Wabash County Commissioner Meeting Agenda

REGULAR MEETING Monday, April 1, 2024

AGENDA

1) Call to order:

2) Approve minutes of previous meeting:

3) Commissioner’s reports:

4) Officer’s reports:

5) Old Business:

a. ARPA Ordinance.

b. County Highway Building.

c. Lawnmower for Froman Park.

6) New Business:

a. Tara Buerster with the U of I Extension Office along with other staff members to update the Board on current activities.

b. Bid results for Road District #6 Bridge Project on E 1100 Road.

c. Resolution No. 2024-05, a funding resolution for the Poor Farm Road Resurfacing Project.

d. Joint Agreement for Poor Farm Road Resurfacing Project.

e. Request from the Retail Merchants Committee for a donation to the 2024 Christmas Uptown festival and approval from the local tourism committee.

f. Authorize chairman to sign three deeds for Wabash County as trustee for properties sold through the Tax Sale process.

7) Executive Session:

8) Correspondence:

9) Approval of payment of claims presented:

10) Adjournment:

Mt. Carmel Man Arrested Following Wednesday Incident

On 3/27/24, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Mark A. VanVleet, age 53, of Mt. Carmel for Unlawful Use/Possession of a Weapon by Felon.  Police responded to the area of the 800 block of North Walnut Street where it was reported that VanVleet had entered Autozone armed with a sword and a large knife saying people in brown were after him and he was scared.  VanVleet left the store and entered Burger King where he placed the weapons in the trash can before taking off running south on Walnut Street.  During this time, VanVleet continued to talk about people being after him and that he should get rid of the weapons.   Additional callers reported VanVleet running near the Wabash County Courthouse and behind the police department.  Officers knew VanVleet often resides in the 300 block of N Mulberry so they responded to the area.  Officers were able to locate VanVleet, a past convicted felon, where he was taken into custody.  Officers found no evidence to indicate anyone was after VanVleet.  The sword was approximately 27 inches long while the Bowie knife had a length of 15 inches.  VanVleet was later transported to the White County Jail by the Wabash County Sheriff’s Office where he is being held pending a pre-trial detention determination by the court. 

Single vehicle accident leads to arrest of Boonville man for DUI

On March 26, 2024, at 5:13 p.m. Gibson County Central Dispatch received a 911 report of a personal injury accident involving one vehicle on County Road 550 East near County Road 575 South.  Upon arriving Deputy Logan Lashbrook observed a Blue 1995 Toyota Celica had left the roadway and struck a ditch.  While speaking with the driver 65 year old Dennis Bradfield of Boonville Deputy Lashbrook detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage.  At that point he began a roadside DUI investigation.  Once his investigation was completed Deputy Lashbrook placed Mr. Bradfield into custody and transported him to the Gibson County Jail.  Upon arriving at the Jail Mr. Bradfield was charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated.
 
Assisting Deputy Lashbrook in his investigation was Deputy Quinten Might.
 
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

911 call leads to arrest of one

On March 26, 2024, at 5:47 p.m. Gibson County Central Dispatch received a 911 report of a disturbance of a disturbance in the 900 block of South Lincoln Street in Fort Branch.  Law enforcement units were dispatched to the scene and upon arriving all parties were separated and Deputy Quinten Might began an investigation into the incident.  During the investigation Deputy Might found probable cause to arrest 38 year old Elizabeth Feuquay on a Felony level battery.  Once his investigation was completed Ms. Feuquay was transported to the Gibson County Jail.

 Assisting Deputy Might in his investigation was Haubstadt Officer Bryan Munnier.

 All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

City Looks To Ease Traffic Headaches Near MCES

City and school officials are working together attempting to alleviate traffic backups at the elementary school. At last Monday’s City Council meeting, city clerk Ryan Turner said the proposal is to make a small section of 13th Street “no parking”….

Turner said the no parking spots would help ease congestion especially before and after school. Turner told District #348 Superintendent Dr. Chuck Bleyer, who was at the meeting, that the city would work with his concerns over losing too many parking spots around the district office on 13th Street. Since an ordinance will need to be adopted, the proposal was put on hold until one can be drafted.

Council Hears Proposal For Driving Range

The father of a Lady Aces golfer is proposing the city get rid of the tennis courts by the swimming pool in favor of a driving range. Zed Moore is the father of golfer Zeme Moore and he laid out the details of his idea to the city council...

 Moore suggested that the driving range could be lit since there is already power and lights at the proposed area. He suggested the driving range could be named in honor of long-time golf coach John White. Mayor Joe Judge said since Moore’s proposal wasn’t listed on the meeting’s agenda, it couldn’t be approved until at least their next meeting on April 1st. Commissioner Eric Ikemire suggested Moore work with the golf course committee with this proposal.

This is the proposed area for a driving range at the golf course.

No Decision Yet On Family Dollar's Request To Sell Alcohol

A decision has been delayed on whether to allow another Mt. Carmel business to sell liquor. Family Dollar has applied to sell liquor at their new location at 9th and Walnut Street and their application was on the agenda at last week's city council meeting. But, Joe Judge, who serves as the city’s liquor control commissioner, said he was delaying a decision on the application because Family Dollar officials failed to submit the required payment with the liquor license application. Judge said, until that happens, the application is on hold.

WGH Board Approves Moving Forward On Two Projects

The Wabash General Hospital board of directions has approved moving forward with two substantial building projects. At their meeting last night, the board voted to proceed with a $4,551,190 project to  finish the build-out of the second floor of the new medical office building. When the new M. O. B. was completed, only the first floor was finished and occupied, leaving the second floor of the complex open for future development. The time has come to move forward as the board voted last night to spend the money to complete three suites of offices. There was no word last night on which departments or services would be occupying the new space when it’s completed this fall.

The second approval was to seek bids on an estimated $196,500 project to create more space at the orthopedic office building. The project would include a rearrangement of the front office, separating some of the clinician’s work area, expanding the reception area into the waiting room to allow for smoother operations. WGH administration admitted the project is a stop gap measure to buy the hospital more time before a more extensive expansion of the orthopedic building is undertaken. The board’s action last night was to seek bids on the work before a final decision is made by the board.

Photo Credit: WGH Facebook page

Owensville man with outstanding warrant receives additional charges

On March 25, 2024, at 7:27 a.m. Deputies with the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office went to a residence in the 4300 block of West 200 South to serve an arrest warrant on 32 year old Michael Binhack of rural Owensville.  Upon arriving at the residence Mr. Binhack was taken into custody for the outstanding warrant for violation of work release rules.  While taking Mr. Binhack into custody illegal drugs were observed in plain view.  At that point Deputy Bryan Small began a drug investigation at the residence and during the course of his investigation he applied for and obtained a search warrant for Blue 2000 Chevy Silverado that belonged to Mr. Binhack and was at the residence.  Once the search warrant was served and executed Mr. Binhack was transported to the Gibson County Jail where he is being held without bond on the outstanding work release violation warrant, and is awaiting his initial appearance on Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamines, and Possession of Paraphernalia. 

 Assisting Deputy Smith in his investigation was Deputies Michael Owens and Eric Powell.

 All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Personal injury accident leads to arrest of Oakland City man on a DUI charge

On March 24, 2024, at 8:30 p.m. Gibson County Central Dispatch received a 911 report of an accident with injuries at the intersection of Oak and Grove Street in Oakland City.  Officers with the Oakland City Police Department and Gibson County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the scene and upon arriving Deputy Logan Lashbrook began an investigation into the incident.  During the investigation it was determined that a Bronze 2017 Toyota Tundra had been in an accident with another vehicle.  While speaking with the 66 year old Larry Banks, the driver of the Tundra Deputy Lashbrook detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage.  At that point Deputy Lashbrook began a roadside DUI investigation.  At the conclusion of the accident and DUI investigations Mr. Banks was taken into custody and transported to the Gibson County Jail where he was charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated With Endangerment.  The driver of the other vehicle was treated for non-life threatening injuries at the scene by the Gibson County Ambulance Service.

 Assisting Deputy Lashbrook in his investigation as Oakland City Police Officer Jeff Hill.  . 

 All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.