The Press-Dispatch

August 5, 2020

The Press-Dispatch

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Something newsworthy? Let us know at 812-354-8500! A-4 Wednesday, August 5, 2020 The Press-Dispatch SCHOOL Continued from page 1 Social Security Matters By Rusty Gloor Can I get a widow's benefit if I'm on disability? To everyone who donated to our cause and also to Tony Danser for the money to pay the remaining balance on our new lawnmower. Thank You PAWS Hadi Shriners 1/2 Grilled Chicken, Buttered Corn, Baked Beans, Bread and Dessert Dine-in/Drive-through service/pickup the Petersburg V.F.W. 1202 E Main Street, Petersburg Pike Cnty Shrine Club Thanks y f yr suppt!! PIKE COUNTY SHRINE CLUB SATURDAY, AUG. 8 • 11a.m - 1 p.m. 12 A PLATE $ TRI-CAP's and lives, Improving The Experts Are More Affordable Than You Might Think. Whether you're looking for a quick replacement or the benefits of an advanced, high-efficiency system, Carrier has the solution to fit your budget and comfort needs. ©Carrier Corporation 12/2016. HIGH EFFICIENCY COMFORT YOUR WAY PH: 812-743-2382 HEATING & AIR-CONDITIONING LLC Serving the area since 1950. Perry ' s Perry ' s 303 Breckinridge Rd, Monroe City Email: perryshvac@gmail.com Craig Perry Vance Perry Chase Perry NEWS BRIEFS Farmers to families food box program this evening Farmers to families food box program will be tonight, Aug. 5, from 4-6 p.m. at the Pike Central High School park- ing lot. Pull up, pop the trunk and your food will be load- ed. The program is organized by Somebody's Place, Pike County Chamber and Purdue Extension, in coordination with Gleaners Food Bank and Prairie Farms Dairy. It is free, regardless of income or need. This is a first-come, first-serve. Quantities are limited. Scouting Adventure set for Saturday The Petersburg Boy Scouts are having a Scouting Ad- venture on Saturday morning to give anyone from kinder- garten to 12th grade interested in scouting a chance to see what Scouts are about. It will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, August 8, with the pre- sentation of colors. Other activities will be First Aid, Bike Safety, Plants and Tree Identification, Fishing and Shav- ing Cream Painting. Organizers ask participants to bring a water bottle and a mask, as there may be times they will be closer than 6 ft. Some of the organizations attending will be the Pike County Sheriff's Department, Trails Life, as well as the Boy Scouts. The event will last until 11:30 a.m. Winslow Town Council closed meeting to in-person attendance Due to the increase in Pike County COVID-19 cases, the Winslow Town Council meeting scheduled for Mon- day, August 10 will not be open to the public. Citizens may participate by phone by calling 1-408 -418 -9388. The meeting ID is 297 426 672. If asked for another number, just press the # key. The meeting will be open for dialing in at 5:50 p.m. and will begin at 6 p.m. United Way of Pike County's Day of Caring postponed until Spring The United Way of Pike County's Day of Caring 2020 has been postponed until Spring due to COVID-19 con- cerns and the availability of volunteers, according to ex- ecutive director Krista Robinette. TRI-CAP Healthcare Navigation program If you need help to obtain health insurance, TRI-CAP can help. TRI-CAP has six certified healthcare Naviga- tors who provide free, local and unbiased enrollment as- sistance for Medicaid and Marketplace health insurance. Judy Richardson serves the Pike County area and is based in Petersburg at the TRI-CAP office located at 809 East Il- linois Street. To schedule an appointment with Judy, phone 812-354-8721, or email her at judy@tri-cap.net. Due to COVID-19, she's currently assisting clients via phone. Time to register for Birthday Club If you haven't submitted your birthday within the last 6 months, please register again at www.pressdispatch.net/ birthday. Entrants have a chance to win monthly prizes from local businesses and a three-month subscription to The Press-Dispatch. Dear Rusty: I was recent- ly approved for my Social Se- curity disabili- ty benefits. Will I still be able to get my widow's ben- efits when I turn 60, which is right around the corner? Or do I lose those because I am dis- abled? Signed: An Uncertain Widow. Dear Uncer- tain Widow: You will not lose your survivor (widow's) benefits because you are now collecting So- cial Security Disability Insur- ance (SSDI) benefits. You can get the survivor benefit if it is more than your SSDI benefit and provided that you did not remarry before age 60 (and re- main married). If you are en- titled to and claim a survivor benefit while on SSDI, it will come as a separate supplemen- tal payment which, along with your SSDI benefit, equals the amount you are due as a wid- ow. If you are now on SSDI you can actually take your survivor benefit before age 60 because survivor benefits can be taken as early as age 50 if you are disabled. But claimed at age 60 or earli- er, the survivor benefit will be reduced by 28.5 percent from what it would be if you wait until your full retirement age (FR A) of 67 to claim it. If you are collecting both SSDI and the survivor supplement when you reach your full re- tirement age, it will automat- ically convert to one payment equal to what you're entitled to as a survivor (SSDI benefits stop at full retirement age). It would be prudent for you to evaluate whether you should continue with your SSDI benefits only for a while and allow your survivor bene- fit to grow to a higher amount. At age 67, your survivor bene- fit as a widow will be 100 per- cent of the amount your de- ceased husband was receiv- ing, or entitled to receive, at his death. But claiming it be- fore your full retirement age will mean it will be cut by 4.75 percent for each year earlier than your FR A that you claim it. You can find out your full survivor benefit amount by contacting Social Security. Your survivor benefit will reach maximum at your full retirement age, and it does not expire so you can delay up to age 67 to claim if you wish (to get the maximum amount as a widow). But if your financial situation is such that you need the reduced survivor benefit earlier, and your benefit as a widow is more than your SSDI benefit, you can claim it at any time. Survivor benefits must be applied for directly with the Social Security Adminis- tration, which you can reach by phone at 800 -772-1213, or at your local office (find the phone number for your local office at www.ssa.gov/loca- tor). Note that all Social Se- curity offices are temporar- ily closed to in-person visits by the public, so telephone is your only current option to ap- ply for your survivor benefit, until after the pandemic clo- sure is lifted. Local students graduate from WGU The following students have earned a degree from Western Governors Uni- versity ( WGU): Amanda Arnold, of Petersburg, re- ceived a Bachelor of Science, Nursing; Alexa Schooler, of Winslow, received a Bache- lor of Science, Nursing; Ja- son Bradburn, of Oakland City, received a Master of Arts Science Education (Secondary Earth Science); Jennifer Ficklin, of Oakland City, received a Bachelor of Arts, Interdisciplinary Stud- ies (K-8); Libby Worland, of Washington, received a Bachelor of Science, Nurs- ing; James Kaiser, of Vin- cennes, received a Bache- lor of Science, Network Op- erations and Security; Jen- nifer Reno, of Vincennes, received a Bachelor of Sci- ence, Business - Human Re- source Management; and Lynne Bobe, of Vincennes, received a Bachelor of Sci- ence, Nursing. Extension David Pike rector commented the as the ral Resources/4-H velopment County best Pike munity ple "Getting community teers a wonderful community and me, Pike "Some ories County act with Shover charged with OVWI after traffic stop By James Capozella A traffic stop made on a Chevy Silverado Pickup, matching the description of a reckless driver report from Central Dispatch moments be- fore, resulted in the arrest of Aaron Gabrriel Shover, 28, of 305 S. 8th St. Petersburg, for operating a vehicle while in- toxicated. The August 2 stop was initially made by Peters- burg Reserve Officer Briar Meadors, when he observed the Silverado northbound on Ninth Street, from Main St. Meadors reported he ob- served the vehicle go off the eastside of the pavement, crossing the white fog line and swerving within the lane. A fter stopping Shover, Offi- cer Meadors was given a Flor- ida driver's license by Shov- er. While speaking to him, Meadors noticed the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Shover's breath. When asked if he had con- sumed any alcoholic bever- age recently, Shover stated he had two beers about two hours ago. Upon exiting the vehi- cle, Shover displayed slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and poor manual dexterity. Petersburg Police Officer Scott Arnold arrived at the scene and took over the inves- tigation, which led to Shover complying with a blood draw after Officer Arnold conduct- ed a preliminary breath test, on which Shover showed a .135 BAC. Shover also failed other field sobriety tests, according to the report. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being completely drunk, Shover said he thought he would be about a four and could drive fine. At Daviess County Hospi- tal, the blood draw results were a BAC of .162, which is more than twice the legal lim- it. Shover was then transport- ed to the Pike County Jail and charged with OV WI. each of these risk catego- ries for: learning and instruc- tion models, building access, teaching and learning, trans- portation, food service, pass- ing periods and hallway trav- el, protecting high-risk popu- lations, when a child or staff member becomes sick at school. It also listed steps to be taken after a notification of a positive test result for COVID. LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION MODELS Deffendoll said when the school is in the low-risk cate- gory, they will have the tradi- tional in-person learning and virtual learning is available as well. However, it will be for nine weeks at a time. Also, stu- dents opting for virtual learn- ing will not be allowed to par- ticipate in sports or other ex- tracurricular activities. Under moderate-risk, the in-person learning will switch to hybrid learning, where stu- dents will attend school on al- ternating days. Virtual learn- ing will not change. When the schools move into the high- risk category, all the buildings will be closed. The in-person students will switch to remote learning within their current class, under the direction of a classroom teacher. BUILDING ACCESS Building access will be lim- ited even in the low-risk cat- egory. Some of the steps in- clude only students will report directly to their classroom up- on entering the building. Bus- es will be unloaded in small groups to avoid large crowd. Parents bringing forgotten items to their child will drop of the items in a designated ar- ea, and staff will come out and get them. In moderate-risk, they will go to alternating schedules and children's temperatures will be taken as they enter the school. In high-risk, the schools are closed, with only essential staff in the building to complete necessary tasks. TEACHING AND LEARNING Some of the steps taken during low-risk will be to re- duce class size, keep students three feet apart and facing for- ward in assigned seats. Masks will be worn when social dis- tancing isn't possible, but not during exercise or outdoor activities. Classrooms will be sanitized after one class leaves and before the next arrives. Student will be required to sanitize hands before enter- ing rooms. Virtual students will face due dates and attendance re- quirements, and parents will have to commit to supervis- ing and assisting their chil- dren daily. When it goes to moder- ate-risk, there will be a hybrid of in-person and at-home virtu- al learning. At high-risk, the schools will close and students may request Chromebooks, but they must be requested by the parent. Live class instruction will take place through Google Meet at specified times, with assignments. TRANSPORTATION Low-risk: parents are en- couraged to transport kids themselves to and from school. Buses will be cleaned and disinfected between each route in the morning and eve- ning. Students will have as- signed seats. Face masks will be required for drivers and students. Moderate-risk will cause students to attend on alter- nating days. With high-risk, no buses will be operating as the schools will be closed. FOOD SERVICE Low-risk will require stu- dents to wash their hands be- fore eating. Students will be seated in every other seat and plexi-glass dividers will be in the middle of the tables and run the length of the table. Cafeteria staff will wear PPE at all times. In moderate-risk, students will eat in their class- rooms with disposable utensils and plates. If the schools move to high-risk, they will resume the grab-and-go lunch similar to this spring and summer. PASSING PERIODS AND HALLWAY TRAVEL Low-risk face masks will be worn by all students and staff in the hallways. Students will not be allowed to gath- er at any location on school property. Periods of transi- tion from class to class may be staggered. Moderate-risk may eliminate moving from room to room between class- es. During high-risk, schools are closed. PROTECTING HIGH- RISK POPULATIONS During low-risk, PPE will be made available to high- risk staff and students. Vir- tual learning is available for high-risk students and some high-risk teachers may be re- assigned. WHEN SOMEONE BECOMES SICK AT SCHOOL Each school will have a des- ignated COVID-19 isolation room. The school will notify all appropriate offices and of- ficials as required, while keep- ing it confidential. The local health department will do con- tact tracing. A fter about 30 minutes of re- viewing the plan, school board member Chris McKinney asked if students doing virtual learning would be allowed to participate in sports. He was told they would not be allowed to participate in sports or ex- tracurricular activities. McKinney said he was con- cerned about other school cor- porations being sued for not letting students doing virtual learning participate. "I think there is a lot of plac- es waiting on the outcome of that to see what happens with it," said Athletic Director Dustin Powell. "To me, you don't have to go to school. You sit at home, but at 3:30 you come to play sports. Everyone (schools throughout Indiana) is say- ing we aren't going to let them do this. I don't know if they are being sued yet or it is just threats at this point," said Powell. "I appreciate your position. But I'm sitting here as a school board member. We are in the position of we offer virtual learning. I don't want any child to feel like I'm punishing them for not coming to school," said McKinney. He said his vote against the plan was only due to the sports situation. He also complemented those who put the plan to- gether. Pike School Superinten- dent Dr. Suzanne Blake said, "I know there will probably be something we have missed, but I think everyone is ready to get back in school. If we need to tweak a class sched- ule or bus schedule after we get started, we will. It is a work in progress." She said they surveyed par- ents on which option, virtu- al or in-person learning, they preferred. About 60 to 70 per- cent competed the surveys. Of those, about 15 percent indi- cated they were choosing the virtual learning option. "I knew there were a lot of families, by the time the shut- down ended last spring, who wanted to see kids back in school with their friends and participating in school activi- ties, and a return to normal. Going back to school is part of getting back to normal," said Blake.

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