Solid waste costs to rise

Decatur Daily Democrat:

Adams County will pay an additional $5.26 for each truck load of solid waste hauled from the county transfer station during 2013, and an additional 44 cents per ton to dispose of that refuse at the Jay County landfill.

The increases were triggered by a 1.8 percent jump in the federal Consumer Price Index, as spelled out in contracts between the Adams County Solid Waste Management District and Luginbill Trucking and Waste Management Inc. for the hauling and disposal of that waste.
 

Solid waste board members were alerted to the additional costs during the year-end meeting on Monday.

Olympic Gold Medalist shares life lessons with students

 Berne Tri-Weekly News:

Twelve years ago, Brandon Slay rose to worldwide acclaim by winning the Gold Medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Two years before that, Slay had graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in finance and management from the prestigious Wharton School of Business.

This past Friday, Slay spoke at high schools in New Haven and South Adams, conducted a wrestling clinic on Saturday and then spoke at Grace Bible Church on Sunday.

But it wasn’t only Olympic success that had the popular wrestler sharing the Gospel in area colleges and schools. Thanks to seeds sown by a grandmother and the faithful example of Christians at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Slay launched on a campaign to bring people to Jesus Christ through nationwide appearances.

Taxes, jobs, health care top issues -- Lehman says gay marriage ban may take a back seat

Decatur Daily Democrat:

Taxes, jobs and health care are expected to be among the predominate topics during the upcoming session of the Indiana General Assembly.
 

A constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, however, may take a back seat this time around.
 

Those were the views expressed by State Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, during a town hall-type meeting held Saturday morning at Adams Central High School. Only a handful of area residents attended the event.
 

Lehman said he hopes the legislature puts much of its time and energy into economic development-related issues, including a renewed emphasis on vocational training and increased flexibility that would grant local units of government a broader range of choices in their use of Local Option Income Tax (LOIT) and County Economic Development Income Tax (CEDIT) funds.

Hard freeze could benefit area fields

Berne Tri-Weekly News:

Most field activity now includes working ground and applying fertilizer and lime, says Jeff Lehman of Lehman Feed Mill. Lehman said that a few fields of corn are being harvested but a huge part of this year’s harvest is completed.

“This year’s harvest, especially beans, was much better than anyone would have dreamed when it was so hot and dry in July,” said Lehman. “Even some of the corn was fairly decent. Of course, there were also fields of corn that were poor.”

Lehman said that one disappointment of this fall was the lack of wheat that was planted because of wet fields.

“We didn’t get as much wheat in this fall as I had hoped for,” Lehman said. “Much of that was because bean harvest was broken up because of frequent rain during harvest.”

One down, one to go — But what to do with the exposed wall?

Decatur Daily Democrat:

One is down and one is yet to fall.
 

The former Dwayne's Sweeper Shop has been demolished and next up will be the onetime street department garage between the city pool and police station. Mayor John Schultz gave updates on both projects at Tuesday night's city council meeting.
 

The now-empty lot at Second and Monroe streets has been seeded, "a temporary thing until we decide what to do there," the mayor said.
 

As was expected, the demolition laid bare the north wall of the adjacent building, owned by CPA Becky Cochran. The next step will focus on what to do to with the wall, likely covering it in some manner and sealing it.