Clark County (The Evening News)
Jeffersonville Board of Public Works and Safety: Tear down home
Owner has 60 days to fix problems or city will tear down house in Maplehurst
The city of Jeffersonville will tear down a home at 1111 Maplehurst Drive unless the owner remedies safety problems there.
The Jeffersonville Board of Public Works and Safety voted Wednesday morning to give the property owner 60 days to fix problems or the home would be demolished.
“The building is kind of an eyesore on the neighborhood — it really jumps out at you,” said Building Commissioner Russ Seagraves.
It’s lacked regular maintenance for what appears to be years, and the chimney is near collapsing, he added.
The building has been deemed uninhabitable because of the chimney. And Seagraves said the city has had little luck trying to contact the owner of the property, a woman who still lives in Jeffersonville.
The city had been dealing with the issue for more than six months, noted Jim Urban, city planning director, who was sitting in for absent Mayor Tom Galligan.
If the city does end up having to demolish the home, it will put a tax lien on the property in order to recoup its losses.
In other business
• The board also dealt with a few other unsafe-structure issues.
More time was given to a property owner along Coopers Lane, whose trailer had been damaged during September’s wind storm.
Seagraves said that the property owner has been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and that it could be about a year before she receives money to fix the damage.
The board also gave a property owner along Utica-Sellersburg Road until the end of May to fix issues at an unsafe home there.
• The board approved the use of Duffy’s Landing for a fishing tournament May 16. Money generated by the tournament will benefit the WHAS-11 Crusade for Children.
City officials had expressed concern about liability issues with the tournament, considering that the Ohio River’s water level may be high during that time of year. The approval was given pending a legal review by board attorney Darrin Wilder.
The board could rescind the motion if issues arise.
• The board approved a St. Patrick’s Day run downtown.
The run will close Chestnut Street between Spring Street and Main Street from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 17.
• The board approved the installation of 13 street lights in section one of the Rolling Ridge subdivision.
The lights will cost $16,000 to install, and economic development income tax funds will be used to pay for them.
SO YOU KNOW
• The largest catfish caught in the Ohio River was 104 pounds near Cannelton Dam in 1999. A 106-pound paddlefish was reeled in by a Calvert City, Ky., man from the Ohio River in 2004.
— Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
- Clark County (The Evening News)
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- Springdale Drive resident sues Jeffersonville
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Baron Hill to support health care bill
U.S. Rep. Baron Hill says he will vote in support of a bill overhauling the nation’s health care system.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider the long-debated Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Sunday. -
Census 2010: Stand up and be counted
With budget cuts affecting everything from school closings to roads getting fixed, filling out the census form may mean more than just being counted.
It can mean more dollars in Southern Indiana. -
Reserve funds gone for Clark County
The Clark County Council entered its meeting Friday afternoon with a plan to cover the $3 million gap between the budget it submitted and the certified budget that came back this month from the state Department of Local Government Finance.
It was going to use the $3,185,750 left in the county’s rainy-day fund to cover the difference. Even after the council agreed to move forward with that plan, $96,393 remained in the fund, which the council promptly spent. -
3 Parkview employees facing termination
Parents of students at Parkview Middle School who are potentially affected are being notified that a portion of their child’s ISTEP test may be invalidated because of allegations of inappropriate test procedures and protocols by one teacher. That’s according to Marty Bell, chief operating officer for Greater Clark County Schools.
And that’s not all. Bell said a separate internal investigation found that two people, a counselor and a dean, whom Bell would not identify by name, had significant inappropriate use of the district’s technology system and breached the acceptable use policy. -
Trying to find e-Harmony
Sunshine Week is a nationwide initiative by media outlets around the country to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.
To do its part, The Evening News requested access to e-mails sent by 10 public officials during the month of January. The exercise was less about reading e-mails and more about seeing what would be released. -
What are the rights to public access in Indiana?
In Indiana, state code IC 5-14-3 ensures that the public will be able to access governmental records and IC 5-141.5 is an open door-protection allowing the public to attend governmental meetings.
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Public access bill again dies
An Indiana House Bill that would have imposed fines on public officials who knowingly violated the state’s open records and open door laws did not pass this year.
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New Washington native to compete for Miss Kentucky title
Melanie Brison may call herself a small-town girl, but the New Washington native is preparing to take center stage, competing for the title of Miss Kentucky.
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A parade of information at Parkview
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