FRANKFORT, Ind. – The City of Frankfort has announced April 1st at 2 p.m. as the ground breaking for the $10 Million Aquatic Center. The event will take place at 1 Adrian Marks Drive.
The Aquatic Center completion is set to coincide with the opening of the 2023 pool season.
FRANKFORT, Ind. – A special prosecutor assigned to Clinton County filed criminal charges against Clinton County Sheriff Rich Kelly and his wife Ashley, who is both the Jail Matron and Commissary Manager on Friday, March 4.
This action comes a little over one-year after [Clinton County Prosecutor Tony Sommer] contacted the Indiana State Police regarding “allegations of criminal activity by two sworn police officers” according to the probable cause affidavit affirmed by ISP Sgt. Joseph White. The Kellys each face three counts of official misconduct and one count of criminal conflict of interest.
“Given the timeline of events, this is nothing more than a political farse,” stated Sheriff Kelly via a press release. “The items being contested are still in civil litigation in Tippecanoe County Court and are the same contained in the SBOA findings from last year and our subsequent response.
“My wife and I look forward to continuing our efforts to increase public safety with the hiring of new deputies and jail staff, made possible by the nearly $1,500,000 federal inmate project that we brought into the community in 2020. We plan on announcing our medical savings to the county of over $388,000 for 2021 in the next week. We also look forward to expanding our jail programs to a Jail Chemical Addiction Program (JCAP) that will incorporate more services to the recovery of inmates. We will continue our successful programs, saving taxpayers money, reducing recidivism and providing state of the art technology, equipment and training to all members of our agency.”
The three-member Board of Commissioners (Jordan Brewer, Josh Uitts, and Bert Weaver) released a statement via Commissioner Josh Uitts’ Facebook page.
“This is a sad and unfortunate day for Clinton County. Nobody wants to wake up and face a day knowing that criminal charges have been filed against an elected official in the highest role of law enforcement within the community. We take these charges very seriously and are very concerned about the integrity of Clinton County.
“We also understand the criminal justice system and that individuals are innocent until proven guilty; however, these allegations are extremely serious and very disturbing for individuals that are still in their elected office and appointed position. We hope and pray that Clinton County will become stronger and more resilient from this dark day in our county’s history.”
Online court information does not show if the Kellys have been arrested or any future court dates. In Indiana, only coroners have the official capacity to arrest a sheriff.
Civil litigation in Tippecanoe County Court is set to be heard on March 31, 2022.
FRANKFORT, Ind. – According to a press release issued by the City of Frankfort, the southbound lane on Jackson Street will be restricted to 1 lane starting at Clinton Street and continuing to the Jackson Street and Walnut intersection tomorrow, Friday, March 4th.
This is for the storm structure demo and installation on the northwest corner of Jackson and Walnut.
It will be restricted for 1 day.
FRANKFORT, Ind. – The City of Frankfort and Frankfort Street Department has scheduled motivational speaker and basketball legend, Chris Herren, to Case Arena at Frankfort Senior High School. The program will start at 9:00 am on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, and will include all Clinton County High School students. The program is not open to the public.
“I started looking into ways that we can help our youth with decision making and how addiction can affect them. I wanted to find a way that even if we change just one student from making the wrong decisions, then we have made a difference,” said Street Superintendent, Jason Forsythe. “I met with Mayor (Judy) Sheets and the Board of Works in 2020 to see what we could do to make this possible.” The program has been canceled twice due to Covid.
Chris Herren had the NBA within reach when he decided alcohol and substance abuse were going to ruin those dreams. Chris almost lost everything including his life and decided to get sober. Today, Chris has shared his story with over 1 million students and community members nationwide. “I am excited to have Chris Herren at Case Arena. I hope that our students can connect with Chris’ message and that they realize the negative impacts of drugs and alcohol. It not only affects their life but also their family,” stated Mayor Sheets. “Thank you to Jason Forsythe for putting this program together for our youth.”
“Many people get sober and want to forget,” stated Herren. “I find great inspiration in people who have been at certain levels in life and come back from it. I’m blessed to be in long-term recovery and to be able to be out in front of people and share my story.”
Partnering with The City of Frankfort to bring Chris Herren program: Community Foundation, Center Township, Healthy Communities of Clinton County, State Farm-Susan Kaspar, Kaspar Broadcasting, Eagles Lodge 976.
FRANKFORT, Ind. – Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will hold a public meeting regarding the State Road 28 Project on Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 7:00pm inside the Frankfort Community Public Library, Skanta Theatre.
Representatives from INDOT, Fox and E&B will be present to help answer questions from the community and businesses affected by the closures along State Road 28. “We want to make sure the community and business owners are being heard. It has been a long process already and we know businesses want answers,” said Mayor Judy Sheets. “We want the community to ask questions to the right people so they can receive the correct answers and be provided with an updated timeline on the project.”
FRANKFORT, Ind. – With all six Frankfort police station construction bids rejected by the Board of Works, each being at least $2 million over the appropriated cost of $8.5 million, and still wanting to have a dedicated facility for the Police Department, the Frankfort City Council held a work session after its Monday council meeting to discuss how to accomplish that goal.
The result. Approach the project using a 20-plus-year-old Indiana law allowing city and county governments to utilize an alternative procurement method to deliver a public project by way of a public-private partnership. The alternative procurement method is called BOT, an acronym for build, operate, transfer, and allows a government body to have greater control over the upfront cost and allows for negotiating costs while not having to rejects bids and starting the process over. The latter being the traditional way of doing a government project.
BOT also allows for combining multiple projects into a single, larger project with the desired outcome of lowering costs by developers bidding to do both projects.
With the information of combining projects, the council via consensus will now add the aquatic center to the police station project – an official vote could occur at its next meeting on August 9. All bids associated with the aquatic center had previously been rejected by the BOW due to fiscal uncertainty during the pandemic.
“I think it is something we all want to see to move forward and as quickly as possible,” said Frankfort Mayor Judy Sheets addressing the council. “This is what our constituents want, they expect us to be out here working for them and I think it is time we just got to move. We got to get going on this.”
The single, combined project would have a total projected cost of $20 Million based on financial assumptions presented by Gary Smith of Reedy Financial Group, the city’s financial consultant.
Smith provided the council with an affordability report for the two projects showing current account balances of the respective budget funds that will be used to make yearly payments once financing is secured as well as information on how much the city could afford for each based on future city revenue projections. The project costs discussed for the police station and aquatic center were $9.5 million and $10.5 million, respectively.
Council president Eric Woods remarked after Smith’s presentation, “looks like the police station is fine, but the pool is going to require a little extra.”
Smith noted he removed the 4-lane lap pool from the project based on the $1.25 million cost for that portion alone as the city would not be able to afford this based on any of the financial assumptions provided in the report. The lap pool costs were provided by Kyle Lueken of HWC Engineering, the firm the city is using to handle the aquatic center project.
Prior to the August 9 council meeting, much legal work will need to be completed. A timeline both city attorney Les Bergum and Richard Starkey with Barnes & Thornburg, outside city counsel, noted as complex due to the BOT consisting of multiple projects, funding sources, architects, and holding entities.
Due to the Indiana Constitution that places a limit on municipalities on the maximum debt ratio a municipality can borrow, the city will need to use “legal fiction” – a term used by attorneys to pass taxpayer-owned assets to a third party to hold for the purpose of securing funding for the life of the bond. Currently, the City has two such projects utilizing such entities – one for Old Stoney and the other for Prairie Creek Park.
Starkey noted, “going to go through the Redevelopment Authority for the pool and the [Frankfort Police Station] Building Corporation for the police station” for the purpose of holding the assets. While Bergum discussed the complexities and time associated with completing the legal work, “It is going to take some time to put this RFP together from my point because it involves two projects, two funding sources, and two architects.”
The City Council will meet next on Monday, August 9 at 7 pm in the council chambers located in Old Stoney.
FRANKFORT, Ind – Community Schools of Frankfort is proud to announce it will host a Professional Learning Communities (PLC) at Work® LIVE Institute, June 29–July 1, 2021. The institute will be streamed in real time and will feature leading education experts with firsthand experience using the PLC at Work process to transform teaching and learning.
Recognized as a powerful strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement, the PLC at Work process is driven by three big ideas: focus on learning, build a collaborative culture, and focus on results. In PLCs, teachers work in collaborative teams, and all students learn at high levels.
CSF Assistant Superintendent Dr. Matt Rhoda said of the event, “We are beyond thrilled to have internationally renowned speakers such as Regina Stephens Owens, Mike Mattos, Anthony Muhammad and more providing high quality professional development for the Community Schools of Frankfort (CSF) staff at Solution Tree PLC at Work® LIVE Tuesday thru Thursday this week at Frankfort High School. In the next three days, CSF teachers and administrators will be encouraged, uplifted, and inspired by these professional educators. We will learn alongside each other about how we as a community of educators will support each other and support our kids to meet the following CSF goals: 1. Ensure academic excellence for each and every student; 2. Create and sustain a safe physical and social environment; 3. Utilize best instructional practices that will engage students and accelerate learning; 4. Increase and enhance parent involvement and community partnerships; and 5. Address the needs of our students and staff through the development of connections, programming, and curriculum in our schools.”
During the PLC at Work LIVE Institute, presenters will deliver keynotes and breakout sessions designed to deepen the expertise of educators and provide actionable solutions for the most pressing issues in education. The live-streamed format allows the entire school community to participate, building shared knowledge and increasing collective efficacy.
A special webinar, “Parents As Partners!,” on the evening of the second day of the institute will introduce parents and caregivers to the PLC process and share ways they can support their child’s learning. Parents and caregivers will learn the warning signs that a child is experiencing academic or social-emotional challenges—and show how parents and the school can work collaboratively to overcome them. Parents will also celebrate the culture of schools that emphasizes high levels of learning for all students and understand the importance of focusing on essential learning. Parents will examine the role assessment plays in a child’s education and how teachers use data to provide additional time and support for intervention or extension of essential standards.
This institute is produced and presented by Solution Tree, a premier educational publisher and professional development provider. For more than 20 years, Solution Tree has worked to transform education worldwide, empowering K–12 educators to raise student achievement.
For more information about the event, visit www.SolutionTree.com.
FRANKFORT, Ind. – Frankfort Fire Department Units were busy Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning responding to two separate fires – no injuries or loss of life was reported at each of the events.
“We had a busy night, but our firefighters did an outstanding job working both incidents and extinguishing the fires safely,” stated Assistant Chief Ed Cripe via a press release issued by the City of Frankfort.
Units were first dispatched at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday to a fire alarm at the Christian Life Church, located at 2501 E. Wabash, and upon making entry into the building firefighters located a small fire in a light fixture in the kitchen. The building sprinkler system contained the fire to the kitchen and allowed firefighters to quickly have the situation under control.
Then Wednesday, at approximately 1:30 a.m., units were dispatched for a possible trailer fire at 1555 Rossville Avenue, Lot 19. Engine 3 was the first to arrive and found a fully involved trailer fire. Firefighters immediately began fire suppression tactics as other units responded. Battalion 1 called for a second alarm. A total of six firefighters were called in to man the city while on-duty firefighter personnel and apparatus were on the scene at Rossville Avenue.
Tankers were used for fire suppression due to the absence of hydrants located within the trailer park. Firefighters had the fire under control within 20 minutes but remained on the scene to conduct salvage and overhaul. Units cleared the scene at approximately 3:30 a.m. No firefighter or resident injuries were reported.
The Rossville Avenue fire is under investigation by the Frankfort Fire Department. More information will be released once the investigation has been completed.
FRANKFORT, Ind. – On Saturday, May 29, Frankfort High School conducted an in-person graduation ceremony in Case Arena for the 217 members of the class of 2021. In August 2020 not many in the Frankfort community could foresee such an event occurring as the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic had gripped the area.
The ability to hold graduation as well as keep all of the elementary schools open during the academic year was the Safe Return to School Plan (Plan) developed during the summer of 2020 – only the middle school and high school were forced to transition to e-learning instruction per the Plan for the Community Schools of Frankfort (CSF); however, each of those schools returned to in-person learning as quickly as possible.
Then CSF Superintendent Don DeWeese (DeWeese retired in October 2020) and Assistant Superintendent Joel McKinney worked to develop the Plan, they developed a broad-based team of individuals from various departments within the school system as well as students and parents. While both could not see a clear path at the start, there was a commitment to make it happen.
The Plan centered on what the team termed, “clear path” conversations.
“I personally picked leaders that I knew that I could bend their ear when things got too difficult conversations,” said McKinney. “And then I required them to reach out to at least teachers, parents, and students to be on the team and they became our sounding board during the whole process.”
“They would send me information and I would send them questions and they would send me more information and vice versa. So, that process went on for a number of weeks, they worked more quickly than I thought they would because I gave them a deadline and they were sending me earlier than the deadline.”
“And what they are saying, ‘Joel, we’re seeing plans from other countries that have already re-opened and we’re taking ideas from those plans because they were reporting success with some of these things.'”
The result of the team’s work – a 15-page document that covered as many possibilities as were known to CSF at the time and provided that “clear path” for 3,103 students to return for an on-time school start in August 2020.
“The SRTS Plan clearly outlined to all – students, families, and employees – the required protocols for keeping all of us as safe as possible,” said FHS Principal Cindy Long. “With clear direction, we were able to confidently move forward with having a successful school year. All involved knew what safety protocols to expect, which made participating within those confines easier.”
At the elementary school level, Blue Ridge Primary School Principal Karie Cloe echoed Long’s thoughts, “Our SRTS Plan ensured students were able to attend school in person! This allowed students to grow not only academically, but also socially.”
Work on a 2021-2022 SRTS plan has started and CSF Superintendent McKinney will release the Plan to the public during the summer.
