“The state of local government is better than it ever has been”

That was the consensus of three local elected officials who spoke on the subject at the Knox County Chamber of Commerce lunch on Wednesday.

Vincennes Mayor Joe Yochum, Bicknell Mayor Thomas Estabrook and President of the Knox County Commissioners Kellie Streeter touted the many positives that have been accomplished in Vincennes, Bicknell and the county over the last year and during their terms in office.

Those included infrastructure improvements, the additions to the Knox County Jail and new Community Corrections facility, updates and additions to Heritage Circle in Bicknell and much more.

They also spoke of what the future holds including more housing in Vincennes as several projects are in the works, the upcoming groundbreaking of AgroRenew in the Knox County Industrial park, and plans to demolish blighted buildings in Bicknell and work to get those spaces occupied by other business or industry.

The local leaders took a few minutes to take jabs at state government commenting on how many state legislators do not live in municipalities and sometimes they try to fix what is wrong in a local area without thinking about the impact it will have on other communities on a state level.

Credit was given to city and county employees and department heads who manage their budgets effectively and the cooperation that each local government has with each other in working to get things done for the betterment of all in Knox County.

The event was co-sponsored by Vincennes PBS.

Be watching for a video of the entire presentation which will be available soon on this website.