Year in review: March

1

Columbus sent out a “save the date” note for its 2018 national symposium in September, extending an invitation to continue a conversation about preserving and celebrating Modern architecture.

2

A council of community partners that deal with children and teens has created and began rolling out a master plan to look out for the best interests of Bartholomew County youths.

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3

Columbus Regional Health purchased about 800 acres of land on the west side of Columbus for $11 million from Garden City Farms LLC, where future health services would be located as part of the system’s strategic plan in order to meet the community’s health care needs.

4

The Columbus North and East gymnastics teams finished 1-2 in the regional and advanced to the state meet.

5

Garry Hoff, a Duke Energy lineman who spent two months in Puerto Rico with a 20-person volunteer crew restoring power to the hurricane-ravaged country, was set to return to his home in Columbus.

6

A semi trailer that overturned on top of a car on the Robert N. Stewart Bridge did not cause any serious injuries, but created traffic headaches for motorists heading into Columbus.

7

The 10,993 gun permits held by Bartholomew County residents at the end of 2017 represented an 89 percent increase from 2012, according to Indiana State Police data.

8

City council unanimously approved a resolution that authorized the Columbus Redevelopment Commission to spend $496,900 to create schematic drawings and conduct design development work for the city’s Riverfront project.

9

Cummins, Inc. chose International Women’s Day to announce a multi-million dollar investment in programs designed to empower women and girls during a three-year rollout, advancing its long-term company commitment.

10

Prosecutors requested that one of three juveniles, a 16-year-old Columbus male that was accused of making school threats last month, be waived into adult court.

11

All On the same day, the Columbus Icemen won their fifth state title, in Class 2A of the Indiana State High School Hockey Association, East senior Adi Minor won two individual state gymnastics titles (vault, uneven bars) and North gymnast Claire Thompson was the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award recipient.

12

Mill Race Marathon announced it was adding a new sponsor this year, German American Bank, for the Sept. 22 event and might debut a new course.

13

Visitors to the Pleasant Grove area on the east side of Columbus would soon find themselves surrounded by butterflies, bees and native plants under plans to redevelop the neighborhood as a pollinator park.

14

Rachel Cialdella, a North senior, organized the Cause for Critters garage sale to benefit the Bartholomew County Humane Society for her senior project, in memory of Jacquelyn Watts, a Columbus East graduate who passed away trying to save a small dog.

15

With water leaking from the ceiling, exterior bricks crumbling and entrance doors and restrooms not handicap-accessible, 71-year-old Donner Center was heading near the end of its useful life.

16

Area college professors, experts and instructors on various specialties led discussions at Mill Race Center during the local version of the national Great Decisions, an event that covers global politics.

17

After less than a year, Needler’s Fresh Market — a former Marsh store — would close its store at 3075 25th St. in Clover Center next month.

18

Alex Kingsbury, a Central Middle School student with a penchant for adventure, overcame slim odds and was walking after becoming paralyzed in a tree parachuting accident.

19

A display at Columbus City Hall aimed to highlight dangers of tobacco use while encouraging young people to avoid smoking.

20

An Easter season tradition would return March 31 at Donner Park with the 59th Community Easter Egg Hunt.

21

Changes were possibly in store for the third year of the city’s bike-share program, called ColumBIKE, as stakeholders looked for ways to build usage.

22

The Men in the Life of Kids event, an initiative for children enrolled in the Early Head Start and Head Start programs at Human Services, Inc., gave children an opportunity to interact with different men in the community so they could see them in different roles and as role models.

23

Columbus entered an agreement with the Indiana Department of Transportation for the second phase of a project to improve Lowell Road that involves widening, and possibly adding additional travel lanes.

24

Bartholomew County’s population grew at a faster rate, 3.1 percent, over the past five years than the state and most of its neighboring counties, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

25

Bartholomew County residents gathered on the steps of Columbus City Hall to echo messages in support of students, not guns, for the March for Our Lives rally.

26

East High School’s valedictorian, Lizzy Frazier, chose to pursue medicine after graduation and cited being involved with First Presbyterian Church mission trips across the United States as one of the reasons.

27

Fundraising for a new $385,000 concrete skate park in Columbus passed the halfway mark, but it will take a push to have the skate park ready to open by the end of June.

28

Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. leaders reviewed security procedures at its schools, looking at increasing the number of drills it conducts, and considering making improvements to a 1,000-camera surveillance system protecting the Columbus-based school district.

29

Three Columbus residents are accused of engaging in and promoting animal fighting contests after Indiana Gaming Commission investigators discovered cockfighting activity in Brown County, as well as related activities in Kentucky.

30

Erin Bailey of Columbus Signature Academy — New Tech High School said she was both excited and stunned after her senior project to host a pride festival in Columbus turned heads nationally and internationally.

31

A public-engagement process had begun for the Envision Columbus Downtown Strategic Development Plan, to improve upon the downtown area over the next 20 years.