Ronald Canada appointed to water board to fill position of the late McCullah

May 25—WHITLEY COUNTY — During its monthly meeting held Tuesday, the Whitley County Fiscal Court filled the unexpired vacant position on the Cumberland Falls Water Board left by the late R.L. McCullah.

Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White, Jr. said McCullah, who passed away earlier this month, was a great friend of his.

"He was a longterm business owner in our community. He was a very well thought of man," White said on McCullah. "I thought there was just a few things that ought to be said about R.L. McCullah and what a good man he'd been, and what a good representative of our community and how hard and how much he invested and loved our community before we moved on and tried to fill that vacancy," he continued.

"He was a dear friend of mine and I really appreciated him and I'm sure going to miss him," added White.

Appointments to the Cumberland Falls Water Board are made by the Judge-Executive with the approval of the fiscal court. Judge White said when making nominations to the board, he likes to find a representative for each community within the water district.

White said McCullah owned a store in the Canadatown community, and represented that community on the board. As a result, when trying to find a replacement, White wanted to find another person involved in the community.

"So it would be my motion to appoint Ronald Canada, who is a pastor and who is involved in that same community," White said.

White's motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

In a similar fashion, Judge White motioned to appoint Michelle Myers to the Whitley County Library Board of Trustees. The court unanimously approved White's motion.

"The way the library board works is that we're given two names and we're allowed to select only from the two names that presented," White explained. "We're fortunate in our county that they do give us good names of good people that try to represent our library board well."

Myers will replace Sharon Shelton whose term expired April 30. Myers will serve a four-year term.

The fiscal court also approved the first reading of an ordinance pertaining to its annual budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. White said the budget did not have any of the American Recovery Act money included because the county was still waiting guidance on how and where it can spend the money.

"I think that is why we will have to amend that as we get more guidance," he said. "It is a balanced budget and it is a way for us to get a good solid foundation to move forward. I'm proud of it."

Following that, the court approved annual standing orders for the 2021-2022 annual budget, which allows Judge White and the county treasurer to create a pre-paid claims list in which the judge can pay ahead of time and have retroactively approved by the court. White said this list mostly consists of utility bills and payroll codes.

The court approved Resolution 2021-03, which pertains to a waste tire grant. White made sure to clarify that this grant was not the same as the tire amnesties that county receives every three years or so. The county received its last tire amnesty last year.

The waste tire grant approved on Tuesday is for $4,000 with no match from the count required. The grant matches dollar for dollar the cost it takes the county to dispose of any tires collected by the litter crew or road department. All unused funds are sent back.

In other county business:

-The court approved the Whitley County Tourism Board's annual budget for 2021-2022.

-Sheriff Todd Shelley reported that in the month of April, his department answered 1,188 complaints, made 126 criminal arrests, worked 35 motor vehicle collisions, and opened 43 criminal cases.

-The court approved a local Workforce Development Area Interlocal Agreement with a workforce development group out of Pulaski County.

-The court approved health, life and dental insurance for county employees the fiscal year 2021-2022.

The county's new primary health provider will be United Healthcare. Its dental provider will be Delta Dental, optional vision insurance will be through Guardian Vision. OneAmerica will provide the county's employer paid life insurance, as well as voluntary life insurance. The county's comprehensive business insurance solutions will continue to be covered by Agent Anna Estep.