Columbus Regional Health Foundation will be holding its Impact and Gratitude Expo this evening at the hospital’s side of Nexus Park.

The expo is meant to highlight the work the foundation does for the hospital and the community. It will celebrate the foundation donors and showcase the impact of their contributions on the wellbeing of the community.

The event will be from 5 to 6:30 p.m. this evening, at the former Fair Oaks Mall on 25th Street. You should enter Nexus Park at Entrance 3 and the expo will be in the hallway between between VIMCare and WellConnect.

The expo is free and you are invited to attend.

Signups begin next week for volunteers who want to take part in the United Way of Bartholomew County’s annual Day of Service.

According to organizers, Day of Service is a volunteer event that connects local businesses and community members with non-profit agencies and organizations to complete essential work for the agencies. The Day of Service will be Sept. 12th and will be part of the kickoff for the annual campaign.

You can register to volunteer for particular organizations or activities starting on Aug. 28th.

There will also be a kickoff lunch at Amazing Joe’s that day. Tickets are $20. All proceeds from the lunch will support United Way of Bartholomew County’s campaign goal to lift 1,000 local families out of poverty in 2,000 days, a campaign which began in 2022.

Registration for both events is available online here: https://www.uwbarthco.org/get-involved/events.html/event/2024/09/12/united-way-kickoff-lunch-and-day-of-service/491742

A local legislator’s bill that would speed the process of replacing lead water pipes has been signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb.

According to the Indiana Senate Republicans, State Sen. Eric Koch of Bedford authored the bill, signed this week by Gov. Eric Holcomb, that will help protect Hoosier’s health. The bill enables utility companies that have lead line service replacement plans approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission do that work quickly, efficiently and at a lower cost, Koch said.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates more than 265,000 aging customer-owned lead water service lines remain in use in Indiana despite the U.S. banning the installation of new lead service lines in 1986.

Koch said the new law will take a step forward to address lead exposure in Indiana.

Koch’s district includes Jackson and Brown counties, as well as Lawrence and Orange counties and part of Monroe County.

Photo courtesy of Indiana Senate Republicans. State Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford), at right, joins Gov. Eric Holcomb for the ceremonial signing of Senate Enrolled Act 5 at the Statehouse Thursday, Aug. 15.

Police have arrested 32 suspects in a large drug investigation in Johnson and Marion counties and are looking for 32 others.

The busts involved nine police departments as they executed over 50 arrest and search warrants yesterday morning in central Indiana. Twenty-five suspects were arrested that were being sought on warrants and seven others were arrested at the scenes of the search warrants on drug charges.

Officials say the arrests were the result of months of investigations.

Story courtesy of TTWN Media Networks

Edinburgh police have made two arrests of suspects believed to have stolen vehicle batteries across central Indiana and Florida

According to the Edinburgh Police Department, officers in Westfield, Fishers and Greenwood were investigating the theft of hundreds of batteries from Walmart stores. Early in July, a tracking device with the batteries led police to a buyer in Edinburgh and after talking to the buyer, police were able to obtain documentation on the identify of a suspect and the license plate number of the pickup truck that had been used to transport the batteries.

On July 31st, Edinburgh police found the vehicle at the business of another buyer along with a second truck. Both vehicles were discovered to be full of brand new batteries. A U-Haul trailer was also discovered to be full of batteries. And the trailer had been reported stolen the night before in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The suspects were taken into custody and the vehicles were impounded. A search uncovered a receipt from a Walmart in Miami, Florida, and the police there reported that they were investigating the theft of 240 batteries in that store. Surveillance video of the suspects in those thefts matched the suspects in Edinburgh.

46-year-old Peter Hollman was arrested for the theft of the U-Haul trailer and 59 year old Joseph Reed has been arrested and later released, but evidence on theft charges has been forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.

Organizers of Exhibit Columbus have opened the competition for University Design Research Fellows for the next two year cycle of the exhibition.

The Landmark Columbus Foundation is looking for full-time university/college professors in the United States to participate. More than $100,000 will be awarded to professors from any area of design, architecture, art, or landscape architecture. The open competition hopes to attract the most innovative and thoughtful ideas that connect to this cycle’s theme of “Yes And…”

Those awarded a fellowship will be paired with a community partner. The goal is to enhance the downtown and create a more welcoming, diverse, accessible, and active city. Organizations and/or businesses have been invited to apply to become an Exhibit Columbus Community Partner and to host a fellowship installation.

The fellowship professors will take part in several Exhibit Columbus events including this year’s symposium, and next year’s design presentations culminating in the downtown installations to be created in the fall of 2025.

According to organizers, since 2016, the Landmark Columbus Foundation has invested more than $600,000 in growing the University Design Research Fellowship. They say the process and projects provide quality educational opportunities for university students, which have translated into inspiring installations.

Exhibit Columbus works in two year cycles, with a symposium year of planning and discussions with selected designers, followed by a year with installations at various architectural and significant locations around the city.

You can get more information at landmarkcolumbusfoundation.org.

Columbus city government offices will be closing around lunchtime Friday so workers can take part in an employee picnic.

Offices will be closed from 10:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Friday.

That will include Columbus City Utilities. If you have a problem with your water or sewer service and need immediate assistance, you can call at 812-372-8861 and follow the prompts.

Thrive Alliance is announcing a new meal site in Seymour focused on seniors.

The local agency for aging is hosting the site at 200 East Third street in Seymour with meals are offered Monday through Friday, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The congregate meal sites also provide educational topics and activities. The events promote physical, economic, mental, social, and physiological well-being of the participants.

There is no charge to participants who are 60 or older. Contributions are accepted and encouraged to help offset the costs of the program.

The costs of the meals are subsidized through Title III.

For more information, you can contact Thrive Alliance, at 812-372-6918.

Applications are now open for the September sessions of the Bartholomew County Works job readiness training program’s workshops.

Bartholomew County Works is committed to helping members improve their lives, gain full-time employment and achieve economic self-sufficiency.

The day-long workshop series will start on Monday September 9th and run through Friday September 13th at Yes Cinema.

An orientation session will be held Sept. 5th from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the morning.

The deadline to apply is September 4th.

To get more information on signing up, you can call Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center at 812-378-2638.

The city of Columbus is announcing that it has hired a new director for the city transportation department.

According to city officials, Matthew Dudukovich has been appointed to the role. Dudokovich comes from a background of human resources and he has experience in operations, manufacturing, engineering, sales/marketing, and customer service.

Dudokovich will lead initiatives to optimize operations, improve efficiency, and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Bryan Burton, Director of Public Works said that he expects that Dudokovich’s “vision and dedication to excellence will enhance (the city’s) transportation services and support (its) mission to deliver superior value to our customers.”