The Press-Dispatch
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Local ........ A1-12 Sports .........B1-5 Classifi eds B10-12 Church ........C1-3 Home Life....C4-6 Obituaries A9,C7 School.........C8-9 E. Gibson ...... C10 Opinion .. C11-12 WHAT'S INSIDE: CONNECT WITH US: NetEdition ...pressdispatch.net/edition Facebook.....facebook.com/pressdispatch E-Mail .........news@pressdispatch.net Phone:.................. 812-354-8500 Fax: ...................... 812-354-2014 E-Mail . editor@pressdispatch.net NEWS TIPS: PIKE PUBLISHING See BARGAIN on page 2 See CENTER on page 2 Wednesday, October 17, 2018 Volume 148 Number 42 Phone (812) 354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 (USPS 604-34012) $ 1 See ELECTION on page 2 Three sections 36 pages Four inserts The Press-Dispatch October Bargain Pe- riod is underway. You can save $ 3 off the price of your yearly subscription, wheth- er it is $ 33 for both the print + NetEdition, $28 for the print only subscription or $ 32 for the NetEdition only version. The Press-Dispatch has been keeping the residents of Pike County informed about what is happening in their community since March of 1898. The family-owned publica- tion, which now spans five generations, con- tinues to provide award winning coverage of the events and happenings of Pike Coun- ty. Whether it is keeping up with news you need to know about, such as how much and why your water rates and tax rates are go- ing up, or just news you want to know about, like how did the neighbor's child do in his tennis match last week, The Press-Dispatch is the place to find out. This year, The Press-Dispatch received 28 awards from the Hoosier State Press As- sociation Foundation's Better Newspaper By Andy Heuring Most people at the age of 87 are slowing down and enjoy- ing the fruits of their life. Instead, retired pastor Ray Stilwell, of Algiers, is full steam ahead. Last week, he drove 900 miles on Monday and Tuesday, making sure supplies he has round- ed up made it to the send-off point to the Ukraine. "Doctors and dentists from all over the country give me medicines and medical supplies. He drove to Cleveland to pick up a load and then took it to Ar- kansas, where he made sure two 40 ft. containers filled with those supplies were in proper order to meet the international shipping regulations and got on their way to the Ukraine. This week, he is packing his bags, pre- paring to spend the rest of his life in the mission field of the Ukraine. While it will be a new chapter in his life, it won't be completely new surround- ings. Stilwell, a retired Church of Christ pastor, has been to the Ukraine 48 times since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Most years, making three trips a year to the former satellite of the Soviet Union. This trip may be his last trip to the Ukraine. "I may never come back, I will be 87 lat- er this month," said Stilwell. "I had been thinking about this for a long time. I couldn't go as long as my wife was still in the nursing home. When she passed, I decided I'm not doing anything here. I can't have too many more years. Seemed like I needed to do one more thing," said Stilwell about meeting his calling. His wife of 56 years, Joyce, died in September. In the mid-80s, Stilwell was pastor at the Princeton Church of Christ, when the Church of Christ denomination sent him and others to the Ukraine. "First time we went, when you got off the airplane, you stepped back in history about 50 years. That is how far back they were. They have come a long way," said Stilwell. While on his early mission trips to the Ukraine, the Church of Christ purchased some buildings and set up a church. He said it was "started from scratch." The congregation has grown to about 130 people. "It is doing really well." Since then, they be- gan progressing toward building a school to train pastors. Now the school is being built and Stilwell is headed there to be their superintendent. He is volunteering his services. "I probably have more motive to go back to the Ukraine than anyone else." A fter he retired from the Princeton church, he moved to Florida. While there, he and his wife hosted a teen girl from the Ukraine who lived with them and attended high school in Okeechobee, Fla. Stilwell said proudly, "She graduated 15th in her class." She went onto college and now is back in the Ukraine. Stilwell, who spent 25 years in the Air Force, has been around the world many times. His contact with the Ukraine goes back to earlier days in the Air Force, when he was a radio controller on a B- 36. The B-36 was a giant six engine bomber that dwarfed a B-29 Superfor- tress. It had a 3,400 -mile range and could reach the Soviet Union from the U.S. without refueling. It was mainly used to deliver nuclear payloads. Stilwell said in the early 1950s, "There was never a moment one of those B-36s weren't over the Soviet Union, flying over Russia with 4 hy- drogen bombs." "We played this silly game of go- ing right down to one minute in the countdown to drop our payload before aborting the mission." He said they did this day after day. He explained their mission plan was to drop the hydro- gen bombs on the Navy installation in Ukraine and wipe it out. Then the pre- vailing winds would blow the radiation over most of the Ukraine, killing off nearly all of their population. Stilwell said because of the altitude the B-36 flew at, despite being a piston engine plane, the Russians didn't have anything that could reach them. At least not until 1953 when the Soviet Union developed the Mig fighter jet. "In 1953, we saw the first Mig fly next to us." He said that nearly immediately ended the career of the B- 36 and his mission. The realization of his mission in the 1950s caused him to have a deep concern for the people of the Ukraine. "There was a time I could have killed everyone in the Ukraine. I thought, now I need to go spread the Gospel to them." "That is the way Dad has always been. When you do a job, you do it right. You give it 100 percent," said his daughter, Bren- da Ham. She and his other adult children are worried about their Dad. "You know what they are saying," said Stilwell. "They were wor- ried about me dying over there. But I think, 'what does is mat- ter if I die over there or over here? '" Despite being a few days from his 87th birthday and having to travel literally halfway across the world, Stilwell is meeting the call put on his heart. He will head to the Ukraine at the end of the month with no return date in sight. "I may never come back," said Stilwell. Ray Stilwell Stilwell headed to Ukraine for final mission trip By Andy Heuring A Petersburg suffered a non-life threat- ening injury when he accidentally shot him- self Monday evening. Larry Wojotowitz, 60, of 178 N. SR 57, Pe- tersburg, suffered a gunshot wound to his lower left leg at about 7:25 p.m. Pike Coun- ty Sheriff Jeremy Britton said Wojotowitz told police he was taking a 9 mm pistol out of his pocket to put it on a table and dropped it. When the gun hit the floor, it discharged and struck him in the lower left leg. He was taken by ambulance to Dea- coness Midtown in Evansville. A hospital spokesman said Wojotowitz was no longer in the hospital. In a separate incident, Terry Jones suf- fered serious injuries in a four-wheeler crash on Sunday, October 7 near Alford. Jones was taken by air ambulance to Dea- coness. He has been upgraded to stable condition. Initially, Jones was in critical condition. Wojotowitz injured in accidental shooting By Andy Heuring Election day isn't until Tuesday, Novem- ber 6, but 323 people have already voted in Pike County. As of Tuesday afternoon, 213 people had walked into the Clerk's Office to vote and 110 had voted absentee by mail. Early and absentee voting is ongoing in the Clerk's office. People can vote early in the Clerk's office from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, October 27 and November 3. The office will also be available for early voting on Monday, No- vember 5 from 8 a.m. to noon. This year's election not only includes sev- eral county-wide, state and federal races, it also includes a Winslow Town Council race. This is the first time the Winslow race has been contested during the mid-term elections. They had always been voted on in an off year, when only Winslow and Pe- tersburg had elections. But Winslow voted three years ago to move the election up by one year to when the county-wide races are contested. Councilmen argued there would be better participation in the races. Winslow had another curve ball thrown at them. The State Election Board de-cer- tified their three ward boundaries, be- cause Winslow missed the deadline to re- certify the boundaries. Consequently, in- stead of having an election that is contest- ed between candidates living in a particular ward, this election will be an at-large race. So the three candidates who get the most votes will be elected councilmen. There are 10 candidates vying for the three positions of Town Council. They are: Melvin DeCis- to, Terry Strobel, Michael Truitt, George Fred Fiscus, Richard Brewster, Rick Math- ias, Greg Simmons, Debra Lamb, Kavin "Squeak" Gayhart and Joshua Popp. The race for clerk-treasurer will also be on the ballot. It pits Stacy Worthington against Trisha Bottoms. (See profiles on both of these races on page A-9 and A-10.) Below is a list of the races that will be on the November 6 ballot. County Auditor Judy Wood Gumbel (R) Jody L. Hoover (D) County Recorder Lida Robinson (D) Jeff Harting (R) More than 300 have voted early as Election Day approaches By Andy Heuring The Technology and Entrepreneur Cen- ter in Pike County is set to go out for bids in the next few weeks. The Center received a $757,000 grant from the US Economic De- velopment Administration. Plans for the building will be reviewed by the US EDA. Once they are approved they will be re- leased for public bidding and after a pre- bid meeting with prospective bidders they will be set for a bid opening about four weeks later. Pike County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Ashley Willis said during the winter months they will probably be doing site preparations with ground-breaking and walls going up in the Spring. The center will provide low cost space for entrepreneurs who are trying to get a business and or product off the ground. Willis said it will have numerous technolo- gies available to start-ups that are impossi- ble or difficult for them to afford like a 3-D printer, CNC machines, a lathe, table saw, miter saw and other items typically need- ed to work on prototypes and small man- ufacturing. Willis explained it is the equivalent of a health club that provides work-out equip- ment people can't afford at home. The en- trepreneurs will be offered space for a fee that is much less than having to purchase the space and technology for themselves. It will also feature office space that can help a start-up business look more profes- sional than working out of their home or meeting clients in a restaurant. Willis said she is in the process of build- ing relationships with existing business to use the facility for training. Inside Indiana Business featured the cen- ter on their show, and Willis said ever since the "phones are ringing off the hook with contractors wanting to build it. She said they are also getting interest from a lot of local entrepreneurs, "who have gone to college and want to come back and have this. We needed this years ago." She is also working with area colleges to offer var- October Bargain Period continues through 31st Tech Center preps to solicit construction bids SAVE NOW DURING BARGAIN PERIOD! now through OCt. 31 • See page B-9 for full details Above: a front view of the Pike Technology Center that will be built on the south- west corner of the I-69 in- terchange with Highway 61. A $757,000 federal grant is helping build the center that will provide a space for entrepreneurs to get started with new businesses. Left: a floor plan of the fa- cility is pictured. Ground breaking is expected in the Spring of 2019.