A series of meetings to gauge the state of childcare in the region will kick off next week, with public sessions in Bartholomew, Jennings and Jackson counties.

The Lilly Endowment has issued a grant to a coalition of area organizations to study the childcare issue in the region. First Children’s Financial, a national leader in child-care business development and financing, will be organizing conversations in each community about sustainable child-care options.

The first session will be Tuesday in Jackson County at the Child Care Network on Chestnut Street. A session in Bartholomew County will be held on Wednesday at the Columbus Learning Center on Central Avenue and in Jennings County on Thursday, February 29th at Jennings County High School on West Walnut Street. The initiative will be holding information gathering sessions next week and are hoping to have childcare providers, parents and employers attend.

The meetings will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

To register for a session or for more information you can you can  contact Kari Stattelman,  First Children’s Financial’s  director of consulting at
[email protected].

Bartholomew, Jennings and Jackson counties map courtesy of www.indianamap.org

Cummins is announcing the promotion of five company leaders to the role of vice president.

Those include Ricardo Roman, Michelle Probst, Gbile Adewunmi and Matt McQueen whose promotions go into effect on March 1st. Ashwath Ram has also been promoted to vice president in January.

Roman will be the vice president of Components Finance, Probst, vice president of Leadership and Talent Development; Adewunmi, vice president of Power Systems Industrial Markets; McQueen, vice president of Engine Business Supply Chain. And Ram is now vice president of Supply Chain and India Leader

Cummins biographies of the new vice presidents are available here: https://investor.cummins.com/news/detail/639/cummins-promotes-five-new-leaders-to-vice-president

The City of Columbus is looking for designs to refresh the plaza at the entrance to downtown Columbus on Second Street.

The Columbus Redevelopment Commission and Landmark Columbus through the Columbus Design Institute are issuing a request for qualifications to choose a designer for the property just off of the Robert N. Stewart Bridge on Second Street, or State Road 46. The property was last redesigned in 2000 by Michael VanValkenburgh and Associates. Heather Pope, redevelopment director for the city, said that there have been several complaints from residents that the entrance looks tired.

The plaza is about an acre and a half in size and is two half circle pieces of property just off the bridge and flanking either side of the road. Parts of the plaza include the POW/MIA and Law Enforcement memorials, the Robert D. Garton Veterans Plaza and it is sometimes known as the Public Safety Plaza.

The goal is to transform the gateway to be safer, more attractive and accessible, to maintain greenspace and to allow more activity and interaction. The proposal should also connect to the newly created 1821 Trail extension of The People Trail, as well as future riverfront redevelopment projects.

The request for qualifications was issued today and the deadline for submissions is March 21st.

You can find out more about the Request for Qualifications and the project here: (PDF Download) LCF_DowntownEntrancePlaza_RFQ

Graphic courtesy of Elevate Maps via the Columbus Redevelopment Department.

Legal Aid is hosting a free walk-in legal clinic for Bartholomew County residents on Tuesday.

Legal Aid offers the clinics for low-income residents of its eight-county district including Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings and Johnson counties..

If you take part you will have a brief consultation with a volunteer attorney to answer general questions, to offer legal information or to receive other advice. The walk-in clinic will be from 3 to 5 pm Tuesday at the Bartholomew County Public Library

From 3 to 4 p.m. the session will focus on general legal counsel. From 4 to 5 p.m. the clinic will focus on evictions.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness of south-central Indiana is inviting anyone with mental health issues to come to a “In Our Own Voice” gathering Monday afternoon.

The session will feature Krystyna Karr who has spent 30 years working and volunteering in education and social services. She will talk about her struggle with mental health issues and how people can live a full, meaningful life despite their conditions.

The gathering will be at 5:30 p.m. Monday evening in the Second Floor Conference Room at the Bartholomew County Public Library.

To register you can call 812-376-9364 or email [email protected]

Four people escaped and three cats were were rescued after a duplex fire Wednesday evening in downtown Columbus.

According to the Columbus Fire Department, they were called to 1000 block of Eighth Street at just before 7 p.m. yesterday after the fire broke out in the rental unit. Everyone had evacuated when firefighters arrived including residents of a neighboring apartment. Firefighters could see fire coming through the roof as they broke through a back door. That’s when they were hit by what they are calling a smoke explosion that caused a blast wave but no one was injured.

Firefighters found heavy fire in a bathroom and began fighting the blaze with water. The fire was so intense that the heat melted the shower fixtures and flames burned through the ceiling and into the attic. It took about 20 minutes to get the fire under control.

A search of the home recovered the three cats, who were lethargic from the smoke. They received oxygen treatment from pet masks carried on all Columbus Fire Department vehicles and after recovering were returned to their owners.

Firefighters say the building was extensively damaged and the families have been displaced. The American Red Cross is providing assistance. Damages are estimated at more than $60,000.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Also assisting at the scene were the Columbus Police Department, Columbus Township Fire Department, Columbus Regional Health medics, Duke Energy and the Salvation Army.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.

Columbus police say an investigation into suspicious activity at a home Monday led to the arrest of six people on drug-related charges.

According to Columbus Police Department, officers received reports about suspicious activity and were conducting extra patrols in the area of a home in the 800 block of Wilson Street at about 5:30 p.m. Monday afternoon. That’s when police noticed several people standing outside the home. During a conversation, police also noticed the strong smell of burning marijuana, especially when the back door of the home was opened.

Police detained several people while they served a search warrant on the home. The search found drug paraphernalia including multiple syringes, digital scales and glass pipes, along with marijuana, and methamphetamine.

Police say that due to the poor conditions inside the home, Columbus Code Enforcement was alerted to the hazard.

Those arrested include 39-year-old Angel L. Abbott of Columbus who is facing the most serious charges including possession of meth, a narcotic, legend drugs, several syringes and a substance that was being represented as a controlled substance, as well as visiting a common nuisance.

36-year-old Tammy F. Schwind of Columbus is being accused of maintaining a Common Nuisance as well as for possessing meth, a legend drug and drug paraphernalia. And 42-year-old Brooks M. Hornbeck, of Columbus is facing a charge of possessing meth, as well as visiting a Common Nuisance.

Three more people were charged with visiting a common nuisance: Jaydon M. Gilmore, 24, of Columbus; Daniel S. Houchens, 32, of Columbus and Demarcis C. Scrogham, 28, of Columbus.

Decatur County’s YMCA will be receiving a half million dollar grant through the state to improve its facilities.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced today that 13 communities were receiving a share of $8 million in federal grants to improve their communities. That includes efforts to expand facilities, remove blight and improve water infrastructure.

The Decatur County Family YMCA is being awarded $500,000 to complete needed building improvements at its facility in Greensburg. The project will involve the structural replacement of the roof over the 39 thousand square foot facility. The state says that stabilizing the structure will allow the community to continue public health and social services efforts there, benefiting the residents of Decatur County.

Indiana distributes federal Community Block Grant funds to rural communities. The Decatur County grant falls under the Public Facilities Program. Public facilities projects include fire stations, community facilities, libraries, museums, community centers, and performance spaces.

A popular Exhibit Columbus installation will find a new home along Fourth Street, according to city officials.

According to Heather Pope, director of redevelopment for the city of Columbus, part of the Ground Rules exhibit that was in front of the Cummins Corporate Office Building along Fifth and Brown Streets will be moved to a temporary location on Fourth Street. She said the installation was a good example of a “parklet”, an urban planning term for a small extension of a sidewalk and curb cut that allows for a community gathering place.

Pope said that the new location will be temporary, but hopes that it will last for several years depending on how it holds up to the elements. It is being dismantled and reassembled by the city’s Department of Public Works. She said depending on the weather, the city hopes to have it reinstalled by mid-March and available for use during the weekend of the Solar Eclipse.

The installation was created by designers Jessica Colangelo and Charles Sharpless and was constructed primarily of discarded lumber from construction sites. It was designed in seven-foot wide modules the size of a parking space, so that it could be moved to new locations. It offered an elevated playing surface and seating so bystanders could play games such as bocce, cornhole or lawn bowling under the shade of the Cummins trellis.

The 2023 Exhibit Columbus theme was Public by Design and the installations were in place and open to the public from August through late November.

Ground Rules installation photo courtesy of Exhibit Columbus.

Indiana American Water is announcing the launch of the American Water Charitable Foundation’s Water and Environment Grant Program.

The Foundation is inviting community partners to apply for grants that promote clean water, conservation, environmental education, climate variability and water-based recreation projects. Applications are being accepted from organizations served by Indiana American Water.

Foundation officials say that the new program will streamline applications as it combines two previous programs and strengthen the company’s charitable focus. Since 2012, the American Water Charitable Foundation has invested $15.5 million in funding through grants and matching gifts.