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Local Round Up - page 21

Frankfort High School Moves To E-Learning Due To Increase In COVID-19 Absences

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FRANKFORT, Ind – Community Schools of Frankfort Superintendent Joel McKinney notified parents/guardians today that due to an increase in COVID-19 related absences, Frankfort High School will move to e-learning on Thursday and Friday of this week, November 5 & 6, and continuing the week of November 9 through 13.  High School students will return to in-person school on Monday, November 16.

Middle school and elementary students will continue to report to school according to the notification sent out.

Grab and Go meals will be available for high school students during e-learning days. The pick-up location will be behind the high school from 11:30 am until 12:30 pm daily.

While home on e-learning, CSF asks that students practice social distancing and follow all of the safety protocols that reduce the risk of illness transmission.

Record Voter Turnout in Clinton County – Results for 2020 General Election

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FRANKFORT, Ind – A record number of Clinton County voters participated in the 2020 General Election – 65.08% of the 20,140 registered voters cast a ballot. The previous record was set in the 2016 General Election when 59% of registered voters turned out to vote.

There were only two local contested elections – both for seats on the Clinton Central School Board. In District 9, Joshua Davison defeated  Kirk Long, 1,290 to 730. In District 11, Amy Shoup Mennen defeated Gavin Alexander Wellman, 1,552 to 552.

In statewide contests, Clinton County voters preferred Incumbent Governor Eric Holcomb (R) over challengers Dr. Woodrow Myers (D) and Donald Rainwater II (L). Holcomb garnered 7,971 votes compared to 2,514 for Rainwater and 2,406 for Myers.

Nationally, Clinton County cast votes nearly 3-to-1 in favor of President Trump over challenger Joe Biden, 9,334 to 3,361.

Below is the complete election result for votes cast by Clinton County voters.

Registered Voters: 20,140
Individuals Casting a Ballot: 13,107
Voter Turnout: 65.08%

Paper Absentee Count: 1,379
Walk-in Absentee Count: 7,685
Election Day Count: 4,043

US PRESIDENT & VP
Donald J. Trump / Michael R. Pence – Republican – 9,334
Joseph R. Biden / Kamala D. Harris – Democratic – 3,361
Jo Jorgensen / Jeremy (Spike) Cohen – Libertarian – 246
Write-In – 20

GOVERNOR & LT. GOVERNOR
Eric Holcomb / Suzanne Crouch – Republican – 7,971
Donald G. Rainwater II / William E. Henry – Libertarian – 2,514
Woodrow (Woody) Myers / Linda C. Lawson – Democratic – 2,406

ATTORNEY GENERAL
Todd Rokita – Republican – 9,269
Jonathan Weinzapfel – Democratic – 3,451

US REPRESENTATIVE, FOURTH DISTRICT
Jim Baird – Republican – 9,399
Joe Mackey – Democratic – 3,311
Write-In -10

STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT 07
Brian W. Buchanan – Republican – 9,586
Tabitha N. Bartley – Democratic – 3,112

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 025
Donald J. Lehe – Republican – 2,147
Alex Sabol – Democratic – 706

STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DISTRICT 038
Heath R. VanNatter – Republican – 6,567
Tom Hedde – Democratic – 2,328

JUDGE, SUPERIOR COURT
Justin Harold Hunter – Republican – 10,905

COUNTY RECORDER
Elizabeth “Beth” J. Keeney – Republican – 10,851

COUNTY TREASURER
Gina Brettnacher – Republican – 10,639

COUNTY CORONER
Edward “Ed” Cripe – Republican – 10,741

COUNTY SURVEYOR
Dan Sheets – Republican – 10,646

COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 1
Mark A Timmons – Republican – 10,676

COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 2
Joshua Uitts – Republican – 10,584

COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER, AT LARGE
James M. “Mike” Hensley – Republican – 6,984
Clark A Beard – Republican – 6,463
Jeff Chynoweth – Republican – 6,196

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER

Clinton Central School Board
Kyle C Rule – Non Partisan – District 08 – 1,910

Joshua A Davison Non Partisan – District 09 – 1,290
Kirk A Long – Non Partisan – District 09 – 730

Amy L Mennen – Non Partisan – District 11 – 1,552
Gavin A Wellman – Non Partisan – District 11 – 552

Travis J Robinson – Non Partisan – District 13 – 1,850

Clinton Prairie School Board
Bobbi M Elliott – Non Partisan – District 14 – 1,729

Adam J Beck – Non Partisan – District 15 – 1,660

David R Larsh – Non Partisan – District 16 – 1,845

Frankfort School Board
Karen Sutton – Non Partisan – District 1 – 514

James E Mcquade II – Non Partisan – District 2 – 536

Rossville School Board
Joseph L Hufford – Non Partisan – Clay Twp – 1,450

COURTS

IN Supreme Court – Goff
Yes – 7,678
No – 2,063

Court of Appeals District 2 – Bradford
Yes – 7,600
No – 2,037

Court of Appeals District 5 – Brown
Yes – 7,803
No – 1,851

Court of Appeals District 4 – May
Yes – 7,796
No – 1,831

Court of Appeals District 5 – Robb
Yes – 7,815
No – 1,836

STRAIGHT PARTY VOTES

Republican Party – 4,171
Democratic Party – 873
Libertarian Party – 4

City of Frankfort’s New Leaf Machine Raises Awareness For Alzheimer’s Disease and Breast Cancer

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FRANKFORT, Ind – The City of Frankfort is using its new leaf machine to raise awareness for Breast Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Jason Forsythe, Frankfort Street Department Superintendent, proposed the idea of applying a vinyl wrap to each side – one done in purple for Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness and the other in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness. Each of the wraps was made available by a generous donation by the Center Township of Clinton County office.

“My family has been impacted by both breast cancer and Alzheimer’s,” said Forsythe. “These are terrible diseases that are hard for a lot of families. My hope is that the messages on our leaf machine will remind people that our community supports everyone who is struggling and we are all hoping for a cure.”

Leaf collection in the City takes place annually in the months of October and November. Each of those months happens to coincide with the causes being championed for higher awareness – National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is in October and November is recognized as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month.

Frankfort Mayor Judy Sheets supports the idea of utilizing City assets to take positive messages to the many neighborhoods. “We hope this leaf machine will bring a positive message to the community in a time when we all need encouragement,” said Mayor Sheets. “This year has been challenging in many ways. It has been exceptionally challenging for people who are faced with the added difficulty of illnesses such as breast cancer or Alzheimer’s disease.”

The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. estimates that 30% of all women cancer diagnoses in 2020 will be breast cancer and report that 1 in 8 women in The United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in The United States.

Zip Code 46041 Continues to be COVID-19 Hotspot

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FRANKFORT, Ind – The zip code 46041 within Clinton County continues to be a COVID-19 hotspot according to a revised statewide map published Tuesday, October 27th.

Using data from the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH), Micah Pollak, Associate Professor of Economics at Indiana University Northwest, published a revised statewide map on Tuesday showing the average weekly new COVID-19 cases over a 4-week period by zip code in Indiana. Professor Pollak was assisted in this project by Susan Batt, 13 Investigates & Special Projects Producer at WTHR.

The method of determining a numerical value by zip code looked at the average new weekly cases over a 4-week period, from September 27th through October 25th. Then zip code population data available from 2018 population tables published by the U.S. Census Bureau was used to allow each zip code to be analyzed evenly. A statistical method used commonly known as occurrences in 1,000. In this instance, the weekly average of new COVID-19 cases per 1,000 people.

The result was the grouping of results across 6 bands, 0-0.5, 0.6-0.8, 0.8-1.0, 1.0-1.2, 1.2-1.4, and 1.4+. Clinton County zip code 46041 feel within the 1.4+ band. Other Clinton County zip codes appearing in grouping bands included zip codes 46065 (1.2-1.4 band), 46058 (0.8-1.0 band), and 46050 (0-0.6 band).

According to Pollak, “Over the same four most recent week (Sept. 27 to Oct. 25), the growth rate of cases NATIONALLY was 1.2 per 1,000 people.”

The following is the most recent zip code data by count only as pulled on October 28, 2020.

46035 Colfax: Suppressed
46039 Forest: Suppressed
46041 Frankfort: 557 cases (an increase of 92 cases since last week)
46050 Kirklin: 22 cases ((an increase of 3 cases since last week)
46057 Michigantown: Suppressed
46058 Mulberry: 99 cases (an increase of 5 cases since last week)
46065 Rossville: 42 cases (an increase of 11 cases since last week)
46067 Sedalia: No cases

Note: Suppression occurs when there are either less than 5 COVID cases to a zip code or the zip code’s population is less than 1,500.

Today, October 28, the ISDH reported an additional 17 Clinton County residents had tested positive bringing the total count to 952 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Hot Dogs Season Comes To An End After Loss To Lebanon

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LEBANON, Ind – Frankfort faced a tough challenge in sectional football action Friday when they traveled to face its perennial rival, the Lebanon Tigers – a team that has held the Hot Dogs scoreless over the previous three years and outscored them 233-39 in the past four.

And like the previous three years, Lebanon shut out the Dogs, winning 29-0. The twenty-nine points allowed is the fewest a Dogs’ defense has allowed against Lebanon since a 29-14 loss in 2015. Frankfort ends the season at 5-5.

“To come down here and play these guys to a 29-0 ball game, it’s just a testament to how far these guys have come,” said third-year FHS head coach James Byers. “How far this team has come. How far this senior class has brought us. We threw these guys to the wolves when they were sophomores.”

Lebanon used a mix of defense schemes to shut down the Frankfort offense. On the ground, Hot Dog junior running back Riley Goodnight entered the game averaging 132 yards-per-game and was held to just 39 yards on 26 carries. From the air, junior quarterback Sam Michael threw for 34 yards on 4-of-9 attempts.

“Even though we did not score, we offensively moved the ball well,” said Byers. “Sam made some really nice throws. Riley had some really nice runs. Cam (Swinford) had a really nice catch on the sideline to convert the first down.”

For the season, Goodnight rushed for 1,229 yards, added an additional 145 yards of receiving, and scored 15 touchdowns – 13 from the ground and 2 from the air. Goodnight finished his junior season ranked 21st in Indiana for total yards and 19th in the state in rushing yards.

Michael threw for 908 yards on 50 percent passing and rushed for 510 yards. He scored 13 touchdowns in total with seven from the air and 6 on the ground. Seniors Jade Ayers and Kyle Earl finished with 441 and 293 receiving yards respectively.

Defensively the Hot Dogs were led by the linebacker duo of senior Gabe Chavez and junior Brenton Wood with 16 and 15 tackles respectively. Wood also had a blocked punt. Senior Ramsey Mitchell added a sack and junior Bryce McDonald came away with an interception.

For the season, Chavez ended ranked 2nd nationally in tackles and 1st in Indiana. Junior defensive tackle Vlad Carreras Lantigua finished the year ranked 20th nationally overall in tackles, 1st nationally among defensive tackles, and 7th overall in Indiana. McDonald finished the year tied for 31st nationally in interceptions, tied for 7th in the state in interceptions, and tied for 15th in the state in tackles among free safeties. Ramsey Mitchell finished his senior year tied for 13th in the state in sacks and senior Reece Mitchell ended his year as the #1 strong safety in the state in total tackles.

Coach Byers talked about how the program has grown and what this season has meant for the growth of the Frankfort football program in years to come.

“There was talk of shutting down the program two years ago,” said Byers. “The numbers were so low – it was really bad. Our staff came in and we didn’t win any games – we got the numbers up (students playing). We started getting better, showing improvement. We improved more that second year. We were more competitive in games and this year finally turning the corner and getting those wins, making plays, and winning tight ball games.

“North Mont is an outstanding team. Crawfordsville is a really well-coached team. To make that trip up, two-hours to a different time zone, and play a South Central team – that was super awesome. Southmont, an incredibly physical team, their coach has them run a triple-option really well. Then Clinton Prairie, a lot of athletes and a big offensive line, for us to go in there and get our first win was tremendous.

“These guys have had a huge year and I’m so proud of them. I wish we could keep playing, but it ends for everybody like this but for six.” Each year six teams in Indiana high school football are crowned state champs – one in each of the six football classes.

Coach Byers looks toward next year with seven returning starters on each the defense and offense side. “We’ve made huge strides,” said Byers. “Now it’s, how do we take the next step? And, that’s going to be the focus of this offseason.”

TIGERS 29, HOT DOGS 0

Lebanon;10;12;0;7;-;29
Frankfort;0;0;0;0;-;0

Scoring Summary

1st Qtr (9:16) Lebanon. Trevor Myers 38-yard field goal. 3-0.
1st Qtr (3:27) Lebanon. Garrett Harker 1-yard run. Trevor Myers kick good. 10-0.
2nd Qtr (4:20) Lebanon. Caden Boggess 23-yard pass from Garrett Harker. Kick failed. 16-0.
2nd Qtr (1:33) Lebanon. Garrett Harker 35-yard run. Kick failed. 22-0.
4th Qtr (9:05) Lebanon. Brayton Bowen 1-yard run. Trevor Myers kick good. 29-0.

Zip Code 46041 Identified as a COVID-19 Hotspot

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FRANKFORT – A zip code within Clinton County has been identified as a COVID-19 hotspot, specifically zip code 46041.

Using data from the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH), Micah Pollak, Associate Professor of Economics at Indiana University Northwest, published a statewide map on Tuesday showing the average weekly new COVID-19 cases over a 4-week period by zip code in Indiana. Professor Pollak was assisted in this project by Susan Batt, 13 Investigates & Special Projects Producer at WTHR.

The method of determining a numerical value by zip code looked at the average new weekly cases over a 4-week period, from September 20th through October 18th. Then zip code population data available from 2018 population tables published by the U.S. Census Bureau was used to allow each zip code to be analyzed evenly. A statistical method used commonly known as occurrences in 100,000. In this instance, the weekly average of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people.

The result was the grouping of results across 6 bands, 0-60, 60-80, 80-100, 100-120, 120-140, and 140+. Clinton County zip code 46041 feel within the 140+ band. Other Clinton County zip codes appearing in grouping bands included zip codes 46058 and 46065 in the 80-100 band and zip code 46050 in the 0-60 band.

The following is the most recent zip code data by count only as pulled on October 21, 2020.

46035 Colfax: Suppressed
46039 Forest: Suppressed
46041 Frankfort: 465 cases
46050 Kirklin: 19 cases
46057 Michigantown: Suppressed
46058 Mulberry: 94 cases
46065 Rossville: 31 cases
46067 Sedalia: No cases

Note: Suppression occurs when there are either less than 5 COVID cases to a zip code or the zip code’s population is less than 1,500.

Today, October 21, the ISDH reported an additional 14 Clinton County residents had tested positive bringing the total count to 829 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Clinton County Prepares COVID-19 Vaccination Plan

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FRANKFORT, Ind – Clinton County is moving forward with a COVID-19 vaccination plan – a plan that is addressing the vaccination of as many as 40% or 50% of county residents once a vaccine is available.

As part of the readiness plan is the need for two trailers to not only transport the vaccines but to make the vaccination clinic mobile to communities throughout Clinton County. One trailer would transport and refrigerate the vaccines while the second would be used for transportation of equipment necessary to carry-out the clinics, like tents.

Rodney Wann, Clinton County Health Department Administrator, addressed the Clinton County Commissioners on Monday during their scheduled meeting at the Frankfort Clinton County Airport terminal regarding both the plan and the trailer.

“My guess it is six months,” Wann said when addressing the Commissioners as to when a vaccine might be here ready for public vaccinations. “We have been through [a campaign like] this before through H1N1 about 10 years or so ago.”

Wann explained the difference between the vaccination procedure with H1N1 and COVID-19. “This is probably a two-rounder. So for every one you give, you have to give another. The majority of the vaccines are going to be a two-dose situation. Unless something changes.”

The need for a trailer is to increase the mobilization of the Health Department to reach as many spots of the various communities while acknowledging vaccinations will have to be performed differently for COVID-19 versus those programs done in the past.

“A lot of the time, we have always tried to do them in a facility like the schools,” said Wann. “Having had just the testing facility run six or more months now, I know that there’s a bit of astigmatism toward having the testing site there right now in facilities like schools when we are trying to keep them open.”

Wann described the trailer for vaccinations as being custom built allowing not only vaccination distribution but ensuring correct temperature control for the vaccines. The trailer would have a mounted generator, two vaccine refrigerators, side windows on either side to allow for small drive thru set-ups, a ramp, and internet and communications equipment for approximately $87,000.

“(The trailer will be) put not only to full use during this current emergency that we’re in, but it would for years to come,” said Wann. He stated the trailer could be used as part of a yearly back-to-school immunization plan working with the various county school nurses ensuring children receive their required shots.

During the discussion questions regarding the time to manufacture the trailer took place between Wann and the commissioners. A set date has not been provided for when a trailer would be available. The commissioners discussed amongst themselves how the trailer would be paid for.

Clinton County Sheriff Rich Kelly, who was in attendance, addressed the commissioners and Wann to offer a solution while a manufacturing timeline can be ironed out as well as how the County would pay for the trailers.

Sheriff Kelly offered the use of the department’s new 37’ trailer and communications trailer. Wann agreed that may work should a trailer of their own not be ready when the vaccines become available.

After the meeting, Wann addressed how quickly they could be up and operational once a vaccine is available and they have equipment in place.

“We are already planning with the State Department of Health – we have been since about three weeks ago,” said Wann. “We’re already being told to be prepared for November – whether that happens or not we’re just going to go with what they tell us. I would say we would be operational within two to three weeks after we get our first doses if not before that.”

Wann said vaccinations would more than likely begin in Frankfort and move out towards other communities in the County.

“We would start in a centralized location – be more than likely Frankfort to start with – and work our way out from there based off of the priority groups,” said Wann. “As it becomes more widely available we’re going to try and get further out into each of the little towns – much like we used to do with flu clinics where we would make the rounds and go to each and every community.”

He anticipates as much as a 4x increase in COVID-19 vaccinations as compared to H1N1.

“I would hope to think if we get past the election and people start to realize they need to listen to the science and not the politicians on this – I would hope to think that we would be upwards of 40 or 50% of our County population wanting to get the vaccine meaning 15 to 16,000 – and two rounds,” said Wann. “That is a lot of vaccines.

“It won’t be done in a weekend and certainly be more of a season, maybe a quarter before we could get up to those numbers and at about the time you get them done, you have to turn around and give them that second dose again. We will be busy for several months once we get started.”

Their goal is 300 to 400 vaccinations per hour using between 20 and 40 vaccinators.

Dogs Win 22-8, First Regular Season Winning Record In 11 Years

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FRANKFORT, Ind – The past three years Frankfort looked at the last regular-season game against Crawfordsville as the chance to keep from going without a win.

And, the past two years were not kind to the Hot Dogs – no wins in each of those seasons. But, Friday’s game against the Athenians had a different meaning in 2020. FHS entered the contest in hopes of accomplishing something that has not been done for 11 years – end the regular season with a winning record.

Despite a first-quarter Crawfordsville touchdown, the Dogs bounced back and scored three times offensively and defensively held the Athenians scoreless for the remainder of the game, and claimed its 5th win of the season, 22-8 – a regular-season record of 5-4.

“That was exciting – first regular winning season in like eleven years,” said a jubilant FHS coach James Byers after the senior class had surprised him with a cooler of water poured over his head. “You can’t say enough about this group of seniors – they’re outstanding young men. I’m so happy for all of them – I’m so happy for those two senior classes that came before them that kind of set the stage for this.

“This group has done a tremendous job of battling through adversity – battling when people around didn’t believe in them and they believed in themselves and believed in each other. They just kept grinding, they just kept working.”

The Hot Dogs defense turned up the pressure after the early score and collected 5 interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery – two of the turnovers led to FHS scores by the Dogs’ offensive unit. And, the special teams unit added a blocked punt.

“Defensively we are tough,” said coach Byers.

Frankfort got on the board twice in the second quarter both times the result of the defense causing a turnover.

The first score came after Vlad Carreras Lantigua forced a fumble of Athenians quarterback Kaiden Underwood on the 4-yard line. Four plays later and Hot Dogs quarterback Sam Michael scored on a 1-yard run. A two-point conversion pass to Jade Ayers from Michael tied the game at 8-8 with 11:09 left in the second quarter.

The second score came after Brenton Wood intercepted a pass thrown by Underwood on the 40-yard line that allowed the offensive unit to take the field. And like the previous score, Michael scored on a 1-yard run. The two-point try failed – the Dogs up 14-8 with 6:40 left in the first half.

FHS scored the final time in the 4th quarter at 8:39 on a 36-yard run by Michael. Cam Swinford caught the two-point pass from Michael that moved the score to 22-8.

“We played well on all three phases,” coach Byers said. “Coach Pickrell did a great job of putting together a defensive game plan. Coach Jewell did a great job with the offensive game plan and making in-game adjustments.

“Coach Surber did a great job of putting together the special team’s plan. The entire staff, coach Chris Keller, Colt Keller, Evan Hall, Dillion Shelly, Noah Dubree both are former players (Shelly and Dubree) of ours that have come back and are doing a great job with our guys.”

With the regular season complete, Frankfort turns its focus to the post-season playoffs. The Dogs travel Friday to its perennial rival Lebanon (2-4) for the first round of the class 4A sectional 22 action. The two did not meet in the regular season due to COVID-19 protocols with the Lebanon team. In addition to the game canceled with Frankfort due to COVID-19, Lebanon canceled two additional games, Danville and North Montgomery.

“(Lebanon) coach Smock is an outstanding coach – he’s got some really big kids on his line, they’ve got some really terrific athletes,” said coach Byers. “The Harker kid is back (Garret Harker, 5’10”, senior, quarterback). Their wide receiver is back – Reese (J.C. Reese, 6’2”, senior), he’s probably the fastest kid in the conference. And, they are going to be tough defensively.

“We are going to focus in on what we are going to need to do to be competitive with those guys. They kind of came in here last year and steamrolled us (53-0), but we’re a little more confident team this year. We’re a little bit more composed – we’ve been in some kind of tough, close games. So hopefully, we can be a little more competitive with them this year.”

HOT DOGS 22, ATHENIANS 8
Frankfort;0;14;0;8;-;22
Crawfordsville;8;0;0;0;-;8

Scoring Summary
1st Qtr (7:20) Crawfordsville. Kaigen Fields 18-yard pass from Kaiden Underwood. Underwood 2-point conversion run good. 0-8.

2nd Qtr (11:09) Frankfort. Sam Michael 1-yard run. Two-point conversion pass good, Jade Ayers pass from Michael. 8-8.

2nd Qtr (6:40) Frankfort. Sam Michael 1-yard run. Two-point conversion failed. 14-8.

4th Qtr (8:39) Frankfort. Sam Michael 36-yard run. Two-point conversion pass good, Cam Swinford pass from Michael. 22-8.

City of Frankfort Acquires Land for New Police Department

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FRANKFORT, Ind – A three-and-a-half-year search for the best location to construct a $7.2 million new Frankfort police department came to an end Monday, at the Skanta Theater located in the Frankfort Community Public Library when the Frankfort City Council received word from Frankfort Police Chief Scott Shoemaker – the Community Foundation of Howard County had accepted the City’s offer to purchase land for $200,000 that morning.

The 7.71 acres of land is located on the northside of State Rd 28 West between Victory Chapel to the east and Brock Grain Systems to the west. The parcel is bounded by State Rd 28 West to the south and the railroad tracks to the north.

The decision to make the offer came during the September 28th meeting of the City Council after having exhausted other alternatives, such as remodeling the current police department, the use of the old city power location on Washington Ave, the former Kyger school property on Third St, a parcel located at the airport, and most recently the old CVS west building.

The money to purchase the land will be spread out over two-years – the first, a payment to be held in escrow within 15-days of Monday in the amount of $100,000, and the remaining balance in 2021.

“I’m excited,” said Frankfort Mayor Judy Sheets. “We did get the approval today (Monday) from the Community Foundation to accept our offer. It was $200,000. We will give them a $100,000 this year, and then next year in February we will go ahead and give the other $100,000 and we’ll take possession of the land.”

Chief Shoemaker is hopeful the timeline to send the project out to bid can be leveraged with the work that has previously been completed by the architects – KJG out of Lafayette, Indiana, and Zimmerman Architectural Studios based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The two firms have previously completed multiple designs of a Frankfort police department dating back to September 2018.

“I have asked the architects to put together a proposal of what our net costs are for them,” said Chief Shoemaker while addressing the Council members. “We have spent a lot of time and a lot of money on this in the last three, three and a half years.

“So, I have asked them to use what space needs analysis we’ve already done and put that on that spot (the land being purchased) in terms of us being able to see it being and then we will go from there. That way we don’t spend a lot of time, money, and effort on making a lot of drastic changes.”

After the meeting, Chief Shoemaker addressed how he envisions the layout of the new police department.

“Now, we move on to designing a building that will go on this particular spot,” said Chief Shoemaker. “All the buildings we’ve designed up to this point were one-story long buildings. We’re going to look at a two-story building and then have a lot of space in the back to have a maintenance area and a parking area. So that is really exciting.”

Chief Shoemaker continued by speaking about how the department would like to see evidence stored.

“We will look at the layout – we want it to be closer,” said Chief Shoemaker. “We want short term evidence to go into a locker, and that locker will only open from the other side – the lab people would take that evidence out. Right now we can’t do any of that. We’ll have to work within the budget. Last looked, we had about $7.2 to $7.5 million to build this.”

Chief Shoemaker concluded by saying, “Hopefully, they can do that in four months.” The “they” and “that” relates to the architects being able to have a finished design that can be spent out to bid. “And, breaking ground in June or July (2021).”

 

 

 

 

Dogs Ground Chargers For 1st Win Over North Montgomery In 11 Years, Improve to 4-4

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LINDEN, Ind – Frankfort entered Friday’s contest against Sagamore Conference foe North Montgomery in hopes of their first win in 11 years against the Chargers.

Trailing 14-0 in the first half, the Hot Dogs quest looked to be in question against a Chargers team that had previously been ranked in the state 3A football polls.

The North Montgomery defense pressured the Hot Dogs with a variety of stunts and blitzes in the first half that yielded the Chargers with three sacks of FHS quarterback Sam Michael as well as an interception that stopped a scoring drive on the 17-yard line.

Just as it appeared North Montgomery had found a way to stop another FHS drive with 3:49 left in the first half, Michael converted on a fourth-and-five with a 13-yard pass to Kyle Earl. The Hot Dogs would then face another fourth-and-long decision. And, again it was Earl that hauled in another 13-yard pass from Michael to set-up a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. With 2:39 left on the clock, Riley Goodnight punched it in and the Dogs were on the board, he added a two-point conversion run that would make the score 14-8.

“They stayed positive, they stayed upbeat,” said Frankfort head coach James Byers when asked about the first-half struggle. “Our leaders took charge when we needed them too.”

Frankfort turned up the intensity in the second half and the momentum changed as a result of a Ramsey Mitchell 65-yard, pick-six interception of Chargers quarterback Donavan Haworth with 4:53 left in the third quarter.

“It was a great play – [Ramsey Mitchell] was able to read it and jump it … and that is only a tied ball game,” said an excited coach Byers. “Then the offense comes out on a sudden change – big play call – we called ‘weak outside zone’ – which is something that we don’t normally do, but (Coach) Chris Keller saw it from the box, Coach (Cormac) Jewell made the call and it was awesome.”

Goodnight ran for the two-point conversion that put the Dogs on top for good, 16-14. The win improves FHS to 4-4 on the season and 2-3 in the Sagamore Conference. North Montgomery drops to 5-3, 1-3.

Coach Byers talked of the all-around team performance – a game he called their “most complete.”

“I’m so proud of our guys,” coach Byers said. “The way we got down early and we battled back, we stayed composed.

“We had those three drives early that were stopped, but in general the offense played really solid. The defense – we gave up a couple big runs, but overall we played really solid. Our special teams – they played solid.

“That was our most complete game to date – in terms of all three phases of the game.”

Michael and Goodnight led the Frankfort offense attack. Michael completed 10 of 21 passes for 105 yards, he also rushed for 29 yards on 7 carries. Goodnight carried the ball 25 times for a total of 91 yards. From the air, Earl recorded 7 receptions for 63 yards and Jade Ayers added 3 receptions for 42 yards.

Defensively the Hot Dogs held back North Montgomery with a team effort. Brenton Wood led the way with 18 tackles (8 solo) followed by Ethan Cook with 17 tackles (10 solo). Vlad Carreras Lantigua and Gabe Chavez each with 16 tackles (6 and 5 solo tackles respectively). Ramsey Mitchell and Reece Mitchell each tallied 9 tackles and 1 sack.

“That North Mont team is a heck of a team, they were ranked in 3A at one point,” added coach Byers. “They are an outstanding ball club. For us to come in, we’d lost a couple, and to bounce back the way we did after having to overcome that adversity is really something. It says a lot about these young men and their character and just the kind of team that they are.”

The Hot Dogs host Crawfordsville (0-8, 0-6) on Friday for the final regular-season game.

HOT DOGS 16, CHARGERS 14
North Montgomery;6;8;0;0;-;14
Frankfort;0;8;8;0;-;16

Scoring Summary
1st Qtr (0:38) North Montgomery. Jacob Braun 1-yard run. Kolton Scrimager two-point conversion pass from Donovan Haworth. 8-0.

2nd Qtr (5:00) North Montgomery.Gage Galloway 27-yard pass from Donovan Haworth. Two-point conversion failed. 14-0.

2nd Qtr (2:39) Frankfort. Riley Goodnight 2-yard run. Goodnight two-point conversion run. 14-8.

3rd Qtr (4:53) Frankfort. Ramsey Mitchell 65-yard interception return. Riley Goodnight two-point conversion run. 14-16.

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