Jasper County Board Approves "Chair of Honor" for Courthouse Lawn

The Jasper County Board has approved placing a "Chair of Honor" on the Courthouse lawn in Newton.

The chair is designed to honor POWs and MIAs and is sponsored by Rolling Thunder, described as a motorcycle run and 1st Amendment demonstration that works for the return of all those lost in conflict. The "chair of honor" is being set aside in many venues including sports stadiums to not be used in honor of POWs and MIAs.  

The County Board agreed to install a 4' by 4' pad of concrete on the Courthouse lawn to anchor the chair, with the area to be chained off for security reasons. The Jasper American Legion and VFW chapters will help with the formal presentation, expected to take place in the spring.

(THE "CHAIR OF HONOR" IN PLACE AT LUCAS OIL STADIUM IN INDIANAPOLIS)

In other business, the Jasper Board heard from Dave Stankus, who would like to see the part-time ambulance department employees receive a 50-cent-per-hour salary increase. No action was taken on the request. The Board renewed its contract for 2015 with the State's Attorney's Appellate Prosecutor Service for $5,000, and heard from Jasper Economic Development, Incorporated that the group met with Tyler Hanners of the Regional Office of Economic Development at their recent committee meeting.

The Jasper Board named Dale Haskett to a one-year term and Marcia Street to a three-year term to a local board, approved Richard Ochs as a trustee of the Wade Fire Protection District, named Ron Heltsley to the Jasper Economic Development, Incorporated board, and named Larry and Jane Casey to the Tourism Board.