A prisoner in the Bartholomew County Jail is facing new charges after several inmates became ill from drug overdoses in the facility.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, the incidents started Monday afternoon after jail staff noticed two inmates in medical distress. The staff began emergency medical procedures and both inmates were found to have overdosed. They were taken to Columbus Regional Health for treatment and later returned to the jail.

Nursing staff began to check on every inmate in the cell block and soon found two more inmates who showed signs of being impaired. They were also taken to the hospital.

The Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team and the corrections department staff began an investigation and after working through the night detectives identified a suspect. During an interview, 27 year old Dai Von Coram of Columbus confessed, police say.

Von Coram is facing new felony charges of dealing in a narcotic drug, trafficking with an inmate and obstruction of justice.

Sheriff Chris Lane said that the safety of the inmates and their well being is the top priority in the jail. He praised the jail staff for their quick actions and using their training, following policies and procedures to respond to the incident.

Lane also said that information could not be released earlier because of the ongoing investigation,

The city of Seymour is planning to plant even more trees this year.

The city says that the Seymour Tree Board is planning for its 2024 plantings. The city’s Tree City USA program is receiving just over $43,000 in funding from the Seymour Redevelopment Commission and the Jackson County Solid Waste Management District to plant and maintain trees in the city.

According to the city, the program has grown from planting 15 trees in the city in 2020, to planting 160 trees last year. That included 73 at the Freeman Field Recreational Complex, 40 trees along the southern Burkart Boulevard Bypass, 25 trees at city property near County Road 340N and 15 trees at Kasting Park. They also planted seven memorial trees last year.

City officials say that they are planting all native trees with no invasive plants.

The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters. The award recognizes communities for effective urban forest management.

To get involved with the city’s tree planting program, you can contact Seymour Parks and Recreation at 812-523-5888.

New Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon will be holding her first State of the City address next week.

According to the mayor’s office the event will be taking place Wednesday at Nexus Park, the former Fair Oaks Mall on 25th Street. The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the mayor’s remarks will be at 6 p.m.

The speech will be followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Circle K Fieldhouse at Nexus Park.

A quorum of City Council members, along with members of other boards and commissions are expected to attend but the council will not be in session and no council business will be conducted.

The event is free and you are invited to attend. You should park in the southeastern lot off of 25th Street near Dunham’s Sports and signs will direct you to the location inside the former mall.

Hope Utilities will be holding a public hearing next month on a project to improve the water situation in the Goshen Meadows subdivision.

According to town officials, the project will be funded through a loan from the state wastewater revolving loan program. The town is planning to upgrade the existing Goshen Meadows lift station and rehabilitate the lateral connections in the neighborhood. You can view the preliminary engineering report at the Town Hall starting on March 9th.

Estimated costs for the project are not yet available.

There will be a public hearing on the project at the March 19th Town Council meeting at the Town Hall on Jackson Street. That will be at 5:30 p.m. that afternoon. You will have a chance to hear more details on the project and ask questions.

You can also leave written comments about the project through March 25th by mail to Tony Akles at 629 Washington Street, Columbus, IN 47201

For more information on the meeting, contact Jason Eckart at 812-546-0423.

Ivy Tech Community College Columbus biology professors will be leading a nature hike at the Touch the Earth Natural Area on Saturday.

The hike will focus on exploring the network of trails within the Sycamore Land Trust property. All trails on the property are listed as “easy.”

The Touch the Earth Natural Area is west of Columbus on North Country Club Road just south of State Road 46.

Hikers will meet at 10 a.m. in the morning.

The hike is open to the public, and you are invited to attend. You should dress appropriately for the outdoors and the weather.

Graphics courtesy of Sycamore Land Trust

The deadline is coming up tomorrow if you need to sign up your children for I-Care child care through Bartholomew COnoslidated Schools for the week of spring break.

According to the school district, the care will be available at CSA Fodrea Elementary from 6:30 in the morning to 6 p.m. in the evening March 11th through the 15th. The i-CARE program provides hands-on, STEM enrichment activities as well as healthy snacks, physical activity and homework help.

The program costs $125 a week for full time or $30 a day for drop in care. i-CARE offers a discounted sibling rate of $5 extra per day for each additional child. The deadline to sign up is Friday, but families will still be responsible for the full payment for students withdrawn after March 1st.

You can find a link to sign up here: https://www.ezchildtrack.com/parentportala/

For more information, visit www.bcscschools.org or call the i-CARE office at (812) 418-0924.

State Road 258 will be closing for three months near Freetown while crews replace a bridge superstructure.

According to INDOT, the work is expected to start on Monday. Contractor crews will be working at the intersection of State Road 258 and Jackson County Road 300W, just over two miles east of Freetown.

The official detour takes State Road 11 to U.S. 50 to State Road 135 before going back to State Road 258.

INDOT says the project is part of a $4.5 million contract awarded to Force Construction that includes three bridge rehabilitation projects.

The work is expected to take up to 90 days. The work schedule is dependent on the weather.

INDOT asks that you slow down, drive without distractions and use extra caution when driving in work zones.

With the severe weather in our area overnight and the start of tornado season coming soon, state emergency officials are offering safety tips.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security says that if you have to take shelter during a severe weather threat, you should move to the lowest floor of a sturdy building such as a basement, safe room or storm shelter. If you don’t have such shelter, you should use an interior room or a hallway that has no windows. Blankets, pillows and furniture can provide additional protection.

If you are in a vehicle when severe weather hits, officials say your best choice is to get out and take shelter in a strong building. If you have to stay in the car, keep your seatbelt on, lower your head below the window and cover your head and neck with your arms and a blanket.

They also say not to try to shelter underneath of a bridge or overpass. Strong winds could cause the structure to collapse. You are also not protected from flying debris under a bridge. And if your vehicle is stopped there, you can block the roadway, preventing emergency crews from passing through or impeding others who are trying to reach better shelter.

The department also suggests that you have several ways of getting accurate and updated weather reports including radios and smartphone apps.

According to weather statistics, April, May and June are the months where tornadoes are most likely in Indiana.

A proposal for a Black heritage trail in downtown Columbus will be unveiled this evening.

Paulette Roberts, Tami Iorio, and Jim Nickoll will be presenting their research on Columbus Black heritage sites in a discussion from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Helen Haddad Hall at the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic offices at Franklin Street.

Local historians and architectural experts are working on a project to celebrate important sites in Columbus and Bartholomew County Black History. Roberts has been organizing a Black Heritage Trail of downtown sites and leading tours during Black History Month. The trail highlights what Columbus was like for Black residents from 1870 to 1940.

10 sites are being proposed for the trail and are being documented as significant places of Black heritage. A mockup design of the history trail markers and a proposed project budget will also be presented.

Tonight’s event is being organized by Roberts, Bartholomew County Historical Society, Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives, and Landmark Columbus Foundation.

You can find out more about all of the community’s Black History Month activities at https://www.blackhistorycolumbus.com