LAGRANGE – The LaGrange County Commissioners approved a reorganization of the chain of command in the county highway department this (Monday) morning.

With Highway Superintendent Randy VanWagner retiring at the end of the month, the reorganization was aimed at clarifying roles within the department.

The title of superintendent is replaced by supervisor and assistant becomes assistant supervisor.

Commissioner Terry Martin is the liason to the highway department.

"This spells out everything just fine. I think it makes it a lot easier. When we do have an engineer there's no question about how things flow," Martin said.

VanWagner’s assistant...Ben Parrish...will take over as highway department supervisor on November 1st.

The commissioners heard a status update on the Neely nuisance case from new Code Enforcement Officer Bill Stewart, who said some vehicles and a boat were moved from the South Milford address to the Elmira property. He added the vehicles were backed in so he couldn’t see if they were plated or not.

County Attorney Kurt Bachman suggested the commissioners table the matter for another three months.

"Your current order suspends the fines. They're currently set at $4,800. The one change that's occurred recently has to do with the Plan Commission. They have initiated legal proceedings against the property as it relates to the zoning, and their contention that its a junk yard and improperly zoned."

Commissioner Terry Martin opposed tabling the matter, saying he’s been dealing with it for four years now. But Commissioners Dennis Kratz and Larry Miller voted 2-1 in favor of tabling the issue.