The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1186464
The Press-Dispatch East Gibson News Wednesday, November 20, 2019 C- 9 Parrish recommends highway dept. backups By Janice Barniak Parrish Consulting recommend- ed disaster preparedness projects for 2020, one of which would create a back- up system for the Gibson County High- way Dept. to act as a disaster failsafe. The increased cost to the county would be $500 per month. "It would increase our monthly communication expenses $500 per month? " asked Highway Dept. Super- visor Chuck Lewis, referring to the pav- ing and employee budgets he oversees. "Not yours, ours," said Commission- er Mary Key. "Unless you want to—" "No that's ok," Lewis said. The county did not make any deci- sion in regards to the contract. BARTON/FRANCISCO/OCE LUNCH MENU Thursday, Nov. 14: Salisbury steak, nuggets with roll, chef salad with roll or ham and cheese sandwich served with fresh fruit and juice. Friday, Nov. 15: BBQ chicken on bun, cheese pizza, popcorn chicken salad or PB&J sandwich served with fresh fruit and juice. Monday, Nov. 18: Grilled cheese, chicken patty on bun, popcorn chicken salad or PB&J sandwich served with fresh fruit and juice. Tuesday, Nov. 19: Beef tacos, tenders with roll, chef salad with roll or ham and cheese sandwich served with fresh fruit and juice. Wednesday, Nov. 20 : Popcorn chicken bowl, mini corn dogs, taco salad with roll or PB&J sandwich served with fresh fruit and juice. WOOD MEMORIAL UPCOMING SPORTS SCHEDULE THURSDAY, NOV. 21 Boys' Varsity Basketball Scrimmage vs. Evansville Christian, H, 5:30 p.m. Boys' 7 & 8 Basketball vs. North Posey, in OCE Gym, H, 5:30 p.m. Girls' 7 & 8 Basketball vs. North Posey, A, 5:30 p.m. SATURDAY, NOV. 23 Boys' Varsity Wrestling at Wood Memorial Invita- tional, H, 9 a.m. MONDAY, NOV. 25 Girls' Varsity Basketball vs. Northeast Dubois, A, 5:30 p.m. Boys' 7 & 8 Basketball vs. Tecumseh, WM Gym, H, 58:30 p.m. Girls' 7 & 8 Basketball vs. Heritage Hills, FES Gym, H, 5:30 p.m. TUESDAY, NOV. 26 Boys' Varsity Basketball vs. Princeton, H, 5:30 p.m. BARTON TOWNSHIP BASKETBALL SCHEDULE GIRLS Date Opponent Place Time 11/21 Owensville A 4:30 p.m. 12/02 Tecumseh H 4:30 p.m. 12/03 Princeton Comm A 5 p.m. BOYS Date Opponent Place Time 11/21 Owensville A 5:30 p.m. 12/02 Tecumseh H 5:30 p.m. 12/03 Princeton Comm A 6 p.m. Unstable int'l markets sweep miners out of jobs By Janice Barniak Gibson County Coal notified 185 Gibson County North miners they would be without jobs Friday, while is- suing a Workers Adjustment and Re- training Notification ( WARN) Act no- tices as a result of idling production. The notice is on the heels of a similar move by Peabody's Somerville mine to end production in October, laying off 120 jobs. "A substantial portion of produc- tion from the Gibson Complex has been dedicated to supplying the inter- national coal markets," said Joseph W. Craft III, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "The export markets have deteriorated over the last seven months and have contribut- ed to an over-supplied domestic mar- ket. Although we anticipate coal mar- kets will improve, predicting when a rebound may occur is difficult and led to our actions today. Until conditions improve, this production response at the Gibson North mine allows ARLP to adjust volumes from the Gibson Com- plex to meet current demand expecta- tions at the lowest cost possible. While market conditions made this decision necessary, we deeply regret the impact of this action on our employees, their families and their communities." The Gibson North mine produced this year approximately 1.7 million tons of coal through Oct. 31. ARLP does not expect the idling of Gibson North to have any impact on its previ- ously announced earnings guidance provided in its Oct. 28 press release, in- cluding 2019 full- year ranges for coal production of 40.1 to 40.4 million tons and coal sales volumes of 39.1 to 39.5 million tons. ARLP currently produces coal from seven mining complexes it operates in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mar- yland and West Virginia. ARLP also operates a coal loading terminal on the Ohio River at Mount Vernon, Ind. ARLP markets its coal production to major domestic and international util- ities and industrial users, and is cur- rently the second largest coal produc- er in the eastern United States. "The bond we have underground is strong to the end. You end up spend- ing more time with those guys than your families," said one employee who was affected by a previous Gibson County Coal layoff, when asked what he thought these miners were going through. He asked to remain anony- mous because many friends still work in the mines. "I was laid off the first time a few years back. Close to 300 of us were let go...I lost everything and haven't felt accomplished since then. It's been hard to make ends meet." Worse, he said, was knowing that they'd hired "from the get-go" more people than they could take care of, he said, and that mine managers had still received large bonuses despite the layoffs that year. During his layoff, miners were of- fered six weeks severance, but many lost their houses and insurance. He said people need to know that while mining is one of the best paying jobs in the area, a job many friends had worked years to get, it had a dark side. "A guy next to me bought a house re- cently and pleaded with (the manager) 'if you're letting me go, at least let me draw my 401k without being penalized' so he could pay the remainder off...It was sad. It took me and others years to get that job and only five minutes to destroy it and my family. I want people to know," he said. Jancey Smith accepts Hometown Business of the Year for her magazine "Small Town Living." Jeff Jones accepted recognition for Gibson Gen- eral Hospital for being a Super Sponsor of the Gibson County Chamber of Commerce. Millennium Steel was recognized as a Super Sponsor for the Gibson County Chamber of Com- merce. Toyota Boshoku was given a plaque to recognize the company's Super Sponsor status. Bids begin for Gibson County probation office move By Janice Barniak Gibson County Council approved tak- ing bids to renovate the county's Main Annex, a block north of the courthouse, last Tuesday at the request of Superi- or Court Judge Rob Krieg, who echoed his request to commissioners only the week before in saying that pre-trial as- sessments, set to begin in 2020, will ef- fectively double the work of the proba- tion department. Pre-trial assessments, a mandate handed down from the Indiana Supreme Court, aim to evaluate each potential in- mate upon arrest to decide if the person needs to post a bond—bail money—as a way to get out of jail, and if so, how much bond would be appropriate. The goal is to keep the accused from sitting in jail before conviction due to a lack of bail money. This will lead to more work for the probation department, Krieg said, as they will need to interview subjects in- dividually, verify their claims as far as work, history and ability to pay, which will bring up privacy issues. Krieg updated his estimated cost on the renovation from when he first dis- cussed the issue with commissioners to $ 329,500 —he said the engineers thought of several points he had not, as far as necessary updates, from side- walks to a video feed to the courts sim- ilar to what the jail has. Councilman Derek McGraw moved to approve taking bids. "This is a step in the right direction in a big way...the funds are there, as far as I'm concerned, there's no reason for discussion money-wise. The money is there," he said. Isaiah 1:17 Project named Nonprofit of the Year By Janice Barniak Executive director Marcia Lambert brought a trash bag to the stage of the annual Chamber Banquet, where the non-profit she founded, the Isai- ah Project, was awarded Non-Profit of the Year. "In a lot of aspects it starts with this," she said of foster care, holding up the bag. "You're eight years old. Sur- rounded by filth and muck." She describes domestic violence fi- nally bringing abuse to the attention of the police. "Help is finally on the way, but your nightmare is just beginning. You're yanked out of your house with little more than the clothes on your back. Or maybe worse, you're allowed to pack a bag, but what do you possess of value? I'll never forget that call." Lambert had been a foster mom since 2012 when she and her husband wanted to add to their family. For her, the call to start the Isaiah Project start- ed with two small boys coming to her in the middle of the night at the be- ginning of those boys' own nightmare with only what they had decided to pack in their trash bags; clothes the caseworker informed her would prob- ably be best left outside the home. That experience was the beginning of Isaiah 1:17, the non-profit that aimed to give children in foster care a fresh start by providing a few necessary, clean items for them to own and take with them into their new situations. Since 2017, the project has packed more than 4,000 bags and started a program to provide bicycles to chil - dren in care. The project, however, has its roots in that first night. "They were filthy and they were scared," she said. She had to find any- thing she could that they could sleep in. According to Lambert, more than 437,000 children are currently in fos- ter care nationally, with more than 60 percent in care for neglect and more than 30 percent in care because of pa- rental drug abuse. "It was their first night in foster care. It didn't matter to them that they were no longer in a condemned home, or that there weren't feces on the floor, or searching for something to chew on— they'd been found one chewing on a crack pipe and the other on a chicken bone. All that mattered to them was that they were not home," she said. She said that first night, she would have loved to have been able to focus on their emotional instead of their physical needs. Out of the trash bag, she pulled out an Isaiah 1:17 bag, explaining that the bags, which are sorted by age, contain a stuffed animal, diapers if necessary, pajamas, socks, other clothing and toi- letries. "How much more energy as a foster mom could I have devoted to those kids if I'd had the essentials to get them through the night," she asked. OTHER AWARDS Small Town Living Magazine re- ceived the Gibson County Hometown Business of the Year. The magazine, founded by Jancey Smith, and delivered free to every mailbox, after being delivered from Smith's father's van, has been in busi- ness about two years. Smith described finding out about the award. "I could not have been more sur- prised. It was a deer-in-the-headlights moment for me," she said. Among larger businesses, Ivy Tech won Gibson County Business of the Year. John Stoat, site director, described accomplishments, including locally training 100 underground miners for free, thanks to the coal-themed license plates, sharing their building with WorkOne and more from the last year. In 2020, the company plans to part- ner with the Indiana Volunteer Fire- fighters Association. Gibson County Chamber of Commerce members accepted Super Sponsor recognition Thursday at the annual Chamber Banquet. German American Bank representative accepts an award designating the bank as a Super Sponsor. George Ballard accepts recognition as a long- time board member for the Chamber of Commerce.