River Valley Legal Aid, Pro Bono Indiana is holding a free Legal Phone Clinic for residents of their eight-county district on Tuesday, November 5th. The district includes Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson, Rush, and Shelby Counties. The phone clinic will be conducted from 3 pm – 5:30 pm though registration is required between 12 pm and 2 pm.

The pro bono program utilizes local volunteer attorneys, offering free legal consultations to low-income individuals for the provision of legal advice in furtherance of equal access to justice within our communities.

Individuals who register can expect to receive a brief consultation to general and housing related questions, limited pro se assistance or advice over the phone. Individuals can register by calling 812-378-0358 on Tuesday, November 5,2024 between 12 pm and 2:00 pm. A volunteer attorney will return calls to registered individuals between 3 pm and 5:30 pm. Individuals must be available between 3 pm and 5:30 pm to answer a call from an attorney

On Saturday, October 26th, 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) along with the Indiana State Police,  is sponsoring the 27th nationwide “Prescription Drug Take Back Day”. This initiative seeks to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft through proper disposal of prescription drugs.

Collection sites will be set up nationwide for expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs which will be properly disposed of without threat to the environment. This program is for liquid and pill medications. Vaping pens without batteries and vaping cartridges will also be taken. Needles, new or used, WILL NOT be accepted for disposal. This service is free and anonymous with no questions asked.

Any unwanted medications may be dropped off at any Indiana State Police Post, except for the Toll Road Post on October 26th between the Hours of 10am and 2pm.

Bartholomew County organizations are receiving more than $400 thousand dollars in grants to expand access and quality of early childhood care in the community.

The Lilly Endowment recently announced $60 million in grants across the state for its Early Years Initiative, meant to improve early child hood care with an emphasis on families in low-income households, communities of color, and where very young children are multi-language learners.

In Columbus, Children Inc. is receiving $350,000 to expand its current childcare program, providing 18 additional infants and toddlers with care in new family child care homes. The funding will also allow Children Inc. to provide staff with professional development, and create a parent education program for fathers using a curriculum from the National Fatherhood Initiative .

The Community Education Coalition received a $70,000 grant to partner with Learn by Heart. Through the program, new and emerging childcare providers can receive mini-grants, relationship-based coaching, and professional development opportunities. The Community Education Coalition will focus on increasing access to high-quality care for Latino- and Spanish-speaking families.

Researchers say that a child’s brain develops most between birth and the age of 3. Neural pathways developed in those early years will form the basis for all future learning and development.

Thrive Alliance will be offering a free workshop next month on managing stress for family caregivers.

Thrive Alliance is offering the workshop for relative caregivers so they can learn self-care strategies and techniques to increase relaxation and to reduce stress. Organizers say that caregiving for a child can be stressfully and the workshop will help caregivers learn how to manage the daily stresses they face.

The workshop will be from 11 to 12:30 on Thursday, Nov. 14th at the Doug Otto United Way Center on 13th Street in Columbus. Boxed lunches are being provided by Voelz, Reed and Mount, Attorneys.

You should register to make sure a lunch will be available. You can find more information on our website or Register by calling 812-372-6918, ext. 2402 or 2404.}

The Crimson Pride athletics program at IU Columbus was recognized recently with a five star gold award for being Champions of Character.

According to the school, IU Columbus received the top recognition from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. This was only the second year for IU Columbus athletics and the first year in as a full member of the NAIA’s River States Conference .

The recognition comes after an assessment on character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion. In addition to grade point average, the schools are allowed to have only a minimal number of ejections during competition. 209 schools received the recognition during the 2023-24 school year.

IU Columbus Director of Athletics Zach McClellan said the award means more to him than winning a championship. He said it reflects the positive impact his coaches, players and staff are making, and the high standards the new program is setting.

McClellan also pointed out that student-athletes have contributed more than 3,000 community service hours in the area with work cleaning up local athletic facilities, walking shelter dogs, stocking the campus food pantry and volunteering for the Mill Race marathon

The Crimson Pride program now offers men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s volleyball, softball, and baseball. This school year, IU Columbus is adding men’s and women’s basketball, track and field, and competitive cheer and dance teams.

You can get more information at iuccrimsonpride.com.

Schneck Medical Center’s Chief Financial Officer has been chosen as one of the “2024 Rural Hospital CFOs to Know” by a trade magazine.

Deborah Mann, the Seymour hospital’s CFO and Vice President of Finance, was chosen for the recognition by Becker’s Hospital Review. Mann joined the hospital in 1994 as a staff accountant. Previously, she was director of Accounting and Controller prior to being named Vice President of Finance in February 2014. She is a Certified Public Accountant and has a Bachelor of Science in Business from Indiana University and Master of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Becker’s Hospital Review annually honors financial executives from rural hospitals across the nation for their expertise in financial management, strategic planning, and operational excellence.

Dr. Eric Fish President/CEO of Schneck Medical Center said Mann’s leadership has been “instrumental in driving our financial success and enhancing the quality of care we provide.

The Community Education Coalition will be hosting an event later this month in Columbus aimed at helping the parents and caregivers of black and black bi-racial children navigate the upcoming school year.

According to Felicia Garr, with the coalition’s black and black bi-racial youth initiatives program, the meeting will present new information including details on new Indiana Department of Education regulations affecting third grade literacy requirements, efforts to address chronic absenteeism, work-based learning and cell phone restrictions. There will also be information on the newest high school diploma changes, academic standards and information on BCSC back to school guidelines.

There will be two sessions of the August 22nd meeting — a morning session from 10 a.m. to noon and evening session from 6 to 8 p.m. The meeting will be at Nexus Park, the former Fair Oaks Mall on 25th Street.

If you have any questions you can contact Garr at 812-371-5255.

The Bartholomew Consolidated School Board will be honoring the district’s teacher of the year at a ceremony on Aug. 19th.

Columbus East High School Science Teacher Derek Chastain has been chosen for the honor. According to the school district, Chastain is committed to hands-on teaching, Erin Stalbaum, the assistance superintendent for human resources said that Chastain “molds his students as scientists with captivating lessons, projects and labs about real problems and everyday realities.”

Aaron Lynott, the Columbus East High School Science Chair, praised Chastain saying he fosters
“a positive and encouraging learning environment where students feel empowered to learn and explore.”

The school board meets at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 19th at the administrative offices on Central Avenue.

Seymour police say that a new piece of equipment helped save a baby from choking over the weekend.

According to the Seymour Police Department, officers were called to the 100 block of East Ninth Street on Saturday about a one month old who was choking and not breathing. When they arrived the found the baby was gurgling and their face was changing colors. Officer Dakota Burke used the new device called LifeVac to clear the child’s airway and after breathing was restored, police took the baby to Schneck Medical Center where the child is expected to recover.

Police say that LifeVaC is an airway clearing device that can be used in a choking emergency to remove obstructions. Unlike the widely known Heimlich maneuver which uses air pressure from underneath an obstruction to dislodge the blockage, LifeVac provides negative pressure through non-invasive suction to help remove a blockage.

The Seymour Police Department began issuing the LifeVac system on July 26th, after a suggestion from Corporal Jeremy Soliday. The department says training has been ongoing and each officer will receive the tool after they have completed their training.

The police department says that the officers who responded to the Saturday call and used the new device helped save the life of the child. Officer Burke was assisted at the scene by Cpl. Stuart Bryan and officers Austin Peelman, Devin Hill, and Levi Peacock.

You can get more information on the system at www.lifevac.net.