By CHRIS MORRIS
chris.morris@newsandtribune.com
FLOYD COUNTY —
Last year during the Floyd County 4-H Fair, the heat was at times overwhelming — for both participants and animals. Most of the barns were without fans and some of the smaller animals, and humans, were overcome by the stifling conditions.
Members of the 4-H board, along with Melissa Merida, Purdue Extension 4-H educator, are hoping to solve that problem. Merida came to the Floyd County Council meeting Tuesday, with a few of her 4-H kids, to ask for additional funds to upgrade the barns and one of the arenas at the 4-H fairgrounds, located along Green Valley Road in New Albany.
Merida is hoping the council will give the 4-H board $25,000 at its next meeting in May. The 4-H recently received a $14,000 grant from General Electric and also a grant from the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County for new area bleachers.
“We need to make improvements to the fairgrounds so we can maintain the health of our livestock and our youth,” Merida said. “We have had a 200 percent increase in membership and our goal is to build youth into leaders of the community. That is what 4-H is all about.”
Merida said 4-H offers kids 70 projects to get involved in, and only a few deal with livestock. The $25,000 would be used for electrical upgrades, fans, new barn doors and fencing.
Vote Study Group to meet
Floyd County’s Vote Study Group, led by the election board, will meet for the second time at 6 p.m., Monday in New Albany High School’s cafeteria.
The purpose of the meeting will be to inspect the different kinds of voting machines and poll books. Floyd County Clerk Linda Moeller said new machines will soon have to be purchased and these meetings will help with that process. The study group consists of office holders, poll workers, political parties, information technology staff, county planner and interested citizens.
Moeller said she hopes more interested citizens attend the meeting. She said their input is needed before a final decision is made on which machines to purchase. The new voting machines will also dictate whether Floyd County sticks with precinct based voting or changes to a vote center method.
Early voting under way
Those wishing to vote early may do so in the Floyd County Clerk’s office from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also, the clerk’s office will be open for voting, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., on April 28 and May 5. The clerk’s office is located on the second floor of the City-County Building.
Also, those interested in working at the polls May 8 can call the clerk’s office at 812-948-5419.
Spring clean event scheduled
The Edwardsville Gateway Committee will host a spring clean event April 28. The committee has several projects scheduled for the day including landscaping activities along Corydon Pike, Corydon Ridge, and Old Georgetown roads, and cleanup and landscaping in Garry Cavan Park in Edwardsville. Tires and electronics can be dropped off for recycling at the Floyd County Highway Garage on that day.
