The Marshall County Commissioners will meet in special session today.
The commissioners will review the final claims of 2017 today and make department head appointments. Time is also allowed for the approval of the previous meeting minutes and public comment.
A Plymouth woman is charged with receiving Supplemental Security Income Benefit Program (SSI) benefits in a fraudulent manner.
According to court documents, Social Security Administration Special Agent Brett M. Yonkus from the Office of the Inspector General in Indianapolis alleges Hester Dills, 55, applied for SSI on Nov. 23, 2005 and revealed she was married and living with her husband and children. Yonkus stated in an Affidavit of Probable Cause that she was denied benefits at that time. She reportedly applied for benefits again on Dec. 6, 2011 and stated that she was not married in her application, but still residing at the same address on Washington Street in Plymouth, according to the report. She was granted benefits from 2011 to 2017 totaling $45,284.
Marshall County Sheriff’s deputies are looking for a hit-and-run driver in a Wednesday evening crash.
According to police, 21-year-old Hope Fish, of Plymouth, was traveling south on State Road 17 around 6:30 p.m. and slowed to turn onto 12th Road near Lake LaTonka. A car following Fish failed to yield and ran into Fish’s vehicle on the rear driver’s side. Police say the vehicle then fled the scene.
The Culver Town Council members took action Tuesday night to make sure budget funds will be balanced at the end of the year.
A resolution to transfer funds within departments and department funds was unanimously approved.
An ordinance to encumber funds for 2017 was also considered. A lot of the money to be encumbered is for paving.
Phase one in restoration efforts at the Rees Theater in downtown Plymouth is now complete.
Rees Project Committee Co-Chairman Randy Danielson said VANADCO workers finished installing LED lights on the marquee just in time for Christmas. The marquee was fully lit for Christmas and they will be on during New Year’s Eve. This was the last of the repairs to the masonry façade which included the rehabilitation of the playbill cases.
The Culver Town Council members approved the second reading of the proposed traffic ordinance when they met Tuesday night.
The traffic ordinance designates a congested motor vehicle traffic and pedestrian area on Lakeshore Drive and signage will be placed between 508 Lakeshore east to 824 Lakeshore Drive. The ordinance also creates a no parking zone for 50 feet from the intersection on both sides of the street on Batabano and South Plymouth Street.
The John Glenn School Board members approved stipends for a member of the custodial staff and bus drivers when they met last week.
According to Recording Secretary Lisa Sleek, the custodial director has been out on sick leave since June. The employee filling in was given a $7,000 stipend for performing duties above and beyond his normal duties.
The school board approved a stipend for bus drivers to charge buses when they are at their residences. A $100 engine block stipend was approved to keep up with costs associated with running the buses.
The Culver Town Council members will meet in regular session tonight.
The council members will act on additional readings of the traffic ordinance and the salary ordinance.
The traffic ordinance designates a congested motor vehicle traffic and pedestrian area on Lakeshore Drive and signage will be placed between 508 Lakeshore east to 824 Lakeshore Drive. The ordinance also creates a no parking zone for 50 feet from the intersection on both sides of the street on Batabano and South Plymouth Street.
The Marshall County Health Board is still one board member short even after the commissioners’ appointment of one seat at the recommendation of Marshall County Health Department Administrator Christine Stinson as recently approved by the health board members.
The John Glenn School Board members took action to approve the purchase of computers for students during their Tuesday night meeting.
The students in grades three through six at North Liberty Elementary School and Urey Middle School in Walkerton will receive new Chromebooks. The current devices needed to be replaced.
A Plymouth man was taken into custody Wednesday night after reportedly driving under the influence and causing an accident.
According to Plymouth police, Dustin Bradfield, 28, lost control of his vehicle and drove into the side of another vehicle at the entrance of Centennial Park. Police reportedly found that Bradfield was intoxicated at the time of the accident and tested three times the legal limit.
The Marshall County Commissioners considered two ordinances on second and third reading when they met Monday morning.
Planning Director Ralph Booker presented an ordinance amendment approved and recommended by the Marshall County Planning Commission that changes the side yard fence height to “six feet in height and must be of uniform, color and style construction materials.” The ordinance amendment pertains to L-1, T-1, C-1, C-2, and industrial districts. Agricultural districts are excluded.
The John Glenn School Board considered the superintendent’s contract retroactive to July 1, 2017. The contract is valid through June 30, 2019.
The contract included a two percent increase as that is in line with increases approved for the staff at the school corporation. The base salary was advertised at $117,346 with a $5,000 annuity. The school corporation will pay all but $1 on a life insurance premium on a $110,000 term life insurance policy which is $171 a year. The corporation will also pay all but $1 of the Corporation Family Health/Dental/Optical Insurance plan until the superintendent reaches the age of 65. The cost will be $23,363 a year.
If you need to conduct business at your local BMV branch, you may want to get it done as soon as possible as the branches will be open limited hours between today and Tuesday, Jan. 2.
All branches of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles will be closed Saturday, Dec. 23 through Tuesday, Dec. 26. Branches will open again on Wednesday, Dec. 27, but will close again on Saturday, Dec. 30 and will reopen on Tuesday, Jan 2.
Plymouth Police Department officers arrested two people on Tuesday after separate shoplifting incidents were reported.
Police say 22-year-old Jay E. Johnson, Jr., of Walkerton, took items from Walmart and ran from the store. The officer reportedly saw him trying to hide behind vehicles in the parking lot, but he was eventually detained. Officers reportedly found Johnson, Jr. to be in possession of methamphetamine. He was booked into the Marshall County Jail on preliminary charges of theft and possession methamphetamine. He has a cash bond of $3,005.
The Marshall County Commissioners ratified an action taken to expedite the process in hiring a county engineer/director for the highway position.
The county council last week approved an amended job description for the position. Since the advertisement for the position under the old job description already took place, a new advertisement needed to be done that spells out the new responsibilities.
The purchase of an enclosed trailer could be a valuable tool in informing residents about the dangers of drugs.
Making the request on behalf of Drug Free Marshall County, Ward Byers asked the commissioners for permission to purchase an enclosed trailer to assist in a community outreach effort, specifically to parents and caregivers.
The Marshall County Commissioners considered the intergovernmental agreement between Planning Director Ralph Booker and the City of Plymouth when they met Monday morning.
For years, the county has had an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Plymouth. The Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety recently agreed to a contract where the county would be paid a certain amount for six months in 2018 and Booker paid another amount for the same six months in 2018 for services rendered. Booker is anticipating retirement from his county position in June of 2018 and following that the entire amount would go to Booker as he tentatively plans to stay with the city as the plan director. The Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety members approved that agreement.
Offenders who do not go through the booking process at the Marshall County Jail may soon be fingerprinted in the office of the probation department.
Sheriff Matt Hassel brought the recommendation before the Marshall County Commissioners Monday morning. He said he has been talking with the court about installing a new iTouch Biometrics fingerprinting machine in the probation office.
Construction of a Habitat for Humanity House in Culver could begin in 2019.
Culver Town Manager Jonathan Leist told the town council members that week that he met with Marshall County Habitat for Humanity officials about a potential project.
