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Last updated on Tuesday, August 21, 2018
(BEDFORD) - The Lawrence County commissioner passed a proclamation this morning honoring Diana Reynolds for more than 33 years of service.
Reynolds began her service in 1985 with Superior Court I Judge Ray Kern. She has served the county as a court reporter under 7 judges and in the prosecutor's office.
"We will miss her," says Judge Andrea McCord. Reynolds is currently serving in her court. "We will miss her dedication, commitment and loyalty. We can't thank her enough for all the works she has done for the children of this county."
Her last day of service will be August 31.
In other business:
Lawrence County Veteran Affairs Officer Brad Bough is seeking volunteers to drive the Veteran's van to transport former soldiers to needed medical appointments to the VA Hospital in Indianapolis and to the Bloomington Community Based Clinic.
"Many of our local veterans do not have the ability to make the trip on their own because of the type of treatment they are to receive, they do not have the ability to handle the traffic in Indianapolis, don't have family or friends who can take them, or just don't have reliable vehicles," Bough says.
Volunteers have the option of what days they work and they try to schedule a week in advance. The problem is the process to get volunteers has become more time consuming and difficult, resulting in a dwindling of drivers to the point they are having trouble finding volunteers for all the days that service is needed.
"If they could just donate one day a month, it would help," he added.
Volunteers are required to pass a physical which will be performed free of charge.
If anyone is interested in helping a veteran, call (812) 275-6411 or stop by the Veterans Affairs office located in the basement of the Lawrence County Courthouse.
The Disabled American Veterans mobile claims van on the courthouse square September 21 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Veterans will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Lawrence County Veterans Affairs office will be hosting a meeting with U.S. Representative for Indiana's 9th congressional district, Trey Hollingsworth to discuss veteran services in the southern part of Indiana.
"We are lacking services for veterans in the southern part of the state," Bough says. "You can go all the way to the Ohio River and find no services for veterans...in Dubois County particularly. If we can help veterans in other parts of the state we are happy to do that."
No date or time has been set for the meeting.
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Human Resources Director Brian Skillman requested that the commissioner approve the contract to install a new Timekeeping system for county employees to clock in and be approved by their department heads. Skillman is paying $16,600 for the system out of his budget.
The more than 200 county employees would be able to check in online or on a mobile app.
Skillman says it would stop employees from abusing their sick leave and would help during an emergency situation, so courthouse personnel could see who was in the building because they had checked in on the system.
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Lawrence County Highway Superintendent David Holmes says paving is almost complete for the season.
"We have three to four more roads to do," he added. "We will begin chipping next week and knock out what we can while it is still warm and before the leaves begin to fall."
Crews are also cutting brush and mowing.
Holmes has also been working on submitting paperwork for Community Crossing funding.
Holmes will meet with INDOT and historical preservation officials at Bridge 150 on Mill Creek Road Monday. The meeting will begin at 11 a.m. and if it rains the meeting will be held at the County Complex.
Bridge crews will begin repairing Bridge 66 on Dennison Tunnelton Road next week.
Holmes reported it will cost between $600,000 to $700,000 to replace Bridge 172 on Slaughterhouse Road. Holmes is working with engineers on plans.
Holmes also received quotes for the repair of Bridge 139 at Otis Park. The estimated cost is $38,000.
"Not sure when we will be able to get to it because we don't have the money in the budget at this time," He added. "We will have to have some more discussion on this."
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Sheriff Mike Branham reported that there were 184 inmates in the Lawrence County Jail on Tuesday morning. Of those 37 were women and 7 were Level six offenders. Sheriff Branham says that number is down from two weekends ago when the total count was at 202 inmates.
"We worked with the courts to get that number (202) down so it was manageable," Sheriff Branham added.
The commissioners approved a request by Sheriff Mike Branham to draft an ordinance to charge other facilities who use the county-owned firing range. Currently other groups use the range free of charge, with the sheriff's department paying for any maintenance or repair costs.
"Over the last 10 years we have invested a lot of money into the range and have been more than generous letting others use it free of charge," Sheriff Branham added. "There is maintenance costs, targets need replaced and the brim needs repaired. We would charge them a daily fee to be used for maintenance."
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The commissioners approved a contract with Matthews Painting for $7,491 to do patch work, prime and seal and paint the ceilings in Circuit Court, the clerk's office, the law library and court reporter offices.
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Emergency Management Director Valerie Luchauer says the Smart 911 panic button profile has been installed and is up and running. She will be doing some testing of the system this week.
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