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Brett W. Todd – Page 12 – Clinton County Today
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Brett W. Todd - page 12

Brett W. Todd has 936 articles published.

Brett W. Todd is the managing editor of Clinton County Today. Clinton County Today is a community-focused website to provide individuals of Clinton County Indiana and surrounding areas with information impacting their lives. Clinton County Today is a service of Progressive Partners of Indiana, LLC where Brett W. Todd is its managing member.

Sheriff Kelly Freezes Hiring, Awaits Nepotism Ordinance from Commissioners; $2 Million of Revenue Hangs In The Balance

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Sheriff Kelly Freezes Hiring, Awaits Nepotism Ordinance from Commissioners

CLINTON COUNTY, Ind. – Clinton County Sheriff Rich Kelly announced to members of the Clinton County Council on Tuesday he has placed a freeze on hiring new merit deputies and correctional officers pending the County Commissioners action on a planned revised nepotism ordinance that would remove his wife, Ashley Kelly, as jail matron.

“The pause has to be created due to the fact the funds that are gonna fund that possibly won’t be there in the future due to the fact that the nepotism policy in place [might change],” said Sheriff Kelly after the meeting.

The funding Sheriff Kelly mentions is money paid by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to the Clinton County Federal Inmate Housing Fund for the housing of federal inmates in addition to money received from the Indiana Department of Correction (IDC) for housing state inmates.

Federal inmates held in the Clinton County jail generate yearly revenue approaching $1.5 million plus an additional $500,000 received from the IDC. The IDC pays the county a yearly amount that breaks down to approximately $37.50 per inmate/per day, while the Federal program payment equates to $68 per inmate/per day plus reimbursement for medical and transport.

Every three years the agreement with the Federal Bureau of Prisons can be renegotiated – and is coming up for talks later in 2022. The State pays based on an average yearly population with an amount set on a yearly basis.

“Our responsibility to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the US Marshals, US Attorney, [is] to be able to provide adequate staff and… an office manager – a person that takes care of that,” explained Sheriff Kelly. “If that person is removed, that’s not a job that I can just hire off the street. That is a job where I have to have 100% trust in the person that’s doing it.”

“The 100% availability at 24-hours a day [to take a] phone call from the US Marshals office or from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. And, that is not something that I take lightly.”

Clinton County Council President Alan Dunn was asked what potential impact the loss of the Federal inmate housing program would have on the county’s budget.

“Well, that’s something we’ll get into a lot more next week as we read through the budget for the first time,” said Dunn. “I’m not sure it’s appropriate to talk about now. There’s a lot of other discussions going on between the Sheriff’s camp and the county leadership.”

“And so I think those talks need to play out and, and, you know, I think the Sheriff’s right, it could have an impact on the budget and it could have, it could be not just one direction either. So let’s, let’s see how those talks play out. Let’s see what the budget looks like next week as we get into it and see what we can, what we can figure out.”

The County Council will hold budget hearings on August 16 while the next County Commissioners meeting is set for August 22.

FPD Announce New Officer, Promotion and Retirement

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FPD Announce New Officer, Promotion and Retirement

FRANKFORT, Ind. – Frankfort Police Chief Scott Shoemaker presented to the Board of Public Works and Safety meeting on Monday personnel changes; a new officer, a promotion and a retirement all were approved by the BOW.

New Officer
Matt Henley was approved to replace Jim Skinner who retired on July 31st. Henley is a graduate of Rossville Schools and has previously been a Corrections Officer and Dispatcher in Clinton County. He was sworn in with his family and friends by Mayor Judy Sheets.

Promotion
Sergeant Chris Salaba was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Salaba is a field training officer, a certified general instructor, a crisis-hostage negotiator and certified in critical incident stress management as well as peer support. He was promoted to Sergeant in July 2020. He has been a very active officer on patrol as well as within the K9 unit. He was unanimously selected by the promotion committee. His promotion was effective Monday.

Retirement
Officer Michael Cesare has served the City of Frankfort for 28.5 years as a city police officer. Before that he was an Indiana State Trooper for four years. Officer Cesare has held many ranks, including Deputy Chief of Police. Officer Cesare will enjoy more family time and remains in the community serving with the Community Schools of Frankfort. His last official day with FPD is October 3, 2022.

Frankfort Police Announce Reorganization Plans

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Frankfort Police Announce Reorganization Plans

Frankfort, Ind. – The Frankfort Board of Public Works and Safety approved Police Chief Scott Shoemaker’s reorganization plans at its July 25 meeting.

Leading the changes was the announcement Mayor Judy Sheets promoted Captain Cesar Muñoz to become the next Deputy Chief of Police. Captain Muñoz has been a member of the Frankfort Police Department since 2012. He was promoted to Captain by Chief Shoemaker in July 2020. Caption Muñoz’s promotion was the result of the retirement of Deputy Chief Jim Skinner on July 31.

According to Mayor Sheets, “Captain Muñoz comes highly recommended by Chief Shoemaker and Deputy Chief Skinner as well as officers at FPD. He has been a very effective leader.” Indiana State law provides that a Deputy Chief of Police in a class three city be appointed by the mayor. His appointment became effective August 1, 2022.

Chief Shoemaker then announced he would streamline and unify the patrol division from two squads into a single division.

“We essentially have two patrol divisions with the two Captains of A and B squads,” stated Chief Shoemaker. “I will reduce the division to one single Patrol Captain to command the entire patrol division.”

A new division for the department was announced, Special Operations.

B Squad Patrol Captain Brady Sorrells is the other patrol captain and was promoted to lead Special Operations. This position will be third in line if the Chief of Police is incapacitated. Currently, Special Events, Traffic Unit, Narcotics Unit, School Resource Officer Unit, Code Enforcement Unit, Training, K-9, Drone, Community Outreach and Crisis Intervention and Peer Support Teams are all ran by different positions within the department. The aforementioned will be consolidated into Special Operations and commanded by Captain Sorrells. Sorrells has been a member of the Frankfort Police Department since 2012.

With the promotions of Muñoz and Sorrells, the new Captain of Patrol position was filled with the promotion of Lieutenant Evan Hall to the position. Hall was promoted to Lieutenant in July 2020. He will command the 24-member patrol division. By creating this position, Lieutenants will be removed from the command staff and focus all of their attention to their respective patrol shifts and response to calls for service in the city. Hall has been a member of the Frankfort Police Department since 2013.

All promotions became effective August 1, 2022.

City Targets November 1st Start for Automated Trash Collection

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City Targets November 1st Start for Automated Trash Collection
The City of Frankfort prepares for automation trash collection to begin November 1st. Photo from Best Equipment Company of Indianapolis shows a Labrie automated collection vehicle. The city anticipates purchasing two new Labrie vehicles for its use.

FRANKFORT, Ind. – The Frankfort City Council took its first formal step towards implementing automated trash collection at the Monday meeting with passing on first-reading an amendment to an ordinance regarding trash collection and disposal. The council set November 1st as the implementation date after asking Jason Forsythe, street superintendent, for his recommendation.

The city will acquire two new Labrie automated trash collection vehicles, each having a 12-foot extendable arm, plus nearly 5,500 trash collection totes for residential pick-up from Best Equipment Company of Indianapolis . An additional used automated trash collection vehicle will be purchased at a later date.

Prior to November 1st, the council will need to pass the amended ordinance on two additional readings as well as secure financing for the purchase of the vehicles and rolling totes.

“A couple of things that really impressed me about (automation trash pick-up); one of them is safety,” said Mayor Judy Sheets. “When you think about our guys on the back of the trash trucks – that’s a very dangerous job. I don’t know if you’ve followed them before but I have around town. People pay no attention to it. There’s a possibility of them falling or when they pick up bags of trash – they get splattered with all sorts of things. Needle sticks. There’s all these things that people don’t think about.”

Forsythe talked about the work that has taken place behind the scenes to get to the point of council action and what automated trash collection will mean for the residents as well as the employees at the street department.

“This has been a lot of hard work for a lot of months – the guys deserve it,” said Forsythe. “It’s going to make them much safer. It’s going to make the community look much nicer than it does. You’re not going to have the bags all over the place. A lot of work to do moving forward – getting totes ready, getting equipment taken care of, obviously getting the financial stuff done.”

Mayor Sheets does not see an increase in user fees when moving to automated trash collection. And, the city will provide one 96-gallon tote to each residential collection stop that can hold 6 to 7 30-gallon trash bags. Each tote has a serial number and will be recorded to the customers address. Additional tote(s) will be available to residents at an additional monthly charge.

With automation comes an increase in collection speed and opportunity to do other items not centered on trash collection.

An automated collection vehicle can do 1 stop per 7 seconds. The current collection method completes approximately 600 stops a day with 3 people while automation can do 900 stops a day with 1 person doing both the driving and operating the joystick-controlled retractable collection arm.

Forsythe provided an example of how the current Monday collection in the southwest quadrant of the city would improve while allowing him to assign workers to do additional tasks.

“The southwest on Monday route usually gets done [around] 1, 1:30 – we’ll be done by 11, 11:30 on Monday,” said Forsythe. “We could pick up the entire city, that’s 5,500 stops in about two and a half days.”

“Like one guy got finished with a route and we needed mowing done, he could go out and mow a couple of city lots before he went home.”

The next city council meeting is Monday, August 22nd at 7 pm in the council chamber of Old Stoney.

VIDEO: Evansville House Explosion Kills 3, Damages 39 Houses

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VIDEO: Evansville House Explosion Kills 3, Damages 39 Houses
Danny Koester's surveillance camera captures the moment a house explodes near his business in Evansville, Indiana on August 10, 2022. (Video: Danny Koester/Local News X / TMX)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A house exploded Wednesday afternoon in Evansville that killed 3 and left 39 houses in the area damaged. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

A nearby security camera caught the moment of the explosion. Warning: the video contains graphic content.

CSF Takes Step to Revise Attendance Policy; Parents/Guardians of Habitual Offenders Could Face Action by County Prosecutor

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CSF Takes Step to Revise Attendance Policy; Parents/Guardians of Habitual Offenders Could Face Action by County Prosecutor

FRANKFORT, Ind, – The Frankfort School Board took a step towards updating the district attendance policy at its Tuesday meeting by approving the High School and Elementary schools (Blue Ridge, Green Meadows and Suncrest) attendance policies, while the Middle School had not yet submitted its plan. The Middle School plan should be ready at the next board meeting September 13.

Over the past two-years CSF has not been able to do much in terms of enforcement of an attendance policy due to Covid-19. However, now that many of those restrictions have been removed, the district is wanting to have students in school for instruction.

“There was not much over the past two years that we could do about attendance,” said CSF Superintendent Dr. Matt Rhoda after the meeting. “We had to be pretty flexible.”

“Coming into this year, we want to get back to we need kids in the buildings. We want to be able to have expectations for parents of getting kids to school, but we also want to show that we’re going to help support them if there are some struggles. We want to be able to work out through a contract at day seven being missed about how we can help the kid get in the seat of the school.”

The school board’s proposed attendance plan offers a four-step, progressive notification process with the final step involving the matter being turned over to the county prosecutor for further action.

Dr. Rhoda explained the steps, “It’ll be five [misses] with a letter [home], seven [misses] will be a contract and 10 [misses] will be a certified letter to say, if, if you get to 11, you go to the county prosecutor.”

Parents will be notified of the attendance policy change via the district’s automated notification system.

Joel Tatum Newest Community Schools of Frankfort School Board Member

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Joel Tatum Newest Community Schools of Frankfort School Board Member
Joel Tatum is sworn-in as the newest member of the CSF school board at the August 9, 2022 meeting. (Photo by Brett W. Todd)

FRANKFORT, Ind. – Residents in District 6 of the Community Schools of Frankfort have a new representative on the school board, Joel Tatum.

He was sworn-in at the beginning of the Tuesday evening board meeting; he replaces Barb Gerald.

Tatum, owner of A & J’s Lawn Equipment in Frankfort, said he applied for the vacant seat because he wanted to give back to the community.

“I like to give back to the community and giving back to the kids in our community is something that’s really important to me,” said Tatum. “Being on the COACH Kids board, I feel like it’s a good fit for me as well, because we’re all here for the kids in the community and we have to provide them with a better life for the future.”

“One of the great things that brings me joy is giving back to the community and we have a great community and we just need to give back as much as we can.”

CSF Superintendent Dr. Matt Rhoda welcomes Tatum’s experience and passion for serving the community.

“I think he’s going to be a great addition to our board,” said Dr. Rhoda. “He’s previously served on the COACH kids board, and I think that’s just a testament to someone who’s coming on the board.”

Tatum will serve the remainder of the term left which is through the end of 2022. He stated he intends to file for the November 8 election. Deadline for all wishing to run for eligible school board seats is noon, Friday, August 26.

Hoke Ave Closure Update; Rain Could Delay Re-Opening to Monday

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Underground infrastructure working being completed at intersection of Hoke and Walnut Avenue in Frankfort, Indiana
Overnight rain Monday and into Tuesday morning forced work crews to stop work at the busy intersection of Hoke and Walnut Avenue Tuesday. (Photo: Brett W. Todd)

FRANKFORT, Ind. – Work at the intersection of Hoke and Walnut Avenue, known as the “jog” on State Road 28, came to a stop on Tuesday due to rain overnight Monday into Tuesday morning. The necessary underground infrastructure improvements are part of the INDOT State Road 28 project.

Frankfort street superintendent Jason Forsythe provided an update at the city council meeting Monday evening with a look towards Tuesday’s rain.

“As Hoke Avenue goes, they closed it down today (Monday). It’s supposed to be done sometime Saturday. Obviously, I think it’s supposed to get a pretty good amount of rain tonight (Monday) and I think even tomorrow (Tuesday) which could push things back a little bit obviously in construction.

“But they were working hard down there today (Monday). I had several crews down there getting things done. Hopefully, Saturday. Obviously they won’t work on Sunday.

“So it could be Monday with the rain.”

Work at the intersection of Hoke and Walnut Avenue on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Brett W. Todd)

 

Work at the intersection of Hoke and Walnut Avenue on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Brett W. Todd)

Farmer’s Market Returning To Downtown Frankfort

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Farmer’s Market Returning To Downtown Frankfort

FRANKFORT, Ind. – Mary Lynn Peter saw something missing in Frankfort – specifically in the downtown area – a farmer’s market.

She received approval from the Frankfort Board of Works at its meeting on Monday after asking for feedback on local Facebook groups and presenting to the board her findings. The first farmer’s market will be this Saturday, August 13 at Veteran’s Park from 9 am to 2 pm.

“Well, actually, we use to have farmer’s markets here,” said Mary Lynn. “We had one that used to be downtown and that kind of went away – I don’t know why. Then they started another one at the IVY Tech, but it was so hard to get to no one could really get in there to do it. So that didn’t go well either. So it’d been five years or so before we had another one.”

The thought came to her when driving past Veteran’s Park on a Saturday.

“I’m driving down the street and looking at Veteran’s Park, sitting empty on a Saturday, I’m like, come on, we got to do something. Let’s do a farmer’s market. Maybe I can do that.”

Mary Lynn contacted Frankfort Main Street director Kim Stevens who in turn pointed her to the right city departments to get the necessary permission.

“So I got a hold of Kim Stevens at Main Street and she directed me to everybody else and all the paperwork and everything.”

The farmer’s market is set to run every Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm – weather permitting, until the end of the season. There is no cost to vendors to set-up. She hopes to have a wide variety of producers and makers come and offer their items to the public.

“Hopefully we’ll have flowers, baked goods, vegetables, maybe some fruits, whatever people are growing out of their gardens and stuff to have them come up here and sell, and citizens can come and buy.”

Frankfort Mayor Judy Sheets thanked Mary Lynn for having the vision and approaching the city.

“I’m so excited about it and I loved the idea,” said Mayor Sheets. “I think it is something that we need in the downtown area. As I’ve said before, you know, that’s what we want to do, want to keep the downtown area busy and people want to come down here and visit our different places.”

“It’s just another time for them to be down here and to enjoy it. And I, I thank Mary Lynn for having that vision and wanting to bring that back to Frankfort. I think it’s exciting for our community.”

Mary Lynn noted there is an individual that has a produce stand in the parking lot of Goodwill and is busy.

“We’ve got one guy at Goodwill right now that sells, and every time I go by there, there’s tons of cars, people buying off of him. Let’s make it local and keep it fun and exciting.”

Vendors do not have to sign-up ahead of time, but will be asked to complete a form to track vendor participation. The only costs associated are for those that offer non-uncut produce, baked goods and other food items due to health department rules.

“There’s no charge as long as they have uncut produce. As far as home baked goods – honey eggs, stuff like that, they have to pay a $60 fee through the health department, but that’s for the whole season.”

Will Clinton County Water Be Pumped to Supercharge Boone County Growth?

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Will Clinton County Water Be Pumped to Supercharge Boone County Growth?

CLINTON COUNTY, Ind. – As the State of Indiana aquifer study has quickly transformed from study phase to test drilling in a southwest portion of the county, the Clinton County Board of Commissioners approved the hiring of outside legal counsel at its July 18 meeting to understand and protect, if necessary, a county asset – underground water.

The area in question for the aquifer study and drilling is a corridor from State Road 28 to the north, south along 400 South with 200 West being the eastern point with the western boundary being west of Interstate 65.

Why seek legal representation?

The fast rate of progress in the study, the lack of communication from the State, and recent news of supercharged growth in Boone County were given as reasons by Commissioners President Jordan Brewer why the County felt necessary to hire an attorney – the same attorney that currently represents the Frankfort Utility Service Board, Clayton Miller of Indianapolis.

Addressing the Board and public during the July meeting, Commissioner Brewer stated, “we’ve continued to have updates but, just being transparent, that we get the information they [the State] want to tell us.”

After the meeting, the commissioner explained further how the study and now test drilling have evolved due to the growth and news south in Boone County of the planned development of a Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace (LEAP) Innovation and Research District.

“It’s evolved from the aquifer study to the test drills that are ultimately looking to see what type of production. I think we can all piece together the puzzle that this is to flow south to Boone County for their four to 7,000 [acres] LEAP Innovation Park District,” explained Commissioner Brewer.

“So, we’ve got to the point in our discussions with the State, that we felt like we needed to seek some representation, that was specific to water, infrastructure needs and water rights. … So ultimately kind of get an understanding of, can the State come in and take water that’s sitting underground here in Clinton County and somehow say that it has to be directed elsewhere outside the county?”

How did Clinton County get to this point?

Both the County and City of Frankfort, via the Frankfort Utility Service Board, are participants in the aquifer study each contributing $250,000 towards a State Water Infrastructure Fund (SWIF) grant. The grant was awarded in March of this year – after previously being turned down by the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) in early Fall of 2021, only to receive a request from the State to participate a few months later.

“So originally, last summer [2021] we were approached in doing an aquifer study, kind of [a] joint partnership between the City and the County, both contributing $250,000,” remarked Commissioner Brewer after the March 21, 2022 meeting. “The study was going to run 750,000 to a million dollar range. And, we were, like I said, we were approached about it so we felt really good about this grant application going through the IFA for this SWIF grant.”

“And then, we get the letter in September and [it] says, we didn’t get it and so we kind of thought, well, that it’s dead and obviously misled us a little bit in that direction. And out of nowhere, over the winter, it’s kind of re-emerged.”

The expansion of the aquifer project scope has swelled the project’s cost to nearly $5 million, while the contribution level has remained the same to the County and USB. An item noted by Commissioner Brewer in March when announcing the grant was awarded.

“It’s expanded,” remarked Commissioner Brewer. “It was capped at a million dollars in terms of the study. Now in doing this study and some potential well drilling to look at how much water there is in specific areas, they’re estimating that’s going to be three to $5 million project, and we’re still only required to put in the 250,000. So as I mentioned that essentially if it’s a $5 million, ends up being $5 million and we put 250 in and we’ve leveraged 250 for a 20 to one of that money. So that’s, that’s great utilization. I mean, you don’t get those odds in anything.”

What is the LEAP Innovation and Research District and where is it located?

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) identified the area in northwest Boone County as a strategic location for growth in the potential establishment of a large-scale research and Innovation Park according to a document presented to the Lebanon City Council during the discussion of annexation of the land area.

The area (see map below) is mostly rural and is situated between Indianapolis and Purdue University in West Lafayette. LEAP consumes 6,000 acres and is roughly bounded to the north by 450 N and to the south by State Road 32 with Interstate 65 bisecting the area leaving parcels to the east and west. As a comparison to the size of land, the Purdue University West Lafayette campus is approximately 2,500 acres. A portion of the Big 4 Trail that travels from Lebanon to Colfax is within the LEAP zone.

The IEDC has currently secured rights to purchase 6,000 acres with 1,500 acres – comprising 32 landowners – as part of the first-phase of LEAP development.

The City of Lebanon approved the first-phase of voluntary annexation for project LEAP at its July 11 meeting.

Lebanon Mayor, Matt Gentry, noted Boone County is the fastest growing county in Indiana during a June 6, 2022, appearance on Inside Indiana Business.

Indianapolis headquartered Eli Lilly recently announced plans to acquire approximately 600 acres of LEAP property from the IEDC for the purpose of developing, constructing and operating a research and Manufacturing campus containing multiple buildings and substantial Green Space. Lilly intends to make an initial capital investment of over $2 Billion on the site, not including the cost of the land itself. They are the first publicly announced participant of the first-phase of LEAP.

Protecting the residents of Clinton County

“So ultimately we’re trying to protect Clinton County residents and taxpayers from what we believe is an asset,” concluded Commissioner Brewer. “It’s no different than a community that has oil or has coal or any other mineral. Water is an asset. And there’s a reason that they need to send it to Boone County. It’s because they don’t have it available.”

“And so rather than allowing someone to come in here and take that asset and we receive no compensation or no benefit for the growth of our community, we felt like we needed some legal representation that knew the laws and statutes of that specific industry to protect us and help us out.”

Map of  LEAP Innovation and Research District

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