The Press-Dispatch
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Local �������A1-8 Obituaries ��A3 Sports �����B1-4 Classifieds B5-7 History �������B8 Church ����C1-3 Home Life C4-6 Gibson ����C7-9 School �����C12 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, September 4, 2019 Volume 149 Number 37 Phone 812-354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 (USPS 604-34012) $ 1 Three sections 28 pages Four inserts See REVENUE on page 2 See FESTIVALS on page 2 By Andy Heuring A rural Winslow man was seriously in- jured in a violent racing accident Saturday night at the Bloomington Speedway. Jason Mills, 41, was involved in a crash at the start of a race, suffering multiple in- juries. His brother, Petersburg Police Cpl. Kyle Mills, said Jason was released from the Bloomington Hospital late Monday after- noon. Cpl. Mills said Jason was competing in a mini-sprint race. He said they had completed the two pace laps, the green flag had dropped and the cars were at racing speed of about 60 to 70 mph. Mills explained Jason was in a pack of cars when another race car pulled onto the track at about 15 to 20 mph. "Jason didn't have anywhere to go. He tried to swerve to the inside to miss him, but he clipped a wheel of the other car and started flipping end over end." Jason suffered a vertebra injury and a pinched nerve in his neck. "They said it should heal on its own, so he was able to avoid surgery, which is great because they said if he had surgery there would proba- bly be permanent damage," said Cpl. Mills. Jason also suffered a broken collar bone, a concussion, bruises and swelling over most of his body. Cpl Mills said Jason owns and operates Millers Custom Powder Coating.'But he will probably be laid up for several month. "We are going to try to keep it open and op- erating for him," said Cpl. Mills. Mills seriously injured in mini- sprint car race By Andy Heuring A Petersburg Police officer has resigned following a crash that totaled his police cruiser on Sunday, August 25. Isaac Salters, 29, of Petersburg was tak- en into custody following the 4:11 p.m. ac- cident on Highway 61 near Drieman Road. Knox County Sheriff's Department Capt. Charles Helderman, in his crash report, states: he arrived at the scene of the ac- cident at 8051 E. SR61, and located a Pe- tersburg Police Department vehicle in a soybean field. Helderman said he talked with Salters who was in uniform. "Mr. Salt- ers' speech was slurred, explanation of the cause of accident, and why he was in the ar- ea was not making sense." Capt. Helderman's report said Salters was on duty at the time of the crash. "Mr. Salters stated he had a nail in his tire and was going to Vincennes to get it fixed. On a Sunday evening there isn't any tire shop open." Petersburg Sgt. Chad McClellan arrived on scene and told Capt. Helderman the Pike County central dispatch had received calls that a police vehicle was all over the road and driving at high speeds. Salters was checked by Knox County EMS and taken to Good Samaritan Hospi- tal in Vincennes. According to Helderman's crash report, a blood test showed Salters tested positive for benzodiazepines and opiates. Salters was taken into custody and trans- ported to the Knox County Jail, where he was "booked for operating while intoxicat- ed." However, the Knox County Clerk's Office said no charges had been filed in the case as of Tuesday, September 3. Knox Coun- ty Prosecutor Dirk Carnahan's office said they were not allowed to comment on cas- es under investigation. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Baumgart said, "He offered his resignation and I ac- cepted it. Baumgart said he planned to rec- ommend the Petersburg Board of Public Works accept Salters' resignation during their Tuesday night meeting. The meeting is after The Press-Dispatch's deadline. The Board of Public Works is the enti- ty which hires and fires police officers for Petersburg. Baumgart said the police cruiser was a total loss. Salters had been hired earlier this sum- mer. Baumgart said he is upset by the case. Earlier this year, Petersburg policeman City officer resigns after crashing police cruiser See RESIGNS on page 2 By Andy Heuring The next few weeks are loaded with ac- tivities this Fall. They begin with the Coun- ty-Wide Yard Sale and continue with Win- slow's Fall Festival and Monroe City's Fall Festival, both on the weekend of Septem- ber 21. The following weekend Petersburg Buffalo Trace Festival kicks off on Friday, Sept. 27. COUNTY WIDE YARD SALE The County-wide yard sale is scheduled for Saturday, September 14. Anyone pur- chasing a classified ad in The Press-Dis- patch will be listed on a map of the yard sales. Typically there are more than 40 yard sales on this Saturday. Ads start at $4 for 20 words. The deadline to place an ad is Mon- day, September 9. TIMELESS CLASSIC CAR SHOW The Timeless Classic Car Show at Gold- en living Center in Petersburg is set for Thursday, September 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Music and food will be provided. They will also give out Residents' Choice Awards. The event is free to the community. Gold- en Living Center is located at 309 W. Pike Ave., Petersburg. WINSLOW FALL FESTIVAL SEPT 21 Winslow's annual Fall Festival is set for Saturday, September 21. A new event for the Winslow Festival is a kayak trip on the Pa- toka River. The Kayak Mafia will provide kayaks for people to do a two-mile float from CR350E down to Riverside Park. It will have the traditional events of the Light- Up Winslow Parade, an all-day flea mar- ket, food booths, music, dunking both, games, kiddie trains, inflatables, tractor show, beauty pageant and a frozen t-shirt contest. This event gives each participant September loaded with fall activities Petersburg employee Alan Tegmeyer strings up the Buffalo Trace Festival banner across Main St. on Labor Day af- ternoon. The Buffalo Trace Festival is set for September 27 and 28. It will again feature free carnival rides and musi- cal entertainment including the Grammy-winning country band Parmalee. School corporation, county could each lose over $330K By Andy Heuring Pike County is getting a grasp of what having IPL's assessed value on personal property reduced by $ 93 million in 2019 is going to mean to taxpayers and local gov- ernment units. It appears overall various taxing units in Pike County will lose about $ 800,000 in revenue, due to the drastic drop in as- sessed value. Pike County learned in late July that IPL's net assessed value on personal property in Pike County was reduced by $ 93 million from their 2018 assessment to their 2019 assessment. County Auditor Judy Gumbel sent out an email to officeholders warning them that was about a 20 percent decrease in assessed value for Pike County. This is significant because Net Assessed Value di- rectly affects the amount of property tax- es a county can generate. It is one of two variables to the equation of tax rate x as- sessed value = the amount of property tax collected. Pike County Councilmen decided at their meeting in August to contact Baker Tilly, a financial advisory firm, to see what ser- vices are offered and the cost of those ser- vices. In the meantime, Pike County also con- tacted Larry DeBoer of Purdue Universi- ty. His title is Professor, Agricultural Eco- nomics Department. He is an expert on tax- ation and government finances in Indiana. He did a quick study and came up with the figure of about $ 800,000 in lost revenue for 2019. The proposed general fund bud- get for 2019 is $7.1 million. That is the num- ber requested by various department heads throughout Pike County for 2019. DeBoer said the biggest losers in Pike County will be the county, the school cor- poration, the county library and the City of Petersburg. His figures show Pike County will lose $ 338,103 in revenues for 2019. Pike Coun- Area likely to lose $800,000 in tax revenue Pike County Y ard S ale FALL 2019 Sept 14 DEADLINE: Monday, Sept 9 at 5 pm Call 812-354-8500 Man suffers burns A Petersburg area man was taken by an Air Evac Lifeteam to the hospital with severe burns on his face and arms. The unidentified man was driven to the EMS Building on Illinois St. in Petersburg and then was taken by ambulance to Petersburg Elementary School where he was picked up by air ambulance. Details of the incident were not available Tuesday.