Government & School Board

The Huntington County Community School Corporation  (HCCSC) Board of Trustees will meet in an Executive Session May 9, at 6 p.m. at Salamonie Elementary School in Warren.

Up for discussion is school safety and security.

Also to be discussed is job performance evaluation of individual employees.This does not apply to the discussion of employee compensation or benefits which takes place during the budget process.

The cause of the April 28 fire at 1849 Sabine St. in Huntington has been determined to be a result of an intentional human act.  The building, which was vacant, was the site of the formerly occupied by H.K. Porter.

On the evening of the fire, firefighters arrived on the scene to find heavy smoke and flames coming through the roof and openings of the building.

Huntington Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire at the vacant building formerly occupied by H.K. Porter at 1849 Sabine Street the night of Thursday, April 28.

The industrial site was already scheduled for cleanup this month.

On arrival fire crews found heavy smoke and flames coming through the roof and openings from three sides of the building. Fire crews had the fire under control in less than two hours and remained on scene until early afternoon Friday, April 29, extinguishing hot spots.

The Town of Andrews awarded a new trash contract for the town to H & H Disposal at its Monday, April 25 town council meeting.

The town’s previous trash contract also was with H & H Disposal.

Cleanup efforts at the former H.K. Porter industrial site in Huntington will take place in May.

A 40,000-gallon underground storage tank and two smaller auxiliary tanks at the roughly 12-acre site on Sabine Street will be dug up and removed beginning around Monday, May 9.

The work will be completed through the Indiana Brownfields Program with funding coming from its Petroleum Orphan Sites Initiative (POSI).

Local communities will receive more than $2.5 million in state matching grants for road and bridge improvement projects, according to State Rep. Dan Leonard (R-Huntington).

Area grant recipients include Huntington County $652,189, Roanoke $1 million and Huntington $912,179.  

In total, 223 towns, cities and counties will receive more than $107 million in state funding through the Community Crossings Matching Grant Program.

Huntington County has been awarded $652,000 in matching grant funds from INDOT Community Crossings program.

The money will be used to pave CR 100 N from Rangeline Road to SR 105 and Rangeline Road from US 24 to CR 500 N, according to Huntington County Highway Superintendent Troy Hostetler.

Community Crossings is part of Gov. Eric J. Holcomb’s Next Level Roads program.

In related news, the county also has been awarded $2.2 million for construction work on Huntington’s LaFontaine Street bridge.

She said that the town is currently looking at two different possible sites.  

Decisions regarding the project are made at the State of Indiana level. Although the exact cost of the project is unknown, Powell said that estimates exceed $5 million.

The state requires the town to submit three different plans with different possible locations.
 

In 2021, the town applied for project funding and was denied on all applications.

Indiana State Police are looking deeper into the anthony_shots profile and any connection an individual using the account may have had with Abigail Williams and Liberty German, two teen girls whose bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi in February of 2017.

Demolition of a downtown Huntington building deemed unsafe will begin the week of Monday, April 11.

The structure at 201 W. State St. has been vacant for several years.  It is located across from The LaFontaine Center.

“Given its years of neglect, the property was deemed to be beyond savings with its roof, first and second floors all partially-collapsed in the rear,” City of Huntington Building Commissioner Shad Paul said.

Council members discussed upcoming grant proposals to help fund the new water treatment plant and well field south of Andrews.  

The Town of Andrews is applying to the State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) for grant and low-interest loan funds to help pay for the project, according to Eric Woodmansee, AME Consulting. The town will learn in July or August whether the grant is approved.

The Indiana Department of Transportation announces the closure of SR105 near Banquo.

The closure will take place between SR 9 and SR 124 for asphalt resurfacing.

Work is scheduled to begin on or after Monday, April 4, and is expected to wrap up in mid-May. All work is weather-dependent and schedules are subject to change.

The City of Huntington’s Sidewalk Replacement Program has opened for the year and is accepting applications. Anyone who wants to repair a sidewalk in the City of Huntington can get help paying for the repairs for up to 50 percent of the project cost.

To qualify under the program, a sidewalk must have some sort of defect such as a crack or trip hazard. It covers only sidewalks that run parallel to a street, including sidewalks that run across a driveway.

If the sidewalk is on a corner, the city will pay the full cost of installing the required ADA-compliant curb ramp.

During the Wednesday, March 16, Markle Town Council meeting, Chad Kline, of Wells County Economic Development, and Andrew Wigner, of Wayne Metals, were present to discuss a possible tax abatement for Wayne Metals.
Kline introduced the matter to council, asking that they consider the statement of benefits as well as a resolution for the new equipment that Wayne Metals is installing. The two machines – a TJ Snow Spot Welder and a Universal Feed and Machine, cost $98,900. Wigner then explained why the company was investing in these two particular pieces of equipment.

During the Monday, March 14, meeting of the Huntington County Community School Corporation (HCCSC) Board of Trustees, the matter of renovating Huntington North High School (HNHS) was once again brought to the table for discussion.