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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013
187TH YEAR
ISSUE NO. 46 $1
Courthouse conundrum Age, lack
tions, which have since been addressed. The first study, however, was the most comprehensive, he said. The current gross area of the courthouse is 7,200 square feet per floor. The basement is full of storage, and will probably remain for storage. If you remove areas such as the rotunda from the calculations, there is about 16,300 square feet of functional area in the courtBy Denise Freitag house building, said Maxwell. Burdette During the initial meeting Assistant Editor with the stakeholders, the funcnewsroom@registerpublications.com tions of the different departments and areas were discussed At least seven previous along with the current condistudies have been conducted tions. on ways to ease overcrowdThe 2004 study had 2014 ing at the historical Dearborn and 2029 drop off points, and County Courthouse. the space and staff projections Now another one will be for 2014 “are remarkably added to the mix after county close to where commissionwe are today,” ers passed a said Maxwell. motion TuesIt projected “We started out day, Nov. 5, to the creation of allow county with the grand idea a second suadministrator that we could break perior court. Terri Randall it did not a few walls out and But to move forproject the ward with a beef supports addition of a space analyaround and keep magistrate for sis and the circuit court, creation of everybody in there he said. requests for Security is but that’s simply not proposals for a concern with possible archigoing to work.” the people intecture firms to terviewed. john maxwell create designs. Holding areas President, Maxwell Const. In Septemfor inmates is ber Maxwell a problem, esConstruction pecially with Company, Greendale, was different people coming and hired to conduct a space needs going throughout the courtanalysis for the courthouse. house. There also is a lack of President John Maxwell apconference space. Sometimes peared before the commissionpeople have to leave the builders to present some of the finding to hold a discussion. Office ings and what the next steps space is underserved and stormight be. age space is “pretty much full,” “We started out with the he said. grand idea that we could break a “Based on (the 2004 study) few walls out and beef supports and after it was reviewed by around and keep everybody in all the individual stakeholders there but that’s simply not going the gross area that’s needed is to work,” said Maxwell. around 37,000 square feet,” said As part of the analysis, preMaxwell. vious studies were reviewed In talking with the judges, and summarized and interviews and analyzing projected casewere conducted with the stake- load and population numbers, holders including the three judg- a third superior court can be es, clerk of courts, prosecutor, avoided in the future with the and the sheriff’s department. possible addition of two more Seven previous studies magistrates, which should be were conducted, the first from sufficient through 2029, he said. November 2004 by RQAW, The next step would be to Indianapolis. create a RFP for a short-list of At that time the county qualified architectural firms, was still trying to address the conduct interviews and gather space problems regarding the See COURTHOUSE, jail and community correc-
of space has county pondering expansion
PHOTOS BY ERIKA SCHMIDT RUSSELL/The Register
Flanked by her parents Dawn and Tony Burke, Kellyn Burke holds up the certificate she received from the Bright Volunteer Fire Department for having her mom call 911 when she saw a car smoking in a driveway near her house.
Lesson well Learned
By Erika Schmidt Russell Editor erussell@registerpublications.com
BVFD Assistant Chief Greg Mathena tells Kellyn Burke’s classmates at Bright Elementary School how the second-grader saved a neighbor’s house when she reported a smoking car in a driveway. When the fire department arrived, there were flames showing, and if it had been another minute or two before the department responded the house in Hidden Valley Lake would have caught fire.
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The saying about everyone making a difference held true in October. Fire departments around Dearborn County hold fire prevention activites in October. Fire prevention week was officially Sunday, Oct. 6, through Saturday, Oct. 12, but since there are a lot of schools and preschools to cover, departments spread out their lessons to much of the month, sometimes starting at the end of September. The Bright Volunteer Fire Department held fire prevention and safety classes at Bright Elementary during the week itself. In one of the groups Monday, Oct. 7, was an attentive second-grader. Kellyn Burke took what she learned from the Bright firefighters to heart, and during Sunman-Dearborn Schools’ Fall Break, she put it into practice. The 7-year-old was outside her parents Hidden Valley Lake house playing Monday, Oct. 14, when she saw smoke coming from a car two doors down from her house. She went inside and told her mom, Dawn Burke. Her mom then called 911. The Bright Volunteer Fire Department responded, and
flames were coming from the car when they arrived. “If it hadn’t been for one little girl, the house would have caught fire as well,” said Bright Fire Assistant Chief Tom Stevens. Bright Fire and EMS honored the second-grader at the end of the Bright Elementary School Veterans Day program. For her service she was given a certificate and a Dalmatian Beanie Baby, “to remember how you helpd the fire department,” said Bright Assistant Fire Chief Greg Mathena. Kellyn’s parents, Dawn and Tony Burke, were on hand as was her grandmother. After the ceremony at the program, Dawn Burke asked Stevens what caused the car fire. “It was probably electrical. Usually something shorts out, over heats and starts a fire,” he said. Meanwhile, if folks want to help kids in need, the Bright Firehouse at the corner of Salt Fork Road and Brightwood Drive is serving as a collection point for Toys For Tots, the Marine Corps toy drive. New unwrapped toys can be dropped off between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. every day of the week. Toys also can be dropped off at the BVFD station on State Line Road from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
Page 6A
Moores Hill marshal: County dispatch fee timing ‘aggravating’ By Chandra L. Mattingly Staff Reporter cmattingly@registerpublications.com
With both its president and attorney absent, Moores Hill Town Council tabled a number of items at its regular November meeting, including the purchase of Forest Hill Cemetery. But the council did discuss a Dearborn County dispatching fee, learned recent street paving had not been approved in advance, agreed to purchase two computers and signs for town offices, and got an update on the Moores Hill Food Pantry. Moores Hill Marshal Brent Casebolt said the county's request of $2,500 for a dispatching fee for 2014 came after the town's budget was completed and submitted to the state. The town's 2014 police budget does not contain enough funds to cover the additional fee as well as normal expenses.
“I knew it would come sooner or later,” said Casebolt, adding the timing was “aggravating. ... They do this when our budget's done.” “... It's going to have to come from somewhere else because our budget for the year for police is $22,000,” he said. Larger municipalities were hit harder, he said, explaining Dillsboro is being charged $5,500 and Lawrenceburg $60,000. Moores Hill Clerk-treasurer Guinevere Emery said to cover the fee, funds within the town's 2014 general fund can be shifted to increase the police department fund and decrease the amount paid for utilities. The latter can be paid from riverboat gambling revenue sharing instead. Councilman Paul Grimsley suggested she plan to increase the police budget to $4,500 minimum in 2015, and called the county's fee coming at the end of the year “ridiculous.”
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Dearborn County Recorder Glenn Wright, at the meeting to tell council of some land for sale, said county council may have decided to add the dispatching fee to make up for a 10 percent cut made in the county budget at the end of the budgeting process.
'White' blacktop
On the paving issue, Grimsley said council president Lanny Dell is not happy with recent street paving. “It's turning white,” said councilman Jaime Berry. “Parts of it turned out good, parts of it bad,” said Grimsley, suggesting discussion be tabled. “We can't table it,” said Emery. The paving of Main and Manchester streets was included in the
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