Clawson jumps in with both feet
New commissioner accepts appointments, makes decisions
By Debbie Lowe Staff writer

Monday was the first meeting of the New Year for Carroll County Commissioners. Pat Clawson, who defeated incumbent George Mears in the primary and was not challenged in the general election for the commissioners' seat, wasted no time in accepting responsibility and making his presence known.

Clawson agreed to serve on the county drainage board, along with fellow commissioners Loren Hylton and Bill Brown, for no compensation.

"I believe the compensation is inadequate," Hylton said. "But I'm still willing to serve."

There was no formal drainage board meeting Monday (regularly scheduled to begin just prior to the commissioners' meeting) because the 2009 members had yet to be appointed.

Clawson nominated Carroll County resident and Lafayette Bank and Trust employee Monty Edging to serve on the Carroll County Redevelopment Commission, filling the seat vacated by Delphi resident Marshall Mc- Cammack. Edging, who had not been contacted about serving, was the unanimous choice for the position.

Clawson was appointed to the board of the Carroll County Economic Development Corp. for a three-year term. In addition, he will be the county financial officer.

Hylton was re-elected commissioners' president and Brown, vice-president.

Clawson volunteered to meet with Delphi Mayor Randy Strasser and county highway engineer Paul Couts this week to address Hoosier Heartland Highway relinquishment issues and concerns. He requested a written copy of the plan utilized by county highway workers to determine what priority system is used to plow and sand county roads. He also requested district worker assignments.

Couts said he was discussing with department employees how the most recent weather was addressed to recognize where improvements can be made in service delivery.

"We did the best job we could," he said. "We were stretched pretty thin."

Commissioners voted to limit the length of time a sign may be posted on the courthouse lawn upon Clawson's recommendation. Signs will be allowed for seven days preceding the event advertised. The request form will be modified to reflect the change. A courthouse grounds application for a sign by Delphi Lions Club for two weeks was the last application of that length approved.

Other appointments:

• Melissa Keown, Joe O'Donnell and George Mears were appointed to the Northwest Indiana Solid Waste District Board of Directors. County auditor Beth Myers said she was unable to reach Keown for confirmation of her willingness to serve.

• Ron Slavens, Hylton and Kyle Germond were appointed to the solid waste board of directors. Slavens and Germond were not contacted to determine their willingness to serve.

• Nancy S. Cripe, Brown and Strasser were appointed as board alternates for the solid waste district.

• Clayton Hutson was appointed to the Local Alcoholic Beverage Board.

Combined dispatch

E-911 coordinator Jay Dee Cree reported the telephone lines for combined dispatch service with Delphi were not installed as of Monday morning. He said a glitch occurred Friday when a Verizon representative visited the jail to complete the project. Cree said he expected the system to be fully installed by the end of the day. He said telephones were forwarded from the city to the county in the meantime.

Ordinance 2009-01, directing funds submitted by the City of Delphi for combined dispatch be directly deposited to E-911, was unanimously adopted.

Cree said dispatching issues created by the reduction of the county ambulance service are being addressed as they are presented. Clawson commended dispatchers for the work done in conjunction with the recent corn cob fire at The Andersons. He said there was significant radio traffic to manage during the fire.

Andersons' cob fire

County emergency management agency director Dave McDowell said many fire departments' equipment either wore out or needs repairing after the intensive response by local departments to the cob fire. He said commissioners' emergency declaration "had no effect" on the state level.

"This was a great example of the failure of the state system," he said.

McDowell said departments were directed to document all losses with the possibility of reimbursement from The Andersons' insurance company.

Clawson, who is a firefighter with Delphi Tri-Township Volunteer Fire Department, said it was estimated roughly 11 million gallons of water were taken from the stone quarry in trucks which could hold approximately 2,000 gallons each load. He said neighboring county fire fighters came to the rescue of locals by helping to douse the fire and organizing volunteers. He noted Tippecanoe County firefighters scrubbed Carroll County trucks to help exhausted local county volunteers.

"These guys were very dedicated," he said.

Co. road extension to SR75

Audience member Carl Perry questioned how Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) might fund the county road extension to SR75 given the amount of EDIT funds allocated for the county Chamber of Commerce. Brown said commissioners were not committed to long-term funding for the Chamber. He said it was his understanding the group requested funding initially for start-up costs. Brown said he expected the Chamber to be funded independently in the future.

Perry was told if funding for the new county road was not available, the project would be delayed or put on hold. Commissioners agreed with Perry the possibility existed funds committed for the design engineering firm for work in 2009 might be wasted if the project was halted for a long enough time.

Other business

Carroll County Board of Health will use the courthouse lounge Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. for a meeting.

Commissioners meeting dates and times for 2009 were established as the first and third Mondays at 9 a.m. in odd-numbered months. They will meet the first Monday at 9 a.m. and the second Monday at 6 p.m. in even-numbered months. Meetings to be held at 9 a.m. are Jan. 5 and 19, Feb. 2, March 2 and 16, April 6, May 4 and 18, June 1, July 7 (a Tuesday due to the holiday schedule) and 20, Sept. 8 (Tuesday) and 21, Oct. 5, Nov. 2 and 16 and Dec. 7. Night meetings scheduled are Feb. 16, April 20, June 15, Aug. 17, Oct. 19 and Dec. 21. (A table with dates and times as well as agendas can be found on the Comet's Web site, www.carrollcountycomet. com, on the Government Meetings and Agendas page.)