The Pulaski County Commissioners this week approved a request from Treasurer Lynn Wilder to advertise for bids to purchase new computers for her office. Wilder explained her office is in heavy need of some new computers, as their current equipment is more than six years old.
The days of outdated electrical wiring in the Pulaski County Courthouse will soon come to an end, as the commissioners this week approved a motion to accept a bid for the second stage of electrical upgrades to the courthouse. Maintenance Director Morry DeMarco presented to the commissioners last night four bids for the electrical work to be reviewed, and after a discussion, the commissioners accepted a bid from Roger’s Electric Company of Medaryville.
The West Central School Board took some time last week to review the corporation’s strategic plan. Superintendent Charles Mellon said the board took a look at their educational goals had all building principals comment on progress and improvement areas.
“As a school corporation, we need to know if the resources were available that they needed,” explained Mellon. “We wanted their input. We’re very much interested in the academic growth of the students, of course. Is there something that we need as far as in-servicing for the staff? There’s a lot of data collection going on – are we using that in the classroom to have data-driven instruction?”
While some law enforcement agencies are gearing up to purchase new equipment for their vehicles to allow them to update the sex offender registry while on the road, several agencies have reported that they have had that equipment in place for several years.
Marshall County Sheriff Tom Chamberlin approached the county council last week with a request to purchase three laptop computers for his department – computers which, Chamberlin said, would be used by detectives and officers while checking on individuals currently registered as sex offenders. The equipment, at a cost of $3000, would be paid for out of the fund into which sex offender fees are paid.
A Winamac man was arrested Thursday after Pulaski County police found that he was wanted out of Tennessee.
While on patrol, a deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department ran a license plate on his on-board computer in his squad car and it indicated that the vehicle’s owner, 32-year-old Justin Dehnhart, was wanted out of Tennessee for drug offenses.
A public hearing has been scheduled by the Winamac Town Board in regards to a water rate increase to help cover the cost of a water project. The board had previously prepared a rate ordinance to be considered for the use of and service rendered by the waterworks of the town.
The board held the first reading of the ordinance, which passed with four board members in favor and one opposed. The board scheduled the public hearing for the ordinance to be held on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.
A Winamac woman was arrested on drug charges after a traffic stop in Pulaski County.
Early Thursday morning, a Pulaski County Sheriff’s Deputy saw that the driver of a passenger car failed to initiate the turn signal as the vehicle turned onto U.S. 35 from a side street in Winamac.
The Pulaski County Council this week held a lengthy discussion over how much the county should pay per hour for a part-time animal control officer. Commission President Tracey Shorter approached the council alongside the newly-hired animal control director Sarah Thompson with a request that the council set a part-time wage for the position, asking for a rate of $15.17 – the same rate as a full-time employee but without benefits.
The tablet trend continues as more and more government, education, and private entities switch to tablets such as the iPad to allow employees to access information more conveniently. This time, it’s the Pulaski County Commissioners who are seeking to employ iPads to assist them with their duties.
Commission President Tracey Shorter approached the county council at their meeting this week requesting the purchase of iPads from Venture Wireless to help them work more efficiently. Shorter said it is hard to keep up with the information that is provided in their information packets, and that inconvenience translated to a loss for the county when the commissioners approved the purchase of a new truck for the sheriff’s department before reviewing the bids. Consequently, the commissioners spent more money on a Chevrolet model from Braun Chevrolet than they would have if they had gone with a different bid for a Ford model from Jim Dobson Ford.
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon told the school board last week that the corporation’s wind turbine is already starting to pay off.
“I informed the Board that our NIPSCO bill for the last two months has been $200 for our service fee,” explained Mellon. “We are very fortunate that the wind turbine is working. We’re hoping that we can gain enough credits and that we can keep building until we come to those slow months in July and August. We want to continue to pay our bill just with a service fee throughout the entire year.”
A waste equipment manufacturer in Pulaski County has announced plans to expand its operations with the hopes of creating up to 85 new jobs by 2014, and county government has given its support in the hopes of economic development.
The county council approved two tax abatements related to the expansion. One such abatement was approved in December on manufacturing and IT equipment for GalFab Acquisitions, and the other to GalCo, Inc., for real-property improvements. Both abatements are 100 percent “alternative-deduction-schedule” abatements for 10 years.
The Pulaski County Council on Monday night heard a number of requests that had been approved by the county commissioners, but the council wasn’t so eager to approve some of them.
The county commissioners last week approved a purchase for the surveyor’s office to rent a printer capable of printing 11-by-17-inch pages, a necessity for the office. At a cost of $65.10 extra per month for the equipment, the council was not required to make a motion to approve the cost because the money was available in the budget. However, the council gave their approval for the equipment to be paid for using funds from the commissioners budget.
The West Central School Board discussed school security recently and Superintendent Charles Mellon said the corporation will be working to improve security conditions.
“We’re getting involved with the county-wide effort on the active shooter procedures. That will be carried out in the next two months where we can reevaluate our own plan and make it coincide with the county plan once it is designed,” said Mellon.
It started as a shooting incident in Pulaski County and ended in a SWAT team arrest in Marshall County.
Pulaski County police were called to 6680 N. U.S. 421 at 5:50 p.m. ET Sunday in reference to a call that Billie James “Tinker” Minix, of Knox reportedly shot a gun at an occupied residence. Minix allegedly shot at the residence from an abandoned building and from the driveway. Minix also allegedly fired a few shots at a vehicle occupied by two people during the incident.
The Pulaski County Commissioners last week approved a number of requests pending council approval, including a lease for rental of a copier for the surveyor’s office.
Kris Smith of Copiers Plus addressed the commissioners to explain what the company does and go over the equipment currently located in the surveyor’s office. Smith explained he was called a few years ago to provide copiers, printers and other equipment, as well as maintenance of those items. Smith presented a proposal for the rental of a machine capable of printing 11-by-17-inch pages, a necessity for the office.
The West Central School Board members took some time to review the county tax draws from Pulaski County and Jasper County and Superintendent Charles Mellon commented that there was some excess levy.
“I think that’s mainly due to late payment of taxes from the prior years and then and I think the counties many times underestimate for their own protection. They’re making sure that they have enough money to give out when it is due,” stated Mellon.
Pulaski Memorial Hospital has announced the first New Year’s baby at the facility.
Skarlet Madison Ehlers of Star City was born Monday morning at 7:12 a.m. ET. Her parents are Kelsie Gainer and Shawn Ehlers of Star City. Scarlet weighed in at seven pounds, eight ounces and is 21.5 inches long.
The Pulaski County Commissioners last week tabled a discussion regarding the possible hiring of two notaries, after Surveyor Jenny Keller pointed out that she was the only notary in the courthouse, and is now unable to perform those duties because of her new responsibilities as an officer holder.
Keller noted that another courthouse employee has been registered as a notary in another county, but notaries are statewide, so Keller feels she should be able to perform those duties in Pulaski County. However, even if that is not the case, the registration process for becoming a notary only involves a $60 fee and is done electronically.
A Knox man was sentenced in Pulaski Circuit Court recently after pleading guilty to amended charges in a plea agreement with the State.
David Mattes, Sr. was charged with Stalking, a Class C Felony and Residential Entry, a Class D Felony after an August incident in which he allegedly entered a woman’s home in Pulaski County without permission.
In a hearing last week, Pulaski County Prosecutor Stacey Mrak moved to amend the second count, Residential Entry, to a charge of Trespass as a Class A Misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty to that charge. Circuit Court Judge Michael Shurn sentenced Mattes to 12 months in the Pulaski County Jail with 11 months suspended and to be served on probation. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victim in this case.
After 28 years, the CEO of Pulaski Memorial Hospital has retired. Richard H. Mynark retired Friday.
Mynark was instrumental in planning, developing and implementing the hospital’s critically needed facility renovation and modernization project in February 1985. The new front addition was finally complete in 2003.
