Local law enforcement officers will be holding a memorial service next Friday morning in downtown Columbus to recognize officers who have fallen in the line of duty in the last year.

The ceremony comes during National Police Week.

During the 30-minute long ceremony, the police officers and police canines who died in the line of duty in 2023 will be recognized. Local honor guards and bagpipers will take part. There will also be a 21 gun salute and the playing of Taps.

The ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. Friday morning at the Public Safety Plaza at Second and Jackson Streets in Columbus.

The event is free and you are invited to attend.

Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center is planning a downtown party next month to celebrate its 30 years improving the community.

The center grew out of the Focus 2000 Children, Youth and Families Initiative. It opened its doors in 1994 serving the downtown Columbus area. It focuses on five areas: advocacy , neighborhood improvement , human services , people empowerment and collaboration. After originally starting in the Lincoln Elementary School, the center moved to 1039 Sycamore Street.

The 30th anniversary celebration will be on Saturday, June 8th from 1 to 4 p.m. at Ninth Street Park. There will be a cookout, games, prizes and more activities. There will be a time to share memories of the center starting at 2:30 p.m.

The event is free and you are invited to attend. The park is on Ninth Street between Wilson and Reed Streets.

For more information, you can call Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center at 812-379-1630

Bartholomew County Works and YES Cinema will be hosting a free job fair next week.

The fair will include employers in the administrative, manufacturing, automotive and service industries looking for full and part-time employment. You should bring a resume and be prepared for on the spot interviews.

The job fair is next Wednesday, May 15th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the cinema on Jackson Street in downtown Columbus. The job fair is open to the public and you are invited to attend.

YES Cinema is a project of the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center.

All of the Tuesday and Wednesday is causing some flooding on local rivers and streams.

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis says two to four inches over parts of the East Fork White River is leading to some minor flooding and a flood warning has been issued for the river at Seymour.

The river is at 14.3 feet this morning, that is more than two feet above the minor flood stage of 12 feet. It should crest at 14.7 feet later this morning. It should drop below flood stage again by Friday afternoon.

Officials warn that you should not drive onto flooded roadways, especially driving around barricades. You should be extra cautious at night when it is harder to see any dangers. They say, turn around and don’t drown.

Wings Over Muscatatuck, an annual festival celebrating the birds of Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge near Seymour, starts tomorrow.

According to organizers, the spring bird migration normally peaks in Indiana during the second week of May. Festivities at the refuge will be from 8 a.m. to noon on Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Events will kick off with a guided birding tour on Friday morning. On Saturday there will be children’s activities including birdhouse building, face painting, a bird cake walk, and educational activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Birding activities on Saturday will include bird walks, a crane program, management tour, hawks and owl program, a wetlands/woods guided walk, and guided tour of the refuge’s closed area.

There will also be a special birding tour or Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge near Madison on Sunday starting at 8.

For more information visit the Muscatatuck Wildlife Society and refuge Facebook pages, or the refuge website at www.fws.gov/refuge/Muscatatuck, or call 812-522-4352 ext. 12.

The National Weather Service says that five tornadoes touched down in Indiana Tuesday including two in area counties.

An EF0 tornado touched down in Shelby County near St. Paul at 7:31 p.m. Tuesday night, traveling more than three quarters of a mile on the ground in about two minutes on the ground with wind speeds of up to 85 mph. It uprooted trees and damaged shingles and gutters. A very old barn also showed some roof damage.

Another EF0 tornado touched down in Decatur County near Greensburg at 8:25 p.m. Tuesday night. It had wind speeds of up to 81 mph and damaged tree branches and utility poles in the four minutes and 4.4 miles it was on the ground.

The most powerful of the Tuesday tornadoes was an EF1 that touched down in Rush County at about 7:45 p.m. and and lifted off about a minute later. It had wind speeds of about 110 mph and hit a metal barn, throwing debris. However grain silos just west of that building and a nearby home were undamaged.

Forecasters say that another round of storms should be pushing through south central Indiana again this afternoon but most of them should be less than severe. But there is still an isolated risk of large hail and damaging wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

Cummins is announcing a collaboration that would bring the company’s battery power solutions to transit buses in Europe.

The Columbus based engine manufacturer, through its Accelera business segment has signed a letter of intent with BMC Otomotive for Accelera to provide the power for the city buses. BMC is a leading manufacturer of buses and trucks in Turkey and throughout Europe.

Cummins says that this will be the first European use of the Accelera nickel manganese cobalt battery packs known as the BP978E. The high energy density battery packs are an effective solution for weight-sensitive applications. Individual transit agencies can tailor the energy level needed for their communities through an onboard option. Cummins says that will ensure efficient and reliable transportation and promote sustainability.

According to the companies, the program is already underway with the first BP 97 8E batteries due to be delivered in the next few months and the first buses delivered next year.

In 2023, Cummins combined its various zero emissions programs under the Accelera brand, which is under the New Power business unit.

Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus will be offering a session later this month to showcase its engineering programs to prospective students.

The Engineering Info Session will give information about the programs including a new partnership with Purdue University and the school’s Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Mechanical Engineering Technology programs. Prospective students will be able to tour the campus, get assistance with their applications, meet with financial aid staff

Green2Gold, the partnership with Purdue University allows Ivy Tech graduates who meet specific admissions requirements to seamlessly transfer to Purdue programs to earn their bachelor’s degree in engineering.

The session will be held at 6 p.m. on May 21st at Moravec Hall on Central Avenue. It is open to anyone interested in the programs and you are invited to attend.

The National Weather Service says that yesterday’s heavy rains are bringing the possibility of flooding overnight.

Up to 3 inches of rain has already fallen with more expected this evening and tonight, which could lead to flooding on East Fork White River and its tributaries.

A flood watch for our area goes into effect at 6 tonight through late this evening according to the agency. Forecasters say that the area under threat includes Bartholomew, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings and Shelby counties.

However, tonight’s expected bad weather forecast is looking a little better. According to Bartholomew County emergency officials, the National Weather Service says the storms are dipping to the south and the county is no longer in the enhanced risk category, but instead in the marginal risk area.

We could still see severe weather with a low risk of damaging winds of up to 60 mph, hail np to an inch in size and possible tornadoes. The storms should be coming through between 5 and 10 p.m.

An Indianapolis and Pittsburgh based design firm will be heading up the revamp of the entrance plaza into downtown Columbus.

The Columbus Redevelopment Commission is announcing that it has selected Merritt Chase to redesign the 1.5-acre plaza just off of the Robert N. Stewart bridge overlooking the Bartholomew County courthouse. The area is known for its memorials to POW/MIAs, public safety officers and the Robert D. Garton Veterans Memorial Plaza.

City officials say the plaza is overgrown and underutilized. In addition to a refresh of the area, the city would like to tie the plaza into the recently completed 1821 Bicentennial Trail as well as a riverfront development project.

The designers will be holding a public workshop the evening of June 24th to get your thoughts on how to bring the space to life.

The project is in collaboration with Columbus Design Institute, part of Landmark Columbus Foundation.