Cummins Accelera brand unveiled new products including new versions of its hydrogen fuel cell engines, a high efficiency eAxle and next-generation batteries at a convention yesterday in Las Vegas.

According to the Columbus based engine manufacturer, Accelera showed off the projects at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo Monday. The company described the products as the next generation of cutting-edge technologies shaping the future of clean transportation.

Accelera is Cummins zero emissions business segment, started last year.

Bartholomew County is moving ahead with plans to add pickleball courts to the Dunn Stadium park just north of the 4-H Fairgrounds.

Bartholomew County Commissioners yesterday agreed to seek bidders for the project, which would add a tournament quality, 12-court pickleball complex at the park.

Commissioner Tony London said that pickleball is available to players of all ages and while many park features are focused on children, this is a chance to provide recreation to all ages. Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz pointed out that the park on the west side of the city is well situated for major housing developments being planned in the area, and the courts would be within walking distance.

The complex is being designed by DLZ. Commissioners estimated last year that the cost could be up to $600,000.

A sprinkler system helped control a fire sparked by a discarded cigarette at a Columbus apartment building last night, firefighters say.

According to the Columbus Fire Department, they were called to the St. Barts Apartments on Sycamore Street at about 6:47 p.m. Monday evening after a fire alarm activated. Firefighters arrived to find water from a sprinkler head flowing from a third-floor balcony. After using a ladder to climb to the balcony, they discovered minor fire damage on the outside of the building and smoldering cardboard boxes.

The tenant of the apartment told firefighters that he had been smoking on the balcony about 30 minutes earlier and had been storing the cardboard boxes on the balcony after a recent move. He said he believed the cigarette had been completely extinguished before discarding it in the boxes.

Captain Dave Dwyer says that with plenty of fuel and oxygen, the fire would have quickly grown if it weren’t for the sprinkler system kicking in.

Damages to the building were estimated at less than $5,000.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department

Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County is announcing more than $182,000 in grants to local organizations through its Community Fund.

Each year, Heritage Fund distributes between $600,000 and $700,000 in grants from the Community Fund. The unrestricted funds are meant to meet needs in the areas of Youth Development, Downtown Vibrancy; Arts, Culture, and Architecture and Responsive Community Need

Among the largest grand recipients were

• $62,100 to Healthy Communities to support Mental Health Matters Ambassador pilot program and Credible Minds translation services.
• $50,000 to Bartholomew County Public Library to support the redesign of the Indiana Room into a teen space
• $40,000 to Su Casa Columbus to support youth engagement work
• $20,000 to The Arc of Bartholomew County to support ADA remodeling of offices
• $10,000 to Columbus Area Arts Council o support strategic planning

Grants also went to South Asian Fund of Bartholomew County, REACH Columbus, Bartholomew County Historical Society and Indiana University Foundation .

The next quarterly grant application deadline is June 1st.

For more information you can call Heritage Fund at 812-376-7772.

Law enforcement agencies across Indiana are looking for drivers who aren’t using their seat belts, in the national “Click It or Ticket” enforcement blitz which runs through June 2nd.

Organized around Memorial Day weekend, the campaign will have extra officers including Seymour police and Indiana State Police troopers on overtime patrols making sure drivers and passengers are buckling up and children are properly secure. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night.

In Indiana, drivers can be stopped and both drivers and passengers can be cited for lack of seat belt use, but also for each unbuckled passenger under the age of 16. Additionally, children under eight must be properly restrained in a federally approved child or booster seat.

Those not buckled up in crashes were three times more likely to get injured when the driver was speeding and seven times more likely when the driver was impaired according to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute statistics.

The overtime patrols are funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with grants administered by ICJI.

The deadline is coming up for you to save money if you want to take part in the Moonlight Loop Bike Ride in Columbus.

The 19-mile scenic bike ride is a fundraiser for Columbus Animal Care Services, the city’s animal shelter to support low-cost spay/neuter initiatives for the Columbus community. This year’s event will start at 9 p.m. on Saturday June 22nd.

Pre-registration is $30 for rider until Friday. After that it increases to $35 for pre-registration and will be $40 the night of the event. If you register by June 7th you cna guaranteee you will receive a glow-in-the dark ride shirt.

Volunteers are also needed for the night of the ride.

To get more information on the ride you can go to the city website at Columbus dot in gov and click on Columbus Animal Care Services. you can also register for the ride at getmeregistered.com and search for the Moonlight Loop event.

Photo courtesy of City of Columbus.

There will be lane closures on Interstate 65 just north of the U.S. 50 exit at Seymour tomorrow morning.

According to the Indiana Department of Transportation, contractors will be closing the southbound left lane just north of the interchange from about 5:30 to 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning while contractors work on the guardrails there. The work should be completed Wednesday, depending on the weather.

C-Tech Corporation is the contractor for the project.

INDOT urges you to slow down, to drive without distractions, to use extra caution and to be alert to worker safety in all work zones.

The annual Memorial Day weekend SALUTE! concert in Columbus will be happening again this Friday, but at 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.

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 at 7 p.m. in the evening.

The Hospital Foundation of Decatur County held a dedication ceremony recently for a new remembrance garden on the hospital grounds.

According to the foundation, the space is on the east side of the Decatur County Memorial Hospital walking trail and features a tranquil space with seating, a dry creek bed, rocking chairs and native plants. It is dedicated to all of the babies lost in the community to miscarriage, stillbirth, or other causes.

The space was created in partnership with the Luke O’Mara Foundation, dedicated to the loss of the O’Mara’s family son due to a fetal chromosome anomaly.

If you would like to donate to support the Remembrance Garden, contact the Hospital Foundation of Decatur County.

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

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 Jennings 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.