Mentone Council Approves Officer To Attend Drug Class
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Jackie Gorski-
MENTONE – The Mentone Town Council Wednesday approved police officer Sam Bohnke to go to classes to be certified as a drug recognition expert.
The Drug Evaluation and Classification Program trains police officers and other approved public safety officials as drug recognition experts, according to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute website.
The Indiana Drug Evaluation and Classification Program is nationally supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Officers trained as drug recognition experts are frequently called upon to differentiate between drug influence and medical and/or mental disorders.
In order to go to the class, there is a process.
“Through this, you have to be recommended for working through the prosecutor’s office to get that done,” Town Marshal Jim Eads said. A letter has to be sent to the program and an application has to be filled out.
“Total, it’s 14 days,” said Eads. The class is broken up into two sections: a nine-day part and a five-day part. The first section is in Lawrence.
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute is paying “for the whole thing,” with the exception of Bohnke’s transportation to and from the class. “They cover hotel, food and all that,” Eads said.
During the second week, which would be in February, “they go to Florida to certify. They put them in front of, what they do is, they do try to recognize if they’re impaired through drugs or alcohol through blood pressures, pupil size, that sort of thing,” Eads said. Several people would be put in front of the person certifying.
Impaired driving is not always due to alcohol and officers in the program are certified forensically and “that holds up in court that is what you believe it to be,” Eads said.
Eads said the certification is good for two years and then Bohnke would have to recertify.
“Just during that time, you have to have at least two encounters and testings, if you will, each year, so a total of four during that two-year period, which that’s not an issue, I don’t think,” Eads said. He said there used to be two DREs in the area, but one let his certification lapse.
The council approved an ordinance for one of the two alley vacation requests they heard in the past two months.
The vacation between two properties John Martin owned was approved. Martin went before the council in August. Martin said he owns multiple pieces of property at his 102 W. Jefferson St. address. There is an alleyway to the north of the home between the two pieces of property that he asked the town council to vacate. During September’s meeting, town attorney Andrew Grossnickle said Martin would have to fill out a petition.
Grossnickle said he worked with Martin and Martin got Grossnickle a petition, which was forwarded to the council. Grossnickle said he called the surveyor that was working with Martin and the surveyor gave him a legal description of the section of the alley that Martin asked the council to vacate. Grossnickle doesn’t think there is any utilities that need to be moved and there is no access issues.
Notices were put in the newspaper and notices to the adjoining neighbors were sent out, Grossnickle said.
There was a public hearing on the matter. There was no one at the meeting to talk about the vacation of the alley and Clerk-Treasurer Nikki Norris said she hadn’t received any letters about it.
The alley vacation for Steve Svara’s 305 E. Main St. property was not addressed at Wednesday’s meeting. Svara addressed the council during its September meeting for the alleyway behind his property to be vacated so he could build a garage.
Grossnickle passed on information to Svara and was told he would review it and he would send a petition when ready.
The town council also approved its 2021 budget.
The total 2021 budget is $797,673. The casino/riverboat fund is $10,000. The rainy day fund is zero. The general fund is $525,537. The local road and street fund is $17,200. The motor vehicle highway fund is $91,900. The cemetery fund is $16,886. The cumulative capital improvement fund is $2,500. The cumulative capital development fund is $18,650. The economic development fund is $115,000.
The council held a budget hearing before their regular meeting. There were no public comments.
In other news:
• Trick-or-treating hours were set for Oct. 31 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
There will be a Chamber of Commerce costume contest at Mentone Elementary. The doors will open at 7 p.m. and the contest will begin at 7:30 p.m., said Councilman Tim Croy.
• Leaf pick-up will start this week and will continue to at least Thanksgiving. It is preferred the leaves not be in containers and not be in the street. Brush and leaves should be kept separate.
