County Board makes appointments
<span>In a short meeting on Friday, the Randolph County Board made several reappointments.</span>
<span>The commissioners appointed James Wesbecher to the Randolph County Merit Board and Mike Riebeling, Pat Laramore and Ronnie White to the Utility Coordination Council.</span>
<span>All are reappointments. Wesbecher's term is for five years, while the others are one-term appointments.</span>
<span>The commissioners, along with county engineer Mike Riebeling and Randolph County Health Department Administrator Tom Smith, also discussed lingering issues from the Flood of '15.</span>
<span>Riebeling said Stringtown Road northeast of Evansville was closed Wednesday due to flooding and a temporary repair has been made on a slope slide on Palestine Road near Gravel Creek north of Chester.</span>
<span>"That's a federal aid route," Riebeling said of the Palestine Road situation. "Reimbursement will come from the federal highway department."</span>
<span>Smith said his agency has recovered from the county's Emergency Operations Center being open. The health department served as a base of operations for the Randolph County Emergency Management Agency during the flooding.</span>
<span>Post-flood, Smith said there had been a call to immunize people for tetanus.</span>
<span>"That's not an appropriate response for being in floodwaters," he said. "It is a feel-good."</span>
<span>Smith also noted he is seeing a rise of pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough, in older people who have infants. Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory disease in which uncontrollable, violent coughing makes it hard to breathe.</span>
<span>According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "after fits of many coughs, someone with pertussis often needs to take deep breaths, which result in a 'whooping' sound."</span>
<span>The disease can affect people of all ages.</span>
<span>During public comment, Randolph County Economic Development Coordinator Chris Martin informed the board that the Kaskaskia Eagle Fest, originally scheduled for Feb. 6, has been pushed back to March 6 due to flood cleanup.</span>
<span>Commissioner Ronnie White also said he wished to thank the county's agencies for their coordinated effort during the flood, IT technician Peter Hubbard, levee district commissioners and the media for getting critical information out to the public.</span>
Care Center
<span>Randolph County Care Center Administrator Ken Slavens reported a retirement party will be held next Friday for Joann Wegner, who has 37 years of service with the Care Center.</span>
<span>"She's super professional and we're really going to miss her," Slavens said, who added Wegner was hired straight out of high school.</span>
Roundup
<span>• General assistance for the period was $1,600.</span>
<span>• The Randolph County Care Center was reported to have 66 residents.</span>
<span>• The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners is scheduled for Jan. 29 at 9 a.m. at the Randolph County Courthouse. It is open to the public.</span>
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