The Columbus Farmer’s Market, organized by the city parks and recreation department, will kick off again this weekend.

Jacob Hendricks with the city parks department says the goal is to adapt the lessons learned during last year’s COVID-19 limited markets and apply them to this year’s events.

Restrictions will include social distancing in the spacing of booths and mask requirements if you are in close contact with someone not from your household.

The market will be held Saturdays from 9 to 12:30 behind Columbus City Hall.

Parking will be available on First Street, as well as behind the former Republic building, now home to IU’s J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program on Second Street.

Columbus Regional Health is getting rid of some property it no longer expects to use for future development along 19th Street.

The Bartholomew County Commissioners approved the sale of a home in the 2600 block of 19th Street yesterday morning, with hospital officials saying that they expect to have more to be sold soon.

David Lenart, director of facilities and materials for the hospital, said that the property to the northeast of the main hospital campus was acquired when the hospital planned to expand in that direction. However, with current plans concentrating on the west side of the city and at the former Fair Oaks Mall site, those properties are no longer needed for the hospital’s goals.

County Commissioner President Larry Kleinhenz said that the hospital would eventually have up to 13 properties to sell. He also stressed that it is a good time for the county-owned hospital to sell properties, with the tight home real estate market and high prices being commanded for homes now.

Each of the properties will come before the commissioners for approval as they are sold.

Columbus City Council will be considering changes to the long-term plan of how roads and streets will develop in the community in the years ahead, when the council meets tonight.

The city is considering an update to its thoroughfare plan, which sets rules for every city street, but also anticipates improvements in the future. For example, different types of streets have different limits on how far structures must be set back from property lines, how far apart driveways must be placed and how the streets must be designed.

Among the major changes would be designating new development heading toward Interstate 65 as suburban/urban rather than rural, updating the maps to reflect the railroad overpass heading into downtown, and refining a possible future north-south road that would roughly parallel State Road 11 from Jonathan Moore Pike to County Road 200S.

The city plan commission already signed off on the changes last month and is recommending the council make the updates. The plan was last updated in 2010.

City Council meets at 6 tonight at Columbus City Hall. You can watch the meeting streaming on the city’s website at columbus.in.gov/video.

Columbus police recovered a stolen vehicle and arrested a woman Friday.

According to police reports, a man said that his SUV had been stolen from the 1000 block of Fifth Street at about 7:15 a.m. Friday morning. He said he likely left the vehicle unlocked and had an extra key fob inside.

Police tracked the vehicle using a GPS device and found it was near Elizabethtown. With Bartholomew County deputies, the vehicle was found parked at a home in the 7600 block of County Road 800N. After an investigation police arrested 24-year-old Alexus R. Jenkins of Columbus. During a search officers also discovered marijuana concealed in her clothes.

She was arrested on preliminary charges of auto theft and possession of marijuana.

A Columbus motorcyclist was seriously injured in a Friday afternoon crash.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the crash at 5:09 p.m. Friday at Henry Lakes Boulevard and Daniel Drive. According to deputies, 31-year-old Alex Garcia of Columbus was driving the motorcycle when he struck a vehicle driven by 38-year-old Melissa Pass of Edinburgh as she attempted to turn onto Daniel Drive.

Garcia was thrown from the motorcycle and was flown to an Indianapolis hospital by IU Lifeline helicopter. Pass was not injured.

Sheriff Matt Myers says that May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. He said that everyone needs to do their part.

Myers said “We can safely share the road together by following the rules of the road and looking out for one another.”

Seymour police say that they have not found any credible information about a real threat to Seymour High School, but they continue to investigate a threatening post made over social media.

At about 10:53 p.m. Saturday night, Seymour Police were alerted to a threat against the school, posted on Instagram. The post was quickly taken down or deleted.

Seymour police say that they have been in constant contact with Seymour Community Schools officials. Extra security measures are in place and police are planning a stronger presence at the high school.

Seymour police are still investigating to find the source of the threat. If you have any information on the threatening post, you can contact Seymour Police Department at 812-522-1234.

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce is celebrating Small Business Week with a series of events Tuesday through Friday.

Cindy Frey, President of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, said that recognizing and financially supporting local small businesses invests in the future of the community. She said that small businesses are the backbone of the local economy, employing half of the community’s workers.

The chamber reports that there are 3,304 small businesses in Bartholomew County and small businesses account for 99.9 percent of all U.S. businesses according to the Small Business Association.

The first event will be held tomorrow, on Creating and Enhancing Your Online Store. That will be from 9 to 10 a.m. via the Zoom app.

Other sessions include:

Wednesday, May 5 — Marketing Your Services/Products to Local, State and Federal Government

Wednesday, May 5 — Pitch Strong with Startup Studio

Thursday, May 6 — Ribbon Cutting at Hog Molly Brewing

Friday, May 7 — Founder’s Friday

You can sign up through the chamber website at ColumbusAreaChamber.com

An IUPUC professor has been chosen as an IUPUI Chancellor’s Professor, the first local educator to receive the honor in the 50-year history of IUPUC.

The announcement was made last week that Dr. Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick, had been chosen for the honor, the most distinguished appointment an individual faculty member can attain at IUPUI. The honor recognizes senior faculty members for their accomplishment and leadership in teaching, research, and campus service.

Goodspeed-Chadwick has been teaching at IUPUC since 2008, specializing in 20th-century American literature, transatlantic modernism, women and literature, women’s and gender studies, and trauma studies.

She is the founding and current director of the Office of Student Research, serves as the campus liaison for the statewide Indiana University Undergraduate Research Conference, is the co-founder of the Office for Women at IUPUC, and serves on the IUPUI Office for Women Advisory Council.

Goodspeed-Chadwick was also recently awarded an Indiana University Bicentennial Medal, recognizing those who broaden the reach of Indiana University through their personal, professional, artistic, or philanthropic efforts.

Columbus firefighters successfully rescued trapped ducklings over the weekend, the third such rescue in the last few weeks.

Rescue workers were called to the Dirt Buster Car Wash on Johnson Boulevard at about 7:04 a.m. Saturday morning after workers found a mother duck and two ducklings loitering outside a floor drain. Trapped inside the drain were other ducklings

Firefighters removed a floor drain covering and removed the four trapped ducklings, turning them over to Columbus Animal Care Services. Staff with animal shelter checked the babies for injuries, cleaned them up and then released them back to their mother duck at a nearby retention pond.

Firefighters report that this is the third time in the past two weeks that they have been called to aid trapped ducklings.

Capt. Mike Wilson said that firefighters also were called to rescue trapped beavers on the west side of the city in March. He said that because of the numerous lakes and ponds on the west side of the city, residents should remain vigilant for possible wildlife encounters while driving or walking.

Photo: Columbus Fire Department Lt. Jim Miller, at left, and Firefighter Derrick Chitwood rescue four ducklings from a westside car wash drain Saturday. Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.