The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1228200
The Press-Dispatch Home Life Wednesday, April 1, 2020 B- 5 To enter the Birthday Club, email your name, ad- dress, phone number and birthdate to birthdayclub@ pressdispatch.net. Only the person's name, town and birthday will appear in the paper. As an added bonus, one lucky person each month will receive a free three month Press-Dispatch subscrip- tion. This month's birthdays have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Downtown Emporium, in Hunt- ingburg. THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS Grayson Schultheis .................... Petersburg .........4/4 Taylin Morgan .......................... Washington ....... 4/5 Lindsey Manning ........................ Winslow ......... 4/6 MARCH WINNER And the winner is... Connie Miller from Winslow. Con- nie won a $25 gift certificate to Make Me Unique Bou- tique, in Petersburg, and a three-month subscription to The Press-Dispatch. Congratulations! THIS MONTH'S SPONSOR EMPORIUM DOWNTOWN 407 E. Fourth St, Huntingburg 812-683-0123 Sweet's Column by Barbara Sweet EAST GIBSON Oakland City council creates East Gibson Fire Territory By Janice Barniak Oakland City Council vot- ed unanimously to create an East Gibson Fire Territory in a phone meeting March 24, calling it the only way to up- date the area's expired fire equipment; the council said, during these times of emer- gency, it is especially neces- sary to have updated equip- ment. The town needed to have the meeting before March 31, said city attorney Roman Ricker, because if later than March 30, the town couldn't collect the funding until 2022, instead of 2021, which would mean the fire protec- tion district having another year of limited resources. The measure will create a fire board appointed by both the city and the township, Ricker said, with the board of five people trading off be- tween who appoints more people each year. For those with a $50,000 house, property taxes previ- ously around $ 331 will come out to $ 353, a $22 increase or 6.5 percent change, for those in a $75,000 home, the $547 tax will increase to approx- imately $582, and for those whose home is $100,000 or more, the property owners will not see a change because they've already hit the state's maximum one percent prop- erty tax cap. The money raised by the additional tax revenue will buy five air packs, five bot- tles and five masks, replace- ment of extrication gear to use when people are trapped in vehicles, personal protec- tive equipment, including a line item to replace five sets of gear a year, repairing and replacing pumps, ladders, ra- dios and pagers, station re- pair and upkeep, electrici- ty and natural gas, fuel, wa- ter, sewer, internet, phone, nozzles, hoses, flashlights, truck maintenance, a chief and officer salary, a per- run amount for medical and fire runs for the firemen and women, and finally, training for firefighters and equip- ment used in training. Mother of five and health- care worker Makenzie Wool- dry thanked the board for having the meeting by phone in compliance with the gov- ernor's stay-home mandate. "As we know, social dis- tancing is the only way we're going to stop this," she said. Councilman George Armes said that if the fund- ing were not an emergency, the council wouldn't have called it. Aaron Thurston said he was in favor of a fire district for the township and city, as he saw the good it did in Bar- ton Township. "It's for the better. If we had already had it in effect, we may have been more pre- pared than we are now...but we have prepared ourselves the best we can," he said. "We're excited, the firefight- ers are excited. We thank the community for support- ing us." Some citizens disagreed, saying the property tax in- creases the fire territory would cause might be even more hurtful for those hav- ing a hard time financially due to COVID-19. Jerry Basham, whose wife is the Oakland City clerk-treasurer, and who lives on South Franklin in Oakland City, expressed con- cern about how the pandem- ic could affect city revenues. "You need to take this pan- demic situation into consid- eration," he said. One citizen on the call asked how the department was getting along all these years, and according to the council, they've been using expired equipment as they only had $2,000 in the equip- ment budget per year. The citizen was also con- cerned about making the decision to raise taxes when people were out of work and the outcome of COVID-19 is down the road. Paul Smith, who lives on Ind. 57, said he's concerned about how the property tax increase will affect those on fixed incomes who are al- ready struggling. The increase is bigger than the amount social se- curity will increase this year, he said. "You can't work overtime when you're on fixed in- come," he said. The board decided to sus- pend all future meetings un- til the governor lifts the stay- at-home order. Those interested in serv- ing on the board should reach out to the city council if they live in town limits and the township board if they live outside the limits but in- side the township. Chamber of Commerce hosts COVID talk By Janice Barniak Gibson County Cham- ber of Commerce hosted a forum March 26 on helping the county bounce back from Coronavirus, with up- dates from area agencies, and input from businesses and nonprofits. Gibson General presi- dent and CEO Claudia Ei- senmann kicked off the event, telling locals the hospital had been prepar- ing for Coronavirus since they saw in January how the illness affected China, tracking it and opening an incident command center on March 6. Right now, the hospital has begun drive-through testing for those who qual- ify and who make an ap- pointment in advance. She referred attendees to GibsonGeneral.com for information on Coronavi- rus on banners at the top of their website, and said that should people refer to the symptoms checker and feel they need a test, they can call the nurse triage line at 812-450 -6555. "We want that nurse tri- age person to make a de- termination on whether it is time for you to have a test. Tests have been very, very tough to get in the healthcare system. We have a limited amount of them," she said. She said that advance notice through referrals from the nurse triage line also gives the hospital a chance to take the prop- er precautions. The drive- through testing allows peo- ple to stay in their own ve- hicle while testing. She advocated staying home as much as possible, handwashing, cleaning and disinfecting phones, steering wheels and car keys. "It is highly, highly con- tagious, much more con- tagious than the flu. We're seeing health systems across the country becom- ing overwhelmed because people aren't taking this stay-at-home seriously." Marybeth and John Feutz, with Princeton Vet- erinary Hospital, shared that they've changed their business model and are working with the doors locked, going car-side. "It's not really business as usual, but it's as close as it can be," John Feutz said. Customers are email- ing pictures and the clin- ic is looking at how to best serve their furry patients at this time. Fort Branch Library di- rector Laura Happe said that since the order to close their doors, they're serving customers online, and if anyone does need a space, they are able to open the gathering room should someone need to use it. The library's WiFi is available from the park- ing lot. Salvation Army Cap- tain Chris Marques said the nonprofit had expect- ed a surge of people at their door looking for as- sistance. Food is the prima- ry need, he said, and last week the group fed more than 50 people. They've suspended some of the paperwork required for people who are affect- ed by Coronavirus, and they've limited the num- ber of people in at one time. The soup kitchen every Tuesday is now grab-and- go. He said he expects part of the reason need hasn't surged is the governor re- questing property owners to hold off on evictions. Chamber of Commerce director Patty Vanoven led the conversation over to grassroots communi- ty efforts, including a Fort Branch Community Pride initiative in which home- owners are dressing up their windows and front doors so families can tour the neighborhood spot- ting them. The first week's theme was patriotism. She called for a "flood of positivity" about the com- munity during this time. HELPING FROM HOME The Gibson County Chamber identified a few ways for people to get involved from home. • Decorate a door or window with a patriotic theme to participate in the Fort Branch Community Pride effort. • Put a bear in a window for children on a "bear hunt." • Donate boxes for the Salvation Army to pack food in. • Make masks like those with Sheepdog Impact Assistance. • If you're a business effected by COVID-19, create a line item for expenses re- lated to the virus to make applying for assistance easier. • Make a video to post about why you like to live in Gibson County. Hi stars and welcome to the big stage brightly lit up in colorful lights and deco- rated to help celebrate with all our stars who will have a birthday or anniversary in the week of April 2-8. Come up onto this stage and take a bow. April 2 – Larry Meyer turns 64; Kyler Louis Cot- tingham turns 8; Jerry and Becky Grissom celebrate 10 years. April 3 – Mary Gayhart turns 28; Mark Mason. April 4 – John Vinnedge turns 50 ; Robert and Linda Harp celebrate 33 years. April 5 – Staci Ann Rhod- erick; Karen Miller; Lo- is Johnson; Mike and Lucy Gamble celebrate 51 years. April 6 – Mandy Nicholson Sullivan turns 33; John Gay- hart turns 34. April 7 - Laura Futrell turns 65; Crystal Frederick; Ray and Pam Bolin celebrate 30 years. April 8 - Kelly Virden turns 39; Jenna Bruce turns 28; Theresa Blackburn Love- less; John and Kathy Smith celebrate 49 years; Ryan and Shauna Meyer celebrate 3 years. May all our stars have a really great day and may all your wishes come true. Keep in your heart and in your prayers all our stars who are ill, recovering, caught a cold, flu or the vi- rus, or suffer from allergies, and the aches and pains of ev- eryday life: Steve, Tim, An- nabel and Virginia. EVENTS April 1-May 1 - Pike Coun- ty schools are closed and the students will learn from home. April 2 - Winslow Lions Club may meet at 7 p.m. at the Community Center. April 5 - Spurgeon-Mon- roe Fire Dept may meet at the station house. April 6 - Winslow Fire Dept. may meet at 6:30 p.m. at the station house. April 7 - Winslow Zon- ing Appeals Board may meet at 7 p.m. at the Com- munity Cen- ter. April 9 - Pe- tersburg Li- ons may meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Village Inn (as long as the no dine-in order has been lifted). Winslow and Petersburg seniors will not be meeting until the Coronavirus is out of our area. We received no postcards or notes this week at Sweets Column, Winslow, IN 47598. Winslow Patoka River , along with all the other rivers and streams, has overflowed its banks and our Patoka Riv- er is slowly going down now. At the Riverside Park, the beaver is in the water, the Es- kimo is surrounded by water at the base and the shelter- house had water up to it, but not in it. The driveway area is under water and most of the park near the river is wa- ter soaked. The Patoka Riv- er overlook has water under it and the street that always floods by Union St. is still dry. I looked over to see if Miller's Field had water and it didn't, but it could have had some in another area. The tulip trees are in full bloom. However, tulips are up but no blooms. The res- urrection plant is growing and some daffodils are not blooming, but I have seen lots of yellow and white ones that are dotting many ar- eas. The rose bushes are be- ginning to bare leaves and the trees that have buds of red are falling now onto the ground and porches. Green clumps of grass are appear- ing in yards to hide those Easter eggs if you have one at your house for your children. The yellow goldenrod bushes, the redbud bushes and the white flow- er trees that are not dogwood trees all tell us that spring is finally here, also, the pink blooms on the peach trees. Have you seen in your yards the little white flowers with a pink edge that is pop- ping up? Ours are around the tree with a swing. The winter wheat is so green, the grass in the yards is jealous. I saw the squirrels playing in the trees and one of them was seen carrying a nut to the cabin. I also saw some cardinals playing and those large winged blackbirds bay be vultures, I guess. Wednesday morning, for a few hours, the fog in our area was so dense I could hardly see across the street where the trees are in the woods. Norm took a picture of the fog by the lagoons and you could almost see the outline of the trees. I guess everyone is staying inside or at home unless you are one of the persons that can go to your place of work. Norm and I went out for a ride just to get out and we also got to work in the yard since the weather was sun- shiny and dry. Norm is now on call starting this week, and so is Nathan, M'Lea and Stacy. The Quick Pick has new hours from 4 a.m.-11 p.m. and the Igloo is open. The post office is open, but the library is closed. Right now, Pike and Knox coun- ties have no outbreak, but all the counties around us have small numbers of the virus. The only think I wish I could do soon is to hug the people again and be in the same room with great friends again in our meet- ings. Since the weather has gotten in the high 60s and several days in the 70s, I fi- nally saw our neighbors out for a walk, but not in contact with others. Some walked, others rode their bikes, a family played baseball, mow- ers were out and people were just enjoying this sunshine and somewhat fine weath- er. It brought up my spirits to breath in some fresh air. Today is Thursday, March 26, and Norm and I are cele- brating our 43rd anniversa- ry. We got a phone call from our daughter, Laura, who sang "Happy Anniversa- ry" and Terri Ann sent us a message to have a great day. Vernon also called to wish us happiness on this day. Norm did his daily reads that are re- quired and that gave me time to wake up and get that first cup of coffee drank before we left the house to enjoy our day. We drove to Princ- eton on a sunny day, where the temp was about 60 and rising. I mentioned I would like a light on the porch, so we got a solar spotlight that should do the trick. While we were looking, I saw a so- lar cattail that I fell in love with to put in the garden spot with all the other solar items we have. Norm got another pair of gloves he needed and we had lunch from Subway in Oakland City. In Arthur, on the cutoff road, there are Easter decorations blown up and they are so cute. They put a smile on my face to welcome in the Easter sea- son. We have always cele- brated at home on this day with a bottle of our favorite drink of Amaretto, and that will soon begin as we settle in for the night. I would like to tell Norm, "I love you very much and always will forev- er. Our 43 years have had its ups and downs, but our love for each other will last a life- time more of happiness. Hey Norm, seven more years un- til the big 50 years. We can make it together." This is Friday, and Norm and I had a lovely day and night, and we both are ready for another fun-filled day. Re- ally early this morning, we had lots of lightning strikes and no hail here. However, Petersburg got some. Now it's supposed to get up in the middle 70s again and we hit close to 80 yesterday. I got out the fans and opened the window and door. Spring is almost here, 40s next week. Our spotlight works really fine, but on the setting that changes the colors, not the bright white, it will blind you. Time to dim the lights on this week, but we hope you all don't get too stir crazy at home. You could get out and walk or clean the yard or something else. Most every- one is keeping their distance and the ways to see each oth- er is amazing and cheerful to keep our spirits up. Keep an eye on family and friends. Slow down and see all the beautiful wonders around your area. Have you seen sunrises and sunsets? What amazing colors. As always, smile, wave and say "Hi" to everyone you see this week. Sheriff's office, jail closed The Sheriff's Office is now closed to the public. Everybody is still working as normal and able to assist you via phone, fax or email. By phone, the number is 812-385 -3496. Press option 1 for dispatch or to reach an officer, option 2 for the jail or option 3 for the office. The fax number is 812- 385 -2814 or email at info@ gibsoncountysheriff.com To add money to an in- mate's commissary account, go to orders.tigercommis- sary.com/…/SelectOnline- Service.as… Select "web deposits" to add money or "order com- missary" to select items to order for an inmate. To set up visitation with an inmate (online visits on- ly), go to https://inmate- sales.com/#!/login and sign in or create an account. Select "schedule/pur- chase visitation." Pick "Gib- son County Indiana" from the facility list. Pick remote visit. Call 866 -340 -7879 for fur- ther assistance with visita- tion issues. Residents can also pay for gun permits (local fees) and tax warrants online at https://www.govpaynow. com/. For gun permits, use Pay Location Code 8081. For tax warrants, use Pay Location Code 1332. Contacting local government The county courthouse and annexes were closed by county commissioners last week. If you need county government assistance, call the appropriate government office below: • Assessor: 812-385 -5286 • Auditor: 812-385 -4927 • Child Support: 812-386 -8401 • Clerk: 812-386 -6474 • Circuit Court: 812-385 - 4885 • Sheriff's Dept./ Dispatch: 812-385 -3496 • EMA: 812-386 -9630 • Commissioners: 812-385 -8260 • EMS: 812-385 -8967 • Health Dept.: 812-385 -3831 • Gibson Co. Hwy Dept.: 812-385 -4887 • Probation: 812-386 -6238 • Prosecutor: 812-385 -5497 • Recorder: 812-385 -3332 • Superior Court: 812-386 -6237 • Surveyor: 812-385 -4853 • Treasurer: 812-385 -2450 • Veteran Services: 812-385 -4522