Jasper Board of Public Works and Safety Aug. 11 meeting

The Jasper Board of Public Works and Safety met Tuesday, August 11, 2026, for its regular meeting.

Jasper Police Chief Chad Dick presented the department’s July monthly report to the Board of Public Works and Safety on Tuesday.

Chief Dick opened by highlighting the scale of the department’s commitment to Strassenfest, noting that from Thursday through Sunday, the department logged 463.5 man-hours covering the festival and surrounding activities. That figure covered only officers and traffic safety auxiliary personnel working the event, not those simultaneously providing coverage for the rest of the city.

Dick highlighted that the fest provides a unique experience for officers, as the community will want to interact with them and even take photos with them.

Of the total man-hours, approximately 340 were covered by the City of Jasper, with the remainder funded by the Strassenfest Committee. Board member Nancy Eckerle noted that a portion of officer hours were paid by the Strassenfest Committee directly.

During July, the department answered 1,354 calls for service and worked 48 crashes. Officers issued 322 traffic warnings and 59 traffic citations, and made 67 total arrests. Approximately one-third of those arrests were drug-related, with additional arrests involving OWIs and domestic batteries. Parking enforcement issued 66 tickets throughout the month.

Dick also addressed what school resource officers do during the summer months, explaining that while they take some vacation time, they remain active. SROs assisted detectives with the department’s evidence room over the summer, working through 95% of the backlog using court orders and related processes.

“As you can imagine, the cases that we work, a lot of times that evidence room can get pretty full pretty quick,” Dick said.

SROs also attended trainings, including Safe Evac preparation ahead of its rollout at local schools, bus inspections, and safety presentations for teachers and bus drivers. They also assisted at Strassenfest.

The department’s peer support team launched its first Lunch and Learn session during the month. After surveying officers about their top concerns — including relationships, finances, and health — the team brought in Glenn Buechlein from Premier Properties to speak on breathing and activation techniques. Dick said the feedback from attendees was very positive.

Detectives had a particularly active month. They assisted in breaking up a multi-state organized retail theft ring, recovering more than $10,000 worth of product and making two arrests. The suspects involved were also linked to $40,000 worth of theft in Florida and several other states.

Detectives also assisted in the seizure of $40,000 worth of a Schedule I controlled substance and helped the state of Massachusetts with a child sexual abuse material case involving a 14-year-old girl, successfully obtaining a confession through an interview. In total, detectives made five arrests and conducted 14 interviews during July.

The dispatch center handled 2,189 calls for service in July, accounting for 46.74% of total calls in Dubois County.

Two telecommunicators, Abby and Natasha Durcholz, volunteered to become certified child passenger safety technicians, adding to the department’s capacity to assist residents with proper car seat installation.

Telecommunications Supervisor Megan Dodd earned her Certified Manager of Communications Center certificate through the National Emergency Number Association.

Newest dispatcher Mason Herzog also completed his training and is now able to dispatch independently.

On the staffing front, the board accepted the resignation of part-time dispatcher Beth Herold. Harold had worked part-time with the department for a year, though she brought many years of prior dispatching experience with both the Jasper Police Department and the Indiana State Police.

“I’d just like to publicly thank her for all the service that she gave to the community and wish her the best in her future endeavors,” Dick said.

Mayor Ryan Craig made the motion to accept Harold’s resignation, which was seconded by Eckerle and passed unanimously.

Dick then requested board permission to begin the hiring process for part-time dispatchers. With Herold’s departure, the department currently has three part-time dispatchers. Dick said he had been informed by two additional part-time dispatchers that their resignation letters would be coming soon, which would leave the department with just one part-time dispatcher if no action was taken.

He told the board he wanted to move forward with the hiring process in light of the training requirements.

The department is fully staffed on the full-time side, but part-time dispatchers help fill a second chair during busy periods, particularly on weekends. Dick said the focus of this hiring round would be candidates willing to cover weekend second-chair duties.

Eckerle made the motion to begin the part-time dispatch hiring process, which was seconded by Craig and passed unanimously.

The board also took the following actions.

Heard an update from Boone Taylor, director of Operation Mind, Body and Soul, on the special Oktoberfest veteran outreach event planned for October 3, 2026 in Downtown Jasper. The event features food trucks, a car show and live music and is designed to help connect former service members with mental health resources and benefits. Approved the event request and street closures.

The board also accepted a separate resignation from Chase Spears of the Jasper Volunteer Fire Department, effective 31 August 2026. Spears joined the fire department two years ago while still completing college and has since taken local employment in Jasper. However, after purchasing property in another county, he no longer meets the department’s residency requirements. The fire department currently has 33 members, though a hiring process is already underway, with applications being picked up.

The board also approved a request to use the labyrinth on the Riverwalk for a volunteer meditation group meeting.