The Columbus city animal shelter is urging you to take steps to protect your pets in these extremely cold temperatures.

According to Columbus Animal Care Services, city ordinances require pets be brought indoors if the weather is 20 degrees or lower. They stress that if it is too cold outside for you, it is too cold for them.

Bartholomew County Emergency Management say that if you can’t bring your animals inside, they urge you to ensure the pets have adequate shelter and bedding.

You should also make sure that outdoor animals have drinkable water. Water bowls can freeze quickly in extremely cold temperatures.

Rock salt can also cause hazards for pets.  Officials suggest that you consider using deicers that are labeled as “pet safe.”

Area emergency officials are keeping travel restrictions in place, citing continued poor road conditions that likely won’t improve as temperatures turn bitter cold this week.

All area counties are maintaining an orange watch level traffic restrictions, which means conditions are threatening to the safety of the public. Only essential travel such as to work or in emergencies is recommended. That includes Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson and Shelby counties.

Bartholomew County Emergency Management says road and travel will likely continue to be affected through the end of the week and road crews are continuing to work to clear side streets and rural county roads.

Cummins says the next generation of its Turbo Diesel engines will continue powering Ram pickups for at least five more years.

The Columbus based engine manufacturer along with Stellantis officials Tuesday announced the new 6.7 liter Turbo Diesel engine for Ram Heavy Duty trucks, calling it the most advanced diesel pickup engine. And they announced the extension of the partnership with the Ram brand through 2030, extending the partnership that started 35 years ago. The engines are made here in Columbus.

Cummins says the new engine will be offered in the 2025 Ram 2500, 3500 Heavy Duty Pickups and Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cab trucks.

The companies partnership dates back to 1989. The first Turbo Diesels were offered in a 5.9 liter 160 horsepower package.

The new engine will offer 430 horsepower for pickups and a 360 horsepower for the Chassis Cab trucks. That will be paired with a new 8-speed transmission. The company says the combination will provide improvements to towing speeds, responsiveness along with faster 0-60 times and quarter mile times even when towing heavy loads.

Schneck Medical Center in Seymour is announcing new visitor restrictions as the community sees more incidents of respiratory infections .

According to the hospital, the new restrictions go into effect Wednesday. No more than two visitors will be allowed in a patient’s room at any time. Visitors will be limited to immediate family members or significant others identified by the patient.

The hospital will not allow visitors who are experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness. Those include

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Fatigue
• Muscle aches
• Headache
• Runny nose
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

Visitors also must clean their hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer before entering or leaving patient rooms.

The hospital says the measurers are in place to minimize the spread of illness in the facility and to protect patients, visitors and staff members.

A Columbus Park Foundation fundraiser will be having prominent local residents taking a brisk winter dip on Saturday.

According to the foundation, the Plunge into the Parks event will be Saturday afternoon downtown. while you are encouraged to make donations to have local residents get into the water, you can also make donations to help keep them dry.

Among the local celebrities taking part will be Jen Rumsey, Jim Roberts, Sam LaVelle, Ike Declue, Hutch Schumaker, and Brandon Andress.

Activities will be taking place between Jackson and Washington Streets from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday. There will be a Polar Plunge 5k starting at 2:30 p.m. followed by music and warming stations. Food and drinks will be available for purchase to benefit the foundation.

The first dip into the frigid pool will be at 3 p.m. and parks supporters can take the plunge themselves with a $20 donation.

Attending the event is free. You can find more information or sign up through the Columbus Park Foundation website here: https://cbusinparks.com/cpf-events

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are closed today on what would have been the first day back from winter break for students.

The first winter storm of the season and of the year, left a new administration to make the decision to keep kids home. Josh Burnett, spokesman for the school district, recently explained the decision process, saying that school officials head out early to check out road conditions and make a decision by 5 in the morning.

Burnett said that decision makers recognize the impact that closing schools have on families, as well as local businesses.

But the safety of the children  both getting to school and getting home is the primary deciding factor.

Burnett said Monday’s scheduled BCSC school board meeting was postponed due to the weather. It will be held next Monday.

Many local schools and businesses are closed today because of the snowy conditions. You can check out the complete list here: https://delays.1010wcsi.com

Although the first winter storm of the year is over, we are still in for an Arctic blast of cold weather for the next few days.

According to the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, the weather system moving through is going to bring temperatures down to the single digits tonight and Wednesday night. Wind chills will make that feel like it is below zero.

The weather service has issued a preliminary report on this week’s storm and the deepest snows in the state were recorded in our area. According to the agency, North Vernon recorded 13 inches of snow as of just before 11 yesterday morning. Also making the top 10 across the state, Westport in Decatur County had 12 inches, Columbus recorded 10.8 inches, 10.5 inches in Seymour, 10.1 inches in Lake Santee in Decatur County and 10 inches in Greensburg.

Congress has certified the results of the 2024 election without disruptions, a sharp contrast to four years ago when Columbus native Mike Pence was in the center of the controversial events of the day.

As Vice President at the time, Pence certified the electoral college tallies that certified Joe Biden’s election as president. A role that drew anger from supporters of President Donald Trump as well as the president himself.

Pence has cited a Constitutional duty to ensure the peaceful transfer of power, saying he did not have the authority to do as Trump wished, which was to throw the results of the election back to state legislatures under the guise of disputes over the correct slates of electors.

The process to certify the election led to protestors storming the U.S. Capitol and a slew of criminal charges against those who assaulted police officers and damaged property that day. Protesters at the capitol that day threatened to hang Pence for his role and Pence later said that he and his family felt unsafe.

Pence, who also served as local congressman and Indiana governor, ran for president in the Republican primary but had to drop out in October of 2023.

File photo: Vice President Mike Pence oversees the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2020.

Much of our area remains under travel restrictions this morning. Bartholomew, Brown, Johnson and Jackson Counties are under orange travel watches this morning, while Decatur, Jennings and Shelby counties are under red travel warnings.

Under an orange travel watch, only essential travel is recommended and conditions are threatening to the public. A red travel warning means travel is restricted to emergency workers only and you should refrain from all travel. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security says you should comply with necessary emergency measures, cooperate with public officials and disaster services and comply with directions of officers.

Bartholomew County Emergency Management says that side streets and some county roads are still snow covered and hazardous in areas.  Officials say if you must travel, you should allow extra time to reach your destination. And they say to be sure to clear your vehicle of snow and ice prior to driving.

The slick roads and blowing snow have also hampered efforts to operate city services such as trash collection.

According to the Columbus Department of Public Works and Safety, trash and recycling routes were suspended Monday. Due to hazardous road conditions, trucks repeatedly got stuck on the streets and officials decided it was unsafe and inefficient to try to continue the services. Monday’s collection routes will resume today, while normal Tuesday routes will remain on schedule as planned.

A list of neighborhoods that were missed Monday in Columbus:

• Any addition South of Tipton Lakes Blvd.
• W 2 Mile House Rd.
• Woodcrest
• Knolltop
• Carya Sq.
• Holly Hills
• Harrison Ridge
• Harrison Green
• Shoreview Ct
• Shadowbay
• Any addition E of Terrace Lake Rd to Woodland Farms Dr.
• Deer Creek
• Persimmon & Yokewood Ct.
• Catalina Dr.
• Fox Ridge

Similarly, Seymour’s Department of Public Works is reporting that trash and recycling crews had to stop work for the day, as they repeatedly got stuck along their routes. The city says that they will pick up again when the road conditions improve, although when that will be has yet to be determined.

Photo courtesy of City of Seymour Department of Public Works.

Emergency officials are urging you to stay off of area roads, saying that travel is restricted to emergency workers only under an ongoing red travel warning.

Bartholomew County and all of its neighboring counties are under a red travel warning  including Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson and Shelby counties. Under a red travel warning, officials say you should comply with necessary emergency measures, cooperate with public officials and disaster services and comply with directions of officers.

Columbus police say that side roads are still very snow covered, as well as, many of the parking lots. Since 6:30 this morning, officers responded to more than 50 calls to assist motorists, mostly for vehicles stuck in the snow. Bartholomew County Emergency Management reports that drifting snow is recovering roads as fast as crews can clear them.

The red travel warning is in effect until further notice.

Columbus Transit has also suspended service for the day due to the road conditions.

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis is forecasting that another 1 to 3 inches of snow and a light glaze of ice is possible with winds gusting as high as 40 mph.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.