The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/111897
Three sections 30 pages Five inserts Wednesday, February 27, 2013��� 75�� Volume 145��� Number 9��� Phone (812) 354-8500��� Petersburg, IN 47567-0068��� Local parties to reorganize on Saturday Woman rescued from Patoka flood water By Andy Heuring An Evansville woman was rescued from high water after her car stalled in the Patoka River bottoms just south of the PikeGibson County line. Donna Vindetti, 63, was found by Pike County Chief Deputy Sheriff Todd Meadors. Meadors said he began looking for Vindetti after her friend, Tammy McEllhiney, called the Pike County Sheriff���s Department at 9 p.m. to report Vindetti had left McEllhiney���s residence in Francisco and apparently got lost on the back roads. McEllhiney said Vindetti had called her a few times on her cellphone asking directions. Deputy Meadors said McEllhiney wasn���t sure where Vindetti was, but she had mentioned CR100N and something about high water. ���She didn���t know if Vindetti was talking about a high water sign or if she was in high water.��� Vindetti���s phone had apparently gone dead and McEllhiney was no longer able to make contact with her. Meadors had Vindetti���s phone ���pinged��� to locate where and when her last phone call was made. It showed she was in the area west of Highway 57, just south of the PikeGibson line. So, Meadors began searching for her in the area. He said he went to CR100N and was in the area of CR1050E. ���I drove though a little bit of high water along a road until I didn���t feel comfortable anymore,��� said Meadors. ���I saw what I was 90 percent sure was a vehicle. It was several hundred yards Continued on page 2 (USPS 604-340) Tony Williams (standing) expresses his concerns at the Winslow Town Board meeting Monday night. The board invited Winslow residents to the Winslow Community Center to share their thoughts on an impending water rate hike. By Andy Heuring The Democrat and Republican party central committees will be reorganized this Saturday. Both meetings appear to be cut and dried. On the Republican side, only former commissioner Mark Flint has filed for the Chairman���s office. Flint said he decided to run when he heard current Republican chair Mike Goodpaster was not going to seek re-election. ���Mike has done a wonderful job,��� said Flint. Goodpaster said he decided in September last year he was not going to run again. ���I decided not to run due to time constraints. I have a lot of other things going on. I basically cleared my schedule last year and worked pretty hard on it and we got pretty good results,��� said Goodpaster about not filing for re-election. Pike County Republican officials currently are: Mike Goodpaster Chairman; Angie Davis Vice-chairman and Jeff Harting Secretary. State Republican Party officials said the deadline for filing was 72 hours before the caucus. It is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, March 2. On the Democrat Central Committee elections, Secretary Jennifer Dedman said only the party incumbents had filed to seek re-election and the deadline to file was 10 days prior to the election. The Democrat officers now are Chairman Chris Burkhart, Vice-chair Cindy Ridao, Secretary Jennifer Dedman and TreaContinued on page 7 Questions raised about water rates at Winslow meeting By Alden Heuring Confusion and disappointment seemed to be the main emotions Winslow residents expressed at the public town board meeting Monday night. Residents asked how the town���s financial troubles came to be, what their water bills would be after rates are increased, when would the rates increase, and where money could come from to get the town out of debt���among other things. how did winslow get into debt? ���Over the years, we���ve continued to lose money monthly,��� board member Dave Tisdale said. ���We either have to shut down or raise the rates.��� One of the largest costs for Winslow is payments on loans. Just like a college graduate can be crippled by student loans, or a pair of newlyweds can be crippled by house payments, Winslow is struggling to pay off loans that might have been necessary evils at the time. The town took out two large loans from the government, one in 1982 and one in 1992. The 1982 loan paid for refurbishing the town���s water plant, and the 1992 loan paid for installation of the town���s sewer system. Put together, the two loans cost Winslow $72,000 a year, and will continue to do so until at least 2021. That, on top of all the other costs involved in running a town, is just too much for Winslow���s budget. ���Between the two of them we���re losing about $1,000 a month,��� Tisdale said. ���Loss of customers, cost of repairs, cost of chemicals, government regulations���these kinds of costs all add up.��� what will water cost after the rates go up? While the board has not decided how much rates will go up���board president Don Bolin said he wanted to hear what residents had to say before making a final decision���it is possible for residents who are on a budget to estimate their new rates, especially since the board expressed last night it only wants to raise rates one time. Based on the results of a rate study performed by Dan DeVault, a rural development specialist with Indiana Rural Community Assistance Program, the board will most likely pick one of three scenarios recommended by DeVault. First scenario: water rates increase by 15% and sewer rates increase by 24%. This increase would not provide enough additional revenue to break even. Second scenario: water rates increase by 25% and sewer rates increase by 42%. This increase would allow Winslow to start dig- ging out of debt, but leaves little money for future improvements. Third scenario: water rates increase by 33% and sewer rates increase by 58%. This increase would provide funds both for debt reduction and town improvements. While The Press-Dispatch previously provided DeVault���s estimates on what a ���minimum��� water bill would be in each scenario, many residents said in the meeting their water usage exceeded the minimum rate. Regardless of your monthly water and sewage use, it is possible to estimate what your bill will be. On your monthly water bill, multiply the ���WA��� line item by the water rate increase, then multiply the ���SW��� line item by the sewer rate increase for the same scenario. Add these two results to your current bill���s total, and you will have a decent estimate of how much you will pay after rates increase. For example, if your total water bill is $60, with $40 of water (WA) charges and $20 of sewer (SW) charges, then in the first scenario, you would add $6 to your water charges and $4.80 to your sewer charges. Your total bill would increase from $60 to $70.80. when will the rates increase? ���At the first meeting in March there will New mayor has fast-paced first few days By Andy Heuring Petersburg Mayor Frank Coleman has been on the job for four days now, and big deadlines and dates for the future of Petersburg are coming fast. Coleman officially took office on Friday, February 22 and big deadlines have been bearing down on him ever since. The first deadline is March 1, when Petersburg has to turn in their Stellar Communities Letter of Interest to officially state they are pursuing the Stellar Community program. It is the second year for Petersburg to apply. Last year, they competed with other towns and cities in Indiana for one of two $20 million grants. Before Coleman���s official first day on Friday, he was in Indianapolis as an observer with Petersburg���s Stellar team at a meeting with the state agencies involved in the Stellar program. On Friday and Monday, in between numerous visitors stopping by to wish him well as mayor, he worked on finalizing Petersburg���s letter of interest to Stellar. ���We spent a lot of time working on the letter of interest, and making sure we included all the dynamics of the programs included in our projects. We completed it on Friday and reviewed today (Monday), and then sent it in,��� said Coleman. Petersburg and the other towns and cities will learn on March 15 if they are selected as finalists. Coleman said on Thursday they learned Continued on page 2 PIKE PUBLISHING be a decision on the rates,��� board president Don Bolin said, ���and probably another 60 days or so before they���re in effect.��� If voting on higher rates proceeds as planned in the March 11 town board meeting, higher rates will go into effect about halfway through the month of May. What the new rates will be remains to be seen, but board members said Monday night they are looking to do as small a hike as possible while giving the town enough money to start digging out of the red. Many residents expressed concern at the meeting about various things that needed to be fixed in town. One of the main reasons repairs are happening slowly, board members said, is that there simply isn���t money to pay for the repairs. other business The town read for the second time ordinance #2013-01, which will institute fees for access to public records, especially faxes and copies. When the new ordinance takes effect, black and white copies will cost 10 cents per page, color copies will cost 25 cents per page, faxes will cost 25 cents per page for 8.5x11��� and 8.5x14��� pages, and $1 per page for long distance faxes. Certifications or acknowledgments of official reContinued on page 2 Man arrested for selling pot to minors Train derailment closes Highway 64 Highway 64 near the Pike-Gibson County line was closed from late last Tuesday until Wednesday morning due to a train derailment. David Pidgeon, Manager of Public Relations for Norfolk Southern, said two freight cars on a train derailed. He said there was no spill or leakage, and no injuries. Pidgeon said the cause of the derailment is still under investigation. The cars derailed as they were traveling south just at the north edge of Highway 64 into the old AW&W siding. Crews worked Tuesday and the highway was open to one lane traffic on Wednesday, and completely open on Thursday. WHAT���S INSIDE: Local ........A1-10 Birth ..............A5 Church .......C1-5 Obituaries ......A3 Sports ........B1-4 Opinion..........C2 With this ring .A5 Classi���eds..B8-11 History ...........C7 NEWS TIPS: Phone:........................354-8500 Fax: ............................354-2014 E-Mail . editor@pressdispatch.net By Andy Heuring A Petersburg teen was arrested on charges of dealing marijuana to minors, a class D felony, and possession of marijuana and two others were arrested on possession of marijuana late Sunday night. Evan P. Sturgeon, 18, of 168 N. Autumn Lane Apt. 16, Petersburg was arrested at 10:06 p.m. by Cpl. Chad Tharp. He was preliminarily charged with dealing and possession of marijuana. His two passengers: Evan Sturgeon Mercide N. Morning, 18, also of 168 N. Autumn Lane Apt. 16, Petersburg and Mark A. Brittingham, 20, of 303 S. Fourth St., Petersburg were arrested on charges of possession of marijuana. Cpl. Tharp said he was asked to assist with a traffic stop by State Trooper John Davis, who had smelled a strong odor of marijuana after stopping a red Toyota truck on Highway 61 south of Petersburg, Sunday evening. Cpl. Tharp said a K-9 unit from Washington was brought in. According to Tharp���s report, during a search, police found digital scales, two partially smoked marijuana cigarettes and a pack of rolling papers in a compartment in the dash; a green marijuana bud was found in the back seat near where Brittingham had been sitting. Tharp said when they asked Morning if she had any illegal items in her possession, she pulled two bags of marijuana from the waistband of her sweat pants. Sturgeon told police the marijuana Continued on page 2 CONNECT WITH US: NETedition ... pressdispatch.net/edition Facebook .... facebook.com/pressdispatch E-Mail .......... news@pressdispatch.net