The Press-Dispatch
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NEWS TIPS Phone: ���������������������812-354-8500 Email ����� editor@pressdispatch�net INSIDE Local ����������������� A1-8 Sports �����������������B1-8 Church �������������� C1-3 Classifieds ���������� C4-5 Legal Notices ���������� C5 Opinion ������������� C6-7 History ������������������� C8 Home Life ������������D1-3 East Gibson ��������� D4 Obituaries ���������������D5 School ���������������� D6-7 USPS 604-34012 Wednesday, OctOber 7, 2020 PIKE PUBLISHING VOLUMe 150, nUMber 41 $1.00 32 PaGes FOUr sectIOns FOUr Inserts PetersbUrG, In 47567-0068 Count reaches 130 on first day By Andy Heuring If early voting is any indication of interest in the election, it is going to be a high turnout. Pike County Clerk Lana Griffith said as of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 130 people had already made their way to Clerk's office to vote in person. "It has been really busy in here. We have had right at 130 people. That is a lot for one day," said Grif- fith. Nationwide, it is being reported about four million people had voted by noon on what is the first day to vote in most states. Registered voters may go to the Clerk's office and vote in person any time from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon- day through Friday every day in Oc- tober except for Monday, October 12, which is Columbus Day and the courthouse is closed. The Clerk's of- fice will also be open for voting on Saturday, October 24 and 31 from 8 a.m. to noon for in-person voting. Pike County is using the voting centers system this year. It was used in the primary and will be used this year for the first time in a general election. Griffith said they are having sat- ellite voting centers at remote loca- tions throughout the month of Oc- tober. People will be able to vote in per- son from 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Octo- ber 13 in Jordan Memorial Park in Spurgeon. On Tuesday, October 20, there will be a voting center from 3 to 8 p.m. in Union at the Union Com- munity Building. On Tuesday, Octo- ber 27, a satellite voting center will be in Stendal at the Lockhart Com- munity Center from 3 to 8 p.m. The satellite voting center will al- so be in Winslow on consecutive Sat- urdays, October 24 and 31, from 8 a.m. to noon. Any registered voter in Pike Coun- ty may vote at any of the satellite center locations or any of the three voting centers on Election Day. The three voting centers on Election Day will be at the Gospel Center Church in Petersburg, Winslow Community Center and the Otwell Community Center. Instead of polling places in nearly every precinct in the county requiring voters to go to their pre- cinct's poll, voters can now vote at any location in Pike County. They will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day. Heavy voter turnout as early voting begins at courthouse The Press-Dispatch October Bargain Pe- riod is underway. You can save $ 3 off the price of your yearly subscription, wheth- er it is $ 37 for both the print + NetEdition, $ 32 for the print only subscription or $ 32 for the NetEdition only version. The Press-Dispatch has been keeping the residents of Pike County informed about what is happening in their community since March of 1898. The family-owned publication, which now spans five genera- tions, continues to provide award-winning coverage of the events and happenings of Pike County. Whether it is keeping up with news you need to know about, such as how much and why your water rates and tax rates are going up, or just news you want to know about, like how did the neighbor's child do in his tennis match last week, The Press-Dispatch is the place to find out. If you live in Indiana, but outside 475 or 476 zip codes, it is available in print and NetEdition for $40, print only $ 35 or NetE- dition only $ 32. If you live out of state, it is available in print and NetEdition for $57, print only for $52 or NetEdition only for $ 32. Out-of-state customers no longer have to wait for the mail to arrive with the NetE- dition sent to your smart phone, tablet or computer at 6 a.m. every Wednesday morn- ing. You can read all the news about your friends and neighbors from home with your Wednesday morning coffee. Subscribers and neighbors have re- ceived a flyer explaining the October Bar- gain Period savings. Get it while it's hot. The deal goes away after October 31. So there no better time than now to get the best source of Pike County news for the last 122 years than now. You can either mail in the form or call 812-354-8500. Cus- tomers wanting the NetEdition need to in- clude their email address and a password with a minimum of seven characters. October Bargain Period underway; save $3 on subscriptions Fox charged with murder in death of ex-wife Pike County COVID cases jump to 244 By Andy Heuring Pike County's COVID numbers saw their biggest increase yet in the last week as they jumped to 244 cases on Tuesday. That is up 75 since Monday, September 28. Pike County Health Nurse Amy Gladish said on Monday there were 98 active cases in Pike County, with four deaths related to COVID. A large percentage of the increase stems from an outbreak at Amber Manor nursing home in Petersburg. As of Tuesday, Trilogy, their parent company, said there have been a total of 46 residents and 36 employees test positive for COVID. Gladish said much of the increased num- bers are due to long-term healthcare facilities, but in the general population, the numbers are remaining fairly steady. However, she warned that with the large number of nursing home employees being in- fected, the number of positives in Pike County will probably increase because of their fami- lies being exposed. Gladish said it is really important for peo- ple experiencing symptoms to get tested and See MURDER on page 3 See COVID-19 on page 8 Hegedus escapes serious injury in crash A Petersburg teen survived with just a bump on her head after flipping her car on Half-mile Hill early Monday. Madyson Hegedus, 18, of 1363 E. Private Rd. 385 N., Petersburg, was driving north on High- way 61 when she fell asleep. Pike County Deputy Sheriff Brad Jenkins said Hegedus had dropped her sister off at school and was on the way home when she ran off the right side of the road and then overcorrected, causing her car to start sliding sideways. It went back off the road into the ditch and the front end of her 2012 Toyota dug into the ditch. She went airborne and landed upside down in a bean field. Deputy Jenkins said her only injury was a bump on her head. The accident happened at about 8 a.m. Sharon Fox Ed Fox See page B-5 for full details Your new furry friend is waiting on A-6 OCTOBER PERIOD Save $ 3 Today! See page B-5 for full details OCTOBER PERIOD 3 Today! Ba from t(Editor's note: This is a two part-story on the arrest and investigation of Edward Fox on a charge of murder.) By Andy Heuring A high-tech investigation led to the arrest of a former Otwell man for the murder of his estranged wife. Police used data retrieved for CPAP breathing devices and cellphone track- ing in their investigation. Edward A. Fox, 64, was arrested at about 1:30 p.m. Monday by the Dubois County Sheriff's Depart- ment at the Home Depot in Jasper after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Fox was charged with murder, a level 1 felony, and two counts of bur- glary, one a level 1 felony and the other a level 4 fel- ony. He is being held with- out bond in the Pike Coun- ty Jail. Murder is punish- able by a range from death to 45 to 65 years in prison. A level 1 felony is punish- able by 20 to 40 years in prison and a level 4 felony, two to 12 years in prison. Fox is accused of kill- ing his wife, Sharon, late Thursday, July 17. Pike County Deputy Sheriff Jarrod Sim- mons found Sharon Fox's body at the bottom of a set of stairs in her residence at 3081 N. CR 575 E., Petersburg. Simmons had gone to the residence to check on her after Edward Fox called Pike County's 911 center and request- ed a welfare check of his estranged wife. He told police their son had not been able to con- tact his mother for several days. Sharon was pronounced dead and an autop- sy indicated she had died about two days be- fore she was found. The cause of death was listed as a cervical spine fracture. However, the autopsy also showed there were "one or more open wounds to her head as there was a large blood pool" near her head. According to a 19 -page probable cause affi- davit, there were two sets of steps. One set of three steps from the kitchen down to a land- ing that went to a back door and then anoth- er six steps into a basement with a concrete floor. Sharon was round on the concrete floor. "Numerous witnesses" told police "Sharon avoided using these stairs due to her difficulty with mobility." A family friend, Leon Schmidt, told police Sharon would call him periodically to help her get up and also to go into the base- ment to retrieve items. Schmidt also told po- lice Sharon always had her cellphone on her because she was afraid if she fell she couldn't get up without help, according to the affidavit. Police also found Sharon had gotten a pro- tective order against Edward on June 21, 2019, Milling prepares way for new paving Crews were out last week in Petersburg milling streets that are being paved this week in Petersburg. The milling process grinds off the old blacktop before new blacktop is put in its place. The streets to be paved are: Spruce St., from Ninth St. north to dead end; Fifth St., from Main to Illinois: Walnut St. from Ninth to 12th; Poplar St . from Fifth to Spruce, excluding plac- es recently paved; 11th St., from Poplar to Spruce; and 10th St., from Poplar to Spruce.