THURSDAY, AUG. 28, 2025 • VOLUME N0. 124 • ISSUE NO. 49 • 1 SECTION • 8 PAGES
Serving Colfax • Mingo • Baxter • Western Jasper County
GREAT TO BE BACK
Colfax-Mingo and Baxter school districts kick off the 2025-26 school year Aug. 25
Jamee A. Pierson/Jasper County Tribune From kindergartners to seniors, students and staff were excited to get back in the classroom at both Colfax-Mingo and Baxter schools.
A second chance to have Dinner in the Street Colfax Main Street event so popular in first year it is back for an encore By Jamee A. Pierson Jasper County Tribune To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Colfax Main Street in 2024, the organization hosted a Dinner in the Street fundraiser event. With more than 110 people enjoying a meal by local providers, the night was a huge success; so much so it was decided to try it again in 2025. “We wanted to do the event to celebrate our community’s accomplishments in restoring our historic downtown business district and our efforts to make it a more economically vibrant place,” Colfax Main Street Director Stuart Patterson said. “We were only planning on this being a one-time event, but we had many people tell us how much of a good time they had and that we should do it again. We decided to bite the bullet and try it again this year.” A brief rainstorm didn’t dampen the festivities and even made File Photo way for huge rainbows to enhance Diners enjoy Dinner in the Street, a fundraiser event held in 2024 DINNER | 3
to celebrate 15 years of Colfax Main Street. The event is back and planned for Sept. 20 in downtown Colfax.
Burdess exits Colfax police chief role City appoints Sgt. William Mortenson as interim police chief, begins search for replacement By Jamee A. Pierson Jasper County Tribune The City of Colfax is looking for a new police chief following the resignation of former Colfax Police Chief Jeremy Burdess. The Colfax City Council accepted his resignation at the Aug. 11 meeting effective for Aug. 15. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to lead the police department here in my hometown the past three years,” Burdess said. “I appreciate the trust you have placed in me by hiring me for this position and the support you have given me and the depart-
ment during this time.” Burdess shared he is taking a position in the private sector. The council thanked him for his service to the city during his years of service. During his time at the Colfax Police Department, Burdess was instrumental in engaging with the public. One event he started in the community was National Night Out, an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer, more caring places to POLICE | 3
Jasper County reworks pay plans to retain and attract more workers Supervisors had instructed wage committee to find system that best fits county By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune Supervisors have reworked all pay plans for Jasper County employees in hopes to simplify the system, attract more workers and save tax dollars in the long run. Dennis Simon, director of human resources for Jasper County, said the new pay plans had been formulating over the past several months. Supervisors had been meeting with Simon and other department heads during work sessions to hash out the details. They looked
at everything from step programs to merit systems. “Came down to making the recommendation to move forward with the fivestep pay plan,” Simon said at the Aug. 12 meeting. “It achieves everything I believe the board wanted. It increases our hiring rate, it also gets the employee to the top rate of scale; both would be very effective for recruitment tools and retainment.” The supervisors approved five different consolidated pay plans, including plans for the sheriff ’s office, courthouse/maintenance/ elderly nutrition, secondCONTACT US
ary roads, conservation, hourly non-bargaining and non-department heads. In addition, the board also increased the base rate of pay for AFSCME and PPME. All of the pay plans go into effect Aug. 23 and they will sunset on June 30, 2026. Supervisor Thad Nearmyer, who served on the wage committee, thanked everyone involved in creating the new plans. As the newest supervisor on the board, the process served as an insightful learning experience. It seemed like it would be an RETAIN | 3
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Christopher Braunschweig/Jasper County Tribune Jasper County has reworked its employee pay plans in order to attract more workers and retain the workers they already have. The process was months in the making.
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