By CANDY NEAL
cneal@dcherald.com

Private donations were raised to help pay for a countywide trail feasibility study.

“We had to come up with $20,000 to match the grant [from the Indiana State Department of Health]. That has all been privately donated,” Dubois County Commissioner Elmer Brames said Tuesday. “We haven’t committed any tax money to it at this point.”

County, Huntingburg and Jasper officials are looking into the possibility of connecting communities through a countywide trail system. The match funding will be combined with a $20,000 grant the communities earned from the state health department for creating a countywide pedestrian/bike trail master plan.

The three had to approve the document requesting proposals from firms interested in creating the plan. That will be sent out soon, Brames said. The Dubois County Commissioners discussed that during their Monday meeting before giving their approval of the document. Each firm’s proposal must include the name of the project manager who will be leading the work.

The original idea for the master plan, which was discussed last year, was looking at connecting the county’s four high schools and county park, and possibly utilizing the cities’ trails. The plan will determine if and how that can be done.

Having a master plan would qualify a trail project for federal funding, if funding is available.


The commissioners also:

• Approved a petition to vacate portions of three streets in Celestine: St. Bernard’s Lane, Bishop Street and St. Charles Street.

• Heard that the highway department will soon conduct interviews to fill two driver positions. Highway Superintendent Steve Berg said he has gotten several applicants and plans to interview at least five.

• Heard from County Engineer Brent Wendholt that the paving projects utilizing Community Crossings grant funding will start soon, weather pending. The projects include two sections of County Road 100 West, from Ferdinand Road NW to the Huntingburg Conservation Club Lake dam, and from County Road 1100 South to the Spencer County line; Schnellville Road from County Road 820 East to Santine Road; all the roads in the Schnellville community; Hickory Grove Road from Martin County line to State Road 56; and Cuzco Road South from Purdue Farm Road to State Road 545.