October is Fire Safety Month and this week is Fire Prevention Week.

Area firefighters are offering tips on how to keep your family safe.

Authorities say that cooking is the leading cause of home fire and home fire injuries. Firefighters urge you to keep a close eye on what you are cooking and clear your cooking area of anything that can burn, such as dish towels, oven mitts, food packaging and paper towels.

Firefighters also urge you to make sure you have working smoke alarms in you home. In addition to checking the batteries regularly, they will need to be replaced every 10 years.

Fire Prevention Week is recognized on the week of the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which started on Oct. 8th.

Seven people were injured including two critically after an elderly driver crashed into a downtown Greensburg restaurant Tuesday evening.

According to the Greensburg Police Department, the incident happened at about 6:23 p.m. when the vehicle struck the Carriage on the Square smokehouse. Two victims were airlifted to the University of Cincinnati Hospital in critical condition after they were trapped under the vehicle. Two more are in stable condition at Decatur Memorial Hospital and three refused treatment.

Police say that the driver of the vehicle was 83-year-old Cleo Duncan of Greensburg. She is a former state representative. She was evaluated by medics at the scene.

The accident remains under investigation and the Indiana State Police Accident Reconstruction Team are assisting.

Note: This story has been updated. TTWN Media Networks contributed to this report.

A driver has been arrested, accused of racing away from Bartholomew County deputies in a chase that ended with a crash into a patrol car.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, a deputy noticed a vehicle driving recklessly on North U.S. 31 at about 5:04 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. The deputy attempted to pull the driver over, but instead he drove away. After heading down Indianapolis Road and then State Road 46, the driver headed west into Brown County. Brown County deputies and the Indiana State Police joined in to assist in the chase.

The driver crashed into a patrol car near the intersection of Upper Salt Creek Road and Petro Drive, ending the pursuit, police say. No one was injured.

30-year-old Brock Thompson of Nineveh was taken into custody and a search of the vehicle uncovered methamphetamine and a syringe.

After being checked out at a local hospital and being drug tested, Thompson was arrested on preliminary charges of Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle, Criminal Recklessness, Operating a vehicle while Intoxicated with Endangerment, as well as for possessing the drugs and paraphernalia.

Exhibit Columbus has announced the participants in the upcoming symposium, including the recipients of this year Miller Prizes.

According to organizers, the Miller Prize was established in 2016 and is meant to focus on design studios that improve urban environments thorugh engagement with communities. It is named in honor of J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller, the former head of Cummins and his wife whose interest in architecture and design led Columbus to become a major site of modernist architecture.

Miller Prize recipients will design, build, and install temporary projects at iconic downtown Columbus sites. They are:

• Adaptive Operations from Chicago, Illinois at The Crump Theatre
• AD—WO, from Brooklyn, New York at the former Irwin Block Building
• Studio Barnes from Miami, Florida at the Jackson Street Parking Garage
• Studio Cooke John from New York City at the sunken courtyard at First Christian Church.

Exhibit Columbus, launched in 2016, has two year cycles with a symposium hosted one year, and the installation of exhibits around the city next year. This year’s symposium will be October 24th and 25th at locations in downtown Columbus. The theme of this two year cycle is “Yes And”

Exhibit Columbus is also announcing the university fellows that will be taking part and details about the high school design team.

University fellows:

• Chandler Ahrens, Constance Vale, and Kelley Van Dyck Murphy  from Washington University of Saint Louis
• Sarah Aziz from University of New Mexico
• Akima Brackeen from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• César A. Lopez, Jess Myers, Amelyn Ng, and Germán Pallares-Avitia from University of Virginia, Syracuse University, Columbia University, Rhode Island School of Design
• Suzanne Lettieri and Michael Jefferson from Cornell University
• Andrew Fu, Aaron Goldstein, Aleksandr Mergold  from New Jersey Institute of Technology

The high school design team will be coordinated by R. Spencer Steenblik, a professor at Indiana University. He will work closely with Columbus Area Career Connection teacher Darin Johnson and others in the Bartholomew County School Corp.

You can find more information at exhibitcolumbus.org.

A Brown County mechanic’s shop and church are working to organize a shipment of items to help those in need in North Carolina.

According to Anthony Cox with Brown Count Autos, the shop is working with Maya’s Ministry and This is That Church in Morgantown to collect a semi full of items to be shipped out to those in need. They are looking for donations of items including food, cases of water, winter clothing, diapers, bottles, baby food, feminine hygiene products, flashlights and batteries, camping gear and blankets as well as items needed for everyday life. Organizers request that you include items in totes or tote bags, or vacuum sealed bags so they can be loaded into a trailer.

They will be transported to the Carolina Emergency Response Team ferrying help into Hickory, North Carolina.

Donations will be accepted at the shop at 4302 Old State Road 46 in Nashville until Thursday morning or at the church at 6881 North State Road 135 in Morgantown until Wednesday.

You can get more information by calling Anthony Cox at 812-558-4667 or Marilynn Cox at 317-494-0909.

Four Bartholomew Consolidated School teachers have been chosen to take part in an Indiana Educator Fellowship for Creative Teaching.

According to the school district, the fellowship is a partnership between the Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana Department of Education to celebrate and support educators teaching through creativity-centered innovation. The district says that the fellows will receive immersive training, funding, and access to a community of experts to help integrate arts and creativity into their teaching.

The four selected are:

• Amber Sims, a 7th Grade Mathematics and Pre-Algebra Teacher at Central Middle School
• Amelia Shaw, a 9th-12th Grade German Teacher at Columbus North High School
• Denise Wampler, a 1st Grade General Education Teacher at Southside Elementary School
• and Shawn Charlton, a 4th through 12th Grade General Education and Remediation Teacher, at the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center

You could see some traffic tieups if you are driving through Brown County over the next few weeks.

According to INDOT, crews will be closing State Road 135 south of Story starting today as they work to replace culverts on the highway. That is going to start with closures between Christiansburg Road and Hamilton Creek Road and while two culverts are replaced.

The work will then begin to move to other culvert replacements. Each location should take about a day to complete, and the work altogether will take about a week. The work schedule is dependent on the weather. Crews will be working from 8 to 5 at each site.

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

Two people were arrested in Jennings County early Monday morning after a car stolen from Madison was stopped by deputies.

According to the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, deputies received a tip about a stolen vehicle on South State Street just past the sheriff’s office. The vehicle was located near State Road 3 and Ripley Street in Vernon and after confirming it had been reported stolen, the deputy stopped the vehicle. With the assistance of more law enforcement, 33 year old Justin Jarrell and 36-year-old Tiffani Vanosdol, both of North Vernon were taken into custody.

According to the two, they had purchased the vehicle from the registered owner, however it turned out the owner was in jail and had not given permission for anyone to be operating the vehicle.

Jarrell and Vanosdol are both facing charges of theft of a motor vehicle, while Vanosdol is also being accused of possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Nashville Utilities is extending a boil water advisory for some of its customers after a contractor hit a water main last week on Artist Drive.

According to the water company, the contractor caused extensive damage to the water main, requiring more time for repairs. the affected customers are on Artis, Red Bud, Wells and West drives and on Oak Run.

The boil water advisory is in effect until 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Under a boil water advisory, you should bring water to a full boil for three to five minutes before drinking it or using it in food preparation.

If you have any questions you can call the utility at 812-988-5526.

Jackson County emergency dispatchers have access to some new technology to help them better assist residents.

According to social media from the dispatch center, a new service available with the PHI Statflight helicopter allows dispatchers to summon a helicopter to a rescue scene through a web-based interface. In addition to removing the need to communicate with the helicopter service by phone, dispatchers will be better able to relay vital information to the crew and for dispatchers to track the helicopter in real-time.

The center also now has access to a service via iPhones called Rapid SOS, which allows dispatchers to use the cameras on a phone during a 911 call to help assess the scene in real time. The service is available on iPhones 14 and newer through a recent update. Dispatchers can send a request to your phone to access to the phone’s back camera to see the situation.

Officials say that the service will only be used on a case by case basis and after dispatchers are trained on when to make the request. The 911 caller will have the option to deny the use of the camera.