Developers of a downtown Columbus apartment complex are planning to continue on with their project at the corner of 11th and Washington Streets. That comes after Columbus City Council voted down a plan earlier this month to allow a loan to be fully repaid to the city’s redevelopment fund.

Heather Pope, the director of the city’s redevelopment department, said that Rubicon Investment Group of Bloomington announced at this week’s redevelopment commission meeting that it planned to continue on with its estimated $30.9 million project.

A funding mechanism for that project involved a forgivable $6.4 million loan from the city’s downtown special taxing district. The redevelopment commission and the city council approved that loan last year with the idea that it would be essentially repaid by the property taxes flowing into the development district over the next 21 years. The redevelopment commission and council both approved that loan near the end of last year.

But the repayment plan was derailed when the council was asked to create a separate special taxing district earlier this month. The original larger district is set to expire in 10 years, meaning the property taxes would instead go to all taxing units including the city, county, schools and library governments.

The council opted not to create the new, longer lasting district.

The company is planning a five-story building including a parking garage, commercial space and 120 housing units on the corner property that was the site for Joe Willy’s Burger Bar.

Map courtesy of Columbus Planning Department.

Two Bartholomew County men have been arrested on drug related charges after a traffic stop Monday.

According to the Columbus Police Department, officers and deputies with the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team had been investigating 35-year-old Christopher Neal of Columbus and had developed information that he was dealing drugs. Police found Neal driving Monday night Near South Cherry and South Streets.

A police dog alerted to the smell of drugs in the vehicle and a search uncovered methamphetamine, fentanyl, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, digital scales and packaging materials.

Neal was arrested on preliminary charges including for possessing and dealing in narcotics and meth, as well as for possessing the paraphernalia.

A passenger, 33 year old Leland Watson of Hope is being accused of possessing narcotics.

The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, is a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the city police department and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office targeting the manufacturing and abuse of dangerous drugs in the community.

Columbus Animal Care Services will be holding a Kitty-Palooza cat adoption event the first Saturday in April.

According to the agency, the city animal shelter will be bringing more than 30 cats and kittens to Donner Center for the one-day adoption event.

The event will include reduced adoption fees of $40. that will include spaying or neutering, up to date shots and microchipping.

If you are a renter, you should bring any rental agreement or contract that shows you are allowed to have pets, or a way to contact your landlord.

If you are hoping to bring a new pet home, you should bring a cat carrier, as only a limited number of cardboard cat carriers will be available.

Kitty Palooza will be from noon to 4 Saturday, April 5th at Donner Center off of 22nd Street in Columbus.

You can find  more information here: https://www.columbus.in.gov/animal-care-services/

Photo courtesy of Columbus Parks and Recreation Department.

The not-for profit Park Theater Civic Center in North Vernon will be hosting a Jerry Lee Lewis tribute on Saturday evening.

Terry Lee Ridley and the Million Dollar Band will be performing at Saturday night’s show. The group perform a lineup of classic Jerry Lee Lewis tunes.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening. Tickets are $15.

Advance tickets may be purchased at the theater’s box office on North Madison Avenue. The box office is open Thursday and Friday from 2 to 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. If still available, tickets will also be sold at the door on Saturday night.

The Park Theatre opened in 1916 but closed in the 1960s. A not for profit group was formed in the 1990s to renovate the venue and to reopen it as a civic center.

For more information, call the Park Theatre at 812-346-0330.

State and local law enforcement will be out next month looking for anyone using their cell phone while driving as part of an enforcement blitz called “Put the Phone Away or Pay.”

According to the Decatur County Traffic Safety Partnership, their agencies and others will be taking part in the two week enforcement campaign from Saturday April 5th through April 19th. Officers will be looking for those driving while distracted, who are speeding or otherwise driving dangerously.

Driving while distracted involves using a cell phone or any other activity which takes your attention away from driving. Officials say that you can prioritize safe driving by keeping your hands on the wheel, eyes on the road and focus on driving.

In 2020, Indiana passed a law prohibiting holding or using a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. A violation carries a fine of up to $500 and will result in points being added to an individual’s driver’s license.

Officials say distracted driving and speeding caused more than 17,000 thousand crashes across Indiana last year, which led to 230 deaths.

The campaign is being funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with grants administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department will have a fish fry next week to raise money for the Sheriff’s Youth Academy.

That will be Friday, April 4th at the American Legion Post on 25th Street from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m..

You can dine in or drive thru. Free will donations will be accepted.

For more information on the fish fry you can call the Post at 812-376-7036.

The youth academy will be from June 9th through the 11th at Ceraland. There will groups for 6-7 year olds and 8-12 year olds. Registration begins Tuesday at ceraland.org.

The Columbus City Cemetery is set for a spring cleanup on Tuesday.

The cemetery is just south of Donner Park. If you have a family plot in the cemetery you are asked to pick up any items you wish to save by Monday.

The city parks department workers will remove and discard any worn or out-of-season decorations that remain on the ground during the April 1st cleanup.

The fall cleanup is set for October 1st.

For more information you can call 812-376-2599.

Columbus Regional Health will be holding two information fairs about jobs and volunteer opportunities at the hospital next week.

According to the hospital, the Discover CRH: Connect Your Skills to Healthcare fair will be a two day event. Kelsey DeClue, spokeswoman for the health system explains:

In addition to medical careers, Discover CRH will also be showcasing the professional, technical, and creative fields and opportunities available at CRH. There are part-time, full-time and volunteer positions available.

The event will be from 3 to 6 p.m. April 2 and 8:30 a.m. to Noon April 3. That will be in the Innovation Center, on the lower level of the hospital on 17th Street in Columbus.

You can register for a time slot and get more information here: https://www.crh.org/events/discover-crh.

Two area communities have been chosen to receive grants to help low and moderate income homeowners improve and stay in their homes.

Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs announced Monday that both Franklin and Greensburg will receive $350,000 to help those homeowners make needed repairs.

That is under the Owner Occupied Rehabilitation grants program, a pilot program, which awarded $1.5 million dollars this cycle. Union City and Hamilton County also received grants this cycle.

The program is meant to help Hoosiers stay in their homes and raise their families in a safe environment. The money is used to provide essential home repairs such as roof repair or replacement, ADA accessibility, heating and cooling replacement, lighting and electrical upgrades, and water heater replacement.

Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant funds.

State officials are warning of a text message scam that is trying to scare you into clicking a link by threatening that you owe a fee for supposedly unpaid toll charges.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says that Hoosiers across the state are being affected by the scam. False text messages are going out that appear to be from INDOT or from a toll collection company, threatening fines, late fees, having your vehicle registration suspended, or even having your vehicle impounded. You are urged to click on a link to make payments on the fake fees and tolls.

INDOT says that the agency does not and will not notifiy you of unpaid tolls via text message. A spokeswoman suggests you delete the messages immediately, without clicking on the link.

Authorities say that there have been thousands of complaints about fake toll scams via text message over the last year across the country.