Julie McClure

The following closings are in effect for the July 4th holiday.All Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) branches will be closed Thursday and resume regularly scheduled business hours on Friday. For more information, visit IN.gov/BMV.All Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District facilities will be closed Thursday. The district offices and the Columbus/Bartholomew County Recycling Center will also be closed Friday. The Commercial Cardboard route and the Bartholomew County Landfill will operate normally on Friday. For more information, visit bcswmd.The Bartholomew County Courthouse and county office building, and all county offices will be closed Thursday and Friday.Columbus city offices and City Hall are closed Thursday and Friday.There will be no city trash collection Thursday, with collections delayed one day, Thursday’s on Friday and Friday’s collections on Saturday. Toters should be out at 7 a.m. Offices will reopen Monday, July 8th at 7 a.m.The Columbus City Utilities Office will be closed Thursday and Friday. Regular business hours will resume on Monday, July 8, at 7 a.m. Customers who have a problem with water or sewer service, call 812-372-8861 and follow the prompts.The Republic is closed on Thursday to allow employees to enjoy the holiday with their families. All AIM Media (Indiana & Midwest) business offices, including customer service and online services, will be closed on Thursday. The Republic resumes regular operating hours at 8 a.m. Friday.

Bartholomew County 4-H Fair 4-H Project Results – submitted July 8 (only give highest ribbon placing of each 4-H'er) 4-H – Rabbit Ambassador

A rib-eating competition between Columbus police, firefighters and Columbus East High School football players will help collect school supplies for the local School Supply Assistance Program.

Columbus City Utilities has announced it Quality Control (QC) Lab Results.

Cooling stations are open in the city and county today as temperatures are expected to reach the upper 80s to lower 90s with dew points in the 70s as humidity. The temperatures will feel like about 100 degrees with the humidity.

Say you’re retired or soon to be. You know stocks outperform bonds over long periods of time, but with significant short-term volatility. Would you be interested in an investment product that allows you to participate in price gains in stocks (up to a limit), while also offering downside protection?

FirstGen Forward adds IU Columbus

Columbus Regional health has received the American Heart Association’s Gold Plus Get with the Guidelines - Stroke Quality Achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.

Student awarded college scholarship

Over the years, I’ve heard many references to Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” so I finally read it several months ago. Atwood’s book is set in a dystopian future America where a totalitarian regime enforces rigid social roles and women who are still fertile are forced to become “Handmaids” to produce children for the “Commanders.”