Mark Fox – WKVI Information Center

Pulaski Commissioners Hear Highway Department Report

March 19, 2014March 18, 2014WKVI

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter

The Pulaski County Commissioners this week heard the monthly report from Highway Superintendent Mark Fox, who explained that his crews are currently working on gravel roads to get them fixed as quickly as possible. Soon, he said, they will begin patching the roads up a bit as the weather allows.

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Pulaski Council Approves Additional Appropriations for Highway Department

March 11, 2014March 11, 2014WKVI

The Pulaski County Council at their meeting last night approved two additional appropriations for the highway department at the request of Highway Superintendent Mark Fox. The appropriations, totaling $54,725, will fund insurance for the highway building and equipment and will also cover the overtime expense accumulated by the department.

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Money Getting Tighter in Highway Department Budget

February 19, 2014February 19, 2014WKVI

The Pulaski County Commissioners heard an update on the county highway’s budget during their regularly scheduled meeting last night.

Highway Superintendent Mark Fox explained that he has gone through 58 percent of his gas, lube and oil line item in the budget and 65 percent of another critical budget – and it’s only February! Fox indicated that he, the commissioners and the council will need to discuss these budgets as the lack of funds will cause trouble as the year goes on.

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Fire Destroys Star City Home

January 24, 2014January 23, 2014WKVI

A late Wednesday night fire destroyed a home in Star City.

According to Fire Chief Mark Fox, Star City firefighters were called to the home of Dennis and Lisa Day at 6874 S. 150 E. in Star City on a report of an attic fire. Star City firefighters were joined by Winamac, Buffalo Township, Royal Center and Kewanna fire departments to help extinguish the fire. Crews were on the scene for three-and-a-half hours.

Fox said the fire was caused by an electrical issue. Both occupants were home at the time of the fire and smoke alarms alerted them to the danger of fire so they were able to exit the home safely.

No injuries were reported.

Pulaski Council Approves Encumbrance For Highway Department

January 16, 2014January 15, 2014WKVI

The Pulaski County Council this week approved an encumbrance for the highway department to allow them to take the delivery of salt that they were previously unable to store. Highway Superintendent Mark Fox requested the council approve the encumbrance of $9524 for the salt, saying the department had nowhere to put the salt when they planned to purchase it in 2013.

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Two Pulaski County Bridges Now Open

December 5, 2013December 4, 2013WKVI

Two bridges that were previously closed in Pulaski County are now open, though one bridge is still awaiting a final inspection. Pulaski County Highway Superintendent Mark Fox told the county commissioners this week that the contract for bridge inspections for 2014–2016 has been approved by INDOT and is ready to sign, and informed them that the two bridges closed in the county have since been reopened. Bridge 268, however, still needs a final inspection but is currently open to traffic.

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Haschel’s Bridge to Close Sept. 30

September 25, 2013September 24, 2013WKVI

Haschel’s Bridge in Pulaski County will soon be closed, according to highway superintendent Mark Fox. He said the bridge closure will be effective on or around Sept. 30, and then the crews have 60 days to complete the work. Fox explained they will mill two inches off the top of the deck, which he said is riddled with surface holes, and then work will be done on the abutments on the end of the bridge.

Fox said this work shouldn’t take more than two months and a detour is in place utilizing State Road 14 and County Road 200 East to circumvent the bridge.

The project is funded entirely with local funds, Fox explained, and the bridge will soon be repaired and reopened.

Pulaski Commissioners Open Bids for Bridge 268 Repairs

August 21, 2013August 20, 2013WKVI

The Pulaski County Commissioners this week opened bids for repairs on Bridge 268, with costs ranging from as low as $169,999.99 to $312,903.27. According to highway superintendent Mark Fox, the work needs to be done this fall.

American Contracting Service offered a bid of $302,515.20, while LaPorte Construction submitted a bid for $181,102.35. Jack Isom Construction sent in a bid for $169,999.99, JCI Bridge Group submitted one for $176,527.32, and Yates Construction entered their bid for $312.903.27. Rieth-Riley Construction entered a bid of $299,988.

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Pulaski County Highway Supt. Finds 12 Miles of State/Local Road Discrepancies

July 19, 2013July 18, 2013WKVI

The Pulaski County Highway Department is in the process of updating their road inventory through the state. According to Mark Fox, highway superintendent, more state funds will soon make their way to the county’s coffers after he found discrepancies between the state’s road inventory for Pulaski County and the county’s road inventory, totaling 12 miles of road that were not accounted for by the state.

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Pulaski Council Approves Advertisement of Software Purchase

July 9, 2013July 8, 2013WKVI

The Pulaski County Council this week approved a request from the county highway superintendent to advertise for the purchase of a computer software suite designed for resource tracking and accounting for highway departments. Mark Fox, highway superintendent, told the commissioners that the program would greatly help the accounting aspect of his department because of its variety of features, including time tracking, resource tracking, accounting, and report management.

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Pulaski Commissioners Discuss Call-Out Pay for Highway Dept. Employees

June 5, 2013June 4, 2013WKVI

The Pulaski County highway superintendent is looking to have the handbook edited to allow for overtime when he calls highway department employees at home asking them to clear roads after a storm or other incident. Mark Fox told the commissioners that call-out pay is a necessity, stating that this week was a prime example; he called employees at 5:30 in the morning and sent them out, working outside their regular hours to clear roads and perform other maintenance to ensure the safety of residents.

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Pulaski Council Tables Road Paving Request

May 15, 2013May 14, 2013WKVI

The Pulaski County Council at their meeting Monday night tabled a request from Mark Fox to pave a gravel road, County Road 950 South, because residents had been complaining of gravel dust because of frequent truck traffic. Fox said he would like to use some CEDIT money to fund the project, since the first quarter-mile of the road had been paved 3–4 years ago using the funds and now the residents on the road would like to see the rest of it paved as well, approximately three-quarters of a mile.

Auditor Shelia Garling said the funds are available in CEDIT, which currently has a balance of nearly $1.7 million, but she would have to make an additional appropriation.

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Pulaski Council Approves Transfer of Funds from One Bridge to Another

April 9, 2013April 8, 2013WKVI

The Pulaski County Council this week approved a $150,000 transfer from the funds dedicated to constructing a new bridge on County Road 625 East to the Haschell Bridge repair project. Recently appointed Highway Superintendent Mark Fox told the council at their meeting last night that the current deck for the bridge will be milled and the existing asphalt will be removed before workers remove a quarter-inch of existing concrete and perform full-depth patching to fill any potholes forming on the deck.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Change Highway Department Hours Again

April 4, 2013April 3, 2013WKVI

Pulaski County Commissioners unanimously agreed to let county highway department employees work four 10-hour days from April through October. Commission President Tracey Shorter and Commissioner Terry Young voted last month to change the department to a traditional eight-hour-a-day, five-day-a-week schedule. New superintendent Mark Fox says his employees were still working four 10 hour days on March 25 when they were called in to plow snow.

“Working our 4 to 10 work schedule, we only came in an hour early, which works out to $422 in overtime that was paid out that morning. If we were working 8 to 4 like our current schedule is, it would have been $1,265 in overtime that morning. By working four 10’s just in one morning we saved $843,” Fox explained.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Name New Highway Superintendent

March 19, 2013WKVI

A veteran Pulaski County Highway Department employee is the new county highway superintendent. Commissioners voted unanimously during last night’s regularly-scheduled meeting to hire Mark Fox. He’s worked the past nine years under Kenny Becker, who was fired by the commissioners last month after his controversial paid suspension in January and subsequent reinstatement as county highway manager under the supervision of commissioner and interim highway superintendent Larry Brady. Fox was one of four applicants interviewed by the commissioners. Before voting to hire him, commissioners also voted to change the work week for county highway employees to Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Brady voted against Commissioner Terry Young’s motion, leaving president Tracey Shorter to cast the tiebreaking vote.