Minnich chosen to serve

Sometimes, speaking up is all it takes to get more involved.
At county commissioner Jim Zimmerman’s suggestion, the commissioners voted Monday to appoint Matt Minnich to a four-year term on the Jay County Plan Commission.
The commissioners also heard the results of the road committee’s work on prioritizing the conversion of stone roads and responded to a request from Pastor Randy Davis of A Better Life – Brianna’s Hope.
At Thursday’s plan commission meeting, Minnich questioned the necessity of different setback distances for different-sized confined feeding operations. Setbacks that were too long would be “the same difference as a moratorium on new construction,” because the required amount of land would be too difficult to obtain, he said.
The plan commission, which had at one time favored four classes of setbacks, agreed Thursday to propose two tiers in the confined feeding ordinance it is working on, which will be presented at a public hearing before going to the commissioners for a vote.
Though Minnich, whose family owns Minnich Poultry, is tied to agriculture, Zimmerman doesn’t expect he’ll show favoritism toward agricultural concerns.
“Just listening to him the other night, I think he looks at issues both sides,” said Zimmerman, who also serves as plan commission president.
Anticipating complaints about the appointment, commissioner Doug Inman said, “For all the people that are then going to say, ‘Well there you go, you guys put another ag person on there,’ then … people want the opportunity to serve, they should speak up.”
Inman noted he had been unable to find anyone interested in joining the commission to fill a seat vacated by Steve Ritchie’s resignation.
“The majority of what we deal with is non-ag anyway,” Zimmerman added.
Inman reported that the road committee, which he served on along with highway superintendent Ken Wellman and county residents Scott Benter, Pat Miller and Duane Monroe, has completed its list of which stone roads should have priority for paving.
“So if the legislature comes through with some funding like they’re hoping to do this year, maybe this is a good place to start,” Inman said.
County road 200 West from county road 400 South to Mt. Pleasant Road, a span of just over a mile, topped the list.
Roads within confined feeding buffer zones of 2 miles around Portland and one mile around Pennville and Redkey were considered. Those within Salamonia’s buffer of one mile north and west and a half mile south and east were also studied, along with others that residents had requested to be looked at.
The committee ranked roads with a point system that took into account whether they are in a confined feeding buffer zone, whether paving would connect two hard surface roads, the number of homes on the road, the availability of land for building homes in the future, whether homes already exist versus whether they could exist later and the cost of preparing the road for conversion.
Davis, founder of A Better Life – Brianna’s Hope, visited the commissioners to ask for their help communicating with Jay County Community Corrections.
Davis said he had visited the office 10 months ago wanting to speak with the director, Yvette Weiland, and was told she was busy. He left a business card and pamphlet for her, hoping to talk with her about how his group and Community Corrections could work together.
“She must have an extreme workload. That’s been 10 months,” without hearing back from her, he said.
Weiland, who was not at the commissioners’ meeting, said she remembered receiving the brochure, but “didn’t think there was anything more” to it than Davis wanting to drop off information.
Davis he stopped in a second time and was unable to speak with Weiland then either. An employee took the information he dropped off without making eye contact, he said, adding that he did not think he should be treated that way.
It’s unclear to what extent the groups would be able to work together.
The Indiana Department of Correction requires Community Corrections to refer those with substance abuse problems to locations using “certain evidence-based practices,” Weiland said, adding that they should see a licensed counselor.
Meridian Health Services meets the qualifications.
Jill Gonzalez, a defense attorney, accompanied Davis to advocate for Brianna’s Hope.
One of her clients, she said, asked if she could attend Brianna’s Hope meetings while on probation.
“And she told the judge, (Jay Superior Court) Judge (Max) Ludy, ‘I go to that. Can I please, while I’m on Communtiy Corrections, go to those meetings? That is what keeps me sober.’”
Ludy left the decision to Community Corrections, which required Meridian Services appointments instead, Gonzalez said.
Davis will be speaking to the Community Corrections board March 3. The commissioners told him they could also speak with the board and staff.
In other business, Zimmerman, Inman and Faron Parr:
•Re-appointed Jay King to the alcoholic beverage control board.
•Heard from county engineer Dan Watson the Indiana Department of Transportation will reimburse the county for $21,000 of chip and seal materials for county road 300 East and Division Road. The roads were unofficial detours during the Indiana 26 (Water Street) project.
•Encumbered $63,749 from the Jay Emergency Medical Services 2015 budget toward the purchase of a new ambulance. The purchase was approved in 2015, but the ambulance was not available last year.
•Signed two Community Corrections grant applications requesting for $237,000 in operating funds from the Indiana Department of Correction.