The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1291324
A-2 Wednesday, September 23, 2020 The Press-Dispatch By Andy Heuring Petersburg approved sala- ries for their employees and officeholders, and had a public hearing for their 2021 budget. They also discussed whether to continue paying yearly Air Evac memberships for all city employees and whether or not to keep the City Hall lob- by open to the public. Councilmen voted 5 -0 to ap- prove the salaries for all em- ployees and elected officials. They were approved by a 5 - 0 vote. According to the ordi- nance, the mayor will make $590.12 per pay period from the general fund, $552.16 per pay period from the water util- ity and $552.16 per pay peri- od from the wastewater utili- ty, for a total of $1,694.44 per two-week pay period. Clerk-treasurer salary is $1,753.66 per pay peri- od, split between the gener- al fund ($ 610.74), water util- ity ($571.46) and wastewater ($571.46). City council members get $2,600 a year. "You will notice those are the same as they were last year," said Petersburg Mayor R.C. Klipsch. Other positions include city services manager at $1,959 a pay period, split evenly be- tween water and wastewater. Hourly workers make $15 per hour for a level-one work- er, $16.83 an hour for a lev- el-two worker and $18.36 for a level-three worker. At the cemetery, the sea- sonal manager makes $18 an hour, seasonal labor $15 an hour and part-time work- er $11. City code inspector was ap- proved at $18.50 an hour. Waterworks director, and Board of Public Works and Safety members each make $1,650 a year for serving on those boards. The attorney for the board gets $2,150 a year. Parks Board members get $25 a meeting. Police salaries were set at $1,964.48 per pay for the po- lice chief, $1,847 for sergeant, $1,768.51 for the corporals and $1,699.32 for first-class patrolman. Mayor's assistant was set at $11.87 per hour, part-time utility clerk $12.36 per hour, part-time clerical $11.85 per hour and city attorney $ 8,150 per year. TO CLOSE OR NOT TO CLOSE CITY HALL City Councilmen gave Clerk-Treasurer Tammy Sel- by the discretion to close City Hall to the public if she felt it needed to be closed. "My thought is to close it," said Councilman Scott Jen- kins. "I would say close it," said Councilwoman Jody Hoover. Councilman John Melhiser said the lobby he works in is closed to the public. "When we (Pike County) had one case, we had the lobby closed. Now we have 141 cas- es and it is open. I just want- ed to bring this up for discus- sion. I will defer to the girls (clerk-treasurer and her em- ployees) on this," said Mayor R.C. Klipsch. Gary Leavitt suggested they limit the number of peo- ple in the City Hall lobby. He suggested no more than three at one time. "We had two different peo- ple come in and say their were supposed to be on quarantine, but they needed to pay their water bills, so they came in," said Clerk-Treasurer Selby. Jenkins said if someone were to give it to Tammy and or her employees, "where would we be then? " Councilman Leavitt asked how many days the library was open. "They are only open one or two days a week,' said City Services Manager Ross El- more. "It sounds like we are free to implement that (closing City Hall except for appointments) at any time we feel it neces- sary," said Mayor Klipsch. He also brought up for dis- cussion if the city should con- tinue to pay for all employees to have memberships with Air Evac. He said they are $ 65 a year and there are 56 employees, which amounts to $ 3,640 a year. "We have cut $143,000 this year. Is this something we can consider? " asked Klipsch. The $ 65 a year membership covers all expense if Air Evac is used. Melhiser and Elmore said the bill for an air ambu- lance is typically between $ 30,000 and $50,000 and is not covered by typical insurance. Melhiser said he knew of cases where someone used the service and insurance on- ly paid about $ 6,000. He also said he has seen a person taken by air ambu- lance and then released, and not spend a night in the hos- pital. "That happens, not very of- ten, but it happens," said El- more. Klipsch said they needed to see if employees on the job would be covered for those fees by workman's compensa- tion insurance. The matter was tabled until the next meeting to give them time to check on different sit- uations that might be faced. In other business, Klipsch said he was asked by a home- owner if they should mow over their new water meter. There is a transmitter on top of the meter housing. Klipsch said people should avoid mowing over the meter housing. He said homeowners are respon- sible for the transmitter if they are damaged. The cost to re- place them is $25. "So no, I would not mow over them," said Klipsch. Klipsch said they don't have anything in writing yet on an Economic Development Ad- ministration grant to help pay for a water line between the well field and the water plant, but everything sounded posi- tive on it. Elmore said they found a large water leak while doing a sewage line inspection. He said they could hear water running in the line. He said they were able to locate the source of the leak, which was an old service line to a house. He said it was leaking into the sewer line and it was not showing up in the area, and the ground around it was dry. However, he said after they fixed it, the sewer plant oper- ator called and asked if they had turned something off, because his daily flow was down 100,000 gallons. Mayor Klipsch said that was a good find, because the water wasn't being metered and the city wasn't getting paid for the wa- ter they were having to treat, and then they were handling it at the sewer plant as well, with no income from it. The next Petersburg City Council meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Octo- ber 5.ww City salaries approved; closure of City Hall pondered Bratkney suffers minor injuries in crash A Winslow teen suffered minor injuries in a crash early Saturday evening on Cato-Winslow Road. Pike Coun- ty Deputy Sheriff Cody Jones said Evan Bratkney, 17, of 4275 CR 300 E., Winslow, was driving south on Ca- to-Winslow Road, when he ran off the road and crashed into the ditch, with his vehicle ending up on its side. Bratkney had minor facial injuries in the 5:02 p.m. accident. By Andy Heuring A Petersburg woman has been arrested on charges of dealing heroin. It is believed to be the first arrest for deal- ing heroin in decades. "We have had a couple arrests for possession of heroin, but I be- lieve this is the first time we have made an arrest on hero- in-dealing charges," said Pike County Deputy Sheriff Jared Simmons. Sarah (Slaven) Hammock, 24, of 609 N. Fifth St., Peters- burg, was arrested on charges of dealing heroin, at least 10 grams, a level 2 felony; and dealing in methamphetamine, a level 5 felony. According to a probable cause affidavit, in an interview with Petersburg Police Officer Scott Arnold about text mes- sages between Hammock and another suspect, Hammock told police she had supplied him with heroin laced with fentanyl. In a second interview on September 15, she told police she had three sources for her- oin. She told police, accord- ing to a probable cause affida- vit, she would text one of her three sources and she would then retrieve it and deal it to local individuals. She said one source named "Bump" was her cousin, but she didn't know his real name. She said Bump would come to Petersburg and sell only to her. She said she had pur- chased heroin from him two to three times a week, total- ing more than 24 grams over the last three months. She also said she purchased heroin from a person named Miami, who would only sell it to her, but a third person named Real would sell it to anyone. She said she had been pur- chasing heroin for $ 80 a gram from these sources and then selling it to people in Peters- burg. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Baumgart said there have been at least three over- doses in the area in about the last month. He said one was fatal. Baumgart stated Sean Hill was found unresponsive in Charlie Davis' apartment in Winslow on August 22. Baumgart said an autopsy re- vealed Hill had lethal levels of fentanyl in his blood. A level 2 felony is punish- able by 10 to 30 years in pris- on. Fentanyl is a synthetic opi- oid that is similar to mor- phine, but it is 50 to 100 times more potent, according to the Hammock charged with dealing heroin, meth See Business Box for special services Page A-11 CR 375 E., from Highway 356 to CR 475 N., 3,360 ft. in Washington Twp. CR 900 E., from Highway 56 to CR 200 N., 5,382 ft in Jeffer- son Twp. Meridian, from Division to CR 150 S., 8,121 feet in Pato- ka Twp. CR 775 S., from Highway 61 to the Haul Road, 10,876 ft. in Monroe Twp. CR 75 E., from CR 150 S., 4,062 feet north in Patoka Twp. CR 500 W., from Highway 56 to CR 550 N., 3,570 ft. in Madison Twp. CR 550 N., from CR 550 W. to Highway 56, 6,650 ft. in Madison Twp. Division Rd., from CR 725 E. to 800 E., 3,984 ft. in Mar- ion Twp. CR 1100 S., from CR 425 E. to CR 550 E., 6,282 ft. in Lock- hart Twp. CR 250 N., from CR 325 W. to CR 275 W., 2,726 ft in Mad- ison Twp. CR 900 E., from Highway 356 to CR 200 N., 4,367 ft. in Jefferson Twp. The next commissioners' meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday, October 5, in the courthouse auditorium. COMMISSIONERS Continued from page 1 My name is Susan Wheeler-Brittain. I live in the Petersburg area and am running for the position of Pike County Treasurer. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Jim Brittain. We have two children, Holly (Tom) Bryan, of Vincennes, and my granddaughter, Isabelle, and my son, Jarrod Brittain, of Boonville. We have four rescued cats that have trained us well! I attended Pike Central High School (Class of 1980) and then Vincennes University. I worked at Pike Central in the cafeteria for seven years while my two children attended. I owned and operated my own business, Mid-State Micro lming and Imaging, for nearly 25 years. We worked for local government o ces, securing records from the Midwest to east coast. During this time, I also worked part-time for the Pike County Courthouse in the Recorder's and Treasurer's o ces during tax time when extra help was needed. e last nine years, I have worked full-time in the Recorder's and Clerk's o ces. For the past four years, I have also been the Deputy Treasurer to Marta Query, the current treasurer. e last nine years, I have worked full-time in the Recorder's and Clerk's o ces. For the past four years, I have also been the Deputy Treasurer to Marta Query, the current treasurer. SUSAN WHEELER-BRITTAIN PIKE COUNTY TREASURER Paid for by the Committee to Elect Susan Wheeler-Brittain, Marta Query, Treasurer Susan Wheeler-Brittain for Pike County Treasurer-Indiana If elected, with the experience I have had in the last four years, I feel taking on the position of treasurer will be an easier transition. I hope the county will support me this fall, knowing I have the experience to ful ll this job. GREG K. WILLIS PIKE COUNTY COUNCIL-AT-LARGE GREG K. WILLIS WILLIS R E - E L EC T Paid for by Friends of Greg Willis; Carla Willis, Treasurer VOTE EARLY OR ON NOV. 3 COCHRENS Continued from page 1 ed that it was something he wanted to do to support those in the area who have and are experiencing the battle with cancer. Dave dedicated each of the three 5Ks to different groups of people. One in support of those who are fighting, one in honor of those who have won and one in memory of those who have passed. He had a poster board with the names of people he knows or knew from around the area. These names stretched far back in- to the years and included his mother, who beat cancer. At first, Travis was not go- ing to run and had not regis- tered because he thought that he was going to have to work the event. He said, "I decid- ed last week. I thought, 'You know, he's going to do it, so I'm just going to tough it out and do it with him.'" The two ran for the cause in Peters- burg on Friday, ending up with a time of one 1:19.45. If interested in becoming a volunteer, donating or just learning more about Chemo Buddies, visit their website at www.chemobuddies.org for more information and access to resources. By Andy Heuring A Petersburg woman and an Evansville man were ar- rested in separate incidents for driving while intoxicated last week. Traci Scales, 45, of 615 S. Tenth St., Petersburg, was ar- rested by Petersburg Patrol- man Scott Arnold after she nearly hit him head-on. Officer Arnold said, at about 2 a.m. Sunday, he was driving south on Spruce St. when a truck turned onto Spruce St. from Highway 61 and drove north in the southbound lane. In his report, Arnold said the truck "would have hit me head on if I was traveling any fast- er." He said he stopped Scales near Knox Road and while talking to her, he noticed a strong odor of alcohol and slurred speed. His report states she admitted drinking "quite a bit." She failed field sobriety tests and was taken to the Pike County Jail, where she tested 0.12 percent for blood alcohol content. The legal limit in In- diana is 0.08 percent. She was charged with operating a vehi- cle while intoxicated. A 2:30 a.m. traffic stop on Highway 64 last Tuesday led to OV WI and meth charges for Bobby Gene Baker, 49, of Evansville. Pike County Deputy Sheriff Mike Willis said he received a call from Sheriff's Sgt. Buck Seger about a black SUV in front of him driving errati- cally. Deputy Seger, who was off duty returning from train- ing, said the SUV was speed- ing up and slowing down, and running off the right side of the road on Highway 64. He pulled it over and called for an on-duty deputy. Willis arrived and talked with Baker, who was driving the SUV. Baker said he was going to Auto 64 to look at a vehicle he was interested in buying, but his story had in- consistencies in it. Deputy Willis also said Bak- er had erratic movements as he was speaking and his speech was very slurred. Bak- er refused field sobriety tests. During a pat down, Deputy Willis located two used hy- podermic syringes, a cotton swab with a white residue on it and a silver spoon with a white residue. Willis said both field tested positive for meth. He said they also found two hand- rolled cigarettes that field test- ed positive for marijuana. Deputy Willis' report stated Baker said he had used meth three to six hours prior to be- ing pulled over. Baker was taken into custo- dy and preliminarily charged with unlawful possession of a syringe (prior), a level 5 felo- ny; possession of meth, less than five grams, a level 6 fel- ony; possession of marijuana; possession of paraphernalia; and operating a vehicle while intoxicated (refusal). Two arrested for OVWI in separate incidents See HAMMOCK