This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022.

Later in the program, the Monroe County Democratic Party elected Shruti Rana as vice-chair after a resignation last winter left the office vacant. More in the bottom half of tonight’s program.

Also coming up in the next half hour, we have Better Beware - your weekly-consumer watchdog segment on WFHB.

But first, your Environmental News Brief:

Across the state, farmers have been reporting cases of a highly lethal bird flu called H5N1 in turkey populations. The outbreak has been occurring globally but the first confirmed case in Indiana was on February 9th in Dubois County, but has since spread to a farm south of Bloomington and in Greene County. The total number of turkeys impacted is estimated to be around 103,000 birds, with many of them having to be euthanized to contain the spread. There are a total of 28 poultry farms in the state that are in a form of quarantine, and are going through massive cleaning operations to help stop the spread of the bird flu. Indiana is one of the largest poultry producing states, and if the flu spreads the amount of chicken eggs, turkeys, and ducks in supermarkets and restaurants could decrease nationwide.

Southwestern Indiana was recently the center of attention on an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” which is the most listened to podcast in the world, with an average of 11 million listeners per episode. The host, Joe Rogan, was discussing air pollution with world-renowned climate scientist Andrew Dessler when the topic came up about pollution caused by coal-fired power plants. According to the discussion, the city of Evansville, Indiana has the worst air quality in the country primarily due to seven coal-fired power plants located around the city. This portion of Southwestern Indiana is often cited as a sacrifice zone, in which people suffer respiratory issues due to power plants. There are signs that this statistic is changing, as more coal-fired plants are being shut down or changing to alternative sources of energy.

Recently, residents of the city of Lake Tahoe, California have been terrorized by the infamous “HANK THE TANK”. Weighing at 500 pounds, Hank is an extremely large and overweight black bear who no longer fears humans and thus has the courage to break into dozens of homes to feast on leftover pizza. Despite breaking into 28 homes, he has not harmed a single person. His passion for eating processed food and avoiding the fruits and veggies has caused the bear to become a social media sensation. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking to capture Hank, as despite his friendly nature, it is too dangerous to have bears living alongside humans. The Bear Education Aversion Response League is an organization that is working towards finding an animal sanctuary for Hank the Tank to live at once the California DFW is finally able to capture the notorious black bear.

Monroe County Board of Commissioners Talk Funding for Service Agreements

On February 16th at the Monroe County Board of Commissioners meeting Assessor Judith Sharp, asked the commissioners to approve funding for service agreements with Midwest Presort, which she hires to handle the mailing of personal property assessment forms.

Sharp shared that Indiana changed the Business Personal Property Tax requirement to be eighty thousand dollars rather than forty thousand dollars.

Sharp explained that although this is convenient for businesses, the burden of property taxes then falls upon the shoulders of the homeowners.

Commissioner Penny Githens asked Sharp what they can do to push back against the shift away from taxing businesses. Sharp responded.

The next county commissioners meeting will be held on February 23rd.

Monroe County Public Library Board of Trustees Discuss Fut...