Bartholomew Consolidated Schools celebrated graduating seniors who plan to go into education themselves with an event yesterday.

According to the school district, the Educator Signing Day recognized 31 high school seniors from Columbus East, Columbus North, and CSA New Tech who plan to pursue a degree in education and become teachers. Each student was recognized with highlights of their educational journey and their college plans. The festivities also featured testimonials for each student from a teacher who influenced their path. Students also formally signed letters of intent.

This was the second year for the Educator Signing Day for the school district. Inspired by athletic signing days for student athletes going on to play in college, the Educator Signing Day is meant to honor students who are committing to the profession of teaching. School officials said the goal is to have the students return to become BCSC teachers and the district plans to support the students with field experience and student teaching opportunities.

Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner and Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon addressed the aspiring teachers.

No one was injured after a fire broke out at an assisted living facility in Seymour on Monday, however the residents had to be evacuated.

According to the Seymour Fire Department, firefighters were called to the facility at about 12:37 in the morning Monday to find the building on fire. The building’s fire alarm and sprinkler system had activated.

Firefighters say that the fire was contained to one room of the facility and appeared to start with an electrical or mechanical failure in a wall mounted heating and air conditioning unit.

Many of the residents had already been evacuated by the facility staff, but one bed-ridden patient was unable to escape. Firefighters used a stretcher from Jackson County medics to evacuate the patient.

Seymour Community Schools were contacted and provided a bus to transport the residents to a hotel and firefighters helped the residents check into rooms there.

Firefighters say no one was injured and all the residents were accounted for. The heating and cooling unit was taken to the fire department for further investigation.

Photo courtesy of Seymour Fire Department

A drunk driver has been sentenced to prison after a crash that seriously injured another driver last fall on Southern Crossing in Bartholomew County.

According to the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s office, Bradley Dewees of Nashville will serve two and a half years in the Indiana Department of Corrections and one and a half years under the supervision of Community Corrections. He was convicted on May 2nd on a felony charge of Causing Serious Bodily Injury when Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated.

The incident happened in October when Columbus police and Bartholomew County deputies were called to an accident at East County Road 450S and State Road 11 at about 6:44 a.m. in the morning on Oct. 9th. Two vehicles had collided with one flipping over, trapping the driver inside. A 68-year-old man had to be rescued from the overturned vehicle and was then flown by Lifeline helicopter to IU Methodist Hospital with serious injuries.

The police investigation revealed that the second driver, Dewees, had crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into the eastbound car.

You can get free help loading mulch or compost on Fridays at the Columbus and Bartholomew County Recycling Center.

According to the Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District, the free loading is from 2 to 4:30 on Fridays through October. To take part, you must first pay for a load of mulch or compost at the neighboring solid waste district offices before heading to the recycling center for the free loading. The cost for a pickup truck load of mulch or compost is $10.

The free loading program is available only for Bartholomew County residents and not for businesses.

You can self-load your own compost or mulch from 7:30 to 4:30 on weekdays or from 8 to 3:30 on Saturdays.

The recycling center is at 720 S. Mapleton Street in Columbus.

Signups are underway for Indiana State Police summer youth camps, including one in Columbus.

Troopers will be holding a law camp in Columbus July 6th through the 10th. The camp is for 6th, 7th and 8th graders. It will give students a behind-the-scenes look at the criminal justice system. That will include field trips, demonstrations, motivational programs, and hands-on learning. The cost for the law camp is $150.

The state police are also holding career camps, junior pioneer campouts and a Shield Project camp.

Organizers say that the State Police camps are held at university campuses around the state. Each program includes well-balanced meals and comfortable sleeping facilities. Camp staff are hand-picked law enforcement personnel.

You can get more information at trooper.org or on Facebook at ISP Youth Camps

Several precincts would shift to different Bartholomew County Council districts under a proposal under consideration by the county commissioners.

County Clerk Shari Lentz brought the proposal to the commissioners Monday, saying that the state has set a deadline of June 30th to make changes to balance council districts. Lentz said that the state requires all districts be within 10 percent of each other based on population. The population count is based on the 2020 Census, she said.

She recommended moving Precinct 1900 to Council District 1 from District 3 and moving Precinct 2900, which is District 2, also into District 1. She said that would bring the Bartholomew Council districts into just under a 9 percent size differential.

Lentz said that the change would affect 1,478 registered voters and would take effect the next council election. Lentz said that there would be signs posted at county vote centers explaining the change.

Commissioners gave their first approval to the ordinance making the changes yesterday. They will consider the realignment again next week.

A woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug dealing after an arrest last year in Columbus.

According to the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office, Nicole Hernandez was convicted of the felony charge of dealing methamphetamine last month. She has been sentenced by Judge Kelly Benjamin to 10 years in prison to be served in the Indiana Department of Corrections.

The charges stemmed from an incident in March of last year, when Columbus Police and Bartholomew County deputies were conducting an operation and witnessed Hernandez deal 10 grams of meth and one gram of heroin.

The prosecutor’s office announced the sentencing yesterday.

Applied Laboratories Inc. is planning to invest $6.5 million in its Columbus facilities, expanding the plant by more than 100,000 square feet.

The company will be asking Columbus City Council for a tax abatement on the investment at the council meeting tonight.

Jeff Logston, the company’s president, explained in documents filed with the city that the expansion will be to add more warehouse space to the facility on Brian Drive. Although no new jobs are going to be added due to the expansion, the company has 193 employees and has grown from 167 employees over the past two years. The company also has 72 contract employees and pays an average of more than $22 an hour before fringe benefits.

Logston said that if the tax abatement is approved, Dunlap Construction will be the contractor for the expansion.

The city estimates that a tax abatement will save the company about $577 thousand dollars over the life of the tax break.

Columbus City Council meets at 6 p.m. tonight in the council chambers at Columbus City Hall.

Cummins released its first quarter numbers Monday with revenues, sales, income and earnings all down from the same period last year.

The Columbus based engine manufacturer also said it will not be providing projections of its future financial performance for the rest of the year, citing economic uncertainty.

According to the report, first quarter revenues of $8.2 billion were down three percent from the same quarter last year. Sales in North America were down 1%, and international revenues decreased 5%. The company says lower demand in Latin America and Asia Pacific was partially offset by higher sales in China.

The company saw income fall from $2 billion in the first quarter last year compared to $824 million this year.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $1.5 billion in the first quarter this year. That compares to $2.6 billion a year ago.

One bright spot mentioned by Cummins CEO Jennifer Rumsey was the Power Systems business which saw record performance.

The company will not provide an outlook for revenue or profitability for the rest of 2025, citing growing economic uncertainty. Rumsey said in a statement that “While the outlook for the remainder of the year remains unclear, we remain confident in our position and that our Destination Zero strategy is the right one.”

Cummins press release

Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) today reported results for the first quarter of 2025.

“The company delivered strong financial results in the first quarter of 2025 led by record performance in our Power Systems Segment,” said Jennifer Rumsey, Chair and CEO. “I want to thank our global employees for their commitment to delivering for our customers in an increasingly challenging environment. Due to growing economic uncertainty driven by tariffs we have withdrawn our full year forecast.”

First quarter revenues of $8.2 billion decreased 3% from the same quarter in 2024. Sales in North America decreased 1%, and international revenues decreased 5% due to lower demand in Latin America and Asia Pacific, partially offset by higher sales in China.

Net income attributable to Cummins in the first quarter was $824 million, or $5.96 per diluted share, compared to $2.0 billion, or $14.03 per diluted share, in 2024. The first quarter of 2024 included the gain related to the separation of Atmus, net of transaction costs and other expenses, of $1.3 billion, or $9.08 per diluted share, and restructuring expenses of $29 million, or $0.15 per diluted share.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the first quarter were $1.5 billion, or 17.9% of sales, compared to $2.6 billion, or 30.6% of sales, a year ago. EBITDA for the first quarter of 2024 included the gain and costs noted above.

2025 Outlook:

Due to growing economic uncertainty, the company is not providing an outlook for revenue or profitability for the remainder of 2025.

“While the outlook for the remainder of the year remains unclear, we remain confident in our position and that our Destination Zero strategy is the right one,” said Rumsey. “Cummins is in a strong position to navigate through economic uncertainty, and we look forward to reinstating our forecast when conditions allow.”

First Quarter 2025 Highlights:

Cummins introduced the much-anticipated X10 as part of our Cummins HELM™ platforms. This engine replaces both the L9 and X12 engine platforms to deliver a new level of performance, durability and efficiency for heavy and medium-duty customers. Alongside the X15 and B Series, the X10 provides customers with a power solution to meet their unique operational requirements while maintaining the performance and reliability for which Cummins is known.
Cummins also unveiled the new Cummins B7.2 diesel engine that brings the latest technology and advancements to one of our most proven platforms. The new engine will feature a slightly higher displacement and is designed to be a global platform which creates flexibility for different applications and duty cycles. Both the B7.2 and X10 engines will be manufactured at Rocky Mount Engine Plant in North Carolina and will go into production in North America in 2027.
In February, Cummins announced the acquisition of assets of First Mode, a leader in retrofit hybrid solutions for mining and rail operations. The acquisition included hybrid mining and rail product lines, and the full technology portfolio which includes hydrogen and battery powertrain solutions. This technology represents the first commercially available retrofit hybrid system for mining equipment, significantly reducing total cost of ownership (TCO) while advancing decarbonization in operations.
Accelera™ by Cummins announced the supply of a 100-megawatt proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system for bp’s Lingen green hydrogen project in Germany. The hydrogen-generation system will be the largest electrolyzer system assembled by Accelera to date and will be manufactured in Accelera’s new electrolyzer plant in Spain. Once fully commissioned in 2027, the 100 MW electrolyzer system will produce up to 11,000 tons of green hydrogen per year.
1 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the U.S.

First quarter 2025 detail (all comparisons to same period in 2024):

Engine Segment

Sales – $2.8 billion, down 5%
Segment EBITDA – $458 million, or 16.5% of sales, compared to $414 million, or 14.1% of sales
Revenues decreased 4% in North America and 11% in international markets due to lower on-highway demand in the United States and Latin America.

Components Segment

Sales – $2.7 billion, down 20%
Segment EBITDA – $382 million, or 14.3% of sales, compared to $473 million, or 14.2% of sales, which includes $21 million of costs related to the separation of Atmus
Revenues in North America decreased by 20% and international sales decreased by 20% primarily due to the separation of Atmus and lower on-highway demand in the United States and Europe.

Distribution Segment

Sales – $2.9 billion, up 15%
Segment EBITDA – $376 million, or 12.9% of sales, compared to $294 million, or 11.6% of sales
Revenues in North America increased 22% and international sales decreased by 1% primarily due to increased demand for power generation products in North America and favorable pricing.

Power Systems Segment

Sales – $1.6 billion, up 19%
Segment EBITDA – $389 million, or 23.6% of sales, compared to $237 million, or 17.1% of sales
Revenues in North America increased 15% and international sales increased 22% driven primarily by increased power generation demand, particularly for the data center market.

Accelera Segment

Sales – $103 million, up 11%
Segment EBITDA loss – $86 million
Revenues improved due to increased eMobility demand and electrolyzer installations. The company remains committed to pacing and focusing our zero emissions investments on the most promising paths in order to ensure we are set up for long-term success as part of our Destination Zero strategy. These continued investments contributed to the EBITDA losses.

Landmark Columbus Foundation will be releasing its annual report Tuesday at an event at the Upland Columbus Pump House.

The foundation was established to care or, celebrate, and advance the cultural heritage of Columbus, Indiana and like-minded communities. Among its projects is the biennial Exhibit Columbus, Progressive Preservation and the Columbus Design Institute.

If you make a donation of any amount to the Landmark Columbus Foundation Endowment, you will receive a limited-edition pin designed by Anna Mort and Rick Valicenti and a physical copy of the annual report.

The High Five Day event will be from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday at the pump house on Lindsey Street. It is free and you are invited to attend.