The Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District is offering free mulch at its site at the Columbus and Bartholomew County Recycling Center on Mapleton Street. And there will be several opportunities for seniors and others to get help loading the mulch.
The mulch is available to load yourself for free at the center. There will also be free loading for seniors on the last two Wednesdays of the month. Those will be March 20th and March 27th from 8 a.m. to noon.
There is also loading assistance available on Fridays, April through October for $10 per pick up truck load. That will start on April 5th and will be from 2 to 4:30 p.m. except for Friday holidays.
Our area’s hopes for state grant funds for economic development focus on projects improving innovation, education, housing and attracting population.
State officials have released the vision statements from the 15 regions around the state competing for up to $500 million in grant funding through the second round of the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI grants.
In our area, the Southern Indiana Housing and Community Development Corporation represents Bartholomew, Jackson, Jennings counites and the town of Edinburgh in the South Central region. In the first round of READI grants in 2021 the region received $30 million in funding for projects.
In the executive summary prepared by the group, the region outlined its goals to advance innovation and entrepreneurship, to build and retain a workforce through expanded degree and certificate programs and to stimulate and sustain housing in the region.
The group says that Bartholomew and Jackson counties are already growing, and it would like to see Jennings County stabilize its population and then grow from 2027 to 2032. They hope to achieve that by investment in quality of place initiatives.
Brown County is part of the Indiana Uplands region being led by Regional Opportunity Initiatives Inc. Shelby and Decatur counties are part of the Accelerate Rural Indiana region being led by the Accelerate Rural Indiana Regional Development Authority.
The annual Memorial Day weekend Salute! concert will be happening again in May, but it will move to a new location.
According to the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, due to the construction going on at the Bartholomew County Courthouse the decision has been made to move the event away from the downtown veterans memorial this year. Instead, it will be held this year at the Columbus Municipal Airport.
Brian Payne, director of the city airport said the city would be working with the orchestra “to host the thousands of attendees who would normally attend at the Courthouse.”
The free concert honors those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces with a selection of patriotic music.
The concert will be Friday May 24th at 7 p.m. in the evening.
The county estimates that the $3.3 million dollar courthouse renovation project will take more than a year. The project will include replacing the pipes in the building along with the heating and cooling system, installing all new lighting, carpet and ceilings, and upgrading the computer cabling throughout the building.
Cummins stock swap to finish spinning off its former filtration business is set to expire tonight.
According to the Columbus based engine manufacturer, for every share of Cummins stock traded in, investors will receive just over 12 shares of stock in Atmus Filtration Technologies. Cummins shareholders have the option to exchange all, some or none of their shares of Cummins common stock for shares of Atmus common stock.
The filtration business was started by Cummins in 1958, but the companies separated last year with an initial stock offering for the new Atmus Filtration Technologies. Heading into the exchange, Cummins owns about 80 percent of the new company’s stock or 67 million shares. The company plans to exchange almost 5.6 million shares of its stock for 33.5 million shares of Atmus stocks.
The exchange offer is scheduled to expire at midnight tonight unless terminated or extended.
A Columbus man was arrested for refusing to return equipment from his former employer in Seymour, police say.
According to the Seymour Police Department, Valeo North America reached out to police in January, saying that a former employee had used a company credit card for personal reasons and still had a company laptop, cell phone and adjustable computer desk, which he was would not return. Police say that the former employee was seen taking the items from the company.
During the investigation, police discovered that the former employee, 38-year-old James Persinger of Columbus, had spent more than $9,000 dollars on the company credit card, and police determined that the items taken were worth more than $2,300.
On Friday, a search warrant was served at Persinger’s home on Henry Drive in Columbus. Police found the missing items along with other computer equipment belonging to the company.
Persinger was arrested on preliminary charges of theft.
A Greenwood man has been arrested in Columbus, accused of dealing drugs.
According to the Columbus Police Department, an officer noticed a vehicle make a traffic violation near Third and Washington streets at about 2:35 a.m. Monday morning and pulled the vehicle over. Police say that the driver, 35-year-old Casey L. Kappes appeared nervous. A search of the vehicle recovered several bags of cocaine and methamphetamine, packaged as if for sale.
Kappes was taken into custody and is facing charges of dealing the drugs.
Police say that three people have been arrested in Columbus after an investigation into the sale of illegal drugs by the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team..
According to the Columbus Police Department, after receiving tips about drug sales at a home in the 2200 block of Indiana Avenue, a search warrant was served at the residence on Monday by the Columbus and Bartholomew County SWAT team. The search uncovered almost a quarter of a pound of methamphetamine along with fentanyl. Also found were packaging materials, digital scales, and a large amount of drug paraphernalia.
Residents at the home were arrested including 51-year-old Robert L. Shutters, 59-year-old Richard L. Spray, 59, and 45-year-old Cheri Foley.
Shutters and Spray are facing charges including dealing in methamphetamine and maintaining a common nuisance as well as for possessing drugs. Foley is being accused of possessing meth and drug paraphernalia as well as visiting a common nuisance.
The investigation into the sale of illegal drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County continues and additional charges are possible, police say.
The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team is a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department, and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office. It targets the manufacturing and abuse of dangerous drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County.
As part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week, a statewide tornado drill is planned for about 10:15 a.m. this morning.
You will hear emergency sirens going off and radio broadcasts for the drill.
Emergency officials say that the drill is an opportunity for families, schools and businesses to practice severe weather emergency plans. You should make sure your family, including children, know what to do and where to go in the event of a real tornado siren.
It is suggested that during the tornado drill you practice taking your family members to a safe location for severe weather such as a basement or an interior room with no windows on the lowest level of your home. You could also practice by moving under a sturdy table or desk, and covering up with pillows, mattresses, or heavy coats.
Severe Weather Preparedness Week is also a good time to go over possible evacuation routes from your home and neighborhood.
North Vernon police are looking for information on the identity of a bicyclist who was critically injured after being struck by a car Sunday evening.
According to the North Vernon Police Department, officers were called to the scene of a crash at 8:58 p.m. Sunday night near North State and Walnut streets. An adult man was found unconscious on the ground but still breathing. Officers began giving medical aid to the main and he was flown to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis for treatment.
Police say that 19-year-old Tyler J. Wells of Commiskey was driving southbound on State Street when his vehicle struck the man on a bicycle. The victim rolled over the top of the vehicle and landed on the roadway. According to police, the bicyclist appeared to be intoxicated at the time
Wells was not injured.
State Street was shut down for about 45 minutes during the investigation and cleanup.
The victim remains unidentified. If you have any information you can call the North Vernon Police Department at 812-346-1466.
Columbus officials will be holding a town hall meeting next week as part of a study on housing in the city.
According to the city’s community development department, the meeting will include discussions of what type of housing would you like to see, what are the local housing challenges and what kind of neighborhood would you like to have.
Mayor Mary Ferdon said last week in her State of the City address that the housing study and needs assessment is meant to identify existing housing and to recommend future housing strategies. She said the city is prepared to use any tools it has to increase affordable housing, saying there is a need to provide housing for those who provide backbone services for Columbus.
The meeting will will start at 5:30 p.m. the afternoon of Wednesday March 20th in the Cal Brand meeting room at Columbus City Hall.
