Purchase of metal detectors approved

Improved courthouse security took a step forward Monday as Jay County Commissioners approved the purchase of metal detecting equipment that will be used to screen visitors.
Commissioners re-minded the public that handicapped accessibility to the courthouse will be limited Thursday and Friday so work can be done to beef up the ramp at the south entrance to the building. It is expected to re-open Monday.
Once the re-built ramp and metal detector are in place, the south entrance will be the only one to be used by the public. A key-fob security system will be installed on the other courthouse doors, and courthouse employees will be able to use those entrances.
On the recommendation of Jay County Sheriff’s Office, commissioners Chuck Huffman, Mike Leonhard and Chad Aker approved the purchase of a metal detector from Protective Technologies International, Lehi, Utah, at a cost of $3,287. A wand unit was purchased for an additional $127.
Fullenkamp Machine, Portland, is doing the work to beef up the ADA-compliant ramp.
Portland resident Jim Sanders took commissioners to task for their handling of an incident last fall in which Aker and highway superintendent Donnie Corn used county equipment to haul stone to Aker’s property.
Corn was suspended for 10 days without pay in connection with the incident.
But Sanders argued that penalties in similar situations in the past have been more severe, and he berated Aker for setting the whole thing in motion.
“Chad, you should have known better than to ask,” said Sanders. “You should know what the rules are.”
Sanders maintained that a county employee had been fired several years ago after a similar incident.
In other business, commissioners:
•Established a no-trespassing policy to prevent hunting or other activity on county land, noting that hunters have used the woods south of the county highway garage in the past. Concerns about favoritism and liability led to the unanimous no-trespassing decision.
•Set March 9 for a public hearing to re-establish the county’s cumulative bridge fund.
•Released $75,000 to Jay County Fair Association and $50,000 to Arts Place, both from wind farm economic development funds. The $75,000 in the first installment on a promised $133,000 for the Farmers Building construction in 2019. The $50,000 is for the Arts Place capital campaign to renovate and expand that facility. 
In both cases, the funds came from NextEra Energy Resources’ Bluff Point Wind Energy Center.
•Wrote off $1,306.04 in bad debts dating back at least two years, primarily for immunizations by the Jay County Health Department.
•Received proposed guidelines for the county’s economic development income tax (EDIT) advisory committee from Travis Richards of Jay County Development Corporation. Richards noted the EDIT advisory process had been used less and less in recent years and said that after discussions with Huffman he wanted to return to a more formal review process.
•Appointed Todd Penrod to the county public defender’s board.
•Reviewed commissioners’ assignments for 2020. Huffman will work with the building and planning board, the probation department and the welfare office. Aker will work with the emergency management agency and Jay Emergency Medical Service. Leonhard will work with community corrections, cooperative extension, the highway department, the retirement center and the veterans’ affairs office.