Beth Rumsey
Staff Writer

The employees of the Ripley County Highway Garage have earned the Indiana Public Employers’ Plans safety award for 2009.

According to highway supervisor Junior Heaton, this means that the employees took steps to practice safety measures and had minimal accidents.

Heaton noted that the garage has received the safety award every year for the past several years. “This is from the guys being careful and being dedicated to their job,” he said. He told the Osgood Journal, “They’re a great bunch of guys.”

Ripley County is one of over 500 government entities throughout Indiana covered by the Indiana Public Employers’ Plan, a self-funded workers compensation risk-sharing group. The group not only rewards the prevention of accidents, but also emphasizes the cost savings to government agencies by keeping workers on the job.

BETH RUMSEY PHOTO Employees of the Ripley County Highway Garage are pictured front row: Gary Stutler, county commissioner; Steve Schonegg, safety director; Brian Sechrest, Barney Bales, foreman; Junior Heaton, superintendent; Bob DeBurger, foreman; Don Zapfe, Pat Kissell, foreman; back row: Donnie Rose, Rodney Hyatt, Kurt Brunner, Kenneth King, Dan Nickell, David Brunner, Darin Brown, Scott Mulford, Dave Scoggins, and Bryan Schlotman. Not pictured are: Ray Toops, foreman; Danny Evans, Mick Johnson, foreman; Bob Linville, Mike Bear and Eudora Hilton, secretary.