Issue 679                                                              August 16, 2016    
Franklin County Observer

News and Events from Franklin County, Indiana       

In This Issue
Wilson to Pay $400,000 Settlement
Budget Hearings Wrapped Up
School Board Gets Enrollment Preview
College Fair September 8
Bovine TB Found in Wild, White-tailed Deer
Around the County
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Wilson to Pay $400,000 Settlement  
 
    At last Wednesday's Franklin County Council budget hearings, council examined a request from the commissioners for an increase in funds for attorney fees. According to a report in the Connersville News Examiner, during the ensuing discussion, Councilmember Keith Hall objected to Commissioner Tom Wilson's and Commissioner Tom Linkel's use of the same legal firm for both personal and county business. Mr. Hall read from an investigative report from the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The report showed that Tri-County Ambulance, owned by Commissioner Wilson, had agreed to pay $400,000 to settle a case of alleged Medicare fraud. For the duration of the case, Mr. Wilson was represented by Barada Law Offices in Rushville, Indiana.
    The Inspector General's report states that the investigation of Mr. Wilson's business began in November 2011 when the FBI obtained a warrant from a federal court and searched the offices of Tri-County Ambulance and Mr. Wilson's home. The search was in response to a hotline complaint. According to the report, "The complaint alleged that Tri-County is not obtaining the proper documentation, patient signatures or physician statements as required by Medicare regulations." The report also alleged that Tri-County Ambulance is billing for "medically unnecessary transports."
   The Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit became involved. The alleged violations listed were: "Health Care Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Offense or Defraud the United States, False Statements Relating to Health Care Matters, Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, Civil False Claims and Local and State Statutes."
    In August 2014, a civil settlement was reached. Tri-County Ambulance" agreed to pay $400,000 to the government to settle "civil false claims" and the civil case initiated by the federal government was closed.  At the same time, a state criminal investigation was opened. According to the report, "In August 2014, the Indiana Attorney General's Office decided to pursue criminal charges against Tri-County Ambulance."  After investigation, the Indiana Attorney General's office decided not to pursue criminal charges. In December 2015, the criminal case was closed.

Reported by
Monica Yane
Budget Hearings Wrapped Up
 
    Franklin County Council ended the budgeting process for the 2017 budget with an evening meeting held at the request of several local volunteer fire departments. The fire departments wanted an opportunity for their members to request a portion of the revenue from the new public safety income tax. Council listened, voted on the fire department requests, and then commented on the 2017 county budget.
    Blooming Grove Fire Department led off with their request for $10,000. Fire department member Brian Baxter told council that they average about 120 runs per year in New Fairfield and Blooming Grove townships. About 75% of those are medical runs and the rest are for fires or to provide support for other public safety officials. Mr. Baxter said that township trustees for the two townships provide about $25,000 a year to help defray expenses but that the department itself has to come up with about $38,000 to meet expenses themselves. He said that the department is working with old gear and two pumper trucks that date to the early 90's. He also mentioned their desire to build a small structure on the New Fairfield side of the lake to improve response times.
   The other fire departments in attendance had similar requests. Todd Frondorf of the Drewersburg Volunteer Fire Department spoke about their need for new turnout gear, the clothing and helmets that each fireman uses for protection.  He mentioned that the departments' helmets are over 30 years old though the recommendation is that helmets be replaced every 10 years. He requested $16,000.
    Metamora fire department sent a request in writing for $22,000, again for replacement of worn turnout gear.
    Eagle Fire Department in Oldenburg also sent a written request, though not with a specific figure. Councilmember Aaron Leffingwell noted that the Oldenburg department contributes money for the Batesville EMS to serve their area in Butler, Ray, and Salt Creek townships.
    New Trenton Fire Department requested $17,000, and mentioned that each new set of turnout gear costs over $2,500.
   Mr. Leffingwell, in his role as Brookville Fire Chief, pointed out the Brookville's fire department is unlike the others in that it is owned by the municipality of Brookville. Brookville, Oldenburg, Mt. Carmel, Laurel and the Franklin County part of Batesville are all incorporated towns and will thus receive a portion of public safety revenue directly from the state.
    After the fire department officials had made their presentations, Mr. Leffingwell moved to award each of the fire departments $2,500 with the exception of Oldenburg, which he singled out to receive $10,000. He explained that Oldenburg is a fire district, which means that property taxes are assessed on each landowner in the district and the taxes go to the support of the fire department. However, these same landowners are also paying taxes for the services enjoyed by the rest of the county. In effect, he said, residents of Ray, Butler and Salt Creek townships are paying for service twice. The additional amount awarded to the Oldenburg Fire Department would go toward compensating these taxpayers. His motion was unanimously approved.
 
VARIED RAISES GIVEN TO COUNTY EMPLOYEES
    Council President Becky Oglesby said that she would like to see each fire department receive $10,000, though she had voted for the lower amount. Mr. Leffingwell explained that he also could not vote for more despite his desire to do so because the budget was tight. He said that during budget hearings, council had taken the opportunity to level the pay rates across county departments. Over the years, differences in pay among the deputies in each office had expanded, resulting in a situation where employees in some departments were making yearly amounts below the poverty level. Council remedied the situation by bring all employees up to the same pay rate, though that meant some employees received a large raise while others only got a raise of .07%. Next year, Mr. Leffingwell said, raises would be more fairly distributed.
    Council also gave significant raises to sheriff's deputies, jailers and 911 dispatchers. Recently Franklin County has seen a large turnover in sheriff's department employees who are hired on, receive training and then leave for higher-paying jobs in nearby counties. Franklin County pay is now more in line with that of other counties.
 
FINAL BUDGET FIGURES
    On the first day of budget hearings, council heard that $6,968,000, or roughly $7 million, was the projected income for 2017. Initial requests from each department of county government added up to over 9 million dollars. During the three days of budget hearings, council pared office-holders' requests by 1.9 million dollars.
    At the final evening meeting, Councilman Keith Hall described the finished budget as being "still $300,000 in expenses over income." Before being enacted, the budget must be approved by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
 
Reported by
Monica Yane
School Board Gets Enrollment Preview,
FCHS Gets $25k Greenhouse Award
 
   The August 8 school board meeting was a fairly routine affair, with the board making financial and administrative decisions, approving personnel changes, accepting gift awards and celebrating the Summer Marching Band program.
    After paying the month's bills and hearing the various financial reports, the board moved to this month's celebration - the success of the Summer Marching Band. Superintendent Debbie Howell said that this was the first time in ten years that the high school fielded a summer band and that the "students worked really, really hard - and had a good time doing it."  She introduced Jon Johnson who directed the band.  He was effusive in his praise of the students' enthusiasm and commitment, the dedication of the parents and the support and cooperation of the school administration.
         Mr. Johnson said that the band finished twenty-third of forty-nine bands at the state fair.  He explained that summer marching band is a very competitive activity throughout the state. He said that most of the bands that finished ahead of FCHS have been state finalists at least once in recent years, and it's very impressive for a new band like FCHS to finish above so many other schools with existing programs.


         The band's motto was, "nothing happens unless something moves," which motivated the student musicians through more than one hundred hours of practice and many performances this summer.
         About a dozen band members were present and they introduced themselves.  Mr. Johnson said that the students found that the hard work and camaraderie made for a very valuable experience and they have already begun planning for next year's band.
 
ENROLLMENT UPDATE.
Dr. Howell gave the board a "where we stand right now" update on enrollment for the 2016-2017 school year, noting that the official numbers would be set two days later - on the first day of classes. Actual registration stood at 2381, with another 181 students from last year who are expected to return.  If all these return the total would be 2562, about forty higher than last year's overall enrolment.
         There are fifty-three students from Franklin County who transferred to other school corporations, and twenty who transferred to Franklin County schools from other areas. There are also nearly one hundred students who transferred from their local school in Laurel or Mt. Carmel to attend schools in Brookville.
         There was also an unexpected increase in the size of the kindergarten class - enough that a new section of Kindergarten is needed at Brookville Elementary School.  Several teachers agreed to a last minute changes in teaching assignments and the class was added without the need for additional teaching staff.
 
PERSONNEL MATTERS AND ACCEPTING GIFTS.
As is the case each month, the board approved the various personnel changes for the schools, ranging from a school bus aide to sponsors for extra-curricular activities. Notable this month is the announcement that long time teacher Chuck Grimes, who teaches social studies at Brookville Middle School, intends to retire at the end of the 2016-2017 school year.
         The board also approved accepting several gifts including an award for a greenhouse at the high school. Dr. Howell told the board about a $25,000 award to the high school so the agriculture class can build the greenhouse. She praised agriculture teacher Katie Schneider's three-year persistence in securing this award, saying, "She's a rock star."
 
UPCOMING MEETINGS
    There will be a special meeting of the school board for a budget work session on August 22 at 6PM.
 
    Special public meetings of the school board to address enrollment issues and possible consolidation of 7th and 8th grades will be September 7 at Mt. Carmel School and September 14 at Laurel School. Both will begin at 6PM.
 
Next regular meeting of the school board will be Monday, September 12 at 7PM.

Reported by Terry Duffy
Photo from FCHS Band
College Fair September 8
 
    Mark your calendars!  The Franklin County College Success Coalition will host the Second Annual Franklin County College Fair on Thursday, September 8, 2016 at the Brookville American Legion located at 1290 Fairfield Avenue in Brookville.  The Fair will take place from 6:30 to 8:00 PM and is free and open to the public.   Last year, 36 colleges and universities were present with information to hand out to attendees at the event.  This year, the Coalition plans to have even more colleges and universities in attendance. 
    For more information on the College Fair, contact the Franklin County Community Foundation at 765.647.6810 or [email protected].

Submitted by
Shelly Lunsford
Bovine TB Found in Wild, White-tailed Deer
 
   Bovine tuberculosis (TB) has been diagnosed in a white-tailed deer in Franklin County, Ind. This marks the first time the disease (more formally known as Mycobacterium bovis) has been found in a wild animal in Indiana. This finding means significant changes in disease monitoring requirements for cattle owners and deer hunters in the area.
    The Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) has been working with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to test wildlife on a Franklin County cattle farm where TB was diagnosed in April. The 2-year-old doe that tested positive for TB was culled as part of the surveillance effort on the cattle farm.
    Under federal requirements, finding TB in a free-ranging wild animal means testing of all cattle must expand from 3 miles to 10 miles and surveillance in hunter-harvested deer will intensify.
     For cattle owners in Franklin County and portions of some adjoining counties, BOAH staff will be reaching out to determine if cattle in the 10-mile circle are test-eligible and, if so, schedule herd testing. BOAH's premises registration program has approximately 400 farms registered in the 10-mile testing zone.
    For deer hunters in the region, that means whitetails harvested in a specific zone must be sampled for laboratory testing. DNR will be providing more information to hunters in the coming weeks.
   "This is an enormous undertaking that cannot be completed overnight," said Indiana State Veterinarian Bret D. Marsh, DVM. "Farmers and hunters in this area have been extremely cooperative and supportive of our efforts over the years. We need their help now more than ever as we widen our surveillance efforts. If this disease is out there-either on farms or in the wild-we need to find it. Our status as a TB-free state is critical to our growing and thriving cattle and dairy industries in this state."
   Indiana has officially held a bovine tuberculosis-free status since 1984 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Under federal guidelines, that status remains. BOAH has found four individual cases of TB in three cattle herds and a cervid farm in this region between 2008 and 2016.

About Bovine TB
    Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic bacterial disease that affects primarily cattle, but can be transmitted to any warm-blooded animal. TB is difficult to diagnose through clinical signs alone. In the early stages of the disease, clinical signs are not visible. Later, signs may include:  emaciation, lethargy, weakness, anorexia, low-grade fever and pneumonia with a chronic, moist cough. Lymph node enlargement may also be present. Cattle owners who notice these signs in their livestock should contact their private veterinarian.
    Hunters should take precautions to protect themselves, including wearing gloves when field dressing animals and fully cooking all meat. Deer can be infected without noticeable signs of disease, like the positive 2-year-old doe. Hunters who notice signs of TB in wildlife should contact the DNR at 812-334-3795. Hunters who see signs of bovine TB while processing wildlife should contact BOAH at: 317-544-2405.
    More information about the disease and the investigation, as it develops, will be available on the BOAH website at:  www.in.gov/boah/2396.htm . Site visitors may subscribe to email updates about the current TB situation by visiting the webpage.

Submitted by 
Denise Derrer, State Board of Animal Health

Around The County
 
Whitewater Valley Railroad 
Sep 3 & 4 (Sat & Sun) - Metamora Music Festival Flyer
Sep 5 (Mon) - Labor Day Special Valley Flyer
    Call (765) 825-2054 for more information and reservations or visit the Whitewater Valley Railroad's ticket web site at https://www.dynamicticketsolutions.com/wvrr/
 
Submitted by
Whitewater Valley Railroad

Parenting Classes - Aug. 18 at 6:30
    Pregnancy Help Center in Brookville is offering Parenting: The Early Years Classes with teaching from Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott as seen on Oprah and Focus on the Family. Bring a friend! Are you the parent you desire to be? How does your child perceive you? Your child aspires to be like you - Is that a good thing? Who you are matters more than what you do. We will look at these questions and much more. Receive a free gift by attending. Earn $50 or a car seat by attending 5 classes. Earn baby bucks. Everyone welcome. All Classes are free. Free babysitting. If transportation is a problem, please call 765-647-2029.
 
Submitted by
Lyn Weidner, RN, Client Education Director

Shakespeare in the Park - Aug. 19
   The Franklin County Arts Council is bringing the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's "Shakespeare in the Park Series" to Franklin County on Friday, August 19 for a performance of the comedy, "A Midsummer Night's Dream."  The show will take place at 7:00 p.m. at THIRD PLACE in Brookville and is FREE to the public, thanks to a generous donation by Mick and Jenny Wilz. The event is in conjunction with Main Street, Inc.'s "Main Street Night" and is to be held under the stars, rain or shine. Those attending are asked to bring their own chairs, and craft oven-fired pizza and beverages will be available for purchase beginning at 5:00, prior to the show.
 
Submitted by
Patti Wilhelm

Wild Wild West Weekend  
 

  Main Street Brookville, Inc. is sponsoring three events in August for Wild Wild West! All three are free and we are encouraging everyone to dress in western wear! The first 30 kids to arrive will receive a free cowboy hat!


Friday, August 19 7 pm to 10 pm

Heather Roush Band performs at the Brookville Tire Mart Lot, located at 653 Main Street
Friday, August 19 7 pm to 9 pm
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's performance of "A Midsummer's Night Dream"
Third Place, 734 Main St
Saturday, August 20 7 pm to 10 pm
Brent James and The Vintage Youth Band playing at
Third Place, 734 Main St

Submitted by 
Barbara Vonderheide 
 
Drewersburg Volunteer Fire Department Smoked Pork Chop Supper - Aug. 20
   DVFD will be having a Smoked Pork Chop Supper on Saturday, August 20th from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at Station #2 in Mt. Carmel. Dinner includes green beans, scalloped potatoes, slaw, applesauce, dessert, and drink.
 
Submitted by
Todd Frondorf
 
Class of 1961 55th Reunion - Aug. 20
    The 55th reunion of Brookville High School Class of 1961 will be held on Saturday, August 20, 2016 at K of C Hall in Brookville. The cost will be $15 per person for the evening. Arrive at 5:30-6pm for meal and visiting. Other optional meeting times and places for Friday through Sunday are being planned. For any questions, please call Charles Volk 336-413-8270 or Ed Roberts 765-647-4504.
 
Submitted by
Dotti Roleson
 
Brookville Parking Workshop - Aug. 24
   We need your input! The Town of Brookville would like your input on parking within our Town. HWC Engineering will be hosting a parking workshop on Wednesday, August 24 from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Brookville public library, 919 Main Street. Input is appreciated from residents and business owners on the current condition of parking in the downtown and on potential policies and physical improvements to address any parking concerns.
 
Submitted by
Todd Thackery
 
I'm Pregnant, Now What? - Aug. 25 
    Pregnancy Help Center in Brookville is offering a class on pregnancy and labor on August 25 at 6:30pm. This class will cover the body changes during and after pregnancy, what happens when labor begins, nutrition and things to do and not do during pregnancy. Bring a friend! Receive a free gift by attending. Earn $50 or a car seat by attending 5 classes. Earn baby bucks. Everyone welcome. All Classes are free. Free babysitting. If transportation is a problem, please call 765-647-2029.
 
Submitted by
Lyn Weidner, RN, Client Education Director

Picnic with the Girl Scouts - Aug. 27
    The Franklin County Girl Scouts will be hosting a picnic in the park on Saturday, August 27th, from 10 AM to 2 PM. The picnic will be in the Popper Shelter at the Brookville Town Park. This is a great opportunity for girls and their families to learn more about Girl Scouts. For more information contact Amy Rotert: Phone- 513.277.1507 Email- [email protected].
 
Submitted by
Melanie Maxwell

Dancz Catz Color Splash Run - Aug. 27
    Brookville Town Park 9:00 a.m. Saturday, August 27. Cost: $30. The Dancz Catz 5K run/walk is a non-timed event. The objective is to have fun and raise money for the team. T-shirts are guaranteed to all pre-registered participants, leftover shirt will be available the day of the race on a first come first serve basis. Start and finish at the shelter across from Brookville Pool.
 
Submitted by
Laura Blessing

Klemme's Corner Fish Fry - August 28
   Trinity Lutheran Church (Klemme's Corner) will hold their annual fish fry Sunday, August 28th from 11:30am to 1:30pm. Free-will offering with proceeds benefiting Vacation Bible School. Trinity is located at 4025 Highland Center Road, Brookville. 

Submitted by
Pastor Ladona Webb

Class of 1966 50th Reunion - Sept. 10
    Brookville High School Class of 1966 announced their 50th reunion. On Saturday, September 10, there will be tours of the former high school with special focus on the Memorabilia Room at the Government Center, 1010 Franklin Avenue. Dinner will follow at 6:30pm at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Main Street. On Sunday, September 11, classmates will meet at the Brookville Lake Overlook for a box lunch at 12noon. Cost of $30 covers all events. Invitations have already been mailed. If you have not received yours, please call Chuck Oglesby at 765-647-3623.
 
Submitted by
Chuck Oglesby

St. Michael's Catholic Church Fall Fest
   Saturday, September 10, 2016, 4-10 PM. Smoked Pork Chop Dinner Served 4-8 PM. Live music by "Crossroads Country Band" 7-10 PM
     Sunday, September 11, 2016, 11 AM - 7 PM. Family Style Chicken Dinners Served 11 AM - 3 PM. Live music by "My Brothers Keeper" 1PM - 3 PM. Beer Garden, Monte Carlo, Instant Bingo, Country Market, Raffles, Yard Sale, Silent Auction, Children's Games. For more information, call 765-647-5462.
 
Submitted by
Laurie Mayleben

"Seale The Deal" - Sept. 17
   The 4th Annual "Seale The Deal" Memorial is being held September 17th 2016.  All proceeds benefit the Clay Seale Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund administered by the FCCF. Additional volleyball teams and sponsors are needed.  Please contact Joel or Debbie Seale   765 265-3735.
 
Submitted by
Joel Seale
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