ALBION â The Noble County Council made what it hopes is a rare exception to its tax abatement rules Monday, allowing a rural Kendallville company to claim a tax break despite running afoul of the countyâs guidelines.
KSN Kammerer LLC had been seeking a $700,000 five-year tax abatement on a 20,000-square foot addition.
The company had already begun construction before going to the council. Current rules set by the council allow an abatement on new construction only if the company has not yet broken ground on the project.
âThey did not know about the abatement process,â said Matt Brinkman, of Region III-A.
The Daily Jeffersonian
The COVID-19 vaccination rate for white residents of Guernsey County is nearly double the rate of Black residents.
The disturbing vaccination rate is nearly the same across Ohio where 11.80% of whites have started vaccinations compared to only 5.22% of Black Ohioans.
The Ohio Department of Health reported 1,474,872 million Ohioans or 12.62% of the state’s population had started receiving vaccinations.
In Guernsey County, 4,092 white residents (11.02%) have begun receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, according to ODH statistics released Tuesday. Only 36 Black residents, or 5.93% of the Black population, have received vaccinations. A large part is the history of vaccines and a distrust of science, said Dr. Dinah Meyer, chair and professor of psychology at Muskingum University, when asked why minority residents are choosing to not get vaccinated.
And for the second time, the Noble County Economic Development Corp. wants to do something about it.
A public hearing was held during Mondayâs meeting of the Noble County Commissioners regarding the EDCâs request to pursue $200,000 in grant funding as part of federal coronavirus relief monies available through the Office of Housing and Urban Development.
In Indiana, the funds are administered through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
The deadline for entities to apply for the grant program is March 11. Noble County should know by April 15 if it has received the money.
Online applications from Noble County small businesses would be accepted at that time.
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The Daily Jeffersonian
The Ohio Department of Health reported no new COVID-19 related hospitalizations or deaths in Guernsey or Noble counties when it released coronavirus statistics Tuesday.
Hospitalizations in Guernsey County remained at 220 and the death toll stood at 35, according to data provided to state officials by the Cambridge-Guernsey County Health Department.
In Noble County, hospitalizations were unchanged at 86 with 41 deaths reported by Noble County officials since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Fortunately, the number of positive cases and hospitalizations have been greatly reduced, and the vaccinations are helping, said Noble County Health Commissioner Shawn Ray. The people who are receiving vaccinations are extremely grateful, but we still have to keep our guard up. We need to continue wearing masks and maintaining social distancing to prevent a new spike in COVID cases.