The Culver Community School Board Monday night approved a field trip request for the BPA students to participate in the National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Five students qualified for the event, but due to funding restrictions only three will attend. Culver Middle/High School Principal Brett Berndt said only half of the needed $12,000 has been collected through fundraising efforts. He noted that only one student may get to go if the funds aren’t there.
The Marshall County Commissioners met in emergency session on Friday afternoon to put a resolution in place to restrict the placement or construction of small cell towers in the right-of-way of local governments where utility lines are located or buried underground.
Several municipalities scrambled to get similar documents approved and in place by the May 1 deadline to keep local government control over Senate Enrolled Act 213 which allows that local control option. SEA 213 amends Indiana code that allows the use of the county’s right-of-way for the installation and use of small cell facilities.
A new Argos school superintendent was announced Monday afternoon in a specially called meeting of the school board.
Ned Speicher will join the Argos Community School Corporation as the superintendent on July 1. Speicher has served Indiana school corporations as a teacher, principal, and an assistant superintendent. Speicher recently retired after 10 years as the superintendent from the Rensselaer Central School Corporation. He has led other school corporations as superintendent in his career.
The Culver Community School Board will be looking for a person to fill the position of middle/high school assistant principal and test coordinator.
The board members on Monday night accepted the resignation of Julie Berndt who occupied those roles at the school corporation. During her career at Culver Community Schools, Berndt served as assistant principal at Culver Elementary, principal at Culver Middle School and principal at Monterey Elementary.
The Plymouth Community School Board approved two documents in order to move forward with building improvement projects.
Washington Elementary, Riverside Elementary and Plymouth High School will see improvements in roofing, lighting and HVAC systems. Parking lot paving is also included in the additional $2 million General Obligation Bond Issue.
The Indiana State Police, in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Agency, held its 13th annual prescription drug take back event on Saturday.
Collections sites were available at Indiana State Police posts in the state, with the exception of the Toll Road post. Residents could drop off unwanted, unused or expired liquid or pill prescription medications during a four hour period on Saturday.
The condition of roads in Marshall County has been a topic of discussion since the spring season began, especially with the plan to reclaim roads.
The main concern of Commissioners Kurt Garner and Mike Delp is the turn around in putting the roads back to an asphalt state. They would like to see the reclaimed roads as part of this year’s plan to be resurfaced this year without waiting a year. Commissioner Kevin Overmyer wants the highway department to remain on the current schedule. Overmyer stated that a representative from engineering firm DLZ rode along with Highway Supervisor Jason Peters and witnessed their process of reclaiming roads. According to Overmyer, the representative was complimentary of the highway department on their restoration process.
The Culver Community School Corporation has a new superintendent. The school board members last night unanimously approved the new superintendent’s contract during their meeting.
Karen Shuman was one of 15 applicants for the superintendent’s position being vacated by Interim Superintendent Chuck Kitchell who is retiring on June 30. Board member Jack Jones spoke on behalf of the superintendent search committee who said the selection took about three months to complete as there is a lot to the process. Jones thanked all involved for their time and effort.
The Plymouth Community School Board will move forward on their plans on projects when they meet tonight. It is anticipated that the board members will adopt a preliminary bond resolution to pay for the cost of maintenance and improvements to the corporation at a cost not to exceed $2 million. Those projects include paving, site work, lighting update and work on the HVAC system. That pending approval will be followed by the possible approval of the declaration of official intent to reimburse those expenditures.
The John Glenn School Board will discuss cafeteria prices for the new school year when they meet tonight.
Many area schools have raised breakfast and lunch prices at least $.10 to keep up with federal requirements. The school board will make a decision on what direction the corporation will go this evening.
The staff at the Marshall County Community Foundation has set a day where contributions to endowment funds will get a 10 percent match.
On Thursday, May 25, new and existing endowment funds with the foundation are eligible for the 10 percent match with up to a total of $50,000 matching funds. Executive Director Linda Yoder said 347 endowment funds are held at the foundation.
Rain from the weekend and more showers in the forecast could lead to flooding issues this week.
Marshall County is under a flash flood watch this morning. Drivers are encouraged to watch for standing water on the roads. If you see a flooded road, do not try to drive through it. The water depth could be much greater than what it appears. Indiana Department of Homeland Security officials ask that you turn around and find an alternate route to your destination.
The Culver Community School Board members are expected to approve the new superintendent’s contract when they meet tonight.
The board held a public hearing on the proposed superintendent’s contact on April 17 where no comments were heard. The annual salary of $105,000 was proposed along with insurance and benefits. The contract is valid from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020.
The house that the 2017 Construction Trades class has built in Plymouth will be for sale soon.
Instructor Craig Schoof said the 1,662 square foot home was built by the students from the ground up including the roof which wasn’t expected as part of the students’ responsibilities.
A quote will be considered for the microsurface project this spring in the City of Plymouth.
One bid was received for the project which was opened by City Attorney Sean Surrisi during the Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety meeting last week. The single quote of $415,972.78 was submitted by Pavement Solutions, Inc in Middletown, Indiana. City Engineer Rick Gaul explained that there aren’t too many companies close around that can complete the project. He found 11 companies and contacted four of them that were within 200 miles. Two companies attended the pre-bid meeting.
Supporters of the Culver Visitor’s Center plus students of the Culver Community School Corporation and the local daycare facilities are collecting plastic caps in order to construct plastic benches to be placed along a proposed bike trail around Lake Maxinkuckee. The benches will also be installed in the Culver Town Park.
Any recyclable bottle cap will be accepted. Bottle caps off of two-liter bottles, plastic pop bottles, milk jugs, medicine bottles, detergent containers, and hairspray bottles will be accepted. Flip-top caps, spray paint caps, plain prescription bottles and plastic lids smaller than eight inches may also be donated.
The Marshall County Commissioners will meet for their first business meeting of the month this morning.
The Marshall County Highway Department will present information on projects, a truck noise issue will be brought before the board and the Marshall County 4-H Fair Board will have a presentation for the commissioners.
An Office of Community and Rural Affairs grant request will also be discussed for the community center.
The commissioners will open the public meeting at 8:30 a.m. today in the second floor meeting room in the Marshall County Building.
The new building that houses the Bremen EMS Department and the food pantry is nearing completion.
Bremen Director of Operations Trend Weldy said the finishing touches are being applied to the 10,800 building the town purchased last year to house the two entities.
Representatives from the Discover Plymouth organization presented information to the Plymouth City Council on Monday night on their progress on plans in making the city a safer place to walk and bike.
According to Allie Shook, the group plans to improve existing crosswalks or install crosswalks, connect fitness facilities with sidewalks, and construct bike racks, benches and bumpouts. Shook says the purpose of a bumpout is to increase pedestrian safety.
Culver Park Superintendent Anna Campbell presented a quote for maintenance at the Culver Town Park.
Sellers Maintenance will grind down areas where tree roots are causing a tripping hazard and fill divots in the grass. The workers will also fertilize the grass and apply seed in areas. Campbell said the west end of the park will be rehabilitated as it is a heavily used area and work was lacking last year.
