Supervisors meet newly hired deputy sheriff

   Jones County has a new deputy sheriff.

   During the Nov. 22 Jones County Supervisor meeting, Chief Deputy Brian Eckhardt introduced the board to Dylan Gapinski.

   "We had the opportunity to get someone hired," said Eckhardt of adding an additional deputy sheriff. "We made an excellent choice."

   Gapinski said he grew up in the area, and attended Anamosa High School. After school, he attended Buena Vista University, and then spent five years serving in the U.S Army.

   "I'm just out (of the Army) and this job opened up," he told the board.

   The board approved of the hiring of Gapinski at a wage of $28.34 an hour.

   Eckhardt said that by June, Gapinski will start his training in either Cedar Rapids or the ILEA (Iowa Law Enforcement Academy).

   Another new deputy will begin training at the ILEA on Jan. 3. This is an 18-week program.

   "We focus our well-rounded training with different deputies and different tasks with various expertise throughout our department," added Eckhardt.

In other county business:

   • The board denied a Family Farm Property Tax Credit application.

   County Assessor Sarah Benter presented it to the supervisors during their previous board meeting, noting she had some unanswered questions. The board asked Benter to seek advice from the state. The response from the state noted that the property needed to include at least 10 contiguous acres. The farm owner must also offer who's renting the property. In this case, the owner just listed the person as a "tenant."

   "Most people put the tenant's name," noted Supervisor Jeff Swisher.

   "He left the person's name off," said Benter.