Masks available

Need a mask?

“We’ve got a couple of thousand right now,” Jay County Health Department environmentalist and administrator Heath Butz told Jay County Commissioners on Monday.

Butz said Jay School Corporation superintendent Jeremy Gulley had provided the masks — made by volunteers working with the school corporation from fabric donated by TLS by Design of Portland — so the health department could serve as a distribution point.

“We can do it in a very secure way, a safe way,” said Butz.

To receive a mask — one per person — call (260) 726-8080 to schedule a time for pick up at the department’s office at 504 W. Arch St., Portland.

Butz said he’ll be working with officials in Dunkirk and Redkey to try to set up another distribution point.

“It’s a really great thing they’ve done,” he said.

Early in the pandemic, Jay Schools and TLS announced a partnership to make masks and sought local volunteers to sew. More than 100 volunteers signed up, with TLS providing enough material for 6,000 masks.

So far, the volunteers have completed more than 2,700 masks. Some of those were held for Jay Schools use, others went directly to county employees and Jay County High School vocational family and consumer science teacher Nikki Myers delivered the bulk of the remainder to the health department Friday.

“It’s nice to know that we can help out those who need it,” said Myers.

TLS got started making masks early in the pandemic, said employee Bob Brelsford. The company tried out a variety of different designs and even tested prototypes to see how they would hold up to washing. Employees and other volunteers working both at TLS and at home have made about 12,000 masks, added Brelsford, who also made a delivery Friday to the health department.

“We had the sewing machines and the people that sew all the time,” said Brelsford, who typically does finish work at TLS. “And so we started making masks.

“So many people are stuck at home and can’t do anything. If we can at least provide a mask that somebody can use to stay healthy, that’s great.”

Butz encouraged everyone to wear a mask to help keep the community health.y

“If you wear your mask, you protect everybody around you,” said Butz. “You’re trying to protect other people. And if we all do it collectively, everybody wears masks together, we can really limit the spread of the virus.”

Commissioners agreed by consensus Monday to keep the current rules in place during the state’s phased-in reopening period. Courthouse offices and other county offices are open by appointment only. Members of the public must wear a mask or other face covering when visiting the courthouse.

Currently, said Butz, the county has 22 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

“We’ll have a clearer picture toward the end of the month,” he said. “We haven’t had any deaths in Jay County.”

Butz and county commissioner Chad Aker agreed that the number of confirmed cases in the state is likely to rise in the next few weeks.

“I think we’re going to see a spike in the numbers just due to more testing,” said Aker.

So far, said Butz, efforts at mitigation seem to be making a difference locally.

“A lot of it comes down to everybody doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” he said.

The coronavirus pandemic will also be having an impact on county government’s finances.

“I look for a real drop (in highway funding dollars) in the next couple of months,” county engineer Dan Watson told commissioners.

Bids for major work on a 9-mile stretch of Como Road came in below projections Monday, with Milestone Contractors of Portland the apparent low bidder.

Milestone’s bid for the Community Crossings-funded project was $1,328,276. Brooks Construction, the only other bidder, came in at $1,347,561.

Watson will review the bids in detail and return to the commissioners for final approval.

In advance of next year’s round of Community Crossings grants, Watson received approval to have the engineering firm of Beam, Longest and Neff design a superstructure replacement for the Seventh Street bridge over the Salamonie River in Portland.

“The deck on that bridge is getting really bad,” said Watson. “It’s failing.”

He estimated the design work would cost about $100,000, with construction coming in between $750,000 and $900,000.

County auditor Anna Culy is already concerned about the COVID-19 effect on the county’s 2021 budget.

Following her recommendation, a refund of $99,610.16 from Physicians Health Plan related to the county employee health insurance coverage will be set aside so that it could be put to use in the 2021 budget.

“It’s the best year we’ve ever had” with the county’s health insurance, said Culy. “I’d like to keep it to help employees at budget time.”

Commissioners Chuck Huffman, Mike Leonhard and Aker agreed.

“I think we’re all in agreement that we should just bank it for awhile,” said Huffman.

Watson told commissioners that work on Bitter Ridge Wind Farm is progressing but is about two weeks behind schedule. He expects eight of the planned 52 wind turbines will be up by the end of the week.

“Work by AEP (parent company of Indiana Michigan Power) on the Dunkirk substation is also well underway,” said Watson.

In other business, commissioners:

•Approved the March and April reports from Jay County Retirement Center.

•Approved the following purchases: 80 cases of letter-size paper from Four U Office Supply, Celina, Ohio, which submitted the low quote of $2,200; $6,318 worth of new desks for the Jay County clerk’s office, which is being renovated to accommodate a new computer system; a Ditch Angel from Hurricane Ditcher Co. Inc., Vincennes, for the county highway department at a cost of $38,500.