County appoints medical examiner

The Washington County Board of Supervisors appointed Dr. Paul Towner as the county?s medical examiner.

Towner replaces Dr. Robin Plattenberger, who is retiring from the Washington County Hospital this year. Towner?s 2-year term of office will begin on Jan. 1, 2017.

Medical examiners generally assist county law enforcement agencies by determining the time and cause of a death and helping with investigations of sexual assault. They often testify in court and are considered expert witnesses.

In other business, the board renewed a lease agreement with the Eighth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services for offices at the county?s Orchard Hill site at 2175 Lexington Avenue.

County engineer Jacob Thorius presented two draft letters to the board that warn local landowners they are in violation of the county right of way.

The letters were drafted at the request of the board following a workshop and discussion of continuing encroachments onto the county?s right of way.

Thorius said one letter would be addressed to those who are farming the county land and the other would be mailed to those who have created a physical obstruction in the right of way.

Iowa Code paragraph 318.4 gives highway authorities, which include county supervisors, the right to remove obstructions. It also allows county officials to bill the offending party for the work and charge them with creating a public nuisance.

Examples of obstructions include fences, immobile cars, abandoned machinery and trash. After reviewing the letters, the board asked for a count of the letters to be mailed.

Thorius said, depending upon the board?s interpretation of Iowa Code, the number could be as many as 100.

Supervisors expressed approval of the letters, but asked for more details on the landowners in violation and the severity of the violation.

The board tabled the issue pending more information from Thorius.

The board has said residents are complaining to them about neighbors farming the ditches, fencing public tracts and parking junk cars near roadways.