Note: This story has been updated.

Bishop Charles A. Sims, a Columbus community leader has died.

Calvary Community Church of the Apostolic Faith announced Thursday that Sims had passed away. The church says that his career has included work in law enforcement, civil rights and academic achievements in history and theology.

According to the church, Sims most recently served as senior Pastor at the church, which he co-founded in 1975 with his wife Jane. Sims studied history and religious studies at IU Bloomington, earned a masters in theology from Indiana Bible College and a doctor of ministry from Christian Theological Seminary.

He is survived by his wife Jane, five children and 17 grandchildren.

There is no word yet on funeral arrangements.

Earlier this week, Mayor Mary Ferdon declared February 1st as Bishop Charles A. Sims Day in the city of Columbus.

The father of a three-year-old child who overdosed on drugs has been arrested, days after the child’s mother was arrested on the same charge.

According to the Columbus Police Department, officers have arrested 35-year-old Dennis Roberts II on a felony charge of neglect of a dependent on Monday.

A child was brought to Fire Station 1 at Jackson Street at about 11:50 in the morning on Friday with symptoms of an opioid overdose. Medics took the child to the hospital and police were called to the scene. That’s where they found the mother, 36-year-old Dakota Smith. After serving search warrants at a home on Suburban Court and Smith’s vehicle, police concluded that the child overdosed on heroin or fentanyl that was among Smith’s belongings.

The child was treated at the hospital and later released. She was also arrested on a felony charge of neglect of a dependent.

The National Weather Service is looking for volunteer weather watchers in several area counties to help gather precipitation information.

According to the agency, ideally each county should have a minimum of 10 precipitation observers. However, the number of volunteers in Jackson, Jennings and Jefferson counties have dropped to three or less.

Volunteers will gather data for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network project. The only requirements are access to the internet to file reports, owning an approved rain gauge and having an enthusiasm for reporting weather conditions.

To take part you must submit an application and take part in an online training seminar, either live or pre-recorded.

The precipitation observer program in Indiana is made possible by the Indiana State Climate Office at Purdue University and the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.

You can find a link for more information here: https://www.weather.gov/ind/incocorahs

The deadline is coming up tomorrow if you would like to nominate a local educator for the 2025 Edna V. Folger Outstanding Teacher Award.

Any full-time elementary or secondary school teacher or educator working in a public, private, or parochial school in Bartholomew County is eligible to receive the award. SIHO Insurance Services, the Community Education Coalition, and the IU Columbus Center for Teaching and Learning sponsor the award.

The deadline to make a nomination is 4 p.m. in the afternoon on Friday.

You can find nomination forms at the IU Columbus Center for Teaching and Learning, the Bartholomew Consolidated Schools administrative offices and in the main offices of schools in the county. You can also find the nomination form here: go.iu.edu/columbus-folger-award

The city of Columbus is looking for volunteers to serve on committees and boards related to the city’s Human Rights Commission.

According to the city department, the city is looking for eligible candidates to serve on the commission itself, as well as the Community Police Review Board.

Appointments are for three-year terms and serve without pay. Interested candidates must be residents of Bartholomew County and should represent the community’s diversity. You must be willing to devote time and commitment to making Columbus a fully inclusive community.

The Human Rights Commission’s primary responsibility is to enforce the City’s anti-discrimination ordinance. The Community Police Review Board works to achieve continuous improvement in police-community interactions as well as providing an independent process for the review of appeals of citizen complaints.

Applications are accepted year-round, regardless of vacancies.

If you are interested, you can  contact the Human Rights Commission office at 812-376-2532 or TDD dial 711 to connect to Relay Indiana. An applicant questionnaire is available here https://www.columbus.in.gov/human-rights/volunteer-opportunities/ or you can remail [email protected].

The United Way of Bartholomew County will be opening up registration for its My Free Taxes program, starting on Monday.

The tax Assistance program is available to Bartholomew County residents who make $70,000 or less. Volunteers are certified by the IRS and they provide basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals.

The tax filings will be offered through mid-April at the Doug Otto United Way Center on 13th Street in Columbus.

The United Way says that Last year, the program put more than a million dollars back into the local economy by securing tax refunds and saving filing fees for residents.

Reservations are available on a first-come first-served basis. You can sign up by calling 812-375-2216 between 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. You can get more information by going online to www.uwbarthco.org/taxes.

The city of Seymour will be closing the 300 block of East Laurel Street today.

The city says that it is making emergency sewer repairs and the street will remain closed until the work is completed.

A reminder that the city of Columbus will be holding a community workshop tomorrow to get your thoughts on downtown development.

The city is looking for feedback on its Downtown Columbus 2030 plan. The planning started in November and is meant to guide the city planners and developers in several specific areas. It updates previous efforts such as Envision Columbus, which was completed in 2018.

The workshop is set for from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at The Commons.

The City of Columbus is extending its live Christmas Tree pickup service due to the bad weather.

They will not be collecting the trees through Friday Jan. 31st

Columbus city crews are picking up Christmas trees during their normal trash and recycling collection routes. You should have your trees curbside on the same day as your normal pickups.

All trees must be removed from bags and they must be free of ornaments, hooks, stands, or nails.

Call-ins will not be accepted for Christmas trees and collections will not be made on private streets or on alleys.

You can get more information on the CurbCycle or Columbus Collect apps, or on the city website at https://www.columbus.in.gov/public-works/

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is warning about scammers making phone calls and threatening you with arrest if you don’t give them money.

Scammers frequently impersonate law enforcement officials over the phone. They try to get you to give up your personal information or make payments to them to supposedly satisfy fake warrants or claims that you missed jury duty. Scammers are able to spoof your Caller ID so that the number appears to be legitimate.

Authorities warn you not to give out your personal or financial information to a caller. Law enforcement officers will never ask for you to make a payment over the phone to avoid arrest.

If you have any questions you should hang up and call your local authorities directly at an official number you can find online or in a phone book.