Pictured, from left, are Etna Green Town Council President Heath Roberts and Council Member Susan Klinefelter. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Adkins.

By Liz Adkins
InkFreeNews

ETNA GREEN — The Etna Green Town Council approved a contract for paving work for the Heritage Park walking path project during a Tuesday, July 8, council meeting.

Council President Heath Roberts said Niblock, who had previously been approved to complete the work, was bought out by a company and no longer interested in the project.

“Things have changed,” said Roberts. “I was told when that originally happened, that our contract and everything was still good. I just called here in the past two weeks to make sure that we could move forward with this, and Niblock is no longer interested in doing any paving work for us.”

Roberts said Niblock was the lowest bidder when the project was initially bid out. He asked the council to approve a quote from Brooks Construction Company in the amount of $162,498 for paving the path.

Roberts said the goal is to get the paving work completed in 2025, stating the overall project would occur in three phases, with paving being the first phase.

Mural Celebration

A celebration for Etna Green’s newest mural, “Welcome to Etna Green,” will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 12, in Remembrance Park. The mural, painted by former resident Justin Vining, is located on the south side of the Etna Green Post Office.

The mural depicts historical scenes of Etna Green captured in the form of two old-style postcards.

Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe said there will be free doughnuts, water, juice, and iced coffee for those in attendance. Children who attend the celebration will also have the opportunity to paint a part of the mural.

“One of the things (Justin) said was, ‘I thought I was giving back to the community by doing this,'” said Roe. “‘But in the last two or three days, the community has given back to me.’ He was talking about the people that stop by to talk about the train stories and the downtown stories … all the stories about Etna Green.”

Clerk-Treasurer Status

Council said Barbara Wagoner, who was appointed as clerk-treasurer following the resignation of Patti Cook, resigned on June 30. Wagoner was appointed to the position on May 22 and began work on June 1. In her resignation, Wagoner had told Kosciusko County Republican Party Central Committee Chairman Mike Ragan that she didn’t like the position.

In the interim, Ann Anglin is serving as chief deputy clerk until a new clerk-treasurer is appointed. Eileen Hall is also assisting as needed.

Council Member Keith Claassen asked Ragan, who attended the July 8 council meeting, about the status of a caucus to fill the position. Ragan said he initially planned to fill the vacancy on July 15, but would be extending it to Friday, July 25. Candidates must be a resident of the town of Etna Green and be a Republican in good standing. Declarations must be notarized and filed with Ragan no later than 72 hours prior to the caucus.

Resident Dave Price asked if there would be an audit of the town’s books due to the multiple changes within the office over the last couple months. Roberts said it was in the works.

Council’s next meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12.