Cummins is announcing a $75 million dollar federal grant that will let it revamp part of the historic Cummins Engine Plant for the production of electric batteries and powertrains.

The company held a ceremony Thursday afternoon at Plant One on Central Avenue to announce the largest grant in the company’s history, directed toward Accelera, the company’s zero emissions business.

Amy Davis, president of Accelera by Cummins, explains the grant:

She says that the grant will  lead to the conversion of 360,000 square feet of the 1.4 million square foot building into electric component production. When it is done, about half of the building will be dedicated to electric component production.

Davis explains what will be produced at the factory, historically dedicated to diesel engines.

Davis says that the grant will allow the company to hire about 250 new employees and retrain existing employees for new roles.

Cummins President and CEO Jennifer Rumsey talks about the importance of electrical vehicles and components to the company.

Among the dignitaries on hand was the Under Secretary for Infrastructure for the U.S. Department of Energy, David Crane. He said the grant is part of a $1.7 billion set of project grants announced Thursday to 11 companies in eight states, to convert auto manufacturing facilities from internal combustion to electric vehicle production.

Crane said the grants were awarded on the strength of the proposals and he said Cummins stood out because of what he called a tripod partnership between the business, labor unions and the community.

Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon talked about the importance of that partnership.

Photo: Amy Davis, head of Cummins Accelera business, explains the importance of a $75 million grant announced Thursday afternoon. White River Broadcasting Photo.

Columbus police say that there are still a few spots left in a upcoming seminar on how to avoid scams.

Columbus police are partnering with the Indiana Attorney General’s office with the fraud prevention seminar set for July 16th at the Mill Race Center. It will discuss identity theft, typical frauds, market scams and how to protect yourself.

The seminar will start at 11 a.m. on July 16th in the Art Room at Mill Race Center. If you would like to attend, you can call 812-376-9241 to make a reservation.

Thrive Alliance will be offering its Powerful Tools for Caregivers sessions in Seymour, starting later this month.

Powerful Tools for Caregivers is an educational series designed to provide caregivers with the tools they need to take care of those in their care while also taking care of themselves.

This program is is meant to help family caregivers reduce stress, improve self-confidence, communicate feelings better, balance their lives, increase their ability to make tough decisions and locate helpful resources.

The series consists of six sessions held once a week. Classes will be held every Thursday from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., in the Community Room of Crossroads Senior Apartments, on South Poplar Street in Seymour starting on July 25th. Classes run through August 29th.

The program is free and you are invited to attend. You can register by July 22nd by calling 812 372-6918 and going to ext. 2403.

A reported stolen license plate led to the arrest of an Austin man on drug and car theft charges in Columbus on the Fourth of July.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were alerted to a vehicle displaying a stolen license plate headed north on South U.S. 31 at about 11:43 p.m. Thursday. A deputy found the vehicle as it entered Columbus and pulled it over near State and North Beatty streets.

Authorities confirmed that the license plate had been stolen out of Louisville and a check revealed the vehicle had been reported stolen from Scottsburg. The driver, 25-year-old Dylan Roberts was taken into custody and a search revealed he was carrying about 19 grams of methamphetamine.

Roberts was arrested on preliminary charges of auto theft, possession of a stolen registration and possession of meth.

In celebration of national Parks and Recreation Month, the Columbus Park Foundation will be hosting a community party this afternoon at Mill Race Park.

The festivities will include water and yard games, activities such as face and rock painting and local food trucks.

The Columbus Parks and Recreation system was founded in 1947 and now operates 23 parks, nearly 1,000 acres of park land and 23 miles of People Trails.

The Park Foundation is encouraging you to donate in support of the local parks system. You can find a link to donate here https://www.columbusparkfoundation.org

The event will be from 4 to 7 p.m., it is free and you are invited to come by.

Cropped photo of Mill Race Park by stickman42 courtesy of Wikipedia, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

The family of a man killed in the 2022 Greenwood Park Mall shooting is now suing mall ownership and the security company tasked with keeping mall customers safe.

Victor Gomez was shot and killed in July 2022 in the food court at the Greenwood Park Mall, owned by Simon Property Group. The Gomez family argues mall ownership was negligent and employees should have been paying attention to security cameras when Jonathan Sapirman walked through the mall with a large, suspicious backpack.

Sapirman walked into the food court restroom, dumped some electronics into the toilet, walked out with a gun and started shooting. He killed Gomez along with Rosa and Pedro Pineda before being shot and killed himself by Eli Dicken of Seymour, a mall customer.

The family of a survivor has also sued Simon Property Group and Allied Security.

Story courtesy of Network Indiana. Greenwood Park Mall photo courtesy of RTV

Former state legislator Sean Eberhart, who represented part of Bartholomew County is heading to federal prison for more than a year.

He pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in a gambling corruption case. The Republican from Shelbyville accepted a job with gambling company Spectacle Entertainment for at least $350,000 in exchange for voting for a bill from which Spectacle would benefit.

Court documents say an unnamed Spectacle executive came to Eberhart with the proposal.

On top of the prison sentence, Eberhart was also fined $25,000 and he will also have to pay another $60,000 in restitution.

Eberhart’s district included northeastern Bartholomew County including Hope and Hartsville. He served in the statehouse from 2007 until 2022, when he chose not to seek reelection. He previously served on the Shelby County Council.

Eberhart apologized at his sentencing and said he was “truly, deeply sorry for what I did.”

Authorities say that Spectacle Entertainment wanted to purchase the state licenses for two casinos on the Lake Michigan waterfront and to relocate those casinos to other areas. The federal charges accuse Eberhart of accepting a promise of the in exchange for supporting the license change and casino moves. The legislation reduced the license change fees from $100 million to $20 million and also provided tax incentives benefiting the company.

Story courtesy of Network Indiana

The Bartholomew County Sheriffs’ Department is adding two new DARE officers for area schools.

According to the sheriff’s department, Deputy Anthony Bagby and Deputy Elizabeth Moore will serve in the roles. With the addition, the county department will have five DARE officers including Sgt. Andrew Whipker, Deputy Jessica Pendleton and Deputy Max Medina.

Columbus Police Department also has seven officers providing the program in local schools. That makes the Bartholomew County program one of the largest in the state.

The DARE program, or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, locally celebrated its 30th anniversary here in 2022.

DARE officers teach a one hour class focusing on educating sixth grade students about the dangers of drugs and the importance of making good decisions.

Applications are now available for next year’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships in Bartholomew County, through Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County.

Two students from Bartholomew County will be chosen for the scholarships, which pay full tuition and required fees for four years of full-time undergraduate study that lead to a bachelors degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Students also receive a $900 stipend to help cover costs for books and equipment.

To apply, you must live in Bartholomew County; be on course to graduate by the end of June 2025; with at least a 3.5 GPA and demonstrate significant school involvement, community service, good character, leadership skills and financial need.

Applications and all required materials must be submitted by 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21st

Eligibility requirements, instructions and the application are available at https://www.heritagefundbc.org.

Traffic will be tied up near Seymour High School starting next week, as crews work to improve drainage for the ongoing Second Street improvement project.

According to the city, the intersection of Second Street and Community Drive will be closed for about two weeks, starting Monday and lasting through Tuesday, August 6th, weather permitting. You will still be able to access businesses between Community Drive and U.S. 50 during the work.

Second Street remains closed further to the east as work continues on the $15 million reconstruction project.

Graphic courtesy of City of Seymour.