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.

Several Bartholomew County deputies are being recognized by the state for a program that recovers damages to INDOT property.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, seven deputies were recognized for their efforts under the Damage to State Property Cost Recovery Program.

INDOT says that last year, the program collected $13.3 million from those who damaged INDOT assets and equipment in traffic accidents. The state says that without the program, taxpayers would be on the hook for the damages.

Sheriff Chris Lane thanked the deputies who took part in the fourth quarter of 2023, including Lieutenants L. Jason Williams and Andrew Dougan, Sergeant Andrew Densford and deputies Elizabeth Moore, Colten Fowler, Ryan Smith and Joshua Hounshel.