By Tim Arnett
WABASH,Indiana – At the Wabash County Board of Commissioners meeting Monday morning, the board accepted a $116,000 bid from Smith Excavating to remove the viaduct on 700 W. County Highway Superintendent John Martin also updated the board on Bridge 510 construction at Harrison Avenue and Wabash Street. He told the commissioners that all the concrete has been poured and that work is progressing well on the project. Martin told MiBash News that the bridge is still scheduled for a May completion.
County Sheriff Bob Land also reported to the board that there are currently 85 inmates in the Wabash County Jail with 37 overflow inmates housed in Miami County. Last week, there were 24 new book-ins and 9 transports to the Department of Corrections. Sheriff Land also noted that a new officer started at the Sheriff’s Department on Sunday. Deputy Mat Galligan will join the Sheriff’s Department after resigned from the North Manchester Police Department on April 8th. Galligan will replace Sheriff’s Deputy Dustin Hurst.
The board also accepted a request from County Recorder Lori Draper to record the Lagro plat in Wabash County. Chairman Barry Eppley told MiBash News that the plat for Lagro was originally filed in Huntington County. After Lagro’s plat was later filed in Wabash County, there were some discrepancies between the two filings. Eppley said those discrepancies will be cleared up with this new filing.
Henry Becker, President of the Roann Covered Bridge Association, asked for the county’s help in painting the Covered Bridge in Roann. The last time the bridge was painted, Becker said, was 25 years ago.
Finally, Doug Alan Dyson, who is currently fighting IDEM on behalf of Dyson Brothers, LLC, asked the board to sign a document stating that they are not a common law court. The commissioners refused to sign but the fact that they are not a common law court will be reflected in next week’s the minutes. Alan filed a Writ of Summons and Appearance in the Wabash County Circuit Court on April 6th asking for IDEM officials to prove that he is the owner of the Celotex property in Lagro in front of the Board of Commissioners. In the court documents, Alan called IDEM’s actions the proceedings “extortion” and “unlawful.”