Legal Aid is holding a Free Legal Aid Phone Clinic tomorrow and Tuesday, July 9th.

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.

Over the next month, the city of Seymour will be taking an inventory of trash and recycling Toters at area homes.

The city is asking residents to leave their Toters curbside from 7 to 5 on your normal trash pickup day, from July 1st through August 2nd. Notices will be left on your Toters as a reminder.

If you have any questions you can call the city’s department of public works at 812-524-4020.

Photo courtesy of Seymour Department of Public Works

Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus will be holding an open house next week so you can learn more about the school, its programs and opportunities to find a career.

The college will be holding the open house on July 9th at Moravec Hall, on Central Avenue.

You will be able to tour the new main campus building, and see the classrooms, labs and social spaces the school now has to offer. You will also be able to learn about careers that are in high demand, the school’s academic programs and opportunities to transfer to the school. You can also get help in applying for financial aid or getting admitted to the upcoming fall semester.

The open house will be going on from 11 to 1 on July 9th and you are invited to stop by at any time.

Moravec Hall photo courtesy of Ivy Tech Community College.

Correction: A previous version of this story had an incorrect phone number for reservations.

Columbus police say that local residents are receiving scam calls, claiming that they have missed jury duty and are facing arrest unless they pay fake fines to the scammers.

According to the Columbus Police Department they will be holding a seminar in the next few weeks to try to counter the barrage of schemes that try to rip you off.

Police say that authorities will never contact you to try to get you to pay fines or court costs over the phone. And you will never be directed to make payments for official purposes using online apps, or by being made to purchase gift cards.

Columbus police are partnering with the Indiana Attorney General’s office with a fraud prevention seminar set for July 16th at the Mill Race Center. It will discuss identity theft, typical frauds, market scams and how to protect yourself.

The seminar will start at 11 a.m. on July 16th in the Art Room at Mill Race Center. If you would like to attend, you can call 812-376-9241 to make a reservation.

Among the new laws that go into effect today is one authored by Columbus state Rep. Ryan Lauer that will make it easier for children removed from violent or neglectful homes to find a new permanent place.

Lauer said that children can wait for more than a year in temporary care while their case is making its way through the system. But the Department of Child Services has not been required to make a backup plan for a permanent placement if  reunification with the family isn’t possible. Which means even more time in foster care.

Lauer said “These prolonged cases can have long-lasting negative effects on these young Hoosiers.”

Under Lauer’s new law, if the child has been removed from the home for 12 out of the past 22 months of the case, DCS would have to come up with that alternative plan.

Lauer said other states already require concurrent planning.

Note: This story has been updated.

Jennings County High School is providing counselors and clergy to students today, as the community struggles with a tragic crash that killed two students on Friday.

16-year-old Kyle Neukam and 15-year-old Randall Gordon have been identified as the students who were killed in the crash, which happened on State Road 7 near County Road 600W Friday afternoon.

The school district says that Jennings County High School will be open to students from 9 to 11:30 a.m. today to provide assistance to those struggling.

Students planning to come to the high school can enter through Door C in the front of the building. Counselors and clergy will be available in room 106.

The school district is asking “that the entire community keep the families and loved ones of these young men in our thoughts and prayers. Your support and solidarity will be invaluable in the days and weeks ahead.”

According to the Indiana State Police, a trooper came upon the crash at about 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. A car driven by the 16-year-old, had crossed the centerline into the path of a pickup. The driver was killed instantly, while the 15-year-old passenger was transported to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Troopers determined both the driver and passenger in the car were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.

The driver of the pickup, 26-year-old Connor E. Ramey of Scipio, was seriously injured and was flown by helicopter to an Indianapolis area hospital, authorities say.

State Road 7 was closed down for about four hours for the crash investigation and cleanup.

Jennings County High School photo courtesy of Jennings County School Corp.

Local government offices in Columbus will be closed next Thursday and Friday for the Independence Day holiday.

There will be no trash or recycling pickups in Columbus on Thursday. Instead, Thursday and Friday collections will be delayed by one day, with normal Thursday routes on Friday, and normal Friday routes on Saturday.

You should have your Toters to the curb by 7 on your delayed trash day.

You can get more information on the city website at columbus.in.gov and going to the Department of Public Works or through the Columbus Collects App on your phone.

A reminder that the Yellow Trail Museum will be hosting the Hope Old-Fashioned Independence Day festivities at the Hope Town Square this evening.

Activities start at 5:30 p.m. and will include an apple pie contest, the crowning of Miss and Mr. Firecracker, a bike parade, music and fireworks. The Museum will be open and selling ice cream floats along with pony rides, balloon making and face painting.

The winners of the Miss and Mr. Firecracker competition will lead the bike, trike and stroller parade around the square at 6:30. The Bannister Family Band will be performing starting at 7 p.m.

The fireworks are scheduled to start at 10 p.m. You should bring your own chair or blanket.

Jennings County deputies are looking for your help identifying a person that may be involved in a series of thefts in the community.

According to the Jennings County Sheriff’s Department, they are investigating multiple thefts from vehicles in the area of County Road 900W. They have released a photo from a surveillance camera of a person of interest and are asking anyone who recognizes the person to reach out to the department.

They are also asking anyone who might have security camera video of thefts to call the department. And they suggest that you check your vehicles and belongings to make sure you have not been a victim of the thefts.

You can find a photo of the person on our website. If you have any information or more video, you can contact investigators through the Jennings county Dispatch Center at 812-346-4911.

The Bartholomew County 4-H Fair continues today with Weichert Realtors Home Group Day at the fair.

The Midway will open at 5 p.m. Tickets will be regular price from 5 to 8 p.m., with Midnight Madness starting at 8 with $25 wristbands

Entertainment tonight includes the Antique Tractor Pull at the Grandstand starting at 7 p.m. and the Corn Hole Tournament at the Farm Bureau building with $2 registration starting at 7 p.m. and the event starting at 7:30 p.m.

The fair runs through Saturday. You can get more information at https://bartholomewcountyfair.com