Seymour will be celebrating Christmas At The Crossroads this evening at Crossroads Park.
The event, organized by the Jackson County Chamber will include local vendors, treats, live music and caroling, a holiday photo booth and a visit from Santa and his reindeer. Local businesses will also be represented including White River Broadcasting.
Christmas at the Crossroads will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the park.
Demolition work is underway at the corner of 11th and Washington Streets in Columbus.
That comes after City Council gave its first approval this week to provide $6.4 million to help with a housing and commercial project at the site of the former Joe Willy’s.
Rubicon Investment Group of Bloomington is planning to build a a $30.9 million project with a five-story building including a parking garage, commercial space and 120 housing units. The site has included two homes, the former restaurant and a drive-through bank building. The developers are asking the city to provide $6.4 million in funding through a forgivable loan that would come from property taxes paid into the downtown Tax Increment Financing District.
The apartment rents are expected to range from $1,320 to just over $2,300 a month. 24 of the apartments would be 600 square foot studios all the way to 1,100 square foot three bedroom units.
City Council gave its first approval of the loan this week with Council members Chris Bartels and Grace Kestler voting against it.
Rubicon project rendering courtesy of developer via City of Columbus Redevelopment Department.
You may be in the holiday spirit, but authorities say you still shouldn’t be decorating the outside of your vehicle with Christmas lights.
Indiana State Police posted examples on social media showing cars completely draped with holiday lights. State Police say not only is it a distraction for other drivers, it is illegal.
Indiana Code says using colored lights anywhere outside of the front and back of a non-emergency vehicle is against the law. And those colored lights can only be amber or white if viewed from the front. You also aren’t allowed to have flashing lights on your vehicle, except for turn signals or hazard lights. If they catch you, you could be pulled over and face penalties.
The Festival of Lights parade returns to downtown Columbus on Saturday evening. But there is a full day of festivities planned downtown.
Activities start at noon at The Commons where you can get photos with Santa or check out local non-profit agencies. There will be a Santa’s workshop vendor market, Claus’ Kitchen featuring food trucks, from noon to 6. Centra Credit Union will be hosting Santa’s Parking Lot Party from 3 to 5 p.m. and there will be free kids yoga and mulled cider starting at 5 at Zen Wellness Studio.
Many downtown merchants will also be open extended hours.
The Festival of Lights parade itself starts at 6 p.m. on Brown Street before heading down Third Street to Washington Street. It will finish on Eighth Street north of the Cummins Corporate Office Building. This year there are nearly 100 parade entrants.
This is the second year for the relaunched Festival of Lights organized by Red Arch Community Events.
You can get more information at https://columbusfestivaloflights.com
It is a cold one out there this morning.
The National Weather Service in Indianapolis says that real temperatures in the teens and strong gusty winds are combining to make it feel like it is 5 to 10 degrees below zero this morning. Wind gusts of up to 45 mph are possible.
You could see some slick spots out on the roads this morning. Forecasters say you should slow down, leave plenty of distance between you and the vehicles in front of you, and give yourself some extra time to get where you are going.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department has completed its acquisition and renovations of a mobile command center.
The motorhome-like vehicle was purchased earlier this year from the Columbus Township Volunteer Fire Department. It was then renovated and repurposed to support a main mission as a command center for law enforcement, but also as a secondary emergency operations and dispatch center and to engage with the community during special events.
No taxpayer money was spent from the county budget, instead the vehicle was paid for through jail commissary funds, and drug seizure funds generated by drug enforcement efforts with the DEA task force. This summer, Sheriff Chris Lane outlined the plan to buy the vehicle for about $43,500 and estimated adding $49,000 in renovations including work stations inside and a new look outside including Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department insignia.
Lane says the vehicle will allow local emergency agencies to continue to operate remotely during a major disaster, or an event that took out the dispatch center. He said that the vehicle would also be used for community events, such as the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair or Hope Heritage Days.
The department plans to show off the vehicle to the public by taking part in Saturday’s Festival of Lights parade in downtown Columbus. The parade starts at 6 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department
Seven inmates in the Jackson County Jail have completed a 12-week recovery program called Hope 180.
According to the sheriff’s department, the women took part in the program, which is focused on an evidence-based curriculum with individualized recovery strategies. The goal of the program is to equip those that take part with the tools to change their lives and build a new foundation and brighter future.
Sheriff Rick Meyer praised the peer recovery facilitators who made the program possible — Brooke Lane, Sara Bowling, Ben Beatty and Rachel Fenton. He said that the facilitators were willing to share their own personal experiences and history of battling addiction, to support the inmates.
Photo courtesy of Jackson County Jail
Some customers of Nashville Utilities and Eastern Bartholomew Water Corp. customers are under boil water advisories.
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.
Eastern Bartholomew Water Corporation says there has been a water outage for Heritage Heights Mobile Home park due to a break in a main water line. Once the water is restored customers will be under a boil water advisory until Friday at 4 p.m.
For more information, call the water utility at 812-526-9777.
In Nashville, the advisory comes after a malfunctioning hydrant had to be replaced.
According to the town, the hydrant was in the 1400 block of Old State Road 46. All residents and businesses in the vicinity are under a boil water advisory until 4 p.m. on Friday.
Affected addresses include:
801-1136 Eads Lane, 465-765 McGee Rd., 1610-1634 Jacob’s Lane, 637-935 Highland Dr., 204-1185 Tuck A Way Ridge, 223-243 Heimburger Lane, 646-802 Memorial Dr., 711-1040 Greasy Creek, 201- 214 Woods Trail/Lane, 75-276 Walls Rd., 836-2288 SR 46 E., 2115-2136 Fair Oaks Trail, 100-500 Wychwood Dr., 1770-1774 Bryson Lane, 245-1792 Old SR 46, 719-1170 Clay Lick Rd., 1088-1104 Hill Top Trail, 1055-1080 Treetops Trail/Dr., 1650-1683 Magnolia Lane, 768-845 Mail Pouch Lane.
If you have any questions you can call Nashville Utilities at 812-988-5526.
Forecasters say that we could see some snow tonight, but we are definitely going to see some bitterly cold temperatures.
According to the National Weather Service there is a 50 percent chance of rain showers early this evening turning to snow between midnight and four in the morning Thursday. That could cause low visibility with blowing snow and hazardous driving conditions. But any snow accumulations are expected to be minor with less than a 10th of an inch expected.
However wind gusts of more than 45 mph are also forecast overnight. A wind advisory is in effect north of a line from Bloomington to Greensburg. Combined with low temperatures in the teens, it will feel like it is below zero through Thursday morning.
Bartholomew County officials have signed off on a plan to rezone just over 68 acres near Taylorsville to allow for more industrial development in the area.
County Commissioners this week gave their final approval to the request to rezone the property on the north side of County Road 650N near the U.S. 31 intersection and along Interstate 65 from agricultural use to general industrial zoning. The general industrial zoning will allow for a range of uses including production, assembly, warehousing, research and development and similar uses.
Jeff Bergman, planning director for the city and county, said the long-range plan for the county already calls for the area to be used for future industrial development. The county board of zoning appeals previously recommended unanimously that the rezoning be approved. The board required the condition that future development include landscaping buffers for nearby residences and other neighboring properties such as the interstate.
The property is owned by Harold Force, via Force Holdings.
