Hailing a cab may be a whistle away

Beginning in January, Harrison County residents may have another transportation option around town, to Louisville, Horseshoe Southern Indiana or any other county or regional destination.
Bill White, owner of Checker Cab of Southern Indiana, visited the Harrison County Board of Commissioners Monday night and reported his intent to open a satellite office in Corydon.
‘There’s a demand here, and a need,’ White said, while admitting it may take time to build up a base.
White said his company works with a 15-minute response time and has the best rates around. He said it costs $3 to get in a cab and $1.75 per mile. The vehicles used are Chevrolet Cavaliers.
White said the company will start with two 24-hour vehicles in Corydon and will hire local drivers.
‘We would bring quite a bit of revenue to this county,’ White said.
Emergency vehicle repair will take place at local businesses, he said, and the drivers will eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the area.
‘They’ll spend money here,’ White said.
The board took the request of operational authority under advisement and will create an ordinance for later approval.
‘I’m glad to see you all come to Harrison County,’ Commissioner Carl (Buck) Mathes said.
In other matters Monday night, County Engineer Kevin Russel reported that Crandall Station Subdivision, including Crandall Station Road, Jacob’s Ridge and Benjamin’s Court, are all now considered county roads.
‘It’s been a long haul trying to get those roads up to standards,’ Commissioner James Goldman said. ‘I’m pleased we’ve been able to get it done.’
If roads are not in the control of the county, postmasters do not have to deliver mail to the area and school buses are not allowed to travel on the roads.
Russel reported work on the Corydon-Ramsey Road hazard elimination project is progressing nicely. He said blasting has been completed, the box culvert assembled and mass excavation began Monday. He said it should be complete in September, ahead of the contract completion date, barring inclement weather.
The board also discussed modifying subdivision road regulations to get the roads under county supervision sooner. Russel said he would love to address the issue, and Mathes advised him to work with planning and zoning on the matter.
‘I’m ready to approve something,’ Mathes said. ‘The subdivision road ordinance is not good enough.’
The board approved a contract with James L. Shireman Inc. in Corydon for contract manager services for the renovation of the old medical office building, new medical office building, demolition of the 1950 wing of the former hospital and the renovation of the remaining hospital wing, old jail/archive building and the Justice Center, all in Corydon, for a total of $591,198. The figure has been approved by the council as part of the project budget.
The commissioners and RQAW Consulting Engineers and Architects, architect of the project, will hold a kickoff meeting today (Wednesday) at 9 a.m. at the courthouse in Corydon.