The Bartholomew County Council is still wrestling with how to implement the results of a newly released study of county government workers salaries. Or even if to take the study into account.

The study, released to the council last week during a work session, was from Waggoner, Irwin & Scheele, a Muncie based company commissioned last spring by the county at a cost of $25,000. Kent Irwin with the company outlined the results of the study, which he said compared thousands of salaries in both the private and government sectors and took the salaries in the middle of the pay ranges to come up with the best models for Bartholomew County government employees.

The idea is to make sure county employees are being paid fairly and that their pay is on par with similar jobs in neighboring communities.

But implementing those recommendations immediately would be at a cost of more than $404,000 according to a tally from Auditor Pia O’Connor.

At this week’s council meeting, Councilman Bill Lentz said he was not prepared to implement the changes wholesale, especially when it could affect employees in the same office differently, with some getting raises, some seeing no change, and finding out that others are overpaid. Council President Greg Duke said that implementing the survey could not replace the discretion that taxpayers expect from their their council members on how their tax money is spent.

Councilman Jorge Morales pressed fellow council members to agree to a timeline when they would be comfortable with making a decision on the study, while Councilman Mark Gorbett urged the council to take the results in account in setting employee salaries. He said some are grossly underpaid for the work they do.

Councilman Matt Miller said that he had questions about how the suggestions for department chief deputes were set — those were made with suggestions on similarly sized counties, rather than just looking at neighboring communities.

The council agreed to ask county office holders to evaluate the study results and its effect on their departments.

Flood warnings remain in effect on a few area rivers after recent heavy rain. East Fork White River at Columbus has dropped below the minor flood stage, while the river at Seymour continues to run just shy of the moderate flood level.

East Fork White River at Seymour is at 16 and a half feet this morning, just below below the 17-foot moderate flood stage. The river crested at 17.2 feet Tuesday afternoon. Minor flooding is still happening. The river won’t drop below the minor flood level until early Saturday morning.

Driftwood River at Edinburgh is just inches away from dropping below the minor flooding level. This morning the river was at 11.2 feet, just above the 11-foot minor flood level. It should be dropping to normal levels any time now.

The National Weather Service reminds you not to drive onto flooded roadways. Authorities urge you to turn around and don’t drown.

Tax abatements for two Edinburgh area companies were approved last night by the Bartholomew County Council but not without a debate over the type of tax breaks.

Drug Plastics Closures Inc. is planning a new facility on West County Road 800N. They sought a tax abatement on $15 million dollars in real property and $11 million in new equipment. Tsune America LLC on Presidential Way asked for tax break on $3 million in property and $1 million in equipment.

Both companies were approved for 10-year phase-ins of taxes on the real property and 5 year abatements on equipment.

But the proposals rankled some members of the County Council, because the developments are inside of the county’s tax increment financing district in the Edinburgh revitalization zone.

Council President Greg Duke particularly took issue with the proposals, because if the companies aren’t paying the new property taxes the tax revenue in the district will not increase. Which means there will be no option to pay for further improvements in the zone.

Councilman Mark Gorbett protested what he saw as hostility toward the companies which are planning to expand and to increase employment in the county. Duke also questioned how many of those employees would work and shop in Bartholomew County, as opposed to neighboring counties.

Jason Hester, head of the Greater Bartholomew County Economic Development Corp., stressed that the companies planned to increase the tax base, and would continue to pay the current property taxes, while the new amounts are slowly phased in. And that process is better than not improving the properties which would bring in no tax revenue.

Neither of the companies sought to use the Tax Increment Financing mechanism to pay for improvements in the area.

The Tsune request passed 3-2 with Duke and Councilman Bill Lentz voting against it and Councilwoman Evelyn Pence abstaining because she said she had not received the proposals ahead of the meeting. The Drug Plastic Closures request passed 6-1 with Lentz voting against it.

The Columbus Parks and Recreation Department will be closing the Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena later this month for maintenance.

The work will require shutting down utilities for the entire facility. The parks department says the facility will close March 21st, 22nd and 23rd. Classes will be rescheduled but public skates and other drop-in activities will be cancelled.

You can get more information online at www.columbusparksandrec.com.

Bartholomew County isn’t quite ready yet to make a $4 million dollar decision on a provider to bring high speed internet to the rural corners of the county.

In December, the county commissioners sought proposals from companies that were willing to provide rural broadband to the county, for a share of $4 million set aside from federal COVID-19 relief funds. Two companies submitted proposals, AT&T and Meridiam Infrastructure North American Corp.

To help them decipher the proposals, they hired Scott Rudd, a statewide expert in broadband. At the commissioners meeting this week Rudd said that he would like to form a scoring panel to rank the two proposals. He said that he wanted the county to do the due diligence to choose the absolute best proposal.

Commissioners still hope to be able to make a decision within a few week including negotiating the contract.

Flood warnings remain in effect on area rivers and streams after recent heavy rain. East Fork White River at Seymour has dropped from moderate to minor flooding, with minor flooding ongoing elsewhere.

East Fork White River at Columbus rose above the 9-foot minor flood stage yesterday morning and crested at just below 10 feet yesterday. It is at 9.5 feet this morning and is expected to drop below flood level by this evening.

East Fork White River at Seymour is just below moderate flooding this morning, with water at 16.96 feet, less than an inch below the 17-foot moderate flood stage. The river crested at 17.2 feet yesterday afternoon. The river won’t return to normal levels until Saturday.

Flat Rock River at Columbus is running half a foot above the 11 foot minor flood stage this morning but is going down. It appears to have crested at 12.86 yesterday afternoon. It should drop below flood level later this morning.

Driftwood River at Edinburgh is at 13.4 feet this morning, about two and a half feet above the 11 foot minor flood stage. The river appears to have crested yesterday evening. It should return to normal levels by Thursday afternoon.

The Bartholomew County Health Department says the COVID-19 Gravity Diagnostic Testing Clinic on FoxPointe Drive is being closed by the state health department. That’s because of the decrease in community testing needs. The clinic’s last day will be March 18th.

You can still schedule an appointment for a drive-through COVID test at the county health department through June 30th. Their office is at 2625 Foxpointe Drive.

After June 30th, testing will still be available at local pharmacies and primary health care providers.

You can make an appointment online at www.coronavirus.in.gov.

An overdose at a Columbus home led to three arrests after police found drugs in plain sight.

According to reports from the Columbus Police Department, officers were called to a home in the 900 block of California Street at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday after a woman was found unconscious and not breathing. Police gave the victim two doses of Narcan and helped her breath with an Ambu-Bag until she was revived and taken to Columbus Regional Hospital for further treatment.

Police noticed drugs in the home and after a search warrant was issued, discovered methamphetamine, syringes and digital scales. Three Columbus residents at the home were arrested.

48-year-old Robert C. Arney was arrested on preliminary charges of maintaining a common nuisance, obstruction of justice, and for possessing methamphetamine, a syringe and drug paraphernalia.

25-year-old Kate N. Thomas is being accused of visiting a common nuisance, as well as for possessing methamphetamine, a legend drug injection device, and drug paraphernalia. She also had an outstanding Bartholomew County warrant.

25 year old Shelby B. Yates is facing a charge of visiting a common nuisance.

Schneck Medical Center in Seymour says it is shutting down its COVID-19 vaccination walk-in clinic.

The hospital says that COVID vaccines are now widely available throughout the community including at pharmacies, the county health department and doctor’s offices.

According to CDC figures, 23,248 Jackson County residents are fully vaccinated. That is 52.6 percent of the population.

The Commons playground will be reopening today at 10 a.m.

The James A. Henderson playground was first closed due to COVID-19, then for remodeling. The remodeling faced delays due to supply and staffing challenges.

The city worked with Playtime LLC to revamp the playground. The equipment and flooring now uses anti-microbial technology to make it easier to clean. New play elements create sensory experiences for children and encourage children to play together. There is also better separation between the toddler area and the areas for older children.

The playground will be open Monday through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.