Supervisors: No paranormal investigations at care facility

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Is there paranormal activity occurring at the former Jasper County Care Facility? We may never know. The board of supervisors turned down a request from Robert Sinclair and his Mid-Iowa Paranormal crew to conduct an investigation at the care facility site. The men wanted to spend most of the night of March 21 at the facility, conducting a variety of field investigations, including taking pictures, electromagnetic readings and tape recordings. Sinclair said the experience at the care facility would help them establish base readings to better gauge when future readings are anomalous. He assured the supervisors that his team would be respectful and responsible and would be willing to sign a liability waiver for the opportunity. The supervisors, however, made it clear that there wasn’t a ghost of a chance to allow the investigators on the grounds. “I was in the building a week ago, and it’s full of mold, there’s glass all over the place,” supervisor Denny Stevenson said. “I don’t think it’s safe for anyone to be in there.” The other supervisors unanimously agreed and denied the request. In other action Tuesday, the supervisors: • Ratified the recommendation of the Jasper County Compensation Board to make no increases in salaries for the county’s elected officials. Stevenson said he was pleased with the recommendation, and of the county’s employees for requesting a no-raise year. “I’m very proud of our elected employees. It sets the tone” for the upcoming budget discussion, Stevenson said. “It’s important to hold the line. No one knows how long this economic situation will last,” supervisor John Parsons said. • Approved the low bid of Rent-A-Shed of Newton to install a metal cover over the main entrance and exit door to the Jasper County Law Enforcement Center for $14,455. • Approved the request of Dr. Gautam Kakade, Jasper County’s medical examiner, to appoint Debra D. Swihart as a medical examiner investigator. Swihart is a registered nurse and has received a Forensic Nursing Certificate from Kaplan University. She has been trained and qualified to do death scene investigations in the absence of the medical examiner.