By Terry Bailey
The Mitchell County Commissioners conducted their weekly meeting at the Courthouse, Monday morning, July 22. All Commissioners and the County Clerk were present for the meeting.
County Clerk Heather Weston reminded everyone that because next Monday will be the fifth Monday in the month of July, there will be no meeting next Monday morning. However should important business come forward the Commissioner could meet to deal with this new business.
The business meeting began with a fifteen-minute executive session for the discussion of cyber and courthouse security with Jeff Roberg, Mitchell County IT director. The initial fifteen-minute session was extended for an additional fifteen minutes.
Commission President Tom Claussen reported that no decisions were made as a result of that closed session. Claussen went on to say, "This is a very delicate and important topic. It will require our attention for quite some time in the future."
David Dohe, County Emergency Preparedness director, reported that there will be a booth set up at the Fairgrounds during the County Fair. This will be a product of the efforts of the Mitchell County Rescue Squad, Mitchell County EMS, and Fire Districts #1 and #3.
There will be demonstrations on the use of machinery to extract people from crashed vehicles. Folks can take a shot at operating the machinery after signing documents absolving the County of liability should they become injured.
Dohe reported on the excellent response reacting to a man falling over 40 feet into the grain elevator at Hunter. He was lifewatched to emergency care by a helicopter. The helicopter personnel were very complimentary of the high degree of skill demonstrated by the Mitchell County emergency personnel.
Dawn Snyder, 12th Judicial District, was present to talk about their budget and review the programs actions over the past 12 months. In the proposed budget, they requested two additional personnel who would help strengthen the methods of assisting those under their care. The new personnel were not approved.
Her department worked with 73 offenders last year. They had a success rate of 90 percent. Their work with juveniles was not as successful. They only achieved a success rate of 50 percent with the younger age group.
The Twelfth Judicial District is proposing a budget of $441,938.81. By law, they must get the approval of all County government within the six-county area. The money is NOT County money but is funded by the state. The Commissioners approved this state funded budget.