Former state legislator Sean Eberhart, who represented part of Bartholomew County is heading to federal prison for more than a year.

He pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in a gambling corruption case. The Republican from Shelbyville accepted a job with gambling company Spectacle Entertainment for at least $350,000 in exchange for voting for a bill from which Spectacle would benefit.

Court documents say an unnamed Spectacle executive came to Eberhart with the proposal.

On top of the prison sentence, Eberhart was also fined $25,000 and he will also have to pay another $60,000 in restitution.

Eberhart’s district included northeastern Bartholomew County including Hope and Hartsville. He served in the statehouse from 2007 until 2022, when he chose not to seek reelection. He previously served on the Shelby County Council.

Eberhart apologized at his sentencing and said he was “truly, deeply sorry for what I did.”

Authorities say that Spectacle Entertainment wanted to purchase the state licenses for two casinos on the Lake Michigan waterfront and to relocate those casinos to other areas. The federal charges accuse Eberhart of accepting a promise of the in exchange for supporting the license change and casino moves. The legislation reduced the license change fees from $100 million to $20 million and also provided tax incentives benefiting the company.

Story courtesy of Network Indiana

The Bartholomew County Sheriffs’ Department is adding two new DARE officers for area schools.

According to the sheriff’s department, Deputy Anthony Bagby and Deputy Elizabeth Moore will serve in the roles. With the addition, the county department will have five DARE officers including Sgt. Andrew Whipker, Deputy Jessica Pendleton and Deputy Max Medina.

Columbus Police Department also has seven officers providing the program in local schools. That makes the Bartholomew County program one of the largest in the state.

The DARE program, or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, locally celebrated its 30th anniversary here in 2022.

DARE officers teach a one hour class focusing on educating sixth grade students about the dangers of drugs and the importance of making good decisions.

Applications are now available for next year’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships in Bartholomew County, through Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County.

Two students from Bartholomew County will be chosen for the scholarships, which pay full tuition and required fees for four years of full-time undergraduate study that lead to a bachelors degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Students also receive a $900 stipend to help cover costs for books and equipment.

To apply, you must live in Bartholomew County; be on course to graduate by the end of June 2025; with at least a 3.5 GPA and demonstrate significant school involvement, community service, good character, leadership skills and financial need.

Applications and all required materials must be submitted by 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21st

Eligibility requirements, instructions and the application are available at https://www.heritagefundbc.org.

Traffic will be tied up near Seymour High School starting next week, as crews work to improve drainage for the ongoing Second Street improvement project.

According to the city, the intersection of Second Street and Community Drive will be closed for about two weeks, starting Monday and lasting through Tuesday, August 6th, weather permitting. You will still be able to access businesses between Community Drive and U.S. 50 during the work.

Second Street remains closed further to the east as work continues on the $15 million reconstruction project.

Graphic courtesy of City of Seymour.

Eastern Bartholomew Water customers in the Mineral Springs area are under a boil water advisory after a water main was damaged by contractors for another utility company, causing a water outage yesterday.

The boil water advisory is in effect until Thursday afternoon.

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.

If you have any questions you can call the utility at 812-526-9777.

Bartholomew County will be looking to the future growth of its park system, with the choice of a contractor to prepare the new parks master plan.

Bartholomew County Commissioners this week approved a contract for $27 thousand dollars with Zec Eight Insights of Zionsville to guide the master plan project. The county parks system last master plan was five years ago, according to officials.

Commissioner Carl Lienhoop said the completion of the plan will allow the county parks board to apply for state and other grants to help the parks system.

Although the county does not have to seek bidders for professional services contracts, the parks department did reach out to four different companies, but Zec Eight Insights was the only one to respond with a bid, said Commissioners President Larry Kleinhenz.

Half of the funds will be coming from a grant through Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County and the other half through COVID recovery funds.

In a ceremony at the 64th National Sports Media Association Awards in Greensboro, N.C., Sam Simmermaker was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Executive Director of the N-S-M-A Dave Goren.

Simmermaker, a 2-time winner of the Indiana Sportscaster of the Year Award in 1976 and 1997, received a long standing ovation.  Surprised by the award, he gave some brief comments and ended with “a million thanks from Sam & Fran”.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/FD7k-Y0DD7w

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis has issued a tornado watch for southern Indiana. That includes Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson and Jennings in our area.

The weather service says that as the remnants of Hurricane Beryl pass through our area, there is a chance of isolated tornadoes. Forecasters say that any tornadoes that form are likely to be EF-0 or EF-1, but a few EF-2 tornadoes are also possible.

The tornado watch is in effect until midnight.

The remnants of Hurricane Beryl are going to be hitting our area soon, according to local emergency officials.

According to the Bartholomew County Emergency Management department, the northern part of our area is under a slight risk of severe weather including northern Bartholomew, Johnson and Shelby counties and most of Brown and Decatur counties. Meanwhile the southern and eastern portions fall under the higher, enhanced risk, including southern Bartholomew, all of Jackson and most of Jennings counties.

Forecasters say the greatest threat will most likely be from 5 to 10 p.m. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to pick up with torrential rain of 1 and a half to two inches, and up to three inches in that enhanced area. The heaviest rain is expected this evening and early Wednesday.

You can expect minor flooding in low-lying areas and along waterways.

There is also a chance for strong winds and isolated tornadoes with this weather. Gusty winds of up to 40 mph are possible through Wednesday morning with up to 50 mph winds by Wednesday afternoon.

An iconic downtown Columbus store will be closing with Tom Dell announcing his retirement and the closing of Dell Brothers men’s clothing store.

Dell is retiring after 55 years operating the 108-year-old family business. Dell said that after the death of his brother, Mike, last year, it has become too hard to operate the store alone.

The store has been at the same location in downtown Columbus since 1916, opened first by Dell’s grandfather, sold to his father and uncle, and then taken over by Dell and his brother.

Dell plans to take vacations with his wife, Kathy, and to continue to be involved in the downtown community. He also will continue to serve on the City Council.

Dell said that no exact closing date has been set, but the store is now holding a 50 percent off clearance sale. Once the current stock is depleted, the remaining items will be given away to area charities and the store will close permanently.

Legal Aid is holding a Free Legal Aid Phone Clinic today.

Legal Aid offers the clinics for low-income residents of its eight-county district to receive legal advice and assistance. The district includes Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson, Rush, and Shelby Counties.

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 over the phone. The clinic will be from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

To take part, you must first register between noon and 2 p.m. by calling 812-378-0358.