The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1196721
The Press-Dispatch Local Wednesday, Januar y 1, 2020 A- 7 TUESDAY DAILY dine in or carry out *Your Choice of Regular Coffee, Tea or Coke Product. /CakesAndCoffeeCafe Like us on Facebook! In a Hurry? Call 812-354-2004! FREE WiFi 618 E MAIN, PETERSBURG JAN. 1 thru JAN. 7 THURSDAY CHEESY POTATO Ham Steak $ 7.99 Thick-Sliced Ham Served with Macaroni and Cheese, Green Beans or Buttered Peas and Carrots, Roll and a Drink * CHICKEN NOODLE & CHILI FRIDAY Roast Beef Manhattan $ 7.99 Roast Beef Smothered in Gravy on Mashed Potatoes and Bread with Green Beans and Drink * Parmesan Baked Tilapia Fish Fillet $ 7.99 Baked Potato, Bread and Drink * HAM & BEANS WITH CORNBREAD Turkey Manhattan $ 7.99 Turkey Breast Smothered in Gravy on Mashed Potatoes and Bread with Green Beans and Drink * Polish Sausage $ 7.99 with Sauerkraut Served with Cornbread, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, and Drink * FRESH, MADE-FROM-SCRATCH CINNAMON ROLLS FRIDAY MORNING Host Your Next Party With Us! We Provide Meal, Desserts and Clean Up! Meatloaf $ 7.99 Green Beans or Buttered Peas and Carrots, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Roll and Drink * MONDAY VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP Spaghetti $ 6.99 Cheesy Mozzarella Toast, Side Salad and Drink* Philly Cheese Steak $ 7.99 Sirloin Steak on Hoagie Bun with Two Slices of Swiss Cheese with Green Peppers and Onions Served with Your Choice of Side and Drink* CHILI Biscuits and Gravy $ 6.99 With Your Choice of Bacon or Sausage, Two Eggs and Drink* SATURDAY Stromboli $ 7.99 Our Own Special Stromboli Served with Grippos (Plain or BBQ), Side Salad and a Drink * Closed Wednesday 1/1 GREAT FOOD & NOSTALGIA cafe & cof fee cafe Mon-Fri 7am-8pm Saturday 7am-2pm NEW HOURS Gift Certificates Are Quick Easy Gifts For Any Amount! GREAT FOOD & NOSTALGIA cafe & cof fee cafe is certificate entires the holder to ��������������� To������������������������������������������ From ��������������������������������������� Authorized by �������������������Expires������� Congratulations and Best Wishes at the State Fair! 71st Annual Miss Pike County Fair Queen Abigail Sutt Proudly Sponsored By: e Pike County 4-H Council Adam Scales (812) 354-8488 adam.scales@infarmbureau.com Walters' celebrated Christmas with family and friends John and Teresa Walters, of Petersburg, hosted their Family and Friends A fter- Christmas Party on Satur- day, Dec. 28 with a carry-in dinner at the Pike Masonic Lodge in Petesrburg. Games were played and everyone received a gift. Attending were: Sue Cock- erham, of Largo, Fla.; An- nie Rainey, of Oakland City; Shawn, Laura, Nolan and Alton O'Rourke, of Browns- burg; Guy and Bonnie Cock- erham, of Fort Branch; Da- vid, Suzie and Summer Sor- gius, of Otwell; Rick Cocker- ham, Scott Cockerham and Kaleb Cockerham, Nelda El- lis and Cloetta Sipes, all of Washington; Sara Mae Stil- well, of Winslow; Ed and Kathy Cockerham-Wells, of Evansville; Miranda and Jay- cee Almon, of Newburgh; Ev and Sheli Dillon, Jim and An- drea Cockerham, Nova, Bob and Carole O'Rourke, Dan- ny and Tammie Evans, Mor- gan Dillon, Brandon Bea- dles and Ronnie Drew, all of Petersburg. New machine helps Highway Dept. maintain ditches By Andy Heuring A new machine at the Pike County Highway De- partment is helping them maintain ditches throughout the county more efficiently. The Highway Department recently purchased a ditch- ing machine, the Hurricane Ditcher. It is an attachment to a large tractor, similar to a side-mounted mower, work- ing off the power take-off. Assistant superinten- dent Josh Byrd said the ditcher works at a pace a little quicker than a walk- ing speed, which is a big in- crease over the excavator type machines the Highway Department has used. Until now, they have used a Grad- all, which has a bucket on a long boom and can travel at highway speeds. A rubber- tired excavator is similar to a trackhoe, but on large rub- ber wheels. Byrd said both of those machines have their pur- poses and both are several times the cost of the ditcher, which is about $45,000 sans the tractor it takes to oper- ate. A Gradall runs about $ 300,000 and a rubber-tired excavator nearly $200,000. Byrd said the county al- ready had the tractor they needed to operate the ditch- er. The advantage of the ditching machine is its speed. Byrd said a Gradall can do about a half-mile of ditch a day, while a rubber- tired excavator can do up to a mile a day in the right con- ditions. However the ditch- ing machine can do five to seven miles a day. "They should have bought one years ago," said Commissioner Jeff Nelson about the ditching machine. He said the county offi- cials had talked about get- ting one for several years. "We had the money for it and everybody had been wanting one," said Nel- son of why they finally pur- chased it. "We talked about it. It came down to the fact with the speed of it. It just seemed like a no-brainer," added Nelson. He said almost every oth- er county around had one, even several farmers have them. "I saw one 20 years ago. Roger (Ham, County Highway Superintendent) had the money for it in his budget," said Nelson. Byrd said it has other ad- vantages. It doesn't have to be transported, it can be driven to where it needs to work, so it doesn't have to be loaded and unloaded. He said they try to plan work with it in a certain area and keep it in that area while it is being used. "The commissioners want it running non-stop," said Byrd. When it operates, it throws dirt out of the ditch, similar to a snow blower, which is great when they are in rural areas around fields, but not so great when they are in areas with hous- es near the road. "We aren't going to use it in someone's front yard," said Byrd. He also said it doesn't work with a real high bank. Those are areas where a traditional excavator type machine needs to be used. "We are able to maintain the ditches a lot better, es- pecially along fields," said Byrd. He said they plan to use it in one commissioners' dis- trict for about three weeks, then move to another dis- trict. Because of its speed, Byrd said they hope it will help them keep the more than 1,000 miles of roads in Pike County ditched. We're not afraid to shed some light on the truth. 812-354-8500 SUBSCRIBE TODAY! A Hurricane Ditcher throws a spray of dirt into a field as it digs a ditch along CR 175 E., near Alford last week. Carl Goeppner operates the machine for the Pike County Highway Department, which recent- ly purchased the ditching machine. At right is the trench it leaves. It can ditch up to seven miles a day, compared to traditional excavators that can only do between a half-mile and a mile a day.