The Press-Dispatch
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A-4 Wednesday, September 11, 2013 Briefs Hometown Heroes Celebration Sept. 11 Amber Manor Care Center is hosting the 11th annual Hometown Heroes Celebration at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at the center on Illinois Street in Petersburg. The program will honor Hometown Heroes from a variety of backgrounds and professions including members of the military, police force and sheriff's department, volunteer fireman and EMS staff. For more information please contact Amber Manor at (812) 3543001. Subscriber expiration postcards sent The Press-Dispatch is now sending expiration postcards to subscribers. If you have received one, please return it with payment to The Press-Dispatch office or mail it to PO Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567. United Way's Day of Caring is Sept. 12 United Way of Pike County will Kick-Off its campaign with a community Day of Caring on Thursday, September 12. This event involves recruiting volunteers to help with projects for local notfor-profit agencies /organizations for a one day work blitz. The day's event will start with a sponsored breakfast for its volunteers. They will receive a Tshirt to wear on the job and lunch will be provided. United Way of Pike County hopes to raise the level of awareness of the needs, as well as the services, provided by these agencies. If you would like to volunteer or are an agency that would like to submit a project, contact the United Way of Pike County office at 789-2557. This event is partially funded by Pike County Community Foundation and Golden Living Center. Winslow to flush hydrant Wednesday to Friday Utilities Superintendent Andy Smith said Winslow will be flushing hydrants beginning Wednesday on the south side of Winslow and proceeding north. He cautioned water customers to not wash light colored clothes on these days. Flushing hydrants can cause discolored water, however it is safe to drink. Accepting applications for pageant Precious Rewards is now accepting applications for the Ghost and Goblins pageant for girls ages 0-18 and boys ages 0-8. For more information, contact Shawna at 354-4271. It's hard to stop a trane. Really haRd. The Press-Dispatch School board transfers $1M to Rainy Day Fund By Ed Cahill The Pike County School Corporation's Board of School Trustees approved the transfer of $1 million into its Rainy Day Fund to cover salaries, benefits and utilities for the remainder of the fiscal year during its regular monthly meeting on Monday, Sept. 9. The Rainy Day Transfer Resolution approved by the school board authorizes the transfer of $600,000 from the Capital Projects Fund, $200,000 from the Transportation Operating Fund and $200,000 from the Bus Replacement Fund to the Rainy Day Fund. "The priority on that will be to help meet the remaining expenses of salaries, benefits and utilities for 2013, which are projected to be just over $2.8 million," Pike County Schools Superintendent Suzanne Blake said. According to the resolution, school corporations can transfer up to 10 percent of the total budget of each tax bearing fund or funding for which the purpose has been fulfilled to the Rainy Day Fund each year. The Pike County School Corporation, the resolution states, established the Rainy Day Fund "to be used for unexpected items which may come to the Board's attention at any time." Blake also informed the school board that, as of Aug. 31, the General Fund balance was $35,120, while there was $167,664 remaining in the Rainy Day Fund. Meanwhile, the Capital Projects Fund had a balance of $823,389, the Transportation Operating Fund had a balance of $665,250, and the Bus Replacement Fund had a balance of $220,492. In addition, the Debt Service Fund had a balance of $249,973, while the Retirement Service Fund had a balance of $58,031. On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Blake said that the transfer of $1 million to the Rainy Day Fund was necessary to help maintain cash flow. "Some schools use rainy day a lot, some do not," Blake said. "Ours is worded in a way that helps offset some of the expenses of the general fund. So by moving that 10 percent that we're allowed into the Rainy Day Fund, I can use the Rainy Day Fund for some of my general expenses. "The only thing about Rainy Day is I don't necessarily have to pay it back," Blake added. "I do have the option to do interfund loans as needed as well, but those all have to be paid back before the end of the year, so everything's back in the correct spot." Blake also announced during Monday night's meeting that she was instituting a spending freeze through the end of the year. "The freeze does not include any items that have already been approved and it does not include any grant funds that are currently in our accounts," Blake said. On Wednesday, Blake described the spending freeze as "precautionary." "I would say that if you checked, most school districts would share that they do that typically around September or October, the final months of the year, just to insure everything's in good standing just to finish the year," Blake said. "That is where you start to look at what's the genuine need, that must be replaced or fixed or repaired, and what is a this-would-benice-to-have-but-it-couldwait-until-January. That's what it comes down to. "We've been real fortunate," Blake added. "Our teachers have received Community Foundation grants, Toyota grants, various sources like that. Those are still accessible. They're not restricted, so they will be able to spend what they have in that account." Other spending requests will be handled on a caseby-case basis, Blake said. "We've already restricted field trips a bit as well, but if someone came in and wanted to go on a trip, I would say no unless it was a very unique opportunity," Blake said. As an example, Blake pointed at a request by the Pike County High School sophomore world history class to attend a speaking engagement by Holocaust survivor Eva Kor at Jasper High School later this week. "That's not an opportunity they get a lot," Blake said. "So, obviously, we want to be able to fund that for the kids, to have that option." In other business, the school board approved a request by the corporation's Sick Bank Committee to require that non-certified employees who receive days from the sick bank must donate one day to the sick bank the following year to remain a sick bank member, retroactive to Aug. 9. Also, former Pike Central High School principal and drafting instructor William Krause appeared before the school board to inquire why the state and national championship and world finals trophies were no longer on display in the high school's cafeteria. "It's been three years since they disappeared," Krause said. "It's time to find them." Krause requested that the board place the matter on the agenda of its October meeting so that his question can be answered. "I'll see what we can find," Blake said. At the end of the meeting, Blake announced that the I-STEP scores had been released, and that parents can access their children's scores on-line. "If you've misplaced your letter on how to log onto the website, contact the school," Blake said. "We can get you the additional information as needed." Blake also noted that the school corporation's budget would be published in the Wednesday, Sept. 11, and Wednesday, Sept. 18, editions of The Press-Dispatch, and that the budget hearing is scheduled for Sept. 30. personnel changes The Pike County School Corporation's Board of School Trustees approved the following personnel matters during its regular monthly meeting on Monday, Sept. 9: Resignations Amanda Gonzales— High Ability Coordinator at Winslow Elementary Ryan and Misty Coleman—Sports Coordinators at Winslow Elementary Missy Davis—Instructional Assistant Vicki Edwards—Instructional Assistant Rhonda Dillon—Instructional Assistant Jan Perry—Computer Tech at Winslow Elementary Hiring/ Appointments Hunter Elliott—8th grade Science teacher Vanetta McConnell— Special Education Preschool and Title I Preschool at Winslow Elementary Joe Hineman—Auto Mechanics for 2013-2014 school year Jordan Elliott—maternity leave at PCMS Teri Waltz—Instructional Assistant ECA Positions Otwell Elementary High Ability Coordinator—Terra Knust Academic Coach—Terra Knust Student Council Sponsors—Kim Vaughn and Doris Harris Wellness Coordinator—Amy Edrington Petersburg Elementary High Ability Coordinator—Candy Meyer and Micki Aaserud Academic Coach— Charlotte Beck and Micki Aaserud Student Council— Courtney Loveless and Micki Aaserud Winslow Elementary High Ability Coordinator—Stephanie King and Deb Smith Academic Team Math Coach—Amanda Gonza- les Academic Team Spelling Coach—Abby Aldridge Student Council—Natalie Werner Pike Central Middle School Cross Country Head Coach—Randy Meece Cross Country Assistant Coach—Shawn Warner 7th and 8th Grade Cheerleading—Jordan Elliott 8th Grade Girls' Basketball—Eric Knight 7th Grade Girls' Basketball—Ryne Biesterveld 7th/8th Grade Assistant Basketball—Justin Knight 8th Grade Boys' Basketball—Hunter Elliott 7th Grade Boys' Basketball—Kyle McCutchan 7th Grade Assistant Boys' Basketball—Andrew Wibbeler 6th Grade Boys' Basketball—Dave Chestnut Girls' Swimming— Mike Bohnert Boys' Swimming—Jason McKinney Boys'/Girls' Assistant Swimming—Beth Bohnert Wrestling—Dustin Powell Assistant Wrestling— Hunter Manning Volunteer Assistants— Chad Tharp and Rick Cannon Girls' Tennis—Jill Keepes Girls' Softball—Trent Stone Assistant Softball— Adrienne Runyan Assistant Softball—Terry Stone Girls' Track—John Miller Assistant Girls' Track— Nikki Miller Boys' Track—Ryne Biesterveld Assistant Boys' Track— Jeremy Howald Pike Central High School Wellness Coordinator—Ann Wahl Bus Drivers—Kevin Woods; Emily Benefiel; Lisa Wetherald; Richard Smith; Brittany Gayhart. Concerns voiced in letter presented to school board and reinforcement of basic educational system. sues have caused true con- ny problems. Here are sevprinciples. 5. Our schools' librar- cern and alarm for the well- eral: 2. I.E.P. requirements ies have also been cut; being of our school corpo1. We cannot justify this leaves students lack- ration and the children the loss of our paychecks are not being met. 3. Duties are not being ing in the freedom to ac- enrolled here. during summer months, covered and enrichment cess much needed readOur worries are caused breaks and delays. We ing materials to further by not only the latter is- would like to know how activities have suffered. 4. In addition, adequate their growth. sues, but also of personal the corporation can benefit This is an open letter to technical support for our As teaching assistants, concerns. While still accli- by putting this into effect? the residents of Pike Coun- schools' computer systems we have witnessed great mating to a 23 - 40 percent This will cause great hardty, the Pike County School is being compromised. We stress among our fellow pay cut, we are now being ship and inconvenience for Board, Administration and feel in today's world, com- co-workers, which can only told our wages will be dis- those who dedicate much Superintendent Suzanne puters and technologies lead to poor learning condi- tributed on an hourly ba- of their lives to this corpoBlake. The purpose of this are vital components of our tions. These important is- sis. This raises a great maContinued on page 6 letter is to convey the concerns of a group of noncertified employees of the OUR E A L T H A T T E RS O UR E A L T H A T T ER S O UR E AL T H AT T ER S Pike County School Corporation in regards to the reHealthMatters is a series of free, public programs presented by local cent budget cuts, comprophysicians and sponsored by Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center! mised learning environments, schedule adjustments and changes in the manner our wages are being distributed. We, as a group, have maPRESENTED BY ny concerns. We feel the most important of these concerns are, of course, OTOLARYNGOLOGIST the education of our children. This is, after all, the reason we are all here. UESDAY EPTEMBER AT PM 1. The students are losMEDICAL ARTS BUILDING - CONFERENCE CENTER ing the valuable benefits that come from having 721 WEST 13TH STREET IN JASPER classroom assistance each child needs on a daily basis Thyroid nodules are very common. An estimated 4% of the population such as: remediation, exhave a palpable thyroid nodule, and more than 50% have a nodule tra help, one on one time detectable by ultrasonography. During this HealthMatters program, Dr. Jason Stubbs will discuss various issues involved with thyroid nodules and the management of thyroid nodules that address which nodules necessitate a biopsy and which can be safely monitored or ignored. Editor's note: The following letter was presented to the Pike County School Corporation's Board of School Trustees by Jami Dunigan during its regular monthly meeting on Monday, Sept. 9: Trane EarthWise™ Hybrid Heating & Cooling Systems. A lot of comfort, not a lot of energy. Lower energy consumption without giving up an ounce of comfort. Trane EarthWise™ Hybrid Heating and Cooling Systems give you the best in smart energy usage with the option of electric or gas for heating. During winter's milder days, a heat pump uses electricity to capture the heat that's always present in the outside air and circulate it back into your home then switches to a natural gas furnace during the worst of what Mother Nature throws at you. The control the comfort the savings are all yours! Y H M ...Y H M ...Y H M MANAGEMENT OF THYROID NODULES DR. JASON STUBBS, T ,S 24, 2013 7:00 . . Dr. Stubbs received his medical degree at Pikeville College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed a residency at Oklahoma State University-Freeman Health System Otolaryngology Head and Neck Facial Plastics. He completed his American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Clinical Fellowship at the Body Sculpting Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dr. Stubbs joined the Active Medical Staff in 2013. Pre-registration is not required. For more information, please call Memorial Hospital's Marketing & Public Relations department at 996-2323 or toll-free at 800-852-7279, ext. 2323. Take Control Of Energy Consumption With A Trane EarthWise™ Hybrid System. 789-3065 Mac's Heating & Air Conditioning 104 E. Center St., Winslow macshtgac@hotmail.com R ESPECT FOR H UMAN DIGNITY • Q UALITY • J USTICE • S TEWARDSHIP • C OMPASSIONATE CARING