Staff Reports
If your mind and heart is already set ahead to 2021, no one could blame you.
There are many ways to describe 2020, but few would describe it as “the best year ever.” Those 2020 dumpster-fire Christmas tree ornaments are a pretty good summation.
But even with the repercussions of a pandemic that affected every local resident in myriad ways — deaths, illness, loss of employment, loss of businesses, food insecurity and more, 2020 also saw our community try to help each other in ways never before attempted.
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We donated food and money to help our neighbors, and invented ways to come together through computer technology for fellowship, worship and encouragement.
We honored our first responders, front-line workers and teachers with support and thanks, as they continued to show up for long shifts and no breaks to care for those who needed it.
Local residents volunteered to distribute food to long lines of hungry families waiting in cars; no matter the weather.
And the grocery stores and restaurants, and their employees, found new ways to serve their customers safety, staying with us through pickup and delivery and keeping a sense of humor about it as much as possible.
In nearly every aspect of life, as a community, we had to work together to find new ways to still be a community while social distancing in an attempt to protect those around us.
So if there is one takeaway from that dumpster fire of 2020 — it is this. We are stronger, more resilient, more agile, more creative and braver than we were in 2019. Don’t forget to take some of that with you as we turn the page to 2021.
Here are the Top 10 stories of 2020, as selected by Republic editors and reporters.
1. The COVID-19 pandemic
No aspect of life was untouched by COVID-19 in 2020, as the pandemic changed almost everything about navigating the year.
As Bartholomew County prepared to end the year, the county was reporting 84 deaths, with nearly 5,400 positive cases, and continuing worries that hospitalizations would overwhelm an already challenged health care system.
Columbus and the county set up a task force to organize the community’s response to the pandemic, led by city, county and health department officials.
Local school systems reverted to eLearning, back to in-person learning, then back to eLearning late in the year, with plans to move students back to classrooms in early 2021.
Businesses emerged from a pandemic shutdown early in the year to a new landscape of peril, and unemployment surged to 18.4% in April, higher than the state and national averages of 16.9% and 14.7%. By comparison, Bartholomew County’s unemployment rate in April 2019 was 2%.
Feeding America, a nationwide association of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries, projected that one out of every six residents in Bartholomew County — including one of every four children — are at risk of going hungry due to the pandemic. During a food distribution event on Nov. 11, Indianapolis-based Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana gave out food for 550 families at Columbus Municipal Airport. Unfortunately, cars had to be turned away after just 45 minutes because they ran out of food.
Love Chapel is facing an unprecedented need for food in the community, and expects that need to continue into the next three to six months as a result of the pandemic. This year, Love Chapel is on pace to provide a shocking 1.3 million pounds of food to local community members, up from around 1 million pounds in 2018, and $1.2 million pounds in 2019. “The need has always been there, but the pandemic has made it far more obvious,” said Love Chapel Executive Director Kelly Daugherty. “There have been people coming to the food who literally have not eaten in two days.”
The end of 2020 brought the first COVID-19 vaccinations to Columbus Regional Health personnel, including the first Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination on Dec. 17.
2.
Record absentee and early voting
This year’s presidential election brought new records for Bartholomew County as many voters turned to early voting and absentee voting for safety during the pandemic.
Bartholomew County saw higher turnout for the Nov. 3 presidential election than most counties in the state, according to the final election turnout report that state election officials released. Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson announced that 65% of registered voters — 3,068,542 out of the state’s 4,751,708 registered voters — cast ballots in the 2020 presidential election, which was the highest turnout in nearly 30 years.
Bartholomew County, however, saw higher even higher turnout, with 69% of registered voters casting ballots, according to local records.
A total of 36,673 people voted in Bartholomew County, surpassing the previous record of 33,198, which was set in 2016, said Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps.
However, only about 25% of the votes in 2020 were cast in-person on Election Day after a record 20,843 people voted early at FairOaks Mall and 6,700 voters cast absentee ballots through the mail, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office.
3.
BCSC referendum passes
A referendum requesting additional property tax support to fund Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. teacher salaries and teacher retention and school safety passed in the June primary with 9,356 people (61.33%) voting for the increase and 5,900 people (38.67%) voting against.
The referendum will generate about $7.8 million per year in additional property tax revenue to fund teacher and support staff salary increases and student safety. BCSC property taxes will be raised by $0.156 per $100 of assessed value to roughly $1.01 starting in 2021. BCSC officials initially had sought a $0.195 per $100 of assessed valuation increase, but lowered the request before the public information sessions began.
A total of 86.5% of the increased property tax revenue will be spent on employee recruitment and retention and 13.5% will go to student safety, according to figures from BCSC. The latter category includes plans for “funding for existing school resource officers, mental health counselors in all buildings, and to update the bus fleet so that no buses are older than 12 years old.”
According to a property tax calculator on BCSC’s website, a home with an assessed value $141,800 — the average home value in BCSC’s tax district — will see an estimated annual property tax increase of $93.48, or $7.79 per month. A property assessed at a value of $300,000 could expect to see an increase of around $253.89 per year, or $21.16 per month.
The pay increase for teachers will begin in January of 2021, but the property tax increase will not begin until May of 2021.
4.
Columbus railroad overpass competed
Columbus and its partners had a ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 30 to officially open a new $35 million railroad overpass project at State Road 46 and State Road 11.
The project was jointly funded by the Indiana Department of Transportation, city of Columbus, Bartholomew County, Cummins Inc. and the Louisville & Indiana and CSX railroads.
The overpass project was developed in response to a projected increase in railroad traffic on the Louisville & Indiana Railroad tracks. INDOT picked up half of the total cost, while the city, along with other partners, pick up the half of the tab.
The railroad has leased its tracks running through Columbus to CSX, which is expected to result in an increase in train traffic, train speed and delays at intersections involving rail crossings through the city, with the State Road 46/State Road 11 intersection expected to have the most delayed local traffic.
5.
Cummins heads in new direction
Cummins Inc. unveiled plans in November for how it intends to ramp up its fuel cell and hydrogen production business in the coming years amid a global push to curb greenhouse gas emissions and avert the threat of catastrophic climate change.
Cummins, which is based in Columbus and is the largest employer in the area, expects green hydrogen to play an important role in cutting emissions in some of the industries that are most dependent on fossil fuels and now face strict climate targets in many countries.
Two of the clean energy technologies are electrolyzers — which use electricity to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen — and hydrogen fuel cells — which essentially put the two elements back together to produce electricity and power a motor.
Cummins projects that its electrolyzer business will have about $400 million in annual revenues within the next five years, said Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger.
Additionally, the company plans to ship fuel cell systems for at least 100 trains, mainly in Europe, by 2025, the company said.
“All in all, hydrogen technologies, particularly electrolyzers, will be a fast growing and increasingly important part of our business over the next few years,” Linebarger said. “Simply put, Cummins is ready for a world in which hydrogen adoption accelerates and we’re well positioned to drive this change.”
6.
Drug overdoses spike again
Bartholomew County saw a jump in drug overdose deaths amid the coronavirus pandemic, which local officials said has created a “terrible, perfect storm” of stress and isolation while limiting access to outreach programs, in-person meetings and treatment for those in recovery.
A total of 30 people in Bartholomew County died from drug overdoses from Jan. 1 to Dec. 18 — or nearly one death every 12 days — matching 2017 for the highest tally over the past three years, according to the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office.
Additionally, local law enforcement officers have received more calls for potential drug overdoses or poisonings this year compared to the previous two years, and reports of naloxone being administered during EMS runs in Bartholomew County have risen to their highest levels on record.
During the first 10 months of the year, the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office received a combined 207 calls for potential overdoses or poisonings, up from 156 during all of 2019, according to the Bartholomew County 911 Emergency Operations Center. Calls directed to the sheriff’s office nearly doubled.
From January to September, EMS providers reported administering naloxone 185 times in Bartholomew County, compared to 105 times during all of last year, according to the most recent data from the Indiana State Department of Health.
7.
An increase in homicides
Bartholomew County started the year with a string of homicides, an unusual occurrence for the county.
On Jan. 4, investigators said Derek Henderson, 38, Columbus, died of multiple gunshot trauma after he was shot after confronting a homeowner with a baseball bat inside the homeowner’s residence on Home Avenue in Columbus, according to investigators. The prosecutor’s office said the use of force by the homeowner in the confrontation was justifiable, legal self-defense and no charges were filed.
A Hope man, James T. Mee, 77, was accused killing his son, Charles A. Mee, 50, Hope, in a stabbing incident in the 200 block of Scott Street on Jan. 10. James T. Mee died later in 2020.
A local man who was found shot to death in the Tool Dynamics parking lot Feb. 26 worked for the business where he was found. Leobardo Rodriguez Flores, 37, Columbus, was found in the parking lot of the business at 835 S. Marr Road at 11:15 p.m. Feb. 26. Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting said Flores died from a gunshot wound to the head. Three people were charged in the incident with Eliel Avelar, 31, charged with murder, but has since entered a plea bargain agreement. Two other Columbus residents were also arrested in conjunction with the murder, Abraham Jimenez Cesareo, 35, of 2207 Seventh St., and Eladia Jacobo-Ortiz, 34, of 895 S. National Road, both being held on preliminary charges of conspiracy to commit serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony.
The Bartholomew County Coroner’s office said a prominent local businesswoman died from a gunshot wound to the head at a west-side Columbus apartment complex May 8. The victim was identified as Cassondra M. Wilson, 45, of Columbus, who police said died at 3773 Picea Place in the Spruce Ridge Apartments. The Columbus Police Department is continuing an investigation in this case.
A Waynesville woman was found dead in her home on Sept. 28, identified as Sharon K. Lovins, 64. Cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxia due to manual strangulation with the death ruled a homicide. A man believed to be Lovins’ nephew, Bobby Neil Truitt II, 19, was charged with murder in her death.
8.
Josh Speidel’s shining moment
In the opening minute as a starter in his first University of Vermont college game on March 3, Josh Speidel took a pass from senior teammate Everett Duncan and went up for a layup to score his first collegiate points. But before Speidel took that pass from Duncan, the other three Vermont players on the court touched the basketball. Catamounts coach John Becker said Speidel wanted it that way.
“We talked about just having Everett (Duncan) pass it to Benny (Shungu) and Benny pass it to me because those were my two roommates,” Speidel said. “I went into coach and said, ‘Everett and Benny have been a huge part of this, but this is a team thing. Do you mind if they all touch it?’”
So after Albany scored the game’s first points in a prearranged setup, Vermont brought the ball up court and worked it to Speidel, who took a couple of steps and laid the ball in the basket, setting off a loud cheer in Patrick Gymnasium.
“I can’t really put it into words, just being out there for the first time, that emotion,” Speidel said. “But the night wasn’t just about me. It was senior night, and we honored three managers and three other seniors. Those group of guys, (seniors) Daniel (Giddens), Anthony (Lamb) and Everett, I thank them for allowing me to have last night, but the night wasn’t just about me.”
Following his basket, Speidel, a senior from Columbus North, left the game to a standing ovation from the Vermont faithful who had come to watch the Catamounts in their regular-season finale at Patrick Gymnasium. They were treated to an 85-62 win against Albany.
Speidel, the Bull Dogs’ all-time leading scorer, had his basketball career put on hold when he was critically injured and suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident late in his senior high school season in 2015. He has spent the past four years on the Vermont team and made his first start on senior night.
“Of course, it was an emotional night,” said his mother, Lisa. “It’s a night that we always believed would happen. When he walked out of the locker room in his warmup, I cried. It’s exactly what I imagined it would look like. Hearing his name when the starting lineup was introduced is exactly how I imagined it would sound six years before his accident.”
Lisa and David Speidel, along with their older daughter Jamie, flew to Vermont so they could be a part of Josh’s big night. The family members were able to stand under the basket where Josh made his layup.
“When he came off, he hugged Jamie and then Dave and he hugged me, and he said, ‘I did it Momma,’ and I said, ‘Yes, you did,’” Lisa said.
9.
Two officers plead guilty to ghost employment
Two former Columbus Police Department officers received suspended sentences from a special judge after pleading guilty to ghost employment.
Dan Meister, 47, 952 Jackson St., Hope and Ron May, 59, 8015 S. County Road 875W, were originally charged with official misconduct, ghost employment and theft — all Level 6 felonies.
Both were accused of working a second job providing security at Columbus Regional Hospital while clocked in as city officers. Meister was accused of overlapped hours worked on 52 separate occasions, while May was accused of overlapped hours on 62 separate occasions between Jan. 1, 2013 and Aug. 31, 2018, according to a state audit.
In December, Special Judge Richard W. Poynter allowed May and Meister to plead guilty to ghost employment. In exchange, the two other felony charges were dropped by Special Prosecutor Jeff Chalfant of Jackson County. Poynter then agreed to convert the ghost employment felony charge to a Class A misdemeanor for both defendants before he ordered that they serve suspended one-year sentences.
Both were ordered to be placed under supervised probation until it can be verified that they have paid all restitution, court costs and fines, Poynter said. Those conditions may have already been met. The Indiana Attorney General’s office has verified that May has paid $4,903 in restitution, while Meister paid $4,110.
10.
Greenbelt stays open with community support
An outpouring of community support and some creative budgeting led the Columbus City Council to vote in October to continue funding Greenbelt Golf Course and keeping it open.
Council members approved the 2021 city budget on first reading, which included $176,000 to be transferred from the council budget to the parks’ non-reverting fund for golf staffing, allowing the course to remain open.
The city began organizing an advisory committee to look at Greenbelt and Par 3 golf course operations. Mayor Jim Lienhoop said he plans to create a larger panel that “looks at golf as a whole” in the future.
At a public hearing July 8, local residents vehemently opposed closing Greenbelt, which had been proposed by the city due to sinking revenues.
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Here are some of the other stories considered for the Top 10 that could have easily made the list…
- In March, three juveniles are arrested after being accused of a downtown spray-painting vandalism spree, which included damage to the iconic Large Arch at the Bartholomew County Library.
- The Columbus North High School boys cross country team wins a state championship.
- Columbus East football coach Bob Gaddis retires after 20 years at East and 42 years as a high school football coach.
- The Flying Boxcar C-119 arrives at Columbus Municipal Airport and renovation begins.
- Columbus begins confronting racial justice and police reform with the Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County dedicating a year-long effort to the issue.
- Columbus Philharmonic celebrates the opening of the Helen Haddad Performing Arts Center, a $2.5 million renovation.
- The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department receives approval to purchase body cameras.
- The Bartholomew County Jail begins its in-house addiction treatment program with several classes graduating.
- Columbus and Bartholomew County agree on a land swap that will lead to a new downtown hotel conference center and a new court services building near the jail.
- A local man is arrested after found roaming the Central Middle School parking lot with two loaded handguns.
- A grassroots renewed effort to "Save the Crump" emerges with some events centered around the shuttered facility downtown.
- Exhibit Columbus carries on through the pandemic, attracting thousands to its online symposium series from around the globe.
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Inside today’s Republic you’ll find the annual Year in Review section. The publication recaps the top headlines from each day of 2020.
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For a list of the year’s top sports stories, see Page B1.
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