Shelby County will be the home for retailer Five Below’s Midwest Distribution Center, adding 470 new jobs over the next few years.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation announced the more than $100 million dollar investment at an event this morning at the site in the northwestern part of the county off of Interstate 74. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held for the facility, which is going to be about 1 million square feet and operational by the summer of 2022.

The company, based in Philadelphia, has more than 15,000 employees and has distribution centers in Georgia, New Jersey, Mississippi, Texas and one under construction in Arizona.

Hiring is expected to start next year and information will be available online.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Five Below up to $2.8 million in conditional tax credits based on the company’s plans to create up to 473 jobs.

Local economic development efforts were hampered in the last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there were still some successes. That’s according to Jason Hester, president of the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation, who updated the City Council last night on the agency’s activities over the past year.

One of the economic development goals is to diversity the local economy, rather than relying only on auto manufacturing, Hester said. The agency has been targeting companies in the fields of cybersecurity, pharmaceuticals, engineering, aerospace and defense component manufacturing. But Hester said that food and beverage manufacturing has been on the rise but is not an official target as of yet.

A site visit early this year led to the recent news about Ninth Avenue Foods, a California-based beverage production company, locating its new Midwest headquarters and production facility in Columbus, a $103.5 million dollar investment.

Hester said COVID-19 meant a shift to virtual efforts instead of in-person trade shows. He said that the agency met virtually with 50 companies looking for new sites for their business. Many businesses were looking for existing buildings for their use, which Columbus does not have.

Hester said he will be attending a live in person conference next month, in Richmond, Virginia, the first time in more than a year that particular conference has been held. He said there are no plans for outbound international travel at this time.

Columbus Police Department and the local FOP will be hosting its annual Hook a Kid on Fishing Day at Ceraland on Friday June 11th.

The event will allow children ages 9 to 14 to learn to fish with a Columbus Police officer. According to the announcement from the department, if a child already has a fishing pole they are comfortable with, they should bring it. But there is enough fishing gear to go around and it will be provided at no cost to the participants, along with sun screen and bug spray. Lunch will also be provided.

Kids should be sent to the event with weather appropriate clothing and shoes.

The Hook a Kid on Fishing event will be from 9 to 1 at Ceraland on June 11th. Children will have to pre-register to attend. You can contact Officer Greg Ross at [email protected] or call 812-350-4015.

Seymour’s INDOT offices will be one of 10 locations around the state hosting job fairs for the state agency on Thursday.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says it has more than 100 open positions statewide, with the greatest need for skilled trade positions. The agency says it recently increased starting pay for highway technicians and several other positions to $19 per hour, with opportunities to move up to $20 per hour with a valid commercial driver’s license.

Recruiters will be available at all hiring fair locations to share information about starting a career at INDOT, answer questions, and help candidates to apply.

The Seymour hiring fair will be from 10 to 3 Thursday at the offices at 185 Agrico Lane.

Other INDOT hiring fairs Thursday will include:

• Aurora – 8074 W. U.S. Highway 50
• Bluffton – 2800 W. State Road 124
• Cloverdale – 10 High St
• Elkhart – 58905 County Road 9
• Fort Wayne – 5333 Hatfield Road
• Gary – 7601 Melton Road
• Indianapolis – 7105 E. Brookville Road
• Wabash – 1178 Manchester Avenue
• West Lafayette – 2319 U.S. Highway 231

You can get more information on open positions at workforindiana.in.gov

Nominations are open for this year’s Jack Cramer Ideals of Athletic Competition Award, according to the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department.

The award is presented annually to a local male and a female athlete, coach or sports organizer. All nominees must live or work in Bartholomew County and be a senior in high school or adult.

The award is in honor of Cramer, a former local athlete who died in 1978 at the age of 33.

You can find information and nomination forms at Donner Center or at www.columbusparksandrec.com The deadline to enter is June 18th.

Three people are facing theft charges after a shoplifting investigation in Seymour.

According to police reports, officers were told by Home Depot security that three people had left the store at about 4 p.m. Monday afternoon, without paying for more than $1,000 in merchandise.

After being provided with photos of the suspects and their vehicle, Seymour police found the three at Village Green Mobile Home Park, where two of the three admitted to taking items from the store, including power tools and bag chairs.

21-year-old Zachary Hamblin, 34-year-old Jerrod Ford and 37-year-old Kimberly Elkins, all of Seymour, are facing felony theft charges, police said.

A teen boy was rescued from Clifty Creek in Columbus Monday evening.

The Columbus Township Fire & Rescue department is reporting that the Bartholomew County Water Rescue team was called to Clifty Park after the teen was seen struggling in the flooded creek, on the opposite shore from the park.

A Columbus police officer was first on the scene and found the boy holding onto a tree in the water, but he couldn’t move. The water rescue team launched an inflatable rescue boat and two rescue swimmers took the boat across the flooded creek to pick up the boy.

He was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to be checked out.

Agencies that took part in the rescue also included the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Columbus Police Department, Columbus Fire Department and Columbus Regional Health paramedics.

The city of Columbus is moving forward with plans for a downtown grocery and apartment complex next to the Bartholomew County Jail.

The city’s redevelopment commission gave its final approval yesterday to a plan to split off the area into its own special taxing unit called a Tax Increment Financing district allocation area . That will be used as a tool to fund the $40 million project. The City Council gave its approval to the change last month.

The property had previously been part of a larger central Tax Increment Financing district encompassing the downtown all the way to Walesboro. A TIF district allows the city redevelopment commission to siphon off increasing property taxes in an area to fund improvements within that zone, essentially allowing development to pay for itself.

In addition to providing the property for the project, the city through the Columbus Redevelopment Commission would guarantee more than $11 million dollars in bonds. The existing Central TIF district would expire before those bonds are paid off, requiring the allocation area change.

The city is partnering with developer Flaherty & Collins of Indianapolis to build 200 apartments and a 12 thousand to 15 thousand square foot grocery at the property. The project would open in about three years.

Authorities have arrested a former North Vernon resident on child-molesting charges after an investigation by the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department.

According to the department, deputies from the Jennings and Jefferson county sheriff’s departments and Indiana State Police troopers served an arrest warrant at a home in Jefferson County early yesterday morning.

36-year-old Michael Waskom was taken into custody at his home on a charge of child molestation. He was also found to be carrying methamphetamine when he was arrested.

Waskom, formerly of North Vernon, was the subject of a lengthy investigation by Jennings County detectives.

41-year-old Amy Trowbridge of Scipio was also at the home and police say she was carrying methamphetamine. She is facing a drug possession charge.

State and local police have kicked off their annual Click-It or Ticket campaign to encourage the use of seat belts.

Last year, more than 800 people were killed on Indiana roads. Of those, 364 were not wearing seat belts.

Starting yesterday and running through June 6th, under the campaign you will see Indiana State Police troopers, Bartholomew County deputies, Columbus police and other agencies across the state, out in greater numbers writing citations and conducting high-visibility patrols. Under Indiana’s primary seat belt law, officers can stop and cite drivers and passengers just for failing to wear a seat belt.

Throughout the campaign, authorities will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt enforcement, which means anyone caught not wearing one will receive a citation.

You can expect to see the patrols during daylight hours, but also at night. That’s when unrestrained driving is at its peak, in the hours between midnight and 4 a.m. in the morning.

Drivers can also be cited for each unbuckled passenger in their vehicle under the age of 16, and children under eight must be properly restrained in a federally approved child or booster seat.

The campaign is being paid for with funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.