Posted: 3/6/07
Cars, computers approved for sheriffís office
By Roxie Lassig
Special to The Argus
"We made seven arrests last week alone," said Houston County Sheriff Doug Ely in his weekly report to the Houston County Board on Tuesday. "We are arresting people ñ especially when our deputies are making multiple contacts."
As of Tuesday, Feb. 27, there were nine men in the county jail, plus 12 men, two juveniles and one woman housed out of county.
Sheriff Ely also told commissioners that his department is updating all the mutual aid agreements that the county has with surrounding communities. The agreements allow neighboring law enforcement agencies to help each other in emergency situations.
He said that Houston County can benefit from accessibility to rapid response teams, and even the La Crosse rescue and dive team. "We all need to help each other out," said Ely. "The agreements are mutually beneficial."
"These agreements just make sense with everything happening lately in La Crescent," said Commissioner Tom Bjerke.
Two Squad Cars Approved
Commissioners approved the purchase of two Dodge Charger squad cars at a cost of $52,000. The cars will be purchased through a state bid process, and will be fully equipped and ready to go, with the complete police package, said Sheriff Ely. That brings the total squad cars in the county to 12, including three 4-wheel drive vehicles. One of the 4-wheel drive vehicles was purchased with grant money from the Drug Task Force.
New Computers
Sheriff Ely also received approval to purchase four new computers at a total cost of $2904. He credits information systems supervisor Lindsay Pierce with finding an "exceptionally good value." The money will come out of the sheriff departmentís budget.
Commissioner Tom Bjerke encouraged buying the computers when the price is right as long as the money is budgeted. "If we know we need to replace computers and you can find such a great deal, we need to take advantage of that," said Bjerke.
County approves final payment for aerial photos
At the Jan. 16 board meeting, commissioners approved $18,000 in what they thought was the final payment for aerial photographs. However, that was only 40% of the total bill, whereas 50% was the actual remaining balance. Another $4,500 was approved at Tuesdayís meeting in final payment for those services.
The aerial photos have been valuable assets in completing new land use maps of Houston County. "They have been a great benefit," said assessor Tom Dybing. "Weíre using them all the time."
Recorder Bev Bauer said the new images will soon be available on the countyís website once they finalize usage policies and fees for the service. "There are privacy issues we need to address," said Bauer.
Bonanza Grain awarded crushed rock contract
Houston County will spend $106,072 on crushed rock this spring for highways maintenance. Commissioners awarded the annual maintenance rock contract to Bonanza Grain of Caledonia. "Even with the fuel increases, the prices have held pretty steady since 2003," said county maintenance supervisor Tom Molling.
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