The town of Hope will be turning again to its groundhog forecaster to determine if this cold weather is here to stay.

The town will again be holding Groundhog Day festivities on the Town Square on Feb. 2nd, featuring the groundhog Hope, a resident of Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators. This is the 11th year for the festivities in the northeastern Bartholomew County community and the fourth year for Hope the groundhog to take part, after the retirement of previous groundhog Grubby.

Music will begin and the crowd will start gathering at 8 a.m. with the groundhog prognostication at 8:30 a.m. After Hope’s prediction is divined, warm drinks and snacks will be available at Willow Leaves on the north side of the Town Square.

Organizers say that the event will be held in rain, snow or freezing temperatures. It is organized by Main Street of Hope and Utopia Wildlife rehabilitators with help from Indiana Main Street and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

Hope the Groundhog. Photo courtesy of Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators

Columbus Pediatrics is being recognized nationally for its adolescent care.

According to Columbus Regional Health, the practice has been recognized with a gold-level certification through the Adolescent-Centered Environment Assessment Process. The certification is based on a model facilitated by the Adolescent Health Initiative at the University of Michigan.

The process is a self-assessment and guided improvement process designed to minimize barriers and improve care delivery to adolescents. It takes place over an 18-month period.

The certification spans 12 key areas of adolescent-centered care ranging from respectful treatment, to parent engagement, and having an adolescent appropriate environment. The certification process was supported with customized resources through the Adolescent Health Initaitive. Columbus Pediatrics met the requirements of all 12 key care ears, earning the gold certification.

For more information you can go to https://www.crh.org/physician-practices/columbus-pediatrics

More candidates have filed to run for office in Bartholomew County since filing opened a week ago.

According to the voter registration office in the county clerk’s office, candidates since last Wednesday include:

• Republicans John Prohaska, Kim Bennett and Marcus Speer for County Council at large.
• Incumbent Judge Jim Worton for Superior Court 1
• Jerry Bragg, for Hope Town Council.

Josh Burbrink has filed to run for county Commissioners District 1 as a Democrat.

Republicans Kent Anderson, Jorge Morales, Judy Nichols and Leah Beyer have also filed to run for party positions.

The filing period runs through noon on February 9th. You can get more information in Bartholomew County at the County Clerk’s voter registration office at 812-379-1604.

Seymour police are releasing more details about two unconscious people found in a vehicle in Seymour Tuesday morning, one of which was a 16-year-old boy who died. Police say that carbon monoxide may have been a factor in the death.

According to the Seymour Police Department, officers were called to the 1000 block of Shields Avenue at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday morning after the two people were found unresponsive in the vehicle. Jackson County medics and the Seymour Fire Department were called to the scene and discovered that adult woman in the vehicle was still showing signs of life. She has been identified as 18-year-old Kelli C. Rendon of Seymour. She was taken to Schneck Medical Center for treatment and her condition is not known.

The boy was identified as 16-year-old Pascual Felipe-Miguel, also of Seymour. His body was taken to the morgue at Schneck Medical Center and an autopsy will be performed. The cause and manner of his death is still pending the autopsy results. Investigators are also waiting for toxicology results.

Police say that this is an ongoing investigation.

Columbus firefighters are recognizing a veteran who is retiring after 35 years of service to the city.

Firefighter Scott Stam joined the department in 1988. He was most recently assigned to Battalion C at Fire Station #6 and was very involved in the Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund.

His official retirement date was Saturday. The department announced the retirement yesterday, thanking Stam for his faithful years of service to the department and the community.

A proposed project in downtown Columbus that would replace the former Joe Willy’s Burger Bar building and other unused spaces at the corner of 11th, Washington and Jackson streets has cleared a hurdle. Columbus City Council gave its first approval to rezoning the properties at its meeting last night.

Rubicon Investment Group of Bloomington is requesting a rezoning for just over two acres including four properties at the corner including a residence, the former restaurant and a drive-thru bank building and are planning a mixed-use commercial and residential project. The change from the Commercial:Neighborhood zoning to the Commercial:Downtown district would allow for more dense development at that location.

Residents who spoke out against the project said they were concerned about the traffic the development would bring to already busy streets, the lack of setbacks and of parking. Councilman Jerone Wood voted against the rezoning, saying that there is already a lack of parking in the neighborhood and he could not see how 100s of more vehicles would find spaces.

The council voted 8-1 to move the project forward with their first vote. Ordinances require two approvals from the council before going into effect.

Two unconscious people were found in a vehicle in Seymour yesterday morning, one of whom, a boy, had died.

According to the Seymour Police Department, officers were called to the 1000 block of Shields Avenue at about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday morning after the two people were found unresponsive in the vehicle. Jackson County medics and the Seymour Fire Department were called to the scene and discovered that an adult woman in the vehicle was still showing signs of life. She was taken to Schneck Medical Center for treatment.

The boy’s body was taken to the morgue at Schneck Medical Center and an autopsy will be performed.

The names of the victims have not yet been released. Police say that this is an ongoing investigation.

The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and Spark Jackson County will be hosting their first Spark Tank pitch contest on Feb. 1st.

The chamber is announcing the six finalists who will take part in the chance to win $15,000 in awards in the live pitch competition. The finalists will be working with entrepreneur coaches over the next few weeks, polishing their ideas.

That will include pitches from:

• Brian Snow, “World Class Filming Location and Event Space”
• Jane Ellery, “A PLACE for Change!”
• Nathan Otte, “School Based Vision Clinic”
• Stephanie Strothmann, “For Love of Dogs and Beer”
• Nadia Herrera Luna, “NH by Nadia Herrera”
• Jessica Bowman, “From Pasture to Plate, a Rural Feast”

The SPARK Tank competition and awards are made possible by a Community Collaboration Fund grant from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

The pitch competition will start at 6 p.m. at the Rails Craft Brew and Eatery. Appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks will be served and a cash bar will be available. The event is free and you are invited to attend. To sign up, you can go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BZ378FB

Columbus-based Centra Credit Union is planning to merge with Bedford-based Hoosier Hills Credit Union in what company officials are calling “one of the most significant credit union partnerships in the state of Indiana to date.”

The merger would give the combined credit unions more than $3 billion in assets, with Centra holding just over $2 billion already and Hoosier Hills bringing $900 million to the merger. The combined credit unions would continue under the Centra name and Centra President and CEO, Rick Silvers, will remain in those roles in the combined Credit Union.

Hoosier Hills President and CEO Travis Markley will serve as Chief Experience Officer of the unified credit union. The Board of Directors from each credit union will combine into a single board. The combined credit union will also establish advisory councils to represent its geographic areas.

Silvers said the combined union can “choose the best aspects of each credit union to build a stronger and more agile” partnership.

The merger must still be approved by the National Credit Union Administration and the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions. That is expected to take place by March. Then a vote of the credit union members will be made in the second quarter. The goal is to complete the merger by July 1st.

Centra was created in 1940 and Hoosier Hills in 1969. The combined credit unions will have 38 service centers for its members.