The Press-Dispatch
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Urology Specialists 200 S. 6th Street Vincennes, IN 47591 812-882-4320 Welcome to SOLUTIONS The staff at Solutions welcomes the newest addition, NICOLE MILLER Licensed nail tech for more than 20 years, specializing in: • CND Shellac Manicures • Natural Manicures • Pedicures • Nail Art • French Manicures Accepting men and women clientele beginning August 11 To schedule an appointment, contact Nicole at 309-258-3308 Solutions H A I R S T U D I O 709 MAIN STREET, PETERSBURG SALON PHONE: 812-380-2320 By Andy Heuring Petersburg Scout Camer- on Smith attended the Boy Scout National Jamboree at the Bechtel Family Reserve Summit high in the West Virginia mountains recent- ly. The event was billed as High Adventure. "Awesome" was the word Smith had for it. He was one of 40,000 Scouts who attended the event. Smith estimated those in attendance were mostly ages 13 to 16. They stayed for two weeks from July 19 -30. Smith said it offered ev- ery kind of adventure you can think of, from white water rafting, mountain bik- ing, robotics, rock climbing, archery, shooting sports, virtual reality events, hik- ing, orienteering, toma- hawk throwing, and the list goes on and on. It even had special events packages in which the Scouts could participate. They included things like the Summit ex- perience, which included a half day at the Summit ad- ventures sports venues: The Canopy, The Rocks, Low and High Gear, The Park, The Trax, The Bows, The barrels, Bravo Lake and The Ropes. Summit Experi- ence groups also got a thrill- ing ride down the 3,110 foot big zip line. There were also a bike packing trek covering 50 miles of single and dou- ble track with two 1,000 foot climbs, three days of aerial adven- ture sports, three days of archery and shooting disciplines, including crossbows, trap shoot- ing, sport- ing clays, pis- tol and large- bore rifles, BMX riding, skateboard- ing, and a 50 -mile river paddle down the New Riv- er that includ- ed rafting in class III and IV rapids in the Low- er Canyon. "There were so many fun things to do, I only got one merit badge, because I was doing all the fun things," said Smith. The one merit badge he completed while there was Citizenship in the Na- tion. Smith is a Life Scout. He said he still needs Citi- zenship in the Community and about three more merit badges to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. He was there for two weeks and still had run out of time for more merit badg- es. Some of the fun things he did included competing in a Spartan race, doing one of the largest zip lines in the world. He said it was more than a half-mile long and 154 feet high. Each day, he walked sev- eral miles, and ascended and descended several thou- sand feet. To get to the activ- ity areas each day, they had to cross a large bridge. He did well enough in the tomahawk throwing con- test, he received 50 percent off on several items. One of the big activities was trading patches which the Scouts were able to earn or buy. He came back with nearly 40 patches, numer- ous shirts and a rosary. The Duty to God and Country station was one of the most intriguing to Smith. He said they had stations set up to teach the Scouts about 12 different faiths and denominations. During one, he made a ro- sary and learned of its sig- nificance. The 40,000 Scouts had to cook their evening meals. He said the meals came to them frozen and they had to heat them. But they learned quickly to make sure and get them done all the way through or they were a mushy mess. Smith made the 10 -hour journey on a bus with 35 oth- er Scouts from southwest Indiana and Illinois. Mostly they were from Jasper and Vincennes. "When we arrived, there were only about 6,000 to 8,000 Scouts, but by the third day, it was up to 18,000 and, by the middle of the event it reached 40,000," said Smith. He also got to see Pres- ident Donald Trump, who spoke to the Scouts. "We had great seats for it. We were only about 200 feet from him," said Trump. Smith said Trump was a big hit with the Scouts, more so than some of the bands who performed. He said it was the first time he had been away from home for that long. It was a tough time for many of the Scouts. Smith said about 8,000 went home ear- ly because they were home- sick or injured. While he es- caped both of those relative- ly unscathed, he said, "Ev- Petersburg's Smith attends Boy Scout National Jamboree permits in those areas and they wouldn't be turning the roads back to the county as long as they have active per- mits. Johns then moved to ques- tions about the Pike County Emergency Medical Ser- vice. He said Martin Coun- ty contracts a service for $212,000 year. He said Pike County is requesting $1.475 million for the EMS in 2018. Johns said in 2013, it was on- ly $413,000. However, Auditor Ron Wil- son said part of the reason is the insurance, retirement and other fees were being paid out of the Commission- ers' budget in 2013. Howev- er, since then, all of those fees were moved into the EMS budget, which is part of the Public Safety budget, that is largely funded by a lo- cal income tax. "How good is their ser- vice? " asked Nelson. Commissioner Ryan Cole- man said, "We have looked at contract service. We found they didn't even show up for calls," said Coleman. Nelson said the quality of a contract service is much less than what Pike Coun- ty offers. "I have been involved in EMS and fire for 25 years and I know about their ser- vice," said Nelson. Johns asked Nelson to give an example of a poor service. Nelson said they use min- imum wage, no care people. "It is a poor service. We are going to keep our service. It is a paramedic service and a professional service," said Nelson. In other business, Assis- tant Superintendent Josh Byrd said a problem has developed with a bridge on Ayrshire Road (CR 375 S). He said beaver dams had backed water up on the bridge and inspectors could not inspect it. If they didn't get the water off the bridge, he said they were go- ing to have to pay for divers to inspect the bridge, which would be expensive. On Tuesday, Byrd said a highway crew took a boat down the stream to see how many beaver dams they were going to be dealing with. He said they hoped to be able to get a backhoe close enough to take out the dams, but he didn't know if they would be able to access all of them. VELPEN PARK A park in Velpen that was created following a fa- tal house fire is in need of maintenance. Byrd told the commissioners the high- way department occasion- ally cleans up the park, but they are getting complaints about it. He said about 10 to 15 kids play there in the evenings and there is some type of Bible Study in the making. He said the weeds are about three feet tall now. Byrd said the highway de- partment doesn't mind mow- ing it and has fixed the slide in the park, but it really isn't something they can do rou- tinely. "I don't know if you want to recommend this to the parks board. But they (peo- ple in Velpen) want to get this lined out," said Byrd. Byrd said Township Trust- ee Becky Steinhart said she wouldn't mind overseeing the maintenance of it, but she doesn't have money in her budget to pay for it. County Attorney Val Fleig said because it was county owned property, the coun- ty could fund it. However, he agreed the parks board seemed like the logical en- tity to handle it. Ham said he thought part of the prob- lem had been people in Vel- pen didn't know who to call to tell it needed mowing or other maintenance. Commissioner Nelson sug- gested they have Commis- sioner Assistant Kristi Dis- chinger write a letter to the Parks Board about the issue. Commissioners also ex- tended temporary closure on Meridian Road, near the Log Creek mine and Unit- ed Minerals Mine, in the extreme southwest corner of Pike County. The also gave a two-year extension on County Roads 1100 S. and 1175 S. Scott Partenheimer, represent- ing Triad Mining, said those two roads would probably be closed for an extended time. Commissioner Coleman asked how long Meridian would be closed. Parten- heimer said they hoped it would be opened before the two-year extension expired. The next commission- ers' meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday, Au- gust 21. PAVING Continued from page 1 eryone got heartburn." On their return trip, the parents had a great welcome for them. Each one made signs with their individual names on them, welcoming them home as the bus drove into their pickup point. Smith said the week af- ter he returned home, there was a Buffalo Trace Council meeting and those who went to the Jamboree were invit- ed. He originally didn't want to go, but decided to make the trip, and he was glad he did. He was asked to give a presentation on the trip. In all, Smith said this was his greatest adventure so far in his scouting career, which started when he was in the first grade. The Scouts at the National Jambo- ree had to cross the large suspen- sion bridge each day. Cameron Smith displays some of his sack full of Scouting swag, that includes about 40 badges, t-shirts, hats and even a rosary he collected while at the Na- tional Boy Scout Jamboree in West Virginia in late July.