The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1249446
A-4 Local Wednesday, May 20, 2020 The Press-Dispatch Jeffrey Hallett, md Gastroenterologist R e s p e c t f o r H u m a n D i g n i t y • C o m p a s s i o n a t e C a r i n g S t e w a r d s h i p • Q u a l i t y • J u s t i c e Jeffrey Hallett, MD has joined the active medical staff at Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center. He will provide gastroenterological services for Digestive Care Center. Dr. Hallett received his medical degree at University of Illinois in Urbana, Ilonois. He completed a residency and fellowship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital at Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis. He is board certified in gastroenterology and a member of the American Gastroenterological Association. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Hallett, please contact Digestive Care Center at 812-556-5048. Precious Moments Willow Tree Jewelry Party Goods Invitations Assorted Gift Items Gift Wrap and Accessories Congrats to All 2020 Graduates! GIFT IDEAS FOR 716 Main St. Petersburg • 812-354-9372 Visit us at facebook.com/margeshallmark Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 9-5; Friday 9-6 Marge's Hallmark Grads 'Heroes for Pets' donates to PAWS PAWS benefited from a large delivery of pet food and sup- plies from a new pro- gram called "Heroes for Pets," initiated by four-year-old Trinity Grace Watts, of Mon- roe City. Trinity, her sister, MacKenzie Jo, and their father, Rod- ney Watts, unloaded a van full of supplies this past Monday af- ternoon, with help from Maggie Stilwell. Rodney Watts said Trinity was constant- ly asking about help- ing pets in need af- ter watching television commercials and he finally said that they could do something, and Trinity called it "Heroes for Pets." James Capozella photo Hobby arrested on multiple charges Sunday By Andy Heuring A Petersburg woman was arrested at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday after police were called to remove her from the residence where she used to live. Lori Hobby, 46, of 4691 N. Memory Ln., Petersburg, was arrested on charges of invasion of privacy, resist- ing law enforcement, bat- tery with no injury to a pub- lic safety official, possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine and possession of paraphernalia. Pike County Deputy Paul Collier said he was sent to the Memory Lane residence after Ron Evans called and asked to have Hobby re- moved from his house. He said he had a protective or- der against Hobby. Earli- er this month, Hobby had been arrested after Evans had called police and said Hobby was doing drugs in his residence. He told police then Hobby had lived there for about 13 years. Collier said he went into the house and found Hobby laying on the couch. He said when he asked her ques- tions, she wouldn't answer him until they went outside the residence. Deputy Collier said she told him her identification was in her car. She also told him there was a gun in her car. Deputy Collier retrieved her identification and ran it through dispatch, where it was confirmed there was a protective order against her. He said when he started to pull his handcuffs out, Hobby took off running. He chased her and she fell down. He said she kicked him several times while he was trying to place hand- cuffs on her. Petersburg Police Cpl. Kyle Mills arrived and they were able to place her in handcuffs. Deputy Collier said police located a bag with a "Frog- eye Hemp" logo on it. In the bag was what Deputy Col- lier said appeared to be mar- ijuana. Hobby refused medical treatment and was taken to the Pike County Jail. When police inventoried her vehicle, they found a 380 Taurus pistol. Deputy Col- lier said Hobby had a per- mit to carry the gun. They also found a metal box on the dash that had a yellow tinted rock lick substance they recognized as crack cocaine. Collier said jail personnel located two glass smoking devices with a burnt residue in them in Hobby's purse. SR64 closure near Huntingburg slated to close May 26 Highway 64 near Hunting- burg will be closed on May 26. It will be a complete road closure for State Road 64 near Huntingburg for a bridge project. The Indiana Depart- ment of Transportation an- nounced beginning on or around Monday, May 26, contractors will close the Highway 64 bridge span- ning Rock Creek, about two miles west of Highway 161. This project is for repairs to the bridge deck. During this project, local traffic will have access up to the point of closure, but all through traffic should use the official detour following S.R. 61, S.R. 68 and S.R. 161. Work is expected to last un- til the end of June, depend- ing upon weather conditions. INDOT urges drivers to slow down and stay alert near crews. Lane restrictions on SR57 in Washington begin June 1 The Indiana Department of Transportation announc- es there will be lane restric- tions for State Road 57 at the intersection of Meridi- an Street in Washington. Beginning on or around Monday, June 1, INDOT contractors will restrict lanes to 10 feet near the intersection of Meridian Street while crews perform shoulder work along the west side of the roadway. This operation is part of a project to realign the inter- section at Meridian Street and Highway 57. Workers will have temporary mark- ings in place along with con- struction barrels to help mo- torists during the lane shift. No road will be closed as a part of this operation and ac- cess to local businesses and homes will be maintained at all times. Depending upon weath- er conditions, work on this phase is expected to be com- plete by the beginning of Au- gust. Restrictions will be in place around the clock dur- ing this time. By Andy Heuring Pike County's Fair board is in the process of try- ing to figure what the post COVID-19 version of the 2020 Pike County 4-H Fair is going to look like. It will happen, but it will be different. They just got word from Purdue Exten- sion, which operates all the 4-H program state-wide an- nounced on May 15 fairs in July could happen. But there are going to be many restric- tions. Pike County Fair board President Kara Willis said there will be no rides, no am- phitheater events, no mass gatherings. She hopes they will be able to have the Miss Pike County pageant and do most of the 4-H projects in person, but that has yet to be determined. She said all 4-Hers will be allowed to submit their projects on- line to be virtually judged. But she hopes they will also be able to do the traditional submission and judging of projects in person. "It will depend on if the judges are willing to judge them in person. "We are hoping for a pa- rade, but we just don't know." Willis said they are going to be required to take the temperature of every per- son who comes through the gate. She said they will also be required to have PPE for the staff at the fair and prac- tice social distancing. Another possibility is that the Miss Pike County pag- eant will be done virtually. A big factor is the lack of time to plan for the Fair. Purdue didn't announce un- til May 15 if the July fairs would even be allowed to take place. So it just didn't leave them much time to plan. "It is a scramble for us to just get together the events we are going to have," said Willis. The Fair is scheduled to start on Saturday, July 18 and run through July 25. Pike County Fair will be different this year By Andy Heuring Pike County Commis- sioners declared an emer- gency to deal with damage found on the courthouse roof and opened paving bids during their Monday morning meeting. It was the first in-person Com- missioner meeting since the pandemic was declared in March. Commissioner President Mark Flint said they had declared the roof damage an emergency due to possi- ble leaking and the poten- tial to damage electronics in the courthouse with pre- dicted rains. "Due to imminent threat of rain and severe damage to the courthouse roof and electronic equipment, I hereby declare an emer- gency and authorize the seeking of a quote for its repair and to initiate the immediate repair and re- placement." It was signed by Flint on May 12, with the stipulation it be sub- mitted to the full Board of Commissioners at their Monday, May 18 meeting. Commissioner Assistant Kristi Dischinger said she had been working on get- ting information together for a few months to get a quote for roof repair. Head Custodian Jim Middleton went on the roof last Mon- day to gather information for Dischinger and noticed several large holes in the rubber liner on the roof. "He said he had been up there about two weeks ear- lier and the damage wasn't there," said Dischinger. A storm with strong straight- line winds in early Spring damaged several nearby roofs. The commissioner got a quote from Five Start Commercial Roofing Inc. of Hartford City for a quote of $47,250. Dischinger told the commissioners that was only to replace the cur- rent roof, apply three layers and do flashing work. She said if they run into dam- age underneath current roof covering, it will be ex- tra. The commissioners vot- ed 3-0 to approve hiring Five Star. The new roof will have a 20 -year warranty. The commissioners opened bids for the Com- munity Crossroad paving grant projects. The only bidder was Cave Quarries Inc. of Otwell. Their bids were: • Flat Creek Road (900E) from Highway 356 to Strawberry Rd. (CR200N) 4,356 feet in Jefferson Twp. $124,227.50 • CR375E from High- way 356 to CR475 N 3,360 feet in Washington Twp. $116,737.50. • Flat Creek Road (900E) from Highway 56 to Strawberry Rd., Jeffer- son Twp. $ 62,594. • Meridian Road from Division to Sugar Ridge Road (CR150S) 8,121 feet Patoka Twp. $146,402. • CR800S from Highway 61 to CR75E 1,305 feet in Monroe Twp. $19,555. • CR75E from CR800S to CR775S 1,266 feet Mon- roe Twp. $16,719.50. • CR775 S from CR75E to Meridian Road 4,845 Monroe Twp. $ 65,509.50. • CR775S from Meridian to Haul Rd. 3,460 feet Mon- roe Twp. $45,755.50. • Grange Haul Rd., (CR75E) from Sugar Ridge Rd. to rock about 4,062 feet Patoka Twp. $70,582. • CR500W and CR550N from Highway 56 to High- way 56 10,170 feet Madison Twp. $133,161. • Division Rd., from CR725 E to CR800E 3,984 feet in Marion Twp. $49,800.50. • CR 1100 S from CR400E to CR550E 6,282 feet in Lockhart Twp. $141,029. • CR250N from CR325 W to CR275 W 2,726 feet Madison Twp. $ 31,713. All the bids were taken under advisement. In other business the commissioners approved Clerk Lana Griffith's re- quest to purchase new se- curity software. She said Senate Bill 179 requires all computers that touch anything with the elec- tion to have Fire Eye Cy- ber Security software on them. Griffith said it was just passed and she is still learning about it. But she said it appears the state is going to pay for security software. A representative of Eck- Mundy who does support for the county's computers said it has benefits. "I just dread some of the side ef- fects." He said the more securi- ty and systems you put on computers, the more inter- actions there will be and slower they will run. In other business several office holders and depart- ment heads gave updates to the commissioners. Treasurer Marta Que- ry said tax revenues are down about $1 million from where they were last year. But the deadline to pay property taxes isn't until July 10. In previous years it was May 10. County Health Nurse Amy Gladish reported a random testing of 5,000 people in Indiana gave re- searchers insight into the disease. She said they es- timate 11 times more peo- ple have it than earlier es- timates. She said many people are asymptomatic, including one of Pike Coun- ty's five confirmed cases. The next commissioner meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday, June 1. Courthouse roof damage, paving bids top Commissioners meeting