Lack of Funding Delays Pulaski County Road Maintenance

 Pulaski County officials may receive the same information relayed to the Marshall County government bodies concerning funding for county roads.

Pulaski County Highway Department General Foreman Terry Ruff told the commissioners the county will have to scrap regular maintenance this year in order to fix roads damaged by the frost line. He says doing both would cost the county an additional $200,000. Ruff says 20 miles of roads will be worked on this year in the southern part of the county. Chip and seal work will be done, and severely damaged roads will be ground up and reconstructed.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Vote to Vacate County Road

Pulaski County Commissioners (L to R) Bud Krohn, Jr., Terry Young and Larry Brady
Pulaski County Commissioners (L to R) Bud Krohn, Jr., Terry Young and Larry Brady

A county road will be vacated in Pulaski County.

Terry Ruff, who is the acting General Foreman at the Pulaski County Highway Department, said the county is spending a lot of resources on the dirt road at 1150 West between 900 South and 1000 South that basically acts as a path between two feuding property owners. Ruff is leery of accidents on the road and who would be responsible if there’s an issue. He said it’s not even suitable to plow.

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Pulaski County Attorney Addresses Highway Department Concern

  
 

If it’s not a county-owned road, then the county highway should not be doing any work on it.

Pulaski County Attorney Kevin Tankersley gave that advice to Terry Ruff from the highway department when a question of road work on Swayze Drive, a private lane, was initiated. Ruff said he’s gotten some calls to help plow the road, fix the road, and help a truck that is stuck on the road. He added that he’s concerned about the residents on that road for the purpose of getting emergency vehicles to those who live on that lane.

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Improvements are Being Made at Pulaski County Highway Department

Pulaski County Commissioners (L to R) Bud Krohn, Jr., Terry Young and Larry Brady
Pulaski County Commissioners (L to R) Bud Krohn, Jr., Terry Young and Larry Brady

The Pulaski County Commissioners said communication is getting better between the board members and the highway department.

It was announced in January that things needed to be changed at the highway department. The commissioners last week said the main issues were communication, and how to deal with problems and the policy book. That was according to Commissioner Terry Young, who spoke on behalf of the commissioners when the question was posed.

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Pulaski County Commissioners, Council to Meet in Joint Session

Pulaski County CourthouseThe Pulaski County Commissioners and the Pulaski County Council will meet in joint session tonight.

One item the joint board is expected to discuss is the change in the salary ordinance in the highway department. When the commissioners met on Jan. 19, the members voted 2-1 to appoint a person in the position that is second in command at the department. The highway superintendent normally makes that appointment, but Commissioner Bud Krohn, Jr., who spearheaded the move, called it a political change. He presented the change for a vote. Terry Young also voted in favor of the change while Commission President Larry Brady was the dissenting vote.

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Pulaski Commissioners Hear Highway Department Update

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
The Pulaski County Highway Department has had a very rough week due to the inclement weather and state of emergency over the area this week, and Highway Superintendent Mark Fox told the commissioners during their regular meeting that the department is down eight of their 21 trucks. Fox said that one plow truck has been totaled with the other seven in need of repairs.

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Two Pulaski County Bridges Now Open

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Two bridges that were previously closed in Pulaski County are now open, though one bridge is still awaiting a final inspection. Pulaski County Highway Superintendent Mark Fox told the county commissioners this week that the contract for bridge inspections for 2014–2016 has been approved by INDOT and is ready to sign, and informed them that the two bridges closed in the county have since been reopened. Bridge 268, however, still needs a final inspection but is currently open to traffic.

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Haschel’s Bridge to Close Sept. 30

 
 
Haschel’s Bridge in Pulaski County will soon be closed, according to highway superintendent Mark Fox. He said the bridge closure will be effective on or around Sept. 30, and then the crews have 60 days to complete the work. Fox explained they will mill two inches off the top of the deck, which he said is riddled with surface holes, and then work will be done on the abutments on the end of the bridge.

Fox said this work shouldn’t take more than two months and a detour is in place utilizing State Road 14 and County Road 200 East to circumvent the bridge.

The project is funded entirely with local funds, Fox explained, and the bridge will soon be repaired and reopened.

Pulaski County Highway Supt. Finds 12 Miles of State/Local Road Discrepancies

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
The Pulaski County Highway Department is in the process of updating their road inventory through the state. According to Mark Fox, highway superintendent, more state funds will soon make their way to the county’s coffers after he found discrepancies between the state’s road inventory for Pulaski County and the county’s road inventory, totaling 12 miles of road that were not accounted for by the state.

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Pulaski Council Approves Advertisement of Software Purchase

  
 
The Pulaski County Council this week approved a request from the county highway superintendent to advertise for the purchase of a computer software suite designed for resource tracking and accounting for highway departments. Mark Fox, highway superintendent, told the commissioners that the program would greatly help the accounting aspect of his department because of its variety of features, including time tracking, resource tracking, accounting, and report management.

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Pulaski County Highway Department to Purchase New Software

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
The Pulaski County Highway Department will soon have a much easier time tracking resources, as the county commissioners this week passed a motion to purchase a county highway resource tracking system at a cost of $6000 for the first year, $1500 for the second. Mark Fox, highway superintendent, told the commissioners that the first year’s cost would include the purchase and licensing fee, software training and support as well as enhancements and future updates.

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Court Filing Seeks Release of Names of Kenny Becker’s Accusers

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter

The legal battle over longtime Pulaski County Highway Superintendent Kenny Becker’s firing continues. He was reappointed by the county commissioners on January 7th, suspended with pay on January 22nd so allegations raised by a current and a former employee could be looked into and reinstated as highway manager on February 4th following an investigation by an outside consultant. Commissioner Larry Brady served as interim superintendent, and Becker was subsequently fired by the commissioners on March 4th. He’s since hired an attorney and filed a $500,000 notice of tort claim against the county commissioners for slander and defamation of character.

Pulaski County attorney Kevin Tankersley reluctantly released a copy of the consultant’s investigation report after being ordered to do so by the state Public Access Counselor’s office but redacted the names of Becker’s accusers. The new filing seeks to force the release of that information, noting “the Commissioners have failed to comply fully with the requirements of the Open Door Law.” It also states the names are necessary for possible legal action by Becker for slander and defamation of character.

 

 

 

Attorney Anticipates Filing Tort Claim Notice Against Pulaski County Officials

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
The attorney for the former Pulaski County highway superintendent anticipates filing a notice of tort claim against the Pulaski County Commissioners, county attorney and auditor by the end of the week. Kenny Becker was fired Monday night during an executive session meeting for unspecified violations of the county personnel policy. The firing follows his paid suspension last month while commissioners looked into unspecified complaints of wrongdoing. Becker was reinstated as county highway manager after that investigation failed to find any criminal misdeeds. His attorney, Steven Bush of Valparaiso, says he plans to file as soon as Becker can come in and sign the necessary paperwork.

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Pulaski County Commissioners fire highway superintendent, maintenance supervisor in executive session

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners voted to terminate two employees during an executive session meeting Monday night, according to sources close to the situation. Even though Indiana is an at-will employment state, a vote to terminate an employee who reports directly to the commissioners must be taken in an open meeting.

Embattled highway superintendent Kenny Becker and longtime maintenance supervisor Morry DeMarco were both fired over violations of the employee policy manual. Becker was suspended with pay last month in response to complaints about how the department is run from sources who have been allowed to remain anonymous. An investigation by the commissioners found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, and Becker was reinstated as county highway manager on Feb. 4 under the supervision of commissioner Larry Brady.

“ Mr. Becker was commended on his role in helping with some of the positive changes at the Highway Department in the last three weeks. Mr. Becker was presented with new policy violations that have been observed by Commissioner Brady since his oversight. The issue of Mr. Becker’s Knowledge of the policy book and his observance of it were discussed. Commissioner Brady as acting department head informed Mr. Becker of his removal as general manager and termination of his employment with the county. This is in no way a negative reflection on Mr. Becker as a good moral person. Mr. Becker has proved to be a hard working individual with a good deal of specialized ability,” the release states.

Calls to the commissioners seeking comment were not immediately returned. They have previously refused to answer any questions and have directed all inquires be made in writing to county attorney Kevin Tankersley.

Becker defends employee time clock actions

Former Pulaski County Highway Superintendent Kenny Becker says the employees who were leaving 15 minutes early each day were still on the clock even though they were no longer on the county’s property. He said they were driving snow plows home due to the threat of inclement weather, and they could not drive county vehicles on their own time due to liability concerns. County commissioners learned of the practice after Becker’s suspension last month and voted Monday to dock each of the employees 15 minutes of time in order to balance the books. Becker was reinstated to full pay eight days after his suspension but is working as “manager” of the department under the supervision of commissioner Larry Brady. Commissioners discussed the matter at length during Tuesday’s heated meeting. Brady said he’s checked with the county’s insurance agent, and the employees are covered even when they are not on the clock. He says the coverage follows the vehicle, and not the employee. Commissioners acknowledged their investigation found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.