James "Tex" Hastings (R), whose hiring as Pierceton deputy marshal was announced at the Pierceton Town Council's regular meeting in December, was sworn in by town attorney Tammy Keirn at the Council's meeting on Monday at the Pierceton Community Building. Photo by Leah Sander, InkFreeNews
James "Tex" Hastings (R), whose hiring as Pierceton deputy marshal was announced at the Pierceton Town Council's regular meeting in December, was sworn in by town attorney Tammy Keirn at the Council's meeting on Monday at the Pierceton Community Building. Photo by Leah Sander, InkFreeNews
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PIERCETON — Pierceton’s fire department setup has changed.

At its regular meeting on Monday, the Pierceton Town Council approved signing a sixth-month contract with Washington Township for fire coverage.

Previously, the fire department was its own entity and partnered with both the town and the township.

The town is paying Washington Township $7,000 through the agreement for fire coverage. A benefit of having the department run by the township is its eligibility for special funding that it couldn’t qualify for before.

The Council also reappointed Kim Rose to the Pierceton Park Board.

She had reapplied for the position, with Katherine Wonderly also hoping to be on the board. The Council also appointed Deb Thomas to the board, as one Whitko Community School Board member is required to be on it.

Other current board members include Annie Espinoza, Paula Smith and Cindy Kreger.

In other business, the Council:

• Agreed to use $20,000 they’ve already received from a K21 Health Foundation grant as matching funds for another grant they’re applying for, a Go Forward! grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation.

The town is planning at this point to use monies for pickleball and tennis courts.

• Watched town attorney Tammy Keirn swear in new town deputy Marshal James “Tex” Hastings. His hiring was announced at the regular Council meeting in December.

• Heard from Town Superintendent Casey Boggs that he replaced the utility office’s furnace for a little under $3,000 as it went out again after being recently repaired and a new repair would cost around $1,000.

“The old furnace was original to the building, so it was time (to replace it) anyway,” he said.

• Approved having an executive session at 9 a.m. Jan. 19 at the Pierceton Community Building, with a special Council meeting at 10 a.m. The public is welcome to come to the latter, with subjects to be discussed including the salary ordinance and dealing with unsafe property in town.

• Approved an agreement with the county allowing Pierceton to use the county’s brush chipping services for free.

• Approved allowing Boggs to remove a few parking spots in the area of First and Market Streets due to traffic safety concerns.

The council’s next regular meeting is 6:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at the community building.