The Press-Dispatch
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Shopping with Press-Dispatch PAGE A-6 PAGE A-3 Jasper O'Tannenbaum Days PAGE A-4 Petersburg Christmas Shopping with Press-Dispatch Jasper O'Tannenbaum Days Petersburg Christmas NEWS TIPS Phone: ���������������������812-354-8500 Email ����� editor@pressdispatch�net INSIDE Local ���������������� A1-12 Obituaries ���������������A5 Shopping�������������A6-7 School ���������������� A8-9 Classifieds ������� A10-11 Sports �����������������B1-2 East Gibson ��������� B3 Church ��������������B4-6 History �������������������B7 Opinion �������������B8-9 Home Life �������� B10-12 USPS 604-34012 Wednesday, december 2, 2020 PIKE PUBLISHING VOLUme 150, nUmber 49 $1.00 24 PaGes TWO secTIOns FOUr InserTs PeTersbUrG, In 47567-0068 Epley escapes injury A Washington man and his passenger escaped injury Wednesday morning when he crashed into a ditch and overturned. Aaron Epley, 20, of 1506 Vincennes Ave., Washington, was driving a 2001 GMC Yukon north on County Road 1000 E., about mile north of Otwell, when he ran off the road. Pike County Deputy Sheriff Brad Jenkins said Epley's Yukon ran off the right side of the road after cresting a hill. It went into a deep ditch and rolled over, coming to rest on its wheels at 9:11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 25. Neither Epley nor his passenger, Jack Caldwell, of Branchville, were injured. By Andy Heuring Volunteers are needed this holiday sea- son for area charities. The Salvation Army needs bell ringers and the Petersburg Min- isterial Association needs help with Christ- mas in the Park. The Salvation Army rings bells every Fri- day and Saturday at both the Dollar General Store and Petersburg Hardware. Pike Coun- ty bell ringing chairman Cal Biddle said they need volunteers this week from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 8 p.m. on Friday at the Dollar Gener- al Store. At Petersburg Hardware, he needs ringers from 8 to 10 a.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday. "Thanks to all who volunteered last week- end. We only had two hours not covered," said Biddle. To volunteer, call Biddle at 812-582-2385. The Pike County Ministerial Alliance needs volunteers on a few nights to collect donations at the Christmas in the Park. The openings as of now are Saturday, December 5, Sunday, December 20th, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as well as December 26 and 27, and January 1. To volunteer, call Don Priest at 812-582-2765. Volunteers needed for area charities By Andy Heuring A fter nine months of COVID-19, staying in- side, not traveling and being bored, many have spent their time snacking. Many Americans' waistlines have definitely expanded. Losing weight is on many people's agenda. Eric Gogel, of Petersburg, lost 100 pounds in about a year. It wasn't so much a formula as a lifestyle change. But it didn't happen un- til he reached a turning point in his life. That turning point can be different things for dif- ferent people. For Gogel it was a vacation to San Diego. "My weight loss journey started on March 27, 2018. I was 32 years old. That January, I had taken a vacation to San Diego for a week. Just between the plane ride, not fitting in air- line seats and just being winded everywhere I went, it was the tipping point. I had my doc- tor telling me I was pre-diabetic and prehyper- tension. I was on high blood pressure medica- tion," said Gogel. During the time between his January va- cation and March, "I had just done some soul searching and it was just time to change my lifestyle." Gogel said in high school he was active. "I was always riding a bike. I had gone through about four cheap Walmart-brand bikes and fi- nally found a nice Trek bike. I still have that. I rode the wheels off of it." He also worked at Walmart where he got ex- ercise in his work. "I was the cart pusher at Walmart and did all that walking." From there, he went to work at The Press-Dispatch as a graphic designer. "I got Diet, exercise help Gogel shed 100+ lbs. By Andy Heuring The Elmer Buchta Technology Center is on schedule to open by the beginning of 2021. The $2.5 million project has been in the works since its inception in 2012, when Petersburg first got involved in the Stellar program. The Technology Center was part of the first Stel- lar application. The project broke ground last December 9 and is set to open in early January 2021 or ear- lier. "That is with a lot of cushion," said Ashley Willis, Executive Director of the Pike Coun- ty Economic Development Corp. "In all like- lihood, we will be in there the week of Christ- mas, but the final touches will be going on the first of the year." She said the original completion date was December 15, 2020. So we are pretty close. With COVID, we have done pretty well." The Technology Center is a business incu- bator. "We will have a nice open co-working space. Different entrepreneurs can be in an open environment." Willis said they will also have maker space, where start-up companies can make their products. "So they can invent new products and do small production of pro- totypes." Occupants of the technology center will have access to CNC, engraving and 3D printing to help them in the design and man- ufacture of their product. "We have had a lot of corporate interest from different businesses. We have also talked to Crane. If they have a problem or solution if they are freelancing, they can bring their prob- lem here and have a team of entrepreneurs work on the problem, find a solution and then start doing freelance work for that company." It will also house a dedicated training cen- ter. Willis said they are working with Ivy Tech and Vincennes University. "They will offer classes in the building. Hope to be able to of- fer dual credit classes to high school juniors and seniors and for college students during the day." She said they also hope to offer night and weekend classes that are more geared toward adults. The Technology Center will also have a lounge area, co-work space and collaboration space. "Five offices will be available for low rent, with great amenities, for new start-up businesses to locate and we have a conference room," said Willis. "We are looking forward to scheduling a rib- bon cutting and grand opening for everyone." Tech Center scheduled to open in early 2021 By Andy Heuring COVID numbers continue to climb in Pike County. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, there were a total of 552 cases, which is up from 464 last Tuesday, for a total of 88 new cases this week. Two new deaths were added to Pike's count for a total of 20 COVID deaths. Both were added on November 19. The last death recorded in Pike County had been Oct. 21. Pike County Health Nurse said on Monday there had been 39 new cases in Pike County since Thanksgiving Day. On November 25, the number of active cas- es in Pike County had fallen to 48. A week ago, that number had been in the 80s. However, Gladish said that number will be re-evaluated later this week and she expects it to climb due to the new cases added since Thanksgiving. She also said she expects the number of new cases to increase due to family gather- ings over Thanksgiving. Gladish also asked people who have tested positive to answer phone calls from the state health department. She said people will be getting calls about contact tracing. If people do not respond to those calls from the state, then the local health department has to make COVID cases reach 88 for the week See DIET on page 2 See COVID on page 4 The Elmer Buchta Technology Center is taking shape at the intersection of Highway 61 and I-69, just south of Petersburg. The Tech Center, which is a business incubator, is expected to open for business in late December or early January. The $2.5 million center broke ground on December 9, 2019. It was funded by donations of about $500,000 locally and $2 million from a U.S. Economic Development Administration grant.