The Press-Dispatch
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Local ...........A1-8 Sports ............ B1 Opinion .......B2-3 History ........... B4 Classifi eds ..B5-7 E. Gibson ........ B8 Church ........C1-8 Home Life....C4-6 Obituaries....... C7 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 Wednesday, June 19, 2019 Volume 149 Number 26 Phone 812-354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 (USPS 604-34012) $ 1 Three sections 24 pages Five inserts See TANKER on page 2 By Andy Heuring Petersburg took steps to ap- prove a $110,000 additional appro- priation to purchase a new tank- er truck for the fire department. Mayor R.C. Klipsch said Washington Township is giving $150,000 to Petersburg to help purchase the truck. "Originally, we thought we would have to bor- row money to purchase the truck, but because of Washington Town- ship's donation, we won't have to borrow money," said Klipsch. "It will be hauling water to fires in Washington Township," said Klipsch. He said the truck will cost $297,000, but by the time it is ful- ly equipped, the cost will be about $ 315,000. Fire Chief Ross Elmore said the truck is a 3,000 -gallon tanker that will be a 10 -wheeler truck. But it also will have a pump and hoses on it so it can work like other fire trucks. At the next council meeting, they will be voting on whether or not to approve the additional ap- propriation. Petersburg also voted to pur- chase a handheld GIS device that will allow them to map updates and improvements of their util- ities. When they install a valve or locate a water line or manhole or any other improvement, they can enter its GIS location into the city's mapping system. This will allow them to locate this precise- ly in the future. The low bid for the device was $ 8,195. The Water Board voted to pur- chase the item and a license to use the software, which is owned by WTH. In other technology advances, City Services Manager Ross El- more said the new computer con- trol system at the water plant is up and running. He said the system allows him to monitor and make changes from his cellphone. "I was able to shut down the pumps from my phone. . . This weekend during the storms, I could check on the plant and make sure things were running okay without having to go to the plant. That is huge," said Elmore. Elmore said they have been working on making waterline re- placements on 15th and 16th sts. He said they are hoping to get wa- terlines replaced that have given them trouble in the past before Petersburg takes steps to purchase new fire tanker/pumper See FIRE on page 2 See JULY 4TH on page 2 Amanda Thompson Dave Reed Ayrshire woman dies in Saturday house fire Reed arrested on dealing meth charge By Andy Heuring A Winslow woman was killed in a fast spreading fire early Friday morning, Melinda Grissom Sharp, 63, of 3923 CR 375 S. (Ayrshire Rd.), Winslow, died in the fire that was reported at about 12:30 a.m. Fri- day. Patoka Fire Chief Brandon Tru- itt said Sharp owned the house and her daughter and son-in-law, Amy and David Taylor, and their two children lived with Sharp. Truitt said the two children were spending the night with another family. David woke up coughing and could hear a smoke detector going off. "My husband woke up. He said 'Babe, why is the house so smoky? I opened my eyes and I could immediately smell and taste it. My husband pushed open the door and smoke barreled into the room. We tried to go for my moth- er and get her out. We couldn't find her. We had to get out. We tried to go back in and find her, but we couldn't," said Amy. "It was moving unusually fast. From the time the call went out to the time we got there, I don't know exactly how long it was, but it wasn't very long. As quickly as the fire advanced, I have nev- er seen anything like that," said Truitt. He said when the Taylors went out the front door, they left it open. The back door of the house was open and there either weren't any interior doors or they were open. By Andy Heuring A traffic stop north of Peters- burg led to a Solsberry man be- ing arrested on a charge of deal- ing methamphetamine early Sun- day morning. Dave Wilson Reed, 33, of 6741 E. Tulip Rd., Solsberry, was ar- rested on preliminary charg- es of dealing in meth, at least 10 grams, a level 2 felony; possession of meth, at least 10 grams, a level 5 felony; and maintaining a com- mon nuisance. Amanda Elizabeth Thomp- son, 37, of 1398 Clore Dr., Mar- tinsville, was arrested on prelim- inary charges of possession of meth, less than five grams, a level 6 felony; possession of marijuana; possession of paraphernalia; and maintaining a common nuisance. They were both arrested after Pike County Deputy Sheriff Jared Simmons stopped them at about 2 a.m. Sunday. He said he was driv- ing south on Highway 57 when he saw a gold Toyota Camry contin- ue in the left lane after Highway 57 split into three lanes near the entrance of IPL. The vehicle then switched from the left lane to the right lane near Twin Oaks Church Road without signaling. Simmons said he stopped the vehicle, which was being driven by Thompson. While talking with Thompson and her two passengers, he no- ticed they were extremely ner- vous and he smelled the odor of burnt marijuana. According to his report, Thompson admitted they had smoked marijuana in the car, but denied there were any drugs in the vehicle. Reed, who was in the back- seat on the driv- er's side, told police he didn't have any drugs on him. How- ever, during a pat down, po- lice found a for- eign object in his pants. Reed again denied having drugs, but police asked him if he would retrieve the object or if he was going to make police re- trieve it. Reed reached into his pants and gave them several individual baggies containing a crystal-like substance. Deputy Simmons, in his re- port, said it appeared to be meth- amphetamine packaged for sale in the baggies. Reed, according to Simmons' '69 Sectional champs to be Parade Grand Marshals By Andy Heuring The Jefferson Township Ruri- tan's Fourth of July Celebration is scheduled for Wednesday, July 3 through Saturday, July 6. This year's festival will have many of the staple events, such as their parade and fireworks on July 4, truck and tractor pulls, carnival rides and BBQ dinners. But they also will have a special event cel- ebrating the 50th anniversary of Otwell High School winning the basketball sectional. The 1969 Otwell Millers will be the grand marshals of the parade at 10 a.m. The team consisted of Jim De- Motte, Tim Garland, Ellis Gray, Steve Meadors, Tim Teague, Mike Vaughn, Steve Barrett, Neal Pauw, Rick Weisman, Bob Whal- ey, Erwin Traylor and David El- kins; coaches Howard Andy An- dersson and Richard Helton; stu- dent managers Nicky Meadors and Walter Hazelton; cheerlead- ers Brenda (Summit) Rish, Pep (Dickson) Young, Rita ( Whaley) Weisman; and mini-cheerleader Angie (Anderson) Merkley. There will be a visit with the team, and a question and answer session at 2:30 p.m. in the Com- munity Center gym. A community-wide church ser- vice at 11 a.m., presented by the South Eastern Pike County Minis- terial Association will start the an- nual event off on Sunday, June 30. The Little Miss Firecracker contest is set for 7 p.m. on Sun- day. Admission is $ 3, with chil- dren six and under free. The carnival grounds will open on Wednesday at 6 p.m. with a ride night for those with special needs. Up to two guests of each special needs person can participate for $5 each. There will be a garden tractor pull at 7 p.m. July 4th Celebration begins July 3 See METH BUST on page 2 Community welcomes River back home River Harbin and his mother, Brittany, wave to the crowd as they ride along the parade route in Otwell last Friday night. People lined the street to welcome four-year-old River home. He had been in Riley Children's Hospital since December and underwent open heart surgery just days before the parade. "The love, support and encouragement from our community and everyone who came out and supported the coming home parade was absolutely amazing. It literally brought tears to Zach's and my eyes. All the homemade signs and participation is why we love our little small town USA! We are so thankfully blessed with the support, prayers and love of our family, friends and prayer warriors!" said Brittany about the community's welcome. She added, "River is loving being home! He loves playing outside and taking lots of baths. All the little things we take for granted everyday, River is experiencing pure joy from. He is such an inspiration!" Hetman Design photo Flames ravage the residence of Melinda Sharp in Ayrshire early Friday morning. Sharp, 63, died in the fast-moving fire. Her daughter and son-in-law David and Amy Taylor escaped after they woke at about 12:30 a.m. They were unable to find Sharp in the fire before they had to get out of the house.