By Becky Killian, Staff Writer

Long-time Delaney Creek Park Board member – and current president – Tim Rainbolt will retire effective in January. Rainbolt made the announcement during the November meeting of the Washington County Parks and Recreation Board of Directors meeting.

It was the first meeting attended by a new member, Michelle Marshall. She took the seat left vacant by the resignation of Bobby Webb.

In other business, Park Manager John Burlington said he is still determined to replace the pavilion at the park with the hope that it would attract more rentals.

“It’s just time for an update of this building,” Burlington said.

Rainbolt suggested that Burlington get quotes for a building upgrade as well as demolition and construction estimates.

Burlington led the discussion about possible rate increases for 2025. The cost of utilities is up, with electricity seeing a more than 20 percent increase and water up about 10 percent. He suggested that board members consider increases before the next scheduled meeting in January.

As of the end of October, the park had a net year-to-date income of $197,354.

Burlington said the park was currently hosting deer hunters, who have become regular visitors every hunting season.

“That is becoming the thriving business here,” Burlington said.

When asked about the park’s visitors, Burlington estimated that about 75 percent of the income is generated by people from surrounding counties as well as out-of-state visitors.

By Becky Killian, Staff Writer

Officials have unanimously approved an ordinance that details the requirements for private and commercial septic systems in the county. The vote came during the Tuesday, Dec. 3, meeting of the Washington County Board of Commissioners.

The county had a septic system ordinance previously, but a state law that became effective as of July 2023 voided all local ordinances passed before that date that pertain to septic systems. That law also formed a nine-member state-level technical review panel.

The local ordinance will require installers to register with the Health Department. The registration will be reviewed annually. Unless the installer is registered to install septic systems in another county, the installer will have to pass a certification examination.

Soil testing will still be required prior to the installation of a new septic system or before any changes are made to an existing system.

Any violations of the proposed ordinance or state law concerning septic systems could result in a notice of violation being sent to the property owner, who will have a set amount of time to remediate the violation. The local health department could also issue a stop work order.

If the violation isn’t remedied within the allotted time frame, violators could face a fine of $2,500 each day the violation occurs.

The ordinance details the appeals process the property owner can follow to dispute any permit denials, revocations, stop work orders, and penalties.

Lawsuit alleges these corporatists are illegally conspiring to manipulate energy markets.

Attorney General Todd Rokita is taking further action to stop woke corporatists and their left-leaning allies in government from driving up energy costs for hardworking Hoosiers.

“We’re taking on very powerful forces arrayed against the interests of everyday working Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Coal has been the backbone of Indiana’s economic success for decades. The demand for electricity has gone up and these ESG titans are reaping the benefits of these skyrocketed prices; by keeping their thumb on production.”

ESG investing — the acronym stands for the investing principle that prioritizes environmental issues, social issues, and certain corporate governance ideas — elevating goals like mitigating climate change, enforcing hiring quotas, and achieving social justice benchmarks above the fiduciary duty to maximize returns for investors.

Over the past four years, America’s coal producers have not been responding to the price signals of the free market, but have been listening to BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street instead as alleged in the complaint. The three asset managers acquired substantial stockholdings over several years in every significant publicly held coal producer in the United States, thereby allegedly gaining the power to control the policies of coal production in the United States.

Indiana along with 10 other fossil fuel producing states filed suit to hold BlackRock accountable for their alleged aggressive attempts to manipulate policy by manipulating and controlling the markets through threats and votes at stakeholder meetings and in board rooms. As unelected non-policy makers, the complaint alleges they are using their market power to force socialist and Leftist policies, like climate change, to better fill their pockets.