The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1284470
A-6 Wednesday, September 2, 2020 The Press-Dispatch EAST GIBSON Submit East Gibson news items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: egnews@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Oakland City Police's Charger sells—finally By Grace Miller Oakland City Police have sold their 2007 Dodge Charger for $1,700, Police Chief Tim Gaines told the city council in a meet- ing Aug. 28, after what was an apparently arduous process. "The Charger's gone," Gaines said. "Amen," quipped a city council member. "You picked up the popcorn it dropped so it can't find its way back? " asked Mayor Def- fendall. "Went after it with a leaf blower," deadpanned the chief. In other vehicle news, the Oakland City council dis- cussed the possible purchase of a new or used truck for the water plant. The current truck was purchased used 15 years ago and is no longer de- pendable. The council decid- ed to go over more details be- fore making a final decision. Nuisance or no sense? Board discusses complaints By Janice Barniak Oakland City Board of Works members discussed in- terpretations of the nuisance ordinance Aug. 28 during their regular meeting, after a neighborly dispute in the Har- din addition. A neighbor has repeated- ly filed nuisance complaints on a resident in the area. The property was flagged and the owner sent a letter, as well as the occupant of the house, but according to Darrell "Butch" Corn, Building Inspector, there's more going on. "Keep in mind this is a small house. I'm quite sure if I lived in a nice neighborhood with nice houses, on either side, if I had only a small amount of room, I might not have place to put stuff also," Corn said. The resident has children, and they have toys, and then the resident has items under an awning, items like what ma- ny people would put in a ga- rage, but the person does not have a garage. The resident wants to know what he needs to do to satisfy the ordinance. "I've seen things hundreds of thousands times worse," said Mayor James Deffendall, who suggested if the resident straightened the items and showed an effort, the town should work with him. "That's not going to satisfy Mr. Number One Complain- er," said the inspector. The town's attorney Roman Ricker said that the items un- der the carport were equip- ment, and not dirty or in dis- repair. "There's no trash. No gar- bage," he said, adding that neighbor's complaints about aesthetics don't fall under the nuisance ordinance. "Does it look different than anyone's garage or attic? " he asked. "They're saying they don't like how looks—it doesn't af- fect their property...They may consider it maybe trash, but that's functional to him." The neighbors had also asked him to take pictures in the backyard, which is not vis- ible from the street, and which the inspector had to explain cannot be considered a nui- sance. Last year, the neighbor had complained about brush. When the street department went out to investigate, and take pictures, another neigh- bor came out and asked what they were doing. He explained they were taking a picture of the man's brush. "They said, 'That's not brush, those are flowers.'" Ricker asked the Board of Works to take no further ac- tion against the resident un- der the nuisance ordinance, as it would not be easy to de- fend legally. "I would have trouble en- forcing that." Oakland City Council investigates beaver dams By Grace Miller Beavers have built dams blocking a drainage ditch in Oakland City, according to the Oakland City Council during a meeting Aug. 28 at the Oak- land City Fire Station. The council addressed the issue of the beaver dams clog- ging up the rainwater drain- age ditch from the sewage plant into the South Fork. Mayor James Deffendall said that he called in Damon Atkins, founder of Regulator Wildlife Control, who discov- ered that there are three bea- ver dams blocking the ditch, one was described as "huge." The mayor went on to say that Atkins suggested trap- ping the beavers as a first step. This would cost $700 to $ 900. The city is going to con- tact the Department of Natu- ral Resources for advice on removing dams once the bea- vers are gone. Oakland City recognizes student volunteers By Grace Miller Mayor James Deffendall expressed his thanks for the community service work stu- dents from Oakland City Uni- versity did around the town on Aug. 17. In a meeting Aug. 28, the mayor recounted a young woman called and asked him what he thought of the stu- dents' work, he answered, "Well, can I have them for an- other day? " Deffendall also wanted to offer his gratitude to the Oak- land City Youth Baseball Or- ganization and Little League members who helped clean up the baseball diamond, so that nine teams could come and play in a tournament Aug. 15 - 16. The visiting teams said that the field looked excellent and that they would be back, Def- fendall said. "They have really done won- ders with that ball diamond. It really looks nice, and I was proud of them." Festive fall color coming to Oakland City By Grace Miller Oakland City will get fes- tive this fall, according to the city council, which met Aug. 28. They plan to have pump- kin cutout decorations made for businesses that want to get involved. The city is going to place bright orange pumpkin cut- outs along Main Street and around the city from the end of September through No- vember. At the time of the meeting, 16 businesses were signed up to receive these decorations. The pumpkins at City Hall will be accom- panied by a sign that reads, "Happy fall, y'all, from City Hall." Each plywood pumpkin is six to seven feet tall and costs around $70. The designing and cutting out of these deco- rations are covered, but help is needed to paint them. If you are interested in painting or purchasing a pumpkin decoration for the fall season, contact Oakland City Hall at 812-749 -3222. Oakland City is cutting and painting pumpkins to decorate the town. Currently, approximately 16 businesses have signed up. By Grace Miller Rev. Jeffery Bralley is the campus pastor at Oakland City University. He began his ministry in 1989 after be- ing called to serve God by sharing the Gospel message. Since then, he has served at several different churches in both Indiana and Missouri. Bralley attended church as a child with his mother and five siblings, though, upon moving, the family fell out of this practice. It was after high school that Bralley began to grow closer to Christ after meeting his future wife, Donna Ward, who was a Christian. He first met Ward at a steakhouse where they both worked. A fter getting acquainted at a Christmas party, the two started dating. They ended up getting married in 1977, but in 1976, Ward invited Bralley to a revival that her pastor was doing in another town. Bralley agreed to attend and the pastor drove them to the revival. Though Bralley does not remember what the message was about, he does remember giving his life to Christ at the altar call that day. A fter being saved, he began to feel God calling him in- to ministry. He revealed that he fought it for a while as he was shy and could not see himself standing up before peo- ple and preaching. He eventually surrendered to God's call- ing and was ordained. "I've been in the ministry over 30 years now, and as I look back over it, God knew what He was doing, and I was glad I entered that call," he stated. At the beginning of his ministry, Bralley filled in at var- ious surrounding churches in Kokomo. During this time, he studied the scriptures, did related reading and relied on the mentors around him. He said, "I can look back and see that they had a part in my life in leading me, and di- recting me and encouraging me." He was then called into full time ministry as a pastor of a church. Bralley and his family moved to Spurgeon and served at this church for a year and a half. God then lead them to Princeton. He pastored at the Columbia General Baptist Church in Princeton while he attended Oakland City College, now Oakland City University, for his bachelor's degree in reli- gious studies. He was in his 30s when he attended the uni- versity, graduating in 1994. He was called to Poplar Bluff, Mo., after he graduated, where he pastored for 10 years at South Poplar Bluff Gen- eral Baptist Church. A fter a break from ministry, he went on to pastor at the Kennett First General Baptist Church in Kennett, Mo., for two and a half years. Of his ministry experience, Bralley stated, "Every church we've been at, we've met good people and had good memories there. We have brothers and sisters in Christ all over." When approached by Dr. Ray Barber to be the campus pastor at OCU, Bralley was working at Menards. Feeling that he was too old or not quite qualified for the position, he turned to the Lord and prayed over the decision for long time before accepting the new call of be- ing a campus minister. With a chuckle, Bral- ley said, "I had no idea I would end up at Oak- land City University." Coming back to Oakland City gives Bral- ley the opportunity to continue his call to ministry, while also giving him the bless- ing of living close to his family. A fter ex- pressing his love and pride for his two daughters and five granddaughters, he said, "God has blessed us with a fine family…" About his work at the university, Bralley said, "The main thing I want to be is encouraging and a help to the students…Sometimes they might need just somebody to listen, they might need somebody for encourage- ment or some guidance. I depend on the Lord to help me in that, because it's not about me, it's all about Him." REV. JEFFERY BRALLEY: A CALL TO MINISTRY