Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop will be giving his State of the City Address on Thursday at Fair Oaks Mall.

He’s expected to talk about issues facing the city and ongoing projects, including the mall property, the State Street revitalization project and the railroad overpass project on the west side of town.

A reception is set for 5:30 p.m. at the mall. Mayor Lienhoop is scheduled to give his address at 6 p.m.

If you can’t make it to the mall, you can listen to the State of the City Speech live on News Talk 1010 WCSI and 98.1 FM.

The Columbus Human Rights Commission is now accepting nominations for the William R. Laws Human Rights Award.

The award is given annual to a person, a group or a community organization that haw made a significant contribution in the area of human equality in Columbus.

Nominations for the Laws Award must be submitted to the Human Rights Commission offices in City Hall by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 29th.

The Commission will accept nominations via mail, personal delivery, or e-mail. A form is available at the offices or on the city website.

The State Street Area Association will be hosting two community forums where you can meet the candidates for Columbus City Council and the mayor’s race.

The first event will be March 14th at the Roby and America Anderson Community Center on McClure Road and it will feature the candidates for mayor and the City Council at-large races. There will be a separate forum on March 21st at the center to meet all of the candidates for the five district seats on the City Council.

Both of the events start at 6 p.m. in the evening.

Indiana State Police are taking the lead in a Johnson County investigation involving an unidentified elected county official.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department says that at 11:57 p.m. Monday, dispatchers received a 911 call from the 500 block of West State Road 252 in Trafalgar, reporting a domestic disturbance. The woman involved had gone to her neighbor’s house after the disturbance and reportedly would not give her name to dispatchers. Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the scene and began speaking with the woman. Once deputies realized that allegations were being made against a local elected official, they immediately called the administrative staff at the Sheriff’s Office and told them what was occurring.

Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess directed deputies at the scene to turn the case over to Indiana State Police. ISP quickly responded to the scene. Sheriff’s Deputies remained on the scene to assist, however officials stress that ISP took over all aspects of the investigation and remain in charge of it.

No arrests were reported and Indiana State Police have not identified the official allegedly involved.

Developers working on renovating the former Faith Victory Church was approved for a tax abatement after the Columbus City Council gave final approval to label the site an economic development target area.

Rick Sprague, the owner of the property, says that he plans to offer market-rate apartments at the site in the 1700 block of Home Avenue. A total of 21 units will be available at the completion of the restoration work. Rents are expected to be in the $800 to $1,000 per month range. Sprague says that hundreds of thousands of dollars in rehabilitation and improvements in the nearly century-old building are needed before any potential renters could move in. That work includes roof replacement and foundation stabilization.

The council unanimously approved the 10-year, $1.8 million dollar tax abatement. Robin Hilber, with the city’s Office of Community Development, says that even with the abatement, Columbus will receive approximately $232,000 more over the next decade than what it would get if the building remained vacant.

Sprague says that work will get underway soon with the goal of the building being ready within a year.

A mobile home was heavily damaged in a Monday afternoon fire.

Columbus Firefighters were called to the 2600 Block of Milmar Court at approximately 3:52 p.m. Engine Co. 2, the first fire unit to arrive on the scene, reported heavy smoke conditions. Capt. Mike Wilson, CFD spokesman, says flames had burned through a portion of the roof. Within thirty minutes the fire was deemed under control. Small isolated pockets of fire continued to smolder until crews could remove stored items inside the home. Due to the amount of possessions located in the home, firefighters cut an access point in an exterior wall to aid in removing the items out. As items were being moved out, firefighters were able to locate smoldering pockets of fire and fully extinguish the flames.

The homeowner reportedly told investigators that his adult son was working underneath the home to thaw a frozen water line when smoke was discovered under the home in the area of a dryer vent. After seeing smoke on the exterior of the home, the son entered that trailer to attempt to find the source. That’s when he pulled a dryer away from the wall and saw flames behind it.

The home and contents are considered a total loss with a damage estimate of $70,000. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is undetermined, but the investigation is ongoing.

Schneck Medical Center is accepting applications for the Dr. Bud Scholarship for registered nursing school students.

Applications for the scholarship are available at schneckmed.org/scholarships. Applications must be completed in their entirety and returned to Schneck no later than May 17th to be eligible for consideration.

The Dr. Bud Scholarship was established in honor of Dr. H.P. “Bud” Graessle (1893-1977). Born in Seymour, Dr. Graessle was a practicing physician and surgeon for 53 years until his retirement in 1971.

Candidates pursuing a course of study to become a registered nurse and have successfully completed their freshman year of registered nursing program at an accredited school and registered in a registered nursing program are encouraged to apply for consideration. Primary consideration will be given to Jackson, Jennings, Scott, and Washington County residents. Acceptance for enrollment at a nursing school is required for the scholarship to be officially awarded.

A program aimed at helping young women be safe as they transition into adulthood is being held locally this week. Lt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, explains the SAFE program…

SAFE stands for Situational Awareness for Everyday. The free program includes instructors offering advice and tips on how to stay safe, along with physical tactics training.

A session for 12-grade girls at Columbus East is set for Thursday during the regular school day. CPD adds that 12th grade girls from Columbus Christian School and Hauser High School are welcome to attend

A second class will be held on March 29th for 12th grade girls who attend Columbus North High School.

Cummins announced Monday that it has begun delivering eight Cummins-powered all-electric vehicles to the United States Postal Service. The fully-electric Cummins PowerDrive equipped vans are expected to eliminate vehicle emissions and reduce fuel and maintenance costs.

The pilot program, made possible by a grant from the California Air Resources Board to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and administered by CALSTART, will place the zero-emission vehicles in Fresno and Stockton. Cummins will also provide operator training, vehicle support and data collection to support the program.

“We’re excited to provide the US Postal Service with these fully-electric vehicles for demonstration and testing. Cummins has a storied history of providing dependable, quality innovations to help power a world that is always on,” said Julie Furber, Vice President – Electrified Power, Cummins. “This program demonstrates our ability to help customers do real work in the real world. Cummins is committed to continue as the leading power supplier in all the markets we serve. As infrastructure and customer demand evolve, we’ll have the right technology at the right time.”

The eight Cummins-powered vans are expected to be in service by the end of March. The company says the vans have an all-electric range up to 85 miles with a full load on urban drive cycles typical of USPS collection vehicles.

Company officials say this move is the latest in its ongoing efforts to invest in electrification across many applications, markets and regions.

Local college students are looking to help spruce-up the community. IUPUC has scheduled its annual spring service project, “The Big Event,” for Saturday, April 13th. Crews looking for Columbus-area homeowners in need of yard work such as raking, weeding, and mulching or indoor chores such as washing and window cleaning that the volunteers will perform free of charge.

“We are excited to continue the tradition again this year,” said Bailey Moss, Coordinator of Leadership and Community for the Office of Student Affairs at IUPUC, adding “this is just one example of how IUPUC strives to deepen our commitment to community engagement.”

The Big Event was first initiated in 1982 at Texas A&M University as a way for students to say “Thank You” to the surrounding community. Since then, colleges and universities across the country have begun participating in this day of service.

Columbus-area residents who are interested in having the volunteers come to their homes on April 13th can go to iupuc.edu/events/thebigevent to download and submit an application form. The application forms must be received by April 6th.