Officials tour county (11/9/04)

A sunny drive around Jay County helped bring the conservation efforts of several local organizations to light.

A variety of local officials — including all three Jay County Commissioners, members of county and city councils and a newly-elected state legislator — participated in the tour Monday afternoon, which took them past a variety of sites in the southern half of the county.

The tour, which was part of an effort to raise the profile of local conservation groups and efforts, also included stops at a confined feeding operation and a creek reconstruction project.

Bettie Jacobs, administrator/educator for the Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District, said this morning that she felt the tour accomplished its goal of highlighting the conservation efforts of the JCSWCD, Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Department of Natural Resources and the Farm Service Agency.

“My personal goal was to educate local legislators about what the SWCD actually does and how we help the community ... help with water quality,” Jacobs said. “I think we’re ... one of the best-kept secrets in the county, and the SWCD supervisors (directors) are taking a more active role in water quality and erosion issues,” she added.

Among the conservation and water quality features seen by the group were filter strips, grass waterways, tree plantings, native grasses and an outdoor educational lab at Redkey Elementary School.

Among those on the tour were Commissioners Mike Leonhard, Gary Theurer and Milo Miller Jr.; Commissioner-elect Faron Parr; District 33 State Rep. Bill Davis; Jay County Council-electees Judy LeMaster and Jim Zimmerman and Councilman George Meehan; Portland City Councilman Bill Gibson; Jay County surveyor Brad Daniels; and Jay County Solid Waste District director Kay Hayes.

Guides for the tour included Dennis Chenoweth, resource conservationist for the DNR; Katrina Atkinson, county executive director of the Farm Service Agency; Carl Walker, chairman of the SWCD supervisors; and Jacobs. SWCD supervisor Scott Hilfiker drove the van.

The soil and water conservation district in each of Indiana’s 92 counties receives $10,000 in state funding. Beginning in 2005, the JCSWCD will receive $5,000 in funding in the commissioners’ budget.

In 2003, Jay County property owners received more than $600,000 in federal funds for enrollment and participation in conservation programs.

Monday’s tour included sites in Greene, Jefferson, Knox, Pike, Richland and Wayne townships.[[In-content Ad]]