By Jef Rietsma
A request to hire a deputy clerk for the county court’s civil division was approved Tuesday, by a slim margin.
A 3-to-2 vote resulted in an exception to the county’s hiring freeze and granted the request made by district court administrator/magistrate Tabitha Wedge.
The $60,000-a-year position was discussed at length at the commission’s executive committee meeting last week. As they did then, commissioners this week maintained reasons for and against the request.
In the end, support of chairman Dennis Allen, Jared Hoffmaster and Kathy Pangle carried the motion.
The job was included in the county’s 2021 fiscal-year budget, according to finance director Angie Steinman.
By Jef Rietsma
Journal Correspondent
There are 1,700 fewer tires taking up space in barns, garages and sheds, or littering the countryside, in St. Joseph County.
Tires were among the most common items taken to a household waste and electronics collection Saturday at the fairgrounds in Centreville.
Pat Kulikowski, secretary St. Joseph County Solid Waste Committee, which organized the event, was unable to provide an explanation for the unprecedented number of tires turned in Saturday.
Regardless, she said it’s a good sign that people save what they have and are conscientious about disposing of environmentally unfriendly items such as worn tires.