Debris drop-off OK'd

County residents looking for a place to dispose of debris from last month’s ice storm now have one.

Jay County Commissioners said this morning that residents may drop off tree limbs and brush at a county-owned location near the county highway garage.

The debris will be stored there until it can be made into mulch later this year with a grinder hired by the Jay County Solid Waste District.

Ken Wellman, superintendent of the Jay County Highway Department, said his department still plans to pick up all debris in or near the county road rights-of-way, but that help from individual residents would be welcomed.

“It would expedite the process ... if they take it to the collection site,” Wellman said.

The drop-off site is located on the east side of county road 100 East, about four-tenths of a mile south of county road 200 North. There is a gravel lane leading back to the spot where the debris should be dumped, Wellman said.

In a related move, Commissioners Faron Parr, Gary Theurer and Milo Miller Jr. gave Wellman permission to hire extra help for the clean-up effort. The department normally hires summer help for chip-and-sealing and paving, but Wellman said it would be helpful to add two workers to help with the clean-up effort now.

In another ice storm-related matter, Ralph Frazee, director of Jay County Emergency Management, said that 76 individual residents or property owners in Jay County have been approved for assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Those claims total approximately $121,000.

As a disaster area, costs above what are covered by insurance or uninsured items are eligible for reimbursement.

Approximately 110 applications from individuals in Jay County are still pending, Frazee said.

Also this morning, Frazee said the total estimated costs for city, town and county governments in Jay County have exceeded $1 million.

In other business this morning, the commissioners:

•Agreed to allow Jay County prosecutor Brad Burkett to add an additional IV-D employee to his office. The state will reimburse 66 percent of the salary and benefits for the employee, Burkett said.

The IV-D program, which is named after federal Title IV-D, primarily works with the collection of child support and other state benefits.

Prosecutors in Indiana provide the services on a contract basis.

There is currently one employee who administers the IV-D program in Jay County. She spends approximately two-thirds of her time on IV-D case work.

The creation of the position is subject to approval of funding by Jay County Council.

•Gave approval for courthouse superintendent Roger McBride to hire someone to cut down a large silver maple tree at the southeast corner of the courthouse. The tree was damaged in the ice storm. The work will cost $350.[[In-content Ad]]