Kerkman Named Chairman Of Commissioners

Antelope County commissioners got back to business on Tuesday, meeting to set up for the 2018 year.

LeRoy Kerkman, Ed Schindler, Jerald Schwager, Eli Jacob and Charlie Henery got together at the Antelope County Courthouse to kick off the new year, with the first order of business determining who’s in charge.
Ultimately, Kerkman was named the man in charge, being unanimously voted as the Chairman for 2018. Schindler was unanimously voted the Vice Chairman.

After voting to keep committees the same from 2017, the next order of business was to set holidays for county employees for the year.

In 2017, employees worked half days on both Good Friday and Christmas Eve. With Christmas Eve falling on a Monday this year, it was decided to trade the half day for Good Friday for a full day on Christmas Eve, meaning the courthouse and other county offices will be closed from December 22 through 25.

Casey Dittrich of the roads department reported that, with the impending snow storms, his crews and equipment were ready to go.

After much discussion, it was decided the Schindler would continue to do maintenance work for the courthouse, including snow removal and lawn care. His job was described as one of being on-call at all times, particularly during inclement weather.

Two public hearing were set for the board’s next meeting on February 6, beginning at 9:15, with one of the hearings to be in regards to a road closure. The road in question is 524 road, just east of Elgin and north of the town’s substation.

One of the final items on the agenda provided the most discussion. Jacob relayed to the board that members of the Village of Clearwater are looking at ways to combat the flooding issues the town has, such as in 2010. One idea brought to the commissioners was the grinding of 600 foot of road north of Clearwater, on 516th Avenue, just south of the river bridge.

Grinding down the road would allow water to flow across the road in the event of flooding. As it is currently, the road acts as a dam, pushing flooding back towards Clearwater.

​It was decided that no action was to be taken at this time, but the commissioners would consult an expert to look into possible options to mitigate the flooding problem. One such option suggested was possibly adding a culvert to the road to allow water to pass under rather than over.