Jasper Board Hears from 4-Hers

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Published on March 16 2018 10:25 am
Last Updated on March 16 2018 10:25 am
Written by Greg Sapp

Jasper County board members Thursday heard from county 4-Hers, who wanted to say thanks for the county's support through the years.

Members heard from the 4-H Youth Ambassadors, who shared about After School Adventures, organized by U of I Extension. The program is designed to help develop leadership skills and helps with school programs. The programs include Safety Day, skills in learning how to pay bills, and Conservation Day. 

220 youth are enrolled, involving students eight to 18 years old and the Cloverbud Program. They learn about 3-D printers and STEM projects. Carl Baker of Extension thanked the Board for its continued support.

The Board also heard from their Solid Waste Committee on recycling bids as well as problems with dumping by those from outside the county.

The Finance Comittee discussed the electronic equipment recycling that is to begin in 2019, as well as mobile home tax bills from 2014 that need to be put on a sealed bid sale. The committee also discussed elected officials salaries for the next term. Salaries have to be set for an office before a new term begins.

The Board voted to hire a full-time dispatcher, which should reduce overtime costs, and decided to utilize Smart Watt to assess whether energy savings are possible at the ambulance office. There was also discussion of allocating gaming revenue as suggested by the Board's Advisory Committee. Over $56,000 was collected. $7,450 was donated to the Jasper County Chamber of Commerce. There will be a $7,000 cap on another donations for a one-year period.

Chairman Heltsley also discussed a letter from the Illinois Counties Association on $100 donations to each county board chair to go to not-for-profits of their choice. Heltsley said his allocation is being donated to the Lincoln's Place Fund.