The deadline for applying for any kindergarten openings at Columbus Signature Academy elementary campuses is quickly approaching.

Any family interested in the project-based program should apply online before Saturday. Applications can be found on the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. website at bcsc.k12.in.us.

Campus tours are available Friday mornings.

A fourth Republican is seeking the GOP nomination for an at-large seat on the Columbus City Council in the May 5 primary.

Business owner Debbie Kramer, co-owner of Kramer’s Restaurant at 1606 Central Ave., filed paperwork to become a candidate Tuesday.

Kramer said she had been thinking about running for some time and would like to tackle issues including crime rates in Columbus and the need to improve infrastructure.

She also said she could bring something new to city hall.

“Respect would be a great word,” she said. “I think everyone should give respect for the position that they hold.”

Kramer said she supports Mayor Kristen Brown’s vision for Columbus over the next four years and said the past four years have been some of the city’s best.

She said she would be willing to do anything to improve the quality of life for animals in the city.

Kramer is one of four Republicans who are seeking the nomination for two city council at-large seats. Other candidates who have filed include incumbent Kenny Whipker, Laurie Booher and Charles Doup.

Downtown Columbus business owner Tom Dell is seeking the Democratic nomination for a council at-large seat.

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Age: 59

Address: 1502 Rockford Road

Employment: Co-owner of Kramer’s Restaurant in Columbus

Current office held: None

Past office held: None

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Due to a staff error, the address of The Original Party Mart was listed incorrectly in the January issue of She magazine’s “Women in Charge” article. The store’s correct address is 1640 Home Ave.

HAYDEN — Jennings County youth football player Calvin Clark could head home from an Indianapolis hospital Thursday, the next step in his recovery from a serious head injury he suffered in a game Nov. 1.

Clark’s classmates and staff members at Hayden Elementary School, who have been raising money to help the Clark family, continue to wear #calvinstrong T-shirts and bracelets daily.

In his classroom, Calvin’s desk has been left untouched during his absence, except for the addition of Indiana University gear, posters and other gifts that students wanted to give him during his recovery.

And word that Calvin could be coming home this week has the school abuzz, Principal Brent Comer said.

“We are going to be so excited, so thrilled, when he can come through that doorway,” Comer said.

The Jennings County community has united behind Calvin and the Clark family since the football player collapsed during a Police Athletic Activities League tournament in Columbus, where he was competing as a fullback for the Jennings County Panthers Youth Football team.

He initially was listed in critical condition at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health after undergoing surgery to control bleeding in his brain. Since then he has made slow, gradual but remarkable improvements.

Late last year, he was moved into a rehabilitation wing and has been working hard to grow strong enough to be released.

Comer said Calvin is conscious and working to relearn many things that people take for granted, such as how to eat and talk, and having to learn many things at many levels.

“But we’re seeing continued small steps of improvement,” Comer said.

Milestones have included smiling at his parents, learning to swallow and eat and even fist-bumping, according to the family’s “#calvinstrong” Facebook page.

Photos of vehicles painted with “#calvinstrong” on the windows and the back of a pickup truck have been shared on the Facebook page.

The school doesn’t know officially when Calvin could return to the school for a visit after he returns home, the principal said.

School officials are being cautious with the Hayden students because there have been what Comer calls “bumps in the road” that delayed earlier dates that Calvin could have been released from the hospital.

“We’ve just kind of learned to be cautiously excited,” he said.

School officials plan to meet with the family and Calvin’s health care providers to make sure they can provide whatever is needed for Calvin to continue his recovery at home, Combs said.

After that meeting, they will consider when Calvin might be able to visit the school to reconnect with his classmates.

“We’ll be way overboard on that,” Combs said.

There will be no doubt that Calvin will know how much the school and his classmates have been supporting him, based on how students continue to wear their #calvinstrong gear every day, Combs said.

“I’ve got mine on right now,” Combs said of his bracelet.

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Fundraising efforts to help pay the medical expenses of injured 11-year-old Jennings County football player Calvin Clark are being coordinated through Hayden Elementary School. Call the school at 812-346-2813 for more information.

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Police are investigating a phone scam incident in which an elderly Columbus resident lost a significant amount of money.

The resident was called and, believing the caller was a family member, agreed to purchase two prepaid debit cards and load them with a large amount of money.

The resident was then instructed to call back someone who was allegedly an attorney and give the individual access numbers to the cards.

The Columbus Police Department warns this is a scam, and legitimate attorneys do not operate in this fashion, said Sgt. Matt Harris, police spokesman.

Harris asked residents to call the police if you receive such a call asking you to wire money or use prepaid debit cards to pay money to an unknown individual.

This is just one of many similar types of phone scams going around, Harris said.

Tuesday afternoon, the police department received five reports of someone saying they were from the Internal Revenue Service and were demanding payment of back taxes by phone.

This, too, is a scam, Harris said. The IRS doesn’t threaten people on the phone or ask for payment by phone, he said. These calls also should be reported to the police department, he said.

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If you are contacted by a person claiming to be a family member or someone else needing financial help, have the Columbus Police Department check it. Call the police at 376-2600 to report the incident or other phone scams.

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