July 20, 2021 - The Posey County News

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Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Volume 141 Edition 29

Posey County radio issues continue to rear ugly heads By Trisha L. Lopez In 2017, members of the Posey County Council and Posey County Commissioners found themselves in an impossible situation. The radio system used by police officers, firefighters and emergency responders was failing, leaving the county’s front line workers scrambling for ways to communicate with dispatchers for everything from traffic stops to calling for backup. The danger to these workers was clear. The solution to the problem was anything but. Radio signals throughout the county’s almost 410 square miles range from full to non-existent. While the issue may be an annoyance to cell phone users trying to connect with friends and family, for emergency personnel, the issue can be a matter of life and death. “Communication with dispatch and other officers is one of the most important parts of law enforcement. It is a huge officer safety issue when communications aren’t working prop-

erly,” said Brandon Deig, an Indiana State Police officer and member of the Posey County Council. “Everyone has heard the term ‘routine traffic stop,’ but there is nothing routine about any traffic stop or any call for service for that matter. Our law enforcement in Posey County should not have to worry about if the only piece of equipment they are issued to get help to them when they are in a physical altercation or gun fight is going to work on not.” The system had to be replaced. County officials were told options were limited. They approved a $625,000 bid from VEI Communications, the only bid they received, and a new system was installed. The hoped-for solution to the unreliable signal issue didn’t come. Four years later, Posey County officials are back in that same impossible position again. Ongoing issues with the county’s emergency service radios and the possible need for legal action dominated the regular

portion of Tuesday’s Posey County Council meeting at the Hovey House. The problem? The “new” Kenwood system provides spotty service coverage in certain areas of the county and something as simple as leaves on trees can render the system useless. It’s been a point of contention from the get-go. Jason Knowles, 911 director, told council members that efforts to increase service in Posey County and provide EMS workers adequate coverage to meet the needs of county residents have failed and a fix is nowhere in sight. “I don’t know the process from here, how we want to go,” Knowles admitted. “I’m just not anticipating a lot of real change like we had hoped.” Suggested fixes from VEI Communications haven’t solved the problem. “The last month I’ve been programming radios. That’s what

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NH bridge in the spotlight By Trisha L. Lopez Bridge authorities from Indiana and Illinois submitted a joint application for federal funding last week in hopes of reopening the Harmony Way Bridge, closed in 2012 due to structural deficiencies. Awards will be announced in mid September. The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program offered through the United States Department of Transportation has awarded $8.9 billion since its inception in 2009. The maximum award amount is $25 million per project and no more than $100 million is allowable to a single state. Awards must be equally divided between urban and rural projects.

Rod Clark, chairperson of the New Harmony Wabash Bridge Authority, said letters of support from several elected officials including Governor Eric Holcomb and Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch accompanied the application. Clark said the governor’s letter mentioned the project had the support of the Indiana Department of Transportation as well. Similar support was raised on the Illinois side. “The estimations of what it’s going to cost to fix this bridge are upwards of $15 million. Unfortunately, fixing bridges are not cheap and easy things to do. Our attempt here is to do a rehabilitation of the bridge that brings

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Griffin begins clean-up task Honored as royalty at Saturday evening’s Posey County Fair Queen Pageant are, left to right, first runner-up Jenna Veatch, Most Photogenic and Queen Emma Yarber and Sponsorship winner Kelcey Ricketts. Other pageant winners are pictured on Page B3. Photo by Dave Pearce

News all good at North Posey By Lois Mittino Gray Members of the North Posey School Board were elated to learn there will be three social workers now in the district and basic breakfast and lunches will once again be free for all students this upcoming school year. School Superintendent Michael Galvin reported at the July 12 meeting that grant money is available for both of these good news additions. It was the first time new Assistant Superintendent Michelle Walden joined the rest of the board around the table.

Galvin said a full-time social worker will be assigned at each elementary school and one at the junior high/high school. “There is no question the need is there,” commented School Board President Geoffrey Gentil. The board unanimously approved a three-year contract with Youth First Inc., for the social worker services. When asked why they had to be hired through Youth First, Galvin explained it is mandated that school social workers need to

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Special to the News At their recent meeting, the Griffin Town Council discussed the status of a number of properties that were previously identified as in violation of different town ordinances, most involving non-compliance with the weeds, grass, trash and abandoned vehicles ordinances. Letters were sent with copies of the ordinances they were in violation of to the owners of the properties. The council discussed that progress in getting the properties in compliance was made at all identified properties. Council members also discussed that they received noise complaints from three different residents identifying the same property. A letter of violation was sent to that property owner as well. Sheriff Tom Latham was present at this meeting and advised that his

deputies cannot enforce town ordinances at the request of town officials, however, they can address noise violations as a matter of disorderly conduct if witnessed by a law enforcement officer. The council discussed reports of excessive barking of dogs and advised that animal control should be contacted for that. Speeding was the next topic discussed. The council heard concerns of excessive speeding, primarily on Main Street. Primary concerns are the safety of the children in town while walking or riding their bikes being hit. The council discussed updating signs and other possible options to address speeding. The council will discuss additional progress made towards compliance with town ordinances and the speeding situation at their next meeting.

Some virtual attendance is OK By Trisha L. Lopez Electronic communication issues topped the agenda at the Posey County Council meeting Tuesday at the Hovey House. Council members adopted a resolution to allow members to attend meetings electronically, a necessary measure if council wished to continue the practice since the declared State of Emergency which allowed electronic participation during the Covid-19 pandemic expired on July 1. “While we can have a lot of things going on, people may get quarantined and they may

be unable to join us in a meeting, there’s other things that can obviously happen to prevent someone from attending a meeting in person,” Posey Council President Heather Allyn said. “This resolution is not intended to be a ‘oh I don’t want to show up in person resolution.’ It is a resolution to give us the means to allow people to take care of county business even though some sort of extenuating circumstance is keeping them from being here in person, whether it be like a death in the family or

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Rick Burks, right, receives recognition for lifetime membership with New Harmony Fire Department. The plaque is presented to Rick by his son, firefighter Shawn Burks. Photo by Jamie Hyatt

Splitting time Health Department’s Donnie Martin wears many hats

Donnie Martin

(USPS 439-500)

By Lois Gray Donnie Martin wears many hats in his job as Posey County Emergency Preparedness Coordinator. Just this week, Posey County Chief Health Officer Dr. Kyle Rapp officially appointed him to fill in for Health Department Director Denny Schaeffer temporarily, while he takes some time off, out on disability. Donnie spends about half his time in his office in the Health Department Building and the other half working his many jobs out in the field in the county. Besides his Emergency Preparedness and COVID control duties, he also inspects sanitary and septic systems, manages vector

spraying for mosquito control, visits pools, and biannually inspects the over 120 food establishments in the county, including food trucks. “That falls on my plate, too,” he added. “I have to handle complaints on food providers or faulty septic systems. Sometimes it seems like a lot.” Donnie has worked in this position for almost three years and really enjoys the myriad of roles. He has a diverse background to aid him in getting it all done. “I’ve always been involved in EMS, Fire and Law Enforcement, so this is just a step in another direction,” he reflected. Donnie discussed the recent

color changes for the county and what the designations means for COVID positivity. “The whole color thing has changed to just an indicator, not a requirement. It was important when COVID was high. We needed colors to determine size of gatherings, whether masks were required, or social distancing requirements. Now it’s just to see how the county is doing, mainly with the unvaccinated,” he explained. “When 200-300 people were tested a week, we could get better calculations of percent positivity. Now if 10 people are tested a week, they are usually here because they show symptoms and the percent

positive is very high. It can be 8090 percent, but that doesn’t mean all the county is that infected. We tested a few negatives, mainly people who were flying somewhere and the airline required testing.” Donnie said the Health Department does mainly Rapid COVID testing and that does not identify if it’s the variant virus. “We do know that it is in the county though,” he said. “Posey County is really doing quite well with COVID. We are about 65 percent vaccinated. There are more vaccinated in the northern part of the county since our Poseyville clinic was so suc-

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