Howell to lead county highway

Jay County Highway Department will be shifting to different leadership next month.

Jay County Commissioners agreed to hire Bob Howell as the next highway superintendent at their regular meeting Monday. His appointment, effective Feb. 23, comes a few days after news of highway superintendent Eric Butcher’s resignation.

Butcher, who has worked for the department for approximately 15 months, has accepted a position at Performance Tool in Portland. His last day with the highway department will be Feb. 22.

“My gut’s just been telling me it was time to move on,” explained Butcher on Tuesday morning. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but one that I felt was best for me at this point in time.”

Chad Aker noted commissioners met in executive session Friday to discuss the county’s next steps for highway department leadership. Per that discussion, Commissioner Rex Journay recommended Monday hiring Howell as the next superintendent.

This isn’t Howell’s first time in the position, having served as interim superintendent during the five-month period between the death of former superintendent Donnie Corn and the hiring of Butcher. A Portland native and 1998 graduate of Jay County High School, Howell worked as a heavy equipment operator for 14 years before shifting to road foreman. He returned to the road foreman position after Butcher took over as superintendent.

Butcher thanked the commissioners, county attorney, county auditor and others in the room for their help during his time in charge. He wished the county well as it shifted to Howell’s responsibility.

“My main focus right now is just to get him trained as much as possible,” explained Butcher. “A lot of stuff, he’s just not been involved with, because he’s more of the nuts and bolts stuff. So that’s going to be my main focus over the next few weeks, is just getting him educated as much as possible.”

Also Monday, commissioners approved committing a $393,932.96 match toward the January round of Indiana Department of Transportation’s Community Crossings grant cycle, which requires a 25% match from the county. 

Plans are to apply for funding to reconstruct about 5 miles of road along portions of county roads 100 South, 150 South and Knox Road just west of Indiana 1. (Originally, hopes were to apply for funding to replace the Seventh Street bridge over the Salamonie River between Blaine Pike and Meridian Street in Portland, but an adjoining property owner has refused granting right-of-way access for the project, leading to a delay.)

In related news, commissioners suggested Butcher utilize an $8,000 In-Lieu Fee Program through Indiana Department of Natural Resources for tree mitigation near the Seventh Street bridge. The program allows the county to remove trees as required — the scope of upcoming bridge work requires 0.1 acres of tree clearing — and in turn, IDNR will buy land and plant trees in another location.

Commissioners also discussed plans for the owner-occupied rehabilitation program, a $1 million project aimed at helping low-income local residents make essential repairs to their homes. Mainly funded through dollars from Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs — the county is contributing $90,000 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars — the county is currently waiting to hear back from OCRA about its final application. Community coordinator Nate Kimball pointed out commissioners could sign a contract with OCRA as early as the end of February, meaning the funding would be available 30 days after the signing date. Commissioner Rex Journay voiced support for moving swiftly once approved, noting contractors’ schedules will be filling up quickly.

In other business, commissioners:

•Paid a $7,500 invoice from Mindbase, a mental health wellness application for first responders. Sheriff Ray Newton noted he had not heard of the application — it was approved prior to him becoming sheriff in 2023 — and expressed hopes to look into if it has been utilized by first responders.

•Received the 2023 activity report from Jay County Sheriff’s Office. Last year, county officers marked more than 330,000 miles on the road and made 220 criminal citations. In addition to other statistics, county officers conducted 881 traffic stops, made 182 criminal arrests and investigated 381 accidents. Jay County Jail had just under 97 inmates on average daily, rounding out to 846 males and 295 females total processed through the jail.

•Heard Jay Emergency Medical Service’s financial breakdown from December, which came to $170,239.41 in expenses and $78,704.70 in income.