A Columbus man was arrested after domestic dispute in a Bartholomew County motel room.

Bartholomew County deputies were called to a motel in the 11 thousand 7 hundred block of North U.S. 31 at about 12:14 a.m. this morning on a report of a possible battery.

Deputies allowed a woman to remove her belongings from the hotel room before securing it. Officers found the suspect, 37-year-old Murriel D. Ramey of Columbus, in the parking lot. After being taken to Columbus Regional Hospital to be checked out, he was arrested on preliminary charges of confinement, strangulation and domestic battery.

Chief Deputy, Major Chris Lane, says that if you are experiencing unwanted physical or emotional behaviours in your relationship, there is help available.

Turning Point Domestic Violence Services has a hotline that is open around the clock. You can call 800-221-6311 or 812-379-9855 to speak with a trained advocate.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.

There will no longer be a Fair Oaks Mall in Columbus. Instead, city and hospital officials say the facility at 25th Street and Central Avenue will now be known as NexusPark. And work will be moving forward quickly to get the new facilities designed, renovated and built.

Development has been largely stalled for about 15 months due to the pandemic.

The first phases of the revamped city portion of the building will include administration offices for the city parks department, fitness areas and locker rooms and activity spaces, along with a new fieldhouse space. Columbus Regional Hospital is planning to use about 50,000 square feet of the building initially for mostly preventative care or wellness-based services. That will include both existing services and growth-opportunities in the areas of primary care, physical medicine and rehabilitative therapies and programs.

The city announced that plans are for an architect and construction manager to be chosen on Tuesday at the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety meeting. Later that evening, Columbus City Council will consider approving the funds to pay for those positions.

Money for the construction of the fieldhouse will come from bonds repaid through local income tax revenues, while the other parks department functions will be paid for by bonds backed by property taxes for parks. CRH trustees approved $13 million earlier this year for its first phase renovations.

Both the city and hospital first phases are to be completed by summer or fall of 2023.

An Indianapolis man is in custody accused of throwing gasoline on a man in Columbus and then lighting him on fire.

Columbus police were called to the 1500 block of Chestnut Street at about 3:40 a.m. Monday morning and found a man with burns covering a large portion of his body. Witnesses said that two men were arguing, when the gasoline was thrown by a man who was later identified as 39-year-old Ralph Shaw.

Police found him later in the afternoon near Donner Park and he was taken into custody without incident. He is facing preliminary charges of aggravated battery and was also wanted on two outstanding Marion County warrants.

The injured man was flown by Lifeline helicopter to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. There is no word yet on his condition.

The Bartholomew County Republican Ladies League is announcing the winners of this year’s league scholarships.

Kyle Carlson, son of Mark and Jenny Carlson, is graduating from Columbus North and attending Purdue University to study Accounting and Law and Monica Kay Burton, daughter of Kevin and Roxena Burton, is graduating from Columbus East and attending either Purdue University or IUPUC to study Engineering. Each will receive a $1,000 one-time scholarship.

Among the requirements for the scholarships, students must be a Bartholomew County resident, have a 3.0 GPA, be involved in school, community or political activities and pass a five-question political history test.

The scholarship winners will be recognized when the Bartholomew County Republican Ladies League meets at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the party headquarters, at 718 Pearl Street. The guest speaker will be Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan.

Bartholomew County officials are recognizing the 200th anniversary of the birth of the county.

The county commissioners issued a proclamation at their meeting Monday, honoring the creation of the county on January 9th, 1821. The county was named after Gen. Joseph Bartholomew and it was the 36th county to form in the state of Indiana, which had been created five years earlier. The county commissioners first met in the newly established county in February 1821 in a cabin owned by resident Luke Bonesteel.

The proclamation recognized the fourth and current county courthouse, the founding of the city of Columbus in 1837 and the many residents who have made the county a special place to live.

The proclamation declared June 25th as “Bartholomew County, Columbus area, 200th Bicentennial Celebration” Day. Commissioners said that is the first day of the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair and they plan to read the proclamation again during the fair opening festivities.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Office is crediting newly purchased equipment with helping deputies and medics save a woman’s life on Sunday.

The department is reporting that Deputy Ian McPherson and Deputy Kyle Lee were called to a medical emergency in Country Squire Lakes at about 3:09 Sunday afternoon. They found a family member performing CPR on an unconscious woman with no pulse. Deputies took over CPR and used a new automated external defibrillator, that the department recently purchased, to try to restore her pulse.

Paramedics arrived and used a mechanical chest compression device, that had also recently been purchased, along with medication to save her. In the ambulance ride to St. Vincent Jennings Hospital the woman began to breath on her own. At the hospital, she was stabilized and taken to another hospital that specializes in heart treatment.

Bartholomew County REMC is alerting some of its customers of a planned power outage on Wednesday.

The outage will start at about 8:30 p.m. that night and last for less than two hours while crews perform repairs and maintenance on the Ogilville substation. about 1600 customers will be affected in southwestern Bartholomew County. The area will be west of Interstate 65 and south of State Road 58.

If you have any questions, you can call 812-372-2546.

An electrical fire caused more than $10,000 in damages to a California Street home Monday morning, according to Columbus firefighters.

The fire department reports that it was called to a home in the 1900 block of California Street at 1:53 a.m. this morning on a report of smoke. A smoke alarm had alerted the residents and they had evacuated before firefighters arrived. There was light smoke coming from the exterior gable vents. Inside, firefighters found smoke coming from a bedroom closet that had attic access. After getting through a kitchen ceiling and outside wall, firefighters found charred wooden joists, and heavily damaged electrical wires.

After about two hours, firefighters were able to return to their station. But about 9:25 a.m. they were called back again and found smoldering debris in the attic area.

Due to the damages, the occupants of the residence will be displaced until repairs are made.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.

Cummins Inc and energy giant Iberdrola are announcing plans in Spain to build one of the world’s largest plants to produce hydrogen.

The Columbus-based engine manufacturer would become one of the world’s leading suppliers of the system, called an electrolyzer. Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO of Cummins, said that the partnership with Iberdrola will position Cummins as a European leader in green hydrogen production.

He said this is the latest example of Cummins’ global effort to achieve carbon neutrality and accelerate the hydrogen economy. Cummins has already deployed more than 600 electrolyzers in 100 countries.

Iberdrola officials said this plant will create a new industry with high growth potential — the manufacturing of electrolyzer systems. A search is underway to find a site for the new $61 million dollar plant.

Iberdrola is the number-one producer of wind power, and one of the world’s biggest electricity utilities.

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Columbus East High School special education teacher Peggy Myers has been chosen for this year’s Edna V. Folger Outstanding Teacher Award.

Sponsored by SIHO, the Community Education Coalition, and the IUPUC Center for Teaching and Learning, the annual award is designed to raise awareness about the influence educators have on their students, as well as to recognize the image of educators as important community role models. It includes a stipend and a personal award from the Center for Teaching and Learning.

According to organizers, Myers is a committed advocate for her students, ensuring they have every learning and life opportunity possible. They said she designs individual plans for each of her students to help them reach their learning goals and fullest potential. And, along with the help of her staff, she patiently teaches social and job skills along the way.

She is active with the ARC of Bartholomew County and has served as president, vice-president, and secretary.

Myers was honored during a special presentation at Columbus East last week and will be recognized during the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting held this fall.