County purchasing eclipse glasses for emergency workers, celebrations

Bartholomew County emergency workers and other officials will be prepared for the upcoming solar eclipse, under a plan for eclipse viewing glasses approved by the county commissioners Monday.

Bartholomew County Emergency Management Director Shannan Cooke asked the commissioners to ratify a purchase made for the shaded glasses to arrive in time for the April 8th total eclipse. Cooke said that three bids were received to purchase the glasses, but one was not certified as safe for eclipse viewing and another could not guarantee the glasses would arrive in time for the event.

Cooke said that the plan is to distribute the glasses to emergency workers and county employees. They will also be made available to organizers of events that day to be held in the county, as opposed to events in the city limits.

The commissioners approved the spending of just over $5,500 for the glasses. Cooke said the money was coming from leftover funds from the previous year and a grant from Duke Energy specifically for eclipse related purchases.