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EYES ON THE PRIZE

By
Jay Heater
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The future stars of Columbus basketball were on the stage during Saturday’s Elementary League Basketball Tournament finals at Columbus East High School.

After three quarters of tense, back-and-forth play between Richards and Smith in the boys game, it was the championship moment.

The Sonics knew just what to do.

With a sudden burst of offense, Smith went on a 6-0 run to claim a 36-31 lead and then held off Richards down the stretch for a 46-39 victory.

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Smith’s victory stopped Richards from claiming its third consecutive boys title.

“It was just the boys working hard and never giving up,” said Smith head coach Brad Williamson. “We had been trying to get out and run, and we were trying the get the ball to our bigger guys.”

Smith did both in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. The Sonics started the quarter with a perfect pass inside to Crase Bergman for a bucket and then after a Richards turnover, Bergman made an end-to-end dash that finished with a sparkling lay-up.

When Lake Kaisher dropped a shot on Smith’s next possession after a turnover, it was 36-31 and the Sonics had all the momentum.

The Raiders tried to battle back with Reese Harmon scoring six consecutive points for his team in the final minute, but Smith’s Ben Major put the game away with four consecutive free throws in the closing seconds.

Smith’s Kody Reynolds led the champs with 17 points that most came from his hard work in the paint. Bergman had 13 points and Major finished with 12.

Harmon led all scorers with 20 points, but it wasn’t quite enough. Kaden Wise had five points for Richards while Taylor Hollen, Chase Sams and Rhett Harmon all had four points.

Richards led in all three of the first quarters, 11-7 in the first, 21-20 at halftime and 31-30 after three.

“We just ran into a buzz saw,” said Richards coach Barry Turnbow. “We had no answer for Kody Reynolds. We also didn’t do a good job blocking out.”

Williamson was proud of his Sonics for holding together all through the season.

“I think this is a great league,” Williamson said. “I don’t think there are many communities that have a league like this. You have to tip your hat to the people who run this league.”

In the second game of the evening, Richards proved to be the dominant team on the girls side by claiming the championship with a 32-14 win over Southside.

Richards returned to championship form after losing in the finals a year ago.

First-year Richards coach Dick Macy said his team had a tough road.

“We had to play the big guns right away,” Macy said. “But against Southside, I thought we came out ready to play.”

Richards used tremendous defensive pressure to forge a 12-0 lead after the first quarter and a 22-4 lead at halftime.

Southside produced a big effort in the second half, but the deficit was too great.

“After a few losses during the season, I thought we got ourselves on track,” said Southside coach Nate Bean. “The tournament was the best team effort I’ve seen from us.”

It was the first time in four seasons that Southside had reached the finals.

“The really great thing is that all a lot of these girls (from both Southside and Richards) are going to be teammates in the future,” Bean said. “That will be really special.”

Richards didn’t have any player in double figures, but seven different players scored for the Raiders. Haylee Acton had seven points to lead her team and Kaitlin Brummett and Katy Jordan each had six points while Koryn Greiwe had five.

EBL Coordinator Dennis Pierce said more than 2,000 tickets were sold for the event, but his biggest payoff came when his son, Jacob Pierce, was announced as an “Above and Beyond” award winner as selected by his teachers for his tremendous work as an athlete and a student. The boys “Above and Beyond” winners were Jacob Pierce (Parkside), Xavion Saddler (Clifty Creek), Luke Enneking (CSA-Fodrea), Hayden Wehmiller (CSA-Lincoln), Luke Bless (Schmitt), Ben Major (Smith), Gage Bayne (Mt. Healthy), Davi Carvalho (Richards), Brody Copas (Rockcreek), Blake Stevens (Southside) and Diego Ocampo (Taylorsville).

The girls “Above and Beyond” winners were Mackenzie Whetstine (Clifty Creek), Catey Streeval (CSA-Fodrea), Alexa McKinley (CSA-Lincoln), Sydney Conley (Schmitt), Maddison Uphaus (Smith), Emma Martin (Mt. Healthy), Emily Herndon (Parkside), Megan Vetter (Richards), Makenna Piatowski (Rockcreek), Hannah Larson (Southside) and Jalynn Perry (Taylorsville).

The Cheer Award winners were Haven Eudy (Clifty Creek), Anna Kishnani (CSA-Fodrea), Emma Edwards (CSA-Lincoln), Yoko Suzuki (Schmitt), Alyse Pardue (Smith), Holly Linn (Mt. Healthy), Madison Roop (Parkside), Grace Simpson (Richards), Allison Piatkowski (Rockcreek), Ada Hammond (Southside) and Misty Waltermire (Taylorsville). The Dance Award winners were Lulu Yang of Parkside and Emily Walker of Richards.

2 kinds of hydrants; wrong one impeded firefighting effort

By
Mark Webber
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Bartholomew County is updating where its working fire hydrants are located, after firefighters thought they had access to a hydrant at an October fire but then learned they didn’t.

About half of rural fire departments asked to make visual confirmation of recorded fire hydrants had responded by the first week in January, 911 Emergency Operations Center Director Ed Reuter said.

Although he anticipates the visual checks will resume this spring, Reuter said he doesn’t know when the labor-intensive update will be completed.

When firefighters were sent to a house fire Oct. 24 in Colony Park near Taylorsville, they used data placed in the computer-aided countywide emergency dispatch system to locate a hydrant. That information indicated that a hydrant was across the street from the home.

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When they arrived at Don Purkey’s burning home on Sheffield Court, firefighters located a hydrant exactly where it was supposed to be.

Except it wasn’t a hydrant to be used in fighting fires.

Instead, the device near Purkey’s home was a “flushing hydrant,” used by utility companies for clearing water lines of silt, rust, debris or stagnant water, said Columbus Township Fire and Rescue Chief Rodney Ferrenburg.

The threads on the hoses used by area fire departments don’t fit on a flushing hydrant, and there are no manufacturers of adapters, Ferrenburg said.

While flushing hydrants cost less than fire hydrants, they are useless to firefighters working to keep flames from spreading to nearby buildings and vehicles, Ferrenburg said.

Strong winds that day fanned the flames to a vacant home south of Purkey’s residence, causing about $10,000 in damages to the empty residence.

In addition, three vehicles, including a Winnebago, parked in Purkey’s driveway were destroyed.

Although fire hydrants are required in residential neighborhoods within the Columbus city limits, most of the rural subdivisions in Bartholomew County do not have them, Columbus Fire Department Capt. Mike Wilson said.

The mission of rural water corporations historically has been to provide water for domestic use, not fire protection, said Columbus Utilities Director Keith Reeves. Also, several Bartholomew County subdivisions have no public water supply and rely on wells, he added.

In most cases with county subdivisions, tankers from a number of rural departments are brought in to supply needed water, Wilson said.

But in the Purkey fire, since firefighters thought they had a hydrant, time was lost in getting tankers to the scene, Ferrenburg said.

Information about hydrant locations was placed in the county’s 911 Emergency Operations Center dispatch system about five years ago, after being submitted by county fire departments.

The Bartholomew County Surveyor’s office then validated the exact location of each hydrant before maps of the hydrants were placed into the dispatch computer, Reuter said.

“Since learning of this incident, it is my understanding there may have been some equipment changes to some of the hydrants in the county,” Reuter said.

The Oct. 24 incident appears to be an isolated one, Bartholomew County Emergency Management Director Dennis Moats said. No similar problems have been reported since hydrant locations were placed in 911 emergency dispatch computers, he said.

Most unexpected snags encountered by emergency responders have been limited to malfunctioning or outdated equipment, such as radios, explosive detonation devices and specialized firefighting apparatus, Moats said.

Fire and utility officials say they are unaware of existing records that might indicate the number of flushing hydrants in Bartholomew County. But Columbus Utilities Director Keith Reeves said they are usually installed at the end of a water line on cul-de-sacs and dead-end roads.

While hydrants in the Colony Park neighborhood are maintained by Eastern Bartholomew Water Corp., German Township Fire Chief Robert Drake doesn’t want any fingers of blame pointed at anyone.

In fact, he commended the Taylorsville-based water utility for its long history of assistance to his department, especially in supplying water needed for emergencies and training exercises.

What is essential is that Bartholomew County firefighters have accurate information about fire hydrant locations and other resources available to handle emergencies, Drake said.

It’s also important that local residents don’t get a false sense of security by mistaking flushing hydrants for those used by firefighters, Ferrenburg said.

The easiest way to distinguish between a fire hydrant and a flushing hydrant is that flushing hydrants typically only have one outlet, while fire hydrants usually have two or three.

Since all flushing hydrants within the Columbus city limits have thin, two-inch barrels, they’ve never been mistaken for a fire hydrant, Reeves said.

“They look more like a water meter than a hydrant,” Reeves said.

In Columbus, regulations call for a maximum 800 feet between fire hydrants in all residential neighborhoods, Columbus Fire Inspector Matt Noblitt said.

Businesses are required to install a sprinkler system, and a fire hydrant no further than 35 feet from the water line that feeds the sprinklers, he said.

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Fire hydrant: Typically has two or three outlets. Used by fire departments to extinguish flames from burning homes, vehicles and other structures, and to protect property. Required in residential neighborhoods within Columbus city limits.

Flushing hydrant: Typically has one outlet. Used by utility companies for clearing water lines of silt, rust, debris or stagnant water.

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Bull Frogs smash records on way to sectional win

By
Ted Schultz
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Jim Sheridan was running out of fingers trying to count the number of records his Columbus North swimmers set Saturday afternoon.

The final tally resulted in six school records and five sectional records for the Bull Frogs. It all added up to a convincing victory in the North Sectional.

“Today was an amazing day, not just personally, but for the team overall,” said sophomore Grace Haskett, who was a part of five school and four sectional records. “We broke a lot of records today. We were focused on being a team and encouraging everyone, and when we came out here, we wanted to pump each other up.”

The 15th-ranked Bull Frogs led by only one point after the diving competition, but finished with a flurry to outscore runner-up Bloomington South 491-386. Columbus East, which landed its first state qualifier in 20 years, finished fifth with 195 points.

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North set the tone for the meet in the opening 200-yard medley relay when Haskett, Marah Bieger, Maddie Wyke and Karen Wildemann swam a school- and sectional-record 1 minute, 43.15 seconds.

Haskett also set school and sectional records in winning the 50 freestyle (23.07) and 100 backstroke (54.20). Bieger won the 200 individual medley (2:03.44) and set school and sectional records in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.61).

“I was happy with my times,” Bieger said. “My breaststroke, I had talked to (coach Jim Sheridan) about breaking the record this weekend, and then going past it next weekend (at state).

“My IM, I was actually very surprised,” she said. “I wanted to be at 2:06 this weekend, so I could be down to 2:04 next weekend, and I went way past that.”

The Bull Frogs finished off the meet with Haskett, Mackenzie Fry, Darby Coles and Bieger swimming a school and sectional record 3:29.54 in the 400 freestyle relay. Haskett’s opening leg of 51.55 is a school record for the 100 freestyle.

North also had wins from Fry in the 200 freestyle (1:55.18) and Wyke in the 100 butterfly (56.01). Wyke, Fry, Coles and Wildemann made the state cut, finishing second in 200 freestyle relay (1:37.64); and Alex Nusawardhana made the state cut with a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke (58.00).

“I think all of our relays did awesome,” Bieger said. “I think we have set up ourselves for very good position at state. Grace talked about top four (as a team), and that’s a definite goal for us.”

The state swimming preliminaries are Friday, and the finals and consolation heats are Saturday at IUPUI’s Indiana University Natatorium.

“These girls have put in the time all year long with the goal of going to the state championships,” Sheridan said. “This season is not over yet. They needed to learn for themselves how fast they could be to set up some great seeds for next week.

“That’s the kind of work and mentality they put into this,” he said. “I asked them to look inside their own faith as an athlete today, and they did that and came away huge. These young women are throwing the gauntlet down for next weekend.”

Meanwhile, sophomore Cortney VanLiew became the first East girl to qualify for state since 1995 when she made the state cut in the 50 freestyle. VanLiew finished third in a school-record 23.78.

“I still can’t believe it,” VanLiew said. “I probably won’t believe it until practice on Monday when I have to come in and swim some more. I’m very excited and very blessed to be able to go.”

East senior Emily Clancy, a first-year diver, qualified for Tuesday’s Bloomington North Diving Regional with a fourth-place finish with a school-record 346.85 points.

“Just practicing really helped me hit all my dives and be able to hit in the competition,” Clancy said. “It’s exciting.”

VanLiew also finished third in the 100 butterfly (58.58), and Maggie Frazier, Abby Frazier, Brooke Statler and VanLiew took third in the 200 freestyle relay (1:37.64).

“We had a lot of great swims, a lot of personal bests,” East coach Jill Arnholt said. “The divers did great. The girls came together. They’re so tight, and they support each other so well, I’m really proud of them.”

North plays hard, but drops tight game to Trojans

By
Staff Reports
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INDIANAPOLIS — With emotions running high in the Hoosier Invitational at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday, the Columbus North boys basketball team suffered a tough 58-56 loss to a late-charging East Central squad.

The Trojans put together a 13-0 run near the end of the third quarter and into the early part of the fourth quarter to overcome some gritty play by the Bull Dogs.

Before the game, a video message was played from the Indiana Pacers to honor hospitalized North senior Josh Speidel. Paul George, David West and Roy Hibbert were among those who shared their concern for Speidel, who is in critical but stable condition at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after being injured in an auto accident Feb. 1.

Before the message was played, East Central warmed up by wearing T-shirts with Speidel’s 32 on the back.

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“The community support and outreach we have received so far has just been crazy,” North senior wing Trent Larson said. “Seeing the Pacers’ video just brings it to a whole new level.

“We play for (Speidel), but we also try help each other at times because we miss him a lot. He was a big part of our team.”

Larson, who tore knee ligaments a week ago and appeared to be out for the rest of the season, also has been a big part of the team and he played limited minutes against East Central, scoring six points.

Larson’s decision to play added inspiration to an already emotionally-charged atmosphere.

Even so, it was a tough loss to North, which is doing everything it can to work through a difficult situation.

North senior Kooper Glick had a terrific offensive game with 18 points, but he couldn’t quite get the Bull Dogs over the top.

“We really want to go out and play our best for him,” Glick said of Speidel. “I know that he would want us to just play hard, maybe even play harder than him.”

North coach Jason Speer continues in his attempt to guide his boys through a difficult time.

“It’s been completely amazing when we lose our best friend to see everyone come together,” Speer said. “It hurts really bad, but we will continue to compete every game.”

Speer thought his players performed at a high level with extreme effort.

“Our desire was right there, but we just didn’t find the extra step we needed,” Speer said. “East Central just got us there at the end.”

North built a 27-20 lead at halftime with some solid defensive play. Starting the third quarter, Glick would score seven points that sparked a 9-0 run to push the lead to double digits at 36-24.

However, it was at that point the Trojans got it together, scoring the final seven points of the quarter to make it 36-31.

The Trojans duo of Hunter Kammer and Matt Schuman would hurt the Bull Dogs in the fourth quarter as they scored 23 of the 27 Trojans’ fourth-quarter points.

The Bull Dogs simply could not find the basket to counter as the Trojans eventually pulled ahead 47-44 with less than two minutes remaining in the game. North did drain four 3-pointers in the final minute and a half, but East Central countered with Kammer and Schuman going a perfect 9-for-9 from the foul line.

“I thought we got lost on defense at times and just could not nail our shots,” Glick said. “It is hard for us to click the entire game with a lot of freshmen and sophomores coming up from JV, so it will take some time for us to build chemistry.”

Speer said credit had to be given to East Central.

“It was not about what we did wrong but rather what East Central was doing right,” Speer said. “They attacked the rim better, and them knocking down their free throws at the end was huge.”

2 injured in I-65 accident near Columbus

By
Staff Reports
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Two people were injured during an accident involving three passenger vehicles on southbound Interstate 65 about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, police said.

A LifeLine helicopter transported one individual with serious leg injuries to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, said Maj. Chris Lane, chief deputy for the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

Another occupant from one of the vehicles involved was transported to Columbus Regional Hospital after complaining of pain, Lane said.

The accident occurred about two miles north of the State Road 46 exit, between Columbus and Taylorsville, temporarily closing southbound I-65, Lane said.

Local Police, Fire – February 8

By
Staff Reports
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The following information was summarized from the records of city, county and state police, fire and hospital agencies.

Arrests

Wednesday

Erin R. Fasnacht, 33, 3036 Fairlawn Court, Columbus, probation violation, 3:17 p.m., by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, no bond.

Richard L. Stagge, 40, Shelbyville, Bartholomew County warrant, 3:41 p.m., by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, released on $10,000 bond.

Terry L. Jones, 25, 738 Hutchins Ave., Columbus, Bartholomew County warrant, 7:14 p.m., by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, no bond.

Amy T. Miles, 24, 10 W. County Road 550S, Columbus, theft less than $750, 7:30 p.m., by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, released on $5,000 bond.

Michael Gene Furst, 33, 130 Midway Drive, Hope, failure to stop after an accident, leaving the scene of an accident-damage to vehicle, neglect of a dependent, 8:06 p.m., by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, held in lieu of $12,500 bond.

James Westley Thomas, 23, Edinburgh, fraud, theft between $750 and $50,000 of a firearm or prior convictions, 8:17 p.m., by the Edinburgh Police Department, held in lieu of $15,000 bond.

Thursday

Dustten J. Hitch, 20, 2034 Gilmore St., Columbus, burglary, resisting law enforcement with vehicle, resisting law enforcement, 8:27 a.m., by the Columbus Police Department, held in lieu of $52,500 bond.

Anthony Wayne Paul, 51, 15602 S. Lake Shore Drive, Hope, Bartholomew County warrant, 12:07 p.m., by the Indiana State Police, released on $75,000 bond.

Brian Keith George, 24, 3054 Rosewood Lane, Columbus, Batholomew County warrant, 1:15 p.m., by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, held in lieu of $3,500 bond.

Fire, medic runs

Thursday

3:16 a.m. — Illness at the intersection of 12th Street and Cottage Avenue.

3:34 a.m. — Possible heart attack in the 2000 block of Chapa Drive.

6:24 a.m. — Injury in the 3800 block of Heritage Court.

7:24 a.m. — Difficulty breathing in the 1900 block of Taylor Road.

8:52 a.m. — Illness in the 900 block of Lindsey Street.

10:04 a.m. — Seizure in the 2100 block of Midway Street.

12:50 p.m. — Injury in the 2400 block of Franklin Street.

5:13 p.m. — Illness in the 2000 block of Merchants Mile.

7:45 p.m. — Diabetic reaction in the 2500 block of Boulder Drive.

9:23 p.m. — Diabetic reaction in the 2500 block of Boulder Road.

9:48 p.m. — Injury at the intersection of 10th Street and North Marr Road.

10:39 p.m. — Difficulty breathing in the 8400 block of North Sheffield Court.

Incidents

Thursday

12:10 a.m. — Suspicious person in vehicle at the intersection of 12th and Iowa streets.

12:42 a.m. — Suspicious person in the 500 block of Pence Street.

1:09 a.m. — Possible drunken driver in 700 block of McClure Road.

1:54 a.m. — Shoplifting in the 1600 block of Central Avenue.

2:58 a.m. — Residential burglary in the 700 block of Werner Avenue.

4:10 a.m. — Theft attempted in the 2200 block of Southeastern Boulevard.

6:08 a.m. — Property-damage accident in the 6300 block of West County Road 450S.

6:27 a.m. — Suspicious person in the 2300 block of West Jonathan Moore Pike.

7:04 a.m. — Slideoff at the intersection of West Random Road and U.S. 31 North.

7:11 a.m. — Reckless driving at the intersection of West Count Road 550N and U.S. 31 North.

7:25 a.m. — Reckless driving in the 6400 block of Interstate 65 North.

8:09 a.m. — Property-damage accident at the intersection of North National Road and 10th Street.

9:16 a.m. — Property-damage accident at the intersection of 10th Street and Taylor Road.

9:33 a.m. — Suspicious person in vehicle in the 2300 block of West Jonathan Moore Pike.

9:36 a.m. — Property-damage accident at the intersection of 17th Street and Keller Avenue.

9:38 a.m. — Property-damage accident at the intersection of Hope Avenue and North Mapleton Street.

10:24 a.m. — Slideoff at the intersection of West County Road 600N and U.S. 31 North.

10:32 a.m. — Property damage in the 9500 block of South County Road 100W.

10:50 a.m. — Disturbance in the 600 block of Washington Street.

11:03 a.m. — Suspicious person in vehicle at the intersection of Wallace Avenue and Oak Street.

12:36 p.m. — Theft in the 1100 block of Saylor Drive.

1:44 p.m. — Property damage in the 2000 block of Merchants Mile.

1:52 p.m. — Property-damage accident at the intersection of Tipton Lakes Boulevard and West Goeller Boulevard.

2:12 p.m. — Mischief and vandalism in the 800 block of McClure Road.

3:21 p.m. — Reckless driving in the 7000 block of Interstate 65 North.

3:41 p.m. — Disturbance in the 2700 block of 24th Street.

3:50 p.m. — Suspicious person at the intersection of Line Oak Drive and Tipton Lakes Boulevard.

4:04 p.m. — Reckless driving at the intersection of 10th Street and North National Road.

4:39 p.m. — Fraud reported in the 15000 block of East County Road 300S.

4:41 p.m. — Shoplifting in the 3800 block of 25th Street.

5:00 p.m. — Property-damage accident in the 400 block of Jonesville Road.

5:23 p.m. — Suspicious person in the 11000 block of North executive Drive.

5:29 p.m. — Reckless driving in the 2500 block of 25th Street.

6:00 p.m. — Reckless driving at the intersection of Central Avenue and Rocky Ford Road.

6:14 p.m. — Harassment reported in the 5200 block of South Lincoln Village Drive.

6:22 p.m. — Possible drunken driver in the 2000 block of Merchants Mile.

6:51 p.m. — Property-damage accident in the 1000 block of East County Road 100S.

7:48 p.m. — Reckless driving at the intersection of East Stephen Drive and State Road 7 East.

8:01 p.m. — Suspicious person in the 1700 block of 17th Street.

8:52 p.m. — Suspicious person in the 530 block of Fifth Street.

8:58 p.m. — Suspicious person in vehicle in the 2800 block of Lucas Way.

9:34 p.m. — Possible drunken driver at the intersection of Second and Brown streets.

10:04 p.m. — Missing adult in the 5500 block of Jonesville Road.

10:38 p.m. — Road hazard at the intersection of South Marr Road and South Gladstone Avenue.

11:08 p.m. — Suspicious person in vehicle at the intersection of South County Road 750E and East County Road 200S.

Local sports scrapbook – February 8

By
Staff Reports
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LOCAL BRIEFS

North girls soccer offers open-field sessions

The Columbus North girls soccer team is having open-field sessions from 6 to 7 a.m. Wednesdays and Fridays through March 20 on the North football field.

Players should dress according to the weather and bring turf, gym and running shoes.

Scipio Baseball plans sign-ups at firehouse

Sign-ups for Scipio Baseball will be from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Scipio Firehouse for boys and girls ages 4 and older.

Registration is $20 for the first player and $15 for each additional player in the same household. For more information, call 812-592-3571 after 4:30 p.m.

Boomers to conduct tryouts for spring season

The Columbus Boomers will conduct tryouts for its spring AAU girls basketball season Feb. 21 at Edinburgh Community High School.

Tryouts will be from 9 to 10:30 a.m. for Grades 4 and 5 and from 10:30 a.m. to noon for eighth-graders. For more information, contact Amy Macy, 812-603-1085 or amymacy@hotmail.com.

Columbus Flag Football planning tourney, season

Registration is under way for Columbus Flag Football’s spring preseason tournament, which will begin at 10 a.m. Feb. 22.

Cost is $20 per player. Teams are asked to pay at least $100 to register.

To register, contact Larry Anthony via Facebook message, call or text him at 812-525-6940 or email him at columbusflagfootball@gmail.com. Anthony will also be taking registration at Applebee’s at 5 p.m. Feb. 20.

The spring season will begin March 15. The first registration deadline will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 27 at Applebee’s. Early registration is $550 for men’s teams and $350 for women’s teams.

The late registration deadline will be March 6 and is $650 for men’s teams and $450 for women’s teams. For more information, contact Anthony.

Sign-ups underway for Hope ball programs

Signups for Hope Summer Playground’s T-ball, baseball and softball seasons will continue through March 6 for ages 4 to 14.

To register or for more information, contact 812-344-1794 or 812-390-9670 or visit eteamz/com/HopeSummerPlayground.

Dunn Stadium summer league sign-ups continue

Registration for summer softball leagues at Dunn Stadium will continue through March 21.

Men’s and women’s leagues will be Wednesday nights, and the coed league will be Thursday nights. For more information, contact Adam Fish, 812-552-6580 or dunnstadium@hotmail.com.

Governor’s plan sends lifeline to rural hospitals

By
Staff Reports
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With the approval of the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 waiver after months of negotiations, Gov. Mike Pence and his administration are to be commended for their efforts to secure this innovative, affordable coverage program for those who need it most: our state’s working families.

With HIP, more than 350,000 additional Hoosiers will soon be on the path toward a healthier future.

While our focus is on enrolling our patients so that they can have improved access to preventive care and the security of coverage, there is no doubt that this announcement also sends a much-needed lifeline to Indiana’s safety net hospitals. As part of their commitment to their communities, these hospitals bear the significant financial burden of providing care to those without insurance. Hospitals, particularly in rural parts of Indiana, also serve as local economic anchors while also treating our society’s most vulnerable.

Indiana has 35 critical access hospitals, which are restricted to 25 beds or fewer. These hospitals are located in rural areas where access to health care providers is limited. Patients at these and other rural hospitals are often economically disadvantaged, elderly or disabled.

Given federal budget cuts, the amount of financial strain on these hospitals is even greater. According to a 2012 report from the Center for Rural Affairs, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement together account for 60 percent of rural hospital revenues. Under the Affordable Care Act, however, steep Medicare payment cuts were imposed on hospitals in order to pay for expanded coverage — about $4 billion over 10 years.

Without a significant increase in coverage to offset these cuts now, we feared that Indiana could suffer from rural hospital closures like those seen in Georgia and other states. However, the financial stability that HIP 2.0 will now provide will prevent many of our members from having to eliminate services, or even worse, close their doors.

But there is still work to do as we must now turn to outreach and enrollment activities to connect our friends and neighbors with their new coverage options.

Hospitals are working closely with other community groups to reach uninsured Hoosiers who qualify to get them signed up. Anyone interested in HIP 2.0 can go to HIP.IN.gov or call 1-877-GET-HIP-9 and see if they’re eligible based on their income and family size.

With a statewide network of more than 1,100 certified navigators standing by, qualified Hoosiers can get help enrolling in HIP immediately.

We sincerely thank Pence and all those at the local, state and federal level who had a hand in making HIP 2.0 a reality. Now that hundreds of thousands of lower-income, working Hoosiers in our great state of Indiana can get the coverage they desperately need, Indiana’s future just got a lot brighter.

Douglas J. Leonard is president of the Indiana Hospital Association and a former CEO of Columbus Regional Hospital.

Vigilance needed with stop-arm regulations

By
Staff Reports
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When a school bus stops, its lights begin flashing and a red stop arm extends from the side, do you know what to do? You should.

Unfortunately, too many drivers don’t know the rules or ignore them. That puts the lives of children at risk when getting on and off buses. That should not be allowed to happen.

Because of motorists’ ignorance or disregard of stop-arm rules, Columbus Police Department has been cracking down on offenders. As part of their strategy, officers sometimes ride school buses, and unmarked vehicles have been placed near bus routes. Both are intended to catch offenders in the act.

This wouldn’t be necessary if motorists were aware of or followed the rules regarding stop arms:

Vehicles must stop, from either direction, for a school bus that is stopped for loading or unloading children and displays or has recently displayed a stop-signal arm. This rule does not apply if the bus is on the opposite roadway of a divided highway that has a curbed median.

If you are on the same side of a median-divided highway as a stopped school bus with stop arm extended, you must stop.

On multiple-lane streets with no curbed median, all lanes of traffic are required to stop in both directions.

The traffic citation for disregarding a school bus stop arm is a Class A infraction. That makes it more serious than most traffic tickets and carries a fine of up to $10,000.

One way police could further ramp up awareness about stop-arm rules is to conduct blitzes, similar to those performed to catch drunken drivers. Those tend to make motorists think twice about drinking and driving — a benefit to all other motorists.

A few public, concentrated efforts to catch stop-arm violators would spread the word and make people more aware of young school bus riders and the rules intended to keep them safe.

Letter: Results show we have right mayor

By
Staff Reports
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From: Bob Snively

Columbus

It seems that every four years we hear from every political candidate about how they represent the best interests of “we the people.” Now surely not every candidate bothers to ask all of the people for our views, so we can only judge them on their records.

For several years I paid $14 a month or $168 per year for a tax to have my trash picked up by the city. Councilman Jim Lienhoop voted, not once but twice, for this tax. He voted for it initially, refused to second the motion of Priscilla Scalf to rescind it and then voted to reduce it to $9 per month but still left it as a $108 per year tax. Mayor Kristen Brown removed this onerous tax after taking office without raising property taxes.

Lienhoop voted for spending our tax dollars on the highly unpopular downtown outdoor sports complex and the half-baked scheme to build ski lakes in the flood plains out on State Road 46 West. Brown got rid of the sports complex and spent the money on our crumbling city streets instead.

The councilman was part of an administration that thought the city limits of Columbus extended north to Eighth Street, south to Water Street, east to Lafayette Avenue and west to Lindsey Street, and he never seemed to protest that the rest of the city was suffering from neglect. Brown has changed that for the better.

She has completed the State Street corridor revitalization plan and has begun implementation of the plan. This is long past due and a reflection that Brown knows there is a Columbus east of Lafayette Avenue and that all parts of the city deserve equal services.

Now we are seeing the start of curbside recycling in Columbus, which was another promise Brown made when she ran. Through her tireless efforts she was able to get almost every company in town to help pay the cost so that it is being done without any kind of tax increase to me or to you.

I wanted a mayor who would represent all of the people of this great city instead of the “good old boys” who have ruled for so long, and I feel that I have her in Kristen Brown.

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