The Jackson County Chamber will be hosting its 94th Annual Awards Dinner next week.

The event will include a review of the past year, a look ahead for the community and the presentation of the annual chamber awards. Those will include induction in the Business Hall of Fame for small, medium and large businesses, the Spirit of the Chamber Award and the Young Professional of the Year Award

The Annual Dinner will be on Thursday, March 6 at Pewter Hall in Brownstown. Social hour will begin at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will begin at 6:15 p.m.

Tickets are $55 per person. You can register online at the chamber website at www.jacksoncochamber.com or by contacting the Chamber office by email or phone. You can find that information on our website.

[email protected] or by phone at 812-522-3681.

Schneck Medical Center in Seymour is being recognized by Money magazine as one of the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care.

According to the hospital, each of the 75 hospitals on Money’s list was assigned an overall letter grade of between A+ and B, with lower scoring hospitals removed. Data was provided by Definitive Healthcare and included information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Joint Commission, along with the University of Southern California.

Schneck ranked 28th on the list, scoring a B+ Maternity grade and an A for price transparency. It was one of only three Indiana hospitals to make the list and the highest of the three.

Amy Pettit, Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Schneck, said the recognition reflects the hospitals commitment to maternal care. She said hospital professionals work “to ensure the highest standards of safety, compassion, and clinical excellence for mothers and babies in the communities we serve.”

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is looking for your help to find and punish poachers. According to the agency, last year the Turn in a Poacher program received more than 1,000 tips and paid thousands of dollars in rewards for tips that led to the arrest of a suspect.

The program is a nonprofit conservation organization that partners with DNR to protect fish and wildlife resources.

To raise awareness of the program, Indiana conservation offices have outfitted a display trailer with information on how poaching affects Indiana’s natural resources. The trailer is on display this weekend at the annual Ford Indiana Boat, Sport and Travel Show, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. It will also be displayed at the Indiana State Fair and other events across the state.

To report a poaching incident, you can call 1-800-TIP-IDNR (800-847-4367) or go online to tip.IN.gov. If your tip leads to an arrest, you may receive as much as a $500 reward.

An Indiana National Guard helicopter crew out of Shelbyville have been helping save lives in Kentucky in the aftermath of catastrophic flooding there.

According to the guard, an air crew comprised of pilot Chief Warrant Officer 4 Brett Milton, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Craig Adams, Sgt. 1st Class Adam Kabella and Sgt. Dalton McCollum have been taking part in rescue efforts, including helping evacuate two housing complexes in Martin County, Kentucky early last week.

On Monday, the Hoosiers provided hoist support and successfully evacuated 19 adults, five children including infants and six dogs.

Milton said “These are type of missions we signed up to do when we joined the National Guard.”

The soldiers are with the 38th Infantry Division’s combat aviation brigade, headquartered in Shelbyville.

Flooding across Kentucky claimed at least 11 lives and closed more than 300 roads.

Tomorrow, Exhibit Columbus will be unveiling the designs for the installations to be created around the community later this summer.

But events kick off tonight with a variety show at The Commons starting at 7 p.m.

This is the fifth two-year cycle for Exhibit Columbus, which launched in 2016. The theme of this year’s Exhibit Columbus is “Yes and”, a phrase used by storytellers to encourage more conversation.

Tonight’s event will feature a musical performance by Da Odd Couple which is DJ Rob Swift and Mista Sinista, sword-wielding belly dancer Liah Mazz, comedian Daryl Holenquest, musician Allie Burbrink, magician Adam Schill, and the jazz ensemble Premium Blend.

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. The creations will be installed around the community starting later this summer with designs by four recipients of the J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize, six University Design Research Fellowship teams, the High School Design Team, Communication Designer, and Bartholomew Consolidated Schools STEM program 5th and 6th graders designs.

You will be able to preview the designs for the next round of Exhibit Columbus installations on Saturday at City Hall.

Doors for the design presentations event will open at 8:15 am in the morning Saturday and the presentations will begin at 8:30 am. Refreshments will be served by Lucabe Coffee Co.

The events are free and you are invited to attend but registration is required. You can register for either event or get more information at exhibitcolumbus.org

The Town of Hope is receiving a $750,000 grant through the Indiana Community Development Block Grant program to help with wastewater system improvements.

Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced more than $9 million in grants Thursday for 14 communities.

The Hope grant comes under the wastewater/ Drinking Water Program where grants help protect resident and environmental health, reduce utility rates and improve rural infrastructure.

Hope’s grant will go toward upgrades to the town’s wastewater treatment plant. That will include installing a new force main at the Goshen Meadows Lift Station and addressing capacity issues at the Moravian Lift Station.

Funding for the grants comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is administered through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its next gathering with local legislators on Monday.

The sessions allow local business leaders to find out more about how upcoming legislation may affect your business and workforce. This session will come just after the mid-point of the legislative session, as all bills that can move forward must have already been approved by their original chamber and moved on to the next at this point in the calendar.

According to the chamber the session will focus on bills of the greatest concerns to chamber members, including those having to do with K-12 education, childcare and early learning, workforce and economic development, infrastructure and healthcare.

The session will start at 8 a.m. on Monday at City Hall. Chamber members can find a link to register at columbusareachamber.com

Two more people are facing charges in Jackson County after an incident last month where a jail contractor was arrested, accused of trafficking and sexual misconduct with an inmate.

According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, the investigation into the incidents has continued, leading to charges being made against inmates Dawson Gravett and Jordan Hensley. Gravett is being accused of trafficking and Hensley with dealing a schedule 1 substance and possession of a cell phone or device while incarcerated.

An investigation began last month after officials received a tip about trafficking with inmates. Based on surveillance video and witness statements, authorities concluded that 54 year old Ann Sebastian of Crothersville was attempting to bring contraband into the jail and passing it on to inmates. Officers also gathered information that Sebastian had sexual contact with an inmate.

Deputies say that she cooperated fully and admitted her involvement. she was arrested on felony charges of trafficking with an inmate and sexual misconduct with an inmate.

Note: This story has been edited.

A man has been taken into custody after a gun was fired at a home on the east side of Columbus yesterday and the SWAT team was called to the scene.

According to the Columbus Police Department, the incident started at about 1:13 p.m. Thursday in the 300 block of Pence Street when a witness went to check on a 68-year-old man at the home. Police were told that the man opened the door carrying the weapon, appeared to be having a mental health crisis and fire the weapon into the home.

Police arrived on the scene and cordoned off the area while the SWAT team was called in. However before the SWAT team could set up, the man came outside holding the handgun. Police say that he complied with their orders and was taken into custody without further incident. The firearm was taken by police 1nd the man was taken to the hospital by officers to be evaluated.

No one else was at home and no one was injured. The incident remains under investigation.

The SWAT team is made up of city officers, county deputies and Columbus Regional Hospital medics.

Note: This story has been edited

Bartholomew County volunteer firefighters will be holding their annual chili cookoff this weekend in East Columbus.

According to the Columbus Township Fire and Rescue Department, the chili cookoff will be from 11 to 2 on Saturday at the fire station at 935 Repp Drive. You will be able to meet firefighters and first responders from around the county and sample their chilis.

The event is free but donations are welcome. You are invited to attend. you can get more information on the fire department Facebook page here: