Government & School Board

The purpose and details of an upcoming sewer separation project were explained to Huntington residents during a public meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 28

Mayor Steve Updike introduced Jeff DeWitt, engineering consultant of Bonar Group, and Bruce Mertz, of Geiger Excavating, the construction company that won the bid for the project.

Geiger outbid seven other companies for the project, a sign, DeWitt says, of the strained economy. The company won the bid at $2.7 million, much lower than the anticipated cost of $3.4 million.

Crescent Avenue, State Street, Oak Street and Poplar Street wil see construction for the sewer separation project announced recently by Huntington Mayor Steve Updike begin this spring, while construction on Waren and Guilford streets will begin in June.

In other business during the Monday, Jan. 26, Huntington County Community School Corporation Board meeting, trustees acted upon several items.

These actions included:

• Receiving a list of individuals who passed their GED tests on Oct. 7 and 8. They included: Matthew Dominguez, Michael Graft, Jennifer Overby and Jacob Price, all of Huntington; John Nichols and Khristina Wyche, both of Andrews; Joseph Burnsworth, of Lagro; Nicole Hall, of South Whitley; and Adam Mendenhall, of Bluffton.

A room full of interested people listened intently as an attorney for the local school board gave an update on the legal case against a long-established practice of offering religious education to elementary-age students during the school day.

Chris Hoke (left) is sworn in as a Huntington County (IN) Council member during a ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 31, in the Huntington County Courthouse rotunda. Huntington Circuit Court Judge Tom Hakes (right) officiates, and Hoke's wife, Beth Hoke, holds the Bible.