The Press-Dispatch

April 10, 2013

The Press-Dispatch

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InsIde thIs Issue sprIng home & garden Four sections 40 pages Nine inserts Wednesday, April 10, 2013��� 75�� Volume 145��� Number 15��� Phone (812) 354-8500��� Petersburg, IN 47567-0068��� (USPS 604-340) County Council approves $400,000 match for Stellar Funding approved for disc golf course By Andy Heuring During their Tuesday morning meeting, county councilmen approved $400,000 matching money for Petersburg���s Stellar Communities program application. They also approved funding to build a disc golf course at Prides Creek. Petersburg Mayor Frank Coleman attended the meeting to ask the council for the same commitment to the Stellar Communities Program that they pledged last year. The county council wrote a letter of support, pledging $250,000 in matching funds, while the county commissioner wrote a letter of support for $150,000, plus inkind services of $46,000. ���Petersburg is poised and Pike County is poised to really move forward in economic development. Stellar will really position us well for that development,��� said Coleman. He added he knew $400,000 was a lot of money. ���I look at is as you are investing that type of money into the county,��� said Coleman. He emphasized the Stellar Com- munities Project, which is believed to provide about $10 million in funding for various projects to two winning communities, will benefit the whole county. He explained three projects directly benefitted all of the county. The plan calls for Petersburg to get a new fire station. Petersburg has expanded their coverage area out into the county because of I69. ���With the interchange at Petersburg, it doesn���t make sense for Jefferson to drive to Petersburg to get to accidents in Jefferson Township. So Petersburg has drafted coverage agreements to take care of I-69. A second area Mayor Coleman highlighted was the Technology Center that will act as an incubator for technology ideas to help them get off the ground. He said Pike Central students already have 100 different projects drawn up. ���They are receiving national recognition,��� said Coleman. He has also talked with representatives of Jasper and Oakland City University, who are interested in the technology center. ���It will help the whole county,��� said Coleman. Another project, with county wide benefits, new to this year���s Continued on page 2 EMTs and rescue personnel carry Luke Cox to an ambulance. He was injured Monday evening when he hit a dog while riding his motorcycle in the Meadowbrook subdivision. Local man suffers head injury in motorcycle accident By Andy Heuring A Petersburg man suffered a head injury Monday evening when he crashed his motorcycle, after hitting a dog in the Meadowbrook neighborhood. Luke Cox, 35, of 1008 E. Abigail St., was riding his Yamaha XT motorcycle east on Harvest Lane, when a dog ran in front of him, according to Pike County Deputy Sheriff Brad Jenkins. Cox hit the dog, killing it, and causing him to crash. Jenkins said Cox was not wearing a helmet. Petersburg Officer Chad Tharp, who assisted with the accident, said Cox was unconscious for about five minutes. The accident happened at about 5:30 p.m. Cox was taken by ambulance to Memorial Hospital in Jasper and then transferred to St. Mary���s in Evansville. He was expected to be released on Tuesday. Along with head injuries, his knee was injured. Murder suspect captured Friday morning in Petersburg By Andy Heuring A man wanted for attempted murder in Anderson was captured early last Friday morning by police. It caused anxious times for residents on the northeast side of Petersburg, near the Kangaroo store, as teams of police searched the wooded area for nearly six hours before capturing Darius Hardiman. Hardiman, 21, of Terre Haute, was taken into custody at about 6:30 a.m. by a combination of Petersburg, Pike County, Indiana State Police and US Marshals. A warrant for attempted murder had been issued for Hardiman in connection with a March 17 shooting in Anderson. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Baumgart stated police had been looking for Hardiman for a while and got information he might be in Evansville. Then they learned his father managed the Guest Hotel in Petersburg. So State Police and US Marshals went to the hotel and Hardiman fled on foot toward the Kangaroo. This hap- pened at about midnight. It is a wooded area between Lakeview Drive and Highway 57 over to the Eastwood neighborhood. City and County and more Indiana State Police were called out to help with the search. Baumgart said eventually police set up a ���dragline.��� He said they basically just line up, arms length apart, and began walking the area. At about 6:30 a.m., Baumgart said they located Hardiman hiding in a bush and he came out without incident. The manhunt caused tense mo ments for residents in the area and delayed the start of school for Darius Hardiman two hours. Pike County Schools Superintendent Suzanne Blake said Mike Hildebrand, Director of Support Services for the schools, was notified by police at about 3 a.m. of the manhunt. Blake said at about 5 a.m. she talked with Hildebrand and the decision was made to delay the start of school for two hours. She said they thought it would be best to wait to have kids out until they had daylight. Also, they didn���t want people to leave their children alone at home to go to work. So they opened up Petersburg Elementary School so parContinued on page 2 Winslow raises water rates and talks annexation By Andy Heuring Winslow finalized water and sewer rate increases, talked about annexation and announced key personnel changes at their Monday night meeting. Water rates increased across the board by 28 percent, while the sewer rates are increasing by 36 percent. The increases had been announced at a previous meeting, after a rate study and a public hearing on the recommended increas- es. The ordinances making the rates effective immediately were approved by 3-0 votes. The minimum rate on the standard 5/8 inch meter is now $28.90 for the minimum of 2,000 gallons. Any water used beyond that will be at a rate of $14.45 per 1,000 gallons for the first 5,000 gallons. Clerk-Treasurer Beth Bennett said all but about five Winslow water customers use a 5/8 inch meter. A connection fee was increased from $300 to $310, while the bad check fee was increased from $28 to $35. The new sewer rate will be a $36.48 each month plus $5.34 per 1,000 gallons of water used. See all the proposed rate increases on page B-9. Annexation discussed Councilman David Tisdale recommended Winslow look at annexing in three different directions. The annexation topic came up when Neil Elkins of Tri-Cap told them Winslow was eligible for two ���forgiveable loans.��� One was $5,000 that can be used to help secure the former Winslow Medical Clinic that is now vacant. Elkins, last year, told the council Tri-Cap is trying to secure funding to convert the medical clinic into senior housing apartments. The other was for $7,500 that could be used for almost anything other than salaries, supplies or everyday expenses. Two suggestions were to help with the construction of a walking trail and painting the inside of the Winslow Community Center. Tisdale asked if it could be used to study annexation. ���I have always thought we should go north all the way to the railroad tracks,��� said Tisdale. Elkins said the medical clinic was located on the north side of Winslow���s city limits. Tisdale asked if annexation would help Tri-Cap get funding for Continued on page 2 Velpen woman dies in FedEx truck accident Finally a warm Saturday morning Jesse James White and Daniella Ella Rose White help wash their father���s monster wheeled truck on Saturday morning, in some of the first warm temperatures of the year. March was one of the coldest on record. PIKE PUBLISHING WHAT���S INSIDE: Local ..........A1-8 Sports ........B1-3 Opinion..........C2 Online special A3 Classi���eds....B8-9 History ...........C6 Obituaries ......A5 Church .......C1-6 Home .......D1-14 NEWS TIPS: Phone:........................354-8500 Fax: ............................354-2014 E-Mail . editor@pressdispatch.net A Velpen woman died Monday afternoon from injuries after falling from a FedEx truck while making deliveries in Perry County. Debra J. Harris, 54, of Velpen, was riding in a FedEx Debra Harris truck driven by Joseph Englebrecht, 30, of Evansville. Indiana State Police said Harris was unrestrained in the front right area of the 2000 International delivery truck as they drove west on Leopold Road, east of Lavender Road. They had just made a delivery and were headed to another delivery. As they went around a curve, Harris fell out of the truck. She was taken from the scene of the accident by an ambulance and then flown by air ambulance to the Perry County Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The accident occurred at 1:38 p.m. CST. Englebrecht was uninjured. CONNECT WITH US: NETedition ... pressdispatch.net/edition Facebook .... facebook.com/pressdispatch E-Mail .......... news@pressdispatch.net

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