Jasper County Board of Supervisor member Thad Nearmyer is replacing Robyn Friedman on the Jasper County Conservation Board. Supervisors Brandon Talsma and Doug Cupples approved the appointment during the County Board of Supervisors’ regular meeting on Tuesday, with Nearmyer abstaining. Talsma, who chairs the board, nominated Nearmyer for the appointment, saying it was an effort to improve communication between the two boards.  

“In light of recent events, I think it would behoove us to appoint Thad Nearmyer to the Conservation Board. So I’m going to make that motion. I think there has been a continual breakdown of conversation between the two boards.”

The County Board of Supervisors disputed some statements made by a Conservation Department employee at a public meeting last week, regarding a vacant position in the department and discussions between the Supervisors and Conservation Board members about filling that vacancy. Friedman had been a Jasper County Conservation Board member for over eight years. During the board meeting, a longtime Jasper County Conservation Department supporter and donor to the Conservation Department’s Environmental Education Center asked Talsma to further explain why Friedman’s term on the Conservation Board was not being extended. Talsma stated that he was against anyone serving on a board for a perpetual amount of time. He also said a majority of the current Conservation Board members are from within a 3-mile radius of Newton, and he would like to see more people from rural areas of the county get appointed to board positions.