The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1301434
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, October 21, 2020 D-1 ELECTION 2020 ELECTION 2020 JOHN FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE YOUR DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR: Strong Schools Strong Communities Strong Citizens HURLEY PAID FOR BY HOOSIERS4HURLEY www.Hurley4Hoosiers.com @Hurley4Hoosiers By Andy Heuring The race for County Clerk is be- tween Republican incumbent Lana Griffith and Democrat challenger Summer Sorgius. LANA GRIFFITH Lana Griffith lives in the White Oak community with her husband, Chad. They have two adult children, Laron and Nicole. She was elected Clerk in 2016. Pri- or to that, she worked in the account- ing department of Uebelhor's in Jas- per. "This is the first job I have had that isn't accounting based," said Griffith. She is a volunteer with Junior Achievement and United Way Day of Caring. Griffith has an associate degree from Vincennes University Jasper Center in business finance. She grad- uated from Pike Central in 1992. "I have worked in customer ser- vice and leadership. I have years in banking. You have to have excellent customer service in banking," said Griffith. "I was a loan officer and a manager at Integra. I'm used to wait- ing on customers and taking care of them." "I have a background in budgets. I had to do budgets for the banking center, and have done the election and registration budget and clerk's office budget." She added, "Just being a team player, cooperation and just getting along with others, pretty much like any other job you have. Always put- ting customers first," said Griffith. "I enjoy being clerk, I would like to do it another four years. It has been very interesting," said Griffith about why she is seeking re-election. Griffith said she has achieved some of her goals. One of them was to get poll pads in use. She explained a poll pad is an electronic poll that scans your license instead of sign- ing a poll book. "It knows if you have tried to vote somewhere," said Grif- fith. She said it allows the vote centers. "This is first go around with them. Didn't get a chance to use them in the Spring. Hopefully that will take off for us. I'm eager to see how that will turn out," said Griffith. "There has been a lot of changes since I have been in the clerk's of- fice. We switched to the e-filing sys- tems. We switched our case manage- ment systems." "I want to continue to be clerk and do the best I can for the county. I have a very talented staff that has helped me out a lot of the last four years. I couldn't not have done the job with out them. There is a lot of expe- rience in the office. It was a big help." Griffith said people should vote for her because, "I learn something new on a daily basis. I have the expe- rience of being county clerk. I love working in Pike County. I hated not working in Pike County for the four or five years before I was elected. I love the county and the people in it. I would like to continue to take care of them for the next four years to the best of my ability." SUMMER SORGIUS Summer Sorgius lives in Otwell with her daughters, Bailee and Ab- igail Sutt. She is the water clerk for the City of Petersburg. She is a member of the Pike County 4-H Council, Pike Co. Fair Queen Pageant Committee and Di- rector. She is also organizer of the Pike County 4-H Fair parade. She is a member of the Buffalo Trace Fes- tival Planning Committee and is on the parade and pageant committees as well. Sorgius attends the Mt. Olive Bap- tist Church and volunteers with the Pike County Food Distribution and United Way Day of Caring. She is al- so a member of Friends of Animals and a foster mom for the group. Sorgius graduated from Pike Cen- tral and attended Vincennes Univer- sity Jasper Center. "I was deputy recorder so I have some experience about how the courthouse is run. I'm used to work- ing with the public and I love help- ing people," said Sorgius about her experience. She added, "I'm very reliable and a team player. I'm not afraid to learn new things. I had experience in office settings. I know how to process doc- uments in the courthouse. I have al- ways worked with money and made schedules and done inventory. In helping with organizations and pag- eants, there have been a lot of times I have had to take the lead role and just go with it," said Sorgius. She said she is running because, "I enjoyed working as deputy recorder. It has sparked my interest ever since. I enjoy helping people, I'm very re- liable and team player. I would be very grateful for those who work in an office with me because we will be a team. When a leader is needed, I will step up and take the initiative. I will answer phones, greet custom- ers and I'm always on time for work. Things a boss should do but doesn't always do. I bring enthusiasm to the work place," said Sorgius. "You can see through my com- munity volunteerism I have a love for Pike County and the people who make this our hometown." "My goal is to make sure anyone who walks into the office leaves with an answer to their problem or ques- tion." She said people should vote for her because, "I'm not scared to work, es- pecially if it is for the people of Pike County. I was raised and taught ev- eryone is treated the same regard- less of how long you have worked in a position, but when it is time for the leader to answer a question, I'm not afraid to take that role." "I have worked two jobs at times to make sure my kids had everything they needed. I will not take my job for granted. When I work for the people of Pike County, I will strive for great- ness," said Sorgius. PIKE COUNTY CLERK Lana Griffith Republican Summer Sorgius Democrat Chris Satterfield By Andy Heuring The District 4 School Board race pits four-term incumbent Chris Sat- terfield against Jim Johns. CHRIS SATTERFIELD Chris Satterfield lives in Coe with his wife of 27 years, Amy. They have twin daughters, Madyson and Mi- kayla, who are seniors, and Makyn- na, an eighth grader. Satterfield has taught auto me- chanics for 24 years, five years at Pike Central and 19 years at South- ridge. He is a member of the Indiana State Teachers Association and Winslow Masonic Lodge. Satterfield graduated from Pike Central in 1989 and from Oakland City University with a certificate in Automotive Diesel. "I have been on the board the longest of any board member and we have gone through very trying times financially. We are back into the black again, which is awesome," said Satterfield of his experience. He has been on school board for 16 years. "I know we have challenging times ahead. I have seen where it was and where it is now, and we are going in the right direction. I would like to see it stay in the right direction. We have a board that works well togeth- er. Communication is strong. That is the thing about the a school board. You have to have communication. We don't always agree on stuff, but we always talk about it. That is a must," said Satterfield about why he is run- ning. He added, "I know the ins and outs of the budget. Ten years ago when we changed up the budget from the state, all the school boards were chal- lenged to stay up with the chang- es. I went to countless conferences and seminars to stay up-to-date The laws for schools in Indiana are always changing," said Satterfield. "Being a teacher and a school board member, I can bring (a view- point) from both sides. From a teach- er's view, I know the things that need to be done and as a school board member, I can apply it. I have tak- en things we did well here to South- ridge and I have brought things from Southridge to Pike County. We made some good changes," said Satter- field. Satterfield listed several goals. He said he wanted to see career and tech education classes continue to be added to the curriculum, as well as more dual credit courses. "One of the goals we worked on is to try to get one of the safest school corporations in America. We are almost there. There are very few schools around that have a resource officer in every building. I'm proud to say we have that now." "I want to make sure these kids are enjoying school and taking classes that are going to help them succeed in life." "Financial stability. We are in the black now, but everyone knows IPL is going to go by the wayside. We have to find a way to save money without affecting our children's education." "I have the most experience on the board. I love my county and my com- munity. I want to see every child in Pike County succeed," said Satter- field on why people should vote for him. JIM JOHNS Jim Johns declined an interview with The Press-Dispatch. Jody L. Hoover Democrat Susan Brittain Republican PIKE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT 4 PIKE COUNTY TREASURER By Andy Heuring The Pike County Treasurer's race has Republican Deputy Treasurer Susan Brittain facing former Demo- crat Recorder, Assessor and current Petersburg City Councilman Jody Hoover running against each other. JODY L. HOOVER Jody L. Hoover lives in Petersburg and is the cook at the Pike Coun- ty Jail. She has two children, Han- na Wiscaver and Zachary, and two grandchildren Elle, Maxx and Ad- dyson. She is a member of the Peters- burg Moose and a graduate of Pike Central High School. Hoover is also a Level I and II property appraiser and she formerly was a licensed re- al estate agent. "I have worked in the courthouse for 19 years. I know all about tax- es and how they are generated. I'm knowledgeable about the job of trea- surer, because it is part of the circle in the courthouse of the assessor, au- ditor and treasurer. I was assessor and recorder and they're all kind of together with the treasurer's office. So I have experience in the court- house and know the different jobs and how it all works," said Hoover about her experience. She is current- ly a member of the Petersburg City Council. Hoover said she is running for treasurer because, "I miss working with the public. I enjoy trying to help people with their taxes and working on how to do it the most efficient way. If you have problems with your taxes, I can try to guide you to see if they are right. There are a lot of things you can do to get your taxes down. I feel like I can help people do that," said Hoover. "I know the treasurer's office gets a lot of flack and they shouldn't be- cause they just collect the taxes. She said the taxes are figured by the au- ditor's and assessor's offices. If your assessment is off, then your taxes ar- en't going to be right. I hope I can guide people in what is wrong," said Hoover. "The bottom line is I love to work with the public. I miss it so much, talking with the taxpayers and peo- ple. I really miss that," said Hoover. Hoover said her goals are to find a way to reduce the cost to use a cred- it cost to pay property taxes. "I know they (treasurer's office) accept credit cards, but it is so very expensive. I hope I can make that more affordable. I m not sure. I wish people could pay their taxes online with credit card and it wasn't so ex- pensive. I think that would help," said Hoover. She said people should vote for her because, "I really want the job. I feel like I could do a good job and I will hard to try and help people, and I feel like I would be qualified for the job." SUSAN BRITTAIN Susan Brittain lives in Petersburg and has been the deputy treasurer for the last three years. She and her husband, Jim, have a married daughter, Holly Bryan, a son, Jarrod, and a granddaughter. Brittain is a member of the First Baptist Church in Petersburg and the Republican Party. She graduated from Pike Central in 1980. "I'm already in that office, so I work with all the banks and lend- ers, and help Marta (Query, cur- rent treasurer) with investing the money in funds and CDs." She said, "We try to get the highest interest rates we can. We like to try to stay in the county when they can. She said they usually do, but on one fund, the highest interest rate avail- able in the county was 0.08 percent, where an out-of-county bank had a fund paying eight percent. "Instead of us getting a $ 3,500 return, we got a $ 35,000 return on it. It has been making money for the county hand over fist," said Brittain. Prior to work in the Treasur- er's office, Brittain worked for five years in the recorder's office. Pri- or to that, she had her own compa- ny, Midstate Microfilm and Imag- ing. Brittain said in that company, she went to courthouses all over the country microfilming records. She said she also worked in the clerk's office for a short time, until Nyla Dooley retired and left an open- ing in the treasurer's office. "The treasurer's office position is one I had wanted for years," said Brittain. "I'm finally in the position I al- ways wanted to be in. I love math, finance and investments. I think it is what I have always been meant to do," said Brittain about why she is running for treasurer. "I love it, There is not a day when I don't want to go to work. You help people who are struggling, we have been there at sometime. Money is tight. You try to help them with tax sales, you don't want them to lose their homes," said Brittain. "My goal is to continue helping as many people who are having prob- lems with finances and property taxes as I can," said Brittain. She said she would also like to of- fer tips and tidbits of things from the treasurer's office, like reminders of deadlines and how to start making payments early on taxes if someone can't pay the whole amount at the deadline. "I want to continue to look for the highest interest rates on CDs for our investments," said Brittain. Brittain said she has been work- ing for people's votes. "I have tried to reach as many townships as pos- sible. If I have missed you, I still hope I can get your vote," said Brit- tain about why people should vote for her.