Two issues dominate Jasper Utility Service Board meeting
Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz presented several initiatives last night at the Utility Service Board Meeting, which helped extend the meeting to almost three hours in length. Seitz first presentation was to bring before the board a contract for legal services and representation by the firm Shaneyfelt and Bohnenkemper. The existing contract is in its sixth…
National Guard Unit receives orders to Afghanistan
Mobilization orders for Afghanistan have been delivered to the soldiers of Indiana National Guard 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry headquartered in Jasper. The unit will deploy to Camp Atterbury in July for training before shipping out in October for a nine month tour. Original Story from October 20 below. The following is a video courtesy of…
Ferdinand Town Council meeting Feb. 14
A power outage that affected about 2/3 of the Town of Ferdinand came up at last nights Ferdinand Town Council meeting. Utility Superintendent Henry Haake says that a circuit breaker failed at one of the substations, which affected power for most of the town including essential emergency services. Haake says they are okay for now…
Hurdle cleared for now in Jasper Gymnasium construction
The hurdle that tripped up the construction of the Jasper High School Gymnasium was revisited and cleared today with the passage of a common wage for the new construction. A committee of five individuals is required to meet and determine a common wage for public works projects over $250,000; the Jasper High School gymnasium is…
Dubois County Leadership Academy issues call for applicants
The Dubois County Leadership Academy has issued a call for 2012 applicants. In its second year, the Leadership Academy is searching for emerging leaders in Dubois County businesses, corporations, and schools. There are no age requirements. [quote style=”boxed” float=”right”]“Investing in existing human capital tops the list of investments an organization should make.” Jasper Mayor Terry…
Police and Fire Chiefs discuss switch to narrow banding that occurs this month
Once per month the Chiefs from Dubois County fire and police departments meet to talk about issues that affect their department’s functions. The focus of the discussion in Monday night’s meeting was on a concept called “narrow banding.” This term describes a change that is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission in Washington that affects…
Airport Board meeting reveals cuts in FAA funding for runway project, offers alternatives
The Dubois County Airport Board held their monthly meeting last night. Airport Manager Travis McQueen reports that the Dubois County Flight Services has increased their fuel usage in January from 586 gallons in 2011 to 778 in 2012. McQueen says that the usage statistics provides one way to gauge economic movement and that they will…
2012 Dubois County Primary Candidates
Those individuals that wanted to run in the coming primary had until last Friday to file their intentions. Here is the finalized list. County Commissioner Larry M. Vollmer, 7985 W 150 N Jasper, IN 47546, (812-482-9981), Democrat, District #1 Marvin R. Belcher, 511 Sunrise Dr .Huntingburg, IN 47542, (812-630-4835), Democrat, District #1 Randy L. Fleck,…
Dubois County Tourism Commission approached about lease of Huntingburg Event Center
[quote style=”boxed” float=”right”]In 2010 Dubois County Tourism generated approximately $65 million in economic impact to Dubois County. [/quote] The newly formed Huntingburg Event And Community Center (HECC) non-profit recently approached met with the Dubois County Tourism Commission about a potential lease agreement with Dubois County Tourism. The effort was spearheaded by HECC Treasurer Mitch Clark…
American Legion announces Oratorical Contest Zone Winners of 2012!
On Sunday Feb. 5, 2012 the Zone Four competition of the American Legion Oratorical Scholarship contest was hosted by the Jasper American Legion 147 in Jasper. The contestants competed within their own district and advanced to the zone which consists of any post south of Indianapolis (covering the entire southern half of Indiana). Each contestant…
A local law enforcement officer’s historic death will be honored in Washington D.C. in May
In October of 2011 the Dubois County Sheriff Department received a letter from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund advising they had been notified of a possible historical law enforcement death in 1886. Sheriff Donnie Lampert began to research the historic occurrence and determined the officer was Constable Thomas Cummins of Jefferson Township (Birdseye)…
Huntingburg names new police chief and adopts tax abatement ordinance
The council chamber was full of Patrolman Arthur Parks’ family, friends, and most of the Huntingburg Police Department as Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner announced Parks would become the City’s new chief of police. Parks is a 16 year veteran of the Huntingburg Police Department and will replace Chief Ron Drew on March 1. Chief Drew…
Ferdinand seeking help in building community calendar on town’s website
In a continued effort to make the town’s website a relevant source of information and communication for the citizens of Ferdinand, a new effort has begun to collect information about events in the community. The website for the town currently has an events calendar for people interested in community events, but the new intern, Victoria…
For your information, three students from Pike Central are in the White House with science project. LIVE NOW
Live White House feed with President Obama viewing Pike Central students project. In case you had not heard about this, Ray Niehaus was invited to the White House with three students via his MIT Invent Team success. Due to the nature of White House visits and confidentiality, Ray was not allowed to tell anyone. Even…
Dubois County Waste District experiencing growing pains
Dubois County Solid Waste District (DCSWD) Director Toni Lubbers wants more people to recycle, but with an increase in recycling she’s running out of room at the current location. The DCSWD shares space at the city old Jasper Landfill on 350 west. The center was almost destroyed last year in the February 28th tornado that…
Lindsay Gootee in court today – defense requests extension for discovery
Lindsay Gootee was in court today for her omnibus hearing. Gootee was arrested Nov. 30, 2011 for the aggravated battery of her son. Jasper Police Detective Lisa Miller began an investigation on Oct. 18, 2011, after Gootee’s son was transported to Memorial Hospital for seizures that occurred at the daycare where he was placed. Gootee’s…
Jasper Public Library Board meeting – Executive and public meeting set in regards to “property acquisition”
The Jasper Library Board met Thursday afternoon with a new board member. The Greater Jasper School Board in their January meeting appointed Mark Kunkel as new board member, replacing Mary Ellen Backer. At the beginning of the meeting, Board President Bill Hewitt thanked Backer for her 10 years of service on the board and then…
Schnitzelbank Bratwurst is Super 46 champion
The Schnitzelbank’s Bratwurst has won the Super 46 Sandwiches championship this morning with 63% of the vote. Alan Hanselman received a call around 11:00 this morning informing him of the win. “We’re very honored,” Hanselman said, “It’s great to have Dubois County behind us, the city of Jasper, Mayor Seitz, Kevin Manley, and especially all…
Bratwurst supporters go German at the Super Bowl Village
Enthusiastic German-Americans summoned the spirit of the Strassenfest on Wednesday as the Schnitzelbank competed in the Indiana Super 46 Sandwich Playoffs in Indianapolis. Members of the Dubois County Tourism Commission, the Jasper German Club, and others accompanied the Schnitzelbank to the Super Bowl Village, where their bratwurst competed head-to-head with Rock Cola’s Mile-High Club sandwich…
Public forum addresses questions and concerns over foundation merger
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Additional Information” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]On January 10, 2012 the boards of the Dubois County Community Foundation and the Huntingburg Foundation announced they were considering a merger of the two foundations. The boards have been discussing the merger for over 12 months. The process began soon after…
Highway 245 status up for grabs as Holiday World files to intervene in case stopping construction
A 45-minute status hearing was held this morning in Spencer County Circuit Court in Rockport in front of Judge Jon Dartt about SR 245 just east of Santa Claus. That stretch of roadway has been at the center of a lawsuit against INDOT due to the fact that officials decided the road had to be…
Rep. Ellspermann’s bill to support entrepreneurs, small business passes House
STATEHOUSE – A bill authored by State Rep. Sue Ellspermann (R-Ferdinand) that would allow a pilot program for rural counties to retain the state income tax of new businesses and their employees for a 5 year period up to $500,000 per year passed the House by a vote of 85-13. House Bill (HB) 1241 will…
Jasper changes emergency siren procedures; will only sound sirens in the event of a tornado
During the recent bad weather in which two tornadoes touched down near Huntingburg sirens were sounded in Jasper but not in other areas of the county. Jasper activated their alarms because they follow a different procedure than the rest of the county and will activate the alarms in the event of severe weather. The rest…
Third Annual Ferdinand Folk Festival’s 2012 Music Lineup Announced
At a fundraising event for the third annual Ferdinand Folk Festival (September 15, 2012) this past weekend, fest organizers announced the lineup of musicians for the 2012 event. Colin Hay, http://www.colinhay.com: Perhaps most well-known for his multi-platinum career with the band Men at Work and for their mega-hits “Land Down Under”, “Who Can It Be…
Can Dubois County get anymore national attention? Yes it can – Melanie and Daniel’s dream wedding
We’ve been voting for Schnitzelbank for the past few weeks; we watched Chelsea Gill get a date with Jason Segel; now maybe we can help a Ferdinand Girl get her dream weddding. Melanie Mundy and Daniel Palumbi entered in a contest with E! Online to get their dream wedding. You’ll have to read her vow…
Huntingburg resident asking city to stop fluoride drip in water supply
Brendan McCormick stood before the Huntingburg Common Council last Thursday and proposed they stop adding fluoride to the city’s water supply or reduce the amount to .7 parts per million, currently the city water is at approximately 1 part per million. Huntingburg began the process of adding fluoride to the municipal water supply in 1951….
Event organizers surprised by big turnout for Emerging Leaders event at Cool Beans
Cool Beans in Huntingburg was filled with young “Emerging Leaders” on Thursday, Jan. 26 attending the premier event facilitated by the Huntingburg Foundation. Over 70 people were there to mingle and hear opening remarks from Jasper Engines CEO Doug Bawel and German American CEO Mark Schroeder. Bawel remarked that when Foundation Executive Director Brad Ward…
Huntingburg Foundation to hold community discussion on merger exploration
On Tuesday Evening, January 31, at 7 PM in the Ballroom of the Huntingburg Old Town Hall, the Board of Directors of the Huntingburg Foundation will host a community discussion with the public and its supporters. The purpose is to share what has been learned over the past year as the Foundation moves deeper in…
Huntingburg Council meeting Jan. 26 – No unsafe building fund necessary, intro of Tax Abatement Ordinance, and fluoride discussed
The Huntingburg City Council met Thursday night and heard from Mike Cummins with Indiana Region 15 planning commission on the Water Line replacement project. A grant was applied for last year with the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA as it is called), which was denied. The grant amount requested was for $600,000 with…
The Dubois County Top 12 stories of 2011
The Jasper Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Jasper, held its annual “Year in Review” on Jan 26th. The Top Twelve Sports and News Stories were determined by events submitted by members of the local media. Top 12 SPORTS Stories 2011 Jasper’s 13 year olds in Babe Ruth World Series Forest…
Huntingburg Foundation to grant $3.5 million Event Center
The Huntingburg Foundation will host a press conference at noon, Monday, January 30th in the ballroom of the Huntingburg Old Town Hall. Attendees will include representatives of the Foundation, major contributors of the project, Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner, and the beneficiary agency of this grant. The Foundation will officially retire the $235,000 mortgage liability held…
