Culver School Board Receives Update on Funding

The Culver Community School Board received an update on the funding projection for the next school year. Corporation Treasurer Casey Howard said Monday night that solid numbers are elusive as figures constantly change from information given by the state.

Howard said that the corporation will see a reduction in grants and the February ADM count will cause a reduction in funding.

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John Glenn Education Foundation Gets Healthy Start

The recent sale of property donated to the John Glenn Education Foundation and the sale of items within the estate equal a great start to assisting teachers and students with grants within the John Glenn School Corporation.

The Hiler family donated property at 123 Shamrock Street to the school corporation and the corporation followed procedures to donate it to the John Glenn Education Foundation with the understanding that proceeds of the sale of the home would benefit the foundation.

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Local Legislator’s Bill becomes Law

Rep. Jack Jordan

Governor Eric Holcomb recently signed into law a proposal that changes the type of titles issued for specialty-built cars.

In the bill sponsored by State Representative Jack Jordan (R-Bremen), newly produced vehicles would discontinue using a reconstructed title, which is equated to a salvaged title in other states. Jordan says the current titling law discourages out-of-state customers when purchasing specialty-made cars from Indiana businesses. He believes Senate Enrolled Act 340 will help to stimulate economic opportunities in Indiana.

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One Injured in a Vehicle/Bicycle Accident

One person was injured after a vehicle/bicycle collision in Marshall County.

According to an investigation by the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, 63-year-old Richard D. Murray, of Plymouth, was traveling west on Lincoln Highway east of Redwood Road on Monday evening when he struck Pamela Mahler-Lee, 50, of Plymouth, on a bicycle. She was transported to the Plymouth hospital after receiving minor injuries in the accident.

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Highway Department Presents Asset Management Plan to Commissioners

Marshall County Highway Supervisor Jason Peters presented the department’s asset management plan to the commissioners Monday morning.

The list he gave the governing body are the roads that need to be reclaimed. He explained that the roads will be ground up with the hopes of surfacing the roads in the next two to five years. Resurfacing will depend on funding, according to Peters.

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Culver School Board Holds Public Hearing on New Superintendent Contract

The Culver Community School Board opened the floor to members of the public to voice opinions on the proposed contract for a new superintendent.

The three-year contract begins in July of this year and ends June 30, 2020 with a salary of $105,000 during the school year which encompasses 260 days. According to the contract, “the board will pay for a family plan of the medical and prescription insurance, family plan of the dental and vision insurance, long term disability insurance and $100,000 term life insurance” for the duration of the contract. The superintendent will pay $4.00 toward the cost. No insurance or retirement benefits will be given once the superintendent retires.

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John Glenn School Board to Meet Tonight

John Glenn School Board

The John Glenn School Board will meet tonight where the board will discuss an additional appropriation.

The board will also approve the purchase of the football field irrigation system in the amount of $17,980. Superintendent Richard Reese will update the board on corporation news and other information.

The John Glenn School Board will meet at 7 p.m. in the meeting room in the administration building.

Public Hearing Scheduled to Discuss Culver Superintendent Contract

The Culver Community School Board will hold a public hearing tonight to hear comments on the proposed superintendent’s contract. That hearing will be tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET in the administration office on the school’s campus.

Interim Superintendent Chuck Kitchell will be retiring at the end of June. He has been with the Culver Community School Corporation for 28 years. Kitchell assumed the interim superintendent’s position at the end of December in 2015.

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Marshall County Commissioners to Meet Today

Marshall County Commissioners (L to R) Mike Delp, Kevin Overmyer, Kurt Garner

The Marshall County Commissioners are expected to take further action this morning on an ordinance that reestablishes the maximum rate of the Cumulative Capital Development Fund at $.0333 per $100 of assessed valuation.

The commissioners held a public hearing on the matter earlier this month and approved the ordinance on first reading. While the three commissioners stated they don’t want to raise taxes, they noted that something has to be done to help the highway department gather more funds for capital costs.

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Town of Culver Working to Update Website

It’s a tool that Culver residents have appreciated over the years and the Culver Town Council hopes to improve its overall appearance.

The town’s website will soon be getting a facelift. Town Manager Jonathan Leist and Clerk-Treasurer Karen Heim have been working to find a solution to make it more user friendly. Leist told the town council last week that only one person can input information to the website from one desktop. Ideally, it would be more efficient for all department heads to have access to the website to upload information for convenience.

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Rees Theater Memory Tour Scheduled for This Weekend

Photo provided by Wythougan Valley Preservation Council.

Members of the Rees Theater Project Committee invite residents to embark on a Memory Tour this weekend to relive the experience of being at the movies inside the facility.

Officials say this will be the only opportunity to take a peek inside the structure before renovations to the art deco theater begin. The theater was opened by the Stewart Rees family in 1940. The theater has been an icon of the Plymouth downtown area since that time.

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Marshall County Community Foundation Awards Grants

The first round of Marshall County Community Foundation grants was announced this week.

Twenty-two organizations in Marshall County received $122,588 in unrestricted funds through the Marshall County Community Foundation. Unrestricted funds are the most flexible and responsible of the Foundation’s 347 funds in addressing current and emergent needs. These funds support the arts, education, health and human services, recreation and the environment.

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Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety Approves Police Department Requests

A retiring police officer will leave the Plymouth Police Department with his service weapon.

The Plymouth Board of Public Works this week approved a resolution to deem the officer’s handgun as surplus property to the police department. With that unanimous approval, the weapon can be released from the department’s inventory to the officer when he is prepared to leave office.

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Town Action Lowers Credit Card Convenience Fee

The convenience fee to pay for items through the Town of Culver has been slashed.

Clerk-Treasurer Karen Heim told the Culver Town Council members this week that she met with a representative from PayGOV to make the changes to the convenience fee. The previous agreement included a $2.50 convenience fee on a minimum charge and anything over $25 customers were charged a three percent fee.

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Plymouth Community School Board Approves Bid for Paving Project

Five bids were received for the paving project at Plymouth High School and one was approved this week to complete the job.

Four sections of the parking lot were specified for bids in the advertisement for contractors. Five bids were received for those four areas. The lowest bid was submitted by Niblock at $310,700. All of the required base quotes and alternate bids, bid bonds and supplementary forms were included in the bid packet. The highest bid received was over $400,000.

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Culver Town Council Discusses Sidewalk Reimbursement Request

The Culver Town Council discussed an issue concerning a participant with last year’s sidewalk replacement program.

Clerk-Treasurer Karen Heim explained to the council members that a resident applied for the sidewalk program last year. As the season wore on, the applicant found that the project could not be completed in 2016 and asked if the same request could be considered in the 2017 application process. Utility Superintendent Bob Porter confirmed that all of the specifications were complete for the cement to be poured, but another construction project at that location delayed the sidewalk installation.

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Bid Awarded for Traffic Signal project

The Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety members approved a bid to get a traffic signal project started.

City Engineer Rick Gaul asked for the approval of a contract submitted by Michiana Contracting as they produced the low bid for the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Oakhill, Soice and Michigan Streets near Webster Elementary School. He reminded the board that another bid received from another company did not provide all of the required information needed in the bid packet.

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