Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr elected NIRPC chairman

McDermott elected NIRPC chairman

Quote :

PORTAGE | Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. was elected NIRPC 2011 chairman at the planning organization's annual meeting Thursday.

In accepting the meeting gavel, McDermott said he counts on the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission working to make good things happen in the next year.

"This is the only body that represents all three counties, so it's a powerful group," McDermott said.

In his new role, McDermott often will work closely with the Indiana Department of Transportation, a group he has clashed with on some issues and cooperated with on others.

On Thursday, he was highlighting the positive, citing INDOT's cooperation on erecting a cable barrier down the median of Interstate 65, a move he spearheaded.

"They won't be thinking of us, but someday someone will hit that barrier and it will save their life, and that's because of the action this body took in working with INDOT," McDermott said.

What is a "cable barrier"?
Nothing like my palm trees, right?