Wabash County has benefited from any taxpayer anxiety over changes in tax laws enacted by Congress and signed into law by the president. Treasurer Beverly McBride said there was a rush to prepay 2018 taxes before January 1st, to the tune of $150,000. As for this year’s taxes, McBride told commissioners that over $10.7 million has been collected, with only $275,000 left to collect on 433 parcels.
State's Attorney & Sheriff Present Annual Reports
A couple of Wabash County officeholders presented year-end summaries at Wednesday’s meeting of the Wabash County Board, its first of 2018.
State’s Attorney Cassandra Goldman said her office handled 209 felonies and exactly that many misdemeanors during the last 12 months, along with 49 DUI and 29 careless driving cases. The number of traffic cases topped 1,000.
Sheriff Derek Morgan said his office issued 550 summons and 489 warrants during 2017. The office worked a total of three-thousand-50 incidents for the year. Morgan also said there were 135 meth arrests made last year.
Cold Forces 2 Hour School Delay Thursday In Gibson County
East, South and North Gibson Schools will be on a 2 hour delay Thursday January 4, 2018.
A surge of Arctic air will overspread the area tonight and winds will be gusty. Waiting on the busses in the morning and those who must be outdoors should bundle up as much as possible and limit their time outdoors. Additionally make sure outdoor pets have adequate shelter from the cold.
City Sells East 4th Street Property
Meeting for the first time in 2018 on Tuesday night, the Mt. Carmel City Council accepted a bid from Anna Hannah to buy the property at 615 East 4th Street. City Clerk Rudy Witsman said Hannah bid $9,000 for the property, well above the $1,000 the city had set for a minimum bid. Witsman said the property was of no use to the city and selling it will allow the parcel to return to the tax rolls. Hannah was the lone bidder for the property.
Still No Decision On Cemetery Mowing Contract
The Mt. Carmel City Council still hasn’t made its’ mind up over who will mow the city’s cemeteries this year. Last month, the council took two bids for the mowing under advisement. Those bids were from Greg Locke of GL Services for $22,000 and from Art Kimmel of Clean Cut Lawn Care for $22,222. At Tuesday’s city council meeting, commissioner Eric Ikemire said that since both bids are so close, the contractors are being asked to specify what exactly the work would include to make sure a fairer comparison can be made. Ikemire said it’s hoped the contract will be awarded at the next meeting on the 15th.
WCHD Hosts Blood Drive Thursday
Here are the details...
Brush Harbor Back To Regular Hours
Now that fall leaf season and the holidays are over, its back to business as usual for Mt. Carmel brush harbor. City Clerk Rudy Witsman said the brush harbor is now open its’ regular days of Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays. During leaf season, the facility had been open extended days.
Mt. Carmel Fire Runs See Steep Decline In 2017
"Keep up the good work"…that’s what Mt. Carmel Fire Commissioner Rod Rodriguez had to say as he reported year end statistics for the fire department at last night's city council meeting.
According to Rodriguez, local firefighters made a total of 163 runs last year, down almost 50% from an average year of 240 runs. In addition, Rodriguez said firefighters completed 1,063 hours of training and attended 24 meetings.
COMPUTER SKILLS II OFFERED AT WVC SPRING SEMESTER
Would you like to learn how to use your computer or mobile device better? Wabash Valley College is offering a “Computer Skills II” class this Spring Semester. This course is designed to develop basic computer skills, for students with little or no prior computer knowledge. Some of the topics covered include: identifying the parts of a computer, how to hook up devices, understand and use software to accomplish the tasks you want, use the Internet to find useful information, computer security, etc. Time will be allocated to answer questions and cover some topics of the student’s choosing.
Contact WVC at 618-262-8641 and register for CIS-1602 “Computer Skills II” which will meet from 6 to 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday evenings in Main Hall 205 from January 10 to March 21, 2018. The instructor is Dave Goodson.
In-District tuition may be discounted for students enrolled in four or less semester hours in the evening. There will be a $5 Technology fee per credit hour and a $12 Student Support fee per credit hour. Students may register at the first class meeting or at the College. For more information, contact the Student Services Office at 618-262-8641.
Mt. Carmel Water Workers Commended
There’s no doubt it’s been cold the last several days, but imagine if you were called out to work in the extreme conditions in the middle of the night. Not only that, you had to do in a deep hole surrounded by water. That’s what some dedicated Mt. Carmel water department employees have done on several occasions in the recent days as they battle water line and water main breaks around the city. At last night’s city council meeting, their efforts didn’t go un-noticed as Mayor Bill Hudson, Water Commissioner Justin Dulgar, and City Clerk Rudy Witsman acknowledged the men for going above and beyond the call of duty….
Witsman said the workers were out until about 2:00 yesterday morning battling the latest break. Because of those breaks, boil orders remain in effect. Those are for all locations along 4th Street between Ash and Locust and all locations along Division Street between 3rd and 5th. And the earlier boil order for all locations along Oak Street between the Villa and Poplar Street continues.
