The Press-Dispatch

June 24, 2020

The Press-Dispatch

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Local ��������������������A1-10 Sports �����������������������A7 Classifieds ��������������A8-9 Church �������������������B1-3 Home Life ��������������B4-6 Obituaries �����������������B7 Opinion ������������������B8-9 East Gibson ���������������B9 History ��������������������B10 WHAT'S INSIDE: Phone: ���������������������812-354-8500 Fax: ��������������������������812-354-2014 E-Mail ����editor@pressdispatch�net NEWS TIPS: PIKE PUBLISHING Wednesday, June 24, 2020 Volume 150 Number 26 Phone 812-354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 (USPS 604-34012) $ 1 Two sections 20 pages Five inserts See DOG PARK on page 2 See SCHOOL on page 10 You may notice some small changes in The Press-Dispatch newspaper next week. Pike Publishing is switching printers beginning with the June 30, 2020, issue. A fter being printed for the last 21 years, since September 1999, at the Henderson Gleaner printing plant in Henderson, Ky., The Press-Dispatch will now be printed at an Owensboro, Ky., based print- ing plant. Pike Publishing was notified recent- ly the Henderson plant is being closed. Readers of The Press-Dispatch will notice their page size has slightly increased. It will be about a half-inch wider. The front page de- sign will also have small changes to accommo- date a jet-printed label. Previously, subscrib- ers' address labels were printed, then affixed to the newspapers. Starting with the July 1 is- sue, the address information will be printed directly onto the paper. The Owensboro plant has more process col- or capacity and color will be more economi- cal. "We are excited to be able to offer process color to our advertisers at a reduced rate. We hope it will create opportunities for them to promote their goods and services. Please con- tact us at 812-354-8500 to find out more about the new possibilities," said Advertising Man- ager John Heuring. "Please bear with us as we go through these changes. While the readers won't notice much of a difference, there are many procedural changes and possible gremlins to overcome in the first few weeks," said Production Man- ager Eric Gogel. If you do not receive your paper at the nor- mal time, call 812-354-8500. Iron Bridge at Survant closed A county crew, consisting of Johnny Lane, Don Pancake and Kavin Gayhart, welded and placed beams across the "Iron Bridge" near Survant on CR 650 E. following the posting of road closed and bridge closed signs. The bridge clo- sure was mandated, according to assis- tant County Superintendent Josh Byrd. Left, bolts from the aging bridge are covered with mold. Arches from the historic bridge will will be restored, and will replace the Charger Bridge over Prides Creek in Pe- tersburg. See related story on A-5. James Capozella photo Changes in your newspaper coming next week Hornady Park playgrounds open Nolyn Schneider, 10, keeps an eye on Makinleigh McGee, 2, while they spin on the merry-go-round at Hornady Park. Bianca Schneider took advantage of the beautiful sunny and cool weather Tuesday to take the kids to the park. Hornady Park's playgrounds just reopened following the COVID-19 scare. By Andy Heuring The Benner Bark Park is just around the corner. Benner Bark Park is a three-quar- ter acre dog park soon to be in existence, located on the opposite side of First St. from Somebody's Place. "We are getting really excited," said Bridget Butcher, who heads up the com- mittee to build the dog park. They had hoped to already have the park up and go- ing, but like everything else, it suffered a COVID-19 delay. "With everyone being affected by CO- VID, we kind of had to take a break. We have all of our supplies in and we are able to begin construction for the park," said Butcher. The park is an idea spawned from the Pike Leadership group, a training program for young community leaders. The group developed the plan for the park after deter- mining a need for it. Members of the lead- ership group were: David Ackley, Megan Frederick, Shanna Hallet, Krissy Toms, Ka- ra Willis, Lori Thyen, Colin Mahoney, Kris- ta Powell, Jason DeWeese, Holly Schutter, Krista Robinette, Matt Robinette and Ry- an Benner. Carl and Brenda Benner donated the property to the group for the park, thus the name Benner Bark Park. The Benners had purchased the lot as a location for their business, then later decided on their Vin- cennes Ave. location. Butcher said this week they are meet- ing to try to figure out a good time to start construction. "We are trying to see if any volunteers want to help. We are looking at the beginning of July and hope to have it done by August." The park will have a six-foot high fence. It will be open to members that will pay a nominal yearly membership fee. Butcher said they have not determined the fee yet. They will purchase the membership at City Hall and received a key fob that will open the gate to the park. She said it will have benches for people to sit on, and play fire hydrants and other fun things for the dogs. Hours for the park will be from dawn to dusk. They also plan to plant some trees, but were told to wait until the fall because it is a better time of the year to plant. Anyone wanting to volunteer to help with construction of the park can contact the group on their Facebook page at Ben- ner Bark Park. The following etiquette rules of the park will be posted in the park and each member will get a copy when they purchase their membership. Those rules are as follows: Hours of operation–dawn to dusk Enter at your own risk. City of Peters- burg shall hold no liability for any damage to property, persons, or other dogs. Owners are legally responsible for their dogs and any injuries or damage caused by their dogs. No admittance without registering with Petersburg City Hall. Proof of current vac- cinations is required to register. Dogs are the only type of animals per- mitted inside the park. Children under the age of 16 must be ac- companied by an adult. No children under the age of ten (10) are permitted in the dog run area. All dogs must display their current vac- cination tag. All dogs must have current shots for ra- bies, distemper, Parvo, Bordetalla, and oth- er vaccinations required by law. Everyone must pick up after their dog. Waste bags and trash receptacles provided. All dogs must be supervised at all times. See SOLAR on page 10 By Andy Heuring Tax abatement for a 1,200 -acre, $110 -million solar farm proposed for Pike County will be consid- ered by the Pike County Coun- cil in their 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Ju- ly 14 meeting in the courthouse auditorium. The county council voted 7-0 to create an Economic Revitaliza- tion Area for the 1,200 acres lo- cated in Washington and Jeffer- son townships during their June 9 meeting. The action did not grant abatement, but a project must be in a revitalization area to receive abatement. Pike County Economic Devel- opment Corp. Executive Direc- tor Ashley Willis told the group the project would replace rough- ly one-third of the property tax the county will lose from IPL's reduced assessment. She said, along with assessed value and property taxes, the proj- ect will pay other benefits to Pike County, including creating four to seven jobs at an average pay of $70,000 a year. Capital Dynamics is proposing the solar farm that has a project- ed 35 -year life. The majority of it will be in Jefferson Township, with a small portion in Washing- ton Township. Willis said the proj- ect will provide tax revenue for the 35 -year life of the project to all taxing districts in Pike County. Capital Dynamics' website states: "With three decades of experience, Capital Dynamics specializes in mid-market corpo- rate investing and clean energy in- frastructure investing globally." They have 11 offices throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In the United States, their offic- es are in San Francisco and New York. They started as Westport Private Equity in 1988, located in Birmingham, UK. According to their website, they manage more County council to consider tax abatement for solar farm Dog park looking for volunteers to help with construction By Andy Heuring Pike County schools are still trying to figure out what their re- turn will look like this fall, but they have set the book rental fees for both Petersburg and Winslow Elementary School. Pike Superintendent Dr. Su- zanne Blake said they will return to school on the planned date of Wednesday, August 12. But they have not finalized their plan. "We are still meeting with depart- ments to finalize a plan," said Dr. Blake. The book rental rates for the 2021 school year in Pike Coun- ty Schools have been released. They were approved by the school board in their most recent meet- ing. PETERSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Each student grades K through 4 are being charged a $10 fee for Chromebook rental. However, fifth grades are charged $53.75 for a Chromebook. Kindergarten: reading 34.83, Health, science social studies $ 6.33, math $14.66, Chromebook $10, total $ 66.65 1st grade: reading $ 31.67, health, science, social studies $ 6.33, math $14.66, beginning writers $1.88, Chromebook $10, School to begin Aug. 12 in some form; book rental fees set

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