The Press-Dispatch

SPECIAL FEATURE PAGES ON A-4 • B-2 • B-10 H O N O R I N G T H O S E Y O U P R O T E C T O U R F R E E D O M S SPECIAL FEATURE PAGES ON A-4 • B-2 • B-10 V eterans Day NEWS TIPS Phone: ���������������������812-354-8500 Email ����� editor@pressdispatch�net INSIDE Local ���������������� A1-12 Shopping����������������A6 Obituaries ������������� A10 History ����������������� A11 Opinion ������������� A8-9 Sports ��������������������B1 Church ��������������B3-5 School ��������������������B7 Classifieds ���������� B8-9 East Gibson ��������B10 Home Life �������� B11-12 USPS 604-34012 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 PIKE PUBLISHING VOLUME 150, NUMBER 46 $1.00 24 PAGES TWO SECTIONS THREE INSERTS PETERSBURG, IN 47567-0068 See SHOEBOX on page 2 See VETER AN on page 3 See ELECTION on page 2 Dennis Bishop (R) County Council Chris Satterfi eld School Board #4 Todd Meadors (D) County Council Greg Willis (R) County Council Lana Griffi th (R) County Clerk Susan Brittain (R) County Treasurer Ray Brooks (R) County Coroner Steve Potter School Board # 5 All incumbents return; new treasurer, coroner win seats By Andy Heuring While the national election still has lots of questions and lawsuits, election night in Pike County left no doubt. It was an historic night for the Republicans. They won every local race but one, as Todd Meadors was the lone Dem- ocrat to be elected in Pike County. A Republican wave washed over Pike Coun- ty with a turnout of nearly 70 percent of regis- tered voters casting a ballot. Nearly a fourth of those voted straight-ticket Republican. "It was a bad night to be a Democrat! " said coun- ty Treasurer candidate Jody Hoover. She and every other Democrat candidate started the night down by 1,220 votes, as 1,477 people voted straight-ticket Republican, while only 257 voted straight-ticket Democrat. In local races, the Republicans won by near- ly a two-to-one margin in most races. Some were has high as three-to-one margins. Republican Lana Griffi th won re-election as County Clerk 4,557 to 1,582 over Summer Sorgius for 74 percent of the vote. Her nearly 2,975 vote margin was the largest of the night. Four years ago, Griffi th won by only 119 votes. "I'm thrilled we had such a good turnout in the county. More than 6,000 people came out to vote," said Griffi th. In all, 6,300 people cast a ballot, which was 69.6 percent of the regis- tered voters. "The overall response to absentee and in-of- fi ce voting was great. Stendal was through the roof. People were standing in line for two hours to vote," said Griffi th. Pike County had a mobile satellite vote center that on consecutive Tuesdays went to Union, Spurgeon and Stendal. At Stendal, 221 people showed up between 3 and 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27. "It was just amazing. It is fantastic to see that many people care," said Griffi th. She said 20 percent of the people had already voted in Lockhart Township prior to the satellite cen- ter being there. "I appreciate people standing in line that long. It was a cold, damp night. People were very receptive of the vote centers." She said along with the high overall voter turnout, there was a big number of fi rst-time voters. "We had a lot of 18, 19, 20 year olds vot- ing for the fi rst time in a presidential election." "Pike County just kind of fell in line with the rest of the state and Midwest. It is stag- gering," said Pike County Republican Coun- ty Chairman Mark Flint. "It just goes to show you where our coun- ty was leaning. Our governor won big. Our locals won big. The straight-ticket Republi- cans were unbelievable. I asked several peo- ple, 'Have you ever seen this before? ' People haven't seen this," said Flint. In 1996, when Bill Clinton was an incum- bent seeking re-election, the Democrat straight-ticket votes outnumbered Republi- can straight-tickets 1,015 to 719. Susan Wheeler-Brittain, a fi rst-time candi- date for the Republicans, won 4,040 to 2,123 over Democrat Jody Hoover, who has twice been elected to county-wide offi ces and just last year to the Petersburg City Council. Hoover noted the big difference in the straight-ticket ballots cast. But she added, "I would like to say congratulations to Susan Brittain. She will make a wonderful treasurer. A shoebox Christmas from Pike County By Grace Miller Every year, Samaritan's Purse puts on Op- eration Christmas Child, a ministry in which participants fi ll a shoebox with balls, stuffed animals, hygiene items, school supplies and other fun gifts for children around the world for Christmas. Since 2014, the White River Chapel United Methodist Church in Bowman has been the drop-off site for these shoebox gifts in Pike County. Debbie Leslie, a member of the church, has been involved with Operation Christmas Child since the late 1990s, when her moth- er, Olieva Burkhart, heard about the program and wanted to take part in it. The church be- gan packing shoeboxes as a group in 2001 and packed 18 shoeboxes. Leslie said the reason they packed 18 boxes was because her moth- er went to Walmart and purchased a pack of 18 washcloths to use in the gifts. The church has continued to pack these boxes as a group, and together the body packed around 300 boxes last year. In 2014, the White River Chapel United Methodist Church became the offi cial drop-off point for the shoeboxes in Pike County. This year, due to COVID-19, the church will be taking extra precautions as locals drop off their shoeboxes. Leslie said they would be of- fering a contactless drop-off, where they will unload the shoeboxes out of donor's trunks while wearing masks and gloves. Leslie said the church members continue on in this passion because they know children are being impacted around the globe by the gifts they pack, pray over and send out. She said the church is also driven by the "ability to be an evangelist and help disciple children, so that there'll be new believers in churches all over the world…" Leslie is currently a church representative volunteer for Operation Christmas Child in Pike County and has been for fi ve years. She said the position has given her the great op- By Andy Heuring Long-time Petersburg resident and Oak- land City native Bob Curry is one of the few people who could say his parachute didn't open and he lived to tell about it, barely. Curry served four years and fi ve months in the U.S. Army. He never went overseas to combat, but he walked with a noticeable limp the rest of his life. Curry died on October 12 of COVID-19. (Editor's note, Curry was interviewed in September for this article before succumbing to COVID). He graduated in 1948 from Oakland City High School and didn't have a job. "I volun- teered right after high school," said Curry. "For a bag of popcorn and a soda." He said he and about 10 other guys, all from Oakland City, were hanging out in Princeton on the square, when a recruiter offered him a bag of popcorn and a soda for listening to his sales pitch. It must have been a heck of a sales pitch. Bob and all his buddies signed up. He said they were told they could pick what jobs they wanted to do. In the end, he said, "I got an- other soda." Curry said he also got a green uniform and a pair of boots, and a bunk at Fort Knox, "We learned how to polish our boots. They want- ed to see their glasses in them." He said when they weren't out on drills, they sat in the barracks on their bunks and "pol- ished our boots." A fter basic training, Curry was sent to Ft. Bragg, N.C., where he joined the Rangers. "We got $50 a month extra if we jumped one time." Curry said the lure of the extra money was Robert Curry survived a jump where his parachute failed to open during Army Ranger training. Veteran Bob Curry survived leap after parachute failed By Andy Heuring Area fi remen have been kept busy over the last week. A rural house was destroyed by fi re last Wednesday, as was a pickup truck on I- 69 on Friday. Several other smaller fi res have been reported in the county as well. Amanda Walls, of 3321 W. CR 130, Peters- burg, lost her residence to a fi re that was re- ported at 4:17 p.m. on Wednesday. Patoka Township Chief Brandon Truitt said the Walls family lived in the house owned by her mother, Jamie. Truitt said fl ames were coming out the roof of the house when fi remen arrived. He added the rear of the house was gutted and the fi re moved to the living room area. He said it ap- peared to start in the back of the house, near the kitchen. About 25 to 30 fi remen responded from Pe- tersburg and Patoka departments, as well as law enforcement and EMS. They also called the Red Cross to assist the Walls family. Fire destroyed a 2003 Ford pickup truck early Friday evening on I-69. Petersburg Fire Chief Ross Elmore said the truck's en- gine compartment caught fi re and spread. It was owned by Scott Lockyear, of Elberfeld. Lockyear was driving north, pulling a camp- er, when the truck caught fi re. Chief Elmore said the truck was destroyed, but the camper was not damaged. On Wednesday, the Petersburg and Patoka Township departments responded to a fi eld fi re at 3010 N. CR 325 W. Elmore said it burned an area of the yard and also burned an unoc- cupied chicken coop on the property. On Saturday, a large tree on CR 50 E. caught fi re. Truitt said the burning tree was rotten and posed a danger. The Pike County High- way Dept. blocked the road and removed the tree after it was extinguished. Area fi remen respond to four fi res in a week Petersburg fi remen spray water on a hot truck fi re early Friday evening. The truck was being driven north on I-69 near the 47 mile marker when Scott Lockyear of Elberfeld noticed it was on fi re. Fire Chief Ross Elmore said the truck was a total loss, but there was no damage to the camper it was pulling.w

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