The Daviess County Commissioners met Tuesday morning and heard a report on county highway projects. Highway Superintendent Chris Winkler reported that concrete paving on the last mile of the Cannelburg Road was underway. Winkler also reported that the Glendale Road project had been completed. The Commissioners also approved an agreement with Lochmueller Group to provide construction inspection for the overhead bridge project in Montgomery. The contract is for hourly fees not to exceed $263,000.
The Commissioners also approved increasing the administrative cost for inoculations by the County Health Department to $40. However, the county will continue the policy of providing free inoculations for those county residents who sign a headship waiver. County Health Nurse Cathy Sullender told the Commissioners the health department has new bi-valent COVID shots from both Moderna and Pfizer. In other business, the Commissioners gave approval to the update of the county’s website. There was a disagreement when Sheriff Gary Allison presented a renewal request for the Guard-911 program. The Guard-911 is a police rapid response program in case there is a safety problem at a school. Staff and administration of the school are provided with a special app for their cell phones that directly alerts individual police officers, allowing for rapid response in case there is a safety threat to a school. In the past, the funding for the program has come from the County’s 911 fund. 911 funds come from state mandated user fees on cell phones. Commissioner Nathan Gabhart said he believed the individual schools should pay for the program, while Commissioner Ron Arnold compared the program to an insurance policy you hope you never use. Allison and Washington Police Chief Derrick Devine said the system has been used three times… fortunately, all false alarms. Allison said the program is available to all the schools in the county. Gabhart will contact the county schools concerning their participation in the program.
