At the March 1, 2017 meeting of the Clark County Commissioners, Greg and Connie Reice, Josh Stonts, and Keith Rotroff met with the Clark County Commissioners to urge them to defund Planned Parenthood’s current contract expires. Rice said, “I don’t want to see my tax dollars fund an organization that kills babies.”

He provided the commissioners with the top five reasons the county should defund the organization.

Rice said that Planned Parenthood murders unborn children.

Second, the organization sells parts of babies for profit. He displayed a Confederate Flag with the admonition that because of the use of the flag to justify killings in the south, it is now hard to find one to purchase. He said, “If Planned Parenthood were SELLING Confederate Flags they would have been defunded long ago,” However, the flag can be purchased online for as little as $7.00.

His number three reason for defunding Planned Parenthood is that they lied about providing mammograms. However, their website does not say they perform mammograms, the organization only provides referrals.

Fourth, Rice contends that Planned Parenthood is not necessary. All of the services that Planned Parenthood provides can be obtained from Rocking Horse Helath Center for Women and the Chiaroscuro Foundation of New York.

Fifth,he said that 98% of Planned Parenthood political contributions go to Democrats.

He said that the organization commits 323,949 per year, which equates to approximately 887 per day. Although the organization states that abortions account for only 3% of their services the number is skewed because the count every thing they do in the process of an exam as a service rendered including taking blood pressure, providing an pregnancy test.

He said, “It is taking too long to stand up for justice.”

Commissioner Richard Lohnes pointed out that the contract that the county has with Planned Parenthood is not for abortion services. The contract is through DJFS and provides teen pregnancy education services to the community. In addition, Lohnes pointed out that the contract is funded from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) dollars, which is a federally funded grant program. The Clark County Commission is only a pass through organization so none of the monies come out of the County General Fund.

In addition, Lohnes pointed out that DJFS issues a RFP for the services that they need to provide. Any 501 3c organization can submit a proposal to provide the services needed in the RFP. However, they must be able to provide all of the services required. He said, “If Rocking Horse can provide these services, then they have as good a chance as Planned Parenthood of receiving the contract; however, if they don’t respond to the RFP or can’t provide the services, we can just give them the contract.”


Regular Business

  • Authorized a change in the time of the March 8, 2017 meeting from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to allow the commissioners to attend an open house by the Westco Port Authority
  • Passed a resolution that urges state legislators to take immediate action as part of the biennial budget process to protect counties and transit authorities against the loss of Medicaid Managed Care Organizations Sales Tax Revenue. The county relies on the sales tax revenues to provide essential services to the citizens of Clark county. If the legislators do not protect the counties against the loss of this revenue, the result will be an annual loss of revenue of approximately $3.1 million. This loss will have devastating consequences for the County Government and the citizens of Clark County who rely on these government services. County Administrator Jennifer Hutchinson pointed out, “We can’t just hope that the budget is revised. We still need to dig deep to reduce our expenses.”
  • Approved a payment of $20,000 to the Humane Society Service Clark Count for dog pound services for January, February and March 2017 for $20,000. However, the payment will be held until they get the reports for January and February for these services.

Building and Grounds

  • Authorized a contract with Silco Fire and Security for $18,000 to install fume hood and waterless fire suppression system to BCI Crime Lab effective March 1, 2017

Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS)

  • Authorized a contract with Forensic Fluids for $12,000 to purchase drug testing supplies effective March 1, 2017 through February 28, 2018. The supplies are used by DJFS to test DNA for paternity suits.

Human Resources Director

  • Authorized a contract for Voya Financial for reinsurance effective January 1, 2017. Voya provides insurance coverage for any expense that exceeds the established insurance threshold.

Vehicle Purchases

  • Authorized the purchase of a 2017 Jeep Cherokee from Byers Auto for $23,581 for the coroner
  • Authorized the purchase of two 12,8000lb dump trucks from Bob Ross Auto Group for $82,000 for equipment needs for the Deputy Engineer

The committee to update the Strategic Plan for the county.

  • A number of suggestions were made to improve the use of the office space through the city and planed a meetings in February to solicit citizen input on plan. Included in the discussion were a permanent location for the Dog Warden’s Office, Space for a combined 9-1-1 service for the city and county, more handicapped accessible location for the Veteran’s Office and the renovation of the 3rd floor of the Springview Government Center. The committee will continue to work on a final recommendation.
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