Board remembers fallen member

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale Town Council meeting began a little differently Tuesday evening. Before delving into business, the council held a moment of silence in memory of one of its own.

Town council member Glen Vickroy died May 7 at age 81. Following the moment of silence, Pastor Neese led a prayer for the Vickroy family.

In regular business, the council voted to have the sale barn demolished immediately. The piece of property located on W. Robert Wiest Road has become a hazard to the community. It was reported that a piece of the sheeting from the remaining building was tossed during a recent storm.

There have been prior issues with the current landowner obtaining demolition permits. It has also been red tagged for not having a safety fence. The council has chosen to take over, have the structure razed and place a lien on the property.

Denny's Excavating will be hired to demolish the dilapidated structure.

The sale barn isn't the only thing disappearing in Cloverdale. There have been 85 vehicles towed out of the town under the abandon vehicle law. To show its appreciation, the council gave applause to Marshal Don Pearson.

However, one member of the audience was not so agreeable about the newly enacted state law. Cloverdale resident Bryce Jones was the recipient of an orange tag recently.

Apparently, Jones had a vehicle parked near his garage about 80 feet from the road for more than 20 days. The vehicle was tagged, which means Jones has two options: prove it's operable within 72 hours or have it towed at his expense.

Town Attorney Allen Yackey stood firmly behind the law. He told Jones, "It is not an appearance issue. It is state law."

In some old business, the town has a couple of pending lawsuits and sought advice from Yackey. Board members voted to proceed with the lawsuits under Yackey's direction.

Sealed bids for two pick-up trucks and a dog cage were unsealed during the meeting. However, there were not any bids for the cage. Council member Dennis Padgett recommended it be donated to the Humane Society of Putnam County.

Jim Steele of Cloverdale was the highest bidder on both of the trucks. He purchased a Ford 350 crew cab for $1,001.50 and a Ford F250 diesel with a plow for $1,500.50.

During communications, park board president Ron Jones addressed concerns about vandalism at the park. It was suggested video surveillance be installed.

Finally, Don Gedert with the redevelopment commission is still not letting the "cat out of the bag" on a prospective business moving to town.

He said, "There has been a continuation of visits with the prospects, but I am not ready to release any information at this time."