Bartholomew County Road 800S is undergoing milling and paving this week.
According to the county officials, the work is going on between U.S. 31 and State Road 11. Contractors are milling the road today. They will be paving on Tuesday and Wednesday from 8 to 6 both days.
Officials say to avoid the area if you can, and to expect long delays if you have to travel through the area.
Milestone is the contractor for the project.
The National Weather Service says that a tornado that tore a just over 35 mile path through Monroe, Brown and Bartholomew counties Friday night was, at its peak, an EF-2 with wind speeds of up to 128 mph that was 350 yards wide.
The National Weather Service has issued its initial reports on Friday night’s severe weather, saying that the tornado through our area was on the ground for almost 45 minutes. It started nine miles southwest of Ellettsville at 7:27 p.m. and ended just east of Grand View Lake at 8:11 p.m., seven miles southwest of Columbus.
Although the tornado was on the ground much of the time, the survey team found that most of its path moved through dense, wooded areas. Starting off as an EF-0 in Monroe County, it strengthened to an EF-2 by the time it hit Brown County State Park including the Horseman’s Campground where several campers were staying. The Brown County Volunteer Fire Department reports three people were injured at the camp. They were either treated by medics at the scene or took themselves to the hospital.
By the time the tornado reached Mount Liberty Road, it had gone back to an EF-0 or EF-1.
In Bartholomew County the tornado path was 100 to 200 yards wide, causing substantial tree damage and some EF-0 and EF-1 damage to buildings. It ended just east of Grandview Lake.
The National Weather Service says a total of four tornadoes have been confirmed to have hit Indiana Friday night. One person was killed by an EF-2 tornado that swept through Greene County and three others were injured. An EF-0 twister touched down briefly in Putnam County and a tornado started in Illinois as an EF-1 and ended in Sullivan County, Indiana as an EF-0.
Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
White River Broadcasting Company is announcing changes to our leadership team.
Parent company Findlay Publishing Company, is announcing that company president and chief executive officer Dave Glass will be retiring effective May 30. Glass began his career with the Company in 1981 as Program Director of WHMQ (now WKXA). He was named Director of Corporate Broadcast Communications in 1990 and assumed the role of President/CEO in 2023. Glass will continue to contribute to the Company as a member of the Board of Directors. He resides in Findlay with his wife, Carrie. They have one son.
Bob Morrison has been appointed vice president of White River Broadcasting, based in Columbus. The company operates News Talk 1010 WCSI and 98.1 FM, Indiana Country 101.5 WKKG, 106.1 The River and WINN 104.9, Your Hit Music. Morrison began his career with White River Broadcasting in 1993 as a Marketing Consultant. He became General Manager in 2019. He is a Ball State University graduate and lives in Columbus with his wife, Cindy, and their daughter, Julia.
Kurt Heminger has been appointed as the new President and Chief Executive Officer. Kurt joined the Company in 1985 and most recently served as Executive Vice President and COO. A graduate of Bowling Green State University, he resides in Findlay with his wife, Sue. They have two children.
Kevin Pancake has been promoted to Vice President. Kevin joined the Company in 1981, starting as an Outside Sales Representative for The Courier. He was promoted to head of marketing for the broadcast division in 1989. Also a graduate of Bowling Green State University, Kevin lives in Findlay with his wife, Sue.
Dan Heminger has been named Secretary of The Findlay Publishing Company. Dan joined the Company’s Board of Directors in 1984. He is a graduate of George Washington University, currently works for United Airlines, and resides in Findlay.
Area residents are assessing the damages this morning after a wave of storms swept through last night, bringing strong winds, heavy rains and at least one tornado.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning last night at about 8:08 p.m., warning of a confirmed, large and destructive tornado in Bartholomew County. Forecasters said that the tornado was particularly dangerous and headed to the Grand View Lake area in western Bartholomew County.
Several homes and other buildings were damaged and Bartholomew County Emergency Management says roads were closed by trees and debris. Residents were urged to avoid the area if possible.
The Brown County Volunteer Fire Department reports several injuries during last night’s bad weather, but none have been reported to be life-threatening. The fire department and others from the area were called to the Bellsville Pike/Whitehorse which had been hit hardest by the storms. The Brown County State Park Horseman Camp was also hit hard with three people injured there. They were either treated by medics at the scene or took themselves to the hospital.
Hundreds of customers remain without electricity in the area as of this morning.
As of 9 a.m.
Duke Energy is reporting about 500 customers without power in our area, with 66 in Columbus, 90 in western Bartholomew County and eastern Brown County. 185 are without power int the Brownstown area and another 69 near North Vernon.
Bartholomew County REMC: 232 without power.
Jackson County REMC: 511 without power
Southeastern Indiana REMC and Johnson County REMC are reporting no outages.
Tonight’s strong storms caused power outages in our area.
As of 11 p.m., outages in our area included:
Two area counties have made the list of the wealthiest in the state according to a recently released study.
The SmartAsset website released the results of its annual analysis of the wealthiest counties in Indiana this week. Johnson County ranked sixth on the list, while Bartholomew County came in 10th. The study ranked the counties by criteria including median income, investment income and median home value.
Johnson County had a median income of more than $87 thousands dollars, investment income of just over $33,500 and the media home value was just over $282,500 dollars. Bartholomew County had median income of $80,365, investment income of $40,578 and a median home value of $232,180.
Hamilton County made the top of the SmartAsset list, with nearly $118 thousand in income, over $63,000 in investment income and a median home value of $411,666.
You can find more information here: https://smartasset.com/financial-advisor#Indiana
The Bartholomew County Historical Society will be celebrating the inaugural Chuck Taylor Day next month, with a slate of sneaker themed events.
Taylor, a Bartholomew County resident, Columbus High School graduate and former basketball player, is best known for creating the Converse All Star tennis shoe.
Tied in with the Historical Society’s exhibit on the history of basketball in Bartholomew County Chuck Taylor Day will be on Saturday June 7th. The day will feature basketball themed activities, bands, a kids zone and more.
It will be held around the historical society museum on Third Street in Columbus from 3 to 8 p.m. that day.
In celebration of Chuck Taylor Day, there will be a downtown Columbus Sneaker Scavenger Hunt leading up to the event. From May 24th through June 7th you will be able to pick up a scavenger hunt passport at participating businesses. Fill up your card and you can bring it to the historical society museum on June 7th for special sticker.
Members of the IU Columbus men’s and women’s basketball team will be on hand on Chuck Taylor Day to meet the community. Boomer, the Indiana Pacer’s mascot will be at the event. And Fan Jam, a mobile pop-up truck promoting next year’s men’s Final Four will be on hand.
A new piece of public art will be unveiled outside the museum. It will be a larger-than-life, fiberglass Chuck Taylor sneaker sculpture.
Organizers also hope to set a world record with a group photo on the Library Plaza of participants wearing their Chucks.
You can find out more about the historical society at https://bartholomewhistory.org
All customers of Eastern Bartholomew Water Corp. are under a boil water advisory.
Yesterday morning the water company said customers in the Oak Crest Addition were affected after another company damaged a water main while working in the area. However, last night the boil water advisory expanded to all of the water company’s customers. You could see low water pressure or cloudy water.
Under a boil water advisory, you should bring water to a full boil for three to five minutes before drinking it or using it in food preparation. The boil water advisory is now in effect until 4 p.m. Monday afternoon.
For more information, call the water utility at 812-526-9777.
River Valley Legal Aid is hosting a free walk-in legal clinic for Jennings County residents on Tuesday.
River Valley Legal Aid offers the free clinics for low-income residents of its eight countyt distric.
If you take part you will have a brief consultation with a volunteer attorney to answer general questions, to offer legal information or to receive other advice. The walk-in clinic will be from 3 to 5 pm Tuesday at the Jennings County Public Library
State Road 9 will be closing later this month in Shelbyville for railroad work.
According to INDOT, Central Railroad of Indiana will close State Road 9 between Boggstown Road and Michigan Road/Knauf Drive in Shelbyville for railroad crossing repairs on or after Tuesday, May 27.
The work is expected to be finished and the highway reopened by Tuesday, June 10th. The work schedule is dependent on the weather. The official detour will follow Interstate 74 and State Road 44.
INDOT reminds you to slow down, to drive without distractions and to be alert to worker safety in all work zones.