County accepts $22,534 insurance payment for paving damage and appoints county engineer

Dubois County commissioners on June 16 accepted an insurance payment and approved the appointment of a county engineer while receiving routine highway updates.

Highway Superintendent Donnie Lueken reported chip seal work on multiple county roads nearing completion and described a chip‑seal damage claim after a farmer inflicted damage on County Road 75W and 1st Street in Huntingburg. The county received an insurance check of $22,534 for repairs; the board unanimously moved to accept the check and permit Superintendent Lueken to sign on the county’s behalf.

The commissioners also moved to appoint Highway Engineer Levi Leffert as County Engineer for 2026 to replace the vacated term of Brent Wendholt; Leffert will serve on the County Subdivision Review Committee.

Leffert provided project updates: Calcar Paving completed work in Woodland Hills Subdivision with remaining paving planned for September–October; a box culvert replacement on 300N is ongoing with plans to reopen by the end of the month; Club Road is slated for closure for about five weeks for another culvert replacement and work should be completed before the school year begins. Leffert said he will investigate adjusting the speed limit on the County portions of Ferdinand Industrial Park Road and return with a recommendation on July 7, 2025.

The board declared a broken DeWalt grease gun surplus for proper disposal and asked Superintendent Lueken to return with additional data before deciding whether to adjust county sanitation sticker prices to $2.00 to match the City of Jasper.