Auditor says she was 'bombarded' with calls regarding caucuses

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Count Henry County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Shelly Barber among those relieved that the caucuses are over.

Although her office had no official role in the caucuses, that didn?t stop the phone from ringing often in the days leading up to Monday?s Iowa caucuses.

?The last two or three weeks, we were bombarded with phone calls,? Barber told the Henry County Board of Supervisors during Thursday?s regular meeting. ?We had all sorts of questions about the caucuses, such as location of the caucus sites, people wanting to change their party registration and people wanting to register to vote. I was amazed how many people called, inquiring about voting absentee. At times, all of our phone lines were busy.?

Barber offered her remarks during the monthly department head meeting with the supervisors.

In news from other departments, Walt Jackson, county emergency management director, said a Medforce helicopter landed behind the emergency management building Wednesday night during a training exercise. Jackson also has planned propane tank explosion training on March 5 for county EMS workers. Personnel from the National Weather Service will be on hand Wednesday, March 19, for a weather spotter class.

The weather spotter class is open to all law enforcement, fire departments, paramedics and anyone interested in weather spotting. Jackson said the class, which runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m., at the emergency management building, is conducted every other year.

John Pullis, county conservation director, told the supervisors that his department is planning a new display on woodchucks for the Oakland Mills Nature Center. He said the department?s calendar is nearly completed for 2016.

Sarah Berndt, coordinator of disability services/general assistance director, informed the group that the jail transition coordinator has resigned, effective next week, ?and we are trying to figure out how to replace her.?

County Sheriff Rich McNamee reported that his department has received its new patrol car and the vehicle is being equipped now. McNamee said three interns ? two from Iowa Wesleyan University and one from Mt. Pleasant High School ? are working at the sheriff?s department. ?Things are going fairly smoothly,? he noted.

Shirley Wandling, county recorder, stated her office is busy with boat registration and that someone recently inquired about registering a drone.

Henry County Director of Veterans Affairs Roger Pittsenbarger said a volunteer with his office ? Sarah Jacobs ? received a volunteer of the year award. Pittsenbarger remarked his office had 43 visits and 23 calls last month. ?That was a little more activity than usual for January, probably due to the mild weather we had.?

Mild January weather also was a factor in more county building permits being issued than normal during the month, said Joe Buffington, county director of planning and zoning.

Most county officials termed the first weeks of the year as some of the busiest of the year, including County Assessor Gary Dustman. ?This is our busy time of the year. We are trying to finish up the assessments, which have to be done by April 1. Everything has been going fairly well.?

Ana Lair, county treasurer, reiterated remarks she made several weeks ago that she is noticing more and more young drivers bypassing driver?s education and learning driving skills from their parents. That leads to more driving tests by her office, she said. ?Other young people are waiting to age 18 to get their driver?s license,? she commented.

In final remarks, Supervisor Marc Lindeen thanked the department heads for ?working diligently with us on the budget.? Lindeen said budget preparations are nearly completed and the county hopes to have the public hearing on the budget the first part of March.

Supervisors will meet again Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 9 a.m., in the Henry County Courthouse.