At Monday, July 11’s Pierceton Town Council meeting are from left: Council President Mandy Espinoza, Vice President Matt Brubaker and Member Tom Barker. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

PIERCETON — Pierceton is suing a former police officer for the town for a breach of contract.

At its meeting on Monday, July 11, the Pierceton Town Council approved pursuing legal action against former Pierceton police officer Ryan Piper after he resigned one and a half years before his five-year contract with the town was set to expire.

He left the job to join the Warsaw Police Department. Piper started with the WPD in December.

Town Attorney Tammy Keirn couldn’t specify to InkFreeNews yet on the amount the town is seeking or when exactly the suit would be filed.

Animal Welfare League

The council also heard from Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County Board President John Lantz.

He’s been traveling to various town meetings to update government leaders about the League and its efforts to serve the community. He mentioned figures that so far for the year the Pierceton area was second highest in the county in terms of the League taking in pets from it.

The League has taken in 138 pets so far from the Pierceton area, which includes the town and any place nearby with a Pierceton address.

In other business, the council:

• Heard from Town Superintendent Casey Boggs that town employees replaced equipment linked to the town’s water tower after a lightning strike last week.
• Heard from Boggs that the town has received its permit to shut down SR 13 for the upcoming Pierceton Days Festival.
• Approved having the town start utilizing the Tax Refund Exchange and Compliance System (TRECS) to recoup funds from residents who have moved away from town and have outstanding utility bills. Through the program for a $2 fee per letter, letters will be sent to those former residents asking them to pay their bills. If they don’t comply with the orders, the money still owed will be added to their income tax.
• Heard from the Pierceton Park Board’s Annie Espinoza that the board plans to ask the K21 Health Foundation to use some of the funds the foundation agreed to grant communities throughout the county several years ago for security cameras for the town’s park system.
• Approved a request brought by Town Clerk-Treasurer Myra Mast for the town to seek a K21 Health Foundation grant to “redo the tennis court to actually put in the pickleball court.” If received, the grant will also add new playground equipment.
• Heard from Mast that the town’s Christmas decorations committee is seeking a $5,023 grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation to add more new decorations.
• Heard from Town Police Chief Tim Sammons that the Pierceton & Washington Township Library Board came to him asking if the town could provide the library with DNA kits, which will help track down kids if they are lost, for it to hand out to parents. The council asked Sammons to check on pricing for the kits.
• Approved not allowing Pierceton Police Department officers to take their police vehicles home with them for the time being due to high gas prices.
• Heard a complaint from a resident who lives along Market Street about her neighbor’s dog running loose. Sammons is to look into the issue.

The council’s next regular meeting is 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8, at the Pierceton Community Building