The next event in the Columbus, Past, Present and Future Series will take a wicked turn. The University Library of Columbus and Phi Theta Kappa at Ivy Tech are hosting a look at Columbus’ past next week featuring Paul Hoffman, author of Wicked Columbus Indiana.

Hoffman said he dug deep into archives of old newspaper clippings to find some of the seedier instances and places in Columbus history.

One of the seedy incidents in the city’s history came in 1877, when the Columbus mayor and the newspaper editor came to blows in downtown Columbus.

Hoffman said that the youngest mayor in Indiana, George Cooper, and the oldest newspaper editor in the state, Isaac M. Brown, came to blows over the paper’s news coverage. The fight, in 1877, ended up with violently trimmed beards and a cut finger.

Some of the darker moments in Columbus history included the Ku Klux Klan, Hoffman said.

The goal of the series of lectures is to entice people in the community to come visit the campus on Central Avenue.

The discussion will be at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25th at the lecture hall at the Columbus Learning Center. Free deserts will be provided by Gramz Bakery & Cafe.

There will be a candidate forum tonight at the Columbus Learning Center that will feature local legislative candidates.

Republican State Senator Greg Walker and his Democratic opponent Ross Thomas will be participating as well as Republican Ryan Lauer and Democrat Dale Nowlin, who are seeking the Indiana House seat vacated by Rep. Milo Smith. Sherry Stark will be the moderator for tonight’s event.

The event is being organized by Bartholomew County Indivisible, the Historic Downtown Neighborhood Alliance, IUPUC, the Sierra Club, NAACP, Black Lives Matter and Moms Demand Action.

That forum starts tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the lecture hall.

The Town of Hope approved a 3 percent increase in next year’s contract with the Hope Volunteer Fire Department, but not without assurances on how the public money will be handled.

That comes on the heels of the indictment earlier this month of the department’s former treasurer Mathew Mathis on federal wire fraud charges and federal civil charges to recover more than $48,000 allegedly taken from the department. A State Board of Accounts audit revealed poor accountability in the department’s finances.

Fire Chief Chad Emmitt said that Mathis was no longer involved with the department and that the finances are being closely reviewed by a board that includes an accountant. The department has also institute two-person check signing to ensure that the previous incidents won’t be repeated. Emmitt said.

The 3 percent increase would take the contract for next year to $82,400. Emmitt said the increase is needed to replace aging equipment.

The Town Council voted unanimously earlier this week to approve the 2019 contract.

Republican State Rep. Jim Lucas and his opponent Democrat Steve Schoettmer debated last night at the Seymour High School auditorium. Although they differed on issues such as  education, they agreed that medical marijuana should be legalized here.

District 69 encompasses parts of Bartholomew, Jackson, Jennings and Jefferson counties.

Lucas, a small business owner, consistently referred to his belief in small government and personal responsibility. Schoettmer, a former union representative, spoke about the need for government to even the playing field between the wealthy and those struggling to make ends meet.

Education policy may illustrate the biggest disagreement between the two. Schoettmer took aim at the Republican majority at the Statehouse, accusing the GOP of “bleeding public education dry.” He championed public education, calling it a “melting pot” where children from all socioeconomic backgrounds congregate together and have the same opportunities to learn.

Lucas pointed out that the state spends over 50 percent of its budget on K-12 education. When you add post-secondary education, that amount equates to more than two-thirds of the budget. Lucas says that he supports local control of education and using taxpayer dollars for school vouchers that would allow parents more control of their children’s education.

The pair also had differing opinions on healthcare. Lucas, referring back to comments he made earlier in the evening about public education, argues that if society isn’t happy with the public education system, why would that same society think government run healthcare is a good idea? He says that the best way to bring down healthcare costs in this country is to look for market-based solutions. Lucas says that one solution is allowing the purchase of health insurance policies across state lines.

Schoettmer argues that our state and national constitutions prescribe the ability of government to help its citizens live the best life possible. That includes healthcare. He says that seven percent of Hoosiers have no health insurance coverage. Of those that do, Schoettmer says that many have high-cost policies with large deductibles. A specific measure the state could take, says Schoettmer, is to expand Indiana’s HIP 2.0 program. He argues that families and individuals shouldn’t be forced into poverty to receive assistance.

The differences between the candidates were less pronounced while they spoke about the opioid epidemic and medical marijuana. Both Lucas and Schoettmer agreed that Indiana is ready for medical marijuana. The pair also agreed that the government has a moral obligation to save overdose victims from death. Schoettmer says that addiction is a medical condition, not a criminal one, and should be treated as such. Lucas again pointed to marijuana legalization as a powerful tool to help stem the opioid epidemic. He also argued that there needs to be additional emphasis on personal responsibility, not only as it relates to addiction, but in all aspects of life.

Both Lucas and Schoettmer agreed that Indiana is ready for medical marijuana. The pair also agreed that the government has a moral obligation to save overdose victims from death. Schoettmer says that addiction is a medical condition, not a criminal one, and should be treated as such. Lucas again pointed to marijuana legalization as a powerful tool to help stem the opioid epidemic.

Election Day is November 6th.

The city of Columbus’ purchase of the Fair Oaks Mall property is one step closer. Mary Ferdon, the city’s director of administration, talks about the proposal…

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The city of Columbus has partnered with Columbus Regional Health and Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County to offer to purchase the more than 35 acre site for $5.9 million. The current breakdown of costs is $4,087,500 from the city, $1,362,500 from CRH and $450,000 from Heritage Fund. Mayor Jim Lienhoop says the goal is to create an indoor sports facility for the parks department, attached to a CRH run clinic. The specifics of how and what the site will be developed into has yet to be established.

The city council voted unanimously Tuesday night to create the non-profit group, Fair Oaks Community Development Corporation, as well as appoint Karen Niverson, director of the Columbus Visitors Center, and City Councilman Tim Shuffett to the board of directors.

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Ferdon says that there are eight directors, with the city getting six and CRH getting two. The Fair Oaks Community Development Corporation will have its first meeting Thursday at 9 a.m. at city hall. These meetings are open to the public.

Officials say the hope is that the property will be closed on before the end of the year.

The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office is accepting applications for the position of Deputy Sheriff.

Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED and possess a valid driver’s license. Applicants must reside in Bartholomew County, or a surrounding county, within one year of employment.

The salary range for a patrol officer is $51,719 to $66,200. Benefits include take home car program, health insurance, sheriff’s pension, incentive pay for shift assignment, military and special assignments.

To apply, visit policeapp.com/BartholomewIN. Applications must be submitted by December 1st.

Columbus police plan to step up patrols in the area around the Brighter Days homeless shelter on the east side of the city. That’s after complaints from neighbors and despite a lack of police statistics showing an increase in crime since the center opened.

At a neighborhood meeting this week, Police Chief Jon Rohde explained that his staff has looked at the statistics in the block surrounding the shelter on Mapleton Street and in almost every area they could measure, crime rates are the same this year as last year. But neighbors said they are finding and having to clean up used hypodermic needles and spoons used to cook drugs, almost daily. And they don’t call in a police report or ask for help picking up the paraphernalia because of the time involved.

Rohde urged residents to call police or firefighters to handle that sort of drug paraphernalia because of the possible dangers from drugs or disease. And he said if residents don’t report the incidents then they do not show up on activity tracking software, which guides police staffing and patrol area decisions.

The one outlier in the crime statistics was the number of reports of a suspicious person or vehicle in the neighborhood. That increased from about 40 last year to more than 80 so far this year.

One store owner said that a person, who appeared to be homeless, milled around outside her business late one night and then threw a rock through her $700 plate glass window. She caught the act on surveillance video, but it was too grainy to identify a suspect.

Residents also urged Rohde to look further into the police data to see how the crime rates compare to the years prior to the shelter opening.

Rohde said that his department would be adding more police car patrols and bike patrols as the weather permits. They also plan to spend more time talking to those wandering the neighborhood and to connect them with community resources, if needed.

A candidate forum for those running for the Indiana House District 69 seat is set for Wednesday night in Seymour. Incumbent Republican Jim Lucas will be joined by his Democrat challenger, Steve Schoettmer, at the Seymour High School Auditorium. District 69 encompasses portions of Bartholomew, Jackson, Jennings and Jefferson counties.

Items to be discussed include public education, voting rights, healthcare, the opioid crisis and the cost of living. Organizers say that you are invited and encouraged to ask questions and share your concerns.

This event is sponsored by Jackson County Indivisible and begins at 7 p.m.

Columbus’ proposed budget for 2019 passed its final reading at Tuesday night’s city council meeting. The council approved the nearly $61 million proposal unanimously.

Jamie Brinegar, the city’s director of finance, explained that the proposed 2019 budget is 4.3 percent higher than 2018’s budget. He explains that the lion’s share of that increase is due to the new local income tax passed by the Bartholomew County Council. Brinegar says this increased funding will allow the city to lower the property tax burdenin the coming years.

Of the total 2019 proposed budget, $20.8 million will be used for public safety needs, $9.9 million would go to public works for things like enginnering and public transportation and $4.9 million will go to projects to improve roads throughout the city. Brinegar noted the city’s good financial position, pointing out that only $1.4 million will go towards debt service, a marked decrease from the 2018 budget. Other highlights he mentioned include the hiring of two additional School Resource Officers for coverage at middle schools and increasing employee salaries as the new salary study suggested. Brinegar noted that the school resource officers will be reimbursed by BCSC. As for the salary adjustments, eligible public safety officers will see an increase taking them to 50 percent of the “mid-point” of the new salary ranges. Eligible civilian employees will see increases to take them to one-third on the “mid-point” for their salary ranges.

NTN Driveshaft will be getting a tax break to encourage it to expand its Walesboro plant. The Columbus City Council approved a 10-year tax abatement on the $90 million dollar project last night.

The company says it plans to bring in 74 employees by 2020 and at up to  100 total by 2023. The company already has about 1,575 employees. The new jobs would pay about $17.30 an hour.

A tax abatement phases in property taxes over several years for new property and equipment. Based on estimates from the city, the abatement would save the company about $605,000 in the first year and about $3 million over the life of the abatement. However, the company would be paying about $5.3 million more in property taxes over that 10 years, than it is already paying.

The company plans to invest about $8 million in building improvements and expansion, and about $82 million in equipment to expand forging and production capability.

NTN officials say that this new expansion will bring total investment in their Walesboro facility to nearly one-billion dollars.

The Columbus City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve the abatement.