The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1351690
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, March 17, 2021 A-3 LOCAL Call: 812-354-8500 Email: news@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg NEWS BRIEFS Pike/Gibson retired teachers to meet April 8 The Pike/Gibson Retired Teachers will meet Thursday, April 8 at the Village Inn, south of Petersburg on SR 57, at noon EDT. This will be their first meeting since December 2019. The entire restaurant will be reserved for the group, which will provide social distancing, along with most mem- bers having completed their vaccination protocols. Masks will be used. A full buffet lunch will be available. New retirees will be welcomed. Those retirees who have passed on will be recognized. A book exchange, "Bring a Book, Take a Book," will liven individual libraries. Retir- ees are encouraged to bring non-perishables for local food banks. Peanut butter is a top candidate since an elderly woman survived on a box of crackers and a jar of peanut butter for a week early in the pandemic. Attendance will be taken by asking each retiree to share something they learned during the pandemic. One fish- erman said after many hours of unsuccessful fishing, he learned fishing was one jerk on one end of the line wait- ing for a jerk on the other end of the line. Public Library to host Blood Drive April 14 The Pike County Public Library will be hosting an American Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, April 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Petersburg branch, 1008 E. Maple Street. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800 -RED CROSS or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter Pike County Public Library to schedule an appointment. United Way-Phase III ERI grant now available Phase III (last phase), of the United Way, of Pike Coun- ty's ERI grant is now open. More than $17,000 will be on the table for qualifying ap- plicants. Phase III is specifically for "Long Term Recov- ery." Funds are not intended for reimbursement to agen- cies of loss of revenue due to COVID; rather, they are to help with moving forward in your work, re-building the community, and serving clients in need during these try- ing times. Thinking creatively and outside the box of how to still serve our community and those in need due to the COVID pandemic. Application deadline is April 1. To re- ceive an application or to ask any questions, contact UW Director, Krista Robinette at 812-582-9781 or unitedway- pike@frontier.com. MARRIAGE LICENSES Thomas Alan Bertsch, 51, of 796 W. CR 125 S., Peters- burg, son of Thomas R. Bertsch and Betty L. McCullough, to Lisa Marie Reed, 49, of 796 W. CR 125 S., Petersburg, daughter of Paul M. Crawford III and Karla S. Armstrong. Chelsie Day, 28, of 1022 E. Trafzer St., Petersburg, daughter of Christy Pitcher and Eric Day, to Zachary Parks, 29, of 1022 E. Trafzer St., Petersburg, son of Kim- berly Parks and Jack Parks. Devyn Michael Barker, 27, of 4792 N. CR 850 E., Otwell, son of Ronald R. Barker II and Chastity L. Fox, to Miranda Marie Merter, 25, of 4792 N. CR 850 E., Otwell, daughter of Ronnie J. Merter, Jr. and Bonnie B. Wagner. Brittany Ann Doane, 33, of 903 E. Mona St., Petersburg, daughter of Gregory Doane and Marlene Pielemeier, to Billy Ray Hill III, 39, of 903 E. Mona St., Petersburg, son of Billy R. Hill, Jr. and Wanda Hamilton. SUNDAY, MARCH 28 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. • $1 admission Toyota Event Center in Gibson County Fairgrounds Don't risk selecting vendors you've only met online. Be certain about your decision. Meet face-to-face with local vendors and venues, including: caterers • wedding decor & design displays wedding planners • honeymoon planners • DJs photographers • much more! e Bridal Show is dedicated to bringing you some of the best wedding service companies in the Tri-State. You can plan your entire wedding in one day. Check out our website for details www.gc ridalshow.com Bridal Show GIBSON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS Sign up for PRIZES at vendor booths DO YOU REMEMBER? IT MAY BE TIME FOR A COLONOSCOPY Talk to your provider to discuss colorectal cancer screening. If you don't have a provider, find one today by calling Good Samaritan's Find a Provider line at 812-885-8500 or go online to www.gshvin.org/find-a-provider. Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in the United States. But regular screening and healthy lifestyle choices can help prevent the disease. Did you know that at age 45 you should start screening for colorectal cancer? Kindergarten and pre-school round-up underway Candice Wibbeler and her son, Holden Wibbeler, talk with kindergarten teacher Jenn Ficklin during kinder- garten round-up at Winslow Elementary School last week. Round-up will continue at Petersburg Elementary School for pre-school and kindergarten. Kindergarten round-up will be Thursday, April 8 and Friday, April 9, with screenings from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Old Pe- tersburg Gym. Preschool screenings will be Friday, April 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Petersburg Ele- mentary School. Call 812-354-6876 to schedule an appointment. Commissioners discuss interim E-911 director By Andy Heuring County Commissioners, in their Monday morning meet- ing, voted to reappoint an Al- coholic Beverage Commission member and hire a new em- ployee at the Highway Garage, and addressed an interim E- 911 position. A fter about 15 minutes of discussion, the commission- ers decided to leave the E-911 position as is instead of ap- pointing an interim E-911 di- rector. Current E-911 Director David Capehart is on medical leave. The Pike County E-911 Ad- visory Board recommended Assistant E-911 Director Brit- tany Staake be named inter- im director. They met Satur- day so they could give a rec- ommendation to the commis- sioners. Sheriff Kent Johnson said the position of interim director would have the same pay as Staake was now mak- ing. She is a dispatcher and Assistant Director of E911. Commissioner President Mark Flint said he under- stood Ryan Benner, who is the Emergency Management Agency Director, had been handling the duties. "We are kind of sharing the duties. We work well together," said Ben- ner. Flint asked Staake if she wanted the position. He said he had been told Staake told people she didn't want the po- sition. "I never said that," said Sta- ake. She said she told people the timing of it wasn't good. She said she was short one dis- patcher and one part-time dis- patcher. Staake added a dis- patcher was in training and would be working in April. She said she would have some breathing room in the near fu- ture. Commissioner Jeff Nelson asked Staake if she had some- one to fill in for her as a dis- patcher when she needed to do work on E-911. She said she did have, but acknowledged they are one person short. She said she thought they would be fully staffed by April. "I would feel more comfort- able to revisit this after they are fully staffed," said Com- missioner Ryan Coleman. "It is no secret, down the road, we may want to com- bine these jobs. I think there should be a trial run of that. If we are facing that situation with budget cuts coming," said Nelson. "This (combining the jobs) is something we have talked about," said Flint. Flint said it is similar to what they have done at the County Highway Depart- ment. When Roger Ham re- tired, they moved Josh Byrd from Assistant Superinten- dent to Superintendent and did not replace the Assistant. Instead they hired a Leadman. He said they decided to try it for one year and see how it works at the Highway Depart- ment. Nelson asked Sheriff John- son, "Does someone need to be named interim? " "Who is going to make the decision (when one needs to be made in 911), whose shoul- der does it fall on? " asked Johnson, if they don't have an interim director. "You have a director and an assistant. So why isn't it auto- matically, where the assistant director fills in at least par- tially when the director is not available? " asked County At- torney Val Fleig. "I think that is how it should be," said Staake. Nelson asked about projects that were priorities now. Benner said they had worked to get the Next Gen- eration 911 mapping done and he had made contact with a vendor about new consoles. "I'm not trying to be rude here, but why are you han- dling it? " asked Nelson. "Just to help," said Benner. Nelson then asked Staake, "What are the things you feel like you can't do now because you are the director? " Staake said she is learning how to do the mapping and working on the budgeting and payroll. "I feel like I can get comfortable with them." Nelson asked who is doing the mapping? "I have done some and Ry- an has done some. I think we work well together," said Sta- ake. Flint then asked commis- sioner Coleman, "You ex- pressed your opinion. Are you going to put this into a motion? You wanted to leave this basi- cally like it is." Coleman said, "Leave it like it is." He later said if they want to revisit it, then they can go back to the advisory board. "I don't understand what the problem is. Brittany will have those responsibilities as Assistant Director. If some- one wants to assist here, that is great," said Coleman. Nelson said he thought on Saturday, when they met with the Advisory Board, "Why are we even here? Brittany is the assistant, then she is the per- son." In other business, the com- missioners voted 3-0 to reap- point David Adams to the Pike County Alcoholic Beverage Commission, a position he has held since 2017. He serves on the three-member board with Joe Smith and Marge Leavitt. The commissioners also voted 3-0 to hire Steven Nich- olson at the Pike County High- way Department in the posi- tion of mechanic. He replac- es Larry Julian, who retired recently. Josh Byrd recom- mended hiring Nicholson af- ter looking at résumés and do- ing interviews. The next scheduled com- missioners' meeting is 8:30 a.m. Monday, April 5 in the courthouse auditorium. READER GUIDE Subscriptions: Change of address: subscribers changing addresses will please give old address as well as new one along with phone number. We cannot guarantee prompt change unless this is done. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Press-Dispatch., P.O. Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 or e-mail to subscribe@ pressdispatch.net. Subscription rates: One year: $35 for Pike County and all 475/476 zip codes; $38 in the state of Indiana; $55 elsewhere in the USA. Paid in advance. Subscriptions taken after noon on Friday will not receive a paper until the second edition after their subscription date. About us: Andy Heuring and John B. Heuring, Publishers Andy Heuring, Editor John B. Heuring, Adv. Mgr. Eric Gogel, Production Mgr. Monica Sinclair, Office Mgr. Cindy Petty, Adv. Sales Pam Lemond, Adv. Sales Brakston Farrar, Adv. Designer • • • Published every Wednesday by the Pike County Publishing Co. Phone: 812-354-8500 820 E. Poplar St., P.O. Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 • • • Entered in the Post Office in Petersburg, Indiana for transmission through the mails as Periodical Mail, postage paid at Petersburg, Indiana – published weekly. (USPS 205-620)