River clean after spill

A test of the Salamonie River by Indiana Department of Environmental Management came out clean after a manure spill Friday.
Jay County Commissioners learned Monday morning about the clean-up of a manure spill on a farm located on county road 150 North near county road 750 West. Commissioners also heard an update from Jay Emergency Medical Service director Pat Frazee about the department’s continuing efforts to bring in more income.
While manure was spread on the property’s field, owned by Phil Weaver, some was laid too close to a catch basin, where it flowed into a tile leading to a creek which connects to the Salamonie.
Jay County Emergency Management director Ralph Frazee told commissioners the spill was reported Friday to IDEM and the agency responded to the scene Saturday.
The spill never reached the river because dams were put in place to stop it from continuing to flow, said Frazee.
“Everything is contained,” said Frazee. “We’re on it … really pleased to see there was no contamination of the river.”
The waste was pumped out over the weekend, but the dams will stay in place the rest of the week to make sure it’s all caught. Frazee said Weaver had walked the ditch to make sure there wasn’t any waste caught in naturally made dams and that water was flowing through.
IDEM will continue to investigate the matter through the week.
Also Monday, Pat Frazee informed commissioners that the department would never be one that makes money. The comment comes after the department was appropriated $400,000 from the county’s rainy day fund to keep it afloat until the end of 2015 and was asked to look into ways to earn or save more money.
“There’s no way we’re ever going to be self-sufficient. That’s no way,” said Frazee. “No way to really put figures together on how much it would take to do it.”
With the combinations of paramedics and emergency medical technicians working different shifts and number of runs, she said there’s no way to configure the department to make it profitable.
The service is currently taking all transfer runs to bring in more revenue and recently raised its run rates by $150 for each tier, but other options, such as eliminating the squad leader title, won’t bring in much more money.
Frazee said that the more revenue they bring in, the more money they also spend, with additional runs meaning more costs in gas and wages.
“We’re making money on them,” said Frazee. “Make sure you understand you have to spend money to make money.”
Commissioner Milo Miller Jr. understood, saying that the county won’t be able to save too much money giving the services its wants to provide.
“We’ve got to run the service,” said Miller. “Let’s do it right.”
Commissioners will review numbers given to them by Frazee and see if any new ideas or structures can be created.
In other business, commissioners Faron Parr, Jim Zimmerman and Miller:
•Accepted bids for a 170 HP Tier IV wheel loader for the county highway department. Five bids were read, ranging from $122,500 to $179,000, with two trade-in options for each bid for equipment already owned by the department. Highway superintendent Ken Wellman will review the bids this week.
•Meeting as Jay County Drainage Board, heard about flooding problems from a Dunkirk resident. Matthew Urick asked the board to look into drainage issues around his property at 225 Walnut St., as it floods with even a few inches of rain because of a limited amount of drains nearby. Commissioners plan to speak with Mayor Dan Watson and county surveyor Brad Daniels to see what can be done.