The Press-Dispatch
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B-2 Wednesday, November 25, 2020 The Press-Dispatch COVID Continued from page 1 rent system for weighing the fi- nal in the grading periods. We want to give that so two grad- ing periods are equally bal- anced. I want you to know that 75 percent of the teachers are in favor of cancelling final ex- ams." Dana Deffendoll, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Technology, presented the board members with an email that said, along with 75 percent of the teachers wanting to can- cel the final exams, 53.6 per- cent of them wanted to cancel just the first semester exams. Board member Chris McK- inney moved to cancel the first semester finals. Blake said in some courses that carry dual credit for high school and college, the stu- dents will have to have a final exams to meet that institution's requirements. BUSES WILL NOT BE PURCHASED School board members vot- ed 5 -0 to not purchase the 18 school buses they have been leasing for the past four years from Midwest Transit Equip- ment, Inc., of Kankakee, Ill. Blake told the board if they decided to keep the buses, they would have to pay $705,972 for them. Pike County Schools leased 18 buses from Midwest Transit Equipment in 2016. That lease agreement expires at the end of this school year. She said they had to give Mid- west notice on whether they were gong to purchase them or not by November 15. Blake said Todd Harker, Di- rector of Support Services, was recommending they not purchase the buses. She add- ed they had trouble with the diesel buses with a specific system having to be replaced sometimes more than once and the cost would have been more than $200,000. But be- cause they were leased and un- der warranty, it was no cost to the school. Blake anticipated the board would have to decide sometime in the spring on entering into a new lease and whether they wanted to lease gasoline or die- sel powered buses. She said us- ing diesel buses now would al- low them to compare the cost of operation for both. MACHINING PROGRAM RECEIVES DONATION The Gene Haas Foundation donated $10,000 to Pike Cen- tral's Machining program. "They are amazing in what they give out," said Board member Chris Satterfield. "They don't just give it out to anyone. They only give it out to the best programs. Pike Coun- ty has an amazing machining program." A letter from the Gene Haas Foundation states, up to " $2,500 of the grant can be used towards sponsorship of a competition, highlighting the CNC/Manufacturing pro- gram, such as Skills USA and First Robotics." It continues, "Scholarships are to be awarded to students who are currently enrolled or will be enrolling in a CNC Technologist training or CNC machining-based engineering program at the postsecondary level or the costs of attending a community college or tech cen- ter while still in high school." UNIFIED TRACK AND FIELD TEAM The board also gave their blessing to a Unified Track and Field Team program for Pike County Schools. The program pairs Pike Coun- ty school kids with disabled kids to participate in track and field competitions. "I have seen this work. It is a fantastic, amazing pro- gram. It is amazing how it will bring these kids together. It will make your heart break to see what this program will do," said Satterfield. Dr. Blake said Petersburg Elementary School teach- er Ronelle Linneweber ex- pressed interest in estab- lishing the program in Pike County. She said it is just a matter of registering with the state to get it started. She added the sponsor posi- tion would be a volunteer po- sition this year and then in the next collective bargain- ing session, they would dis- cuss making it a paid posi- tion. SAFE VISITOR KIOSKS Board members voted to install a safe visitor kiosk at each school, which will provide on-site, real-time screening of visitors. The cost of the kiosks is $18,830, with an annual fee of $ 3,700 a year. It will scan a govern- ment issued ID and check it against an excluded par- ties list and has the option to check against national sex of- fender data lists. It also does student and employee check- in, as well as face comparison from profile versus the visi- tor. It also creates a name tag that is only good for a set time period and expires. In another security mea- sure, they purchased $ 62,636 of new security cameras to cover areas of the schools that aren't covered by cam- eras now. They will be at all four schools, the Old Peters- burg Gym, Central Office and on the exterior of the Otwell school building. BAND BOOSTERS REQUEST REPAIRS The Band Boosters re- quested permission to have repairs made on the band's semi-truck and trailer. They said the Band Boosters are paying for the parts and Buchta Trucking is doing the repairs. They didn't request any money, just permission to do the repairs. It was granted by a 5 -0 vote. PERSONNEL MATTERS Missy Sparks was named as assistant swim and dive coach; Trent Whitehead re- signed as girls' varsity assis- tant basketball coach. Melody Faulk resigned from her position at Winslow Elementary School. She said she would work through Thanksgiving break. She obtained a real estate license and was going into that field. Several athletic posi- tions were filled, including: Andrew Wibbeler as high school girls' basketball as- sistant; Chaney McKinney and Ben Readle as volunteer assistants for the high school swim team; Don Wilson as as- sistant high school wrestling coach; Randy Meece as sixth grade girls' basketball coach; Nathan Harker as sixth grade boys' head coach; Damon Schnarr as seventh grade boys' basketball head coach, with Gabe Elliott as his as- sistant; J.J. Howald as eighth grade boys' basketball coach, with Chris Mohammed as his assistant; Austin Kendall as coach of the combined sev- enth and eighth grade girls' basketball team. Spring season coaches hired were: Stephanie Rich- ardson, head varsity softball; Chris Kramer, head boys' track coach; Jarrod Gideon, head boys' golf coach; and Brent Beck as head girls' ten- nis coach. At the elementary school level, Petersburg: Phil Knust, Ryan Benner and Courtney Maxey were hired as volun- teer fifth grade boys' coaches, while Denny Weitkamp and Megan Howard were hired as volunteer fifth grade girls' coaches; Tiffany Wiscaver, Ann Wood and Libby Mitch- el were named fifth grade vol- unteer cheer coaches. Winslow: Stephanie Shedd and Michelle Lemond were named elementary school basketball coaches. The next meeting is sched- uled for 7 p.m. December 8. EXAMS Continued from page 1 Give the gift of good vision Schedule an eye exam, or come in and check out our collection of attractive designer frames. Locally Owned and Operated Dr. Clint Shoultz 715 S. 9th Street, Petersburg • (812) 354-9400 Mon. 8am-7pm, Tues. 8am-noon, Wed. 10am-7pm, Thurs-Fri. 8am-5pm REDUCED TEMPERATURE SWINGS ENHANCED PERFORMANCE IMPROVED DEHUMIDIFICATION Variable-speed technology means invariable comfort. The Infinity ® 20 air conditioner combines the energy efficiency of Greenspeed ® intelligence with the convenience and precision of the Infinity System Control. With reduced temperature swings, improved dehumidification and ultra-quiet operation, the Infinity 20 air conditioner will have you more comfortable than ever before. Energy Efficiency That's Right in Your Comfort Zone. ©Carrier Corporation 4/2018. carrier.com PH: 812-743-2382 HEATING & AIR-CONDITIONING LLC Serving the area since 1950. Perry ' s Perry ' s 303 Breckinridge Rd, Monroe City Email: perryshvac@gmail.com Craig Perry Vance Perry Chase Perry TRIAL Continued from page 1 ward had made in the previ- ous interview, essentially by Edward's admission to the de- ception and then again being deceitful in trying to explain the concealment or omission." Eventually, according to the affidavit, Fox told police he had been in the house earlier in the week and knew Sharon was dead. However, he contin- ued to deny he had killed her. Police issued 17 search war- rants in the investigation and found he had purchased a lock pick set. They found what ap- peared to be a lock pick that had broken in the house's door lock. They also learned Fox had at least one life insurance policy he had continued to pay the premiums on even af- ter the couple had separated. Edward and Sharon had separated several months earlier and she had a protec- tive order against him that forbade Edward from going on her property. Police, through a series of search warrants, were able to determine the last night Sharon had used her CPAP breathing machine. They were also were able to deter- mine Edward did not start us- ing his CPAP until about 3 a.m. the same night, accord- ing to the affidavit. It also stated police were able to track Edward's move- ments to Sharon's residence by his cellphone data. Murder is punishable by a sentencing range of 45 to 65 years, a level 1 felony is pun- ishable by 20 to 40 years and a level 4 felony is punishable by two to 12 years. there has been a slight down- ward trend. In the days follow- ing Nov. 17, the daily death to- tal has been 57, 53, 42, 46, 47 and 35 on November 23. Total new cases are on a similar path statewide. On No- vember 13, Indiana recorded an all-time, one-day high of 8,288 new cases. On Novem- ber 18 that number was 7,315 and it dropped to 5,555 on No- vember 22. Hospitalizations are con- tinuing to rise across the state. On Monday, they were at an all-time high in Indi- ana. As of Nov. 23, there were 3,279 people hospitalized, us- ing 11.6 percent of the state's ventilator capacity. On Sep- tember 20, there were 766 peo- ple hospitalized with COVID, that number nearly doubled by October 20 and then more than doubled by Nov. 23. According to the state's dashboard on COVID, Pike County schools' number of actual cases continues to be low. The following numbers are as of noon November 23. Pike Central High School has no new student, teacher or staff cases. In total, they have had 17 students test positive and less than five teachers and less than five staff. Due to pri- vacy concerns, the state will only say less than five. Pike Central Middle School has less than five new student cases, no new teacher or staff cases. In total, the middle school has had less than five student and teacher cases, and zero staff cases. Winslow Elementary School has in total had less than five student cases and zero teach- er or staff cases. Petersburg Elementary School has had no new stu- dent or staff cases, and less than five new teacher cases. In total, Petersburg has had seven total student cases, and less than five of either teacher or staff cases. Pike County remains at the orange level, which lim- its gatherings to less than 50 people and school sporting events to be at 25 percent ca- pacity. Church services are ex- empt from this. Any gather- ing, such as wedding recep- tions, requires a plan for social distancing and COVID mitiga- tion to be filed with the Pike County Health Department at least seven days in advance. Pike County's COVID test- ing site is free. It is located on the Petersburg Moose park- ing lot. People are asked to stay in their vehicles. Hours for the testing site are: Mon- day 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tues- day and Wednesday 4 to 7 p.m., Thursday and Saturday 9 a.m. to noon. It is closed on Friday and Sunday, as well as Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It will be open on New Year's Eve from 9 a.m. to noon. Paving in Petersburg underway Crews from Calcar were paving streets in Petersburg this week. They started milling and paving on Friday, Nov. 20 and are expected to finish by this Friday, according to Petersburg City Services Manager Ross Elmore. They were scheduled to pave: Seventh St., from Walnut to Goodlet; Eighth St., from Main to Goodlet; Goodlet, from Seventh to Ninth St.; and Maple St., from Ninth to 12th Sts. This is part of a Community Crossroads paving grant from the Indiana Dept. of Transportation. By Andy Heurng A woman who was stopped because she was driving un- der the speed limit on I-69 was one of five people arrested for drunken driving last week in Pike County. Emily M. Kasnick, 36, of 8899 Outer Lincoln Ave., New- burgh, was arrested on Friday at about 7 p.m. on I-69 after police noticed she was driving between 65 and 69 mph, and weaving in and out of her lane. State Trooper Hunter Man- ning said he stopped the blue mini-van Kasnick was driv- ing and when he talked with her, Kasnick said she had eye problems and the vehicles be- hind her had on their bright lights. Manning said he was one of the vehicles behind her and he didn't have on his bright lights. Manning said there were two children, under the age of five, asleep in the back- seat. One was not wearing a seatbelt. He said while talking with Kasnick, he noticed she had erratic arm movements. She claimed she was nervous. Kasnick failed field sobri- ety tests, but tested negative on a portable breath test. She was taken to the Daviess Com- munity Hospital, where she tested positive for amphet- amines and benzodiazepines. Manning, in his report, stat- ed Kasnick argued she had a prescription for what she had taken. Her father was called to take custody of the children and she was taken to the Pike County Jail, where she was charged with operating a ve- hicle while intoxicated, with a previous conviction, and with minors in the vehicle. A Washington man was ar- rested Saturday night after he drove into the median on I-69 and got stuck. Hoguens Philippe, 32, of 1109 Downey Ave., Wash- ington, was arrested by Pike County Sheriff's Sgt. Buck Seger at 9:27 p.m. Sgt. Seger said he was dis- Five arrested for OVWI in separate incidents See OVWI on page 8