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The tornado warning sirens in Marion County have now been updated.

Marion County Board Chair Steve Whritenour says the $27,000 Commander software improvement will allow for better usage of the sirens.

“Prior to this system, when we had a tornado warning in just part of Marion County, the only thing that we could do was activate the tornado sirens county-wide,” Whritenour said. “Now, when a tornado warning is issued in a particular part of the county, the tornado siren is only going to activate in the warned areas. If the sun is out at Forbes and there’s a tornado that’s near Centralia, before all the tornado sirens would activate. Now it’s just in the warned areas. Now it’s more important than ever to pay attention to the tornado sirens as they go off.”

Whritenour is also reminding all county residents to sign up for the Nixle program that will give them an additional source of severe weather warnings as well as other information.

The board Tuesday night approved the purchase of two new used dump trucks with snowplows for $95,000 each.  The new units will replace two of the Sterling dump trucks that have become difficult to repair.  One of the Sterling trucks will be sold and the other kept as a backup.  Bids are being sought on reroofing the county highway garage to determine if it is feasible to try and improve their existing building or if a new facility is needed.

Finance Committee Chair Chris Krupp says the auditor is now expected to get the fiscal year 2023 audit done by the end of July which will allow the county to get off the list that hampers them in applying for grants.  He reports the fiscal year 2024 audit should be completed much more quickly which would get the county back on track for having timely audits.

Community Relations Chair Tracy Murray reported the committee is currently looking at seven options for a long-time solution to animal control.  They range from building a new shelter, renovating a building for a shelter, or working with another agency.

The board tabled a proposal from the sheriff to have the floors on all three stories of the courthouse stripped and polished for $9,990.  Sheriff Kevin Cripps says the Clay County Courthouse has the same flooring and it looks fantastic.  Board member Josh Dunahee was concerned about spending the money now when the board has tight budget conditions.   Cripps says that’s why he brought the idea to the board, even though it is under his spending limit and there is money in the budget to pay for it.

The board reappointed Gerald Hunter and Dave Uchitjil to additional two-year terms on the Marion County Farmland Assessment Committee.