USDA Approves State’s Request for Secretarial Disaster Declaration

Farmers throughout the state who suffered crop losses due to excessive rainfall can apply for low-interest emergency loans from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday approved a secretarial disaster declaration for 53 of Indiana’s 92 counties. Gov. Mike Pence, Lt. Gov. Sue Ellsperman and Indiana Farm Service Agency Executive Director Julia A. Wickard made the request in late July after farmers suffered significant crop damage and losses as a result of flooding and excessive rain that started May 1st. Continue reading

Election Board Reaffirms Candidate Walking List Price

The Marshall County Election Board agreed to continue charging candidates for office for walking lists of registered voters.

The walking list is often used during door-to-door campaigning or for mailers during election season. The cost for a disc containing voter registration information was previously set at $50 in Marshall County. Whether that cost was still reasonable was under discussion during Tuesday morning’s meeting.

Marshall County Clerk Debbie Vandemark says the matter came up after candidates began making requests.

“I started looking back through some previous minutes,” says Vandemark. “In 2010, the Election Board reviewed the cost of computerized data to individuals requesting copies of the voter list.”

Large amounts of data are included in the walking lists that can result it hundreds of pages if printed.

According to Marshall County ordinance, the cost to print is 10-cents per page. That means using a disc for the information could be more cost effective.

Vandemark says it’s also difficult to e-mail the files.

“The files are so large that it’s very difficult to e-mail that much data,” says Vandemark.

Alternatives to paying for discs such as using information stored on a website for candidates to access were also considered. Marshall County must wait until an E-Poll book demonstration to answer that question.

Party officials present also said that if the two major parties purchased the disc and made copies for each of their candidates, the cost would remain $50. That expense was approved by the Election Board, unanimously.

NIPSCO Reminds Customers to Call Before Digging

NIPSCO reminds anyone with outdoor plans that involve digging to call 811 before doing so. Officials say digging into underground lines is the biggest risk to NIPSCO’s gas system and the leading cause of damage. So-called “blind digging” damages an underground utility line every six minutes, according to Common Ground Alliance. Striking an underground line can harm you and others, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood and potentially result in fines and repair costs. Continue reading

USDA Makes it Their Mission to Make School Lunches Healthier

Healthy_Hunger_Free_Kids_Act-300x233It’s back-to-school season and that means you’ll no longer be in control of what your child is eating for breakfast and lunch every day. Luckily, the United States Department of Agriculture oversees school lunches nationally. Back in 2010 the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act was put in place to transform the school food environment in order to promote better nutrition, combat childhood hunger and reduce the likelihood of developing obesity. Continue reading