The American Red Cross is looking for your help as the agency is reporting a severe blood shortage.

The Red Cross says some hospitals are being forced to slow the pace of elective surgeries because of the shortage, delaying crucial patient care.

In North Vernon, you can donate blood today at First United Methodist Church on Poplar Street. That wll be from 2 to 7 today.

You can schedule an appointment to give blood by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS

A Greensburg driver was arrested Saturday, but not before he allegedly ran away from North Vernon police and gave a fake name and birthdate.

According to police reports, officers stopped a vehicle that failed to dim its lights for oncoming traffic at about 2:25 a.m. that morning on North State Street. The officer noticed that the driver appeared impaired. When the driver was ordered out of the vehicle, he complied but then tried to run away into a nearby parking lot., police say.

More officers arrived on the scene and the man was captured. Despite giving false information, police determined that the man was 24-year-old Edward E. Brown III, of Greensburg. Brown turned out to be on home detention and was supposed to be at work at the time of the traffic stop, but he had failed to report that to his detention officer.

He was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction within 5 years, driving with a suspended license, resisting law enforcement and false informing.

The U.S. Small Business Administration declared Jackson, Brown and Jennings Counties as disaster areas last week and low-interest loans are available to help businesses and residents recover and repair damages.

State Rep. Jim Lucas of Seymour said that the declaration is in response to the severe weather and flooding June 18th and 19th.

The declaration covers Jefferson and Monroe counties, and the adjacent counties of Brown, Clark, Greene, Jackson, Jennings, Lawrence, Morgan, Owen, Ripley, Scott and Switzerland in Indiana.

Homeowners who live in a county where a disaster has been declared and who suffered damage to their home due to the storms, could be eligible for a grant from the State Disaster Relief Fund, Lucas said.

However, you must first apply for a Small Business Administration disaster loan and be denied before you can submit an application for a grant from the state fund.

The deadline to file is Sept. 7th.

Lucas says the agency opened two Disaster Loan Outreach Centers on Friday, in Jefferson and Monroe counties for anyone wishing to file claims in-person. Those are located at Monroe County Convention Center, 302 S. College St., Bloomington, IN 47403 and the Madison Area Chamber of Commerce, 301 E. Main St., Madison, IN 47250. They will be open Mondays through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will close permanently on Friday.

You can also apply online. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Columbus will be donating 10 tons of food to Love Chapel this week.

The semi-truck sized donation of 20,000 pounds of food will be arriving Wednesday, according to organizers. Youth and members from the church will be assisting volunteers at Love Chapel to unload the food from the truck.

Bishop Jack Bartnett, with the church, said economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the need to follow Jesus’s admonition to help fight food insecurity. He said church members follow Jesus Christ and his message to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis is warning that we will likely see storms, damaging winds, and flooding across the state early this week.

Meteorologist Joe Skowronek with the National Weather Service told Network Indiana that most of the state will have highs in the 80s and 90s, along with isolated storms across Indiana.

There will be the chance for heavy rain and strong winds, but not much of a chance of hail, he said.

The biggest danger early in the week will be flooding, he said.

Indiana State Police are being outfitted with body cameras and in-car cameras.

The agency reports that the work to equip the 800 body worn cameras began in early June and will last through late August. The equipment will work in tandem with the in-car cameras and will include an online router in the vehicle to allow connectivity. Eventually, the cameras will go to all troopers and sergeants assigned to patrol duties, to Capitol Police and to some Special Operations units.

As of Thursday, 230 cameras had been deployed.

The project is estimated to cost about $15 million dollars over five years.

The Bartholomew County Health Department and Windrose Health’s mobile unit will be offering a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Columbus East High School on July 27th.

The clinic will be giving doses of the Pfizer vaccine to those 12 years old or older. It will take place in the parking lot near Illinois Avenue from 4 to 7 p.m.

There will be free gifts for those who get vaccinated.

Walk-ins are welcome but you can also register by calling Windrose Health at 317-680-9901.

Columbus City Utilities will be having a phone outage tomorrow due to scheduled maintenance on the phone system.

That will be from 9 a.m. to about 1 p.m. Saturday.

If you need to report a water or sewer emergency during the down time, you should call (812) 657-1153.

Saturday is the fifth annual DARE Blue Line Ride, organized by Columbus Police Department to benefit the Columbus/Bartholomew County DARE Program.

Lt Matt Harris spokesman for the Columbus police Department explains:

Harris explains that the 85-mile police-escorted motorcycle ride will start from Mann’s Harley Davidson at 11 a.m. There will be a stop at the historic Story Inn at the halfway point and the ride will end at Donner Park.

The ride will stop at the historic Story Inn at the half way point and the ride will conclude in Columbus with a meal catered by Big JT’s BBQ.

The cost is $25 for a solo rider and $35 for rider/passenger. That also includes a raffle ticket for a chance to win a gift card courtesy of Mann’s Harley Davidson.

The event is scheduled rain or shine. All bikes are welcome.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department

Bartholomew Consolidated Schools are leaning toward having masks be optional when school starts again.

The school district released details of its draft plans for the new school year on Thursday.

Superintendent Dr. Jim Roberts said the district staff is recommending that the use of face coverings be optional for all staff members and students. However, they are highly encouraged for those at risk or who are not vaccinated.

Masks will be required on school buses, at least through Sept. 13th when the federal mandate for masks expires. After that, mask use on buses will also be optional.

As of July 1st, the use of face coverings in schools are no longer required in Indiana and local school boards are now responsible for whatever measures and restrictions are deemed necessary.

Among other measures being proposed by BCSC, the draft plan calls for encouraging physical distancing of 3 feet in classrooms. However contact tracing will be conducted for those who are within six feet of each other. And the use of hallway lockers is being discouraged to minimize large group gatherings.

The draft plan will be presented to the school board at its Monday, July 19th meeting. That meeting will start at 6:30 in the Administration Building on Central Avenue and can be watched on YouTube.

The school district is looking for your thoughts on the draft reopening plan.

BCSC statement on reopening plans

More details on reopening plans (Google Doc)

To send feedback on reopening plan (Google Doc)