By Tim Arnett
WABASH,Indiana – At an 11 minute Wabash County Board of Commissioners meeting Monday morning, County Highway Superintendent John Martin asked the board to set April 11th at 9:30 am as the date and time to receive salt bids for the 2016-2017 winter season. The board also granted Martin’s request for a road cut permit for work to be done on 1200 S, west of 350 E.
Wabash County Sheriff Bob Land also informed the board that there are currently 78 inmates in the Wabash County Jail with 28 overflow inmates housed in Miami County. Last week, the average population was 81 with a peak of 87. Nine transports to DOC were made last week and the jail, Land said, is holding 22 inmates for sentencing with 56 inmates still awaiting some court proceeding.
Land added that the Sheriff’s Department has received the second of three new Dodge Charger cruisers. The board tentatively set April 4th as the date to receive bids for the department’s old 2007 Charger cruiser. Potential bidders cannot take a test drive of the car – which is sold “as-is” – but it will likely sit out in the parking lot for visual inspection. Land also said that Quality Correctional Care has started providing new coverage for inmates in the jail. The new package includes mental health coverage, as well as Medicaid.
The commissioners also approved a request by County Health Board Chairman Keith Walters for Dr. Dean Gifford to replace Dr. Jeffery Pyle on the county health board. Gifford’s term on the health board will last until December 31st, 2018. Walters also informed the commissioners about the new refrigerators the County Health Department bought to store vaccines that need a constant temperature. One of the new fridges is hooked up to an alarm system which calls into central dispatch if there is a power failure or other disruption of temperature. The other fridge is not tied into that alarm system and the health board wants an automatic dialer for the refrigerator so that the proper personnel can be called if there is a problem. The $553 cost for the new dialer will hopefully come for a grant from the state, Walters said.