Government & School Board

Leveraging a nearly $1 million federal grant, the City of Huntington continues to be committed to clean up the approximately 12-acre H.K. Porter industrial site and make plans for its future redevelopment. On May 25, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a Brownfields Cleanup Grant Award of $991,000 to support the city’s efforts to remediate the contaminated site, demolish the remaining structures and create a community plan for the property’s eventual reuse. “Ten years ago, the City of Huntington embarked on cleaning up 90 years’ worth of pollution from the H.K.

Huntington County Community Schools announced the hiring of Eric Thompson as Huntington North’s new basketball coach on Monday, May 1. Thompson spent the last seven years at Peru where his teams won sectional titles in 2022 and 2023. Thompson has a reputation for leaving a program better than how he found it. As he leaves a Peru program that went from a sub-.500 team his first three years into a 69-26 over the last four seasons, including the sectional titles, he takes over a Huntington North team that went 8-16 this past.

Huntington County property tax statements were mailed April 10, 2023.  Deadline for payment is May 10. Property owners who did not receive a statement should call the treasurer’s office at 358-4860 or stop in the office in the Courthouse to pick up a copy of the tax bill. Failure to receive a statement does not relieve the taxpayer of the responsibility to pay the property taxes. The amount of taxes due for each property can also be accessed online at www.huntington.in.us by choosing GIS mapping and searching by name, address or parcel number.

The Huntington County Community School Corp. board formally approved the hiring of Jaymee Wappes as the next principal of Riverview Middle School during Monday night’s board meeting. Wappes, who currently serves as Riverview’s assistant principal and athletic director, will take over as the principal starting in the 2023-24 school year, as current Riverview principal James Bragg will be retiring following the 2022-23 school year. Wappes joined the Riverview family in July of 2021, bringing more than 20 years of experience in education with her in various roles.

State Rep. Lorissa Sweet (R-Wabash) invites local students to spend a day serving as a House page at the Indiana Statehouse during the 2023 legislative session.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch announced today the resignation of Bruce Kettler, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA). Kettler’s last day will be Jan. 6, 2023.

Huntington County received $1 million through the Community Crossings grant program.

United States Senate

(R) Todd Young—73.96%

Secretary of State

(R) Diego Morales—69.98%

State Auditor

(R) Tera Klutz—74.17%

State Treasurer

(R) Daniel Elliott—75.16%

U.S. Rep, Dist. 3

(R) Jim Banks—71.69%

State Senator

(R) Andy Zay—74.84%

State Rep., Dist. 50

(R) Lorissa Sweet—75.78%

Prosecutor, 56th Circuit

(R) Jeremy K. Nix—100%

Circuit Court Clerk

(R) Shelley Malone Septer—100%

County Auditor

By Mike Perkins

City Utilities will open fire hydrants throughout Huntington to allow water to run through the pipes beginning July 31 at 11 p.m. until it is completed.

Crews will work 24 hours a day until finished. The process typically takes about five days from beginning to end.

There may be a temporary drop in water pressure during this time. Water may appear rusty or cloudy. This water is not harmful and will generally clear up in a few hours.

You may want to take the following precautions during this time frame.

The 2020 Census population data led the City Council to adopt new Council district boundaries during its Tuesday night meeting

These new boundaries rebalance representation across Huntington’s five Council districts. As redrawn and now approved, the difference in population between districts with the most and fewest residents is approximately 7.4%.

The Huntington Fire Department welcomed Cole Lahr as its newest member of its public safety team.

Lahr, a patrolman for 11 years with the Huntington Police Department, was sworn into duty as a firefighter and first responder during a ceremony Wednesday, July 6, afternoon at the Huntington City Building.

Lahr will attend the Fire Academy Class this coming spring.
During his time with HPD, Lahr was both a field training officer and member of the methamphetamine suppression team.

The outlook for walleye and saugeye fishing looks good for upcoming years after total of 28.3 million walleye fry, 529,404 walleye fingerlings, and 101,800 saugeye were found at various locations around Indiana this spring.
Stocking of these species is scheduled annually because they don’t reproduce naturally in most locations.

Specialty crop producers can now benefit from greater flexibility to use their own records to meet crop insurance reporting requirements.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced revisions that will make it easier for specialty crop producers, and others who sell through direct marketing channels, to obtain insurance, report annual production, and file a claim.

Changes include: