Clean-up aid asked (5/3/04)

A meeting with residents of the New Corydon area sparked several discussions this morning initiated by Jay County Commissioner Mike Leonhard.

Leonhard, who met last week with residents of the northern Jay County town, said those residents asked the county for help in sprucing up their town — both in terms of hauling away debris and enforcing county zoning ordinances.

Commissioners Gary Theurer and Milo Miller Jr. said they would only consider using county resources for a clean-up in New Corydon if it was in connection with an emergency such as a flood.

Leonhard, who faces a primary challenge Tuesday from Faron Parr, said New Corydon residents also are attempting to clean up some trash-strewn properties in the un-incorporated village along the Wabash River northeast of Bryant.

There is little in the county’s zoning ordinance that can be used against owners of property where “junk” has accumulated, Bill Milligan, director of the Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department, told the commissioners today. Milligan said the best chance might be through health code violations, but added the health department is aware of at least one dilapidated property in New Corydon.

Theurer and Miller said they would be leery of passing an ordinance that defined strict limits on how private property should be maintained.

Leonhard also said town residents still have questions about whether water flowing out of Grand Lake St. Marys in Ohio is contributing to flooding woes along the Wabash.

A spillway on the west side of the lake, just south of Celina, feeds Beaver Creek, which flows into the Wabash River near the western Ohio town of Wabash. Some have said an increase in the amount of water released from the lake has increased flooding problems.

Also this morning, Ralph Frazee, director of Jay County Emergency Management, said the county has received grant funding for about 70 high-level chemical masks for use by local personnel certified to handle hazardous materials.

Frazee, who told the commissioners last week he had received funding for the masks, said today the $16,356 awarded to Jay County will buy 71 masks and two required canisters for each mask at a cost of $230.

Those 71 masks are enough for approximately half of the number of personnel in Jay County who are hazardous materials certified, Frazee said.

In other business this morning, the commissioners appointed Jay Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchison as the purchasing agent for a new computer.

The computer will be used in conjunction with a digital recording system for circuit court. That purchase was previously approved by the commissioners and the money — approximately $8,500 — has been appropriated by the Jay County Council.[[In-content Ad]]